Lady

"Move out of the workshop; your large installation needs a larger studio."

The stairwell led all the way to the top, and Sheng Qijing's voice echoed in the empty and desolate space. Ju Hui used all her strength to push him away, wiped the coolness and heat from her lips with the back of her hand, and frowned at him.

He wasn't drunk tonight; he only felt the chill of the autumn wind.

"I don't need you to tell me." Ju Hui lowered her voice; she was more rational than him. "Also, whether Xu Siran deliberately approached me or not, what does that have to do with you?"

Sheng Qijing acted like a madman tonight. In his mouth, Xu Siran became a villain who used her, and he said that he only invited Ju Hui to the exhibition to make everyone think that the two of them were a couple. He is the rumored future boss of Mo Cun.

But she knew that Sheng Qijing had never met him.

"Are you scared?" Ju Hui glared at him, her hand on his shoulder. "You're not your childhood friend, why are you afraid of me, your fake girlfriend? Or are you so into acting that you're worried I'll be deceived emotionally... huh?"

Sheng Qijing sneered, immediately recognizing her cat-like fangs. He pinched her cheek with two fingers, revealing Ju Hui's despicable appearance in its entirety.

"Of course I'm worried about my childhood friend."

"ill."

Ju Hui frowned, and Sheng Qijing released her.

His body temperature returned to normal.

The two fell silent, reminiscing about the night they hadn't seen each other in who knows how long.

“Are you working on your paperwork or a side project right now? The school probably doesn’t have the space for you to build that large steel chair, right?” Sheng Qijing knew her progress better than Ju Hui. “After you finish the chair, shouldn’t you be wrapping up the experiments? These all require space and manpower. I can help you move it back to the loft.”

Ju Hui looked away: "As long as you don't harm me, everything will be fine."

Sheng Qijing lowered his arm that was blocking the exit, and instead grabbed her wrist, his hand moving so fast it was as if she would turn into a wisp of smoke and float upstairs if he let go.

She stood with her arms hanging down, and covered her mouth with her other hand as she yawned.

She was indeed looking for an off-campus studio. In the past few days, Ju Hui had been writing her application materials while exploring the entire Fourth and Fifth Ring Roads. There were many choices, but also very few. After considering the distance and the fact that metal welding work was permitted, only the large factory buildings on the outskirts of Songzhuang remained as the most suitable option.

The next second, Ju Hui's phone rang.

“I’ve given you Liuli’s WeChat. Don’t worry about Huiling firing you after the Yunque collaboration ends. Focus on the project.” Sheng Qijing released her wrist, his attitude softening, and he smiled. “If you can’t finish it by the end of the year, you can hand it over to her personally.”

The application period for signing artists with MoCun is different from the deadline for submitting portfolios to Khio. The former is at the end of December, which is more than a month later, while the latter is in February of next year.

Having spent so much time with him, Ju Hui had pretty much figured out his personality. Sheng Qijing was apologizing for his initial manic-depressive behavior when he first appeared.

It's easy for Ju Hui to make him happy again; all she has to do is say thank you.

But she didn't; she was incredibly sleepy at the moment.

The stairwell fell silent.

Sheng Qijing had nothing more to say. After hesitating for a moment, he walked out of the stairwell and saw her off to take the elevator back.

The two stood side by side, separated by a wall called "senior brother and sister." The bright light made them look like impeccably dressed white suits, and a restless heart pounded behind the wall.

Ju Hui heard it all clearly.

She took a deep breath: "Thank you for your help, but it's okay."

“Let’s end it here.” Ju Hui looked up, making sure the red number was decreasing rapidly. “I’ve been too busy lately. The new studio hasn’t been finalized yet, and the first human model will have to stay with my senior for a while.”

When the elevator arrived, Ju Hui went in, pressed the button for floor 8, and stood up straight obediently, like a Barbie doll that was about to be packed up and given away.

Be careful on your way back.

The elevator doors closed.

Click—

Ju Hui pushed open the door to her home.

"You're back." Yun Aonan's voice came from the living room, muffled as he chewed on an apple.

