Chapter 114 – Past Photos
A week before the next episode was scheduled to film, Director Fang suddenly sent a notice to the group chat. He said there was a last-minute problem with the chosen location, and the show would have to be postponed for two months. Faced with a delay in work, most people were delighted, except for the director and the production team. Lin Ganzhi happily agreed; he could now squat at home for another continuous month. No one loved being a homebody more than him!
However, Yan Shengping’s work had recently become increasingly busy. He mentioned that his company was about to go public, and many tasks had become urgent. Lin Ganzhi didn’t know much about this, but according to Wenren Yi, Yan Shengping was a genius, even more delectable than a pie falling from the sky.
With the intention of not disturbing Yan Shengping, Lin Ganzhi usually only called him for meals. The rest of the time, he either went out with Wenren Yi and the others or stayed at home with Uncle Yan, researching how to maximize the potential of the small courtyard in front of their house to grow more vegetables!
One day, as Lin Ganzhi came downstairs, he saw the coffee table piled with boxes. Uncle Yan was sitting on the sofa, carefully cleaning them out. Lin Ganzhi trotted over and saw Uncle Yan holding a photo album. In the album was a picture of Yan Shengping in a formal suit, holding a golden trophy. Compared to now, his face still had a touch of youthfulness, but his expression was exactly the same—he didn’t like to smile and had a cold face.
“This was when the master won the provincial award in a violin competition in his first year of high school,” Uncle Yan said nostalgically.
“Uncle Yan, you’ve kept all these photos!” Lin Ganzhi looked at them with novelty. Uncle Yan chuckled and placed the album in Lin Ganzhi’s hands, adding, “The master didn’t like taking pictures back then. I only secretly took these during events. There are also graduation photos. I kept them all for him. He wasn’t very honest back then, and I thought he might miss these things when he got older. But I’ve waited until now and still haven’t seen him want to look at his old photos.”
Lin Ganzhi imagined Yan Shengping flipping through a photo album. He would probably either be disdainful or expressionless. He couldn’t picture him reminiscing about the past at all.
He continued to flip through the album, and with each page, Uncle Yan would explain the situation at the time. As Lin Ganzhi neared the end, a photo of someone playing the violin on stage caught his eye. Yan Shengping was tilting his head, seriously drawing the bow across the strings. Beside him, a boy was wearing a Butterfly Lovers dance costume. Although he had heavy makeup on his face, his outstanding features were still visible. His slender and tall figure spun on the stage like a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis, surrounded by a soft glow. As a trained dancer, Lin Ganzhi could tell at a glance that the boy had a profound foundation and talent.
“Is this the person you mentioned, Uncle Yan?” Lin Ganzhi pointed.
“Yes, I was truly stunned by his dancing back then. After he got off stage, many parents wanted to take a photo with him. He was even the master’s classmate. But I heard he transferred schools in his third year of high school. I think his name was Li Yueshuo,” Uncle Yan said, his tone tinged with regret.
Lin Ganzhi nodded, his gaze sweeping between Yan Shengping and Li Yueshuo before turning the page. The content of the next page was beyond his expectations.
The photo was a bit blurry, but it was clear enough to see Yan Shengping standing below the stage, reaching out to catch Li Yueshuo, who was falling down the stairs. In the photo, Li Yueshuo was smiling happily. Although Yan Shengping below the stage had no expression, he didn’t seem to be resisting much either, otherwise he wouldn’t have reached out to catch Li Yueshuo. The two youthful faces were preserved in the old photograph.
“Ahem, and this photo too!” Uncle Yan also realized the two in the photo looked a bit intimate and quickly explained, “This was probably secretly taken by one of the master’s classmates. They even secretly slipped a copy into the master’s schoolbag. The master said that too many people wanted to take a photo with that kid and accidentally pushed him down. Don’t worry, Ganzhi, the master didn’t want to keep this photo. He told me to throw it away at the time. I only kept it because I thought it was a memory.”
Lin Ganzhi looked at the photo in silence for a moment, pushing aside his strange thoughts.
