Lady

The snowflake that landed on Sheng Qijing's shoulder was the last one. As darkness approached, the sky cleared in the north.

The newly opened door was opened, and Ju Hui turned to look at Sheng Qijing, who had appeared with a "surprise." The loft was unusually quiet, as if the whistleblower had been choked.

She and Kan Yu stood face to face behind the glass wall, where the heating was on full blast. She hadn't had time to take off her cashmere coat, and Kan Yu was also wearing a down jacket. The three pairs of eyes looked at each other across the glass, each with their own thoughts.

Ju Hui whispered a few words to Kan Yu, who nodded, left the studio, and wanted to leave.

Sheng Qijing reached out to stop him.

"Did Mr. Kan just return to China? I saw the car outside is still on fire. Did Ju Hui just pick you up from the airport?"

“I just got back from the airport…” Kan Yu glanced at him, swallowing the rest of her sentence. “I’m not a curator yet, just call me Kan Yu.”

Sheng Qijing didn't catch the implication in his words, "Is everything going smoothly?"

Kan Yu squinted, turning to face him directly. "It was going quite smoothly until she came back from Shanghai and changed her mind. The modern exhibition had to be a success, or she'd put her new collection in too—"

Kan Yu.

Ju Hui called to him from the other end.

"I don't know what kind of curse you cast on her. Now that I've finished, I'm leaving."

Kan Yu pouted and bumped his shoulder hard against him.

The snow stopped today, the weather was overcast, and after Kan Yu left, the room fell into a deathly silence. The small window of the studio seemed to connect with the Norwegian scenery. The lights should have been turned on in the afternoon, but they flickered awkwardly twice, as if they had just started work.

Ju Hui was in low spirits and walked to the tool table without taking the initiative to speak.

Sheng Qijing spoke first, asking, "You just got back from Shanghai, what did you do there?"

Sheng Qijing and Ju Hui arrived at the loft one after the other. The password to open the door was sent to him by Kan Yu, which she had asked.

While Ju Hui was searching in the morning, Aunt Ye received a call from Sheng Qijing. His tone was unusually cold. He told her not to bother cooking and to let her go back to her hometown for the New Year early. He said he wouldn't be returning to Shanghai.

She went to Shanghai uninvited, but she felt like she had been tricked.

For a moment, she couldn't help but think that he was deliberately not replying because he knew she was there.

The jewelry cabinet drawers can be pulled open to the bottom, and the locks are decorative. Perfume, watches, and ties can be taken at will. Ju Hui tried to find a secret compartment at the bottom, but to no avail.

The only special thing is that the Tera co-branded scarf that Wang Kehui once gave her is also placed inside. The long black packaging box blends into the dark part of the cabinet, and the silver bow has already been removed.

She opened it, and inside was only a silk scarf.

Ju Hui snorted without saying a word and booked the nearest flight from Shanghai to Ruobei.

Unable to find an agreement and unable to confront him face-to-face, Ju Hui arranged to meet him here and talk things out. She leaned closer, trying to stare a hole into his face, and gave him a perfunctory smile.

"Nothing much, I just went to your home in Shanghai."

-

Piano music was playing in the car, its slow tempo matching Ju Hui's eyelids.

She turned her head towards the window, pretending to be hypnotized. The car had already passed the nearest park to 798. It turned out that Sheng Qijing's home in Ruobei was so far away.

Ju Hui turned her head slightly and stole a glance at Sheng Qijing.

She didn't expect Sheng Qijing to be happy after hearing that she had "trespassed." His eyes lit up, and he tried to hug her, pressing his large hands on her wound, which hurt so much that she wanted to hit him.

She then said the second half of her sentence, and Sheng Qijing released her, realizing that her arm was injured.

"Where is the original agreement? I couldn't find it at your house!"

Ju Hui went to his house to "steal confidential documents," for Tera, and for Bian Jiaping.

After a while, as if taking a detour, the car slowly drove into the underground parking lot of a residential area. Ju Hui, led by Sheng Qijing, stood in front of the door of an unfamiliar house.

