Liu Nanyang was puzzled. Seeing the two little ones approaching, he looked at them as if they were his saviors and said, "I still have some things to take care of here, so I'll leave first?"
"Don't go! We need to talk this out!" Milan tried to grab him, but Mia stopped her, saying, "Alright, alright, I'll tell you everything, but please don't cause any more trouble here. You're making trouble for Teacher Liu—"
"Teacher Liu?" Milan's face was filled with anger. "Does a scumbag like him deserve to be a teacher?"
Surprisingly, Xiang Lan wholeheartedly agreed with the resounding question.
After the two sisters left, Liu Nanyang and the two little ones looked at each other in bewilderment, and finally said, "What's going on here?"
Xiang Lan nodded and said, "I know. Sister Mia got pregnant out of wedlock and had a child. Uncle, I never thought you were such an irresponsible man—"
"What?" Liu Nanyang was taken aback. "A child?"
“Yes, a little girl, eight years old.” She said gloatingly, “You did such a good thing, keeping it from everyone. If Mom finds out, you’re dead.”
"I didn't—" The denial wasn't very strong.
Xiang Lan wanted to retort, but he hurriedly said, "I have to go ask. You guys go and see for yourselves in the exhibition hall."
"As expected, something's up," Xiang Lan said.
"Let's go in and take a look."
She was still unwilling to give up, and hugged his arm, saying, "You're still the best. My uncle is a real scumbag."
Fang Zi didn't want her to focus on other people, so he pulled her into the exhibition hall. Not long after the opening, the exhibition hall was basically set up, and some of the exhibits had been put back in place. Some of the more valuable exhibits were still on their way to be mailed, but it was clear that this art exhibition had a rather elegant style.
The workers had already left the site, leaving only a few studio staff cleaning and adjusting the lights. Seeing Fang Zi enter, they greeted him and led him to a small, partitioned hall. A huge curtain hung on the front wall of the hall, and below it was a small display stand holding the small obsidian statue.
After the staff left, Fang Zidu stood in front of the statue and smiled.
Xiang Lan, unsuspecting, looked the statue up and down and nodded, saying, "Surrounded by so many stars and with the added lighting, it certainly looks very grand."
"Xiang Lan." Fang Zidu stood at the edge of the curtain.
She looked up and saw him press a button on the wall. The curtain slowly descended, revealing a huge, vibrant oil painting covering an entire wall. Too close, she could only see patches of color. Puzzled, she backed away, all the way to the door. When she finally saw the whole painting clearly, she covered her mouth in astonishment.
In the oil painting, a young girl sits leisurely cross-legged on the floor. Light streams in from the window behind her, reflecting off the glass, blocking the light from the wall, and illuminating the wooden floor, highlighting the girl's cunning eyes. She has a face she knows all too well, but the girl is painted far more beautiful than she is. She never knew she could possess such deep gaze and such a carefree expression, and the bewitching feeling in the painting makes her body tremble from her tailbone.
"This is—" She looked at Fang Zidu in disbelief, "Zidu—"
The curtain fell with a thud, and he looked at her leisurely, saying, "Xiang Lan, you ruined my entire plan. The ring and the painting were supposed to be your proposal gifts."
"You—" Xiang Lan didn't know how to express herself; overwhelming joy burst through her head. "Fang Zidu, did you draw this?"
He nodded slightly. "Is it pretty?"
Her eyes were a little red, and she rushed over like a fledgling. He quickly came over and hugged her tightly. "It seems you like it very much."
If all the prescriptions are devilish, she is willing to become a blood sacrifice for him.
Chapter 52
Xiang Lan was completely captivated by Fang Zidu. She felt that he was exactly how God had created her, perfectly fitting her every whim. Once the floodgates of emotion were opened, they couldn't be closed. She hugged him, crying, laughing, jumping, and shouting. If Fang Zidu hadn't been worried about the baby in his belly, he would have let her fuss for a while longer.
After finally calming down, she hugged him tightly and wouldn't let go. "So that's what you were doing, sneaking around every day from early morning to late at night? I wronged you. I'm sorry, I'll never do it again."
Fangzi touched her long hair and said, "I'm glad you like it."
