Chapter 80: Abroad

Country A, the airport.

They had just landed not long ago and were on the bus to the hotel with the others when Lu Jia’s phone buzzed.

It was a message from Shen Zhiwei: “Lu Jia, have you arrived in Country A?”

Ever since stepping foot in this city, Sheng Shubai’s nerves had been on high alert.

Lu Jia glanced at the woman beside her, who was resting with her eyes closed, though her left wrist was gripped tightly. She hesitated for a few seconds and didn’t hand the screen directly to Sheng Shubai. Instead, she said softly, “Shen Zhiwei sent a message.”

Sheng Shubai’s eyes snapped open. When she saw the text, her expression grew even more guarded.

Even though she knew they had booked their flights with the academy, making it easy to track, the almost point-blank timing of the inquiry still felt like invasive surveillance, which made her feel particularly disgusted.

“Do you want to reply?” Sheng Shubai asked her.

They were seated in the last row of the bus. Shi Mengxi and Rong Yi were next to Lu Jia, but there were students in the rows ahead, so they kept their conversation as quiet as possible.

Lu Jia shook her head. “We’ll reply once we’re at the hotel.”

She wasn’t polite to everyone.

Especially after Sheng Shubai had told her about the aroma diffuser incident. She remembered that Shen Zhiwei had mentioned that box of aroma diffuser a few times in her messages, asking how the scent was and if it was her type.

Lu Jia had given vague replies, and when Shen Zhiwei offered to send more, she had directly refused, saying she wasn’t used to using such things.

At the time, she hadn’t planned to fall out completely with Shen Zhiwei and had kept her tone polite.

She had once considered that if Song Lan’s private island truly barred outsiders and the Sheng Family made no progress, she might take a risk. Given Song Lan’s words and how highly she valued her, she probably wouldn’t be harmed.

But ever since getting together with Sheng Shubai and learning about the pair’s sordid deeds, Lu Jia had decisively dismissed the idea.

She hadn’t read those novels where one self-righteously acted for the other’s good, but Shi Mengxi had ranted about plenty of them.

She wasn’t stupid.

Delivering herself into the tiger’s mouth wouldn’t be sacrificing herself for Sheng Shubai—it would be stabbing the woman in the heart again.

She had just gotten her quasi-fiancée; she wouldn’t do something so reckless.

Sheng Shubai also feared the girl might get ideas. After all, the kid was as dense as wood. If Shen Zhiwei sweet-talked her with a few words and lured her to the island under the pretext of past events, she didn’t dare imagine what she’d become.

Before leaving, they had laid everything out openly.

No matter what tactics Song Lan and Shen Zhiwei used, they wouldn’t engage. They wouldn’t hide any messages from each other.

After getting off the bus, they checked into the hotel suite.

The four bodyguards followed them in and were assigned to the two secondary bedrooms. During their stay in Country A, aside from not entering the master bedroom, they would stick close to their two employers at all other times.

With nothing scheduled that day, Lu Jia and Sheng Shubai went into the master bedroom first to unpack their suitcases.

Before she could unpack a few clothes, the woman leaned in. She turned her face slightly, letting Sheng Shubai’s lips land on her cheek.

“There are people outside,” Lu Jia explained.

Four of them, and they were all awake.

Even though the soundproofing was excellent and no noise from outside could be heard, Lu Jia still felt uneasy.

But Sheng Shubai didn’t let go. She casually tossed the jacket Lu Jia had just taken out onto the small sofa and pulled her into a kiss.

The force wasn’t heavy, but the movements carried a hint of dominance.

After struggling a few times and realizing she couldn’t break free, Lu Jia closed her eyes and responded actively.

When they finally parted, Lu Jia pressed against her shoulder, temporarily stopping the woman from leaning in for more. “…Sister.”

She needed to set some ground rules with Sheng Shubai.

“What?” Hearing the girl’s words, Sheng Shubai’s brows softened slightly as she rubbed her nose against hers.

“For… this period, can we not do it for so long?”

Lu Jia thought that if it was shorter, she could barely hold back her voice. But if it lasted two or three hours, by the end, her reason would melt away in wave after wave of intimacy, leaving no energy to worry about anything else.

Sheng Shubai couldn’t help but laugh. “Okay, I’ll listen to you.”

She had thought Lu Jia might say they couldn’t do it at all, which was why she asked.

“I know you want to, and… I like doing it with you too.” Lu Jia deliberately added the second half, afraid Sheng Shubai would think she was forcing herself.

These past few nights, she knew Sheng Shubai hadn’t slept well.

The night before, after they finished, Lu Jia was exhausted and on the verge of sleep. But for some reason, she couldn’t drift off.

Until the arm around her gently shifted, and she felt Sheng Shubai get up. Thinking the woman was going for water, she didn’t move.

But then she heard the nightstand drawer open, followed by the rattle of pills in a bottle.

Sheng Shubai had been secretly taking sleeping pills.

Seeing the distress in the girl’s eyes, Sheng Shubai explained proactively. She said that back in her undergrad years, she had gotten by on a mix of alcohol and sleeping pills, but things improved after switching to the Watercolor Department. Now that she had met her, she hadn’t touched those drugs in a long time.

“If you’re uncomfortable or can’t sleep these days, I’ll be right there with you.”

Lu Jia hugged the woman’s waist. “It won’t happen again from now on.”

Sheng Shubai started to nod but paused and shook her head. “We’ll probably come back once more.”