“This house isn’t big, and we didn’t hire a housekeeper, so it might be a bit messy,” Sheng Qijing said with a smile. “We didn’t prepare anything either.”

After he finished speaking, he prompted Ju Hui to enter the password, which she knew.

"I understand that my arrival was sudden."

Ju Hui appeared confident, but inside she couldn't help feeling flustered. She could tell that Sheng Qijing was angry, but he had insisted on taking her home to look at the documents.

As soon as you enter, the heating is on full blast, the smart home lights turn on automatically, and the warm scent of cedar fills the air. Sheng Qijing takes out a pair of women's slippers from the shoe cabinet, the same style as his but a different color. Ju Hui bends down, but he stops her: "Isn't your arm inconvenient?"

Sheng Qijing said that looking at the documents was secondary. If she had told him earlier, he would not have kept it a secret. He brought her back mainly to take care of her.

What would you like to eat for dinner?

Sheng Qijing walked ahead, took a glass from the cabinet, filled it with warm water, placed it in front of the living room sofa, and turned back to say again, "Sit down."

Ju Hui didn't sit down, staring at the blue and pink Endless Summer in full bloom in the center of the monotonous gray, white and black living room. According to her shallow knowledge of flowers, it was not in bloom at the moment and had been forced to stay there.

Faced with the overwhelming bouquet of flowers, Ju Hui felt a little breathless. "Show me the agreement first."

"I'll show you after you finish eating. What do you want to eat?"

"Noodles? The scallion oil noodles kind, they're quick to make." Ju Hui sat down and then quickly stood up again, a little out of breath. "I'll make them."

Sheng Qijing was more than a head taller than Ju Hui, and the way he looked at the flowers seemed to be directed at her.

Sheng Qijing easily picked up the vase and took it away without turning around. "I'll do it. The smell of cooking oil is unpleasant. You can wander around by yourself."

Ju Hui unexpectedly gained the qualification to inspect. There was a commotion in the kitchen, so she went straight into the study, which was the only place that matched his description of it as "a bit messy".

The study has floor-to-ceiling bookshelves on three walls, crammed with books and folders. On the desk are three large stacks of documents, one side with ink and the other with brushstrokes, along with their shared high-net-worth client information.

It was rare for Sheng Qijing to complain to her; the intensity of her work was vividly demonstrated at that moment.

She searched for quite a while.

Ju Hui couldn't find a trace of the agreement in folders, drawer gaps, or even behind decorations. She peeked out from under the table and caught her breath when Sheng Qijing scooped her up from behind.

"How did you fall here?"

He pulled on her left arm, and Ju Hui winced in pain, but she didn't dare to cry out. She pushed him to let go, "No, it's just a hair that fell out. Don't get it dirty, okay?"

Sheng Qijing then released her and surprisingly asked, "Does it hurt?"

Ju Hui stepped back a little and steadied herself: "What do you think?"

"I didn't have time because of the emergency," Sheng Qijing said with a harmless smile. "Come and eat."

On the table were two bowls of glistening scallion oil noodles, and a dish of pickled radishes. The white radish slices were just the right size for a bite, garnished with small red chilies. It turned out that Sheng Qijing even knew how to pickle his own side dishes.

Ju Hui took a bite and found it wasn't spicy at all; contrary to its appearance, it was even cool, sour, and sweet.

Ju Hui felt awkward during the meal, as if she were touching the real Sheng Qijing in his secret base—the Sheng Qijing who would pickle radishes in the refrigerator and buy large bunches of hydrangeas.

But beneath this authentic version of himself lies a deep, rich blue.

Ju Hui took a sip of warm water and lowered her eyes. "I was right next to you when you called Auntie this morning. Why... why did you ask her to make lunch for two tomorrow?"

Sheng Qijing didn't speak, he just stared at her.

Ju Hui could see the complex emotions in his eyes, but she still clearly refused, "I'm not going to Shanghai."

“You have no family here, so you can spend the New Year with me. Sheng Jiashu and Sister Liuli are both there.”

Ju Hui wisely refuted the first half of the statement, saying, "The new series needs to be added to the production schedule, there's simply no time to release even a single step from Loft."