“It’s okay. If this counts as something, then I don’t know how many boys I hugged in high school,” Lin Ganzhi said reassuringly.
“You hugged many boys in high school?” Yan Shengping’s voice came from downstairs, his face instantly darkening.
Lin Ganzhi froze and turned around, a million questions in his mind. Why did Yan Shengping always have to come downstairs at times like this!
Afterward, it took Lin Ganzhi a whole night to coax the king of jealousy back into a good mood.
***
The next day, he didn’t dare to stay at home for long and drove his beloved little car to the Wenren Residence to freeload a meal.
To his surprise, he ran into Qin Feichen there. Qin Feichen was dressed in a formal suit, looking like he was from a different dimension compared to a freeloader like him. When they first made eye contact, Qin Feichen even greeted him formally, acting all proper. It wasn’t until after he finished talking with Wenren Qi, who then left for the company, that Qin Feichen’s true colors were revealed. He sat down next to Lin Ganzhi, full of envy and jealousy.
“Are you really just here for a meal?” Qin Feichen asked.
Lin Ganzhi nodded decisively. “What else could I be doing?” Talking business? The most he could do was chat about anything and everything.
Qin Feichen became even more jealous. Before the Wenren family arrived, his family held the leading position in the city. But after the Wenren family came, the huge disparity forced him to spend a great deal of effort just to get an appointment here. He had spent a long time getting ready today, only to find Lin Ganzhi in white rabbit overalls, having reached the pinnacle of life by relying on his cuteness.
However, if he had known Lin Ganzhi’s relationship with the Wenren family was this good, he wouldn’t have had to rack his brains these past few days to make contact. He had originally thought Lin Ganzhi was just ordinary friends with the young lady of the Wenren family and didn’t want to trouble him to pull strings. As it turned out, he had underestimated Lin Ganzhi’s networking skills.
“Since you have these connections, why don’t you bring Brother Yan over for a visit?” Qin Feichen’s fanboy attribute flared up. Now that he was familiar with Lin Ganzhi, he knew to look out for Yan Shengping.
Before Lin Ganzhi could say anything, the highest-ranking matriarch of the Wenren family walked over from the flower hall. Although she was over seventy, she looked to be in high spirits, wearing a modified cheongsam with a thick fur coat over it, followed by a maid. Although she was smiling, her aura was not that of an ordinary old lady.
Qin Feichen had already stood up, preparing to greet her with solemn respect, but to his surprise, it was Grandma Li who spoke first, and in a tone used to coax children!
“Ganzhi, you’re here. Why didn’t you come find Grandma first? Why didn’t Shengping come today? Is he still busy with work? I even knitted a sweater for you both for the spring. Ganzhi, remember to take it back with you later. And by the way, tell that kid Shengping that working hard is a good thing, but he also needs to take care of his health. Last time I saw him, his complexion had only recovered a little,” Grandma Li instructed.
Lin Ganzhi nodded in agreement, but he thought to himself, This is good enough. If he recovers any more, I’m afraid I won’t be able to get out of bed.
Qin Feichen was completely frozen on the spot. What did he just hear? The formidable Grandma Li, who was known for her decisive actions overseas, had knitted a sweater for Lin Ganzhi and Brother Yan?!!
Wasn’t it said that Grandma Li had an indifferent personality and couldn’t stand business networking the most? How was it the complete opposite when it came to Lin Ganzhi?
“This must be young Qin, here to discuss business today?” Grandma Li noticed Qin Feichen and greeted him with a smile, though her tone was a bit less intimate and more distant.
Qin Feichen hurried forward to greet her, saying in a calm and steady tone, “I have long heard of your esteemed name, Madam Li. It is a great honor to meet you today.”
Grandma Li smiled.
Seeing this, Lin Ganzhi added, “Grandma, this is Shengping’s junior from school. They are very good friends now!”
