Shen Qinglan nodded lightly, "Having troubled you so many times before, consider this a thank you gift."
Shen Junyu felt a pang of jealousy; it turned out his sister didn’t come just to give him a gift. He glanced at Yu Bin with a hint of dissatisfaction.
Yu Bin understood the chill in his boss’s gaze and felt somewhat awkward. He braced himself and took the hot potato of a gift from his boss’s hand, then quickly darted out of the office.
Yu Bin thought he might need to apply for a few days of business travel to escape.
In the office, Shen Junyu had already opened the gift Shen Qinglan gave him. It was a rectangular box, about half a meter long. He opened it, and inside was a painting.
When he unfolded it, Shen Junyu’s eyes lit up, "A Leng Qingqiu painting. It’s the one that was supposed to be auctioned but was suddenly pulled from the auction."
He looked at Shen Qinglan, "Lanlan, where did you get this painting?"
"It was passed to me by a friend."
"What friend? I wasn’t aware you had such a friend." Shen Junyu doubted, knowing his sister’s quiet nature and how she barely had any friends.
"A friend I met recently. She has some connections with Leng Qingqiu’s agent. Knowing I wanted this painting, she negotiated with the agent and bought it for me at a low price," Shen Qinglan explained.
She didn’t mention that she was Leng Qingqiu herself; she didn’t want others to know this identity for now.
Shen Junyu didn’t question his sister’s explanation at all. He carefully put the painting away, "Daddy will definitely love this gift."
Shen Qinglan nodded noncommittally, not really caring whether he liked it or not. She just didn’t want Shen Junyu to waste money on something unnecessary, even though their family wasn’t short on money.
"Lanlan, did Fu Hengyi go back to the military?"
Shen Junyu had figured as much when he saw Shen Qinglan showing up alone here.
"Then have dinner with your brother tonight. Dinner’s on me."
Shen Qinglan agreed, "Okay."
After dinner, Shen Junyu directly took Shen Qinglan back to Jiangxin Garden, looking around at the small house.
"This place is a bit small, Lanlan. How about your brother buys you a bigger house?" Shen Junyu suggested.
"No need, it’s nice here."
Seeing that Shen Qinglan was not interested, Shen Junyu didn’t insist. He’d only mentioned it casually; though the house was small, it was nicely decorated, and he knew Shen Qinglan wasn’t just being polite with him.
Shen Junyu didn’t stay long, leaving after just ten minutes or so.
Shen Qinglan took in the clothes drying on the balcony, folded Fu Hengyi’s shirt neatly, and put it in the wardrobe. Her hand touched his underwear, and suddenly her mind flashed back to something she had touched that morning, and her hand recoiled as if shocked.
Her cheeks flushed, the coolness faded from her face, clearly thinking of something unsuitable for children. She tapped her hot face with her hand, then placed Fu Hengyi’s underwear in the drawer at the bottom of the wardrobe.
Shen Qinglan stayed home for two days and finished a painting, but unlike usual, she didn’t just leave it lying around. Instead, she put it in a box and stored it carefully.
Thinking that she hadn’t been to school for many days, Shen Qinglan decided to visit the campus, mainly to see her advisor and submit her graduation topic.
Her advisor had been urging her about this matter for a while, but Shen Qinglan had been busy with other things and hadn’t had the time. Taking advantage of the day, she decided to get it done first.
After coming out of her advisor’s office, Shen Qinglan made her way to the dormitory. She initially intended to meet Fang Tong for lunch, only to find her absent, realizing Fang Tong should be interning at the Junlan Group and feeling suddenly relieved she didn’t run into her when she visited the group that day.
Only Wu Qian was in the dormitory when she entered. Wu Qian was putting on makeup, wearing a beige dress she saw at a women’s fashion brand while shopping with Fu Hengyi.
Wu Qian looked flustered upon seeing her, even smudging her lipstick.
"Qinglan, you...you’re back." She glanced uneasily at Shen Qinglan and, noticing her gaze falling on the makeup products on her desk, the unease in her eyes deepened. Her mouth pulled into a strained smile, "I...I have a job interview, so I thought putting on some makeup would make me look more presentable."
"Very pretty," Shen Qinglan spoke lightly.
Wu Qian froze, then realized what Shen Qinglan had said, "Tha...thank you."
"I just came back to the dorm to grab something. I’m leaving right away; you continue."
After Shen Qinglan finished speaking, she casually picked up a book from the table and exited the dorm.
Wu Qian watched her leave, feeling a faint sense of relief that she hadn’t questioned the origins of those items.
Shen Qinglan strolled across the campus, admiring the scenery along the way. For the first time, she realized that B University’s campus was indeed beautiful. There were students scattered in twos and threes on the way, the athletic figure on the court sweating profusely, yet exuding youthful vigor.
For the first time, Shen Qinglan felt like she might have missed a lot during the past three years.