Chapter 35

Ji Wei whispered, “I’m already nineteen.”

“So you can hear it.”

Lu Shenxing raised an eyebrow, his tone slightly ambiguous. “Then I’ll tell you when we get back.”

Ji Wei nodded.

“Does your wrist hurt?”

The man suddenly asked.

The topic abruptly shifted to him, and Ji Wei was stunned for a few seconds. Of course, he was tired after painting for the better part of the day, but he didn’t want Lu Shenxing to worry, so he shook his head. “It doesn’t hurt.”

The moment he finished speaking, the man pulled him into the room. Before he could react, a cool sensation touched his right wrist. Lu Shenxing was rubbing the red-marked wrist of the young man.

Ji Wei’s body tensed instinctively. But the man’s pressure was just right, not too heavy and not too light. After being massaged for a while, the soreness seemed to lessen. He gradually relaxed, lowered his head, and said shyly, “Thank you.”

***

When Ji Wei pushed Lu Shenxing out of the room, Xiao Chi approached with red-rimmed eyes. “Senior Lu, I’m sorry.”

Ji Wei’s hand on the wheelchair paused, and he waited nervously for Lu Shenxing’s reply. Fortunately, Lu Shenxing had returned to his gentle and composed demeanor, showing no trace of anger. “It’s not your fault. It’s mine.”

“Let’s not waste everyone’s time.”

He paused for a moment, then looked at Xiao Chi. “Let’s continue.”

It was as if the conflict had never happened.

[It’s finally over. That scared me to death just now. I noticed that when Film Emperor Lu gets angry, his pupils unconsciously shift upwards, which is very intimidating.]

[He’s played many emperors, right? I still remember him as the King of Qin. He captured the monarch’s unpredictable moods so well. He was only twenty-two then, right? How did he not win an award?]

[He must have offended Director Wang. In his early years of filming TV dramas, he didn’t win a single award. To be fair, young Lu was a bit arrogant about his talent.]

Everyone tacitly moved on, except for one person. Zhao Yue looked at Xiao Chi, who had returned to the counter, and said, “Why don’t I take over the cash register? I feel like your brain isn’t working too well.”

Your brain isn’t working too well… Hahahahahaha, so direct!

[For Zhao Yue to say his brain isn’t working, it must be really not working.]

[Oh no, I have a feeling the fans of these two are going to start a war. Fan war warning.]

It wasn’t until Lu Shenxing faintly said, “Trust him,” that Zhao Yue finally shut up.

***

Charles was a collector who had been invited by his nephew to be an art teacher at Bais Private Middle School. He was a quarter German and had inherited his grandfather’s meticulousness, which, in a way, made him not very likable. For instance, he had been voted the most unpopular teacher for banning cell phone use in class. His hand tapped on a desk. “Hand it over.”

Mike jumped in fright. He tried to explain, “Mr. Charles, I’m watching a video related to painting.”

“Chinese painting?”

Charles had a headache. This China-obsessed student of his seemed to be completely mesmerized by Chinese culture. Although he also collected Chinese paintings, he only collected antiques. Personally, he had no interest in Chinese painting; he preferred classical oil painting, which was full of rationality and symmetry.

Mike nodded. “A very impressive Chinese painting.”

At this moment, the classroom became noisy.

“It’s really amazing. I was stunned.”

“There were too many people. I only managed to get one photo there, but it’s really, really beautiful.”

“Are all Chinese people this good at painting?”

Charles was helpless. Compared to big cities like New York, St. Lawrence was the countryside. Even though it was an expensive private school, the students’ aesthetic sense was still quite worrying. They had never seen real works of art.

“How good can it be?”

He shook his head. If the standard for judging works of art was purely beauty, then there would be no art to speak of in this world. Just as after the invention of the camera, painters no longer prided themselves on painting realistically, leading to the emergence of abstract and modernism.

“Mr. Charles, please take a look.”

Mike played the video and handed him the phone.

Charles didn’t want to bother, but the whole class was staring at him intently. He decided to give them an appreciation lesson and took the phone. At first, his expression was casual, and he even reprimanded a boy for talking. But as he watched, his expression became a little strange, and his forward-leaning body straightened up.

“Isn’t it beautiful?”

Mike asked.

Charles waved his hand at him sternly, signaling not to be disturbed, then walked to the computer on the podium and started searching.

—A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains.

He looked back and forth between the computer and the phone, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper. Just then, a teacher passed by and walked in. “Charles, what’s wrong?”

Charles grabbed his shoulder. “Can you cover my class for a bit? I have something important I need to go out for.”

Then, without waiting for a reply, he rushed out of the classroom. Mike called out, “Mr. Charles, my phone!”

