I Deduce the Female Lead Likes Me [Transmigration into a book] - Chapter 9: Secret
Kou Shuang’s internship at Chunsheng Gallery went exceptionally smoothly. In less than a week, the touring exhibition ended ahead of schedule. According to Old Chun, this was because all the paintings displayed at this stop had been sold.
Kou Shuang was somewhat puzzled and said: “Is it that popular? I didn’t feel like there were many customers.”
Old Chun just smiled.
It was just a small touring exhibition, with only about forty pieces of stock prepared for each city, and none of them were expensive. Even if they sold ten paintings a day, it would only take ten days. Old Chun asked Kou Shuang: “Do you think you can only sell ten paintings a day?”
Kou Shuang was surprised: “Since they’re so popular, why didn’t you prepare more?”
“That’s all thanks to you. If it weren’t for you, we might not have sold them all,” Old Chun said: “You’re good-looking, customers find you pleasing to the eye, and their purchasing tendency naturally deepened.”
Kou Shuang: “…”
Well, she could only silently accept such direct praise.
That afternoon, on the day the exhibition ended early, the decorations were taken down and thrown on the ground. Posters and brochures were scattered everywhere. Old Chun and Lux worked hard to pack up materials and move boxes, sweating profusely. Kou Shuang asked: “Is it just the two of you in this gallery?”
Old Chun pointed to himself and said: “Major shareholder,” then pointed to Lux, “Minor shareholder.”
“And HR,” Lux readily added, giving himself credit.
Kou Shuang found it amusing and said: “Let me help you.” With that, she squatted down and stacked all the brochures near the entrance.
“Don’t throw them away, don’t throw them away!” Old Chun quickly shouted: “Put these backstage; we can sell them later!”
Kou Shuang turned and walked towards the backstage area.
The gallery looked quite large, but there were only two people working there. No wonder they were in such a hurry to hire. After three or four days of interacting, she felt they were good people, and she didn’t mind helping with these small tasks.
She carried a small box, about a hand’s height, backstage. The backstage area was very messy, with things haphazardly placed, barely leaving any room to step.
“Old Chun, where do I put this stuff?!” Kou Shuang called out loudly.
“Put it wherever it fits!” came the reply.
Kou Shuang felt a bit tricky. She looked around with the box in her arms and found a small empty space. She moved over with difficulty and finally managed to squat down.
After putting the box down, Kou Shuang stood up and accidentally knocked over the top one from a shaky stack of boxes.
“Bang!” Something fell to the ground.
Kou Shuang fumbled to put things back in order and, in the process, saw a corner of a painting. She hadn’t noticed it before, but the colors were just too familiar…
Blue and white intertwined, with red accents.
Isn’t this the painting the man with sunglasses bought?
Kou Shuang’s heart jumped. She instinctively held her breath, then cautiously uncovered the canvas.
It really is “Miscellaneous Autumn”!
Kou Shuang’s heart skipped a beat as she recalled their conversation that day.
—What did you say?
—Tell him to check; National University’s name is very useful.
“Kou Shuang, what’s wrong?”
“N-nothing!” Kou Shuang called out loudly, carefully covering the canvas back in place and restacking the boxes. She said: “The backstage is too messy. It took me a long time to find a spot.”
Lux was standing at the backstage doorway, leaning against the doorframe, smiling. “That’s good. It’s very messy here, isn’t it? Don’t look around casually, you might uncover Old Chun’s secret.”
“What secret?” Kou Shuang asked instinctively.
“I wouldn’t know. You tell me what you find. A woman’s naked body, perhaps? Hahahaha…”
Lux’s smile was gentle, no different from when Kou Shuang first saw him. Back then, she trusted him because of that smile. Now, an inexplicable shiver ran down her spine.
Lux took a few steps into the room. Kou Shuang’s heart began to pound wildly. She thought he had discovered something, so she quietly gripped a small pair of scissors on the table.
To her surprise, Lux only walked near the desk, then reached out and covered a notebook, saying: “Let’s go. Old Chun says he’s treating us to dinner.”
Lux acted quite naturally and casually, but Kou Shuang still noticed that what Lux had covered was an accounting voucher.
Kou Shuang stared at Lux, trying her best not to glance at his hand, and asked with a smile: “What are we eating? I’m not having barbecue; it’s too greasy.”
“No barbecue. You pick today,” Lux still smiled.
That smile, hidden in the shadows, looked especially eerie. Kou Shuang didn’t know if he had seen her stack the boxes, so she could only try to force a smile.
Mommy save me! I know this is a mystery novel! But Song Muxue isn’t involved in this. Why is it getting so dangerous?! This is just an internship!
Kou Shuang’s heart pounded, adrenaline surging wildly.
“Can I not eat?”
“Of course not,” Lux took a step forward, closer to Kou Shuang, “We finally have a young lady here. If you don’t come to dinner, what will two old men like us eat?”
A sense of danger washed over her. Kou Shuang felt her hairs stand on end.
What is Lux going to do?! Kill me to silence me?!
Kou Shuang unconsciously took a step back. Her phone in her pocket suddenly jingled, startling her.
“Your phone’s ringing. Aren’t you going to answer?” Lux smiled.
Kou Shuang looked down for her phone and saw it was Lu Renjia.
“Hello.”
“Kou Shuang, hi. Someone gave me two movie tickets. Would you like to come and see a movie with me?”
“When?”
“After you get off work, maybe grab dinner too?”
Kou Shuang glanced at Lux and, with almost no hesitation, agreed: “Okay, then come pick me up at the gallery.”
