The teacher spoke at a rapid pace, moving on to the next lesson before they could even understand the current one.
It seems there’s a lot to cover in just one week—otherwise, the teacher wouldn’t be going so fast.
By the time Mia Dou returned, the instructor had already finished class and left.
Wendy Parker hurriedly said to Mia Dou, "I recorded the whole lesson just now. Here, these are my notes—take a look and ask me if there’s anything you don’t understand."
Fiona Li heard this and immediately laughed, "Wow, your sisterhood is honestly touching. Too bad, only one person can stay after the final assessment. The deeper your bond, the harder it’ll be at the end, huh?"
Coco Shen stood up and said, "I’m going to clean up. After fixing the wiring, my area’s bound to get dirty. So annoying!"
Crystal Zhao also got up and said, "Alright, nothing left for me to do. I’m heading to the kitchen to cook."
Wendy glanced at the time—it was only ten o’clock. Crystal Zhao was already going to cook?
She’s just looking for an excuse to slack off.
Forget it, no point arguing with them.
Wendy pulled Mia Dou out into the yard, recapped the lesson, handed over her notes and the recorder, then grabbed a broom and started sweeping.
It rained heavily last night, so the yard was full of fallen leaves and puddles. This was her job, so of course she had to finish it.
Mia Dou was quick with chores, but Wendy wasn’t bad either.
She’d always done housework at home, just not as fast as Mia Dou.
Mia Dou really picked things up fast. After the lesson, she grabbed the hose and started cleaning with Wendy.
After sweeping the yard, Mia Dou looked at the trees and said to Wendy, "Whenever it rains, so many leaves fall. What if we shake the trees and sweep everything up at once? Would that mean we don’t have to clean tomorrow?"
"I doubt it," Wendy shook her head. "The leaves are always shedding, just like our hair. You can’t just pull out a bunch today and expect none to fall tomorrow, right?"
Mia Dou thought about it and realized Wendy was right, so she just accepted it and kept scrubbing the ground.
Meanwhile, Fiona Li and Coco Shen stood by the second-floor window, watching the two in the yard and chatting. "Coco, who do you think will get picked at the end of this training?"
Coco Shen glanced at Mia Dou and Wendy in the yard, answering carelessly, "They’re definitely not going to pick someone sneaky."
After speaking, Coco Shen lowered her head and continued working.
Fiona Li pursed her lips, said nothing, and turned to clean up as well.
They were responsible not only for cleaning the public areas but also for their own rooms.
So to avoid dirtying their own rooms, they tried not to touch anything they didn’t need.
Otherwise, tidying up would be too much trouble.
In the afternoon, the training instructor returned.
Just like before, they came and left in a hurry.
This time, before leaving, the instructor assigned homework—they had to hand in a handmade craft by tonight.
As an assistant, you have to be skilled in every aspect.
Handicrafts were a test of their patience and attention to detail.
Mia Dou stared anxiously at a pile of parts.
She was quick and efficient with chores, but she really wasn’t good at such delicate tasks.
Seeing Wendy Parker thread the needle and quickly make a fabric doll, Mia Dou became even more anxious.
Wendy quickly said to her, "Don’t worry, I’ll help you in a bit. I’ll handle the threading and small parts, you just do the big pieces."
With Wendy’s help, Mia Dou finally relaxed.
Wendy was really skilled—her fingers flew, and soon, following Mia Dou’s design, she crocheted a little hat.
Mia Dou clumsily made a fabric doll; at least you could tell where the head and body were.
Wendy sewed the little hat she made onto the doll, then crocheted a dress and shoes to complete the outfit.
Hey, you really couldn’t tell that Mia Dou’s work was so rough.
Mia Dou, holding Wendy’s crocheted pieces, beamed, "Wow, Wendy, your hands are amazing! You’re a genius! Even if you don’t become an assistant, you could totally run a shop and do well."
I’m alright. I liked making crafts like this as a kid," Wendy replied without looking up. "We didn’t have toys back then. If I wanted a fabric doll, my family wouldn’t buy one, so I had to make it myself.
Mia Dou, having heard Wendy talk about her family, couldn’t help but feel indignant for her. "Wow, the preference for boys over girls in your hometown is really intense!"
There’s nothing I can do—it’s just our custom," Wendy replied, still looking down. "Without a son, people think there’s no future. If you have daughters, they’re considered a burden, destined to support their brothers. My parents are actually pretty good; they only asked me to help my brother, didn’t abandon me at birth, and didn’t stop me from going to college. They didn’t object to my major, either. So, I can’t escape the duty of helping my brother. Anyway, look at this little backpack on the doll—doesn’t it look much better now?
