Chapter 5

Fatima's apartment in the city was bought after she returned from studying abroad.

She went abroad at the age of seventeen and returned to China at the age of twenty-two. By this time, Yusuf was an adult, and it always felt awkward to return to her old home.

 So her father, Samir, paid for her to buy a large flat in Fangyuan.

The nearly 300-square-meter city-view house is for her to live alone, which is worthy of her status as the eldest daughter of the Mohammadi family.

The security factor at the door was high, and Fatima originally thought she needed to explain it to the staff, but she didn't expect Ali's car to drive straight in.

 The sign clearly says: Owner's vehicle.

Fatima is not surprised. In Donghai City, where land is at a premium, and Fangyuan is the most luxurious community, Ali is afraid that he will have more than one apartment.

It is said that Ali owns more than one of the four villas on Beier Road that are so expensive.

 The vehicle was parked downstairs.

Fatima got out of the car with her handbag, her back straight, her eyes light and she waved, "Thank you Ali."

Ali nodded slightly, raised his eyes and glanced at the tall buildings that were all darkened, "Which floor is it?"

 "twenty two."

 He nodded as if confirming something, "Go to bed early."

 After that, he drove away.

 Fatima waited until the car disappeared at the end of the road before going upstairs.

 It was almost three o'clock when we got home.

 On the contrary, I couldn't sleep.

I simply opened a bottle of wine, opened the curtains, and outside the 180-degree floor-to-ceiling window, the city's night view was brightly lit.

 Sit cross-legged in front of the computer and open your email.

Tariq is indeed a night owl, and the revised manuscript was sent to her mailbox just ten minutes ago.

After Fatima returned to China, she became the manager of a so-called art museum, and her job was to decorate the Mohammadi family's appearance.

In fact, he used the pen name "Muna" and worked on manuscript translation.

Several influential domestic literary novels in recent years were written by her.

After looking at the crimson manuscript marked by Tariq, Fatima's head hurt and she called him.

 Sure enough, there was a beep and he was picked up.

 Didn't sleep.

 "Why, you're still up so late?"

 Tariq's voice was somewhat hoarse.

He has the habit of smoking while reading manuscripts. One pack a night is the most basic.

Fatima teased him before, saying that one day when he dies, his heart and lungs will be black.

"I just came back because I had something to do, and now I see your annotations. Chief Editor of Tariq, you might as well read it yourself and correct it for me. It's enough for you to publish a book by yourself."

Fatima slid the mouse down and looked at each annotation. He had to admit that he was still a little behind Tariq in choosing words and sentences.

When he discovered me and entered this field, it was mainly due to her sensitivity and delicacy in writing, and also because she had studied abroad for many years and her language was authentic.

But after all, I am not from a major, so short manuscripts are fine. Once the number of words exceeds 300,000, there will be a problem of insufficient vocabulary.

But since last year, all Tariq has thrown at her are large books.

 Wonderful is wonderful, but tired is also really tiring.

The book she is currently translating has a total of 480,000 words and took her half a year to complete.

When I submitted my manuscript to Tariq last week, I thought I could take a short break, but I didn't expect that this workaholic would finish the review in less than a week.

 The first innovator in the publishing industry.

The other party chuckled lightly, and you could hear the fatigue in his tone, "I just commented on some of my own opinions. You should change it according to your own writing style, don't be influenced by me."

 "If you can't sleep, come out for a drink?"

Fatima put her phone on the table and turned it on. When she heard what he said, she raised her glass and clinked her phone.

 There was a crisp "ding" sound.

 "I'm tired and don't want to move."

"What you said, I don't know if you thought you did some bed exercises."

 Fatima suddenly became speechless.

 He is indeed a man, a man like Neptune.

Tariq is handsome, completely different from Ali, handsome in a gentle and elegant way.

Wearing gold-rimmed glasses and a black shirt, she stands on the podium of a university and gives a lecture. There is no lack of heart-warming girls.

Fatima doesn't know how many girlfriends he has, but her impression is that she only heard from others that the editor-in-chief of Tariq has a ruthless vision and never has a window of opportunity.

 But Fatima is not interested in other people's gossip.

His personal life does not affect his professional ability. He spends more time in love and saves himself from pressing manuscripts every day.

 Fatima holds her chin while correcting the manuscript.

The call on the phone was still ongoing, but the two of them were busy with their own affairs. Occasionally when they encountered something controversial, it was convenient for Fatima to ask him directly.

 This is the usual pattern of interaction between two people.

Tariq thought he was drinking in front of the window, and his voice when he answered was a bit leisurely and empty.

It was just word for word, so calm and appropriate that Fatima's eyelids became a little heavy when she heard it, and she finally stopped tapping the keyboard with her fingers.

 "When will I turn in the final draft?"

 "Don't worry, the book number hasn't come down yet, just give it a try."

"Okay, then I want to take a rest recently." Fatima turned off the phone and drank the last sip of wine in the glass.

 "I heard that Chuan Glaze will have an exhibition in the next two days. I want to go and see it."

"You can go directly to Macey for such trivial matters. If it's okay, I'll go to bed. Bye."

 After that, he hung up the phone directly.

Having just taken a shower at Ali's place, Fatima turned off the light and buried herself directly into the pillow.

She suffered from neurasthenia and had difficulty falling asleep. She used to follow a psychiatrist to create some fancy bedtime rituals.

It was aromatherapy and white noise, but in the end I found that nothing was as good as a pure black environment and a pillow with excellent wrapping properties.

But now, probably because the hair has not been completely dried, it is tainted with the faint smell of snow rime on Ali's car, which is unexpectedly hypnotic.

