because i'm pretty

On the way back, the two didn't talk much. Yuan Zhiming was worried about letting Li Yikai drive and insisted on sending him back.

But he was not proficient in driving his own car, and the driver of the other party was even more frightened. He could only focus on the road, slammed on the brakes from time to time, and then continued to stretch his neck nervously, holding the steering wheel with both hands and slowly moving forward.

Li Yikai was sitting in the co-pilot. If it was normal, he might give instructions twice to remind him, or replace the incompetent driver for safety reasons.

But just now, both his emotions and his body fluctuated too much, and now he is so insensitive to the external environment that he would not even notice a car accident the next moment.

The more this is the case, the more sensitive and delicate the thoughts in my heart become.

Thinking of this person next to him, careless, procrastinating, self-assertive, seemingly easy to get along with, but in fact it is just out of education, I don't know what he is thinking... Li Yikai's sober mind broke through the chaos of the past few days some gaps.

He saw the distance between two people in the gap, and the external attraction moved him, but the real difference caused a natural gap between them.

Perhaps in the coffee shop, the other party has already given enough hints - even the relationship between them is just a general friendship, but one is looking for a job, the other needs to be recruited, if they are suitable, they will become colleagues, if they are not suitable, they will part ways, Since then, we have maintained a friendly relationship on WeChat.

He tried to get to know each other across differences, but ended up being forced to question and run away. Fortunately, the other party didn't care about it after losing his composure.

However, today he broke the balance of the relationship again—maybe it’s justifiable, but Li Yikai thought, if the person who happened to this incident from the beginning to the end was not Yuan Zhiming, but Sun Shanshan or Qin Xiaoen’s cat downstairs, if they didn’t tell If he handles it by himself, will he throw a tantrum at the other party?

Maybe he will be angry, but he must express it more restrained and rationally.

There can be no third time.

Yuan Zhiming slammed on the brakes and stopped in front of the white line downstairs of his house.

"Don't you really need me to take you back? Are your eyes okay?" Yuan Zhiming leaned on the steering wheel and asked, just now Li Yikai refused to tell him his home address.

"Well, it's okay, thank you," Li Yikai said, pushing the door and getting out of the car.

He walked around the front of the car, stood by the door of the driver's seat, turned his head when he opened the door, and said to Yuan Zhiming, who had been standing by the side, "I was too impatient just now, I shouldn't get angry at you, don't worry, Excuse me."

"I'm sorry," Yuan Zhiming said.

"You don't have to say that, I should apologize to you." Li Yikai spoke quickly and steadily when he was calm, exactly the same as the day of the interview——

"Go back early, don't think too much, go to work on time tomorrow."

"I mean, I used to..." Yuan Zhiming said slowly, the manuscript that he had typed for a long time had no logic in it, and he couldn't even understand what he said——

"Sorry, I shouldn't have talked to you like that."

Li Yikai was stunned for a moment, put his hand on the doorknob and knocked: "The past is the past, and I am also...very offensive."

"No, no, I didn't think so," Yuan Zhiming said quickly, "Ah, no, I felt that way at the time..."

The more anxious he was, the less he knew how to express it. He scratched the hair on the back of his head, frowned and said, "But I realized later that I know what you said is right. Work is tiring, and it will consume people's enthusiasm and creativity. You The willingness to take the time to think for me, to come and say these things to me, is not something I should take for granted."

Li Yikai loosened his hand, he opened his mouth to say something, but Yuan Zhiming continued——

"I was too willful. I was only thinking about my own pressure at the time, and I didn't receive what you said."

"But I didn't mean to push you away. You are such a good person...whether as a friend, as a colleague, or as a small animal, you always consider others, which is very precious."

Li Yikai really convinced Yuan Zhiming, how could he say such a straightforward compliment in front of his face?

He coughed: "Uh... everyone has their own predicament. I didn't think it through so well. I may have misunderstood you. I'm also sorry."

He opened the car door again, wanting to leave this atmosphere quickly.

But he didn't expect Yuan Zhiming to reach out and stop him.

Li Yikai's scalp was numb with embarrassment, he maintained his composure in the panic, but once again he tried to resist Yuan Zhiming's obstruction with brute force, and continued to open the car door.

But he didn't pull it. The wrist of the person holding the paintbrush is amazing.

