Chapter 97: I Miss You So Much

Last Friday night, Xu Xinying’s studio posted a series of jewelry photos on their social media account, which quickly garnered a lot of likes.

However, sharp-eyed netizens soon noticed that this set of jewelry bore a striking resemblance to products from a niche foreign jewelry brand.

Initially, the comment pointing out the similarity didn’t attract much attention. But Xu Xinying’s studio deleted the comment—and then the entire post.

This only heightened suspicion among netizens, who felt the studio was acting guilty. They began to comb through the studio’s earlier posts and, sure enough, found more images of similar products.

Xu Xinying’s studio was now deeply mired in a storm of public opinion.

As the controversy continued to grow, by Tuesday netizens were tagging the studio, demanding an explanation.

Xu Xinying was taken aback at first, only realizing after looking into it that the designer her studio had hired had plagiarized from a foreign indie brand.

If it were just one designer, it would be easy enough to explain. But after further investigation, it turned out there were several involved!

Now Xu Xinying didn’t even know where to begin to clear her name.

If it were a single designer, she could fire them and issue a statement blaming the individual’s lack of integrity and chronic plagiarism. But if several designers at her studio were guilty, it meant there was a failure in management and oversight—something that could seriously damage the studio’s reputation and even provoke a consumer boycott.

Among these designers, two were personally hired by her—who could have foreseen such a thing?

Xu Xinying was so upset over the incident that she became physically ill.

——

While Gu Zehuai was driving Wen Jiu to her company, Wen Jiu mentioned that she would be returning to the Wen family residence that evening.

Though reluctant, Gu Zehuai understood that Wen Jiu hadn’t been home for several days and must miss her parents.

He bade her goodbye with great reluctance, and Wen Jiu, amused by his demeanor, smiled and said farewell too, even giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Only then did Gu Zehuai feel content enough to head to his office.

At the same time, his resolve grew even stronger—to work harder so he could soon rightfully and openly accompany Wen Jiu to her family home.

He had only just arrived at the office when Chen Yi handed him two boxes.

“Mr. Gu, these are the necklace and bracelet you commissioned from the European jewelry studio. They’ve just been delivered.”

Gu Zehuai opened the boxes and inspected the pieces. The actual products were exquisite, and he could vividly imagine how beautiful Wen Jiu would look wearing them.

Seeing Gu Zehuai’s satisfied nod, Chen Yi wisely excused himself.

Though they had only just parted, Gu Zehuai was already missing Wen Jiu.

After sending her a cute sticker, he finally turned his attention to work.

There was a great deal of backlog from the past few days, and both Gu Zehuai and Wen Jiu were prepared to work overtime.

During a break, Wen Jiu glanced at the ring on her right middle finger and immediately thought of Gu Zehuai. When she saw the sticker he had sent, she couldn’t help but laugh.

Gu Zehuai truly was clingy when it came to love.

In the following days, the two didn’t see each other at all—if they weren’t working overtime, they were on their way to work overtime.

Wen Jiu couldn’t even make it home in time for dinner.

Her mother was deeply concerned about the continuous late nights, preparing various nourishing soups for Wen Jiu every day.

Wen Jiu did her best to work faster without compromising quality, hoping to finish early and have dinner with her family.

Anything urgent that she couldn’t finish at the office, she brought home to the Wen residence.

By Sunday afternoon, she finally had a free afternoon. Her colleagues in the design department dashed out of the office like wild horses set loose.

After texting Gu Zehuai, Wen Jiu returned to her apartment.

Though she didn’t sketch any designs that day, she still needed to work on a sample dress.

It was nearly seven when Gu Zehuai finally arrived at her apartment.

Instead of going home, he headed straight for Wen Jiu’s place.

He entered the code and walked directly to a certain room—Wen Jiu had told him earlier, so he was completely at ease.

As soon as he entered, he saw Wen Jiu putting down her tools, about to leave the room. Gu Zehuai strode over and swept her into his arms. “Jiujiu, it’s been days since I’ve seen you. I missed you so much.” As he spoke, he nuzzled his head against her shoulder, making her neck itch.

Wen Jiu couldn’t help but laugh. Hadn’t they been video-calling every day even when they couldn’t meet?

No matter how busy they were, they always made time for a video call.

Wen Jiu patted Gu Zehuai, signaling him to loosen his embrace.

Reluctantly, Gu Zehuai loosened his hold just a little.