âTwo hundred yuan.â Song Fengwan smiled. âAfter I receive the money, letâs go to a restaurant.â
The other two people in the dorm room were naturally happy.
Miao Yating was in the design class. Every day, she either drew design drafts, stayed in the dorm room to watch dramas, or read the school forum. When the list came out at around 10 p.m., Song Fengwan was washing her clothes when she heard Miao Yating calling her.
âWhatâs the matter?â
âOn the judging panel, whatâs your relationship with Tang Jingci?â
âSheâs my senior sister.â Song Fengwan didnât expose her relationship with her cousin.
Moreover, according to Tang Wangciâs fatherâs relationship with her grandfather, it was reasonable to call her her senior sister.
âSomeone posted on the school forum to defame her.â
âWhat?â Song Fengwan hurried over.
A thread titled [The design competition is unfair. There is favoritism and fraud.] had been posted on the forum.
And the person accused was Tang Jingci.
This person mainly started from two aspects to argue that the competition was unfair.ââ
First: Tang Jingci wasnât Joe. She didnât have any works or any achievements in the industry, so she wasnât worthy of being a judge.
......
She had been pushed out by the Duan family to promote the design exhibition and to become familiar with people in the industry. She couldnât represent Joe, so there was a big problem with the judging this time.
Second: She had a special relationship with Song Fengwan, and very few second-year students won awards, so she must have secretly helped Song Fengwan. There might be some benefits involved.
âIs this person a fool? If she really helped you cheat, how could you have only gotten a consolation prize? At the very least, she would let you get first or second.â Hu Xinyue was caught between laughter and tears. âThis person is just jealous that they didnât win the award themself and deliberately found fault with you.â
âBut Wanwan, does your senior sister really not have any achievements in this aspect?â Miao Yating tilted her head and looked at Song Fengwan.
Someone specially searched for Tang Jingci online. Other than some people with the same name, there were no records of any awards. Compared to the reputation of the other judges, not only was hers shabby, but it was on a completely different level.
âThere should be.â She had seen Tang Jingciâs sketches and knew that she was helping Tang Wangjin, but she had never asked what she did.
Judging from her sketching skills, she wasnât at the level of playing around.
Like her cousin, Tang Jingci usually brought some raw materials and carving knives with her when she went out. She couldnât possibly carry stones all day to run around the world to show off.
âThe person in this post said that theyâve already written to the presidentâs mailbox. As a judge, your senior sister will definitely attend the award ceremony in a few days. Letâs wait. There might be a good show soon.â Hu Xinyue shrugged.
âActually, ever since you announced your relationship with your third brother, many people have been jealous of you. Many people canât wait to see something happen to you and for you to make a fool of yourself. Otherwise, how could this post be so popular?â
Song Fengwan smiled indifferently and returned to the bathroom to continue washing her clothes.
***
The thread was only on the forum for a few hours before it was deleted. The next day, the school sent a notice through the various tutoring classes to say that the design competitionâs judges had all been screened and were qualified to hold a position. They hoped that no one would spread rumors. The specific matters would be explained in detail at the award ceremony.
Because the award ceremony would also display the works of some teachers and judges, the school planned to take this opportunity to clarify the situation. The students didnât dare to say anything openly, but they were still discussing it in private.
Song Fengwan was worried that Tang Jingci wasnât prepared and would be troubled, so she specially told her in advance.
â⦠Do you mean that someone will make things difficult for me at the ceremony?â Tang Jingci had just carved a small red jade statue of a young girl. She cleaned the jade chips on the table, washed her hands, and was applying hand oil.
âItâs only a possibility.â Because the award-winning students might be chosen by large companies, all the students were very concerned about this competition. âDo you have any works?â
Tang Jingci chuckled. âDo you think your art schoolâs leaders are fools? Because Duan Linbai often sponsors school activities, he stuffed someone without any skills into the judgesâ seats? Isnât this just waiting for people to nitpick on him?
âSpeaking of which, you even held a position under Uncle-Master. Itâs inevitable that some people will be jealousâ¦â
Song Fengwan pouted, as if she had something to say but was too embarrassed to say it.
âWhat do you want to say?â
âAre you in engaged in jade carving or artistic creation?â
âI carry knives around all day. What do you think?â Tang Jingci continued to wipe her hands.
Her skin was very thin. Under the glaring table lamp, the light shone through, and the skin was translucent.
âBut why did my cousin say that your hands are clumsy?â
After Fu Chenâs birthday, Qiao Xiyan had returned to Suzhou. Even though Tang Jingci was in the capital currently, he had taken on a museum job to help with a relief sculpture in the sculpture hall, so he didnât rush to the capital. But his work was coming to an end, and he would be arriving in the capital in two days.
âWhat did you say?â Tang Jingciâs cold facial features looked freezing under the light.
For people like them who relied on their hands to make a living, being criticized for being clumsy was even more serious than a personal attack.
âThis is what my cousin saidâ¦â Song Fengwan said timidly.
They were a couple, so Song Fengwan must have asked Qiao Xiyan what she did and if she also played with jade carvings. Qiao Xiyan said, âHer hands are clumsy.â
âQiao Xiyan said that?â A smile appeared on Tang Jingciâs lips. She picked up the carving knife beside her hand and weighed it in her hand.
âBig Sister Tangâ¦â Song Fengwan heard something wrong with her tone and knew that she had said something wrong.
âIâm fine. Thank you for reminding me.â
After hanging up, Tang Jingci took a stone beside her hand and carved Qiao Xiyanâs name on it.
âMy hands are clumsy. Are you blind? Youâre the clumsy one!â
Heâs too much.
***
Qiao Xiyan had just finished his work at the museum and returned home. He took a shower and was about to video call Tang Jingci when he was told that she was already asleep.
Itâs only half past six in the evening. Why is this woman sleeping?
But a straight man like him naturally wouldnât think that something had happened to her. He thought that she had been too busy recently and was tired, so he replied: [Then you should rest. Good night.]
Tang Jingci waited for a long time, but she actually received this message. She was so angry that she couldnât fall asleep for half the night.
Why didnât he ask why I slept so early? Good night?
Qiao Xiyan, you bastard!
Qiao Xiyan was a straightforward person and didnât think too much. He rarely expressed his feelings for Tang Jingci directly. He couldnât sleep at night and was restless. He walked around his yard, and his throat was itchy. He took out a cigarette from the inside of his drawer and lit it.
After quitting smoking for a long time, he suddenly smoked a strong cigarette and choked a little.
âHey, why arenât you sleeping in the middle of the night?â Qiao Wangbei was busy until midnight. When he returned home, he saw the black shadow in the yard and was almost scared to death. âYou scared me to death!â
âI couldnât sleep.â
Qiao Wangbei stared at him for a long time. He didnât know that Qiao Xiyan had already hooked up with Tang Jingci. âXiyan, youâre not young anymore.â
Qiao Xiyan didnât say anything.
âYour cousin is already in a relationship.â
âWhat do you want to say?â
Qiao Wangbei thought for a long time and said, âYour mother passed away early, and I didnât care enough about you. Itâs normal for men to have some desires. Itâs human nature.â
Qiao Xiyan raised his eyebrows.?This old man is getting more and more improper. What nonsense is he saying?
âWhat are you trying to say?â
âAre you thinking about women?!ân/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Qiao Xiyanâs fingers trembled. The cigarette ash landed on his thick fingers, but it didnât feel hot.?At his age, why doesnât he feel embarrassed saying such things?