Chapter 108

Thump-thump—

Ji Wei’s heartbeat echoed from his chest, beat after beat, so close it felt like it was right next to his ear, his paper-thin eardrums vibrating slightly with it.

He looked at the well-defined Lu Shenxing in the photo and couldn’t help but think, what kind of divine man was his idol?

Finally, he whispered “good night” to the already dark phone screen.

The next day, while he was eating breakfast, he received a news notification.

—Collector Lin Yiqiu Under Investigation for Money Laundering.

This meant that all his assets would be temporarily frozen.

“Was Lin Yiqiu also involved in money laundering?” Ji Wei couldn’t help but ask Huang Bo.

He had always thought that only Lin Yiqiu’s student, Xu Sheng, was involved in money laundering.

Huang Bo brought him a small bowl of milky white crucian carp soup from the kitchen. “He’s a smart man. It can’t be traced back to him.”

“However, Xu Sheng’s risky money laundering is inseparable from him. Most of the illicit funds were used to purchase items for the Yiqiu Art Museum’s collection, and his teacher was supposedly completely unaware of it.”

Ji Wei thought Huang Bo would continue, but unexpectedly, Huang Bo changed the subject. “I just bought this fish from the riverside this morning. It’s so fresh. Weiwei, drink some more.”

Ji Wei picked up the bowl and obediently tilted his head back, drinking all the fish soup.

If the thirty-year-old Lin Yiqiu had been traceable, the current him was like a person standing directly under the sun, with no shadow visible under the scorching white light.

As if he had always been a man of noble character, as lofty as a mountain and as bright as the sun and moon.

The only good news was that they had already made contact with Nie Jie in Yu City.

She was willing to testify in court.

***

Shanghai, Mid-Levels Villa.

“Teacher, the Ink Shrimp painting sent to the Lu family was returned untouched,” the student said with his head lowered. “I didn’t expect the Lu family to be the type to flatter the powerful and trample on the weak.”

Lin Yiqiu gave his flowers one last watering and said nothing.

“I believe you are innocent, Teacher. The law will definitely give you justice,” the student said indignantly.

“People from the Lu family went to Yu City,” Lin Yiqiu suddenly said.

“They did?” the student asked blankly, not knowing what Lin Yiqiu was talking about.

Lin Yiqiu stopped watering the flowers.

When dealing with the Lu family, there was only ever one chance.

Lu Shenxing had returned to the country alive.

From that moment on, he knew he had lost.

He had lost everything.

He walked towards the art studio.

The student didn’t follow. Lin Yiqiu didn’t allow others to step into his studio.

He waited outside the studio for three hours. It wasn’t until the court was about to come and seize the property that he called out “Teacher” a few times. When there was no answer, he had no choice but to gently push the door open. The moment he did, he was stunned—

Lin Yiqiu was engrossed in painting.

He was painting a young man.

The young man’s face was somewhat familiar; the student recognized him as Ye Lang.

Compared to the one at the Yan City Art Museum, this painting was even clearer and more realistic.

But wasn’t the teacher’s hand slashed by Ye Lang, making him unable to hold a paintbrush ever again?

Almost subconsciously, a deep fear rose in his heart. He hurriedly tried to close the door and retreat, but in the next moment, Lin Yiqiu called out to him, “You’re afraid of me. What are you afraid of?” It was a statement, not a question.

The student suppressed the terror in his heart and shook his head. “No, I’m not.”

Lin Yiqiu was painting Ye Lang’s hair, so gently it was as if he were treating a lover.

He hadn’t picked up a paintbrush in fifty years.

No one would believe that a man lying in a hospital with a slashed hand would tamper with Lin Yijing’s car. This was his best cover.

He was still too young back then.

If it were now, he could have made her die without getting his hands bloody, even if she was his only niece.

“If you were Ye Lang, what kind of Ye Lang would you want to be?” Lin Yiqiu suddenly asked.

The student stood by the door, completely at a loss. He didn’t know why his teacher seemed to have become a different person, exuding a gloomy aura that made people afraid to approach.

It was less like he was talking to himself and more like he was talking through him to another person—another dead person.

“An obscure Ye Lang who fades into the mundane world?”

“Or a famous Ye Lang who is admired by all?”

Lin Yiqiu stopped painting and gazed at the young man in the painting. “It was I who made you.”

