Chapter 11

Handling a lovesick fool like that was easy. Yan Qingqiu played her part convincingly; no one would've guessed she was setting Luo Xi up.

Luo Xi was smug, flinging curses at her in that grating way of hers.

Yan Qingqiu got carried away, her fists clenching tighter and tighter.

Su Xingjie grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. "Alright, Qiu Bao, let's just ignore her. No fighting."

If not for Su Xingjie holding her back, Yan Qingqiu might have lunged forward and clawed Luo Xi's face off. Luo Xi deliberately tossed her card at the staff member beside her. "Go on, price that painting and stick my name on it."

The assistant glanced at Yan Qingqiu, then at Luo Xi, at a loss. She couldn't afford to offend either of them.

"Xiao Xue, go help Miss Luo with the painting. I'll handle things here." Song Qingre walked over, positioning herself between them, and rested a hand on Yan Qingqiu's shoulder. Yan Qingqiu instinctively tensed and leaned into her embrace. Just as she was about to embarrass herself further, she tilted her head and spat a warning at Luo Xi. "You just wait."

Luo Xi wasn't about to wait. She pointed at several paintings in one breath, buying them all. A million or so was nothing to her.

Song Qingre patted her shoulder. "Alright." With that, she wrapped an arm around Yan Qingqiu's shoulder, squeezing out Su Xingjie, who had been gripping Yan Qingqiu's wrist.

Song Qingre took Yan Qingqiu's hand and led her away.

Su Xingjie frowned from the side, feeling something was off.

With too many people watching, Yan Qingqiu's secretary and assistant stepped in to smooth things over. "There's nothing we can do. It's mainly because Qingre's paintings are so good that everyone loves them."

"Indeed, all the paintings in the exhibition are masterpieces. We didn't expect people to argue over them. That's really our fault."

The painting was definitely taken by Luo Xi. But how to handle the other person? Offending either of them wouldn't be wise.

Tsk.

Song Qingre being forced into a kiss wasn't a secret in their circle. It had hit the trending topics back then, even hotter than Yan Qingqiu smashing Fu Ye's head. But someone had bought out the story, so it only flashed briefly.

Yan Qingqiu was led to a sofa further inside. Song Qingre crouched slightly and said, "Alright, don't cry. Want me to show you some other paintings?"

Hearing her speak, Yan Qingqiu genuinely felt a little wronged. If she had the money to buy out the whole place, she wouldn't have to suffer this...

"No need. I'm not angry at all."

She was too deep in character, and tears fell.

Yan Qingqiu quickly covered up, saying, "I did it on purpose."

"Mm, you're smarter than her."

Song Qingre smiled slightly, bent down to grab a tissue, and handed it to her. Yan Qingqiu didn't take it, so Song Qingre lowered her head and wiped her tears for her.

Her tone and movements were both very gentle, making Yan Qingqiu's heart race like she'd downed several cups of coffee. It was a bit too sweet, and Song Qingre was too tender.

Yan Qingqiu felt she was done for; she was about to start getting lewd again.

"Which painting do you like? I'll give it to you, how about that?" Song Qingre said in a low voice. "Pick any one."

Yan Qingqiu's gaze drifted to a painting on the wall nearby, and her eyes lit up slightly. She said cleverly, "How about this: I take one of your paintings to offset that million, and we call it even."

"Huh? That won't do." Song Qingre shook her head. "Money is money, paintings are paintings. I'm giving you a painting as thanks, not to earn your money. We artists have principles. You're insulting me."

"I, how is this an insult? It's reciprocal courtesy." Yan Qingqiu stuttered under her words. "That way, we're settled and can get along peacefully."

"Oh, you give me a million and help me sell paintings, and then... hmm, no, could it be because I kissed you that day? You're doing charity?"

Song Qingre frowned and let out a heavy sigh. "Fine, since you've given so much, I'll give myself to you in return. Tonight, do whatever you want."

"..."

Yan Qingqiu pursed her lips, glanced at her sexy outfit for today, and swallowed. "No need. You should just pay back the money. Let's keep our relationship purely financial and physical."

After she said that, she heard a laugh.

Song Qingre curved her lips. "Alright then. Think about what gift you want, and you can tell me. Consider it my thanks." Her voice lowered. "I know you were helping me just now."

Yan Qingqiu wasn't stupid. Helping someone should have a reward.

She didn't refuse. It was like a mall sale with a free gift; why not take it? Who knows, it might even save her life someday.

She nodded. "You go busy yourself. I want some quiet time."

"Who's Quiet?" Song Qingre countered.

Yan Qingqiu didn't expect her to use that old joke. She found it cheesy and yet wanted to laugh.

