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That kiss on New Year's Eve finally confirmed something. After Lu Kai and Zhao Jinghuan finished setting off the fireworks they brought, they walked back, shoulder to shoulder, then hand in hand, quietly letting go until they reached the bottom of the stairs. ……… Lu Kai's parents, usually quite discerning, suddenly lost their composure. They were clearly worried that with them gone, there would be no one to create opportunities for Lu Kai and Zhao Jinghuan to spend time together. So the next day, they dragged Zhao Jinghuan and Lu Kai shopping and to the temple, completely oblivious to their presence, hindering Lu Kai and Zhao Jinghuan's chance to strike while the iron was hot. Fortunately, secretly dating under the noses of others had its own unique charm—they would secretly exchange glances when Lu Kai's parents weren't looking, and they would hold hands in those rare, fleeting moments of solitude. Neither of them even realized that they didn't need to do this. At their age, openly admitting their relationship didn't violate school rules or any universal laws. Zhao Jinghuan stayed at Lu Kai's house for two days and two nights. Any longer would likely constitute a de facto marriage, so she declined Lu Kai's mother's attempts to keep him and returned to the dormitory. After Zhao Jinghuan left, Lu Kai's mother angrily berated him, accusing him of being a grown-up and not knowing how to seize opportunities. "Such a good girl, if you don't act honestly, what if someone else swindles her away?" Lu Kai was speechless and sulked for days. On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, after sending his parents off on the high-speed train, he finally regained his freedom and quickly asked Zhao Jinghuan out. Without their parents watching over them, the two of them felt a bit awkward and reserved, but this restraint didn't stop them from going shopping, going to the movies, getting coffee, or just sitting on the beach and just daydreaming. As night fell, their first official date was drawing to a close. Having been scolded by his mother for not being generous enough, Lu Kai mustered up the courage to ask Zhao Jinghuan a suggestive question downstairs: "Jinghuan, are you scared living alone at night?" Zhao Jinghuan replied, "No, I'm very brave." "Oh, then... okay." Zhao Jinghuan took the fruit and milk tea Lu Kai had bought her upstairs, removed her makeup, washed her face, and changed into pajamas. It wasn't until Lu Kai texted her that he had arrived home that Zhao Jinghuan suddenly realized what Lu Kai had meant by "Are you scared living alone?" She suddenly felt like punching herself. Their brief "honeymoon" ended with Ji Anya's return. Although Lu Kai had already made an appointment with Zhao Jinghuan after meeting her on New Year's Eve...

The kiss that happened on New Year's Eve finally confirmed something.

Lu Kai and Zhao Jinghuan set off all the fireworks they brought. On the way back, they walked shoulder to shoulder, then held hands, and didn't let go until they went downstairs.

…………

Lu Kai's parents, usually quite discerning, suddenly lost their composure. They were clearly worried that once they were gone, there would be no one to create opportunities for Lu Kai and Zhao Jinghuan to spend time together. So the next day, they dragged Zhao Jinghuan and Lu Kai shopping and to a temple, completely oblivious to the fact that their presence was actually preventing Lu Kai and Zhao Jinghuan from striking while the iron was hot.

Fortunately, secretly dating under the eyes of others also has its own unique charm - they would secretly look at each other when Lu Kai's parents were not noticing, and they would hold each other's hands in the rare and brief moments of being alone.

The two of them didn't even realize that they didn't need to do this. At their age, openly admitting their relationship did not violate school rules or regulations or the laws of the universe.

Zhao Jinghuan stayed at Lu Kai's house for two days and two nights. If she stayed any longer, it would likely be considered a de facto marriage, so she refused Lu Kai's mother's entreaties to stay and returned to the dormitory. After Zhao Jinghuan left, Lu Kai's mother angrily scolded Lu Kai, complaining that he was a grown man but didn't know how to seize opportunities.

"What a good girl! If you don't behave honestly, what will happen if someone else cheats you out of her?"