***

The students all went to class in the afternoon, and the shop became deserted. Most of the visitors were curious passersby who would just look around even if they came in. Zhao Yue volunteered to go to the southern plaza to hand out flyers and dragged Xiao Chi along with him.

Ji Wei was still painting. He was about to complete the final stroke. Bluish-green paint dotted the mountain range, and then he signed off and finished his stroke.

[Ahhhhh, I’m dead. If I have a child, I’ll definitely make him learn to paint.]

[This color scheme is explosively beautiful.]

[The original is even more beautiful. The colors are particularly stunning, but it has only been exhibited once since the founding of the country. We can only feast our eyes on photos online.]

Just as he put down his brush, a foreigner knocked on the door and walked in, breathing a little rapidly. “Hello, I’m Charles Waldorf. May I see your painting?”

“Of course, you can.”

Ji Wei said.

However, when Charles’s gaze fell on the twenty separate sheets of Xuan paper, he looked a little disappointed. “The painting is good, but you should have used a single, complete sheet of paper.”

“I really couldn’t find one.”

Ji Wei smiled shyly. “But it’s not a big problem.”

He picked up the twenty sheets of paper and pieced them together on the floor, one by one. There was no sense of interruption; it flowed so vividly and smoothly it was as if it had been painted on a single sheet.

[Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, holy shit! I screamed in class. This is so damn amazing!]

[Weiwei painted them one by one, and now they all match up perfectly. This is truly watching a god paint.]

[A walking printer.]

Charles was shocked, but not for long. After getting Ji Wei’s permission, he took a soft ruler out of his bag and carefully began to measure the dimensions of each part of the painting.

[What is this foreigner doing?]

[Is he going to compare it with the original? Suddenly excited!]

[Is it really that exaggerated? I don’t think a normal human’s vision and memory can be that terrifying.]

[Have you forgotten about Academician Ye Zhi? She could apparently recite the first ten million digits of pi when she was eight. She’s also a genius.]

The more Charles measured, the more alarmed he became, because the results were exact, with differences only in micrometers. The collection value of this painting far exceeded the work itself. He made a snap decision. “Would you be willing to sell this painting to me for one hundred thousand US dollars?”

[One hundred thousand dollars? Many contemporary masters’ paintings only sell for millions. Weiwei, say yes! Say yes! Say yes! There’s hope for completing today’s mission!]

[Hahahaha, foreigners are so rich and foolish.]

[It’s not really about being rich and foolish. I looked him up. He seems to be one of New York’s most famous collectors. His net worth has increased a hundredfold in ten years. It’s a bit shocking that he’s here in St. Lawrence.]

Ji Wei thought this must be an actor hired by the production team. His painting wasn’t worth that much. It was a copy of A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains, but the copy was only in form. The paints were the most common traditional Chinese painting pigments and couldn’t compare to the original at all. Even the one he had given to Lu Shenxing, which took him a whole year to paint, was only about thirty percent similar in spirit.

So he readily agreed. It wasn’t until Charles signed the check for him that he realized he might… not be an actor after all.

Charles chatted with him for a while, took a photo with him before leaving, and praised him, saying he would surely become one of China’s most famous painters.

Lu Shenxing keenly noticed the words he used.

Most famous.

Not the best.

Ma Liqing whispered to Lu Shenxing, “This kid, Weiwei, is just missing that final spark.”

In the field of art, there was never a shortage of geniuses. He had never praised Ji Wei’s painting, not because it was bad, but because it was too good, like a machine’s precise brushwork. Yet, he couldn’t see any passion in Ji Wei. He was cold to the bone. He could only become an artisan painter, not a master. This was very cruel, so he had never said it to the boy.

Lu Shenxing lowered his gaze. “He is the best.”

Ma Liqing was speechless. “…”

[Hahahahaha, only Film Emperor Lu would dare to talk to the old master like that. Even Zhao Yue wouldn’t dare to speak up.]

[The old master is a very accomplished traditional Chinese painting master. His standards are definitely high. We mortals can only worship.]

[+1, Weiwei is really amazing. I wonder what he ate growing up, wuwuwu.]

[Weiwei must have grown up eating cuteness.]

When Zhao Yue and Xiao Chi returned, covered in sweat from handing out flyers, they saw Lu Shenxing sitting in his wheelchair reading a book, Ji Wei resting with his eyes closed, and Ma Liqing chatting with a foreign friend. He instantly felt a bit unbalanced and said in a roundabout way, “Xiao Chi and I handed out hundreds of flyers. My legs are so tired I can’t even stand straight.”

Xiao Chi distanced himself from the statement. “I’m fine.”

