Under meals

Tao Mingzhuo didn't expect that Jing Ci would attack him so straightforwardly and openly.

He didn't seem to care that the people standing beside him were all his subordinates. Although the way of asking was polite, it was generous and direct at the same time.

Tao Mingzhuo was sweating profusely.

What Jing Ci said was "as a friend", so Tao Mingzhuo always felt that if he refused at that time, it would probably look even weirder in the eyes of others.

So at that time, he said "OK" blankly, took out his mobile phone and gave out his WeChat ID.

After adding WeChat, drinking fruit tea, and arriving home, Tao Mingzhuo finally recovered.

He quickly took out his mobile phone and typed quickly, deciding to block the road one step ahead of time.

He directly edited a bunch of words and sent them to Jing Ci: "Well, I'm sorry, I just need to help my family with some things this weekend, so I might not be able to spare much time."

After a while, Jing Ci replied: "It's okay, we have a chance to meet again."

Tao Mingzhuo let out a breath.

He flipped through it casually, and found that what Jing Ci gave should also be his own private WeChat.His circle of friends is very clean. Currently, there is only one video that can be viewed within the range allowed to be viewed. The accompanying text is "I really envy you".

Click on the video and find that it is a huge Alaska, wagging its tail happily and snorting to eat the food in the dog bowl.

Tao Mingzhuo was a little puzzled, because he didn't understand what envy a dog eats, but he didn't think too much about it, and just closed his phone.

Tao Mingzhuo really didn't lie to Jing Ci, he was really busy on weekends.

Tao Mingzhuo’s parents opened a small restaurant, and they are close to the water. Tao Mingzhuo sat in front of the cashier counter of his own restaurant every day since he was a child, stuffing freshly cooked rice into his mouth while doing his homework. Nutrition It hasn't fallen at all.

Tao Mingzhuo has a sister who is three years older than him——Tao Xue. The two quarreled and quarreled since childhood, but both siblings showed extraordinary artistic talents at the same time when they were young.

It costs money to study art, but their parents are also open-minded, thinking that since the family has some conditions, it is worth it if the child likes it.

They thought about it and thought that if the siblings are promising in the future, they can be well-known painters and hold art exhibitions. If they are not good enough, it would be good to be a teacher and teach others how to draw, and it will be face-saving to the outside world.

As a result, after graduating from university, Tao Xue, who loves beauty and makeup, directly opened a small nail salon.

Tao Mingzhuo's parents regretted it a little at the time, but they still hoped that Tao Mingzhuo, the second child, could win a little bit.

Unexpectedly, Tao Mingzhuo was very interested in game design, and his portfolio was favored by many major companies. After graduation, he turned to drawing little people in games.

At that time, the mood of the two elders belonged to the level that when they saw their siblings coming home during the holidays, they wanted to kick them out of the house one by one.

Fortunately, the game projects that Tao Mingzhuo participated in have been launched in the past few years, and the business of Tao Xue's nail salon is also booming. Seeing that the two of them can support themselves, they don't say anything anymore.

Tao Xue got married two years ago and just got pregnant not long ago. Tao Mingzhuo would go to her nail salon every weekend to help.

After changing to a bigger store at the end of last year, Tao Xue decided to start some new businesses. One store is dual-purpose, the hall is used for manicure, and the two small rooms inside are used as studios, teaching customers to draw some simple small oil paintings .

Such shops are great for spending time and are very popular with women of all ages.

As soon as Tao Mingzhuo entered the store today, he heard Tao Xue yelling loudly: "Hurry up, Hu, make a gradient cat eye extension for this beauty!"

Turning around and seeing Tao Mingzhuo at the door, Tao Xue immediately breathed a sigh of relief, ran over and pushed him into the shop: "Your boy is finally here, Sister Li is here, and I keep asking where you are Woolen cloth."

Tao Mingzhuo felt frightened when he saw her running around with her belly outstretched: "Ancestor, don't worry about others, can you just sit and rest for a while?"

Tao Mingzhuo naturally doesn't know how to do nail art. He comes to the store every weekend, mainly to help receive some customers who choose oil painting projects.

Most of these customers have zero foundation, so in addition to giving some basic guidance, Tao Mingzhuo also has a very important role, which is to help them "touch up" a few strokes at the end.

In most cases, these strokes are not icing on the cake, but "resurrecting the dead".

The "Sister Li" that Tao Xue called was Li Lan, she was a regular customer in the store, and she was also a real rich lady.

This auntie has a bright and unrestrained personality. She once complained about why the upper limit of recharge cards in the store is only 8888. She only chooses the most expensive Japanese palace-grade nail polish for manicure, and one-on-one VIP tutoring for oil painting.

In short, he is a hot-tempered guest, but he is also very fun to talk to.

As soon as Tao Mingzhuo entered the room today, he saw her wearing a light pink Chanel suit, scribbling on the canvas with a pen.

Tao Mingzhuo's eyelids twitched, and he quickly took a small apron and put it on himself, then took another one, and trotted all the way to Li Lan's side.

"Sister, I beg you." Tao Mingzhuo said, "You don't care about the clothes, I do. Put them on."

Li Lan put on the apron reluctantly, and said, "What's the matter, buy a new one if it's dirty, and help me to see, how is my painting today?"

Li Lan chose to paint maple trees and rivers today. Tao Mingzhuo took a closer look and almost thought he saw the pool of blood in the underworld.

But he still boasted without blushing: "The painting really has a sense of atmosphere, the red of the maple leaves is fully reflected on the lake, your color sense has always been very good, but I can help you with some small details. How about it?"

Li Lan liked this passage very much, and threw the pen to him: "Draw, I just have a rest."