"I just saw Sheng Qijing downstairs." Ju Hui lowered her head to change her shoes, her eyelids almost too heavy to keep open from sleep. "He really did push Sister Liuli to me."

“I knew it. What did you say?” Yun Aonan turned around and handed her a piece of apple. Ju Hui took it with her mouth and said a long string of alien words.

Yun Aonan nodded, "Oh, and then?"

Then came another long string of alien language. Ju Hui pulled the person up and walked with her to the restroom.

The contact person sent by Sheng Qijing was Liu Li, a high-ranking executive at Mo Chen. Ju Hui, as the curatorial assistant, rarely had contact with her, but she had heard of this legendary woman from others. Young and brave, she had independently completed everything from dating and marriage to childbirth; Liu Li only loved herself.

Her WeChat profile picture was a selfie; her short hair was chic and cute. Late at night, Ju Hui couldn't resist tapping the contact's name again.

When a business card expands from the chat box, it shouldn't display a small interface and a large "Add to Contacts" message.

Instead, it was a few photos posted in messages and on WeChat Moments.

Ju Hui rolled over in bed, and the screen lit up briefly in the darkness. Ju Hui opened Liuli's Moments.

The most recent post was of her pregnant belly, stretch marks, and swollen wrists. Ju Hui stared at it quietly for a long time; she's been looking at it almost every night lately.

She was comparing herself to the second human body, and sure enough, her mother's vitality was something she couldn't match, even with a casual snapshot.

Her gaze shifted downwards, and Ju Hui's eyes settled on the red heart.

She liked the post on her WeChat Moments.

The cow and kitten avatar is ranked fourth, following "Sister Sheng Jiashu".

-

Last week, Ju Hui unexpectedly met Sheng Jiashu at Liangmaqiao.

That night, Ju Hui was hiding behind the bushes across the street from the club. The streetlights were dim, and she accidentally tripped over Sheng Jiashu, who was walking and texting.

Although Sheng Jiashu bumped into her and caused her to stumble and twist her ankle, fortunately, Ju Hui's camera still accurately captured the face of counselor Ma Wen and the license plate number of the car.

Ju Hui photographed him driving under the influence of alcohol!

Sheng Jiashu regained her footing and realized that it wasn't a stone pier that tripped her, but Ju Hui. And Ju Hui was still filming the artist she was supposed to sign with next year. At that moment, she truly didn't know whether to laugh or cry at her trip.

Under the lush nightlight, Ju Hui helped Sheng Jiashu take off her high heels, supporting her arm. Since she was the one who had caused the injury, Ju Hui felt guilty and, without saying a word, the video on her phone was tricked away by Sheng Jiashu's silver tongue.

“I’m the owner of this shop, of course I won’t allow you to take pictures of our customers without permission.” Sheng Jiashu, even with her shoes off, was taller than her and looked down at her. After saying that, she took her phone and limped away along the stone path.

“But he’s my counselor, I’m just recording my life…” Ju Hui bit her lip, glared at by the beautiful woman in front of her.

She knew it wouldn't be so easy to find fault with Ma Wen.

Teacher Ma Wen hadn't been to the school or called her for over half a month. Today, when she passed by Liangma Bridge, she asked the driver to stop and wait for her, hoping to try her luck. Unexpectedly, she bumped into him, drunk and with a flushed face, as soon as she arrived.

Ju Hui had imagined this night countless times; she also wanted him to experience what it felt like to be talked about.

Thinking this, Ju Hui's heart raced. Just as she captured Teacher Ma Wen's face, she was kicked, causing the camera to shake. She was so agitated that she almost cursed.

My seniors have said that studying sculpture can help people stabilize their emotions and prevent them from becoming impatient.

It seems she hasn't fully mastered this subject yet.

Ju Hui had calmed down. She held the strange woman's two patent leather high heels and waited silently for her to make a phone call using her own phone.

Will you call 120?

Ju Hui was afraid that this boss would treat her like this.

After a while, Sheng Jiashu came back, handed the phone back to her, and took a deep breath: "I just made a call to report drunk driving. There should be a cash reward for reporting drunk driving in Ruobei, right?"

