Although receiving this call was a surprise, Chen Dongyang was no fool.
He knew his design skills ranked where they did in the industry, understood the level of his current creativity, and was aware of the qualifications and salary of a chief designer at a design institute.
He didn't deny his chance of winning first place, but with his work experience and education, it was definitely not simple for the design institute to offer him an exception to hire him and give him such a high salary.
So, after the person in charge finished speaking, his first reaction was that someone was helping him from behind the scenes.
The only people who knew his predicament clearly and had the ability to help him were Chen Jiaojiao and Tiantian.
Chen Jiaojiao didn't know he was participating in the design competition, so he could easily guess that Tiantian had arranged this.
Chen Dongyang didn't reply immediately. He hung up the phone, stared at Tiantian's WeChat for a long time, then got up and out of bed.
He had slept through the night without realizing it, and it was already morning.
He went to the outer room and saw Huihui taking care of Doubao.
Doubao had woken up. Although he didn't look well, Chen Dongyang was quite happy to see his eyes open.
Seeing him, Doubao was also happy. He struggled to reach out his hands to Chen Dongyang and called him "Dad Chen."
Chen Dongyang went over, hugged him, and patted his head. "Good Doubao. Did you miss Dad Chen these past two days?"
"Missed you."
"Dad Chen missed you too. We won't be separated anymore, and I won't let you miss me again, okay?"
"Okay."
"Eat well, listen to your mother, Dad Chen is going out to handle some business and will be back soon."
Seeing him about to leave as soon as he opened his eyes, Zeng Hui quickly asked where he was going.
"Someone called me to discuss business. I'm going to talk about it and will be back soon. Don't worry."
He drove to outside Tiantian's residential area before calling her.
He wasn't sure if Tiantian would answer the phone, but luckily, she did.
Tiantian was quite surprised. They had agreed not to contact each other, so why was he calling so soon?
Afraid something might be wrong, she couldn't bear not to answer.
Chen Dongyang got straight to the point: "I'm outside your residential area. Come out and meet me."
Her heart leaped a little, but Tiantian held back. "Is something wrong? Didn't we agree not to contact each other anymore?"
"There is something. I'll wait for you."
After saying that, Chen Dongyang hung up the phone.
After waiting for more than ten minutes, Tiantian slowly walked out of the residential area.
Seeing his car, she directly opened the passenger door and got in.
After not seeing each other for two days, it felt as if they had both lost weight upon meeting again.
An indescribable sadness filled their hearts, but neither dared to show it.
Chen Dongyang averted his gaze and looked ahead.
"How much money did you spend?"
"What?"
"To arrange for me to join the design institute and give me such a high annual salary. Don't tell me it wasn't you."
Tiantian thought someone had betrayed her and frowned, wondering where the problem had occurred. Chen Dongyang said,
"You're the only one who has the heart and ability to arrange this for me... Why did you do it?"
Since he had already guessed, there was no point in hiding it any longer.
Tiantian also looked ahead and said, "No reason, just because I believe in you. I think you have the ability, and if you're given a good platform, you can turn things around and showcase your skills."
"After all, you are my first love. I don't want to look back and remember it happening with an incompetent man. I just hope your reputation can match, and you don't embarrass me. That's all."
On the way, Chen Dongyang had thought of many things and imagined many excuses Tiantian might give, but he never expected her to say this.
He couldn't refuse.
After a pause, he nodded.
"You're right, a nameless man is indeed not qualified to be your first love. I will seize this opportunity. Thank you for helping me again."
"But I can't let you help for nothing. I've organized the overall creative ideas and copyright for the game I developed and sent it all to your email. Although I don't know what its future will be, it's my effort. Consider it interest. Take it."
Tiantian didn't want his game; she wasn't short of money.
"Chen Dongyang, I know you have a strong sense of pride, but you don't need to be so stubborn. Your success is the best reward for me. I don't need anything from you."
Chen Dongyang said, "You know, with my current abilities, I can't get it launched, and no good company is willing to sign it. Keeping it with me is useless; it will only depreciate over time."
"Just consider it helping me fulfill a wish. Revitalize it, and it won't be a waste of all my overtime."
He was also quite eloquent, leaving Tiantian unable to refuse.
After a pause, she also nodded in agreement.
"Okay. Are you finished speaking?"
Chen Dongyang wasn't finished.
He had so many things he wanted to say to Tiantian, wanted to ask if she had been eating well and sleeping well lately, but he had no right.
"I'm finished."
"Then delete my phone number and WeChat."
Tiantian pushed open the door and got out of the car.
Less than two hours after Chen Dongyang left her residential area, Tiantian received the files he sent to her email.
She stared at the files over and over again, and the afternoon passed unconsciously. Wushuang returned.
Recently, she had been in very good spirits, looking radiant every day, being in love.
Knowing Tiantian was returning today, she rushed back from work, ran up to embrace her, and chattered about the progress of her relationship with the director.
"Don't laugh at me, but he and I... you know. Isn't it fast?"
"Actually, I didn't expect it to be so fast. Tiantian, do you think I'm very unpromising?"
If it were before, Tiantian might have thought so.
But now, she and Chen Dongyang had also done intimate things, so she had no right to judge anyone.
"No, as long as you feel happy yourself. Whatever you do is right."
"That's great. Hearing you say that makes me feel much better, otherwise I'd feel very unpromising. Dear, why do you look thinner after just a few days? Is the competition pressure very high? What do you want to eat tonight? I'll make a big meal to reward you."
Tiantian didn't want to eat anything; she just wanted to have a good chat with Wushuang and pulled her to sit on the sofa.
"How was it after you slept together? Did he promise you anything? When do you plan to let your family know?"
Wushuang's smile faded slightly as she looked at Tiantian and said,
"We haven't known each other long, and I don't plan to let my family know yet. We'll see."
"The day after we slept together, he offered to rent a better apartment for me, but I felt like if I accepted it, it would look like I was after his money, so I refused. Do you think I'm too silly?"
Tiantian said, "If you're dating with marriage as the prerequisite, his money will be yours sooner or later. Didn't he ask you to move in with him?"
Wushuang shook her head. "Speaking of which, I'm also a little unsure. I was planning to come back and talk to you about it. He said he's a non-believer in marriage."
Tiantian was a little surprised.
Wushuang was an only child, and her parents were from a small town with very traditional views.