Lu Jia was just puzzled when the woman explained calmly, “Once we catch Song Lan’s weakness and send her to prison, of course I’ll come to see it with my own eyes.”

She nodded too. “Yeah, we should. I’ll come with you then.”

After unpacking, it was already past noon in Country A.

Lu Jia gave a quick safety update to her family. When her grandma said she wanted to see what the foreign environment looked like, she pulled Sheng Shubai into a video call with the elder.

After chatting for over ten minutes, they finally went downstairs.

They submitted their works to the organizing committee’s receiving station and verified all the personal information. Only then did they feel relieved.

Sheng Shubai accompanied her the whole way, never leaving her side.

After all, Song Lan was one of the judges this year. Even though the receiving station was staffed by ordinary workers and judges weren’t usually present, she wasn’t at ease, fearing Lu Jia might run into that woman alone.

Fortunately, everything went smoothly.

With the four plainclothes bodyguards behind them, they went to a nearby supermarket to buy daily necessities and spent half the afternoon at the hotel.

By evening, the two went downstairs again, planning to stroll around nearby.

As Lu Jia had hoped, this Qinghui Cup was held in a coastal city in Country A, and the hotel was not far from a beach.

It was spring, and the weather was clear.

Not long ago, from their hotel room, they had seen the endless sea and sky blending into one.

The beach was crowded with tourists.

Lu Jia and Sheng Shubai didn’t join the crowd. They strolled slowly and had one of the bodyguards hold a camera to take photos for them, with the entire sunset as the backdrop.

“Thanks, Yu Jie.”

Lu Jia smiled at the bodyguard.

She took the camera and huddled with Sheng Shubai to look at the preview. There were over ten consecutive shots—profiles, backs, all with perfect composition and lighting. Every one was straight-out-of-camera quality.

Sheng Shubai was very satisfied.

She connected via Bluetooth to transfer them to her phone, saved them to her album, and didn’t forget to send them to her friend to show off.

It was only 7 a.m. back home.

Ji Jinnian had just woken up. Lying on her side hugging the warm, soft body, she grabbed her phone from the nightstand with one hand and squinted at the new message.

A photo and a line of text: “Aren’t we a perfect match?”

Ji Jinnian replied with a simple “Mm,” turned off her alarm, set the phone down, and rubbed her brow.

The girl in her arms hit her daily biological clock too, nuzzling against her chest a few times, her voice groggy. “Sis, who is it?”

She ruffled Tang Yue’s hair. “Someone deliberately showing off their relationship. Ignore it, sleep more.”

Seeing her friend reply, Sheng Shubai remembered the time difference and didn’t disturb her further.

She looked around, wanting to find a couple more spots before the sunset fully faded and take more photos.

Turning her head, she saw Lu Jia’s gaze fixed on the diagonal front.

Sheng Shubai followed her line of sight. Wasn’t that Rong Yi and Shi Mengxi over there?

Though they weren’t holding hands, they stood very close, shoulder to shoulder, exuding an especially intimate and harmonious vibe. The sunset cast long slanted shadows on the soft sand, with a trail of matching footprints behind them.

Sheng Shubai glanced at Lu Jia, who understood tacitly and immediately handed her the camera.

After taking two shots, she asked, “Should I send it, or you?”

Lu Jia paused, thinking of her mentor’s personality. “I’ll send it to Shifu.”

Sheng Shubai nodded; she wasn’t eager to contact Rong Yi anyway.

Lu Jia hit send.

From afar, Shi Mengxi stopped first and looked down at her phone. Soon, Rong Yi glanced too.

They seemed to be gauging the angle, then both turned toward them in unison.

Sheng Shubai stood with the camera, meeting their gazes. Lu Jia waved.

Rong Yi and Shi Mengxi walked over.

“Little Lu, out for the sunset too?”

Shi Mengxi eyed the two bodyguards trailing them and asked curiously, “Who are these two sisters?”

Lu Jia smiled. “Friends who came with us for the trip.”

Sheng Family matters weren’t for public knowledge.

Even Rong Yi only knew about the past entanglements and not Song Lan’s recent moves. Of course, even if she knew the full story between the Sheng Family and Song Lan, she wouldn’t leak it to Shi Mengxi.

Not wanting to drag innocents in, Sheng Shubai and Lu Jia had premeditated their excuse.

It was easy enough to fool Shi Mengxi, and whether Rong Yi bought it or not wasn’t crucial—they trusted her discretion.

“Submitted the works?”

Rong Yi didn’t mention the photo and asked directly.

This Qinghui Cup required contestants to submit works in person. Tomorrow was the deadline, followed by a five-day preliminary exhibition, then the announcement of winners.

The awards ceremony coincided with the main exhibition opening.

Winning works would be displayed in the central hall of Country A’s largest art museum, viewed by nearly ten thousand peers from around the world and countless art enthusiasts.

“Submitted this afternoon.”

Lu Jia nodded and turned to Shi Mengxi. “What about Shifu?”

Shi Mengxi was just participating for the experience and held no real hopes for the results.

She nodded casually and leaned in to fiddle with Lu Jia’s camera.

“Little Lu, did you take those earlier shots?”

“It was Sis… Professor Sheng.”

“Just call her sister if you want. No need to pretend with us.”

Shi Mengxi glanced back at them, poked Lu Jia’s arm, and lowered her voice a bit. “Teacher knows anyway, and I call her ‘sister’ in private too.”

Sheng Shubai and Rong Yi exchanged a glance and tacitly looked away.