"Of course I love it, there's no better gift than this. Zidu, you're amazing—" Xiang Lan cupped his face and kissed him several times, but still felt it wasn't enough, so her hands automatically slipped inside his clothes.
here we go again.
He smiled and pulled her hand out. "Are you outside?"
"Hehe." Xiang Lan just kept giggling, her eyes glued to the painting. "It's so beautiful. I never thought I'd look this beautiful."
Fang Zi hugged her, saying, "You've always been beautiful."
After laughing enough, Xiang Lan took out her phone, and the two of them took a few selfies under the painting. She then posted them in her small group chat with family and friends to show off, commenting, "My kids all painted this. It was a 5.20 gift. Isn't it pretty?"
Almost immediately, a group of people popped up, spitting blood, and were thrown at them with cleavers and hammers.
She laughed smugly, then tossed the photo back to Deng Yifan. Deng Yifan simply uttered one word to express his disgust at this blatant display of affection in front of single people: "Get lost—"
"Let's take the painting back," Xiang Lan said, her eyes sparkling.
"My uncle helped me find the teacher, and he also provided the canvas and paints. He asked that we leave the canvas here for a while, and then we can take it home after the exhibition."
"He got off too easily."
After the two spent a while being affectionate, Liu Nanyang came in from outside and, disregarding everything else, grabbed Xiang Lan and asked, "Do you have that woman's phone number?"
"Who? Mia or Milan?"
“Milan—” Liu Nanyang’s usually unserious face showed an anxious expression. “Mia is not answering my calls at all.”
"Yes, I do," Xiang Lan said. "You want it?"
"Give it to me quickly."
"Then you have to tell us what happened first."
"I'm totally confused right now," Liu Nanyang said, scratching his head.
"So, that child might be yours?" Xiang Lan asked in confusion. "How come you didn't even know your girlfriend was pregnant?"
His face showed extreme embarrassment, and for the first time, he lost his smile.
I reluctantly handed him the phone, and he hurriedly left again.
After that, Xiang Lan truly began to consider this rented apartment her home. She now awaits her thesis defense, occasionally browsing job postings for design companies online, spending much of her time alone. When she has nothing to do, she cleans. The apartment isn't too big or too small; it's spacious enough for two people. The bookshelves in the study are crammed with their various books, sketches, and small works, and the large cabinets are also filled with all sorts of things. From the outside, the apartment has absolutely no decorations besides the furniture, which Xiang Lan, a woman who loves life, finds unbearable.
She arranged a time with Hu Li, took a taxi to her house, and packed up some small items she hadn't finished moving, such as cute little pillows, a small lamp for the bedside table, and various adorable refrigerator magnets.
Xiang Yuan was indignant about this, "Didn't you just win money? Why don't you go buy new ones?"
"I need to save money to buy a big house."
"What?"
"We need to buy a big house near the school. The one we're renting now is too small. It won't be big enough for the baby after it's born."
Looking at his sister's earnest face, he felt a pang of sadness. He longed for her to grow up, yet he was also reluctant to let her. When she truly began to grow up and consider life's challenges, he couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache—a feeling he couldn't express. As he saw those small, adorable toys being packed into boxes, he knew that his sister was about to completely sever ties with him and their family.
"You can't save money; you have to earn it."
"Yes, that's why I'm looking for a job too." Xiang Lan said earnestly, "Brother, what kind of company would be so stupid as to hire a pregnant woman?"
"What are the instructions for the prescription?"
“He thinks it’s not good for me to be idle at home every day. It would be nice if I could find suitable work to pass the time,” she said. “I contacted several companies and showed them my portfolio. They all said they were very interested, but as soon as they heard I was pregnant, they stopped talking.” She sighed, “I was thinking, maybe I should go help out at my uncle’s art exhibition and get him to pay me a salary!”
Seeing Yuan's distressed expression, and fearing he might have another fit, Hu Li asked, "What kind of job are you looking for? What are your salary expectations?"
"It's related to art and design, I don't care about the salary, the main thing is I don't want to abandon my profession." Xiang Lan blinked and asked her, "Sister-in-law, do you have any friends who want to hire someone like me?"
"Let me ask for you."
"Is Fangzi really that short of money?" Sure enough, he's acting crazy again.
