Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Ever since Xie Qiyan’s last visit, Xia Wanzhi had enjoyed a few days of peace. With her mood improved, her recovery progressed quickly.

“Sis, we’ve already lowered our prices significantly. Why hasn’t a single client shown up?” Zhuzi rested her chin on her hand, watching Xia Wanzhi stare blankly at a canvas, her heart filled with melancholy.

Xia Wanzhi’s spirits were a bit low as she let out a long sigh toward the ceiling. “I don’t know. If this keeps up, I’ll have no income and you’ll have no salary. We’re both going to starve.”

Zhuzi was amused. “You’ve got the young master of the Zhou Family to provide for you.”

“Didn’t you say Zhou Yu was just for show?” Xia Wanzhi tidied up, walked out of the painting area, and sat across from Zhuzi, sipping a cup of hot tea.

She had told Zhou Yu she was very busy lately.

In reality, she and Zhuzi spent all day sitting in the Studio, so idle they were practically dozing off.

Zhuzi choked for a moment and gave a sheepish laugh. “I was just joking.”

Xia Wanzhi smiled but didn’t respond.

She admitted to herself that she was intentionally avoiding Zhou Yu.

She felt uneasy at the Zhou residence, uneasy facing his parents, and uneasy facing Zhou Yu himself-even more so than when she faced Xie Qiyan.

She didn’t know where the problem lay, and she was too lazy to think about the issues between her and Zhou Yu. So, she simply hid away in the Studio for a few days, living like a lazy fish.

Crucially, Zhou Yu hadn’t come looking for her either.

“Sis, Zhou Yu is here.” Zhuzi tugged at Xia Wanzhi’s sleeve before standing up and tactfully slipping away.

Xia Wanzhi lifted her eyelids and poured him a cup of tea. She didn’t seem surprised by his arrival, her emotions remaining steady. “Want some tea?”

Though it was called tea, it was actually a medicinal brew for her health.

While anyone could drink it, Zhou Yu had never been fond of such things.

“You went to see my cousin privately, didn’t you?” Zhou Yu sat down, his expression clouded with displeasure.

Xia Wanzhi was slightly stunned, almost thinking she had misread him.

He rarely acted this way toward her in the past.

“I’ve already found a suitable location for your Studio. It’s a storefront near the Zhou Corporation. It’s in a great area and on the first floor, which will make it easier to attract new clients.” Zhou Yu caught a whiff of the faint herbal scent from the tea and, in the end, didn’t touch the cup she had poured for him.

Xia Wanzhi shook her head and smiled. “We’ll see. I might still be able to win over Xie Qiyan.”

“Didn’t I tell you not to have too much contact with Xie Qiyan!” Zhou Yu’s speech quickened, sounding somewhat exasperated. “Zhi Zhi, Xie Qiyan is a dangerous man. I’m doing this for your own good!”

“It’s only truly good if I feel it’s good for me.” Xia Wanzhi looked him squarely in the eye.

She didn’t know what he had heard or from where, but the rumors and gossip about her among the social elite had only increased lately.

If she cared about every little thing, she would have been driven mad by anger long ago.

After a few seconds of silent confrontation, Zhou Yu let out a heavy breath. He stood up to get a glass of plain water and changed the subject. “You don’t have any clients anyway, so staying here is boring. Why don’t you just stay at home? I…”

“How do you know I don’t have any clients?” Xia Wanzhi interrupted him. She clearly hadn’t told anyone about the Studio’s situation, yet Zhou Yu knew.

Zhou Yu fell silent for a moment. “I…”

“Do you know something?” Xia Wanzhi pressed, her brows furrowing.

“Yes, but that’s not important. Once we’re married, those people will definitely show you respect for my sake and-”

“I don’t need to rely on your reputation to do business.” Xia Wanzhi felt a wave of inexplicable disappointment.

With clients dropping off one by one and even breaking contracts without hesitation, she had guessed that someone was bored enough to be sabotaging her.

But Zhou Yu knew someone was intentionally creating obstacles for her, yet he chose to let it happen.

He didn’t like her prioritizing her work.

Just like her mother, he wanted her to focus on the family-to be a virtuous and proper helpmeet.

“You should go. I’m not going back tonight.” Xia Wanzhi issued a clear dismissal, her attitude firm.

