Chapter 170: Visiting the Exhibition

"Julia?" Lu Qi'an's voice was cold and heavy.

Qin Miaoyu's mouth opened slightly. "How did you know?"

"Julia is Louis's younger sister! She didn't give you any trouble, did she?"

Qin Miaoyu suddenly thought, no wonder they both had golden hair! When she saw Julia, she had thought of Louis; it seemed that was because they were siblings. Looking back carefully, there was indeed a slight resemblance in their features!

"I wouldn't say she gave me trouble, but she looked at me with a strange expression and said some inexplicable things."

Lu Qi'an's expression turned even colder. "Don't pay attention to Julia. You don't need to believe anything she says to you. There is no history between her and me!"

Qin Miaoyu widened her eyes. "You and her?"

"When I was abroad before, she pursued me for a while, but I didn't accept. Louis also tried to persuade me to marry into the Davis family, but I refused. She is likely acting this way toward you because of me."

"But, but Julia told me a story, saying her friend went abroad for a few years, then her boyfriend had a change of heart and found someone else. Her friend returned to the country wanting to win him back, saying she wouldn't hold the past against him as long as he was willing to be together again. She wasn't talking about you two, was she?"

Lu Qi'an shook his head. "Of course not. Julia has always stayed abroad; this is her first time coming to this country."

Qin Miaoyu felt strange. "Is she making up a story to scare me off?"

"It's possible, but based on Julia's way of doing things, she would usually resort to crude, direct threats rather than using such a roundabout approach."

Qin Miaoyu narrowed her eyes. "You seem to know her quite well!"

Lu Qi'an sighed helplessly. "One doesn't need to know her very well to figure that out. Anyway, let's stop talking about this. Hurry up and eat; I will handle the matter with Julia as soon as possible."

Qin Miaoyu wasn't sure what Lu Qi'an's "handling" would entail. While she had some free time, she went to a well-known art exhibition being held in Jingcheng.

This exhibition was rare because it featured many original works by masters, and she expected the experience to be quite different. She had been looking forward to it and had asked An Xin to help her secure an internal ticket early on.

Once the exhibition began, Qin Miaoyu looked at the original works one by one, feeling that the trip was truly worth it.

Just as she was about to walk around a painting, she heard a greeting.

"Miss Qin, long time no see!"

Qin Miaoyu tilted her head slightly and saw An You. She replied, "Brother An, long time no see."

"I didn't expect to see you here. Didn't you go to Master Shelson's exhibition last time? My friends and I were there for a long time, but we didn't run into you."

Qin Miaoyu nodded. "Something came up at the last minute, so I missed Master Shelson's exhibition. I wasted the ticket you gave me, Brother An."

An You smiled. "It wasn't a waste. You had your reasons. If you had the time, I'm sure you would have gone. I felt you would particularly enjoy Master Shelson's work!"

"That's true, Master Shelson is one of my favorite painters. It's a pity I missed his exhibition this time. Who knows when there will be another."

It's possible she might never get to see one again, Qin Miaoyu thought, as this was the first time Master Shelson's paintings had been exhibited in the country, and there was no telling if they would ever return.

The two walked and talked, slowly making their way through the entire exhibition hall.

By the time they finished, it was nearly noon, and An You invited Qin Miaoyu to lunch.

"Consider it as repaying the favor for the ticket I gave you. Will you join me for a meal?"

Since An You put it that way, Qin Miaoyu naturally had no reason to refuse, especially since she had promised to thank him if the opportunity arose.

As they were seated in the restaurant, Lu Qi'an called.

Qin Miaoyu gave an apologetic smile, picked up her phone, and stepped outside to take the call.

From not too far away, An You heard Qin Miaoyu say, "Lu Qi'an."

An You was slightly stunned.

News of Lu Qi'an and Qin Miaoyu's divorce had spread everywhere, so seeing Qin Miaoyu at the art exhibition today had made An You uncontrollably happy.

However, judging by the tone of Qin Miaoyu's voice on the phone, An You realized that even though the two had divorced, they had not ended things on bad terms.

When Qin Miaoyu returned to the table, the dishes had already been served.

Qin Miaoyu felt a bit embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I was on the phone a bit too long and forgot that the food was arriving."

"It's fine. Sit down and eat before it gets cold."

After the meal, An You offered to take Qin Miaoyu to her studio. It was peak lunch hour, and it was difficult to catch a car, so Qin Miaoyu did not refuse his kindness.

When she arrived downstairs at the studio, Qin Miaoyu said goodbye to An You and hurried upstairs.

When she reached the studio, Julia happened to be coming out of the reception room.

Seeing Qin Miaoyu, Julia held her chin even higher and cast a disdainful look at her.

Qin Miaoyu didn't say anything. Louis had saved her before, so letting Julia have her way a little could be considered a form of repayment.

However, the nicer Qin Miaoyu's attitude was, the more indignant Julia felt. She thought it was just like someone who stole another person's boyfriend to have no sense of shame at all! If Qin Miaoyu knew what Julia was thinking, she would certainly find it bafflingly unjust!

Julia said nothing more and left.

Qin Miaoyu withdrew her gaze and looked at Xu Xiaoqi and Pei Yixue, who were coming out of the reception room. "Why did she come back again?"

"The same old routine. But today, she at least looked at the wedding designs, though she started picking faults afterward and kept asking when you would arrive."

Xu Xiaoqi concluded, "She's definitely targeting you! Miaoyu, think about it—did you offend her at some point without realizing it?"

"It certainly seems that way," Qin Miaoyu said firmly.

Pei Yixue quickly asked, "Why? Tell us quickly so we can think of a way to deal with it."

"It's probably because of Lu Qi'an. This Miss Julia used to pursue him, and we suspect that's why she's targeting me."

"So it's really one of Lu Qi'an's 'rotten peach blossoms' (unwanted romantic entanglements). What are you going to do?"

Qin Miaoyu said, "There's no need to do anything. Lu Qi'an said he would handle it."

Xu Xiaoqi agreed, "That's exactly how it should be. Since it's his mess, he has to be the one to clean it up!"

After Julia went downstairs, Qiong, who had been waiting in a nearby café, immediately came out to meet her and asked how things went.

Julia shrugged. "I was too early. Qin Miaoyu just got back, and I was already planning to leave, so I didn't stay."

"The timing is so unfortunate. I was hoping you could help me find out something. Now that I'm back in the country, I'm completely in the dark. I don't even know how to go about winning my boyfriend back."

Julia replied, "Next time. I'm already back, so it's not easy to go back now."

Qiong had no choice but to follow Julia into the car.