Jingxia Rose

Chapter 218 [Irresistible Sweetness 017]

Xiao Guxing paused, raised his eyes to look at her deeply, a faint and unreadable emotion swirling in his eyes, but he quickly concealed it.

Shu Tang couldn't understand it.

I don't understand him either.

But she knew he was a smart man and must have some suspicions about her.

The two stared at each other for about half a minute before Xiao Guxing relaxed, smiled, and asked, "What do you think?"

What does she think?
It seems like he'll be hard to pursue. After all these years, at thirty-one, he's only had one girlfriend.

Shu Tang felt a mix of emotions.

I didn't know what to say for a moment.

Just then, her phone rang; it was a video call from her parents.

She picked up her phone and answered the call; her anger instantly subsided.

Xiao Guxing hadn't intended to disturb her and her family's reunion, but when she connected to the video call, he accidentally appeared in the frame, and Shu Yang called his name, so he had no choice but to sit down and chat with them.

After chatting for about seven or eight minutes, he moved away and put the chessboard away.

Shu Tang had been chatting for over half an hour when her mother sent her a message asking how things were going with Gu Xing.
Shu Tang was in a rather heavy mood today and didn't want to talk about this topic, so she just said a few words to agree with it and moved on.

The day after Xiao Guxing returned, Shu Tang started climbing onto the scaffold again to paint reliefs.

Xiao Guxing was indeed busy those days, having social engagements for three consecutive nights. Shu Tang's painting progress was also fast these days; the one downstairs would be finished in another two or three days.

On Friday, Xiao Guxing returned before four o'clock.

Behind them were Anatoly and a young foreign girl, who were very tall and beautiful.

Xiao Guxing and Anatoly each carried a shopping bag, and the three of them walked in chatting and laughing.

Shu Tang was still painting, wearing a short green knit top that showed her waistline, loose wide-leg jeans, and an apron. Her hair was also casually clipped back with a hair clip.

The painting was in the final stages of coloring, but she hadn't put it on the shelf yet.

Hearing the noise, she turned around and looked over, a paintbrush still dangling from her mouth.

"Hi." Anatoly saw her and immediately smiled and raised his hand to greet her.

"Hi."

Shu Tang quickly took the pen out of her mouth, gave a hasty reply, and then looked at Xiao Guxing with a blank expression.

Xiao Guxing smiled and didn't explain, but simply introduced the girl next to Anatoli to her, "This is Anatoli's wife, Avdoriyuka."

Shu Tang smiled, revealing shallow dimples, and walked over, communicating in fluent English, "Hello, Avdolyuka, I'm Moira. Sorry, my hands are covered in paint, they're dirty."

Avdolyuka smiled and shook her head. "It's alright, you can just call me Yuka. Moira, you're very beautiful."

Shu Tang readily accepted the compliment, "Thank you. You're very beautiful too, especially your eyes, they're like the vast starry sky."

"It's so beautiful." Yuka looked at the relief wall and exclaimed sincerely, "Moira, you're amazing."

Shu Tang has never been shy; when others praise her, she usually responds with a very arrogant attitude.

Despite it being their first meeting, Shu Tang showed no signs of aloofness or distance. She quickly took off her apron, washed her hands, and showed her the design draft of the large relief painting upstairs.

Unsurprisingly, he received continued praise from Anatoly and his wife.

Later, Shu Tang and Yuka were discussing painting, while Xiao Guxing and Anatoli went to the kitchen to prepare the dishes for dinner.

During a lively chat with Yuka about Chinese cuisine, Shu Tang learned that she and Anatoly had been married for two years but still didn't have children.

The couple had a good relationship. The reason she didn't come to the last family dinner was because she was on a business trip and didn't have time. During dinner that evening, Anatoly asked her about the relief sculpture, probably mentioning that he also wanted to have a mural like that painted at home.

Yuka also showed her the photos of that wall, which Xiao Guxing must have mentioned to them, as even the surrounding interior design was captured in the photos.

That wall didn't look very big, and the decorating style was more modern Scandinavian.

Just looking at it gave Shu Tang an idea.

You can draw butterflies on this white wall.

The butterflies on the relief are so lifelike, simple yet exquisite, perfectly matching the style of her home's decor.

Of course, it also depends on what the client thinks.

Shu Tang and Yuka hit it off immediately, but Shu Tang didn't rush to agree. Instead, she asked about their requirements. Neither of them had any specific requests, and they simply asked her to look at the painting.

She had just told them her idea, and Yuka seemed quite interested.

Shu Tang didn't have any chat software in Russia, so she said she would have Xiao Guxing send her the draft after she finished drawing it, and if there were no problems, she would accept it.

There's no need to discuss prices now.

After dinner, the couple sat for a while, and Yuka invited her to visit their home sometime.

Shu Tang smiled and agreed.

Back in the living room, Xiao Guxing handed her two tickets. She couldn't understand the Russian text, but the theater's architectural logo was on them. She had done a lot of research and recognized it at a glance.

The date is exactly tomorrow afternoon at 3 PM.

"Wow, you got it?" Shu Tang's eyes widened in surprise. "I was just checking online a few days ago, and tickets for this show were already sold out. How did you get it?"

"Given by Yuka."

"what?"

Xiao Guxing explained, "She is the theater's principal actress, and she has two reserved VIP seats for every performance."

Shu Tang was speechless. "Then why didn't you say so just now? I didn't even thank her."

"I invited the couple over for dinner tonight because of this. Anatoly asked me if my passport was ready yet, and I said no. Then he asked me what I did for a living, and I casually mentioned the mural."

"He said he would come over during his mealtime because he wanted to have a relief painted on one of his walls, but he hadn't found a mural artist yet."

He explained it very clearly: "I didn't tell you because I was afraid that you would find it difficult to refuse them because of the ticket, so I didn't mention it. You can thank them later when you see them."

Shu Tang looked at him, somewhat speechless.

He was very thoughtful and considerate, and he respected her a lot.

"what happened?"

"No, it's just that..." Shu Tang smiled sweetly, "Xiao Guxing, you're so good. Whoever marries you in the future will definitely be very happy."

Xiao Guxing looked away, a faint smile on his lips. "Not necessarily."

"Ok?"

"These are all superficial things; they can all be faked."

Shu Tang disagreed, "Then you can pretend. If you can't keep up the act, then stop. It's okay."

Xiao Guxing was taken aback and unconsciously looked at her again. She was still smiling sweetly, like a melted strawberry candy, sweet and cloying, yet it spread into his heart and lungs and became part of his bones and blood.

He pursed his lips, his tone unchanged, and said out of the blue, "Shu Tang, I don't like sweets."

Shu Tang was also confused by her words, blinked, and said, "I know, why are you suddenly bringing this up?"