Rong Yi asked a few more questions and confirmed that Lu Jia could balance the preparations for the New Year Exhibition and the Qinghui Cup, so she said no more.
After all, she was still a student, and it wasn’t good for her to stay cooped up in the studio all the time.
It was better for her to get familiar with the other students in the academy, even if it was just exchanging greetings—it might make her path smoother in the future.
They quickly settled on the exhibition theme, and Rong Yi sent Lu Jia the planning documents and processes from previous years for reference.
It was Lu Jia’s first time handling this kind of event, but it turned out to be much easier to manage than she had imagined.
The Academy Research Association just needed someone to assign tasks and coordinate, and she had already gotten the general process from Shi Mengxi in advance.
Once the theme was set, she assigned tasks by department, though she had to make the final decisions on every detail.
Fortunately, the students all knew each other, and Lu Jia was Rong Yi’s student, so there was no lack of respect.
Moreover, with someone willing to step up proactively, everyone welcomed it.
The office director was a second-year master’s student from the Watercolor Department. After handing over the planning document, she felt much more relaxed and even took on the task of coordinating the watercolor pieces.
Even though someone had swooped in midway, Lu Jia wasn’t disappointed.
She already had Sheng Shubai’s contact information anyway; it just meant one less topic to chat about.
When it came time for the on-site coordination of the works, she could still show up in person.
The venue for the New Year Exhibition was the same as the graduation exhibition: the City Art Museum.
However, during this year’s New Year period, the City Art Museum was hosting another touring exhibition with high prestige and scale.
Their venue was set in a side hall next to the main hall, with three floors above and below.
They had never held an event in this exhibition hall before. Even after receiving the detailed files and 3D diagrams from the museum, Lu Jia gathered members from the activities department and planned to visit the site in advance.
The plan was to have a sub-theme per floor, with small transitional works hung on both sides of the stairs.
By measuring the dimensions on-site, they could avoid any oversights when customizing exhibit panels and decorations later.
On Wednesday afternoon, it rained steadily.
C University had its routine holiday.
When Lu Jia arrived at the side exhibition hall, the other members hadn’t shown up yet. She spotted Shi Mengxi under the porte-cochere at first glance.
It had only been a week since she last saw her senior sister, but the girl looked noticeably thinner.
Back when Shi Mengxi had just moved out of Advisor Rong’s place, Lu Jia had also ended her contractual relationship with Sheng Shubai.
For several days in a row, she went to the hotel where Shi Mengxi was staying, watching her drink until she doubled over dry-heaving in front of the sink, then clutching her stomach and crouching on the floor.
Lu Jia hadn’t drunk a drop, but she couldn’t persuade her otherwise.
After that ordeal, Shi Mengxi had lost an unknown amount of weight, looking frail but still human-shaped.
Today, though, her face was genuinely pale, looking even more haggard under the gloomy daylight.
Her down jacket hung loosely, as if it were just a thin layer that the wind could whisk away at any moment.
Lu Jia hesitated, then asked, “Senior Sister, are… are you okay? Your health?”
She knew Shi Mengxi had a chronic stomach condition and had been hospitalized for a few days recently. But today, she looked worse than the last time they met, and Lu Jia was truly worried.
Shi Mengxi pressed her lips together and forced a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. Instead of answering, she dropped a bombshell: “After the New Year, I won’t be coming back.”
Lu Jia stared in shock. “What?”
Her eyes widened, but her senior sister’s expression was dead serious as she spelled it out: “Once this exhibition is done, I’ll submit my withdrawal application.”
Withdrawal?
Lu Jia didn’t understand. If she really couldn’t face Advisor Rong, she could just request a mentor change.
Advisor Rong wasn’t unreasonable, and besides… she was already halfway through her three-year graduate program. Dropping out midway would be such a waste.
“Even with a new mentor, we’d still see each other around campus. It’d be too awkward.”
Shi Mengxi lowered her eyes, her lips drooping as a faint trace of desolation crept into her tone: “Besides, it seems like she doesn’t like seeing me anyway.”
Her passion for printmaking wasn’t as pure as Lu Jia’s.
She knew she had some talent and didn’t mind the major, so she studied it to make a living.
For a long time, Shi Mengxi couldn’t find the meaning in painting. When she graduated undergrad, watching her friends scatter in confusion or aspiration, she just went with the flow and continued on routinely.
She thought her life would drift on without ripples, but then she met Rong Yi.
Meaning had been bestowed upon her by someone else, and now that it was withdrawn, Shi Mengxi couldn’t keep going.
Her voice was so soft it nearly scattered in the wind blowing into the porte-cochere; Lu Jia almost missed it.
“What do you mean ‘seeing you’?”
She frowned and pressed, but got no reply.
Just then, a ride-share car pulled up nearby, and several activities department members got out one after another. Lu Jia couldn’t pursue the topic further.
Shi Mengxi pulled out a mask and put it on, hiding most of her weary face. She patted Lu Jia’s shoulder: “Alright, keep this between us for now.”
Lu Jia pressed her lips together and nodded.
The exhibition hall was empty, with no exhibits moved in yet, floors above and below echoing hollowly.
The plan was already set, so they discussed the key spots and dimensions to measure, divided tasks simply, and got to work.
Seeing Shi Mengxi’s frail state, Lu Jia didn’t want to make her exert herself.
Shi Mengxi was only there to guide anyway, so Lu Jia handed her the tablet to record data while she ran up and down measuring.