Su Xingjie came over and saw Yan Qingqiu coaxed into a smile, her eyes sparkling. She heard fragments—something about body and soul?

Song Qingre looked up at Su Xingjie, who felt a chill run through her. She steeled herself and said, "We still need to buy paintings. Go do your thing. I've got her covered."

Song Qingre's assistant also arrived, saying some bosses were looking for her and wanted her to explain the paintings. Song Qingre stood up and said, "Alright, then please take care of Qiuqiu for me. If she needs anything, call me. Xiao Xue, go get two glasses of water."

After Song Qingre left, a staff member brought over juice—two glasses: one citrus sparkling water, one white tea. The staff member gave the citrus sparkling water to Yan Qingqiu.

Su Xingjie held an ordinary cup in her hand, eyeing the triangular glass cup in Yan Qingqiu's hand, complete with a glass straw.

"?" This was favoritism, right?

During the tour, Su Xingjie kept staring at the cup.

At the most prominent spot in the exhibition center hung two paintings without price tags. One was of falling snow—a vast expanse of white with a few sparse black dots. Looking at it, Yan Qingqiu had one thought: "Is this art? I could paint that too!"

The other painting she recognized—it was the one with the rose tree and plum tree.

She stared at it, lost in thought.

The staff member beside her took the initiative to introduce it: "This one was created by Miss Song during her university years. It's also her earliest work. She said it's the most memorable scene in her life. Later, it won three gold awards."

Yan Qingqiu asked for the price, but the staff member shook her head, saying it wasn't for sale and had no price.

During this time, they ran into Luo Xi, who bought four paintings in one breath right in front of them, striding with a swagger. Luo Xi was thrilled—buying paintings made her feel superior to Song Qingre. She tore into Yan Qingqiu again, leaving her unable to hold her head up. Luo Xi was victorious.

Yan Qingqiu clicked her tongue and shook her head inwardly.

Such a good girl, how could she be so lovesick?

They walked around a couple more times, and Yan Qingqiu used a calculator to tally the prices, figuring out how much money Song Qingre had made and whether she could repay her million. It seemed Song Qingre had earned about three million today.

One million to offset the debt, one million for Song Qingre's costs, one million in profit—that should be enough, right? But what if her studio needed money to operate...

Sigh, not enough.

As she was calculating, the time grew late. The two went to the makeup room. Su Xingjie held up lipstick, sizing up Yan Qingqiu, and said softly, "Babe, Song Qingre's acting a bit weird toward you."

Yan Qingqiu denied it. "No, she's not."

Yan Qingqiu hadn't brought a bag today. In the real world, she rarely wore makeup because her salary was meager; a lipstick or two for work was enough.

Su Xingjie found an unopened lipstick for her. Yan Qingqiu caught sight of a soft measuring tape in her bag and said, "Let me borrow that."

"You want to measure your bust?" Su Xingjie had made clothes for her many times before and knew her measurements well. "I know your size perfectly. I, aren't I..." She said in shock, "God, you've had a second growth spurt? It's suddenly so big now, almost as big as mine."

Yan Qingqiu got nervous hearing that. She looked down at Su Xingjie's numbers to see how "almost" she was being.

She was too embarrassed to say that today, whenever she touched Song Qingre, her chest felt swollen and especially sensitive.

It was actually two centimeters bigger than before. God...

Just then, the door opened.

Song Qingre stood at the entrance, squinting at the two of them.

Yan Qingqiu immediately averted her gaze and straightened up.

Song Qingre looked at them, curved her lips, and said nothing. She just took a lipstick, applied it to her lips, and after touching up, looked at them with an even more complex expression. Then she nodded at Yan Qingqiu.

After she left, Su Xingjie whispered to Yan Qingqiu, "Was she mocking you for having small boobs? Or was she saying, 'You dare to fool around? You're dead meat'?"

Yan Qingqiu was shocked: Sis, is it that obvious?

Su Xingjie read her expression again and said, "It's pretty obvious. She used to look past us without a second glance, treating us like air. But now she not only glances sideways, she looks at your chest first and only looks at my face. That's some favoritism."

"What if your chest is small?"

Su Xingjie looked at herself and said, "Babe, have you forgotten? I'm an omega. We're naturally bigger than you alphas."

"Since you're so knowledgeable, I won't hide it from you."

"You and Song Qingre are going to bury the hatchet?" Su Xingjie still remembered when she'd forced a kiss on Song Qingre and felt it was more than that. "It can't be that you've taken a shine to each other, right?"