"There's still money to be made! Thank you..."

"But!" Seeing her smile again, Sheng Jiashu withdrew her hand and warned her, "You can't spread this video anymore, okay?"

"But……"

Sheng Jiashu stared at her little face, which was all scrunched up in a grimace. Those two words already showed how much she hated him at school and how much she wanted to report him there. If she could go to the police station to take pictures of the scene, she would definitely be the first to volunteer!

After staring for two seconds, Sheng Jiashu couldn't help but break down and chuckled. But in the blink of an eye, she immediately looked up and resumed her aloof demeanor.

Ju Hui was somewhat bewildered.

To be honest, if it weren't for the fact that the person who took the photos was Ju Hui, and that girl was funny, she wouldn't have stopped to help Ma Wen deal with this mess.

“I know you want to report him at school, but you’ll definitely get retaliated against. Give me the video, and I’ll help you resolve this.” Sheng Jiashu handed the phone back to her and showed her her WeChat QR code.

The dense white and green lights were like the traffic lights she had turned on for Ju Hui. Ju Hui sent the name "Ju Hui" as a verification message, and Sheng Jiashu immediately accepted the verification and replied with her full name.

Sheng Jiashu.

Surname Sheng?

Ju Hui stared at her and sent the video as requested, thus officially launching the hastily formed whistleblower team.

Sheng Jiashu took her shoes back and gave Ju Hui a deep look. Ju Hui actually took them so obediently.

Sheng Jiashu raised her chin at her and asked, "Can you drive?"

Ju Hui shook her head, "I only got my driver's license, but I haven't driven much."

Sheng Jiashu pouted.

“But the driver knows how to drive. If it’s inconvenient for you to drive, we can give you a ride.” Ju Hui pointed behind her, and Sheng Jiashu turned around.

A burly man in a leather suit stood across the street.

He nodded to her.

Sheng Jiashu gave an awkward smile.

The other party seems quite hostile.

-

After an hour's drive, the moment Ju Hui finally saw Liu Li, everything became clear.

Liuli lives in the bustling Haidian District on the West Third Ring Road. The interior of the large, single-level apartment is simple, and there is also a wall of wine glasses in the house. Unlike the club, the majority of the items here are colorful glass products, which complement the night view of Ruobei.

Liuli walked up to her and said, "Actually, it's most beautiful around six or seven in the afternoon. When you wake up then, you can't tell if it's the next morning or dusk. The city lights are just coming on, and there's a patch of azure gold on the horizon."

"Blues time?"

"right."

This was the first time Ju Hui had been lost in thought at Liu Li's house.

The second time was when Liuli agreed to let her touch her pregnant belly.

Like gently touching the first beat of a new heart, the moment Ju Hui touched it, a heavy, powerful life force surged towards her. Liu Li winced in pain and complained that this child would definitely cause her a lot of trouble after it was born.

Ju Hui smiled and said she had a very happy night.

Liuli was the same; Sheng Jiashu said she brought an interesting girl to play with, and it turned out to be quite fun.

Ju Hui was curious about her whole body, and the pregnant belly photo on her WeChat Moments was taken by her.

-

Ju Hui exited her WeChat Moments, turned off her phone, and her eyes were clear. In the deep night, she seemed to see Sheng Qijing's sleeping face beside her on her pillow.

"So, Sheng Jiashu is your older sister, and you're the future boss of Mo Chen." Ju Hui closed her eyes, her voice hidden under the covers, "You really can't afford to offend her."

After a while, Ju Hui still couldn't fall asleep.

She looked at the person beside her, with thick, long eyelashes unlike a boy's, and healed ear piercings. Ju Hui pinched the edge of the pillow with two fingers, a calm yet unsettling undercurrent rising within her. The last look in Sheng Qijing's eyes before the elevator doors closed was vividly captured.

Ju Hui rolled away to avoid it, a chill running down her spine.

She flipped back over.

The scent of rebellion permeated the air.

Ju Hui sighed softly; he was sure he would get back at her.