Lu Kai was speechless and sulked for several days. On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, after sending his parents on the high-speed train, he finally regained his freedom and quickly asked Zhao Jinghuan out.

Without their parents watching over them, the two of them were a bit awkward and reserved, but this didn't stop them from going shopping, going to the movies, buying coffee, or just sitting on the beach and just daydreaming. As night fell, and their first official date was about to end, Lu Kai, who had been scolded by his mother for not being generous enough, mustered up the courage to ask Zhao Jinghuan a suggestive question downstairs of her dormitory:

"Jinghuan, are you scared when you live alone at night?"

Zhao Jinghuan's answer was: "No, I'm very courageous."

"Oh, then... okay."

Zhao Jinghuan went upstairs with the fruit and milk tea that Lu Kai bought for her. She removed her makeup, washed her face, and changed into pajamas.

When Lu Kai sent her a text message telling her he had arrived home, Zhao Jinghuan suddenly realized what Lu Kai meant when he asked her downstairs, "Are you afraid of living alone?"

She suddenly wanted to punch herself.

Their brief "honeymoon period" ended with Ji Anya's return. Although Lu Kai reported to Ji Anya after receiving Zhao Jinghuan on New Year's Eve, Lu Kai still kept the subsequent development of the two from Ji Anya.

Neither he nor Zhao Jinghuan were ready to receive the blessings or "judgment" from their friends. They both decided to keep it secret for the time being.

The holiday quickly ended, and on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, Zhao Jinghuan returned to work. She had intended to discuss her resignation with Hu Mingyuan, but he hadn't shown up the entire morning. This wasn't necessarily a deliberate act of evasion. After all, while the holiday ended on the eighth day, most companies in China were similar. Before the Lantern Festival, no one was in the mood to work properly, and Mr. Hu was no exception.

After a drowsy morning, after lunch, the company's employees began leaving early en masse. Zhao Jinghuan was a little impatient and wanted to call Hu Mingyuan to discuss the matter, but her colleagues had already left. If she called the boss in at this time, she would be considered a "work scab."

"Then let's wait until after the Lantern Festival."

So Zhao Jinghuan also packed up and prepared to join the army of people leaving early. At this time, Lu Kai suddenly called and asked Zhao Jinghuan to come back to Waikiki.

"Tomato is going to perform."

Lu Kai did not give any further explanation, but Zhao Jinghuan could guess what it was.

Before Sister Zou left, Fanqie had always been thinking about asking Lu Kai, who had made money, to give him another chance to launch a new series of Dragon Palace Primary School Students. After Sister Zou left, he became even more obsessed. Sister Zou had clearly explained it to him that day, but he still insisted that as long as his Dragon Palace Primary School Students sold well, Sister Zou would definitely change her mind.

Zhao Jinghuan rode her electric bike back to Waikiki. Along the way, Tomato called her several times to urge her, which made Zhao Jinghuan a little stressed, as if she was back in the days of delivering takeout. Even though she hadn't exceeded the deadline, she was bombarded with calls from customers and the platform, urging her to speed up.

Zhao Jinghuan locked the electric bike and ran all the way to the sixth floor. When she knocked on the door and saw the portrait of Sister Zou on the door, she felt a little sad for a moment.

Lu Kai opened the door, and Zhao Jinghuan entered the room at Tomato's urging. Lu Kai and Wanfeng weren't talking about it, but Dorasi was also called in, which showed how seriously Tomato took the matter.

Zhao Jinghuan didn't think much about it. After entering the room, she sat on the sofa with Lu Kai, shoulder to shoulder, legs touching.

As soon as the two of them sat down, they found that Tomato, Evening Breeze, and Dorasi were looking at them with confused expressions.

Zhao Jinghuan was stunned for a moment and quickly stood up. She was quite quick-witted and said with a red face, "I was confused and thought you were Dorasi." Then she pulled over another chair and ran to sit next to Dorasi, with a lingering fear on her face.

