Lady

"Ugh, so annoying."

Yun Aonan called early in the morning, complaining on the other end of the line: "Someone reported me. My brother knows I came to Shanghai and wants me to go back to do social practice!"

"...Who said that? Cough cough."

Ju Hui choked on her own saliva.

"Who knows, I'm working for my dream boss. HR sent me a graduation email this morning, and the boss told me to go back to Ruobei today."

"So, are you coming back?"

"No, I will absolutely not go back."

"Hmm... Ao Nan, I think I know who reported you." Ju Hui brushed a stray strand of hair aside. "Are you and Pei Yao just pretending to be a couple?"

Silence, a long silence. Ju Hui heard nothing and asked suspiciously.

Yun Aonan laughed heartily: "How did you know? Actually, it's not that I didn't want to tell you, it's just that I felt it wasn't necessary since it was ending so soon..."

Yun Aonan immediately softened his tone and explained. Ju Hui listened quietly and then said easily, "I heard it from Senior Pei Yao yesterday, and I understand. But when he asked me where you were because he couldn't contact you, I just told him."

The day after she got drunk, Ju Hui bumped into Pei Yao at the studio; he had very dark circles under his eyes.

Yun Aonan understood. In fact, Ju Hui didn't need to worry. Although Pei Yao was a clever villain, he didn't have the connections to contact her brother.

Yun Aonan knew perfectly well that this was Sheng Qijing interfering, but what had she done to offend him?

Did you give Ju Hui the key to his studio?

Why didn't he drive Ju Hui away?

Ah, men.

"Ha, men."

During his visit, he glanced meaningfully at Sheng Qijing.

The gallery's theme for this week's exhibition is medieval desolation, with a serious and retro tone. The two stood next to foreign clients, with Sheng Qijing looking indifferent. He only asked him to open his mouth and help introduce Ju Hui as the curatorial assistant for this charity exhibition.

"Don't overthink it. If she doesn't do social practice, she'll be in trouble. Also, don't encourage her to do that experiment."

"Why?" You asked curiously. "Without encouragement, there's no motivation."

“There’s only motivation if it’s feasible,” Sheng Qijing said, nodding and smiling as he met the client’s gaze. “If the experiment can’t be done, let her face reality sooner rather than later.”

That day, Ju Hui received You Zhong's work invitation just before her counselor called. When she answered, Ju Hui was meeting him at the gallery. You Zhong asked her to answer the call so he could help Ju Hui retort.

"What kind of teacher is this? He speaks in riddles. Luckily, Mo Chen is famous, so he couldn't even fart when he heard him."

Ju Hui thanked him, but You Zhong didn't stand on ceremony and waved his hand, asking her if she had any questions about the gallery and the charity exhibition at the end of the month.

"Hmm... Will I be able to learn anything that will help my experiments as an assistant?" Ju Hui's eyes were clear. "If so, then it's no problem."

“An experiment…” You Zhong chuckled awkwardly, “You’re quite persistent.”

So You Zhong told Sheng Qijing: Ju Hui is determined. She'd rather be expelled from school than not do experiments. Being an assistant is a waste of time for her, so she won't do it. She's opinionated and serious. You should try to discourage her.

Sheng Qijing: [Send me Ju Hui's WeChat.]

Youzhong: [What are you doing? Let the girl do what she wants, mind your own business.]

You Zhong refused to give it to him, showing a strong sense of protectiveness. In the end, it was only after Sheng Qijing explained that he was out of town and needed to give Ju Hui some instructions about the studio that You Zhong finally handed over the business card.

"Qi Jing, what are you busy with?"

The client's daughter glanced at his phone.

Sheng Qijing reacted calmly, gently tucking his wrist inward as he looked at her. The car window behind her was tightly closed, and the Hong Kong wind wasn't as cool as it had been that night.

Ding Youyuan was a year older than Ju Hui. She was gentle and delicate, a true daughter of a banker. Sheng Qijing knew that the key to this trip to Hong Kong was to win over this girl.

"Nothing, just finalizing the list of exhibits for the charity exhibition at the end of the month." Sheng Qijing turned the screen towards her again, where Ju Hui's cute black and white cow cat avatar was raising its little hand, and Ding Youyuan was staring at it in a daze.

He pressed "Add to Contacts" with his fingertip and locked the screen. He looked up at Ding Youyuan and said, "It's not decided yet, I'm having a bit of a headache."

He was truly arrogant and presumptuous. Ding Youyuan was taken aback by him and immediately promised that her father would finalize the loan of paintings that very night, and not just one.

