An opportunity is emerging
Seeing his flustered and helpless appearance, Qi Xu put away her joking expression and softened her tone: "I was just joking with you, don't take it to heart."
Upon hearing this, his tense body instantly relaxed, and the panic on his face subsided considerably.
Before the two could exchange another few words, Qi Xu's phone buzzed again; a new delivery order had arrived.
She quickly stuffed the takeout food into his palm, hopped on her electric scooter, and sped away without even saying goodbye.
Hao Nan carried the still-warm takeout, his gaze following the direction Qi Xu had left in, until the figure completely disappeared at the intersection before turning around and slowly walking back to school.
On the other side, Qi rushed to the store to pick up the food as quickly as possible, and then hurried to the delivery address.
Only after delivering this order can she squeeze out some time to rest and eat.
In the end, she bought a vegetarian rice bowl at the convenience store and squatted under a big tree by the roadside to wolf it down.
She ate too much and was too hasty, and a grain of rice got stuck in her throat. She quickly unscrewed the mineral water bottle and gulped it down, and it took her a while to get it out.
This kind of food delivery work went on for several weeks at a time.
In the past few weeks, she has been complained about by customers several times for working overtime, but these setbacks have not worn her down. On the contrary, they have made her even more determined.
"I refuse to believe it! I can't keep getting complaints about speed." Qi Xu wiped the sweat from his forehead and rode his bike toward his new destination.
The midday sun was scorching, and her back was already soaked with sweat. Beads of sweat rolled down her cheeks and splashed onto the handlebars, creating small water stains.
Meanwhile, Meng Jia was in her own studio, frowning as she looked at her drawing paper.
The corner of the studio was piled with sketches, but none of them satisfied her. She wanted to paint works like Qi Xu's, but no matter how she imitated them, she could only draw the surface outline and could not grasp the soul of the painting. In the end, even the flavor of the painting changed, becoming dry and devoid of any spirit.
The painting had been completely altered by her. Frustrated and impatient, she threw her paintbrush on the ground and slumped into a chair, sulking.
Just then, Nina, the mother, pushed open the door and immediately saw the pile of scrap paper on the floor. Her face darkened instantly: "What are you doing now? You chose your major yourself, and now you're going back on your word?"
"No... I just feel like, why can't I create any good works?" Meng Jia's voice carried a hint of resentment and grievance.
Qi Nina bent down to pick up a wad of scrap paper from the ground, unfolded it, and her eyes lit up instantly: "This is a much better improvement than your previous drawings. It's much more inspired."
"That's not enough!" Meng Jia remained slumped in her chair, sulking, and retorted, "You haven't seen anything better, that's why you think my painting is alright. If you put it next to Qi Xu's paintings, you'll know the difference between a genius and a mediocre one!"
"Seven Xu?" Qi Nina was taken aback for a moment, then revealed a gossipy auntie smile and leaned close to Meng Jia, "Is this the boy you took a liking to at school? Tell Mom quickly, how did you two meet?" Meng's mother couldn't hide her curiosity at all.
"Mom!" Meng Jia was both angry and anxious, her voice rising slightly. "I only wanted to get close to Hao Nan because I admired his painting skills! Besides, Qi Xu is a girl! Furthermore, Hao Nan's paintings are nowhere near Qi Xu's level!"
"Huh? How come Hao Nan has appeared again?" Qi Nina was completely confused. "Tell me slowly, Mom is listening."
"Well... Qi Xu and Hao Nan are master and apprentice, and their relationship might not be ordinary..." Meng Jia was interrupted by Qi Nina before she could finish speaking.
"Mom gets it! You're jealous!" Qi Nina clapped her hands, her smile widening, and offered her a suggestion, "How about this, you kidnap that boy named Hao Nan, and Mom will cover for you!"
"No! I don't like him! I'm so annoyed by him!" Meng Jia stamped her feet anxiously and emphasized again, "I'm talking about painting skills! Painting skills! Qi Xu's painting skills!"
"Okay, okay, Mom understands, Mom understands." Qi Nina looked at her daughter's flushed face and already knew what was going on. This girl named Qi Xu was definitely not simple. She must have something special to make her proud daughter care so much.
Just then, the housekeeper brought in a plate of cut fruit. Qi Nina took the fruit and told the housekeeper to leave first. Then she forked a piece of strawberry and held it to Meng Jia's lips: "Here, have some fruit first, calm down."
Although Meng Jia was still sulking, she still opened her mouth and took a bite of the strawberry.
"How is it? Sweet, right?" Qi Nina asked with a smile.
"It's alright," Meng Jia said stubbornly.
Qi Nina placed the fruit plate on the table next to her, said nothing more, turned around and walked out of the studio, and sat on the sofa in the living room to ponder.
A moment later, she picked up her phone and called her husband.
The call was quickly answered, and a man's voice came from the other end: "Wife? What happened?"
"Can you help me find someone named Qi Xu? She's a girl. Our daughter seems to admire her a lot, saying she's an exceptionally good painter."
“Okay, I got it.” The husband paused, then added, “If she’s really as amazing as Jiajia says, we’ll poach her from our company. She can even tutor Jiajia.”
Before hanging up the phone, Qi Nina specifically asked for Qi Xu's contact information.
After that, she put her phone on the table, picked up a book next to her, and flipped through it while waiting for a message.
About half an hour later, my phone rang. It was the investigation results from my husband.
"Qi Xu previously worked at Mingcheng Company and was exploited by the company."
Later, she gained many fans by busking on the street. Her fans protested on her behalf, flooding Mingcheng Company's account with messages, ultimately leading to her being fired. She now delivers food.