Extreme pain creates extreme art.

He was willing to become darkness itself.

But the student clearly saw that Lin Yiqiu was painting an incredibly young Ye Lang, his light-colored pupils filled with hope for the future, his smile bright and brilliant.

That must have been when they had just met, the Ye Lang who was still an unknown student at school.

“Go out,” Lin Yiqiu said to him.

“Yes.” The student breathed a sigh of relief and turned to leave.

“No one can judge me,” Lin Yiqiu murmured.

When the student walked out of the Mid-Levels Villa, he remembered that he had forgotten to tell his teacher about the court matter. He turned around abruptly—

A fire had started at some point, and the location was exactly the art studio!

The student frantically dialed the fire department, but the fire was too fierce. By the time the flames were extinguished, Lin Yiqiu was already dead in the fire.

No one would ever know his thoughts before his suicide, whether he had any regrets. Perhaps he did; his posture seemed to be protecting the scroll.

But his final work had also turned to ash.

Not a single trace was left.

***

Ye Zhi stood before Ye Lang’s painting.

She and Ye Lang were completely different people.

This world was composed of cold, physical laws. She needed to maintain absolute rationality.

If she were Ye Lang, she would not have abandoned her daughter to die alone on the peaks of Kolis.

For a little girl, the scariest thing wasn’t that her father was a madman, but that her father didn’t want her anymore.

She was no longer that little girl clutching a candy jar.

So she could stand calmly before Ye Lang’s painting.

—Just like any other visitor.

“Is the scenery he painted his final residence?”

“It should be. The introduction says it was on a mountain on the Russian border.”

“But why do they all have lakes?”

“Why can’t there be a lake on a mountain?”

She had seen the photos.

There was no lake on the peak of Kolis, only steep cliffs and a dilapidated wooden cabin.

The place with a lake was their home in Beijing. There was a clear lake, and every summer, circles of water lilies would grow on its surface.

And so, in Ye Lang’s landscape paintings, there was always a quiet lake.

She suddenly didn’t want to look anymore. She walked out of the exhibition.

As she passed by Ye Lang’s portrait, she took out a milk candy from the pocket of her work uniform.

She placed it on the table beside it.

The remaining piece, she unwrapped and put in her own mouth.

She hadn’t eaten candy in many years.

It was sweet.

Unexpectedly, a tear rolled down her face.

It was salty.

***

Ji Wei learned of Lin Yiqiu’s death the next day at noon.

—Death by self-immolation.

“This is already the best outcome,” the lawyer who came to visit analyzed objectively.

“Lin Yiqiu was over seventy-five years old. Even if he were convicted of intentional homicide, the court would have given him a lenient sentence. Moreover, the case is too old, and it’s uncertain if the DNA evidence is still intact. Relying solely on witness testimony would have been a long, drawn-out battle.”

“Thank you.” Ji Wei pursed his lips and saw the lawyer out.

Even up to Lin Yiqiu’s death, he couldn’t see through this person.

What kind of person was he?

There was no way of knowing anymore.

He had been afraid it would scare Huang Bo, but to his surprise, Huang Bo was completely calm, as if being burned to death was a very common occurrence. He even asked him, “Do you want to eat charcoal-grilled beef for dinner?”

Remembering Lin Yiqiu’s cause of death, he quickly shook his head.

He couldn’t help but marvel at how big-hearted Huang Bo was.

There were no evening classes at the start of the semester. After finishing his afternoon classes, he went home. The thought of Lin Yiqiu made it impossible to concentrate on painting, so he simply turned on his computer and prepared to stream games.

He hadn’t streamed games in a long time.

As soon as he logged into his account, the stream chat gradually became lively.

[Ahhhhhhh! Look what I’ve been waiting for!]

[What are you streaming?!]

[I’m okay with whatever Weiwei streams!]

He actually didn’t know what to stream either; he just wanted to play games to distract himself. So he went through his game library and played them one by one.

Most of the domestic games were from Fanzhou Games. Old fans all knew he was a fan of Panzhou and joked about whether he was getting paid for promotion.

But new fans didn’t know the situation and genuinely thought he was being paid for promotion, anxiously advising him, which left him not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

[Weiwei, I suggest you mark sponsored content in your stream.]

[+1, they’re cracking down on undisclosed ads pretty hard now. If you don’t mark it, someone with ill intentions might use it against you.]

