Lin Xin'er cast a skeptical glance at the half-finished design spread across Hailey's desk.
"You really finished all of this?"
Her tone was dripping with disbelief.
Hailey met her eyes evenly, voice calm but cool: "There's still some parts I haven't finished yet."
Lin Xin'er didn't soften. "I hope you can finish it soon. And tomorrow morning, I want a basic exterior design draft on my desk."
"Tomorrow?!" Hailey blinked, stunned.
Lin Xin'er nodded with deliberate coldness. "Yes, tomorrow morning. Just the most basic model. Remember to incorporate the real conditions of the orphanage!"
Without another word, Lin Xin'er turned on her heel and left, completely indifferent to whether Hailey could meet the impossible deadline.
Hailey's lip curled into a bitter smile.
Is she deliberately trying to make my life impossible?
Of course.
But frankly, she didn't care.
Not really.
Because soon enough, she'd be free of Ethan Yu. Free of all of them.
When that day came, neither Ethan nor Lin Xin'er would ever darken her doorstep again.
—
Back home, Hailey quietly ate dinner before retreating to her small study room to start working.
Since Lin Xin'er wanted a basic design, she'd deliver a basic design—nothing more, nothing less.
Hours passed, the only sound the scratch of pen on paper.
When Ethan returned that night, he found her still hunched over the drafting table, eyes bloodshot but unwavering.
Pushing open the study door, he walked to her side, glancing at the sketches scattered before her.
"If you don't understand something, remember to ask."
Hailey didn't look up.
"It's just drawing houses. What's there to not understand? Besides, there's so much I don't understand, even if I ask, I probably still won't get it."
Ethan's gaze narrowed slightly.
"Even drawing a house requires basic knowledge," he said evenly.
Hailey finally lifted her head, irritation flickering through her eyes.
"When you asked me to get involved in design, you should have known I don't have the basics."
He lowered his eyes to meet hers, calm but unyielding.
"So you choose to learn nothing?"
A flash of defiance surged through Hailey.
"Why should I learn it? I'm not interested. I don't want to be part of the design process."
"Then what do you want to learn?" Ethan asked quietly.
Hailey was momentarily speechless.
Ethan continued with a soft, serious tone: "You have a talent for this. You should make use of it. You're only asked to design the exterior. Nothing else. It's the part every designer dreams of doing."
Hailey gave a half-smile, tinged with cynicism.
"I don't think this job is anything special. Drawing houses? Anyone on the street can do that."
Ethan sighed softly, as if sharing a secret.
"If only it were that easy."
Hailey retorted stubbornly, "It is easy. Who can't draw a house?"
Ethan shook his head, unwilling to argue further.
"Just focus on your task. Remember—drawing a house is an art."
With that, he turned and left the room.
—
Hailey, who never considered herself scholarly, certainly didn't think it was an art.
But as she set to work, her pen moved with surprising speed and precision.
Hours later, just before midnight, she put down her brush and looked at the finished blueprint.
It was beautiful—at least to her eyes.
A sleek, elegant structure, balanced with clean lines and a sense of comfort.
She smiled proudly.
Tomorrow, she'd hand this to Lin Xin'er and watch her struggle to find fault.
She was ready.
—
Morning came too fast.
Lin Xin'er took one long, hard look at the draft before coldly tossing it back onto Hailey's desk.
"This won't do. Redo it."
Hailey raised an eyebrow.
"Why not?"
Lin Xin'er didn't hold back.
"First, the exterior is too luxurious for an orphanage."
"Second, you failed to incorporate the actual conditions of the orphanage."
"You focused too much on comfort and aesthetics, but you didn't think about practicality."
"This design wastes space, leaving too few rooms inside."
"Do you know there are more than five hundred orphans living there now?"
"With your design, there won't be enough rooms to accommodate them."
She threw the blueprint in Hailey's face, frustration clear in her voice.
"Did you even look at the documents I gave you yesterday? The population, the size, the history—did you really understand any of that?!"
—
Hailey stared down at the blueprint, her pride deflating instantly.
The cold facts crushed her naïve hope.
Lin Xin'er's words echoed like a verdict.
Hailey knew she was being pushed harder than ever, not just to test her skill, but to break her spirit.
But beneath the bitterness, a fire flickered.
If she could design something practical and beautiful, something that truly fit the needs of those five hundred children, she could prove them all wrong.
She wouldn't just be the trophy wife or the clueless newcomer.
She could be someone who mattered.
And maybe, just maybe, she could finally make Ethan see her in a new light.
Or at least, stop looking at her like she was an outsider.
Because deep down, she realized: this wasn't just a job.
It was a battlefield.
And Hailey Tang was ready to fight.