Scavenger's response was always prompt:
"Yeah, I've been idle lately, so I randomly selected a batch of works to showcase. I also plan to hold an oil painting exhibition in a while. Are you interested in submitting a few pieces? I'll arrange a separate hall for your exhibition."
Since following Jiang Moxi to Yan City, Scavenger found himself with plenty of free time.
He decided to take the civil service examination and even became the director of the cultural center!
Only on rare occasions did he reveal himself as Scavenger near Jiang Moxi's school.
Upon receiving his message, Jiang Moxi recalled the terrifying experiences of being controlled by painting and replied promptly,
"Thanks, but I decline."
Subsequently, Scavenger bombarded her with messages,
"With your excellent talent in painting, it's such a waste not to showcase your works!"
"I think it's an insult to your works to only have a hall for the exhibition. How about turning the entire cultural center into your personal art exhibition?"
...
"By the way, don't you need money? With your previous name, you could easily sell a painting for tens of millions. Why not consider it?"
Reading the last message, Jiang Moxi's expression froze.
Her past name...
As long as that certain someone doesn't wake up, she'll forever be just Jiang Moxi.
After pondering, she finally sent a command to Scavenger: "Jiang Weiwei's two works that were selected for your photography exhibition, please take them down."
Top-notch art could also exert a positive impact.
But what kind of positive influence could be expected from someone like Jiang Weiwei, who excelled in playing mind games?
Making trouble behind the scenes once or twice was one thing, but now she was even targeting the SereniFlex Pill formula.
Did she really think she could manipulate Jiang Moxi at will?
Soon, Scavenger replied, "Okay, I'll have them removed immediately."
Meanwhile, the birthday banquet had begun.
Yu Man and Jiang Guosheng were seated at the main table with Du Yuke, while Fu Yiming and Jiang Weiwei were seated on either side of the elderly couple.
As for the others, they were all seated at tables near the two elderly hosts.
In the corner where Jiang Moxi was seated, only a few Jiang family executives and Li Tinglu, who didn't enjoy crowds, were present.
Li Tinglu, unlike Jiang Sibei and Jiang Yuqing, didn't pay much attention to her appearance. She sported a playful short haircut and wore a white basketball jersey, with no makeup on her face.
She had a more tomboyish style and was straightforward in her manner.
Seeing Jiang Moxi struggling to pick up the crispy roasted pigskin several times, she simply picked up two pieces and put them in Jiang Moxi's bowl.
"Tell me what you want to eat, and I'll help you get it."
"Thank you." Jiang Moxi ate the pigskin she handed over, which was quite crispy and delicious.
But it would be even better if she didn't have to use chopsticks.
In the past, when she was adopted by the Liang family, they heavily favored boys over girls and wouldn't even allow her to eat at the dining table, so she never learned to use chopsticks.
Subsequently, during her time in the orphanage, the Feng family, and even with Xuanming, they all arranged for her and provided a fork whenever she needed to eat.
As a result, she ended up embarrassing herself on the day she was brought back to the Jiang family's old residence to eat the family reunion dinner.
She couldn't find a fork and ended up eating with her hands, leading to a scolding from Jiang Guosheng and Yu Man.
Old Madam Jiang and Du Yuke still felt embarrassed about the way she ate.
Every time there was a banquet, they would remind her to use chopsticks...
At that moment, Li Tinglu saw a large plate of crabs on the table. After taking one for herself, she asked Jiang Moxi, "Do you eat crabs? Let me peel one for you."
Upon seeing the plate of crabs, Jiang Moxi's eyes dimmed slightly.
In the Feng family and even with Xuanming, she did eat crabs, but they were already peeled, and the crab meat and roe were arranged beautifully.
However, during her first time eating unpeeled crabs at the Jiang family, she naively picked one up and started gnawing, becoming the subject of ridicule.
Back at home, Yu Man scolded her thoroughly, saying she was indeed raised in the countryside and had no manners, only bringing shame...
Thinking about those moments, Jiang Moxi suddenly lost her appetite. "I'm full. I'll leave now," she said as she put down her chopsticks.
"Should we say goodbye to them before leaving?" Li Tinglu pointed towards Du Yuke's table.
Though she also found the old folks' rigid rules annoying, Jiang Moxi knew that not following their lead would only bring about severe scoldings. So, she generally went along with their wishes to avoid trouble.
But this time, with Li Tinglu's reminder, Jiang Moxi just glanced at the table with indifference. Jiang Tairan and Du Yuke were looking at Fu Yiming and Jiang Weiwei with loving expressions, while Jiang Guosheng and Yu Man were happily chatting with them.
With that, she smiled at Li Tinglu and said, "No need. I'll probably be criticized no matter when I leave, so I might as well slip away now."
Li Tinglu immediately gave Jiang Moxi a thumbs-up. "Go ahead, brave one!"
Waving her hand, Jiang Moxi left the Jiang family's old residence without looking back.
Unbeknownst to her, although Fu Yiming appeared to be having a good time with Jiang Tairan and the others, his attention had always been on Jiang Moxi. For the past few days, he had been quietly striving to obtain the SereniFlex Pill from her.
He approached Jiang Weiwei and asked her to search Jiang Moxi's room to "borrow" the SereniFlex Pill. However, aside from a worn-out laptop that looked like it was picked from a trash heap and a few pieces of clothing, there was nothing else in Jiang Moxi's room.
So, he shifted his focus to Jiang Moxi's school bag. There were only a few places where she could put things.
She didn't feel at ease leaving the SereniFlex Pill at home, so she had to carry it with her.
Since a while ago, Fu Yiming had been planning how to get close to Jiang Moxi's school bag. Now that Jiang Moxi left the table early, he had to come up with a new plan...
..
Jiang Moxi left the Jiang family's old residence and headed to the nearest subway station to take the subway to Nightless City for her part-time job.
As the night deepened, there were noticeably fewer cars on the road leading to the outskirts.
Jiang Moxi walked for quite a while and only saw one motorcycle.
The motorcycle seemed peculiar. It was clearly heading towards the deep outskirts but turned back shortly after encountering her.
Soon, the glaring headlights shone on Jiang Moxi, making her eyes dazzled and hard to open.
The sound of the motorcycle approached from afar and roared closer.
As the vehicle passed by, the strap of Jiang Moxi's school bag was pulled.
She gave a cold glance to the driver, Liu Er, and saw a bright gleam of pride in his eyes!
It was as if he was provoking her, saying, "Snatching your school bag is way too easy!"
Immediately, Jiang Moxi grabbed one of the bag's straps and, following it, leaped to sit on the motorcycle's pillion seat...
"Oh, my god!"
Liu Er never expected that this girl would be so daring.
She managed to grab the strap and hop onto his motorcycle.
"Little brat, get off!"
He vigorously shook the handlebars, trying to shake Jiang Moxi off by swinging the bike.
However, Jiang Moxi's sudden punches on his shoulder were deceptively powerful. The seemingly simple blows inflicted pain, causing him to lose his grip on the handlebars.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Jiang Moxi reclaimed her school bag and threatened to throw him off the motorcycle.
"If you toss me off, you'll fall too!"
A seemingly delicate and weak girl actually thought she could achieve something impossible like riding a bike on her own?
Despite Liu Er's firm denial, he witnessed Jiang Moxi's unwavering determination. Without any hesitation, she grabbed his helmet and sent him tumbling to the ground.
After rolling a few times on the ground, Liu Er looked up and saw Jiang Moxi already wearing his helmet, driving his motorcycle away...
Liu Er was left stunned and bewildered. He never expected this to turn into a robbery, and to make matters worse, his tools of the trade were taken away as well.