“I’ve had to use my resources to support her family. And even when she tried to take advantage of you, I had to let it go. To help her, I had to hurt you.”


  Qiao Qing, “I’ve already said that I don’t care about that.”


  “But I can’t get over it!” Gong Yi shouted, “Do you really not believe me when I say I like you?!”


  Qiao Qing’s expression quivered a little. She pursed her lips and didn’t speak.

  “If you were the one who saved me, then at least, I can stop doing the things I really hate doing. At least, I won’t have to do whatever I’m asked to do. At least…”


  The elevator arrived with a “ding”. Qiao Qing brushed off his hand, “I’m going.”


  She then went through the door.

  Gong Yi, exhausted, slumped against the wall of the elevator. He watched as Qiao Qing’s silhouette slowly disappeared and watched as the elevator door closed. With one fist, he slammed it into the elevator floor, leaving behind a bloody print.

  Qiao Qing had her hands in her pockets as she walked to the lab.

  When Xu Lu saw Qiao Qing, she rushed over, “You finally came!”


  She snapped her head and glanced around in all four directions. Then, she quickly pulled Qiao Qing into her own office.

  Inside the office, Qiao Qing was confused, “What’s wrong?”


  Xu Lu took a bottle of perfume out of her drawer, as well as a piece of paper. She then handed those to Qiao Qing.

  As if tired, she said worriedly, “This is the perfume I mixed recently. The name of this and its meaning is written on that piece of paper. Take this and submit it into the competition, okay?”


  Qiao Qing, “…”


  After a moment of silence, she finally said, “There’s no need. I made my own perfume.”


  “Oh, my fair lady!” Xu Lu exclaimed, “Don’t be naive. Keep the perfume you made. Use mine for the competition.”


  “There won’t be a problem. I won’t tell anyone else. Whatever place you get, you can keep. You just want a rank, right? The one you made won’t get a place! I’m even afraid that the judges will throw it out!”


  Qiao Qing, “…”


  After more silence, Qiao Qing said to Xu Lu in a serious tone, “You asked me before what kind of perfume I’ve made before, right? I can tell you.”


  Xu Lu froze, “You have made perfume before?”


  Qiao Qing, “…”


  “Ah, no.” Xu Lu smiled fakely and blinked. As if she just cleaned out her ears to listen, she said, “Tell me.”


  Qiao Qing said, “Wild Green.”


  Xu Lu blinked some more. Then some more again. After some time, she finally covered her lips and made an agonizing face, “Oh, my fair lady, if you are blindly confident in your product and want to use it for the competition, find a better excuse. If you claim to have made ‘Wild Green’, Queen’s fans will kill you.”


  Qiao Qing, “…”


  Just then, someone knocked.

  Xu Lu opened the door and saw a perfumer outside.

  “Sister Xu, when are we going?” A perfumer named Guo Qingfen asked Xu Lu. Her eyes, however, checked out Qiao Qing.

  “In a bit. I need to talk to Ms. Qiao. You can wait outside.”


  She was about to close the door when Guo Qingfen placed her foot in the door.

  Guo Qingfen stared at Qiao Qing and sighed, “She’s the one who’s going to compete on the Gong Corporation’s behalf? The one who’s responsible for making a new perfume? The one who made her perfume using Spiritual Cotton Flower? That… mixer?”


  Her verbal attack made all the mixers behind her chuckle. Xu Lu, however, did not smile.

  #