She was a total failure. A walking disaster. A disgrace to design and dignity.
But even if she was all that, there was one thing Hailey Tang would never allow—being humiliated by Ethan Yu.
She stood up suddenly, eyes locked on him, her voice sharp and defiant. "So you're looking down on me now?"
Ethan didn't bother hiding his smirk. "What is there to look up to?"
Hailey's lips curled into a cold sneer. "Fine. You said it. Remember this moment, Ethan Yu—because I'm going to make you eat your words."
Ethan leaned back, clearly entertained. "You want to prove yourself? I'm curious—what exactly are you going to prove?"
To him, she was nothing more than a stubborn, spoiled woman with a flair for drama and absolutely no skills to back it up.
But Hailey didn't flinch. She grabbed the paper from the coffee table—the flyer for the upcoming national design competition—and held it up like a sword. "I'm entering this competition. And I'll prove I'm not as useless as you think."
Ethan blinked. "You? Entering this?"
"Yes," she said, fire burning in her eyes.
"Do you even realize what this is? It's not a flower-arranging contest. It's architecture. Real architecture."
"I know exactly what it is," Hailey replied. "And I'm still entering."
Ethan narrowed his eyes, studying her as if she'd grown a second head. "Hailey, you didn't even finish college. You know nothing about structural design."
"Yeah, well, I don't need to. I'm only submitting the exterior concept. The aesthetics. You can judge that much, can't you?"
"You make it sound so easy." He scoffed. "If it were that simple, the world would be full of architects."
"I'm not saying I'll win the whole thing. I just want you to look at my design and admit that it has value. If you agree it's the best exterior submission, I win. Deal?"
Ethan tilted his head, amused by her boldness. "So all you're doing is sketching how a building looks? That's it?"
"That's it."
He let out a quiet laugh, more disbelief than amusement. "Alright, I'll humor you. You design the facade. If I think it's the best submission of the entire competition, I'll admit it."
"I want the prize money too," she added quickly. "All five million."
He rolled his eyes. "You really think you'll get that far?"
"I'll let the design speak for itself."
Ethan stared at her for a moment, trying to gauge whether she was serious or just delusional. But Hailey met his gaze with the kind of confidence that made him second-guess his assumptions.
He stood, his expression shifting from relaxed to razor-sharp, like a predator sizing up prey. "If your design genuinely outshines the others, you can have the money. But don't come crying when you fail."
"I'll be laughing," she retorted, pointing at him dramatically. "And when I win, don't even think about backing out."
In a flash, he grabbed her hand, gripping her extended finger tightly. His voice was low, cold. "Don't point at me like that again. Or next time, I'll break it."
Pain shot up her hand, and Hailey yanked it away with a hiss, glaring at him. She gave a proud little huff and turned on her heel.
"Take the dishes," Ethan said flatly as she reached the door.
She didn't even look back. "First to eat, last to wash!"
With a dramatic slam of the door, she was gone.
Ethan stood there in stunned silence.
Was she bluffing, or did she actually have something up her sleeve?
Back home, Hailey walked in just in time to hear some news from the housekeeper.
"Madam left already," Zhang Ma informed her.
Hailey raised an eyebrow. "That fast?"
"She was called away by Mr. Yu Senior," Zhang Ma explained. "Apparently he can't sleep without her around."
Of course he couldn't. Hailey had expected as much. Her grandparents-in-law had an annoyingly sweet relationship.
Still, she was relieved. Her mother-in-law's surprise stay had disrupted her plans enough already.
But then Zhang Ma added, "Before she left, she told me to remind you: bring Mr. Yu lunch every day at the office. And eat with him. Otherwise… she'll come back to supervise."
Hailey's smile froze. "Are you kidding me?"
In another life, she might've been touched by her mother-in-law's insistence on helping her marriage. But this time, she just wanted out.
Still, she agreed without protest. Better to play along until the divorce came through.
"Fine. I'll deliver his lunch. No big deal," she muttered. "It's just temporary."
She just had to make it a little longer. Ethan was already preparing for the divorce. They'd made their deal. And if he stuck to it, she'd soon be free.
So what if they had to fake marital bliss for a while? She could act.
Besides, she was confident Ethan wouldn't lay a finger on her.
Even if she stripped naked and did cartwheels around the room, he probably wouldn't even blink.
That level of disinterest? It was practically a superpower.
Thanks, Ethan, she thought dryly. You've given me so much… indifference.
But now, it was time to get serious. The design competition was her priority.
Once upstairs, she shut herself in the bedroom, pulled out her sketchpad, and started to draw.
She wasn't totally clueless—she had studied art as a child. Her hand was steady, and her sense of visual balance decent.
As for the structure she wanted to design? Oh, she'd already chosen.
She was going to borrow—no, recycle—one of Ethan's past designs.
After all, in her previous life, she'd admired his work for years. She remembered each curve, each bold angle, the unique styles that made his buildings iconic.
And the design they were using now for the New York competition? Yeah, she remembered that one vividly.
So now, Hailey planned to turn the tables—using his brilliance to slap him in the face.
She let out a gleeful laugh as she sketched.
But she quickly realized things weren't so simple.
Her memory of the designs wasn't perfect. She got the general structure, but the finer details? Blurry at best.
Each time she thought she nailed it, something felt… off. The soul of the design just wasn't there.
If she wanted that five million, she'd need more than just a rough copy. She needed a polished masterpiece.
Still, she wasn't going to give up. She had a plan: study, learn, grow.
And where better to start than Ethan's personal library?
Tomorrow, she'd sneak into his office and study everything—books, sketches, design journals.
Let him be her unwitting teacher.
After all, she wasn't just doing this for the money.
She was doing it for herself.
To prove that even a so-called "failure" like her could rise up, one sketch at a time.