"Why add it?" Sheng Qijing asked, frowning. "Just because I asked Kan Yu to help you make connections, you think I'm admitting that the modern exhibition isn't selling well, and you're rushing to add a new work?"

Sheng Qijing stared at her for a long while before praising her, "You're quite hardworking."

Ju Hui couldn't help but curl the corners of her lips into a smile, but her inner worries quickly suppressed her emotions.

“We’re in the same boat. I’m not only doing this for your bet, but also for my domestic debut to be a success.”

Sheng Qijing nodded knowingly, "I won't let you stumble, so don't even think about betting your new series on the modern exhibition."

Ju Hui remained noncommittal, swallowed the last slice of white radish, and waved for him to hurry up and get the agreement; she had finished eating.

Sheng Qijing remained unmoved, his gaze calm. "Don't rush me. I need to find out why you wanted to look at that agreement. You were so convinced before and insisted on signing it. What's wrong with you now?"

Ju Hui tilted her head, "You don't want to show it to me anymore?"

"Let's get this straight: I've never proactively revealed the contents of the agreement or asked you to sign it to help me. I'm only giving you the documents because I'm being 'used,' 'coerced,' and 'demanded' by you, this poor wounded soldier."

Three arrows pierced straight into Ju Hui's heart.

Both of them saw it clearly: since Ju Hui signed with Tera, she has used all sorts of underhanded methods to achieve her goals.

But this is not her fault. It was Sheng Qijing who wanted Ju Hui to abandon Bian Jiaping. He was the one who took the initiative to put them on the opposite side of AB.

Sheng Qijing negotiated with her, "First, explain why you want to look at it. If you find no problems after looking at it, how will you compensate me?"

Their eyes met, and Ju Hui could already read the arrogance of a victor on his face, but at the same time, it could very well be the disguise of a loser.

He was trying to trick her into stopping.

Ju Hui frankly stated, "I want to confirm whether Wang Kehui is lying to me. His behavior is abnormal. This agreement may not exist, or even if the bet is successful, it may not allow you to obtain the ink texture."

Recalling Wang Kehui's unusual behavior again, Ju Hui became even more determined and continued, "If there are no problems, you can decide on the compensation, but if there is even the slightest discrepancy, I will definitely not let you off the hook."

"I'm in charge, so anything goes?"

Ju Hui nodded.

"Even if it means you have to leave Bian Jiaping, that would be acceptable?"

Ju Hui stared into his eyes and nodded again.

She was quite certain there was something wrong with the agreement, but this confidence did not bring her any sense of accomplishment.

She even felt a pang of regret, having sensed something was wrong early on; now she only hoped that everything could be salvaged.

Sheng Qijing stood up, while Ju Hui sat calmly on the sofa. After a few breaths, she gently placed the agreement, which had been discussed during her trip between two cities and even resulted in an arm injury, into her palm.

The agreement was only three pages long, entirely in English, and the final signature stamp proved it was the original.

From beginning to end, every line was perfect. Just as Ju Hui was beginning to believe that Wang Kehui was infatuated with Sheng Qijing, she turned to the last page and saw that the betting target was clearly written: Tera.

Wang Kehui did not lie to her; his words were written down, but he deliberately or unintentionally omitted this detail.

The document states that if Sheng Qijing (Party B) succeeds in the bet, Bailan will not only sell Mochen shares to Sheng Qijing at the base price, but will also transfer 20% of Tera shares and appoint a director.

This is truly wonderful news. Bailan's generosity, after all, is due to an internal family agreement, allowing Sheng Qijing to own the entire Mochen and the art center thousands of kilometers away with just a little effort.

He no longer needs to worry about the Schengen visa!

Ju Hui tried to laugh at herself, but couldn't.

So, Sheng Qijing is going to Paris?

Ju Hui stared at that thin piece of paper for an unknown amount of time.

"Ju Hui".

She looked up blankly.

Enveloped in darkness, she only dared to look at his lips, opening and closing.

"I'm flying to Paris tomorrow night and won't be back for a while... Would you like to come with me?"