The antique girlfriend of a chaebol heir

Jiang Duo felt that Shen Ci and he seemed to be in a cold war—or more accurately, he was being neglected on his own.

These days, Shen Ci has returned to her pre-freshman year state, and she doesn't even send him WeChat messages anymore.

Jiang Duo knew in his heart that she was angry with him because his impulsiveness last time had frightened her.

He also wanted to give her some time to process things, since what he had done that day had indeed gone too far.

But almost a week has passed.

Her WeChat chat window was as quiet as a stagnant pool.

Jiang Duo was initially able to force herself to remain calm, telling herself that she just needed time.

But on the third day, he couldn't help but repeatedly click on her profile picture and stare blankly at the chat box.

On the fifth night, he couldn't sleep until 3 a.m., and took out his phone to type and revise on the WeChat interface.

"Youyou, are you still angry?"

His thumb hovered over the send button, but after glancing at the time and realizing that Shen Ci must still be fast asleep, he abruptly withdrew his finger.

He forced himself to close his eyes and endured until six in the morning before finally pressing the send button.

However, the message disappeared without a trace, not even causing a ripple.

With eight o'clock already past and still no response, Jiang Duo finally lost his patience.

He took a deep breath and dialed Shen Ci's number directly.

The phone rang for a long time before it was finally answered.

The clear, sharp voice that came through the receiver was: "Feed?"

"Where are you?" Jiang Duo's voice was low, with a hint of suppressed urgency.

"...in the school exhibition hall."

The environment on the other end of the phone sounded very noisy; Jiang Duo could even clearly hear a young man talking next to him.

His eyes darkened instantly. He hung up the phone decisively, grabbed his coat from the sofa, and strode downstairs.

In the living room on the first floor, the morning light streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, bathing the floor in its glow.

His mother, Ms. Ling Shuyun, was sitting on a velvet sofa, flipping through a gold-embossed picture book, her fingertips occasionally touching the pages, her posture as elegant as an oil painting.

Jiang Hexuan stood by, considerately serving tea and water.

Hearing footsteps coming downstairs, Jiang Hexuan turned around, looked at his son hurrying out the door, and said, "Remember to attend the shareholders' meeting with me next Monday."

"I know."

Jiang Duo responded without turning his head, then pushed open the door and hurriedly left.

Seeing his son's unusually hurried figure, Jiang Hexuan couldn't help but smile.

His son, who usually remains calm and composed no matter what happens, is unusually composed today.

He jokingly said to his wife, "This kid's probably off to find a girlfriend."

Ling Shuyun's fingers, which were flipping through the picture book, paused slightly. She turned her head, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes: "Aduo... he's in a relationship?"

"Um."

Jiang Hexuan nodded, looking at the rare ripples in his lover's eyes, and sighed with a smile, "He has a girl he likes, and just like I was back then, he's protecting her very tightly."

Hearing this, Ling Shuyun was slightly taken aback.

Jiang Hexuan was incredibly stubborn and domineering in his youth, and she really didn't want to recall those days when she was forced into it and had nowhere to escape.

However, she was still somewhat surprised that her son, who was supposed to be a man of few desires, actually had someone he cared about.

……

The Intangible Cultural Heritage Society of Puhua University held its first exhibition of achievements at the school's exhibition hall over the weekend.

These days, Shen Ci has been spending all her spare time at the exhibition hall.

She checked the exhibit list with her instructor, adjusted the lighting angle with other club members, and repeatedly wiped fingerprints off the glass of the display cases.

When she gets busy, she doesn't even have time to look at her phone—or rather, she deliberately avoids having that time.

Those unpleasant things, like old things buried at the bottom of a box, have temporarily been covered in dust amidst the busyness.

The long talk with Su Zijin was like a refreshing breeze that swept through the hall, dispelling the gloom that had lingered in Shen Ci's heart for so long.

She suddenly realized that those worries that had kept her up at night and caused her so much inner turmoil weren't actually that heavy...

With the joint efforts of teachers and students, the exhibition hall was arranged in an orderly manner, exuding youthful vigor amidst its antique charm.

The exhibition area features a rich variety of works by intangible cultural heritage artisans and their students:

There are bright red and exquisite paper-cuts, lifelike traditional fish lanterns, kites that seem ready to take flight in the wind, and colorful tie-dyed fabrics.

On the most prominent display stand, there were the inside-painted works that the club had encountered for the first time during their activities—those myriad worlds depicted in small snuff bottles, which attracted many teachers and students to stop and marvel.

The student works in the exhibition area are the result of the hard work of the club members who have been learning little by little from the inheritors of intangible cultural heritage.

In addition to the static artwork exhibition, the club also set up an interactive area, which greatly enriched the experience for visiting teachers and students.

Shen Ci and another senior student were assigned to be in charge of the inner painting interactive experience area.

When Jiang Duo arrived, the experience table was surrounded by curious students, and Shen Ci was patiently instructing several students.

She bent slightly, holding a specially made curved-tipped pen in her hand, and explained softly: "Put your pen steadily, breathe evenly, and don't rush..."

Her expression was focused and serious, and the sunlight shone through the glass windows of the exhibition hall onto her profile, giving her a soft halo.

Jiang Duo strode through the crowd and stopped in front of Shen Ci.

The surrounding classmates turned their heads to look, and whispers spread like ripples.

Who at Puhua University doesn't know Jiang Duo?

A legend in the business school, the only son of the Jiang Group, and a perennial "most desired boyfriend" on the school forum—

His presence here is so out of place that it borders on absurd.

Shen Ci stopped what she was doing and looked up.

She looked at the tense man before her, without surprise or panic, but instead revealed a perfectly natural, flawless smile:

"Hello, senior, the first round of the inner drawing interaction is full. If you're interested, you can line up over there and wait for the next round."

She pointed in the direction of the sign, her fingertips were white, and her nails were neatly trimmed and clean, without any paint.

Looking at the perfectly timed smile on her face, Jiang Duo was slightly dazed.

They had met at school before.

On the school playground and in the corridors—Shen Ci always avoided him, lowering her head whenever she saw him from afar, and refusing to even greet him.

They were afraid that others would find out about their relationship.

But now, she sits in front of him, smiling so calmly.

There was no avoidance or evasion; instead, she greeted him openly and honestly, treating him as an ordinary senior student.

Her like this made him inexplicably uneasy...