Zhao Yue glanced at him and continued, “What I’m about to say might not be pleasant to hear, but even though we definitely can’t complete today’s mission, we should at least persevere until the end.”

Ji Wei opened his eyes.

Zhao Yue quickly explained, “Ji Wei, I wasn’t talking about you.”

Lu Shenxing put down his book and looked at him.

Zhao Yue’s expression faltered. “Film Emperor Lu, I wasn’t talking about you either.”

Ma Liqing heard the commotion and looked over at him.

Zhao Yue said, “…Forget I said anything.”

Ji Wei said with confusion, “But we’ve already completed today’s mission.”

Zhao Yue was like, “???!!”

[Hahahahaha, Zhao Yue’s shocked expression! Quick, make a meme out of it. It’s so damn funny.]

[A top celebrity gradually turning into a comedian.]

[Any objections to Zhao Yue being at the bottom of the food chain?]

[Xiao Chi is probably… even lower than him, since he’s the one at fault.]

It took Zhao Yue several minutes to process the fact that Ji Wei had sold a single painting for one hundred thousand dollars. Xiao Chi wasn’t surprised, but he frowned. “It should have been sold for one hundred thousand euros.”

Ji Wei was speechless. “…”

[Xiao Chi’s fanboy persona is holding strong!]

[But is Xiao Chi sure he can calculate how much one hundred thousand euros is? He can’t even tell the difference between five dollars and fifteen dollars.]

[Hahahahahaha, you’re going to get assassinated by his fans.]

They could have ended this episode’s recording early, but since the goods weren’t sold out and there would be another wave of traffic in the evening, the guests continued selling until eight o’clock at night, earning a total of eighty thousand five hundred dollars. Adding the one hundred thousand dollars from the painting sale, they successfully completed the day’s mission and would be able to design a cultural and creative product themselves in the next episode.

Ma Liqing was a loyal CCTV viewer. On the way to the airport, he suddenly asked everyone, “I’m going to listen to the news broadcast. Does anyone have any objections?”

No one had any objections. That’s how it was supposed to be. A reporter’s live connection sounded from Ma Liqing’s phone.

“Academician Ye Zhi, the closed-door experiment that just concluded has achieved significant results, but it hasn’t been widely reported. Some people online are joking that ‘no one asks about the general’s grave, but the actor’s affairs are known to the world.’ Although it’s a bit of an exaggeration, how do you view this statement?”

Two-fifths of the people present were actors, which made it very awkward. Zhao Yue coughed and put on his headphones. Lu Shenxing’s expression remained unchanged.

Ji Wei suddenly sat up straight. He was sitting next to Ma Liqing and couldn’t help but look at the old man’s phone screen. On the screen, a slender woman in oversized work clothes had a cold expression. “My daughter-in-law is an actress.”

The reporter was speechless. “Oh, oh, okay.”

Ji Wei watched the news broadcast. Sometimes he really wondered how his dad managed to win Ms. Ye Zhi’s heart. Ms. Ye Zhi scored 740 in the science stream of the college entrance exam, while his dad scored 580 in the liberal arts stream. Ms. Ye Zhi was one of China’s youngest academicians, while his dad was the youngest… homeroom teacher at Yan City No. 3 Middle School. His dad had secretly liked Ms. Ye Zhi for ten years. There was no romantic proposal between them.

It was simply in a hospital, the air filled with the smell of disinfectant, that Ms. Ye Zhi spoke to his father for the first time through a curtain. “I might have been exposed to nuclear radiation.”

Her tone was calm. His dad had probably never been so brave in his life. He lifted the curtain and took Ms. Ye Zhi’s hand. “I’m not afraid.”

Of course, it turned out to be a false alarm in the end.

Ji Wei sent a message to Ms. Ye Zhi.

[Ji Wei] Mom, I’m married.

[Ms. Ye Zhi] I know.

[Ji Wei] Don’t you have anything to say to me?

Perhaps his request was too much to ask of Ms. Ye Zhi. It took her several minutes to send back four words.

[Ms. Ye Zhi] Happy wedding.

Ji Wei was speechless. “…”

—This was his mother, Ms. Ye Zhi.

***

Weibo was already in an uproar.

[Wei-Lu Heresy]I think we CP fans are about to have our moment of glory! Did you guys watch today’s livestream? Film Emperor Lu admitted he’s married to Weiwei. Our ship is real!

[Lu-Wei’s Top Fan]I think so too. Film Emperor Lu never jokes around with people. He keeps his distance from his co-stars and doesn’t even do intimate scenes. He’s quite a traditional person, but he’s different with Weiwei.

[Lu Wei is Real]Confused, why would anyone ship Wei-Lu?

However, there were also many people who refuted it.

