"Not having money is no matter, but..." Duan Rong's gaze swept over Zhu Xiaoqi's right foot, and he hesitated.
"But what..."
"I noticed, Little Seven, that you're wearing a Silver Bracelet on your ankle. Could I borrow it for a look?"
The moment Zhu Xiaoqi heard that, her face flushed red. She gave Duan Rong a strange look.
The meaning in her eyes could not have been clearer!
She suspected Duan Rong was some perverted fetishist!
Duan Rong waved his hands repeatedly and explained, "Don't misunderstand! My mother once had a Silver Bracelet just like that. I only wanted to take a look..."
As he spoke, Duan Rong lowered his head, looking grief-stricken and despondent.
Having lived two lifetimes, Duan Rong was not merely full of lies when he lied—he could do so without changing expression or quickening his heartbeat, and even sound utterly sincere!
Sure enough, Zhu Xiaoqi's heart stirred. The Silver Bracelet on her ankle had also been left to her by her mother when she died.
Seen that way, she and Duan Rong were fellow sufferers, both ill-fated souls...
"Oh... if that's the case... then you can look at it..."
Duan Rong raised his head at those words and smiled. "Then it's settled!"
Zhu Xiaoqi smiled too, revealing two rows of gleaming little white teeth. "Come on, let's go to the main hall. It's brighter there!"
As she spoke, Zhu Xiaoqi gathered up the brushes and pigments from the low table and eagerly arranged them on the Tea Table in the main hall.
Zhu Xiaoqi sat opposite Duan Rong, while he gazed at her and considered how to compose the painting.
Zhu Xiaoqi had always been a frank and capable girl, but now that she was suddenly sitting face-to-face with a man while he stared at her,