Chapter 71

Before dawn, Jiang Lai was engrossed in sketching drafts when Li Yan quietly came to stand beside her. He studied the drawing for a long time, then tapped the paper lightly with his thin, bony finger.

“The lines here aren’t good enough. Erase them and draw them again.”

Jiang Lai followed the direction of his finger. It was a pair of twin lotus flowers; the lines were indeed a little uneven, and the whole thing looked off.

She bit her lip and didn’t dare argue. “Understood, Teacher.”

Jiang Lai picked up the eraser and carefully rubbed out the lotus tendrils.

The old man didn’t leave. He just kept watching her.

She picked up her pen, and the moment the nib touched the paper, her wrist was struck.

“Steady your hand. What are you shaking for?”

“Teacher, why did you hit me?”

Jiang Lai clutched her wrist and looked at the old man pitifully.

“If you have something on your mind, deal with it before you come to work. Don’t waste your time like this.”

The old man’s voice wasn’t loud, but it was like a pebble dropped into a calm pool, sending ripples through Jiang Lai’s heart.

“Teacher, I don’t.”

She was about to explain when the old man raised a hand to stop her.

He said nothing, only took the pen from the girl’s hand and set it aside.

“Do you still remember the first lesson I ever gave you? I said then that if your mind isn’t on design, no matter how good the draft looks, it will still be missing a certain charm.”

Jiang Lai pinched the edge of the blank paper and stayed silent. Her mind was full of what Cheng Shuyang had told her about Yu Tian going to see her.

Suddenly, she stood up and pushed the tools aside. “Teacher, I’ll head back first today.”

“So you’ve figured it out that quickly?”

“Mm.”

She carefully gathered up the mess of tools. Instead of sitting here fuming in confusion, it would be better to go back and think about what she should do.

“Lai, don’t fool your teacher. Are you dating someone?”

“Mm?! Who told you that?”

Her hand paused mid-motion as she packed her things, and she instinctively wanted to deny it.

“Lai, I’m your teacher. I may be old, but I’m not blind. I’ve never been wrong about reading people.”

“No, don’t talk nonsense. Who would want to be with me?”

As soon as Li Yan heard that, he was displeased. “Who says that? You’re my prized student. You have the figure, you have the looks. Whoever marries you must have burned incense to Buddha in a past life.”

While they were talking, Jiang Lai had already packed up all the tools scattered on the floor.

“Alright, Teacher. I’m usually shameless enough, but this is the first time I’ve heard you praise me like this; it really does make me feel quite good.”

“I’m speaking the truth.”

“But Teacher, I need to correct your wording. It’s not that I have to marry someone; why can’t I be the one to marry them?”

As she’d expected, after hearing her outrageous reversal, Li Yan stared at her, eyes wide, unable to react for a long time.

“Lai, don’t joke with me.”

“Teacher, I’m not.”

She patted Li Yan on the shoulder. “When I get the chance in the future, I’ll definitely introduce her to you.”

When she stepped out of Li Yan’s home, it was pitch-black outside. The sudden ring of her phone startled her.

It was a video call from the woman.

“Aunt Cheng!”

The moment she answered, the face she had been thinking about day and night appeared on her phone screen.

The woman naturally noticed the darkness on Jiang Lai’s side. The smile she had just raised faded a little, and worry was impossible to hide in her voice. “Why are you still outside so late? Go home quickly.”

“I just came out from Teacher’s place and I’ll be home right away. Don’t worry.”

Only then did the woman relax.

“You’re telling me that? Aren’t you the one who hasn’t rested this late either?”

Seeing the girl turn the tables on her, the smile in the woman’s eyes deepened. “I’m working.”

“Then this is work for me too; we’re just dividing the labor differently.”

“Alright, alright, I won’t say anything. Fine, I can’t outtalk you.”

“Aunt Cheng, I miss you so much!”

Jiang Lai pursed her lips and shamelessly started acting spoiled toward her.

“Be good. We’ll see each other very soon.”

The two of them talked for a long time, and only after Jiang Lai got home did they reluctantly hang up.

Right after Cheng Shuyang ended the call, Qin Li, who had been watching the fun, immediately leaned over to her. “Teacher Cheng, who were you talking to? Looks like you’ve got something going on!”

Cheng Shuyang was usually easygoing, and these juniors all liked being around her, even teasing her from time to time.

Hearing Qin Li say that, she gave her a half-annoyed glare. “You still have time to joke with me when you haven’t even memorized your lines. If you make a mistake later, I won’t help you.”

Qin Li’s smile froze; she wailed and went off to memorize her lines.

Cheng Shuyang sighed and shook her head helplessly.

“Teacher Cheng, have some water.”

A pair of hands suddenly appeared in her line of sight. She froze for a moment before reaching out to take it. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Yu Tian sat down beside her smoothly. “Just now... were you talking with Lai?”

Cheng Shuyang was twisting open the bottle cap. Her calm gaze landed on Yu Tian. “No. Just a very good friend I talk to often. Why, are you very curious?”

“No, no.”

Sensing the displeasure in her tone, Yu Tian hurriedly waved her hands to explain. “It’s just that I haven’t seen you this happy in a long time, so I was a little curious. Also, you seem different with Lai.”

“Teacher Cheng, we can start filming the next scene.”

The stagehand not far away called out Cheng Shuyang’s name, and the words she had wanted to say were forced back down.