Sheng Qijing smiled and thanked him.

The Sheng family used to be powerful and now they are wealthy. Even if Sheng Qijing didn't come to Hong Kong, he could still acquire famous paintings. His trip was at his father's instruction to establish a close relationship with this Hong Kong tycoon.

Even a business marriage would be best, as it would benefit his family's business.

Mo Chen was not the main business; the Sheng family's main business was importing wine. His father, Sheng Zhen, believed that the gallery was just a pretty door lock for the Sheng family, and like Sheng Qijing, it wasn't of much use.

What's useful are the artworks behind the locks; behind them are hidden powerful and politically influential families from all walks of life, those who value their property and privacy the most.

Mo Cun is a collection safekeeping facility and a market indicator. The gallery has signed a special contract with Fung Ka Insurance. If the insured works do not reach the expected appreciation rate within two years, the difference will be compensated by the insurance company.

With such a well-known insurance company backing it, it's no exaggeration to say that ink-wash paintings never depreciate in value.

Who is the owner of Mo Cun (墨皴)? Which artworks does he have frequent contact with? These seemingly minor details are like a small turning point in the stock market, attracting everyone's attention.

His father's expectations for him were simple: keep a low profile before graduation, manage the Mo Cun studio well after graduation, and let his sister handle the rest.

Maintaining proper conduct and dignity was not difficult for Sheng Qijing, who had grown up under the wing of the powerful, but it was still very unpleasant.

Next year, in his fifth year of university, he plans to apply for graduate school and escape abroad for two years.

"Your phone is lit up again, you should reply to the message first." Ding Youyuan also maintained her composure and did not continue the conversation.

Ju Hui quickly accepted the request, first greeting her with an emoji, and then sending two messages.

Ju Hui: [Thank you, senior, for introducing me to new friends that night.]

Ju Hui: [There's also social practice. I know Professor You only took me on as a curatorial assistant because of you. I've learned a lot at Mo Chen recently, thank you.]

Sheng Qijing smiled, amused that she still knew how to be grateful. Compared to her prince, it was indeed Sheng Qijing, this fairy godmother, who could solve her immediate problem.

The trend is downward, and there are two more new pieces of news.

Ju Hui: [Senior, will you still come to the studio in the future?]

Ju Hui: [Senior Pei Yao asked me to call Yun Aonan to come to the studio as well.]

There was no reply from Sheng Qijing for a long time, so Ju Hui put down her phone and continued to select works for the exhibition on her computer.

Ju Hui was assigned to conduct an initial screening of charity exhibits by non-resident artists. She hovered her mouse over this B-level candidate exhibit in the database.

Quite coincidentally, the exhibit "The Painter" is a work by sculptor Zhuang Hong, one of Ju Hui's experimental references, and is highly relevant to her; she had always wanted to see it in person.

Ju Hui barely thought, left-clicked to type, deleted, typed the uppercase letter A, and finished.

The rest, Mo Chen is certainly capable of handling...

“The sculpture ‘Painter’ fits the theme of disability very well, but this artist likes to withdraw from exhibitions and makes too many demands, so we don’t consider it,” said curator Gray Bell.

At the other corner of the long table at the exhibition seminar, Ju Hui looked up upon hearing this.

You Zhong took a deep breath and raised his hand to voice his objection: "Isn't he an artist we've collaborated with several times? This event is important; it wouldn't be right not to invite him."

"That's precisely why we didn't invite him—because the event is important." Graybell stared at him coldly. "If something unexpected happens, will you replace him with your work?"

You Zhong scoffed, and "The Painter" was relegated to the C-level cold palace.

After the meeting ended, Ju Hui left with her laptop notes.

Her body suddenly felt heavy and empty. You Zhong called her from behind, and Ju Hui turned around.

"It's alright. Have you learned anything as an assistant?"

Ju Hui nodded: "I learned a lot, thank you for letting me stay, Teacher You."

"That's good. Thank you for learning so quickly, otherwise we wouldn't have bothered to teach you."

Ju Hui didn't catch his joke, and made a self-deprecating remark, saying she needed to learn faster.

During the tour, she made me laugh. "I think you want 'The Painter' to be exhibited, right? Go talk to Greybell again."

“She knows you were the one who upgraded the level to A,” You Zhong said. “Tell her you want to personally connect with Professor Zhuang Hong and can guarantee that there will always be works of similar quality on the exhibition booth, so that ‘The Painter’ can be exhibited…”

Ju Hui looked at You Zhong's dancing eyebrows, and it sounded reasonable.

