Transmigrated And Became An Omega [ABO]

Zhou Leya returned to her workstation, organizing her notes before glancing at Shi Yue, who was still staring into space.

"What's wrong?" she asked, "Any ideas yet?"

Shi Yue smiled at her but shook her head without speaking.

Zhou Leya added, "I just had a chat with Ms. Shu and compiled some useful information. I've sent it to you on our messaging app."

Shi Yue's eyes lit up at the news.

She pulled out her phone and opened her chat with Zhou Leya, seeing a long text and several images sent over. Shi Yue glanced up, adopting a playful expression and voice, "Thanks so much, Leya!"

Zhou Leya rolled her eyes. "Cut it out."

Switching to a more serious tone, she continued, "Ms. Shu has a deep understanding of art. Although she lives abroad, her family has maintained traditional Chinese habits, and she's a huge fan of traditional culture.

"I remember that's your strong suit, so use it well and give it your best shot."

Shi Yue immediately perked up.

"Got it!" She stood up from her chair, grinning. "But you better watch out."

Zhou Leya raised her chin proudly. "I'm not losing to you."

They exchanged smiles before Zhou Leya returned to her workstation to focus on her own project.

Shi Yue took a deep breath, grabbed her sketchbook, and began drawing.

Incorporating traditional cultural elements had always been her strength, as evidenced by her work in the first episode. Using the information Zhou Leya had shared and her own impression of Shu Qingxi's style, Shi Yue quickly sketched out three designs before noon. They ranged from a fully traditional Tang-style dress to a modernized fusion design, with each dress progressively incorporating fewer traditional elements.

By the afternoon, seeing that Shu Qingxi was free, Shi Yue approached her with the designs.

"Ms. Shu, here are my initial concepts. May I have your feedback?"

Shu Qingxi nodded and invited her to sit on the nearby sofa.

She carefully reviewed the designs and then looked up at Shi Yue. "I remember reading in your bio that your family runs a clothing factory. You must have been exposed to fashion design from an early age, right?"

Shi Yue nodded. "You could say that."

Shu Qingxi smiled and handed the sketches back to her. "Your designs are very impressive. Honestly, if these dresses were on display in a boutique, I'd want to try them on myself."

Shi Yue asked, "Which one do you like the most?"

"They're all fine." Shu Qingxi shrugged lightly. "Maybe you should go with the style you're most comfortable with."

Her response was so vague that it barely felt like any advice at all.

Shi Yue wasn't satisfied with getting such an unhelpful answer.

Thinking quickly, she began elaborating on her designs. "For example, this Tang style dress is a faithful reproduction. The skirt will use over two meters of fabric to achieve a flowing, ethereal effect. The top may seem a bit plain on its own, but once paired with a matching shawl, the entire look will balance out, avoiding the issue of the top feeling too heavy compared to the bottom..."

After spending about ten minutes explaining her concepts in detail, she looked up, only to find that Shu Qingxi had been staring at her the whole time, seemingly not focused on the designs at all.

When Shi Yue met her gaze, Shu Qingxi smiled. "You're quite persistent, aren't you?"

Shi Yue felt a flicker of irritation. "What do you mean by that?"

"What do I mean?" Shu Qingxi opened and closed her folding fan. "I've already given you my answer, but you don't seem to want to hear it. Instead, you wasted all this time explaining things I already understand."

Shi Yue retorted, "If you had something else to do, you could have interrupted me anytime."

Shu Qingxi shook her head. "I'm free. My time here is dedicated to the competition and helping you three contestants. I just don't want to waste time on meaningless things.

"Do you understand the importance of knowing when to stop?"

Shi Yue smirked, not backing down. "It seems Ms. Shu knows that lesson well."

Shu Qingxi narrowed her eyes.

If Shi Yue had thought Shu Qingxi's involvement in the competition was a coincidence before, it was now clear that things weren't as simple as they seemed.

"I don't understand why you're so hostile toward me," Shi Yue said, deciding to confront her directly since there were no cameras recording their conversation. "Have I done something that warrants such treatment?"

Shu Qingxi countered, "Do you really think your actions are worthy of respect?"

"Yes," Shi Yue replied firmly. "I've done nothing wrong. Why shouldn't I deserve respect?"

Shu Qingxi was momentarily taken aback. "You..."

"I think there's a big misunderstanding between us," Shi Yue continued, now able to guess the root of the issue. "Did Leng Mingshuan ask you to participate in this show?"

Shu Qingxi responded with a brief "Yes."

Shi Yue chuckled. "And what did he say about me?"

Shu Qingxi frowned.

Shi Yue stood up. "I think it's better to see things for yourself, don't you? Blindly believing someone else's words could lead you astray."

Without waiting for Shu Qingxi to respond, Shi Yue turned and walked away.

Although she had put on a confident front in front of Shu Qingxi, when Shi Yue returned to her workstation and looked at the three sketches—which were good but still missing something—she couldn't help feeling a bit frustrated.

She tried refining one of the designs, but after spending the entire afternoon on it, she ended up crumpling all three sketches and tossing them into the trash.

At ten o'clock that night, she headed back to her room for a break, only to run into Zhou Leya, who was coming upstairs after a late-night snack.