Before filming, she couldn’t help glancing back at Yu Tian, who was carefully helping her straighten her costume. Could it be that Yu Tian had discovered something about her and Lai, or was it something else...

The huge question kept growing in her mind.

Forget it; maybe she was just overthinking it...

She turned around, but missed the determined glint that flashed through Yu Tian’s eyes.

After Cheng Shuyang left, Yu Tian stopped moving her hands and let her gaze fall on the woman’s phone nearby.

——————

Day by day, time passed, and Jiang Lai had reached the final sprint. She was practically at Li Yan’s house every day, as if she wanted to move in there.

Cheng Shuyang also knew how important this competition was to her, so she didn’t disturb her much.

Soon, the day of the competition arrived.

Because Jiang Lai was too excited, she had barely slept at all the night before. When she got up in the morning, she looked especially haggard.

It felt like something bad was about to happen; and the more she didn’t want something to happen, the more likely it seemed to be.

“Lai, long time no see.”

She looked at the man in front of her and barely managed a smile. “It really has been a long time. What are you here for?”

“Wanqiu said she wanted to come take a look, so I came with her.”

“Haha, that’s nice.”

Sensing the girl’s perfunctory tone, Qin Huaicheng took the initiative. “If you’re busy, you don’t have to stay here chatting with me. Go do your own thing.”

Jiang Lai couldn’t have asked for more. She immediately picked up the thread. “Alright, then I’ll go take care of something else first.”

“Hey, watch out—”

Before the man could finish, Jiang Lai bumped straight into a girl walking toward her, and the notebooks in both of their arms scattered all over the floor.

Jiang Lai knew that person too; she was one of this year’s competitors.

“I’m sorry, I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean it.”

Jiang Lai hurriedly helped the girl up, apologizing over and over.

The girl who had been bumped into waved it off, smiling as she helped smooth things over. “It’s fine; I just fell a little. It’s nothing serious.”

Jiang Lai’s face flushed red as she apologized a few more times, until even the other person started to feel awkward.

After this small interruption, Jiang Lai was just about to leave when the man called her again.

“Lai.”

“What now?”

She turned around and asked him politely.

Qin Huaicheng was startled stiff by her attitude, but he still kindly pointed to the back of her skirt. “Your skirt seems dirty.”

“Huh?”

Jiang Lai was a little dazed. She quickly looked down, and sure enough, she found a small dark-brown stain under the hem. It had probably been picked up when she collided with the other person and ended up on the floor.

She felt so embarrassed she wanted to find a crack in the floor to crawl into, and she hurriedly tried to wipe the stain away, but the more she rubbed, the more obvious it became.

Qin Huaicheng really couldn’t bear to watch anymore and stepped forward. “Do you want to go to the bathroom and deal with it? Otherwise, this may affect you.”

She looked down and could only hand the draft to the man with a resigned expression. She even specifically warned him, “No one is allowed to look at this draft. There are things in here that are very important to me.”

“I know. Don’t worry, just leave it to me.”

She still wasn’t at ease and kept fussing over him. “Don’t let anyone else look at it; not even passersby. Especially...”

She paused and didn’t continue. “In any case, be extremely careful. These are the design drafts I’ve been preparing for more than half a year; they’re really important.”

After repeatedly reminding the man a few more times, she finally went into the restroom, looking back over her shoulder three times on the way.

She happened to run into Lin Wanqiu coming out.

Jiang Lai stepped aside to let her pass first.

“Thank you.”

The man was standing by the restroom entrance. Lin Wanqiu walked over to his side. “Alright, let’s go in.”

“Wait a little longer. A... Jiang Lai’s skirt got dirty, so she went to the restroom to handle it. I’m helping her hold her things; when she comes out, we can leave.”

“What things? Can I take a look?”

Noticing the notebook in the man’s arms, she couldn’t help reaching for it, but Qin Huaicheng shifted sideways to avoid her. “This is Jiang Lai’s thing. We can’t look at it.”

Just then, Jiang Lai came out of the restroom, drying her hands, and happened to see this scene. Her face changed instantly. She strode over quickly. “Miss Lin, this is my thing; it’s not convenient for other people to look at it.”

Lin Wanqiu’s hand froze in midair, a flash of embarrassment crossing her face, before she smiled again. “I was just a little curious.”

Then she looked at Jiang Lai. “Since it’s yours, then I won’t look.”

Qin Huaicheng promptly smoothed things over. “This is Jiang Lai’s competition work; she’s been preparing it for a long time. It’s very important to her.”

Jiang Lai pressed her lips together and said nothing. She reached out and took the notebook from Qin Huaicheng’s hands; her fingertips were still slightly trembling when they touched the cover.

The unease she had barely managed to suppress in the restroom suddenly surged back up again. Lin Wanqiu’s gaze was too direct; it didn’t seem like simple curiosity at all.

“I thought so.”

Lin Wanqiu smiled and looked at the notebook a few more times. “This really does need to be handled carefully. After all, with design work, if something is too similar, the trouble gets big.”

Jiang Lai tucked the notebook behind her back and said flatly, “Thanks for your concern. Since there’s nothing else, I’ll go first.”

“Alright.”

The man nodded.

Jiang Lai turned and left with the notebook in her arms, walking a little faster than usual.

When she reached the corner, she subconsciously looked back. Lin Wanqiu was still standing where she’d been, talking to Qin Huaicheng about something.

That unease in her heart seemed to tighten around her even more.