Ju Hui went to find Hui Ling and chatted at the gallery for a long time. She didn't have time to go back to her studio, so she quickly packed up and prepared to leave by swiping her shared bike. 798 is very close to her student's home, less than two kilometers away, and she rarely takes the subway since coming here.

Ding! A new message came in just as I was scanning the bike's QR code.

Sheng Qijing: [He's going to Shanghai to see Yun Aonan tomorrow; I'm going back tomorrow.]

Ju Hui: [Okay.]

Ju Hui: [The gallery is closed tomorrow, so I can ask you for advice when you get back.]

Before she could finish typing, a tourist behind her asked if she still wanted to ride the bike. Ju Hui said yes, then switched off WeChat and left.

Sheng Qijing watched as the message "The other party is typing" appeared and disappeared, his lips tightening.

The dinner party was boring from the start. The bankers didn't think much of Sheng Qijing's socializing, and he was too lazy to participate. He casually found a seat facing Victoria Harbour, bought a plane ticket back to Ruobei, and replied to Ju Hui on WeChat.

He bought Pei Yao a plane ticket to Shanghai, departing tomorrow, and arranged for Yun Aonan's social practice. He also wanted the two of them to have a good talk about their relationship.

Pei Yao's decision to leave this place is simply a nuisance to him.

The next afternoon, Ju Hui appeared through the back door of the studio.

Upon entering, they met Pei Yaosheng and Qi Jing in the living room on the first floor, and the three greeted each other through the glass.

"Why are you so late today?" Pei Yao said loudly to Ju Hui with a smile, as the glass provided some soundproofing.

Sheng Qijing's ears rang loudly beside him.

Researching, writing, staying up late.

Ju Hui didn't speak, but used facial expressions and gestures to vividly describe her mental journey last night—she was exhausted!

She rarely smiles; her expression is always the same, as plain and unremarkable as the Ruomei cultural shirt she wears. Sometimes, she should add some color to the plaster cast, like she is now, to truly resemble a nineteen-year-old.

"OK, feel free to ask me any questions."

Pei Yao also gestured to her, and Ju Hui on the other end actually had a question she wanted to ask. The silent sign language communication began...

Sheng Qijing opened the door: "Ju Hui, come out and let's talk."

"Is it okay?" Ju Hui asked Pei Yao.

Pei Yao smiled: "It's just in the living room on the first floor, it doesn't matter."

Pei Yao probably added a back door for them because of their strong sense of territory; Ju Hui walked in and only stood near the entrance.

The familiar scent of gardenias wafted in once again, and the bright, milky-white home furnishings made the owner seem approachable, but they also made Pei Yao look even darker.

Sheng Qijing pulled Pei Yao aside and said to Ju Hui, "Pei Yao has to catch a plane to Shanghai soon, so ask her whatever you want to know."

Ju Hui said okay, then turned to Pei Yao and asked, "Do I have the right to look at the previous contracts of the creator of 'The Painter'? Also, are there any resources that can be exchanged for Mo Cun in the future, such as an interview or something?"

With Hui Ling's consent, Ju Hui asked her to first draft an actionable plan and report it to her. Only after Ju Hui approved it could she go and talk to the artist.

Pei Yao was a curatorial assistant in another group. Although he had never worked with this artist before, he had extensive curatorial experience and taught her a lot.

“Let’s ask Greybell for a new contract. If we want to add clauses, we’ll have to talk to…” Pei Yaozhen started chatting, while Sheng Qijing listened to a topic he had never heard before and remained silent.

“If you have any other questions, ask him.” Pei Yao gestured to Ju Hui and then to Sheng Qijing. “He’s also helping Mo Chen, so he knows more than I do.”

"Oh, okay." Ju Hui looked at Sheng Qijing, but he turned his head away.

After their conversation, Sheng Qijing helped him pack his luggage. Pei Yao was certain that he would most likely stay in Shanghai with Yun Aonan, so he also transferred his work as a curatorial assistant to Mo Chen in Shanghai. He moved most of the things he had left at the loft.

Ju Hui was somewhat surprised by the two large suitcases: "Then, what about the unfinished skeletal remains?"

“That’s not mine, it’s his,” Pei Yao said casually.

Sheng Qijing's?

Ju Hui subconsciously looked back and saw the dusty, cracked clay sculptures behind the glass wall, a 1.5-meter-tall human figure, and a large figure in the center. The works on both walls were completely consistent in style and were all made by the same person.

Therefore, there is not a single work by Pei Yao there.

Ju Hui opened her mouth: "This studio belongs to Senior Sheng Qijing?"