[Lu Shenxing’s Official Fan Club]Don’t believe it unless it’s an official announcement.

[JiangshanXue]I call my roommate ‘daddy,’ does that make him my real dad? Film Emperor Lu is clearly straight. He’s just good friends with Ji Wei. Your imagination is a bit too rich.

[Overnight Riches]So why haven’t any reporters asked yet! Isn’t this the trending topic of the year!

[LotusLeafPancake]Film Emperor Lu rarely accepts interviews that aren’t related to his work. He prefers his fans to focus on his work. This should be common knowledge, right?

Ji Wei was still on the plane and had no idea he was trending again, completely overshadowing the broadcast of Great Nation’s Artifacts. He just took a nap. When he woke up, the plane had already arrived in Yancheng. He took Lu Shenxing to the hospital for a routine check-up. The doctor took off his glasses after looking at the CT scan. “The bone is healing very well. You can start rehabilitation this week.”

He breathed a sigh of relief, put the report in his backpack, and pushed Lu Shenxing into the hospital room. Lu Shenxing closed his eyes and lay on the hospital bed to adjust to the time difference, looking a bit tired. The end of the semester was approaching, and he couldn’t stay with Lu Shenxing all the time. Just as he was about to leave, his phone suddenly vibrated. Perhaps Ms. Ye Zhi’s conscience had kicked in, and she had sent him a message.

[Ms. Ye Zhi] Homosexuality is a high-risk group for AIDS. I’ve sent you a box of condoms.

Ji Wei’s face instantly exploded in red!

[Ji Wei] No need. I’m busy reviewing for exams recently and won’t have time to pick it up.

Ms. Ye Zhi didn’t send any more messages, probably having given up. The blush on Ji Wei’s face gradually faded. He remembered putting Lu Shenxing’s report in his backpack. He opened his backpack and placed the examination report on the cabinet. Before he could close the bag, he heard Lu Shenxing’s phone vibrate, followed by his own. He suddenly had a bad feeling. His fingertips swiped open the screen.

[Ms. Ye Zhi] I sent it to Lu Shenxing.

[Ji Wei] How do you have his number?

[Ms. Ye Zhi] From the matchmaking profile. It took me a long time to find it.

Ji Wei froze on the spot. What would his idol think when he saw Ms. Ye Zhi’s message! His heart pounded, his blood burned fiercely, and his brain felt extremely deprived of oxygen. He took a deep breath. No, he had to calm down.

He turned to look at Lu Shenxing’s hospital bed. His idol was still asleep, his phone placed by his pillow, seemingly undisturbed. Ji Wei walked over. With a trembling hand, he picked up the phone, hesitating whether to delete Ms. Ye Zhi’s message. Two little figures, looking exactly like him, were fighting in his mind. The little figure in black said, I’ll just delete the message and not snoop around. The little figure in white said, No, no, that’s an invasion of privacy.

In the end, the little figure in black defeated the little figure in white. Ji Wei mustered his courage and swiped open the screen. He found—it required a lock screen password.

He tried entering Lu Shenxing’s birthday, but it showed an incorrect password. He became even more anxious, his hand trembling so much he almost dropped the phone.

“The password is 990207.”

It was his birthday… Ji Wei was about to enter it when he suddenly realized it was Lu Shenxing’s voice. He looked up. The man was half-lying on the hospital bed, watching him quietly.

Almost instinctively—

Ji Wei put the phone back by the man’s pillow, took out a copy of Appreciation of Chinese Art from his backpack, and stammered an explanation, “I-I’m reading to review. I was just using my phone to check the time.”

His palms were already soaked with cold sweat.

“Why aren’t you sitting down to read?”

The man asked, lowering his gaze.

Plop—

Ji Wei sat down on the edge of the bed, nervously opened the book to the first page, and forced himself to read. Lu Shenxing said no more. The tense air was quiet for a moment.

Just as Ji Wei thought the matter was over, a cool, grassy scent wafted from behind him. The man’s arms wrapped around his waist, embracing him from behind. He began to kiss him. Lu Shenxing was a cold person, but his kisses were hot. His lips covered his neck, first brushing against it faintly, ticklish, like a feather lightly stroking his back. Ji Wei controlled his trembling.

Once Ji Wei gradually got used to it, the man lowered his head and began to bite and suck, leaving a dense trail of kisses. The sudden action left the young man’s mind blank, his face turning redder and redder. He could hear his own heartbeat growing more and more intense, about to burst out of his chest. The thought that they were still in a hospital room, and someone might come in for rounds, made him even more nervous.

As if sensing his lack of focus, the man bit the back of his neck and said slowly, “Read your book properly.”

The young man’s breath hitched. How was he supposed to read his book properly like this?