"Why don't you help me change a few more strokes today, I feel that my painting is a bit too colorful." Li Lan thought for a while, and then said, "Today my youngest son came to pick me up, and I plan to let him hang it in his home , this child just returned to live in China a while ago, and the house is quite empty."

Tao Mingzhuo said with a smile: "I promise to complete the task."

Every time Li Lan mentioned her child, her voice softened, and she began to say to Tao Mingzhuo in a half-complaining and half-showing tone: "Let me tell you, my youngest son has a very picky eye, not just for painting. , He always said that I was dressed too fancy, how could he know that only in this way can I show my complexion."

Tao Mingzhuo suppressed a smile: "Yeah, show your complexion."

Li Lan said again: "But don't tell me, the outfit I'm wearing today was chosen for me by my youngest son. It's a bit plain, but it's really pretty, isn't it?"

Tao Mingzhuo: "Yeah, it looks good."

Satisfied, Li Lan lowered her head and swiped her phone for a while, then suddenly said "Oops": "My son is here, he should be in your lobby."

Li Lan glanced at Tao Mingzhuo's revised painting, and said happily: "I'll take a photo of the painting first, and the money in the card should be running out, so you go to the hall to find my son and ask him to fill me up first." Bar."

On the way to the hall, Tao Mingzhuo's mind was still full of Li Lan's "my son, my son". He silently prayed for this unlucky little son for a few seconds in his heart.

However, after turning a corner, Tao Mingzhuo had just walked to the manicure area in the hall when he saw Jing Ci standing at the door, staring thoughtfully at the pink price list on the wall.

The only breathing men in the store are the two of them, so the moment their eyes met, Tao Mingzhuo, who was wearing a small pink apron, was dumbfounded: "...Are you the youngest son?"

Jing Ci: "...?"

Jing Ci was obviously a little surprised.

Tao Xue had just sent away a guest, and seeing the two of them confronting each other, she asked curiously, "What's the matter, Tao Mingzhuo? Is it someone you know?"

Before Tao Mingzhuo could speak, Jing Ci said gently, "It's a friend."

Tao Mingzhuo: "It's Sister Li's son, my company's...colleague, Jing Ci."

Tao Xue let out an "ah" and said in surprise, "What a coincidence."

Tao Mingzhuo deliberately didn't say that Jing Ci was his boss, because he was afraid that according to Tao Xue's temper, after she found out, she would overzealously win over Jing Ci.

As a result, Tao Xue's brain circuit was different. She saw Jing Ci as young and handsome and from a good family background, and thought it would be good for her unlucky younger brother to make more friends like this.

Thinking of Li Lan's frequent patronage of the store, he became more enthusiastic for a while: "Hey, Xiao Jing, have you eaten yet? We happen to be ordering takeaway. If you don't mind, would you like to have lunch together?"

The moment Tao Mingzhuo heard the phrase "Little Jing", he was really going crazy, and what made him even more alarmed was that he clearly saw Jing Ci's eyes light up slightly.

Tao Mingzhuo really wanted to tell Tao Xue that he had had many lunches with Jingci before that, and the current situation was special, if he continued to eat, something might really happen.

He had a splitting headache, and tried to interrupt Tao Xue's "casting spell": "Sister, I'm here to pick you up, okay, I have something to leave soon—"

Jing Ci: "Okay."

Tao Mingzhuo: "...?"

After being instructed by Tao Mingzhuo, Tao Xue realized her familiarity belatedly: "Is it okay? Will it not delay your business?"

Jing Ci smiled: "It's okay, the driver can take my mother back."

"Then I'll trouble you," he said.

Tao Xue said happily: "No, no! No trouble, no trouble!"

Tao Mingzhuo felt that his breathing almost stopped.

He hesitated for a moment, and quickly pulled Jing Ci aside, pretending to persuade her kindly: "That...it's okay, you don't have to be embarrassed to reject her because my sister said it, my sister is a familiar person, Besides, you have nothing to do in this store, so it's boring to wait for takeaway, right..."

Sure enough, he saw Jing Ci shaking his head and said, "It's okay, it won't be boring."

Tao Mingzhuo: "...so what can you do here?"

Tao Mingzhuo felt that Jingci was more clingy than he imagined.

He also realized that his tone just now seemed a bit aggressive, mainly because Tao Mingzhuo didn't expect Jing Ci to be so proactive, firmly grasping every opportunity to get along with him and not letting go.

Tao Mingzhuo was a little melancholy, but in fact, after these few days of shocks, he has begun to feel that it is not so unreasonable for things to have such a development.

Tao Mingzhuo paused: "I have no other meaning, just..."

Jing Ci was not angry.

He just thought about it for a while, then looked at Tao Mingzhuo, and asked in a warm voice: "Do you have any vacancies for the oil painting project here? My mother mentioned it many times before, so I want to try it too."

Tao Mingzhuo coughed: "The oil painting project here requires an appointment, because the paint must be prepared in advance, and today is the weekend, there are more guests, so there should be no vacancies."

Jing Ci was silent for a moment, then nodded.

He seemed a little disappointed, but in the end he said to Tao Mingzhuo with a good temper: "It's okay, your business is very good, I understand."

Tao Mingzhuo breathed a sigh of relief, he felt that he should have blocked all possibilities.

He just didn't know why, he felt that Jing Ci was already very disappointed, but his tone was still soft and gentle when talking to him, and he felt a little guilty in his heart.

"However, I see that you still have a lot of nail polish in the cabinet." But the next second, Tao Mingzhuo heard Jing Ci say, "Then I'll do a manicure."

The author says:

Tao Mingzhuo: (⊙⊙)