Yuan Zhiming's tone was too sincere, and his attitude was too stubborn: "I've thought about it for a long time, but I still want to make it clear to you. Can you give me 10 minutes?"

What else can I say?

Li Yikai felt that the self-esteem and protection he had built up with great difficulty were in a dilemma like the car door in front of him.

But he could only turn around, showing the maturity and stability of an elderly person: "If you want to say it, you can say it, and if you don't want to say it, there is no need to feel pressure."

Yuan Zhiming looked at him flatly: "I didn't sell the painting to Mr. Wang—it was the producer of the film crew."

"Oh", Li Yikai felt that he was going to spend all his indiscriminate words and impulsive quotas in his life, so he could only say embarrassingly, "I misunderstood you."

"There is no misunderstanding," Yuan Zhiming looked frankly, "I thought about it at the time. If you hadn't gotten angry with me, you might have sold several pairs."

Li Yikai's face became hot, and he said, "Don't be like this...I didn't do anything."

Yuan Zhiming shook his head: "Because I thought, if even you would be angry with me because of this, then my father would definitely be sadder. That's why I realized that I had a very wrong idea."

Sometimes Yuan Zhiming speaks like a primary school student, with simple words and sentences and slow speaking speed, but he is serious and unambiguous in every word.

Li Yikai leaned his back against the car door, clenched and loosened his hands, and finally patted Yuan Zhiming's arm lightly: "Just figure it out."

He noticed that Yuan Zhiming didn't mention his mother, so he also avoided it: "Talented people will be seen, and your father will be proud of you."

Yuan Zhiming smiled, his eyes sparkled: "He has always been proud of me."

After speaking, as if he couldn't wait to show off, he pulled Li Yikai's suit sleeve: "I'll show you."

"Ah?" Li Yikai held back for half a second, thinking, he took the initiative to drag me there...

Yuan Zhiming pushed open the door of the house, and found a horizontal scroll from the stack of books—a piece of writing, with five large characters of "Artist Fund" written on it.

Li Yikai thought of Yuan Zhiming's profile picture - it said "The artist must work harder", in the same font.

"It was written by my dad," he said.

Li Yikai asked cooperatively: "Then what is an artist fund?"

"When I applied to go abroad, I felt that the tuition fee was too high. After knowing that I was hesitant, he wrote this word, and then told me that he had been saving the money since I was very young to learn painting, in case there was no future. Money has no paint, let me withdraw it at any time."

Yuan Zhiming smiled a little embarrassedly:

"My dad is...a person who has no concept of money. He is a photographer. He earns a lot, but spends more, and often borrows money and can't get it back."

Li Yikai said: "I have a friend who is also a photographer and does not make money. He is also like this. He said that money cannot be exchanged for real freedom. I don't know which comes first, getting rich or accidents."

He smiled and shook his head. In fact, every time Zhao Kaisi said this, he would persuade the other party to be a little more reliable.

But at this moment, he suddenly felt that if it wasn't for such a family, he would definitely not be able to develop Yuan Zhiming's character.

So he added: "It's good that uncle has such a mentality at his age."

Yuan Zhiming gently rolled up the banner, wound the red rope several times, and tied a loose buckle.

After a while, I lowered my head and continued, "I've been brainwashed by him as well, believing that I'm drunk today, but it was only later that I found out that he was sick."

Li Yikai was stunned, and subconsciously asked: "Is it serious?"

"It's a chronic kidney disease," Yuan Zhiming said slowly, "It's not the most serious, but there is no cure."

Looking at life exhaustion for a long time in despair, this kind of illness is more destructive to people's spirit than serious diseases, but I am also glad that Yuan Zhiming's father is such an optimistic and strong person, Li Yikai can only say: "Slowly Come on, mentality and emotions are more important."

Yuan Zhiming blinked and smiled: "He never disappoints."

He looked up and recalled: "I found out that he started taking medicine when he was in high school. It must have been seven or eight years. He never told me. He hasn't told me until now. Usually, there is no problem. He climbed mountains and fished. Make a lot of friends and travel a lot.”

"I have always felt that the condition is not serious, and I can take my time. When I become famous and make money, even if I can't be cured at that time, I can give him the best care. If he is in good health, I will take him to travel more... …He still wants to go to Antarctica.”

Speaking of the last sentence, the two laughed again, Li Yikai said: "My photographer friend is also going to Antarctica, maybe they can go together."