She compared the design diagrams to the actual space, gauging if the dimensions would fit.
For spots needing adjustments, Lu Jia pulled Shi Mengxi over to join the members sitting on the first-floor round sofa for discussion. In just an hour, she felt like she’d talked more than in the past month.
The hall’s central heating was on for winter, and after a while, her throat grew dry.
Lu Jia had just opened her phone to order drinks for everyone when she received a new message from Sheng Shubai:
“At the City Art Museum?”
Lu Jia paused, then replied: “Yeah, been here a bit.”
The other side showed typing, then a new message popped up: “The painting club organized a visit today. Everyone’s in the café on the sixth floor of the main hall. Want to come grab something to drink?”
Lu Jia held her phone, her eyes curving into a smile: “Sure, coming now.”
The café was huge, taking up nearly half the sixth floor.
Young people who looked like students sat scattered around—likely many from the painting club.
There were a few people in the ordering line, with Lu Jia and the activities department students behind them. Then Sheng Shubai came over and waved at her: “Already got drinks for you all. They’re on the table over there—help yourselves.”
Lu Jia’s portion was naturally set aside separately.
Holding her usual cappuccino, she followed Sheng Shubai to the window-side soft sofa, where Ji Jinnian and Tang Yue sat across the table.
She smiled, saying softly to them: “Happy newlyweds.”
On New Year’s Day, Lu Jia had seen the couple’s social media post.
The professor had proposed successfully the day before, and they flew abroad the next day to get married, then took wedding photos under the snowy mountains.
No wedding banquet in the country yet, but they were officially a married couple.
Lu Jia had already commented her blessings online, but now in person, she had to say it properly.
“Thanks, Senior Sister Lu.”
Tang Yue beamed, pulling a few chocolates from her bag: “Didn’t bring anything else—take these as wedding candies. We’ll make it up with proper ones at the banquet later.”
Lu Jia’s eyes were dazzled by the ring sparkling on the girl’s left hand. She took them with a laugh: “Then I definitely need to borrow some of that good luck.”
The chocolates came in foil wrappers with foreign text.
Lu Jia tried one; after the slight bitterness of cocoa powder, it turned sweet, smooth and rich.
As she peeled the wrapper, she didn’t notice the woman beside her glancing over faintly.
Sheng Shubai hadn’t minded at first, but hearing Lu Jia say “borrow some good luck”—even if it was just politeness—still made her feel uneasy.
With this kid’s dense personality, who knew if she really thought that way.
Her gaze swept down the girl’s neck, blocked by the sweater collar, hiding the pale skin.
But Sheng Shubai knew full well—they’d gone at it for a long time last night.
Red marks from her own sucking still dotted the neck, and now she was thinking of borrowing wedding luck to be with her crush sooner?
How nice.
Since restarting this relationship, aside from the night they re-signed the contract—where Sheng Shubai had specially noted in the addendum that she wouldn’t do threesomes, and Lu Jia had solemnly agreed—she hadn’t heard Lu Jia mention that person she liked again.
Sheng Shubai didn’t know who it was and didn’t want to ask.
She’d seen friends in love or crushes before; even if they held back from meeting, they couldn’t help mentioning them in chats.
But Lu Jia hadn’t breathed a word, and her daily life stayed the same—no getting closer to any woman. Sheng Shubai had thought she’d moved on.
Hearing it now, out of the blue…
Sheng Shubai took a sip of her iced Americano. It hadn’t sat long, but it tasted more sour and bitter than usual.
She pressed the bitterness against the roof of her mouth with her tongue to ease it, schooling her expression impassively.
As Ji Jinnian asked about the exhibition progress, Sheng Shubai became the quietest of the group.
Lu Jia didn’t stay long. She downed the rest of her half cup of coffee.
Time was getting on; she and the other Academy Research Association members needed to get back to measuring. She hurriedly said goodbye to Sheng Shubai and the others and prepared to leave.
“Senior Sister Lu.”
After a few steps, a voice called from behind.
Lu Jia turned to see Qin Yuan waving from a table midway in the café near the aisle, her smile warm and gentle.
Qin Yuan stood and walked over. “Saw you earlier but didn’t get a chance to say hi.”
Lu Jia nodded: “Busy with the exhibition in the side hall next door this afternoon. Came to rest, now heading back to work.”
After a brief exchange, as she turned to go, Qin Yuan smiled: “Can I come help? I’ve never seen setup like this.”
Lu Jia explained they were just measuring dimensions today, no formal setup yet.
But Qin Yuan had already grabbed her bag and fallen into step beside her. Lu Jia didn’t refuse.
They weren’t strangers; after getting acquainted, they’d chatted a few times about inspirations and found they aligned on many views. Qin Yuan had even asked her out to eat twice, but conflicts arose both times.
With something to ask of her lately, Lu Jia naturally couldn’t turn her down.
Half the coffee remained.
The cup clinked against the table, rippling the surface faintly.
Sheng Shubai grabbed her bag and stood, pausing her steps before tossing it back onto the sofa: “…I’m going to check the progress. Be back soon.”
Her two friends exchanged glances behind her, nearly bursting into laughter.
She slung an arm around a Watercolor Department student’s shoulder, asking casually: “How’s it going today?”
She’d overheard Lu Jia chatting with her friends earlier, so this was just an excuse.
By the time they reached the side hall, before Sheng Shubai could look around, she saw Lu Jia and Qin Yuan heading up to the second floor one after the other.
