The moment Ethan Yu stepped into his room, his gaze fell on an unexpected sight—Hailey Tang sitting at his desk, completely absorbed in a stack of books that were spread out like a miniature fortress around her.
He raised an eyebrow and walked over. Every single book was related to architecture—thick volumes with glossy pages, brimming with photographs, floor plans, and technical diagrams.
At that moment, she had her nose buried in a book titled The World Atlas of Architecture. Her brows were furrowed in deep concentration, lips slightly pursed. If he didn't know better, he'd say she actually looked…studious.
Ethan let out a dry chuckle and knocked his knuckles on the desk.
Hailey jerked her head up, startled. "When did you get here?"
"You don't need to pretend," Ethan said bluntly, arms crossed. "No matter how hard you try to fake it, you're never going to understand any of it."
She blinked, stunned by his rudeness.
It was only now she realized—Ethan Yu wasn't just cold and aloof. He was downright snarky. In her past life, she'd somehow been completely blind to this annoying trait. But now? She could see it plain as day, and it was infuriating.
She shut the book with a loud thunk and replied coolly, "Whether I understand it or not is none of your business."
Then she stood up, a smug little smirk on her lips. "Also, I like pretending. You got a problem with that?"
Ethan let out another scoff. "Do you always do things just because you feel like it?"
"Obviously. First day meeting me?" she shot back with a mock gasp.
He dropped his smile. "No. From the very first day I met you, I knew you were ridiculously impulsive."
Hailey's face stiffened.
Yeah. That first day, she'd fallen head over heels for him. And then what did she do? She insisted on sitting next to him during lunch, followed him home, and even shamelessly moved in.
Ethan had been so shocked by her boldness he didn't know how to react.
Thinking back to her past behavior made her cringe. "Don't worry," she muttered, gritting her teeth. "I hate the old me more than you do. But from now on, my impulsiveness won't be wasted on someone like you."
With that, she picked up one of the books and turned to leave.
But before she could walk away, Ethan suddenly reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her back with just enough force to stop her in her tracks.
"What now?" she asked, brows knitting in irritation.
His eyes were locked on the book in her hand.
"What's that?" he asked flatly.
"Oh please," she said, raising an eyebrow. "You don't recognize your own work?"
Indeed, what she was holding was a compilation of his personal design sketches—his private portfolio.
"Put it down," he ordered, voice low and commanding.
Hailey didn't even flinch. "Relax. I'm just borrowing it. Out of all the architects I know, your style is the one I'm most familiar with. If I want to submit a competitive entry, I've got no choice but to use yours as a reference."
"Reference?" he sneered. "You mean plagiarism."
"Correct," she replied with a deadpan expression. "I'm plagiarizing you. Want me to sign a confession?"
Of course, what she was actually plagiarizing were his future works—designs he hadn't even come up with yet.
Ethan stared at her, stunned for a moment before chuckling. "Plagiarism doesn't win you five million yuan."
Hailey tilted her chin up proudly. "Maybe not. But what if my version ends up better than yours?"
She yanked her hand free and strutted off, leaving him staring after her with a look of amused disbelief.
Seriously? This girl?
The way she looked at him just now—so cocky, so confident—it made his lips twitch with reluctant amusement. Who did she think she was, challenging him?
Still… maybe she really would surprise him. A tiny part of him was curious.
Not that she'd actually win. Five million? Over his dead body.
Just as that thought crossed his mind, Ethan's gaze landed on a crumpled piece of paper left behind on the desk. He picked it up—and froze.
It was a sketch.
Rough, messy, obviously drawn in haste. But beneath the scribbles was the outline of a building.
An original building.
It was strange, distinct, and—most shockingly of all—it made architectural sense. It wasn't just a doodle. It was a legitimate design concept, structurally sound and aesthetically unique.
And it definitely wasn't from any of the books she'd been reading.
He'd never seen this design before. He hadn't drawn it. And it wasn't from any known source he could identify.
Was this… something she came up with?
Ethan's eyes narrowed, a flicker of real interest passing through his expression.
What the hell was she up to?