After leaving the exhibition hall, Wan Tong took Shao Heng out for a meal. He didn’t seem to be concerned about the art exhibition.
Or, he might have been feeling down but didn’t show it.
In that case, Wan Tong wouldn’t even have the chance to help him.
She didn’t want him to continue selling paintings and working as someone else’s proxy. With his talent, he could easily surpass Li Xutian and make a name for himself.
On the way back, Wan Tong kept complimenting Li Xutian’s artworks, sometimes intentionally, sometimes not.
Shao Heng, with a stern expression, interrupted her words angrily, “A sudden change in style, does it always have to be because of a major change in one’s state of mind? Isn’t it possible that he found a proxy?”
Li Zhi had told him that his paintings were being sold to a foreign artist who paid varying amounts between ten to thirty thousand each time.
He hadn’t thought much about it before, as he didn’t consider himself a great artist. However, they needed the money, so he didn’t mind selling those random sketches. Li Zhi would take them, and he thought she’d probably just discard them. But at the exhibition just now, he discovered that his “random sketches” were displayed on the walls, framed as if they were sacred relics.
Now, in retrospect, he had incidentally become Li Xutian’s proxy.
“A proxy? Well, this proxy must be a genius since so many people like his paintings,” Wan Tong said, shaking her head. “But it can’t be that he willingly became someone else’s proxy, right? Did Li Xutian offer him an astronomical sum?”
Astronomical sum…
Shao Heng stared with his dark eyes and fell silent for a moment.
The most expensive painting had been sold for fifty thousand.
It was indeed an astronomical sum.
Shao Heng felt a sense of injustice, so the first thing he would do after returning home was to demand an explanation from Li Zhi.
She had sold the sketches he made without telling him, maybe even signed some confidentiality agreement. He felt like he had been sold.
Li Zhi, still upset about him not informing her about going out earlier, immediately asked as soon as she saw him, “Shao Heng, where did you go? Did you go out with that woman from across the street again? What’s wrong with you? Are you completely infatuated with some internet celebrity?”
Shao Heng had no intention of discussing Wantong with her and went straight to the point, “I went to Li Xutian’s art exhibition.”
Upon hearing that name, Li Zhi was stunned.
Li Xutian, she was certainly familiar with him.
In recent years, hadn’t she been selling Shao Heng’s paintings to him all along?
She also knew that Li Xutian was returning to the country for an exhibition, but she was aware that Shao Heng wouldn’t pay attention to such matters, so she hadn’t given it much thought. Who would have thought that he would actually go to see the exhibition today?
However, she didn’t think she was in the wrong. They needed money to sustain their lives, and selling paintings was a quick way to make money.
“If you’ve seen it, you’ve seen it. All your previous paintings were sold to him.”
Looking at Li Zhi’s self-assured appearance, Shao Heng’s face slightly changed, and he couldn’t believe it deep down. “Are you asking me to be his proxy?”
[Target favorability -10, current favorability rating 50.]
Li Zhi was shocked. She had worked hard to transform Shao Heng into what he was now and had gained his basic trust. But she didn’t expect that her favorability rating would be reduced because of this incident!
“At the time, we were in difficult circumstances. To ensure you could go to school normally, I didn’t have the luxury of considering so much. I signed the contract with them to let you be his proxy for ten years. Ah Heng, if you don’t like it, I can talk to them, but the penalty for breaking the contract is as high as ten million. I really…” Li Zhi looked troubled.
She didn’t deny that she intentionally signed such a contract.
It was the only way to ensure that Shao Heng would never have a chance to rise.
“Ten years…” Shao Heng repeated these two words, wanting to smirk but finding that he couldn’t lift the corners of his mouth.
While hosting her livestream, Wan Tong suddenly heard the doorbell ring.
She didn’t pay it any attention until Shishi reminded her that it was Shao Heng. She then apologized to her audience and went to open the door.
After bringing Shao Heng inside, she gestured for him to wait and then returned to continue her livestream.
Shao Heng didn’t know what to do, so he followed her inside.
Wan Tong occasionally glanced at him and noticed that he looked depressed, sitting quietly on the side, lost in thought.
Perhaps because she kept looking to the side, the viewers in the livestream room also noticed something unusual.
[Someone is hiding beside the anchor!]
[Did Tongtong get herself a man?]
[The anchor is going to have lame eye from looking to the side so much!]
…
Wan Tong acted as if she hadn’t seen these comments and simply stopped looking over at Shao Heng as much.
After the livestream ended, when she looked at him again, she found that he had actually fallen asleep on her bean couch.
He had already looked like he hadn’t slept well in the morning, and he had spent the whole day running around with her, so it was no wonder he was so tired.
Just now, when she opened the door, she saw that his eyes were bloodshot. He must have had an argument with Li Zhi, otherwise, he wouldn’t have lost 10 points of favorability.
For Wan Tong, this was a good sign, but it was tough on him.
He would only face more setbacks in the future.
The air conditioning was on in the room, and Shao Heng was a big guy; she couldn’t move him, and she didn’t want to wake him up, so she took her own blanket and draped it over him to let him rest.
Wan Tong went to the bathroom to remove her makeup and take a shower, and when she came out, she went straight to bed.
She slept through the night without dreaming at all.
But Shao Heng had a dream.
In his dream, he kept smelling a tantalizing fragrance, and he subconsciously wanted to hold onto something. He reached out and pushed away the mist in front of him, only to see a delicate and enchanting face.
Arched eyebrows, a straight nose, sensual lips lightly moving, exhaling a fragrant scent. She was very close to him, close enough to see her smooth and delicate skin, hear her shallow breathing, and catch a faint hint of fragrance from her body.