As soon as Grandma Li heard this, her expression changed, and her smile became much warmer. She even reached out and took Qin Feichen’s hand. “So you’re Shengping’s junior. Such a handsome young man. Why don’t you stay for lunch? Our family’s chef’s cooking may not be the best, but it’s all healthy and nourishing. It’s not a bad thing to have a bite.”
Qin Feichen quickly agreed, overwhelmed by the favor. He almost wanted to call Lin Ganzhi “big brother.” His one sentence could potentially secure the next five years of cooperation between the Qin and Wenren families!
After lunch, Grandma Li went for a nap, and Lin Ganzhi and the others went to Wenren Yi’s room to chat and play cards.
Qin Feichen was still immersed in the ecstasy of having lunch with Madam Li, something he could boast about for a year! Seeing this, he couldn’t help but sigh again, “As expected of my Brother Yan, his charm is as great as ever!”
Lin Ganzhi was speechless. “Why don’t you count me in?”
“You’re counted, you’re counted. Next time, I’ll treat you to a big meal, order whatever you want!” Qin Feichen was extremely happy now; he would agree to any condition that wasn’t too outrageous!
“By the way, Qin Feichen, you and CEO Yan went to the same school. What was CEO Yan like in high school?” Wenren Yi didn’t dare to be presumptuous in front of Yan Shengping, but behind his back, her curiosity was intense.
Hearing this, Lin Ganzhi also became a little curious and looked up at Qin Feichen. This made Qin Feichen feel like a turncoat soldier who had fallen into an enemy camp, especially since these two had just done him a huge favor.
“I was in the junior high division. I don’t know much about Brother Yan’s affairs!” Qin Feichen tried to brush it off.
Hearing this, both of them gave him a speechless look. With his fanboy attribute, he would know some things even if he were in a different high school, let alone the junior high division.
However, there were plenty of ways to find out. Wenren Yi offered Qin Feichen several company cooperation plans, and Qin Feichen immediately defected. He recounted some of the historical achievements Yan Shengping had made in high school, which was basically his fanboy history. For example, breaking the school record at the sports meet, being number one in the province for three consecutive years in academics, and winning various violin awards.
Anyway, they were all historical achievements worth boasting about. Qin Feichen opened up like a floodgate and gushed, “At that time, our school had two major influential figures. One was my Brother Yan. He almost made it to the international violin competition, but he skipped it because it clashed with his exam time. And that time, he won first place in the national Physics Olympiad. Our school’s principal treated him like a treasure!”
“Then who was the other one?” Wenren Yi asked, following his lead.
“Ah, Li Yueshuo, the one who was amazing at dancing. He often went to the music room with our Brother Yan. Their relationship seemed to be pretty good since the first year of high school, uh,” Qin Feichen said halfway and suddenly remembered the current partner was present. He quickly coughed and cautiously glanced at Lin Ganzhi.
Being stared at, Lin Ganzhi was taken aback for a moment, then said, “Why are you looking at me? I know. Uncle Yan told me and even showed me photos.” He didn’t mind at all!
But for some reason, Lin Ganzhi didn’t say that last sentence out loud.
Just then, there was a knock on Wenren Yi’s door. A maid pushed the door open and said, “Miss Wenren, the Young Master is back.”
“Wenren Er is back? Why so early, and without a word.” Wenren Yi frowned, showing none of the joy of a sister seeing her brother return, but rather impatience. A true sister, no doubt.
“Then I’ll go say hello,” Qin Feichen said, standing up. He was, after all, a guest visiting as a representative of the Qin Corporation.
“Uh, the Young Master also brought a friend back,” the maid added, her expression a bit conflicted. “I think it’s Zhong Jingyi.”
By now, almost all the servants in the Wenren household knew that Lin Ganzhi and Zhong Jingyi did not get along.
Lin Ganzhi frowned.
Wenren Yi’s face also darkened, and she said bluntly, “Did Wenren Er get his head caught in a door? Bringing someone like that back?”
A hint of embarrassment appeared on the maid’s face. The only person who dared to speak of him that way was his sister, Wenren Yi.