He wrapped the red ribbon around Lu Ai's neck, gently tying a knot, but then suddenly tightening it as if to strangle her. Lu Ai's hands clenched into fists, but remained on his knees.
Just as Lu Ai was starting to roll her eyes, Lu Qianli suddenly loosened the ribbon and deftly tied it into a bow.
"Ai, I've thought of a name for the next piece: how about 'Suffocation'?"
Having just regained her breathing, but not daring to breathe loudly, Lu Ai nodded almost imperceptibly, which earned her the other party's satisfaction as they left.
Lu Qianli left, and everyone in the house began their daily work in an orderly fashion. Lu Ai, barefoot, slowly returned to her studio with slow steps.
Sitting down at her easel, she would spend several days creating a painting that would satisfy Lu Qianli.
Yuan Ke abandoned her, so now all she has left is Lu Qianli. Even though he hasn't treated her well, at least she's alive, isn't she? As long as her hand isn't crippled, Lu Qianli won't really kill her… But is that really true?
With a hint of madness, Lu Ai placed one hand over the red ribbon around her neck, and in her drawing, the outline of a blonde girl being strangled slowly emerged.
In the red rose garden, a blonde girl lay dead, her face contorted in agony. She wore a pristine white dress, now covered in fallen red rose petals, and a clear, purplish ligature mark was visible on her neck.
The underground auction house run by the Lu family was once again in an uproar today, with countless people vying to bid on the painting titled "Suffocation" and elevate it to a divine status.
This was Sheng Ke's first time here with her father. When she saw the painting, her expression was different from the fervor of those around her. In that instant, her face turned deathly pale.
Even though the blonde girl in the painting had a grotesque face, Sheng Ke still recognized her. It was the first birthday gift she gave Yuan Ai—a blonde doll in a white dress.
Sheng Ke didn't pay attention to the astronomical price the painting ultimately fetched. Her mind was in complete disarray, and she even drifted off into a daze repeatedly at the banquet later, in front of the "friends" introduced to her by her father.
"Coco, what's wrong with you tonight?" Sheng's father asked her curiously. Sheng Ke shook her head and said, "Dad, I feel a little dizzy from being cooped up, and I want to go out for some fresh air."
Mr. Sheng naturally agreed, but Sheng Ke did not expect that she would see Lu Qianli sitting in a wheelchair as soon as she stepped out of the banquet hall.
"Miss Sheng." The other person spoke with a gentle expression, but Sheng Ke already knew it was just an act.
Forcing herself to calm down, she feigned composure and asked, "Mr. Lu, is there anything I can help you with?"
"Ah, I just came to ask if Miss Sheng liked that painting from earlier?"
As expected... this person knew.
Sheng Ke suppressed his emotions that were about to collapse: "I don't know much about paintings, and I hope Mr. Lu will forgive me for not having the eye to appreciate them."
Lu Qianli looked at her with a half-smile and dropped a bombshell: "Ai's paintings have always been my pride. It's a pity that even though I've given her many lessons, she still occasionally disobeys. So every time, I give her appropriate punishment as the price for her disobedience. That painting just now was a creation that Ai completed with her true feelings. Miss Sheng may not know? Ai looks even more beautiful when she's suffocating than in the painting."
Sheng Ke swayed noticeably. Lu Qianli had already been pushed away by the butler, leaving Sheng Ke standing there alone, looking rather forlorn.
Lu Qianli's words echoed in her mind, and she was overwhelmed by regret and self-blame. Lu Ai's plea for help was discovered, and Lu Qianli almost strangled her to death.
Back at the Sheng family home, Sheng Ke locked herself in her room. Looking at the mirror on the dressing table, she recalled the painting she'd seen earlier that day. Her hand slowly moved to her pale neck, but the slightest pressure made her immediately release it. And Lu Ai? Sheng Ke wondered. How terrified Lu Ai must have been then…
"Dad," Lu Ai called out. The butler released his grip and stepped aside, and Lu Ai took over pushing the wheelchair.
"Hmm." Lu Qianli responded lightly, gesturing for her to push him back to his room. Lu Ai paused for a moment, then continued walking as usual. In truth, she had never seen Lu Qianli's room in all these years.
Upon opening the door, all that greeted him was complete darkness. The curtains in Lu Qianli's room were drawn, and there was no light in the room.
"Open the left drawer." Lu Qianli pointed to a cabinet, and Lu Ai obediently stepped forward and pulled open the drawer, inside which was an old paintbrush.
Lu Ai took it out and handed it to Lu Qianli, but the other party did not take it: "This is yours."
Lu Ai looked at him, then at the pen in her hand, and heard Lu Qianli say, "My last painting was completed with this."
Lu Ai gripped the pen, understood what the other person meant, and suddenly knelt on the ground.
Lu Qianli was in a really good mood today, and seeing Lu Ai like this made him even happier. His voice was like a demon's: "Ai, create one last painting for me, and then die? I've already thought of a name for the painting, it will be called 'Death'."
Lu Ai's body trembled, and the hand holding the pen loosened, causing the paintbrush to roll under Lu Qianli's wheelchair.
The other person's expression immediately changed. He shouted for the butler and, ignoring Lu Ai's struggles, watched as the butler slammed the other person's head against the wall until it was covered in blood.
"Thud!" Lu Ai was thrown to the ground, her face covered in blood.
She curled up in a ball, and after a long time, she stopped breathing.
Lu Qianli exhaled and said coolly, "Throw it away." The butler bowed and then changed his mind: "Have someone transport the body to the Sheng family so that Miss Sheng can see it."
The story abruptly ended there, and Ye Chu's mood plummeted. She couldn't quite describe the feeling; she just felt a tightness in her chest and gradually found it hard to breathe.
It took her a long time to calm down before she closed the script. Now she might be able to understand a little why the script was titled "Shadow."
The shadow refers not only to the shadow in the painting, but also to Yuan Ai, who lived behind Yuan Ke as a child and had no presence; Lu Ai, who lived under Lu Qianli's violent methods as an adult; the cruelty of Sheng Ke choosing to abandon Lu Ai; the sordid dealings behind the glamorous lives of celebrities and nobles; and Lu Ai's tragic and dark ending.
"Finished reading?" Gu Yu knocked on the door and entered the study, bringing in a cup of hot cocoa. "Any ideas?"
"Hmm." Ye Chu took the hot cocoa and asked curiously, "But it says that Yuan Ke and Yuan Ai look alike. Will the director prefer twins?" Although twin artists are rare, they are not uncommon in the industry.
"You can rely on makeup for that." Gu Yu chuckled and patted her head. "Want to go to the audition together?"
Ye Chu nodded, "Okay, okay." Then she realized, "You're auditioning for...?"
“Lu Qianli,” Gu Yu continued her words.
Ye Chu's gaze towards him instantly became complicated. She wondered whether passing the audition would be a good thing, or failing it. If she passed, she would be subjected to "domestic violence," but if she failed... well, she definitely had to pass!
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