C7

After He Yao'an had returned to his villa, he still couldn't get his mind off Xia Yuli. The way those people had insulted her as if she wasn't standing in front of them, the way they had immediately judged her as if she was nothing. He clenched his fists.

As the seconds go by, all he could see was her miserable face. Not being able to calm the ache in his heart, he stood up from the couch. He hated her with a passion, but he loved her even more. That was enough.

"I want to make a statement," he stated on his social media. "Xia Yuli didn't plagiarize anything, because she was trying to draw me–her partner. For three whole years, we had been together...until we weren't. And the picture of the Cat Claw Cloud–that was the scene when we had first met."

"If you look at the picture here, you'd see that the lines of my ears are different from most men–something that she had caught. The details, the etches, they matched my face and my features," he stated, presenting a picture of the painting and himself. The details and shadows of the afternoon light framed his features quite well.

"I have a dimple when I laugh–right at my right cheek." He posted another picture of him smiling. The man rarely laughed when it came to being photographed by the press, so this came as a shock by many.

All the paintings Xia Yuli had done wherein she had drawn the carpet, cups, and even pieces of furniture as background, He Yao'an took pictures of them all to prove that they were his. As they were all high-end, custom-made products, they were quite rare and limited. As such, it was almost impossible to draw them.

Even if he didn't have any original photos as to where she had copied them from, these little details were enough to make everyone believe him.

He Yao'an even went through extra lengths to dig out the person who had tried to frame Xia Yuli, only to see that it was one of her old classmates.

It turned out that the woman had been holding a grudge against her because of her refusal to cooperate with her during those times. She had turned against her after that and had been plotting her revenge ever since.

Not long after the announcement had been made, everyone rallied behind them. Even those who had once turned their back against Xia Yuli now came up with proofs that these paintings were indeed custom-made.

Her Weibo became popular overnight, with continuous private messages apologizing to her and asking if she'd want to be hired once more. Forgetting to turn off her silent mode, she was immediately alerted by the recurring beeps. She opened her phone and glanced at the trending page, only to see the statement He Yao'an had posted.

"Too late for that," she murmured bitterly.

And these people were despicable. It was only when He Yao'an had announced it did they suddenly start looking for the facts. Hell, it wasn't even on the top trending list because they were trying to apologize to her, but because they cared for their relationship.

A lot of them were speculating if there was a chance that they could get back together.

"As if!" Xia Yuli scoffed. If anything, he probably pitied her.

With that thought in mind, she went to He Yao'an's account and thanked him for his support. Her message was polite and distant as if they hadn't shared three years of love for one another.

As soon as he saw the messages, he clenched his phone in anger. Five years ago, the woman had intruded into his life and pestered him to love her. And now that she didn't love him, she proceeded to move on as if he was nothing but a stranger. Were all their actions and memories a joke to her? Was that it?

Fine, if that was how she wanted it to be, then it's done–it's over.

He Yao'an jolted up from his sofa and prepared to throw everything she had left in the house. However, what he didn't expect was to find her sketchbook lying in the corner. He allowed his cold hand to trail down the glossy pages, deep in thought. After everything that had happened, she must've forgotten about it herself.