“Really? Great! I’ll leave right away! Wait for me for half an hour!”
“Mm.” Kou Shuang hung up the phone.
Lux asked: “What’s wrong?”
Kou Shuang’s expression remained unchanged: “Sorry, I have plans this afternoon.”
“Oh, but Old Chun and I made plans first! Who is it? If it’s not a boyfriend, then I won’t agree,” Lux joked: “I’m going to be jealous!”
In this situation, Kou Shuang had to reluctantly agree: “It’s a boyfriend. We just made it official, so he’s a bit clingy.”
“Oh, alright then. If you’re busy with your relationship, you can leave early. Old Chun and I can handle the wrap-up. Next time you intern, remember to leave time for dinner together.” Lux smiled.
“Then I’ll leave when he gets here. He said he’s already left.”
Kou Shuang lowered her head and walked out of the backstage area, finally getting a chance to compose her stiff smile.
That painting… it was clearly already sold! Why was it still backstage? Did that man in sunglasses buy a fake one?
And why did Lux cover the accounting voucher?
Kou Shuang couldn’t say why, but she had a gut feeling that this gallery had some unknown little secret, and she might have just stumbled upon a part of it.
Old Chun saw Kou Shuang come out and said: “What were you two doing backstage for so long? I’m very curious; I’ll check the surveillance video later.”
“There are cameras?” Kou Shuang asked instinctively.
“Haha, are you really scared? Then I really have to see if you two were doing something unspeakable behind my back!” Old Chun laughed loudly.
Cold sweat ran down Kou Shuang’s back. While stacking the boxes might not have looked suspicious, her action of lifting the canvas could not be concealed.
“Nothing of the sort,” Lux emerged from backstage at some point and said with a smile: “Kou Shuang has a boyfriend, you know. Even if I wanted to make a move, I’d have to consider morality, right?”
Lux stood very close to Kou Shuang, and all the goosebumps on Kou Shuang’s neck stood up.
Kou Shuang forced a smile.
Kou Shuang absentmindedly continued doing odd jobs in the gallery, but she absolutely refused to go backstage anymore.
Fake painting? Counterfeit? Black workshop?
If there really were cameras and they discovered she touched that painting, what would Old Chun and Lux do? Kill her to silence her? The two didn’t look strong; would they hire a hitman?
As Kou Shuang’s mind raced, Lux teased her: “Kou Shuang looks like such a goddess, but she’s so girlish when waiting for her boyfriend. Oh, it seems I’m completely out of luck.”
A short while later, Lu Renjia appeared at the gallery entrance on his motorbike. He took off his helmet, ran a hand through his hair, and walked over, looking quite handsome. Kou Shuang, in a den of wolves, saw him like a savior and quickly rushed up to him, saying: “You’re here!”
Lu Renjia was somewhat puzzled by Kou Shuang’s sudden enthusiasm and said: “Are you very tired today?”
Kou Shuang grabbed his sleeve and said: “Let’s go watch the movie quickly; we’ll be late.”
Lu Renjia smiled and said: “Not yet, there’s enough time. I didn’t expect you to actually intern at Chunsheng Gallery.”
Kou Shuang just wanted to pull Lu Renjia away, but he took a few more steps into the hall.
At this moment, Kou Shuang’s heart stirred, and she suddenly remembered something.
She hadn’t told Lu Renjia the gallery’s location, yet he seemed to have known it all along, even knowing it was a “half-hour” drive!
“Ah Jia, long time no see!” Old Chun greeted him.
“Hey, Ah Jia, are you Kou Shuang’s boyfriend? How did you get so lucky with women?! Share some with your brother!” Lux said.
“Boyfriend?” Lu Renjia looked a bit confused and said: “Not yet.”
“Kou Shuang said so,” Lux said, “Ask her.”
Lu Renjia turned to look at Kou Shuang, his face not happy, but rather showing an inexplicable…”difficulty”?
Kou Shuang didn’t want to stay here for a confrontation. She forced herself to step forward, linked arms with Lu Renjia, and said: “I also want ice cream. McDonald’s has buy one get one half off. Let’s go.”
“Mm.”
After a moment of silence, Lu Renjia finally matched Kou Shuang’s pace and walked out.
“Kou Shuang doesn’t need to come for the internship tomorrow; she can rest for a few days. Ah Jia, come visit often!” Lux’s polite words echoed behind them.
It wasn’t until they were out of the gallery door that Kou Shuang finally relaxed. She released Lu Renjia’s arm, feeling a bit sore.
Lu Renjia straddled his motorbike but looked at her with an unreadable expression, asking: “You told Lux I’m your boyfriend?”
Kou Shuang just wanted to leave quickly, so she sat on Lu Renjia’s back seat and said: “He asked that way, so I just went along with it.”
Kou Shuang felt a little guilty as she said this. She was afraid Lu Renjia had misunderstood something.
But… Lu Renjia didn’t seem happy. He kept one foot on the ground, not starting the bike for a long time, and said nothing.
“Let’s go,” Kou Shuang urged.
“…Mm, let’s go.” Lu Renjia sighed and put on his helmet.
The atmosphere during the movie afterward wasn’t very harmonious. Lu Renjia, usually so talkative, fell silent multiple times. Kou Shuang was thinking about the gallery and didn’t give it much thought.
When the movie ended, Kou Shuang held her unfinished popcorn and asked Lu Renjia: “Where should we have dinner?”
To her surprise, Lu Renjia looked at her, his expression somewhat hesitant. “Kou Shuang, we need to talk.”