"...No, why are you so bold with your words?" Yan Qingqiu pulled this know-it-all over. She naturally couldn't reveal her saintly behavior—that would destroy her persona. So she trotted out her villainess routine. "Of course I'm going to destroy Song Qingre, make her completely under my control, so she can never escape my grasp. I'll toy with her ruthlessly."

"That's too cruel of you." Su Xingjie warned sincerely, "If you ever fall into her hands one day, she'll beat you to death."

"Don't say such unlucky things." Yan Qingqiu rolled up the measuring tape and handed it to her. Su Xingjie opened the door, paused mid-step, then turned her head to look at Yan Qingqiu.

Yan Qingqiu frowned and walked forward two steps, only to see Song Qingre. She scraped the sole of her shoe on the ground, agilely leaning against the doorframe, steadying herself before her body could go limp.

Song Qingre hadn't left after coming out. She glanced at Yan Qingqiu, the corner of her mouth lifting with an unreadable smile. "Having fun?"

What did that mean?

Yan Qingqiu's breathing instantly grew strained. Her mind raced, and she said candidly, "Yeah, I had fun. I don't have any other hobbies. I just like big chests."

After saying that, Yan Qingqiu was practically thrilled.

Song Qingre was an alpha, so she definitely wasn't as big as an omega. Then she could just say, "Song Qingre, you're not my type. Let's cancel the contract," and the problem would be solved, right?

The exhibition lasted three days total, ending at dusk today.

Yan Qingqiu walked straight out of the exhibition. She didn't see her car, so she frowned and called the butler. He answered quickly, saying, "Miss Song said you wanted her to drive you back. She also said that if she didn't take you home today, you'd make it difficult for her."

It was her tone of voice.

But she hadn't said that. Butler, you're way too unprofessional!

As she listened, Song Qingre walked over. She looked tired after a busy day, holding her car keys in her hand. "Mm, I told Dong Shu. Let's head back together. We can go over the contract details on the way."

Su Xingjie was quite shocked. She knew Song Qingre was living at Yan Qingqiu's place, but she hadn't expected it to be two weeks already. Sensing something off, she said, "You should come stay at my place instead?"

Yan Qingqiu was about to nod.

Song Qingre got in the car. The headlights came on, and the window rolled down to reveal half her face. She said, "You know, I received several transfers today. Could I use the money to offset some contract terms? I don't want to be toyed with by you..."

"Alright." Yan Qingqiu bit down on it. "Xingjie, I need to talk some things over with her."

Yan Qingqiu opened the car door, bent down to fasten her seatbelt, and was about to say something else when Song Qingre drove off directly.

The two of them just had to finish the contract.

But her gut told her Song Qingre was angry.

Angry about what she'd said earlier about liking big chests?

It couldn't be...

The car accelerated suddenly, then slowed down. Outside, the sky gradually darkened.

Song Qingre said, "The exhibition was busy, so I haven't had a chance to thank you yet. Thanks for your trouble today."

There was a deep weariness beneath her gentle tone. "I know about Luo Xi, and Fu Ye knows too. But Fu Ye wants to make sure I can't sell my paintings so he can control me later."

The male lead was really disgusting. As the female lead, she had it tough too.

The car stopped midway.

Yan Qingqiu was just admiring the scenery when she turned to look at Song Qingre. Song Qingre had her hands on the wheel, her fingertips tapping lightly on it.

"What's wrong? Why did you stop?"

She heard Song Qingre let out a sigh.

"Ah, I'd thought you liked paintings, so I wanted to give you some. I didn't expect you to like that instead. My mistake—I should have thought of it. Your libido is so strong and perverted, I can't match you."

"?"

Yan Qingqiu was utterly confused, but as the fog cleared, realization dawned, and she felt a sense of impending doom.

Song Qingre pulled open the car's glove compartment, and several measuring tapes tumbled out.

"Sigh."

Yan Qingqiu's body trembled. She only retreated, shaking off the measuring tapes. "You, you're an artist. Can't you have some integrity?"

"Art isn't ashamed of the surface, but of the heart."

Yan Qingqiu blinked.

Wow, she didn't get it. "What does that mean?"

"Even though my body is toyed with by you, my heart is pure."

"I... no." Yan Qingqiu was even more dizzy. She pointed at the contract on the center console. "Didn't you say you'd repay the money? How did you drag the reward into this?"

"That's right. We can't mix repaying the debt with rewards." Song Qingre said.

Those words were problematic, but before Yan Qingqiu could ponder them, Song Qingre interrupted.

"Qiuqiu, the mood is set now." Song Qingre squinted, looking her over from head to toe, her fingers rubbing the steering wheel. Her gaze settled on Yan Qingqiu's face, and she said seriously, "Are you impotent?"