Remembering what she had done last night, she felt utter despair—she wanted to cry, but no tears came. How could she possibly bring herself to say those things to him now?
She’d never been drunk before. Last night, it happened completely without warning. Afterwards, she couldn’t control herself at all.
Frustrated, she knocked herself lightly on the head. What a blunder.
Suddenly, the phone in her hand rang.
Almost on instinct, she answered. But as soon as she did, she regretted it.
Yancy Shaw’s deep, magnetic voice came through the earpiece. "Awake now?"
"Yeah," Lauren Shaw replied, her voice a little hoarse—maybe still from the hangover, or perhaps because her throat had done overtime last night....
"There’s still some porridge warming in the kitchen. Don’t forget to get up and have some."
"Mm." Lauren Shaw didn’t know what else to say and could only give a soft response.
She heard a low, deep chuckle from the other end.
Lauren Shaw immediately suspected he was laughing at her. Flustered, she snapped, "What are you laughing at?"
"I was thoroughly pleased last night. I hope Mrs. Shen keeps up the good work in the future."
"Yancy Shaw! You scoundrel!" Lauren Shaw scolded him, shy and indignant, then hung up, burying her face in the blanket.
Staring at his phone after the call was cut, Yancy Shaw’s smile only grew wider.
Clearly, it was she who had made all the moves on him last night—how did she end up calling him the scoundrel? Women. So unreasonable.
Still, remembering her boldness last night made his smile impossible to hide.
The office door opened. Henry Mills entered, shaking his head when he saw Yancy Shaw’s expression. "Look at you, acting all lovesick. I honestly can’t take it anymore."
"Then don’t look," Yancy Shaw replied, the smile quickly easing from his face as he shot Henry Mills a cool glance.
Henry Mills dragged over a chair and sat down, face full of worry. "I need a favor."
"Speak."
Yancy Shaw never wasted words on anyone; Henry Mills was used to it.
"I wanted to ask if you could get your wife to send me her friend's WeChat contact."
Yancy Shaw looked up. "Which friend?"
"Who else? The one whose zodiac is supposedly a terrible match with mine."
Henry Mills looked a little embarrassed. After hesitating a moment, he explained, "My little sister—you know her—she wants to be a model. Yesterday I took her to the fashion show, and she happened to see Miss Xu. My sister says that's her idol, she absolutely loves her."
"Is it your sister who likes her, or is it you?" Yancy Shaw saw right through him.
Exposed in a single sentence, Henry Mills covered with a sneer, "Me? Like her? What a joke! I’m the most eligible bachelor at Ancheng Hospital—would I ever fall for her?"
"Then ask her yourself," Yancy Shaw shot back, not sparing him any courtesy.
Henry Mills rubbed his nose awkwardly. "You really want me to ask her myself?"
When Yancy Shaw stayed silent, Henry Mills seemed to muster up some determination. "Fine, I’ll handle it myself."
After work, Henry Mills drove straight to Lauren Shaw’s studio.
Lauren Shaw was in the middle of sketching out a design when Henry Mills burst in with a loud, enthusiastic greeting: "Sister-in-law!"
Mia May and Maya Wells, who were also inside, froze at his booming voice.
Lauren Shaw, hearing him from across the room, was startled. When she looked up, he was already striding toward her, grabbing a chair and sitting down casually.
"Sister-in-law, I need a favor today," Henry Mills got right to the point.
Lauren Shaw set down her pen and looked at him. "Need a custom gown?"
"No, no, that was just something I said off the cuff." Henry Mills let out a sheepish laugh.
Lauren Shaw waited, not quite understanding, for him to go on.
"Um, can you... send me your friend's WeChat contact?" Henry Mills stuttered through the request.
"Which friend?"
Henry Mills gritted his teeth. "Claire Xu."
Suddenly it dawned on Lauren Shaw.
"Don’t get the wrong idea—my sister really wants to meet her. Claire Xu’s her idol, she dreams of becoming a supermodel too," Henry Mills explained.
"Oh, I see…" Lauren Shaw drew out the last syllable, eyeing him with thinly veiled amusement. Pulling out her phone, she friended Claire Xu and sent over her contact.
Henry Mills thanked her and left right away.
After he left, Lauren Shaw called Claire Xu, filling her in on what had happened.
Laughter rang out over the line from Claire Xu. "I saw him at the fashion show yesterday! The little girl sitting with him even asked to take a selfie with me—I guess that was his sister. She’s way more likable than he is."
"I think maybe he likes you," Lauren Shaw ventured.
"What a joke! Me, with him? No way, just not possible," Claire Xu shot the idea down instantly.
Lauren Shaw chuckled, "Don’t be so sure! If sparks start flying, you’d better treat me to dinner."
"Pfft, I’d treat you to dinner any time, but that has nothing to do with that flirtatious guy," Claire Xu scoffed.
She honestly couldn’t imagine anything developing between herself and Henry Mills. Whenever they were together, disaster seemed sure to follow.
Yesterday at the fashion show, one extra glance at Henry Mills and she’d nearly tripped—if it hadn’t been for her quick wit, she would have truly fallen flat.
They chatted a bit longer, then hung up. No sooner had she done so than Claire Xu received a WeChat friend request.
She considered, then accepted.
"Claire Xu—come on, your turn to go up!"
Claire Xu pocketed her phone, put on her signature cool expression, and strode backstage.
——
The second recording for the design competition show was underway.
After the plagiarism incident last time, the director realized he’d wrongly accused Lauren Shaw. What’s more, she was specifically requested by the show’s investors—so now the director’s attitude toward her had changed completely, his gaze positively friendly.
Eva Snow, on the other hand, now looked at her with venomous eyes, as if she’d been poisoned by a snake—so full of jealousy and hate.
Not that Lauren Shaw cared.
"Lauren Shaw, after the show wraps, you have to make me a new evening gown." Chloe Shaw said it loud enough for everyone on set to hear, designers and celebrities alike.
After working together for a while, Lauren Shaw and Chloe Shaw had become friends.
The others on set started to see Lauren Shaw in a whole new light.
Chloe Shaw was notorious in the industry for her prickly temper. She spared no one’s feelings, yet nobody could actually do anything about her. Rumor had it she had powerful sponsors backing her, so nobody dared cross her.
At first, everyone thought Lauren Shaw would be in big trouble, assuming there would be fireworks or that Chloe Shaw would definitely give her a hard time.
No one expected these two to become fast friends.
Lauren Shaw smiled at Chloe Shaw, "Sure. Come by my studio anytime you’re free."
The two chatted openly, oblivious to the jealous glances cast their way.
Yana Quinn stared at Lauren Shaw, her eyes full of envy.
"Miss Li really is gifted with her hands and her mind. No wonder Miss Li likes you so much."
Chloe Shaw shot Yana Quinn a sidelong glance and replied with a smile, "Miss Li is just far more pleasant than certain other people. I love making friends with those who have simple motives."