1 Year Of Beginning

After her mother's death, Feng Mian stayed in the mansion most of the time. She was not that cheerful, yet she still took care of herself. After all, she could not possibly let herself fall sick when there were so many people worrying about her. At the same time, she also learned from Zhang Liang that he would not make his move yet.

Time passed swiftly.

The two of them maintained the same relationship for the past several weeks. Neither one of them ever mentioned the matter anymore and after painting, Feng Mian had felt much better.

Zhang Liang was worried that she would torture herself because of grief. Thankfully, it didn't happen.

She was still the same as usual.

He, too, didn't change much and was still busy with his company.

Today, Zhang Liang went home early since he had finished with his work. It was rare for him to go home early, so the two of them had dinner together before Feng Mian accompanied Zhang Liang. It was not like he didn't have any work, but he brought it home.

"They're going well in their sales," Feng Mian commented when she saw the graph on Zhang Liang's laptop.

Zhang Liang nodded. "I'll let them flaunt and be happy for now. I'm not going to respond to their taunt because I haven't finished the project. As for the sales itself, it didn't really affect me."

Feng Mian had seen Zhang Liang's sales graph too. It was no longer increasing, but it was stable. It seemed as if he was stagnant and unable to break the limit that he had.

"Will there be any more collaboration with Beauty Design?" Feng Mian asked. The last collaboration went well to the point that many people were surprised. Their sales also created a record for the month.

Zhang Liang nodded. "We're going to make another design for next month. However, it's just creating new wrap and not new sweets yet. Do you want to be assigned to work on it again?"

"Yes!"

Feng Mian was eager to work together with Xiao Lin again. After her last collaboration with Xiao Lin, the two of them kept contact with each other. However, they barely talked lately because Xiao Lin was busy with the project that the company assigned her. Besides, she said that there might be some other collaborations that the company would do.

Zhang Liang nodded. "Alright. I'll give this work to you, but you need to make sure that you have enough rest."

"Hehe, okay."

"Don't be like a child."

"I do not."

Seeing Feng Mian's happy smile, he really thought of her as a little kid who couldn't hide her happiness. Even after training with Butler Lou, she still showed her real emotion most of the time when they were alone. Her mask was only present when she was dealing with other people.

Feng Mian sat on the couch near Zhang Liang and pointed to the graph beside the one he was viewing. "What about this one?"

"This is the graph from the previous month. I'm comparing it to see their growth and possibility to move again," Zhang Liang replied calmly. He looked at Feng Mian. "Are you interested in business?"

"No." Feng Mian furrowed her brows. She disliked when it came to talking about business because she couldn't really understand what they were talking about. The only math she liked was only when they were talking about scale and the size. After all, there were always the rules when drawing that involved making sure the scale was correct.

If the scale was wrong, it wouldn't look lifelike.

Zhang Liang chuckled. "Old Wei is already pestering me, asking when you're going to start making a set of paintings again. He had seen that your painting commission had started to reach 800 dollars."

Feng Mian nodded. The last commission she did was to paint a landscape. She stayed in the mansion and used the view at the higher floor to start painting. It turned out beautifully and her buyer was satisfied. In return, she got 800 something dollars.

"Are you still comparing your result with Tian Quan?"

"Ah, he had already reached 1000 dollars, right?" Feng Mian heard the news. As the young master of Tian Family, the reporters wouldn't let him off lightly from the news. They would try to pester him until they got what they wanted from him, which was the news that was related to his career and painting. His current achievement was already very astonishing.

After all, it was only a year since they graduated and began to enter the artist's world outside.

"Yes. Don't you want to achieve more?" Zhang Liang asked.

Feng Mian giggled. "I do, but I'm satisfied with my increase. Besides, I only do a few commissions each month since I also need rest."

After the busy month, Feng Mian decided to decrease the number of commissions she would do. The number of painting commissions was not many, but the advertis.e.m.e.nt board's request was still abundant. Many of them were only small scales but because of the difference in types of the products, Feng Mian also learned a lot from her work.

"I see."

Zhang Liang noticed that Feng Mian was close to him. Her figure was leaning to him as she scrutinized the graph. Even though she didn't understand anything, she was mostly curious about his work now.

"Mian'er."

"Yes?"

"Have you thought about your answer?"

Feng Mian looked up. The two of them tactfully had a silent agreement to not talk about the proposal he uttered on the ship anymore. They continued their interaction as if there was nothing different, but the attraction to each other grew clearer. It was hard for him to ignore her presence that at times, he had difficulties to sleep.

"Yes, I have been thinking about that," Feng Mian replied slowly. At first, she only accepted because of her mother's condition. However, she found out that she had been attracted to him during their interaction. But when he suddenly asked, she was at a loss because she was unsure whether she would want to stay with him forever or not.

But slowly, she had learned much more of his world. It was a vast world filled with both happiness and also danger. His position alone made him the target of many people who were jealous of him and wished to see him fall from his place.

"And?" Zhang Liang asked slowly. He kept his composure, yet his eyes were staring at Feng Mian nervously.

Feng Mian smiled. "I want to stay with you for the rest of my life and support you for the rest of your life."

Her words were said slowly, yet it was a clear declaration. Zhang Liang looked at his wife, who was smiling back at him. Her smile was so clear and beautiful. Her words made him feel as if he was the happiest man in the entire world.

It only took a while before Feng Mian started to feel breathless.

Ring! Ring!

Zhang Liang moved away from Feng Main unwillingly. He glared at the phone on the table as if he wished to murder someone. Who in the world interrupted him when he finally could….? However, he noticed that the phone belonged to Feng Mian, so he had to be more patient.

*cough*

"Let… me answer… my phone," Feng Mian tried to catch her breath. Her face flushed red as she picked up her phone. Her eyes read the name on the screen as her brows furrowed in confusion.

"Hello, Yu Yan?"

"Feng Mian…"

Hearing the hoarse tone, Feng Mian was alarmed. She sat straight as her ears were ready to catch her best friend's words. She knew that Yu Yan always paid close attention to how she dressed and speech. The possibility to have Yu Yan's voice this hoarse was only if she screamed or cried.

"Yu Yan, where are you? Are you alright?" Feng Mian asked quickly.

"Feng Mian, help me…" in the next second, Yu Yan broke into tears as she sobbed heavily. From the phone, the sound of the cars moving rapidly could be heard. Yu Yan must be on the road or somewhere there.

"Yu Yan, where are you?"

By this time Zhang Liang knew that it was serious. He ordered Butler Lou to prepare the car as soon as possible. When Feng Mian knew the location of her best friend, they would depart immediately.

Yu Yan sobbed. She looked at the street before her. "I'm in front of my apartment in City F. Can you come here?"

City F?

The distance between Zhang Liang's house and City F was very far, requiring at least three hours of journey. They would need to step on the gas if they wanted to arrive faster. Even then, it was hard to reach below 2 hours.

Feng Mian nodded, her eyes gleamed with resolution. "I'm going there. Yan'er, please wait in a safe place."

"Sob, yes…"

"We can depart now."

"Ok, Liang, step on the gas!"

"On it."

With that, the two of them headed to City F at the fastest speed possible. Even though Zhang Liang broke the speed limit, his guards took care of the matter with the law as quickly as possible while following him. They have to make sure that their boss' journey would not be interrupted.

In the meantime, Feng Mian kept the call connected. Even if it would end up to be so pricey, she didn't care in the slightest. She would feel more worried if she could not hear her friend's voice.