An Junxi stood at the busy intersection waiting for the traffic light. When she looked up, she saw the electronic screen on the building opposite playing the advertisement for Gu Real Estate's new development.
Summer Coast, your courtyard in the city.
The title was simple yet extremely attractive. Every time she passed by, she would look up at it for a while.
Who wouldn't want to have a sunlit courtyard in this urban jungle? For An Junxi, it was simply an unattainable dream.
She could only look and nothing more.
She didn't dare to hope for too much; she only wished that through her own efforts, she could have a small two-bedroom apartment in the suburbs of this big city. That way, she could bring her parents over to live with her, making it easier for her to take care of them, and they wouldn't have to suffer the neighbors' attitudes back in their hometown.
No matter how small the house, it would still be their home.
Thinking about the amount in her bank account, An Junxi sighed softly.
She didn't even dare to dream of living in a place like Summer Coast, where the wealthy gather.
The light turned green, the traffic finally stopped, and An Junxi walked across the crowded zebra crossing.
As a first-tier city and economic center of the country, Yan City was filled with people from all over the country and even the world. People on the streets hurried about, and she didn't know how many she passed by every day.
An Junxi had already adapted to this fast-paced lifestyle. Seeing the green light had only a few seconds left, she gripped her camera tightly and ran a few steps to finally reach the other side of the street before the light turned red.
Today was Sunday, and she had an appointment with a client for a photoshoot, which counted as her side job.
Although she had never studied photography with a professional photographer, her photography skills were quite good and she had her own perspective. She even had some followers on Weibo, and many girls liked her photography style.
Whenever she had time, she would take up some part-time photography jobs; it was a way to earn some extra income.
Just as she was about to walk into the subway station, her phone rang. She thought it was the client urging her, so she quickly took out her phone, only to see it was her senior.
"Senior, what's up?"
"Jun Xi, can you come back to the institution? Teacher Zheng is sick and took leave; we are short-handed and need you to go to Blue Cup Art Center to discuss the collaboration. This promotion plan is under your charge, so it's best if you go."
An Junxi felt a bit troubled, "Now?" It's fine for her, but she couldn't miss her appointment with the client; otherwise, it'd be hard to get part-time jobs later.
Gong Xiaoyu sensed her hesitation and asked, "Did you take a part-time job?"
An Junxi was her junior and also her subordinate and friend. Xiaoyu knew about Jun Xi's family situation, so she specifically allowed her to have weekends off, turning a blind eye to her part-time jobs.
She, herself, had single-handedly established Si Yuan Education Institution, going through many hardships and difficulties, and she understood how tough life could be.
An Junxi quickly said, "No, I'll go back to the company and get the contract in a bit."
Education institutions were busiest on weekends since children had days off, so many teachers had to work overtime on weekends. Her senior had already been particularly considerate, letting her be in charge of market promotion and working administrative hours, giving her weekends off to take part-time jobs.
She certainly couldn't take advantage. When the institution needed her, official business came first.
After hanging up the phone and still worried about how to explain to the client, her phone rang again. This time it was the girl she had an appointment to photograph. She swiped the answer button, "Hello."
Before she could explain, the girl started apologizing profusely, "Miss An, I'm really sorry, our school has an event, and we might have to reschedule."
The girl felt extremely guilty, repeatedly promising to bring more classmates next time.
An Junxi breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It's okay, see you next time."
Hearing that An Junxi was not at all blaming her, the girl felt more guilty, "I'll help promote you. Your photos are so beautiful; surely more classmates will come for a shoot next time."
"Thank you so much."
An Junxi hung up the phone, feeling exceptionally good, and changed her route to head back to the company.
By the time she got the contract and rushed to Blue Cup Art Center, she was already seventeen minutes late for the appointment.
This was really bad; the director of Blue Cup was notoriously strict. Would this cooperation be ruined because of it?
An Junxi nervously explained her purpose to the receptionist. The beautiful receptionist dialed the internal line, soon hanging up and saying, "Miss An, I'm terribly sorry, but you have already missed the appointment. Our director just left the company. Her secretary, Miss Li, said the decision will be made when the director returns; you should go back for now."
This was probably a polite rejection?
An Junxi panicked, "We are genuinely interested in collaborating with your company. How about I wait here for your director to return?"
The receptionist still insisted she shouldn't waste her time.
There was no way An Junxi could just go back, so she sat on the sofa beside her, "I'll wait here."
The receptionist could only let her be and even brought her a glass of water politely.
An Junxi thanked her courteously.
She waited for over two hours, repeatedly going over the contract and the plan, nearly perfect, believing there were no flaws that the other party could pick at.
An Junxi was contemplating how to salvage the cooperation opportunity when she suddenly felt a cold sensation as something splattered over the black and white contract paper with a "splat."
An Junxi exclaimed, finding not only her hands but her face and body wet. Even without looking in a mirror, she knew what she looked like now.
In confusion, she heard the mischievous laughter of a child, "Hahaha, this ugly monster is so funny!"
Turning angrily towards the sound, she saw a seven or eight-year-old boy standing a few meters away, holding a palette in one hand and a bottle of paint in the other. He laughed triumphantly at her messy state, as if he had just completed a masterpiece.
In fairness, if not for his devilish behavior, the boy's looks could easily win over a group of "big sister" fans. He was the type of photo model An Junxi had been searching for.
Unfortunately, he had ruined her contract; no amount of handsome could quell her anger.
Standing up and glaring at him, she asked, "What's your name? Do you understand manners? Will you apologize?"
The boy didn't care about her expression and snorted, "Do you think you can casually ask for my young master's name?"
An Junxi felt like spitting blood; today's kids were truly something else!
She had visited Blue Cup Art Center several times but had never encountered such a troublesome child.
Children who came to Blue Cup to learn painting typically had wealthy or prestigious family backgrounds, seemingly not people she could easily offend. Moreover, her aim was to discuss cooperation, and she had already been late, leaving her even less ground to show anger… Despite that, An Junxi still patiently said, "Take me to your teacher."
The boy seemed to have heard a funny joke. His peach-blossom eyes radiated a cunning that didn't match his age, "Find our teacher? She's probably about to go crazy; she won't be able to take care of you, ugly monster."
Still pondering the meaning of his words, An Junxi then heard a piercing scream from the end of the hallway, abrupt in the artistically rich atmosphere, making everyone's scalp tingle.
The quiet art center began to bustle.