Tomato didn't think much of it, clapped his hands for everyone to be quiet, and then said, "Little Freckles is a big hit, and our studio is finally on the right track. But just like Pop Mart not only has Laboobu, but also Molly and Dimoo, we can't just rely on Little Freckles. We still need to walk multiple paths, so..."

He turned on the TV and projected his computer screen. Zhao Jinghuan originally thought that Tomato had made a new series of designs for the students of Longgong Primary School. However, after the projection was successful, what appeared on the screen was not the rendering, but a PPT with red text on a white background.

——The first Dragon Palace Primary School Student Design Discussion Conference.

Everyone in the room was a little confused. Lu Kai waited for a while, but he didn't see Tomato turning the pages anymore, so he couldn't help but ask him, "Where's your design?"

Tomato pointed at the red words on the screen and said, "What picture? There's no picture. Today I just want to discuss a topic with you guys."

Lu Kai said, "I remember you told Sister Zou the other day that you had design drawings, but you just didn't show them to us... It's okay, don't be afraid of not doing it well. Show them to us, so we can know what design direction you prefer."

"Oh no." Tomato waved his hand, pretending to be generous. "I'm a very open-minded person. I can accept any design direction..."

Lu Kai frowned and looked at him for a moment. He thought of the quarrel between Sister Zou and Tomato at the party. "So what Sister Zou said is true? You really have nothing?"

Tomato didn't say anything. Lu Kai sighed, "That means we should discuss the theme together, and then you can do the design."

Tomato nodded, but quickly added, "But we're a team, so let's just work together. It's like me sharing the IP image of the Dragon Palace Elementary School students with everyone."

Only then did Lu Kai finally understand Tomato's thoughts: "Are you hoping that Wanfeng, or even Dorasi, will help you with the design, and then you can just sit back and reap the benefits?"

Tomato scratched the tip of his nose. "How can you say you're just sitting back and enjoying the fruits of others' labor? You didn't say anything when we were designing for Freckles together in the first few months. This is clearly the same model."

Lu Kai said: "Time was very tight at the time, and in the end, Dorasi completed it alone."

Tomato laughed and said that he was not as good as Dorasi, so he needed the help of the team. Lu Kai shook his head and said, "We can accompany you with the preliminary preparations and help you improve your work, but we can't do everything for you."

Lu Kai's tone was serious, which made Tomato a little unhappy:

"Why did you do everything for me? I designed the IP image. You're talking as if I didn't do anything. Didn't I do the first series of Dragon Palace Elementary School myself? Wasn't that a flop?"

Lu Kai said: "That was two years ago. These two years..."

Tomato suddenly became a little angry and embarrassed. "That's right! I haven't done anything in the past two years. I've become decadent! I've lost my ambition! All I do is take orders and modify dolls for others every day! Zou Wanyi has already said it once, and you're repeating it again!" He sat down angrily. "I have selfish motives, but I'm also doing this for the good of the company. I also hope that the company can have another leg to walk."

Lu Kai said: "To walk on two legs, you don't have to be a 'Dragon Palace Elementary School Student'."

Tomato was clearly unconvinced: "Besides the Dragon Palace students, what else do we have?"

Lu Kai turned his head to look at Wanfeng. Before he spoke, Zhao Jinghuan remembered that Lu Kai did say that one day he accidentally opened Wanfeng's computer and found that Wanfeng had also made a baby of his own, but had never shown it to anyone else.

Lu Kai said: "Wanfeng, do you have your own doll design?"

The room became quiet, and everyone's eyes suddenly focused on Wan Feng, but Wan Feng shook his head and said:

"I don't."

Author's Note

Yaunai

author

06-13

Thank you all for voting! It's fantastic to be on the shortlist! This phase is about to start with V-ing out, so if you like it, I hope you'll continue to support me! And don't forget to vote! The shortlist is based on a combination of sales and votes, so I hope I can make it into the top ten! After all, there are only two Editor's Choice spots in the finals, so not making the top ten is a real risk!