Chapter 6: Personality, I Like It

For the past few months, Lu Zhiyuan had witnessed Zhuang Jianxi’s depression. It had been a long time since he had seen her radiate such vibrancy.

Although the recent events in the Zhuang family were kept under wraps, he had heard whispers of it. He was furious that they had used Zhuang Jianxi as a bargaining chip, offering her to Qiu Yixun, and was filled with self-loathing for his helplessness.

The Lu family and the Zhuang family were evenly matched in terms of power, but they were no match for the wealthy and powerful Qiu family, especially the ruthless and unpredictable Qiu Yixun. Among the young generation in Longcheng, no one could match his stature or his audacity.

Lu Zhiyuan stared intently at the girl in the long dress before him, his voice low and husky, “Jianxi, you’ve been…”

Before he could finish saying “okay?”, a clear voice interrupted him from the side.

“Wow! Zhiyuan gege, your dragon painting is so realistic!”

Zhuang Qianqian, who had been hanging around in the East District, spotted Lu Zhiyuan and immediately walked over, her smile bright as she praised his work.

Zhuang Qianqian was Zhuang Jianxi’s cousin, almost the same age as her.

However, Zhuang Qianqian had always been at odds with her, determined to compete with her in everything, always striving to be better.

Whatever clothes Zhuang Jianxi wore, whatever she bought, Zhuang Qianqian wanted to buy something more expensive and beautiful.

Zhuang Jianxi studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, so did she. Zhuang Jianxi often worked on restoring ancient calligraphy and paintings at the museum during her studies, so she found a job as an assistant to a restoration expert at a museum.

During their four years of university, she saw that Zhuang Jianxi was close to Lu Zhiyuan and had a good relationship with him, so she decided to get involved, constantly clinging to Lu Zhiyuan, seizing every opportunity.

Apart from Qiu Yixun, whom she couldn’t get close to, Zhuang Jianxi felt like Zhuang Qianqian was using her as a template for her own life, trying to replicate and surpass her.

Zhuang Jianxi didn’t understand what kind of psychology Zhuang Qianqian had, but she didn’t bother to argue with her. She didn’t even care about Qiu Yixun, let alone other insignificant figures.

It was precisely this indifferent attitude that made Zhuang Qianqian particularly annoyed whenever she saw Zhuang Jianxi.

The Zhuang family already had a beautiful fairy like her, why did they need another, even more stunning Zhuang Jianxi?

Zhuang Qianqian glanced at Zhuang Jianxi, squeezed between them, and spoke sweetly to Lu Zhiyuan, even trying to pull him over to see her own paintings.

Lu Zhiyuan stood still, not moving. He had wanted to take this opportunity to talk to Zhuang Jianxi alone, but her interruption forced him to frown, and he could only give her a perfunctory reply.

Just then, a commotion arose from a distance.

A tall figure in a suit, surrounded by a crowd, strolled from the West District to the East District, occasionally glancing at the paintings displayed on the wall, his posture languid, as if nothing could catch his eye.

Qiu Yixun’s appearance was exceptionally striking. He had broad shoulders, long legs, thick eyebrows, deep eyes, and an elegant demeanor. Outstanding individuals always radiated a certain brilliance, attracting the attention and whispers of countless young men and women along the way.

When Zhuang Jianxi’s eyes met Qiu Yixun’s, her expression immediately turned cold. The slight smile and ease on her brow vanished in an instant.

She frowned and looked away.

Why did this man have the leisure to attend this insignificant graduation exhibition at her school?

Qiu Yixun’s deep and cold eyes fell directly on Zhuang Jianxi, and he also glanced at the pretentious and hypocritical boy beside her.

What was the relationship between this man and her? Why was Zhuang Jianxi smiling at him?

For the past few months, he hadn’t seen Zhuang Jianxi smile at him once.

Instead, the woman beside Zhuang Jianxi was staring at him intently, almost bursting into laughter. It irritated him so much that he almost wanted to throw a shoe at her.

Director Zhao, the school leader beside him, was diligently and excitedly explaining and introducing certain paintings to Qiu Yixun.

Although Director Zhao didn’t understand what wind had blown the head of the Qiu family here, having this big shot present meant that maybe, in a good mood, he would wave his hand and donate a bunch of expensive art supplies and expensive paints, or even donate a teaching building, all of which would be a small matter.

Unknowingly, they walked to Lu Zhiyuan’s painting “Soaring Dragon for Thousands of Miles.” Director Zhao introduced it with a hint of pride in his voice.

“Mr. Qiu, this work has a much stronger power, the details are exquisite, it’s like the real thing. To be honest, this is the graduation piece of Lu Zhiyuan, a top student in our art academy. What do you think?”

Qiu Yixun narrowed his eyes, staring at Lu Zhiyuan who was standing next to Zhuang Jianxi, his tone sarcastic. “Unbearable to look at.”

As soon as the words fell, the people around were obviously embarrassed, and Director Zhao’s smile froze.

All the way here, Qiu Yixun’s attitude, although indifferent, had still given some face by commenting with “ordinary,” “okay,” “passable,” and other neutral words. Now, this painting, which was clearly better, was being mocked by him, which was tantamount to giving no face at all.

Director Zhao awkwardly looked at Lu Zhiyuan, wondering in his heart if he had offended the Young Master Qiu.

Lu Zhiyuan met Qiu Yixun’s gaze. Even though he couldn’t match the other’s powerful aura, he still clenched his fist, refusing to be outdone.

“Mr. Qiu has seen a lot of the world, naturally you wouldn’t look at our small-time paintings.”

Lu Zhiyuan’s sarcastic words didn’t get Qiu Yixun’s direct answer, instead, they were directly ignored.

Qiu Yixun looked at Zhuang Jianxi, his gaze burning. “I’m here to support you.”

As soon as the words fell, the people around were stunned again, and Zhuang Qianqian’s bright smile instantly froze.

Zhuang Jianxi didn’t even bother with her, turning around and walking to the other side. Lu Zhiyuan said something to Director Zhao with a blank expression and followed.

Seeing this, Qiu Yixun’s expression turned slightly cold, his eyes deep and unfathomable.

Zhuang Qianqian didn’t leave, her eyes fixed on the tall, handsome, and noble man in front of her.

She had thought many times that night at the Zhuang family, if Zhuang Jianxi hadn’t happened to appear, would the woman Qiu Yixun was interested in have been her?

Then, naturally, he would take her to the Tengjingshan Villa and love her day and night, showering her with countless favors, even putting aside all his work to personally come to the graduation exhibition to support her…

Director Zhao quickly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. “Zhuang Jianxi’s personality is like that, Mr. Qiu, don’t mind her.”

Qiu Yixun, “Personality, I like.”

Director Zhao, “…”

Zhuang Qianqian clenched her fingers, took a step forward, and said softly, “Mr. Qiu, Jianxi is too arrogant and rude, we will teach her a lesson later.”

Qiu Yixun was about to step into the auction hall when he heard this, he stopped and looked at her coldly.