[Right, right, there’s nothing wrong with sponsored content, just be open about it.]

Knowing the fans meant well, he said in a gentle voice, “I’m not getting paid for promoting Panzhou.”

Many bullet comments breathed a sigh of relief.

[Weiwei certainly doesn’t lack that little bit of money.]

[I was just kidding. Who doesn’t play Panzhou games when playing domestic games? The “Age of Great Contention” they released before was number one on the sales charts. The people talking about promotion probably don’t play many standalone games.]

[Ashamed, I really don’t play many games. I became a fan of Weiwei from his painting.]

[Hahaha, me neither. I became a fan from watching the show.]

Just as the bullet comments were quieting down, a sentence from Ji Wei made the stream chat explode.

“But there is a conflict of interest, because I myself am a shareholder of Panzhou.”

[!!! While other streamers are still getting paid for promotions, Weiwei has already become a shareholder?!]

[Ahhhhhhh, that’s Panzhou! Streamer, tell me the truth, did you invest just to play new games early!]

[OMG, investing in Panzhou is my dream.]

[Am I the only poor person here curious about how much that would cost?]

Before the stream even ended, people on Weibo were already discussing it heatedly.

[Gaming Circle’s Ding Shi] Ji Wei became a shareholder of Panzhou? Is that true? If I remember correctly, Wang Lei’s partner at Panzhou was Tian Ping, right? Did Wang Lei sell his shares or did Tian Ping sell his?

An industry insider replied below.

[Lion] Tian Ping sold all his shares. If you don’t believe me, you can check Tianyancha. Anyway, his reasoning was that Panzhou’s new game is too risky and he’s not optimistic about its future development. Wang Lei, on the other hand, seems full of confidence.

Other comments weren’t concerned with these things.

[Vita Lemon Tea] I checked Tianyancha! 30% of the shares are now valued at over a hundred million!

[Mango Jerky] Valued at over a hundred million… Should I say that making games is just that profitable? In the future, don’t even talk about Ji Wei taking promotions. He’s the least likely person on Bilibili to take a promotion.

[Beyond the Clouds] Just tell me when Panzhou’s “Apocalypse” is coming out! Weiwei, I want to give you my money!

[Panpanzi] +1, there were rumors before that Panzhou was going to replace Weiwei. I was worried for a long time, but now I’m not worried at all. Just waiting for Panzhou’s new game to be released. I really want to play a game that Weiwei painted for!

Ji Wei didn’t know that the topic on Weibo was getting hotter and hotter, and the long-dormant The Age of Great Contention had even climbed to the top three on the sales charts because of it. He just ended the stream at eleven o’clock and said goodnight to everyone.

He went to the bathroom, preparing to take a shower.

He turned on the shower and had already taken off his clothes when his phone on the sink rang.

Ji Wei hesitated for a moment, but still walked over and answered the phone.

It was a video call notification.

—The caller was Lu Shenxing.

He probably wanted to ask about Lin Yiqiu’s matter.

He hurriedly put his clothes back on, not even fully buttoned up, and opened the video.

In the video, the man was sitting at a hotel desk, his clear black and white eyes just looking at him without speaking, his gaze moving inch by inch from his face.

Finally, it landed on the exposed skin at his collar and stopped.

Ji Wei was stunned for a moment, then looked down at his clothes and realized. His face grew hot, and he immediately buttoned up his shirt.

But the man still watched him quietly.

He swallowed. “Lin Yiqiu is dead.” He added, “He was burned to death.”

He didn’t know anything else.

“I know,” Lu Shenxing nodded slightly.

“Then… is there anything else?”

Ji Wei’s heart couldn’t help but race. The biggest thing that happened today was the news of Lin Yiqiu’s death. Could there be something even more serious?

The man was silent for a moment, then said softly, “I wanted to see you.”

The surroundings seemed to quiet down, so quiet that he could only hear his own breathing.

Being looked at like that by Lu Shenxing, his face couldn’t stop getting hot.

So hot.

Ji Wei lowered his head without any resistance. “I’m going to take a shower first. I’ll video call you again after I’m done.”

He needed to cool down.

And he was about to take a shower anyway.

Lu Shenxing didn’t say anything.

Just as he reached out to end the video call, the man lowered his eyes and said slowly, “No need to be so troublesome.”

“I remember your phone is waterproof.”