Yuan Zhiming sniffed: "But his condition started to deteriorate last year, and he needs weekly dialysis, so he probably won't be able to go."

Li Yikai was a little taken aback, and felt even more annoyed again, for his previous aggressiveness and impatience.

They chatted for a long time. At the beginning, they talked about their condition. Yuan Zhiming said that dialysis and medication are actually not a huge sum of money calculated on a monthly basis, but no one knows when the condition will suddenly deteriorate. Living under the maintenance of equipment, he continued to pretend that he didn't know anything in front of his father, and he had to prepare for the worst——

"He will definitely not touch the fund left for me, and I don't want him to feel that I'm a burden, so I first want him to feel that I can make money, and don't be reluctant to spend money on medical treatment."

However, Yuan Zhiming probably inherited his father's optimism and strength. He sat on the "couch" he made out of door panels and said that although it was difficult to start after graduation, it is getting better now.

Li Yikai leaned against the door, looked down at him, smiled softly and said yes.

Later, Yuan Zhiming introduced many interesting stories about his father Yuan Songqing.

He said that he has always had a talent for graffiti. When he was in elementary school, he used a ballpoint pen to draw on the white wall of the classroom. The teacher called the parents. His father ran to the school and looked at it. He was sorry to say that he paid for the whitewashing of the wall, but Then I asked the principal if he could rub down those paintings before painting the walls.

Reliable parents in the world are mostly similar, but unreliable parents each have their own unreliable.

Li Yikai asked: "Did the extension succeed?"

"No," Yuan Zhiming said seriously, "he took a picture, but I've never seen a painting."

He raised his head and asked, "Why do you look at me like this? You think my dad is amazing, don't you?"

"Yeah," Li Yikai turned his face away and smiled, "But it's cute."

"Anyway, I don't know what other people's fathers are like." Yuan Zhiming was happy and distressed.

"I don't know either," Li Yikai said.

"Ah?" Yuan Zhiming questioned slowly.

"I haven't seen him since I was five years old."

Since Li Yikai was sensible, it was the first time he took the initiative to tell others about this matter. He felt that Yuan Zhiming would not have the same reaction as others.

But unexpectedly, not only did Yuan Zhiming not reciprocate with sympathy, but he seemed to be making comparisons, and said relaxedly: "Hey, I heard that I haven't seen my mother for seven months."

Li Yikai didn't hesitate: "Your father donates money through charity, and I have to always be on guard against my mother being cheated out of money."

"But you look very rich," Yuan Zhiming said enviously, "I not only want to make money and save money, but also pretend to be doing well in front of my dad."

"But you have a dad who will save you an artist's fund." Li Yikai is also very envious, "I can only save my mother's fund."

"Isn't this normal?" Yuan Zhiming muttered in a low voice.

"It's not a pension fund," said Li Yikai, "it's a remarriage fund."

Yuan Zhiming suddenly realized with his mouth open, he really didn't have this trouble: "Okay, you won."

The two looked at each other for a moment, and laughed together again. Li Yikai's shoulders trembled under the casual suit, feeling childish and ridiculous.

There is also the luck and joy that arises without knowing it.

When Li Yikai left around 12 o'clock, Yuan Zhiming unscrewed a bottle of oolong tea and pulled the canvas off the wall.

He finished the homework he assigned to himself at 3 o'clock in the morning. This efficiency was much higher than usual. Yuan Zhiming felt a kind of lightness in his heart that he had never had before, which made the rhythm of his writing light and smooth.

For a long time, he hadn't chatted with anyone like this. The nightmares and pressure that accompanied him growing up had accumulated into secrets that he took for granted.

If it weren't for Li Yikai, he would never have thought of letting go of what he said today.

Li Yikai is a trustworthy colleague as well as a kind and warm friend.

Yuan Zhiming fell asleep with such thoughts in his head, and even faintly looked forward to going to work the next day. As friends who had shared secrets, they must be more tacit and friendly at work.

When he arrived at the company, he first saw Li Yikai sitting at his work station from a distance, and when he got closer, he found that there was a brand new Christmas red mug on his desk.

Yuan Zhiming touched the snowflake-shaped print on the cup, and turned to look at Li Yikai with a smile.

But thank you hadn't said it yet.

The other party looked at him first, and spit out four words expressionlessly:

"you are late."

--------------------

Congratulations to Yuan Zhiming for unlocking the two faces of Li Yikai.