Zhou Leya asked how her progress was going, and Shi Yue held up a clenched fist.

Zhou Leya blinked. "What does that mean?"

Shi Yue waved her fist. "It means zero—progress: zero."

Zhou Leya frowned. "Aren't you at least a little worried?"

"What good would that do?" Shi Yue replied as she passed her and headed toward her room. "Let's just sleep for now. Maybe tomorrow will bring new inspiration."

Zhou Leya sighed as she watched Shi Yue walk away. A moment later, she went downstairs to bring Shi Yue a cup of warm milk.

Though Shi Yue didn't want to disappoint her, she took a sip and realized she couldn't drink more. Setting the cup on the bedside table, she went to wash up before collapsing onto the bed.

Her phone buzzed with a message from Leng Yanmi, sending her usual check-in. Shi Yue glanced at it and began typing her reply.

[When are you coming back?]

[I'll be back tomorrow afternoon.]

[How's it going over there? Everything okay?]

Shi Yue then told her about the competition's latest challenge: [They brought Shu Qingxi in as a special guest judge. We have to find inspiration from one of her paintings for our designs.]

Leng Yanmi: [Do your best. Let me know if you run into any problems.]

Shi Yue raised an eyebrow: [Isn't Shu Qingxi a friend of yours? You must know her pretty well, right?]

Leng Yanmi, who had just sat down on her bed, paused, trying to remember. Shu Qingxi... Shu Qingxi... After a moment of digging through her memory, she finally recalled the face and replied: [Not really.]

[Not really? Weren't you almost at her house in Europe to see her cat?]

As soon as Shi Yue sent the message, she realized it had an unmistakable tone of jealousy.

But she didn't care. Let it be. She stared at the screen, waiting for Leng Yanmi's reply.

Leng Yanmi: [Didn't end up going.]

Shi Yue thought of the painting. [Have you ever played with her black cat?]

Leng Yanmi frowned, confused by the question: [Of course not. Didn't I just say I didn't go?]

Shi Yue wanted to send her the painting but hesitated, deciding against it—she knew Leng Yanmi wouldn't lie to her. So, the image in Shu Qingxi's painting must have just been her imagination.

On the other side, Leng Yanmi had pulled up Shu Qingxi's contact information.

[I have her number. If there's anything you want to know, send it to me, and I can ask her for you.]

Seeing how much effort she was putting in for her, Shi Yue's lips curled into a smile. Instead of turning her down, she teasingly asked: [What do you think I should ask her?]

Leng Yanmi thought for a moment and replied with two messages in quick succession.

[Ask her what she likes.]

[She's a judge. Knowing her preferences might help you score higher.]

Shi Yue couldn't help but chuckle—They've already asked Shu Qingxi about her preferences several times today.

But then, a spark of inspiration suddenly flashed through her mind.

What does Shu Qingxi like?

Didn't she already paint what she liked in that oil painting?

That snow-footed black cat, and the person chatting with her right now—Leng Yanmi.

Seeing that Shi Yue hadn't replied for a while, Leng Yanmi asked.

[Where'd you go? Heading to bed?]

Shi Yue had already sat back at her desk.

When her phone vibrated, she snapped back to reality and quickly recorded a voice message to explain: "I just came up with a new idea. I'm trying to sketch it out."

Leng Yanmi also responded with a voice message.

"You mean you got so absorbed in your designs that you forgot you were talking to me?"

Shi Yue's mind was completely focused on the competition, leaving her no time to reflect on her tone or question.

"I'll be busy for a while. Auntie, if you're free, go to bed early. Good night."

Her message made it clear she didn't want to be disturbed.

Leng Yanmi stared at her phone with a frown, muttering to herself, "So, her wings have grown, huh? I'm no longer her priority." After a pause, she tried to see things from Shi Yue's perspective. "...It's work. It's understandable she's focused on the competition."

But then she furrowed her brow again. "But have I ever ignored her because of work?"

In the luxurious presidential suite, Leng Yanmi sat alone on the edge of the bed, holding her phone, having an internal debate.

'You're often on business trips, leaving her home alone.'

'Business trips are unavoidable.'

'She's under a lot of pressure with the competition. You shouldn't add to it.'

'But...'

After unraveling the tangled thoughts in her head, half an hour had passed. She replayed Shi Yue's last voice message, but this time, she focused only on the sweet farewell at the end.

"...Go to bed early. Good night."

Leng Yanmi's frown finally eased.

She cleared her throat and sent a gentle voice message in return: "You too, sleep well. Good night."

Not feeling it was enough, she blushed as she added four more words.

At 2 a.m., Shi Yue, too tired to continue, finally remembered she needed sleep.

She looked at the nearly finished design on her desk and smiled with satisfaction. Stretching her shoulders, she noticed two unread messages from Leng Yanmi.

Yawning, she played the first one.

"You too, sleep well. Good night."

Shi Yue smiled, but then the second message began to play.

"I miss you."

Her smile froze, and she brought her phone closer.

Not wanting to wake her lover, she didn't send a voice message in reply. Instead, she softly typed a message.

"I miss you, too."

Though distance kept them apart, their hearts were always close.