When Shao Heng woke up, he found himself covered in sweat, lying on the lazy sofa, and a soft gray carpet on the floor. He also had a light pink blanket draped over him.
This was… Wan Tong’s room.
The stickiness somewhere on his body left him in a daze for a long time, and then he suddenly got up and ran out of the room as if escaping.
Wan Tong heard two door slamming sounds, rubbed her eyes, and got out of bed, still feeling a bit groggy.
She walked out of the room and didn’t notice anything unusual. When she returned to her room, she suddenly remembered that Shao Heng had slept in her room last night, didn’t he? Did he just leave?
She went back to her bed in a daze and suddenly saw the boy’s cell phone dropped on the carpet. She smiled and yawned, then got up.
The first thing Li Zhi did after waking up was to go to Shao Heng’s room to confirm. He hadn’t come back all night, and it was highly likely that he had gone to Wan Tong’s place.
A lonely man and a lonely woman sharing a room, what good can come out of it?
Li Zhi felt angry and unwilling about the thoughts she had.
As she was getting ready, she suddenly heard the sound of Shao Heng slamming the door. She came out to find that he had already locked himself in the room.
No matter how she knocked on the door, there was no response from inside.
“A’Heng, come out. Let’s talk about the matter with the proxy.” Li Zhi was afraid that he would go back to find Li Xutian and cause trouble.
“Don’t bother me!” Shao Heng shouted.
Li Zhi clenched her teeth but couldn’t do anything about it.
Shao Heng used to be very obedient, but recently, he had become more and more rebellious. All these changes had occurred after he started eating with Gu Wantong. She was sure that Gu Wantong had brainwashed him!
After Li Zhi finished getting ready, Wan Tong came knocking.
“Do you need something?” Li Zhi’s face was not pleasant.
Wan Tong took out Shao Heng’s old, beaten-up phone. “A’Heng left his phone with me. I came to return it to him.”
After saying that, Wan Tong felt like she was being a bit too much and a bit too provocative. But seeing Li Zhi’s annoyed face, she felt quite satisfied.
She wanted to flaunt herself in front of Li Zhi. As long as Li Zhi dared to make a move against her, she would catch her in the act.
“Miss Gu, there’s something I should remind you of.” Li Zhi firmly held the phone. “A’Heng is only eighteen years old, still a child who hasn’t grown up. If you have any sense of shame, don’t draw his attention.”
Li Zhi wished she could expose Gu Wantong’s ugly face to everyone, but unfortunately, they were both living on the same floor.
“Sister Zhi, what do you mean?” Wan Tong deliberately provoked, her voice becoming coquettish.
“I’m saying you have no shame, seducing a child.” Li Zhi couldn’t be bothered to pretend with her.
Wan Tong had a sly smile on her lips as she looked at Li Zhi’s almost distorted face. She brushed her soft curly hair and said with a hint of mockery, “Indeed, those who have some shame wouldn’t seduce a child.”
Li Zhi felt like she was hinting at something, but she was confident that Wan Tong didn’t know about her feelings for Shao Heng. So, she remained composed on the surface. “Gu Wantong, I hope you don’t meet with A’Heng again. Have some self-respect. Otherwise, if you do something disgraceful, I’ll post it online and make you famous overnight.”
“Miss Li, A’Heng and I have had normal contact, aboveboard. Also, A’Heng is already an adult. You’ve been restricting his social life. Isn’t that a bit too much?”
“Everything I do is for A’Heng’s good. Who are you to interfere in my family affairs?”
“I hope you’re doing it for A’h ‘Heng’s good.”
Wan Tong remained calm and unashamed from beginning to end. She seemed as though she knew everything, and her foxy eyes stared at Li Zhi, sending chills down her spine.
Kill her.
For the first time, a strong desire to do so appeared in Li Zhi’s heart.
She had been too timid before, which allowed Wan Tong to lead Shao Heng astray.
Wan Tong noticed the hostility and murderous intent in Li Zhi’s eyes, so she turned and went back to her own room.
Li Zhi wasn’t a pushover, and it wouldn’t be good to provoke her too much when she was agitated.
In the dimly lit room, Shao Heng took off his clothes and used a clean towel to wipe off the sweat on his body.
His breathing was somewhat rapid, his cheeks were flushed from congestion, and his earlobes were so red they could drip blood.
He sat on the floor by the edge of the bed, gasping softly, unable to understand why he had such a dream and why he reacted this way.
He was despicable.
With his actions, what difference was there between him and those who coveted her beauty?
The room was stuffy, and before long, Shao Heng was covered in sweat again.
Upon hearing Li Zhi leaving, he got up, pushed open the door, and entered the bathroom.
Wan Tong went back to catch up on half an hour of sleep and wanted to have breakfast across the hall after 9 o’clock. When she opened the door, she saw a tray placed at the entrance with a small cover on top.
She removed the cover and found a pancake, a cup of yogurt, and some egg and ham.
She pressed the doorbell across the hall, and Shao Heng opened the inner wooden door, but he remained behind the security door, treating her like a burglar. “What’s the matter?”
Wan Tong pointed to the breakfast in front of her door. “What is this for?”
“I’ve already eaten. The rest is up to you if you want it or not,” Shao Heng said in a low voice, then slammed the door shut.
Wan Tong : ???
Wan Tong looked at his cold demeanor and felt as if her heart had shattered. The boss had once again shut her out!
She turned to look at the breakfast on the ground, feeling both amused and exasperated. She hummed a line from a song, “Whose heart is it, left all alone…”