"Brother, it's not about lacking money, it's that I don't want to waste my life like this." She sighed again. "Look how amazing my son is, his major is so outstanding. The painting he drew as a wedding gift to cheer me up was even displayed at an art exhibition by my uncle. My graduation project, although my uncle reluctantly accepted it, he hasn't even said it can be exhibited! The gap between us is too big. If his students ask in the future, 'Teacher, teacher, what does your wife do?' Am I supposed to tell him, 'Your wife doesn't work and just plays around all day'?"
"Oh my god, I can't stand the thought of that scene."
Xiang Yuan turned his face away. Hu Li knew he was really sad, so she quickly said, "It's good that you think this way. Going back to work isn't a bad thing, but you all need to be careful and take good care of yourselves."
"Yeah, once a company hires me, I'll buy a car," Xiang Lan said nonchalantly. "Oh, and I'm planning to make some plush toys for my little one when I have some free time. Sister-in-law, I'll make you a couple too—"
They've really grown up; they even know how to give gifts now.
Xiang Lan happily carried her things downstairs, but Xiang Yuan, worried, insisted on following her. He watched her get into a taxi, then went home alone and lay on his bed, heartbroken. He took out his phone, found Fang Zidu's number, typed in a message, deleted it, and then typed in another message, saying, "I'll keep an eye on Lan Lan's job. Don't worry, we can consider it after the wedding."
Hu Li came into the room to see him. "Aren't you going to work yet?"
“Right now, she should be preparing for her trip to New York,” he said, looking at her and then at her lower abdomen, gritting his teeth. “If you give birth to a daughter this time, I’ll chop off the hand of any brat who dares to come within a meter of her.”
Hu Li rolled his eyes. He didn't know how many girls he had ruined. Now he felt the pain, didn't he?
Xiang Lan carried her trinkets home and arranged them neatly, admiring them for a while with great satisfaction. After taking a few photos and sending them to Fang Zidu, she went online to show them off for a bit. She's still wary of the internet and probably doesn't want to reveal any information about herself online anytime soon. After finishing decorating her home, she went to the supermarket to buy fruits and vegetables, looked up a few simple recipes, and prepared to show off her culinary skills at lunchtime.
She had no problem making simple vegetable and fruit salads, but stir-frying was quite a challenge. She picked out two potatoes, intending to shred them, but the round ball wobbled on the cutting board. She struggled to hold it in place with the knife, and almost cut her hand in the end.
"What are you busy with?" Fang Zidu came home from get off work at noon, rolled up his sleeves, and walked into the kitchen.
“Slice the potatoes into shreds.”
He looked at the so-called potato shreds, about the thickness of chopsticks, on the cutting board, and nodded. "Let's just fry the potato strips instead."
It completely shattered her self-confidence.
Fang Zi tore off an apron, opened the timer on the soup pot that had been simmering that morning, and the whole kitchen was immediately filled with a wonderful aroma. He said, "I ran into my uncle on the way here. He told me to tell you not to be late for your thesis defense tomorrow."
"I understand." She now lives a very secluded life and has basically lost touch with her classmates.
"The matter with Song Haibo has been resolved. The court has ordered a fine, and he transferred the money to your account this afternoon. Please check your account."
"Oh, so you just fine them and that's it?"
"Well, usually in this situation, it's just a fine, a reprimand, and maybe a little more detention," Fang Zidu said, shaking his head. "Oh, right, he's already posted his apology on the forum."
"I don't want to go online at all now, it's too annoying."
"My older brother contacted me today to talk about your job."
"Hmm, I'll go and gather some trinkets. Haven't you noticed how different our house looks?"
"There are so many more little decorations."
Is it pretty?
"A bit cumbersome."
"Hehe, you don't know how to appreciate it."
Fangzi pushed her aside, glanced at the potato strips on the cutting board, and asked, "Haven't you decided what to make yet?"
“My brother can’t really help much. He just asked casually. I still need to ask my uncle for an introduction. I don’t think they would really hire me in my situation. At most, I could do an internship to get familiar with some simple tasks. If that’s the case, he has many friends and he’ll definitely be able to find someone to help me.”
“Then I’ll go with you tomorrow, and we’ll ask him for help together.”
Xiang Lan smiled at him, "Okay."