As Teacher Meng listened to Hua Kai's description, the scene seemed to appear before her eyes. She smiled and said, "It sounds wonderful to me. I can't wait to renovate and move in."

Hua Kai said, "You are my first customers, and I will definitely make you satisfied. I will draw up detailed blueprints for the flower stand and rocking chair in this small garden, and the carpenter can make them according to them. I believe I can guarantee that you will be satisfied."

Teacher Meng nodded repeatedly and said, "Xiao Hua, then we'll have to trouble you with our family's affairs."

Hua Kai was surprised that the matter was basically settled before even the sketches were finished. What a great start! She said, "Don't worry, Teacher Meng. I'll help you choose the curtains and bedding for your house in the future if you trust them."

Teacher Meng smiled from ear to ear: "That's great! I'm not very good at matching outfits, so I'm relieved to have your help."

Hua Kai took out paper and pen and first drew a floor plan of the room: "I'll take some measurements first, then you tell me your needs, and I'll make a small sample for you tomorrow at noon. Once you've decided, I'll draw detailed drawings."

As she spoke, Hua Kai began her work, drawing up the floor plan and then taking measurements.

After everything was settled, Hua Kai began to ask the Cheng family about their habits and preferences, as these were related to the layout of the kitchen and bathroom, as well as their preferred style.

The couple prefers a simple European style. There are only four people in the family: themselves, their two children, and their elderly relatives who come to visit during holidays. They don't live here often, so this house can have more design space.

Hua Kai realized it was getting late, with only twenty minutes left before her first afternoon class, so she made an appointment with the couple to come at the same time tomorrow at noon to review the draft and finalize it.

She didn't mention money; this was her first deal, and reputation was very important.

After reaching an agreement, Hua Kai hurried back to school. She bought a loaf of bread at a small shop near the school gate and quickly entered the school, just as the preparatory bell was ringing.

Back in the classroom, I caught my breath and went straight to class without even having time to eat my bread.

After the first class, Hua Kai was indeed hungry and started munching on bread.

I had only taken two bites when a girl named Yang Meng from my class came over and sat down in the empty seat next to Hua Kai: "Hua Kai, didn't you eat lunch?"

Hua Kai wasn't familiar with Yang Meng, and she didn't know what the other person meant, so she didn't say much and simply nodded: "Mm."

Seeing that Hua Kai hadn't asked her anything or done what she expected, Yang Meng could only continue, "Your outfit is really pretty, even prettier than Zhou Xinrui's new one. Where did you buy it?"

Hua Kai felt something was off about what he was saying. You can ask me where I bought the clothes, but what do you mean by saying they look better than Zhou Xinrui's?

She said, "Mine can't compare to others'; I just bought fabric and had my neighbor's grandma make it for me."

Yang Meng's expression became even more conflicted as she listened to Hua Kai's words. She and Zhou Xinrui were classmates in middle school, and their circumstances were similar, so they had always competed with each other in middle school.

To her surprise, the two were in the same class in high school. She thought that having a cousin in the senior year would give her an edge over Zhou Xinrui, but Zhou Xinrui ended up living at school. This gave Zhou Xinrui an advantage from the start, and by winning over a few boarding students, Zhou Xinrui's influence was suppressed.

She went to great lengths to find out that Zhou Xinrui and Hua Kai were at odds, so she came up with a plan to team up with Hua Kai to isolate Zhou Xinrui.

But when Hua Kai heard Zhou Xinrui's name, she didn't seem to have much of a reaction. Could it be that her information was inaccurate?

She whispered to Huakai, "Huakai, you and Zhou Xinrui are in the same dorm, right? What do you think of her?"

Hua Kai looked at Yang Meng's expression and listened to her words, guessing a bit of what was going on. It seemed that this girl was not on Zhou Xinrui's side. However, this was a good thing for her. With someone opposing Zhou Xinrui and keeping each other in check, Zhou Xinrui wouldn't have as much time to torment her.

Of course, Huakai didn't want to waste time arguing with them about these useless things. As long as she studied hard and started her own business to make money, that was the key.

She said to Yang Meng, "My mind is all on my studies, so I haven't paid much attention to these things."

Yang Meng had more and more doubts in her mind, but she didn't know what else to ask.

At this moment, Wang Lingling came over and asked Hua Kai how many clothes hangers she had, because she was worried that she wouldn't have enough clothes hangers to hang when she did laundry that night.

When Yang Meng saw Wang Lingling arrive, she stopped talking, went to the desk in front of her to borrow the class monitor's jacket, and went back to her seat wearing it.

Hua Kai understood that Wang Lingling wasn't really borrowing clothes to hang up; she was just there to hear what Yang Meng had to say.

The more I try to avoid these messy things, the more they insist on getting involved with me; there's nothing I can do about it.

Fortunately, the break between classes was short, and class started again soon, but she still hadn't finished her bread.

There was a self-study period in the afternoon, and Hua Kai started drawing the renderings. Having her own desk made things much more convenient.

She spent her evening study sessions drawing. She wasn't stressed about her studies because she was good at science subjects and had a photographic memory for humanities subjects, so she didn't need to spend too much time on them. Besides, she didn't want to get too good grades yet; she just wanted to be average to avoid becoming the center of attention.

After evening self-study, Hua Kai followed Zhang Miao out. Just as they stepped out of the teaching building, they were stopped by a boy.

Hua Kai recognized the boy; he was the curly-haired guy from Gu Xiaoxue's office that day, so she blurted out, "It's you?"

The boy with naturally curly hair was delighted to see that Hua Kai remembered him: "You remember me? Thank you so much for that day. If you hadn't gone, I don't know how long I would have been scolded by Director Gu."

Hua Kai smiled and said, "It was just a coincidence, no need to be so polite."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!