Agreement

  I turned around to look, only to find that Jiang Yan was not by my side. As I walked out of the rehearsal room, the front desk assistant told me that President Jiang had something urgent to attend to and would contact me again if the arrangements were made. I could only return home, it was almost noon, and on the way, I brought two takeaways into the gallery, when I was stunned by a harmonious scene in front of me.

  That morning, the person I vowed to respect and keep at a distance was now sitting in my work chair, flipping through something with an air of confidence. Meanwhile, the shop assistant Xiao Tong sat across from me, her face slightly flushed as she held a paintbrush and scribbled on paper, occasionally looking up to glance at me.

  She narrowed her eyes and saw that she was drawing a sketch, with Kōjō sitting quietly in front of her as the subject.

  Under my dry cough, I finally attracted the attention of two focused people. A certain gaze came over calmly and quietly, without surprise or nervousness. The little boy clearly saw it was me and immediately stood up from his chair, "Sister Xia, you're back. This Mr. Gao said he's your neighbor, I had him wait here." After finishing speaking, he felt embarrassed to explain: "Mr. Gao is a very good person, he's willing to be my sketch model."

  I knew that Xiaotong was good at sketching and oil painting when she was in art school. For a painter, seeing beautiful people and things will always make them want to capture it on canvas. But her sentence "Mr. Gao is a very nice person" made me wonder if she was describing the person in front of us?

  She hesitated for a moment, put the takeout in her hand on the table, and ordered Xiaotong: "You eat first."

  The little boy was about to say something but stopped, and instead obediently responded with a "yes" and put away his drawing board to wash his hands. I furrowed my brow at the person behind the table and asked, "What are you doing here?" He gave me a casual glance, his gaze falling on my hand, and suddenly said, "This family's food is not good, don't buy it next time."

  It took him a while to react, only then realizing he was pointing at the takeout beside me. Just as I was about to hand one over to Xiaotong, who had just walked out, I heard Gaicheng speak up in a low tone, but it wasn't directed at me.

  "Dear girl, the time to fulfill the promise has arrived." He pulled out a few red tickets and handed them to Xiaotong, "I hope you have a pleasant meal, don't rush back too quickly, I've already helped you ask for leave from your summer sister. If you have plenty of time, would you mind bringing me a cup of white coffee from there?"

  The little girl blinked her eyes coquettishly, curved her eyebrows and smiled in response: "Delighted to the utmost." Then she turned to me and said: "Thank you, Sister Xia." After that, she picked up her bag and happily went out, without noticing the fluctuation in my gaze.

  When I turned around, I saw that Gao Cheng had already regained his composure, and was eating a takeout meal with an air of disdain, as if the warm and humorous person from just now was just an illusion.

  Isn't it said to be inedible? He only saw him chewing for a few mouthfuls and then said, "The boss of this restaurant is a good operator, knowing how to make the best use of things and avoiding weaknesses, having changed chefs. However, this chef is just mediocre and still needs improvement."

  I raised an eyebrow, and instead of asking him how he knew that the restaurant had changed chefs, I said sarcastically, "It's best if you become the boss of this restaurant."

  "Hum, what a waste! To think that I should become a merchant with a thick smell of copper, it's an insult."

  She rolled her eyes, not wanting to engage in a war of words with him, and even if she did, he would always be able to shut her down with one sentence. She patiently asked again: "What exactly do you want from me at my gallery?"

  He slowly picked out all the scallions and said, "Someone forgot the promise they made yesterday, so I had to come personally to remind them." I was puzzled: "Promise?" When did I make a promise that I didn't know about?