Zhou Yu was also angry. He left without saying another word.
Zhuzi shuffled over slowly. “Sis…”

Xia Wanzhi curled her fingers to wipe her misty eyes and smiled. “It’s nothing.”

–

At eight o’clock in the evening, Xia Wanzhi appeared inside an upscale bar. The lights were mesmerizing, swirling and dancing, as men and women moved on the dance floor. Not far away, someone who had clearly had too much to drink was even throwing money around to stir up the crowd.

The lights were too blinding. Xia Wanzhi searched for a while before she finally spotted Yun Li’s location.

“Zhi Zhi! Over here!” Yun Li stood up and waved at her. “I ordered juice for you.”

Noticing Xia Wanzhi’s somewhat dazed expression, Yun Li reached out and pinched her cheek.

The two of them sitting together attracted quite a few glances, but Yun Li didn’t mind. She calmly beckoned a waiter and ordered two bottles of wine.

Xia Wanzhi curled her lip, looking at the cocktail in front of Yun Li and then at her own glass of pomegranate juice. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “You called me over just to treat me to a glass of pomegranate juice?”

“How could that be? I saw you were in a bad mood and wanted to bring you out for some fresh air.” Yun Li tapped her glass with a sly smile. “Or perhaps to help you unlock a new experience?”

Xia Wanzhi lowered her gaze. She couldn’t bring herself to smile, and the gloom in her eyes was hard to hide. “You brought me here to see Zhou Yu, didn’t you?”

After Yun Li had mistaken Xie Qiyan for Zhou Yu last time, Xia Wanzhi had sent a photo of Zhou Yu to her.

Yun Li was twenty-seven this year and was a senior Xia Wanzhi had known since high school. Later, Yun Li had attended Nancheng University. With one in the south and the other in the north, they had still maintained contact.

Since they moved in different circles, Yun Li didn’t pay much attention to the affairs of wealthy families. She only knew that Xia Wanzhi had a childhood friend named Zhou Yu, and Xia Wanzhi didn’t like talking about him to others.

Yun Li hadn’t expected Xia Wanzhi to be so calm. She was stunned for a few seconds before speaking. “How did you know?”

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

There were many playboys in this circle, and Zhou Yu was surrounded by such friends. Xia Wanzhi knew that lately, Zhou Yu enjoyed hanging around bars with his fair-weather friends.

Though she didn’t like it, she couldn’t control him.

Because the old Zhou Yu wasn’t like this.

“Good. It proves you were mentally prepared.” Yun Li huffed softly, stood up, and sat down next to Xia Wanzhi. She tilted her chin slightly, directing Xia Wanzhi’s gaze toward a certain direction. “Even though the truth is cruel, I still have to teach you-trash is dirty, don’t keep it by your side.”

“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 be passionately kissing another woman.”

Catching someone in the act was always intense.

In that instant, Xia Wanzhi snapped her head up. Guided by Yun Li, she looked toward a curved booth diagonally ahead.

A certain string in her heart seemed to snap suddenly.

It was as if someone had violently torn it apart.

Amidst the flickering lights, men and women were lost in a daze of passion. The sound of clinking glasses mixed with rowdy laughter. Hostesses sat on men’s laps, clinging obsessively to their necks.

Every man in that booth had a woman in his arms. They were flirting and kissing, without exception.

Zhou Yu was no exception.

“Wanzi…” Yun Li’s voice softened. She sighed and took Xia Wanzhi’s hand, only to freeze when she felt the cold sweat in her palm.

Xia Wanzhi withdrew her gaze and looked at Yun Li with a strange smile. “Do you think I should grab a wine bottle and smash it over his head?”

Yun Li’s gaze turned sorrowful, her voice laced with heartache. “It’s not worth it. It would hurt your hand. It’s not a good trade.”

“Yeah, not a good trade.” Xia Wanzhi lowered her head, a slight sob in her throat as her eyes quietly fell on the cocktail on the table.

“Want a drink?” Normally, Yun Li definitely wouldn’t let Xia Wanzhi drink, as she had never had alcohol before.

But today was different.

Alcohol could magnify a person’s emotions by a hundred percent. Xia Wanzhi had been wound tight lately; perhaps a small sip would do more good than harm.