A beautiful summer night

After Xie Qiyan's last visit, Xia Wanzhi enjoyed a few peaceful days, and her improved mood helped her recover quickly.

"Sister, we've already lowered the price a lot, so why don't we have a single customer?" Zhu Zi rested her chin on her hand, watching Xia Wanzhi staring blankly at the canvas, feeling extremely melancholy.

Xia Wanzhi seemed a little dejected, and sighed to the sky: "I don't know. If this continues, I will have no income and you will have no salary. We will both starve to death."

Bamboo was amused: "You have the young master of the Zhou family to take care of you."

"Didn't you say Zhou Yu was just for show?" Xia Wanzhi tidied up and came out of the studio, sat down opposite the bamboo, poured herself a cup of hot tea and sipped it slowly.

She told Zhou Yu that she had been very busy lately.

But in reality, she would sit in the studio with the bamboo for an entire day, so leisurely that she would doze off.

Bamboo choked, then chuckled awkwardly, "I was just joking."

Xia Wanzhi smiled but didn't reply.

She admitted that she was deliberately avoiding Zhou Yu.

He felt uncomfortable at the Zhou family home, uncomfortable in front of Zhou's parents, uncomfortable in front of Zhou Yu, and even more uncomfortable than when he saw Xie Qiyan.

She didn't know what the problem was, and she was too lazy to think about the issues between her and Zhou Yu, so she leisurely stayed in the studio for a few days and became a couch potato.

Importantly, Zhou Yu didn't come looking for her either.

"Sister, Zhou Yu is here." Zhu Zi reached out and tugged at Xia Wanzhi before standing up and tactfully slipping aside.

Xia Wanzhi raised her eyelids slightly, poured him a cup of tea, seemingly unsurprised that he had come back to find her, her emotions not fluctuating much, "Would you like some tea?"

Although they are called tea, they are actually health-preserving teas for conditioning the body.

Although everyone can drink it, Zhou Yu has never liked drinking these.

"You spoke to your cousin privately, didn't you?" Zhou Yu sat down, his expression showing displeasure.

Xia Wanzhi was slightly taken aback, thinking she had misread it.

He rarely did this to himself before.

"I've found a suitable studio address for you, a store near the Zhou family's. It's in a great location, on the first floor, which will make it easy to attract new clients." Zhou Yu smelled the faint aroma of herbal tea, but ultimately didn't touch the cup of tea that Xia Wanzhi had poured for him.

Xia Wanzhi shook her head and smiled, "We'll see. I might not be unable to win Xie Qiyan over."

"Didn't I tell you not to have too much contact with Xie Qiyan!" Zhou Yu spoke quickly, sounding somewhat exasperated. "Zhizhi, Xie Qiyan is a very dangerous person. I'm doing this for your own good!"

"What I think is good is truly good." Xia Wanzhi looked earnestly into his eyes.

She didn't know where he had heard it from, but in any case, the people in the wealthy family had been spreading rumors about her a lot lately.

If she cared about everything, she would have been furious long ago.

The two stood in silent confrontation for a few seconds. Zhou Yu took a deep breath, stood up to get himself a glass of water, and changed the subject: "You don't have any clients, and it's boring staying here. Why don't you just stay home? I..."

"How do you know I don't have clients?" Xia Wanzhi interrupted him. She hadn't told anyone about the studio's situation, but Zhou Yu knew.

Zhou Yu was silent for a moment: "I..."

"Do you know something?" Xia Wanzhi asked, frowning.

"Yes, but that doesn't matter. As long as we get married, those people will definitely..."

"I don't need to act based on your face." Xia Wanzhi felt disappointed for no reason.

One customer after another was lost, and some even broke their contracts with her without hesitation. She could guess that someone was deliberately sabotaging her.

However, Zhou Yuming knew that someone was deliberately making things difficult for her, but she chose to acquiesce to their actions.

He didn't like her prioritizing work above all else.

Like her mother, he hoped she would prioritize her family and be a virtuous and capable wife.

"You can leave now, I'm not going back tonight." Xia Wanzhi gave him the order to leave, her attitude firm.