"By the way, she was recommended to the Central Academy of Fine Arts in high school, but she didn't go. Another representative work is a comic adapted from the work of writer Park Eun. The art style is indeed good, but it has one flaw: it's too perfect."
After listening to the call, Qi Nina hung up and went online to search for Qi Xu's comics.
The more I looked at her, the brighter her eyes became, and I couldn't help but smile. Her color matching and her grasp of beauty far exceeded the level of her peers.
"This is definitely a genius artist, born to make a living as a comic artist!" she couldn't help but exclaim.
However, she also noticed a small problem with Qi Xu: the paintings were too perfect, and each character was so vivid that it was hard to tell who the male and female leads were.
But this minor flaw did not affect her appreciation for Qi Xu at all; Qi Xu deserved the title of "genius girl".
At that moment, Qi Xu was delivering orders on his bicycle when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his stomach.
She gritted her teeth and searched for a public toilet by the roadside, her face flushed red and cold sweat dripping down her forehead.
She only breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the sign for the public restroom ahead. She quickly parked her car on the side of the road, grabbed some tissues, and rushed in, looking like she had seen a savior.
Meanwhile, the customer who ordered takeout was starving and lying on the bed clutching his stomach. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, he picked up his phone and filed a complaint against Qi Xu.
After a comfortable walk out of the restroom, just as he was about to ride his bike to deliver orders, a complaint notification popped up on his phone. Immediately afterward, his boss called.
"Qi Xu, you're fired."
Those few words struck Qi Xu like a stone. She squatted helplessly by the roadside, her eyes instantly reddening: "Why? I didn't do anything wrong, so why are you bullying me?"
Feeling wronged welled up, and tears welled up in her eyes, but she held them back, sniffling and wiping her reddened eyes with a tissue.
With nowhere to vent her resentment, she stood up, looked up at the sky, and shouted, "God! Are you trying to kill us all? Have you no conscience at all?!"
As soon as she finished speaking, a small purple butterfly flew from afar, gently brushed past her shoulder, and flew away. Just then, her phone rang again, displaying an unfamiliar number on the screen.
Qi Xu hesitated for a moment, but still accepted. What if it was an opportunity? She didn't speak first, waiting for the other person to speak.
"Excuse me, are you Ms. Qi Xu? I am Qi Nina, the person in charge of Fengyu Guihua Company."
Qi Xu didn't have much hope, but still answered seriously, "I am Qi Xu. May I ask what you need me for?"
"Our company really admires your art style and would like to invite you over for a chat. Would you have the time to grace us with your presence?"
"Great!" Qi Xu's voice rose immediately, her heart felt warm, and her previous grievances and disappointments vanished instantly. It turned out that her efforts were indeed seen by someone!
"Whenever it's convenient for you, you can come to the company to see me anytime."
After hanging up the phone, Qi Xu jumped up and down on the roadside several times with excitement, her mouth almost stretched to her ears.
She looked up at the sky again, and proudly raised her chin: "You have good taste! I was wrong just now, I apologize!"
Immediately afterwards, she eagerly opened WeChat and sent the good news to Hao Nan.
Under the shade of a tree not far away, Hao Nan watched her skipping and jumping, his eyes full of satisfaction.
He looked down at the message from Qi Xu on his phone and typed two words: "Congratulations."
He always knew that Qi Xu was having a hard time, and every time he thought of her delivering takeout under the scorching sun, drenched in sweat, he couldn't help but feel sorry for her.
So during this time, he had been secretly helping Qi Xu find a suitable company, until he accidentally discovered that Meng Jia was the eldest daughter of Fengyu Guihua Company, and only then did he slowly come up with a plan.
He had previously invited Meng Jia to the library and even ordered her favorite milk tea in advance.
Meng Jia arrived on time. Seeing the milk tea on the table, she raised an eyebrow and teased, "Oh, so generous today?"
She glanced around but didn't see the person she wanted to see. Then she asked, "Where's Qi Xu? Didn't you say I could see her?"
“I said you can see her, but I didn’t say she’s here right now,” Hao Nan said calmly. “Be patient, you’ll see her eventually.”
"Are you kidding me?" Meng Jia's temper flared up immediately.
"Let's get down to business now, and stop bringing up personal grudges." Hao Nan's tone was firm, but carried an unyielding seriousness.
Meng Jia took a deep breath, suppressed her anger, pulled out a chair and sat down: "Tell me, how can I see her?"
"You admire Qi Xu, want her to teach you to paint, and even idolize her a bit, right?" Hao Nan looked into her eyes and pointed it out directly.
"Nonsense!" Meng Jia turned her face away, but did not deny it.
"Then why don't you go find her yourself?" Hao Nan pressed, hitting the nail on the head.
"If I could find her, would I need to look for you?" Meng Jia's voice was weaker, tinged with helplessness.
"Actually... I don't know where she is either." Hao Nan's tone became heavy, and a hint of sadness appeared on his face, as if he was truly worried about not being able to find Qi Xu.
Meng Jia was stunned for a moment, looking at Hao Nan's expression, which didn't seem to be feigned: "How could you not know? Aren't you her apprentice?"
Her tone was full of disbelief, and a hint of worry that she couldn't hide. Had something happened to her?
"She's too strong-willed," Hao Nan sighed, as if recalling something. "She said no company wanted her now, and there was no future following her, so she dumped all of us apprentices. The last time I told you those things, it was because I didn't want you to worry."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jia's mind went blank. She kept rebuking herself in her mind: Impossible, how could she abandon us? No, Qi Xu helped me so much before, it's my turn to help her this time!
Hao Nan secretly observed Meng Jia's expression and saw that her eyes were full of anxiety and protectiveness. He knew that his goal had been achieved.
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