A moment before Fatima fell asleep, she was still thinking about whether Ali could give her the formula of this perfume because of their intimate relationship.

Fatima slept deeply, and when she woke up, it was almost noon.

The missed call from Yusuf is still flashing on the phone, and I don't know how many times I have called it.

With sleepy eyes, Fatima answered the phone and opened the curtains, letting the sun instantly fill the room.

 Yusuf's voice came from the receiver.

"Sister, did you stay up late again last night? If you don't answer the phone, I will rush to your house."

 "Let's get down to business."

 "Dad wants you to go home for dinner tonight."

Fatima took a bottle of ice water from the refrigerator and took a sip, finally feeling more awake.

 "What day is today?"

"It's just a family meal, but if I reveal a little bit, I might have to rush the marriage again."

 Fatima didn't need Yusuf to tell her this, but she also guessed it.

 It's just those things every time I go home.

The Mohammadi family has been affected by the epidemic in recent years. Although the hotel they built in the early years is enough to support it, the huge operating costs and the hotel layout that has begun to fall behind have caused the Mohammadi family to lose money again and again.

Samir had been thinking about transitioning since years ago, and his decision naturally focused on his daughter.

 If you want to turn around such a big thing, someone must inject capital.

Fatima is top-notch in the industry in terms of appearance, education, and reputation, and many people have spoken to her about her.

It's just that Fatima has no interest in dealing with this kind of blind date, so Samir doesn't dare to push her too hard, so he just mentions it every time, trying to make her compromise in this way.

Fatima responded sadly, "Let's talk about it, I'm a little tired recently."

"Sister, let me tell you one more thing. He found out about your departure with Ali yesterday."

Come on, Samir's plan to hit Ali is really wishful thinking.

Fatima didn't say anything more, but she was thinking about walking around Samir recently and must not meet him.

After hanging up Yusuf's phone, Layla's WeChat message popped up.

The social beasts squeezed by the capitalists really don't need to sleep. The earliest one clearly showed five o'clock in the morning.

Layla (don't disturb me if you work overtime): [Ali is really interested in that piece of land in North City. Jamal specially wanted to invite him to an auction this afternoon for this reason]

Layla (don't disturb me if you work overtime): [The news that you followed Ali last night was widely spread. It would be inappropriate if the female companion he brought with him this afternoon was not you]

Layla (don't disturb me if you work overtime): [There is a painting in the auction, which is very suitable for passing on glaze]

 Fatima cut off the chat interface and left.

 There is neither Ali's phone number nor WeChat.

 Fatima: [He didn't contact me]

 Layla's call came in instantly, "Does he have other female companions?"

 "have no idea."

 "Then you are still doing that with him!"

"When I was talking to him, he said he was single." Fatima said helplessly.

"Forget it, Fatima, you are just looking for sex, be careful that the real lady catches you."

 "Okay, then you have to help me fight when the time comes."

Having said that, Fatima still subconsciously felt that Ali was not such a person.

 It's not that he has such a moral standard, but it's just not necessary for him.

 Such a proud man disdains this kind of double-crossing method.

But Fatima still added to Layla, "If he really brings a female companion, please tell me."

Single men and women still have the freedom to do whatever they want, but it would be pointless to involve other people.

 Chuan Glaze Art Museum has been busy preparing for a new artist exhibition recently.

Although Fatima has the name of a manager, she is not an art student. All her artistic achievements come from various exhibitions she occasionally visited after going abroad.

 Very shallow.

 Therefore, the management of the entire art museum was handed over to Mariam.

Mariam's English name is macey. She has been studying abroad since she was a child. Although she majored in finance like Fatima, she also took art history as an elective. From amateur to enthusiastic, she finally gave up her original academic qualifications and re-majored in art.

Later, I heard that the Mohammadi family was going to open an art gallery for Fatima, so I decisively abandoned my free life abroad and came back to take over the entire operation of Chuan Glaze.

 Macey is smart and flexible, making the Chuan Glaze operation flourish.

 Art museums that are not for profit are always highly respected.

This exhibition was proposed by Mariam to Fatima some time ago.

The Academy of Fine Arts has graduated many talented students in recent years. Due to lack of funds, many of them have been forced by reality and have invested in large factories to produce content like an assembly line.

 Therefore macey wants to give these young people with ideas a platform.

Fatima nodded in agreement and transferred 5 million from her account and asked her to figure it out. If it was not enough, she would have to find a way by herself.

Who knew that macey got sponsorship from somewhere? Fatima didn't use any of the money, but the show was launched with great fanfare, and it was launched before it even started to be announced.

 The emotional theme of "cocoon and shell" has attracted many young people.

It is said that online reservations are full, and the exhibition originally scheduled for half a month has been postponed to a month, and it is even expected to cover the entire summer.

I don't blame Tariq for wanting to see the solo exhibition and even telling her to go through the back door.

Fatima was immersed in submitting a manuscript some time ago. She didn't go out much for more than half a month. She looked at the weather outside and it was not too hot, so she planned to go to the museum to take a look.

 She was driving a Mercedes-Benz G500 that Yusuf bought for her before.

In his words, after all, the iron sheet is thick. Even if there is an accident, someone else's car will be destroyed and people will be killed, and his losses will be smaller.

 I have driven the Fatima only a few times, and I didn't feel much of it before.

Yusuf is usually a small and cramped sports car, but once you sit in it for a long time, it feels very spacious and comfortable.

 But after driving it this time, I suddenly felt that it was much worse than Ali's Cullinan.

 Man is really a hypocritical animal.

For the first time, Fatima began to think that she must have a way out. She started to hate poverty and love wealth in the car. It would be really sad and pitiful if she found out that she had other delusions that day.