Zhou Yu was also angry and left without saying a word.

Bamboo slowly moved over: "Sister..."

Xia Wanzhi rubbed her misty eyes with her fingers and smiled, "It's nothing."

-

At eight o'clock in the evening, Xia Wanzhi appeared in a high-end bar. The lights were dazzling, people were spinning and jumping, and men and women in red and green were dancing on the dance floor. Not far away, some people were even drunk and throwing money around to cheer.

The lights were too bright, and Xia Wanzhi searched around before finally finding Yunli's location.

"Zhizhi! Over here!" Yunli stood up and waved to her, "I ordered you some juice."

Seeing her somewhat dazed look, Yunli reached out and pinched her cheek.

The two of them sitting together attracted a lot of attention, but Yunli didn't care. She calmly called over a waiter and ordered two bottles of wine.

Xia Wanzhi pouted, glanced at the cocktail in front of Yun Li and then at her own pomegranate juice, and said with a wry smile, "You asked me to come here just to buy me a glass of pomegranate juice?"

"No way, I just invited you out for some fresh air because you seemed down." Yunli tapped her wine glass and smiled slyly. "Or maybe I could show you something new?"

Xia Wanzhi lowered her eyes, unable to smile, her gaze revealing a hidden ambiguity: "You sent me to see Zhou Yu, didn't you?"

After Yunli mistook Xie Qiyan for Zhou Yu last time, Xia Wanzhi sent Zhou Yu's photo to Yunli.

Yunli is twenty-seven years old this year. She is Xia Wanzhi's senior from high school. Later, Yunli was admitted to Nancheng University. The two of them are in the south and the north, but they have always kept in touch.

After all, they live in different circles. Yun Li doesn't pay much attention to the affairs of wealthy families. She only knows that Xia Wanzhi has a childhood sweetheart named Zhou Yu, and Xia Wanzhi doesn't like to talk about him with others.

Yunli was taken aback by Xia Wan's composure and paused for a few seconds before asking, "How did you know?"

“This address is the same as the address Zhou Yu reported tonight.” Xia Wanzhi bit her lip, unwilling to look up.

There are many spoiled brats in this circle, and Zhou Yu is surrounded by such friends. Xia Wanzhi knows that Zhou Yu has been spending a lot of time drinking with his cronies lately.

She didn't like it, but she couldn't control it.

Because Zhou Yu wasn't like this before.

"Alright, that proves you're mentally prepared." Yun Li snorted, got up and sat down next to Xia Wanzhi, slightly raising her chin to make Xia Wanzhi look in a certain direction. "Although the truth is cruel, I still have to teach you: trash is dirty, don't keep it around you."

“If I hadn’t called you here today, you would never have taken this step. I think your pride would never allow your fiancé to kiss another woman so passionately.”

Catching someone in the act of adultery is always very exciting.

In that instant, Xia Wanzhi suddenly looked up and, guided by Yun Li, looked at the curved booth to her side.

It felt like a string in my heart had suddenly snapped.

It was torn apart by human hands.

In the flickering light, men and women were all in a daze, the sound of clinking glasses mixed with jeering laughter, and the women who were drinking with them sat on the men's laps, clinging to their necks.

Every man in the booth had a woman by his side, flirting and kissing without exception.

Zhou Yu was no exception.

"Wanzi..." Yunli's voice softened. She sighed softly, took Xia Wanzhi's hand, and suddenly froze when she felt the cold sweat on her palm.

Xia Wanzhi looked away and smiled inexplicably at Yun Li: "Do you think I should grab a wine bottle and smash it over his head?"

Yunli's eyes turned sour, and her voice was filled with heartache: "It's not worth it. It's not worth hurting your hand."

"Yes, it's not worth it." Xia Wanzhi lowered her head and choked up slightly, her eyes quietly falling on the cocktail in front of her.

"Want a drink?" In the past, she would definitely not let Xia Wanzhi drink, since she had never drunk any before.

But these days are different.

Alcohol can amplify a person's emotions 100%. Xia Wanzhi has been on edge lately, so perhaps a little drink would be more beneficial than harmful.