Mia Dou hugged the freshly made craft and kissed it several times. "It’s amazing! I love it so much, I don’t even want to hand it in as homework!"
As long as you like it," Wendy replied with a smile.
Speaking of which," Mia Dou said seriously, remembering Wendy’s family situation, "I really hope you win this time. I want to stay at Yin Group too, but my situation is much better than yours. Even if I can’t work at Yin Group, I can find a good job elsewhere, and my family isn’t so troublesome. Maybe I should just let you have it."
No, no, no," Wendy quickly said. "We’re all competing based on our abilities, so don’t let me win. The benefits at Yin Group are just too good—no other company offers this."
Mia Dou was just saying that.
She couldn’t bear to give up such a great opportunity either.
Sigh, she never expected to meet a friend with such a matching temperament while studying.
After finishing their crafts, the two placed them on Mia Dou’s cabinet and went to the bathroom to wash up.
Shortly after they left the room, a shadowy figure sneaked in and shredded their finished crafts with scissors.
After showering, Mia Dou returned to her room, ready to admire her work before bed. But when she picked up the doll, she found it had been cut to pieces!
“Ah!—Who did this? Who!” Mia Dou couldn’t control her emotions and screamed, “Who ruined my craft?”
Wendy Parker heard Mia Dou’s commotion and ran out with her hair still wet, just as Crystal Zhao, Fiona Li, and Coco Shen also came out of their rooms.
“What are you yelling for? It’s late,” Crystal Zhao said, clearly annoyed.
Fiona Li looked at Mia Dou’s room in confusion. “What happened?”
Coco Shen said calmly, “Let’s go take a look.”
So all four of them went to Mia Dou’s room. Mia Dou was shaking with anger, the doll in her hand completely ruined.
Mia Dou threw the craft hard onto the floor. "Who did this!"
Crystal Zhao, Fiona Li, and Coco Shen’s expressions changed slightly.
“What happened? Oh my god! Who did this?” Wendy Parker saw the ruined doll on the floor—it was beyond repair.
Wendy picked it up from the floor, turned to Crystal Zhao, Fiona Li, and Coco Shen, and asked, "Who would do something like this? We’re supposed to compete fairly—why sabotage behind the scenes?"
It wasn’t me," Crystal Zhao said, looking shocked. "I was in my room the whole time—I didn’t come out."
“It wasn’t me either,” Fiona Li quickly distanced herself. “I’m not that bored.”
“Definitely not me,” Coco Shen said immediately. “I have no reason—I made something way more valuable than yours!”
Wendy laughed in exasperation. “There are only five of us here. Are you saying it broke itself?”
“You never know,” Crystal Zhao said, pursing her lips. “Who knows if some people act close, but secretly sabotage others? After all, only one of us will stay after the assessment. Sisterhood can’t beat a Yin Group job offer.”
Wendy and Mia Dou fell silent.
Crystal Zhao’s attempt to stir things up was way too obvious.
Mia Dou said calmly, "I trust Wendy. She wouldn’t do something like this. If she wanted to ruin my craft, she wouldn’t have made it so well—she could’ve just pretended to mess up and I wouldn’t know the difference."
Wendy looked at Mia Dou gratefully.
“Well, I wouldn’t know,” Crystal Zhao yawned. “It’s getting late, I should go to bed. Oh, and I heard these crafts count toward our assessment!”
With that, Crystal Zhao left, looking rather pleased with herself.
Fiona Li’s eyes flickered, but she said nothing and went to bed.
Coco Shen pursed her lips and said, "You two are idiots!"
With that, she left too.
Only Wendy and Mia Dou were left in the room. Wendy asked quietly, "Who do you suspect?"
Crystal Zhao is the most suspicious. She’s always tried to control everything and holds grudges," Mia Dou said. "But it’s hard to say—Fiona Li is suspicious too. She’s quiet and doesn’t stir things up, but as the saying goes, ‘the dog that bites doesn’t bark.’ As for Coco Shen, I don’t know. Her family seems well-off, and she just said her craft is much more valuable, so I doubt she’d bother with something like this.
Wendy nodded. "Too bad we don’t have any proof. We can’t call the police in this situation. Forget it—let’s learn from this. Now’s not the time to find the culprit, we need to make another craft and finish before class tomorrow. If we don’t hand it in, our final score will suffer! Let’s work together: you get the thread and fabric, I’ll do the embroidery and weaving. We’ll finish before sunrise!"