136 The Eve Of The Competition
The competition was held in the exhibition hall in the city center. Almost everyone who was invited enjoyed a certain status in the fragrance industry. Those who had connections had long heard that Xu Heng would also be participating.
More than ten years ago, Xu Heng was one of the best young talents in the city. Unfortunately, he made a mistake and completely fell from prominence. On the contrary, Zhou Heng, who always followed Xu Heng, took advantage of him and replaced him.
Once the national competition had ended, there was a sudden uproar in the perfume industry. Everyone guessed that Xu Heng’s incident might have been Zhou Heng’s doing behind the scenes. As for the incident with He Miao, it was just the uncle and niece’s old trick. However, they did not expect He Miao to see through their trick in public and cause them to lose face. They did not dare to show their faces in front of people again.
The fact that Xu Heng was invited to the event showed that the elders in the perfume industry still recognized his ability, but they wanted to use this opportunity to make him active again in everyone’s eyes.
Therefore, many people regarded Xu Heng as their strongest rival. They were full of anxiety and anticipation, waiting for him to stand on the stage again.
He Miao and Xu Heng had checked into a hotel near the competition venue the night before. He Miao was still hesitating about replacing her teacher in the competition tomorrow. “Professor Xu, have you really made up your mind?”
“Silly child, I’m not prepared at all. Even if I want to participate in the competition, I can’t make anything.” Xu Heng waved his hand indifferently. “You are my student. I believe in your strength. This competition is just a small stage for you. Your future is bound to be a bigger, so you don’t have to take this competition too seriously. Just show your strength.”
He Miao pursed her lips and nodded. She did not mention Xu Heng anymore. She had dinner with him in the dining room and went back to her room to rest.
Onion was sleeping comfortably on the soft bed. When it heard her return, it immediately perked up its ears and ran to the door to welcome her.
He Miao picked it up and rubbed its forehead affectionately.
This time, the competition was held in the city. He Miao was worried about leaving it alone at home, so she brought Onion along.
She had arranged everything, but she did not know if she should tell Jing Yan.
She had been working in the laboratory late into the night and had not had a good conversation with Jing Yan for a long time. She could feel his low mood, but she did not know what to do.
The smile on Jing Yan’s face was getting less and less, so she had not told him about her coming out to participate in the competition.
Even if she did not say it, Jing Yan must know what she was here for. She just did not know if he would be angry about it.
As her thoughts ran wild, He Miao gently brought Onion in front of her eyes. she looked at its round little eyes and muttered to herself, “What if that guy gets angry? But do I really have an obligation to tell him?”
Onion could not understand what she was saying. It yawned and struggled to get out of her arms. It jumped to the pillow and continued sleeping.
He Miao did not disturb it anymore. She got up and went to the bathroom to take a shower.
When she came out, her hair was still wet and dripping with water. Suddenly, her phone rang.
As she dried her hair, she picked up the phone with her heart thumping. It was unknown if it was because of anticipation or guilt.
“Hello? He Miao?” The voice on the other end of the phone was a little unfamiliar.
He Miao furrowed her brows as he tried to make out who it was. She could tell that the person who was calling was actually Mu Xiao.
“It’s not Jing Yan, darling.”
This realization made He Miao heave a sigh of relief, but at the same time, she felt a little disappointed.
She responded indifferently, and Mu Xiao hurriedly asked, “Is brother Yan with you?”
“No, he’s not,” He Miao asked in surprise, “Isn’t he always with you? Could he be home at this time?”
“Brother Yan’s face was gloomy the entire day. He left me alone before school ended. I thought he went to look for you.” Mu Xiao complained with a headache, “Did you and Brother Yan have a fight? Otherwise, why would he suddenly look so pale?”
“We didn’t quarrel.” He Miao was also a little worried, and she could not wait to hang up and call Jing Yan.
Mu Xiao hurriedly stopped her. “Don’t, don’t hang up the phone. I have something to ask you.”
He paused for a moment and asked nervously, “Did Brother Yan give you the bracelet he won last time?”
“I received a bracelet from him. Is there a problem?” He Miao asked, frowning, puzzled.
“Of course there’s a problem!” Mu Xiao could tell from He Miao’s tone that she was still unaware of the bracelet’s true value. “He decided to help his good friend this once. Brother Yan bought that bracelet from an auction and donated it to the organizers of the competition for free. He won it back with his own results!”
“Auction?” He Miao really did not know where the bracelet came from and only thought that the prize for the competition was unique. She did not expect that Jing Yan was the one who had gone through so much trouble. “Why did he do that?” she asked.