Chapter 16
Ji Wei really couldn’t bring himself to accept such valuable items. After much refusal, under Boss Lu’s mournful gaze, he only took the Patek Philippe watch and 100 euros for travel expenses.
“Boss Lu, would it be convenient to leave a contact number? I’ll send you some Chinese specialties when I get back,” Ji Wei offered.
However, a big shot who casually gives away millions probably wouldn’t easily share his contact information. Just as he was about to add that an address would also be fine, Lu Qi’s face lit up with a smile as he pulled out his phone. “Come, come, let’s add each other on WeChat.”
Ji Wei was surprised. …Has WeChat become this international?
After adding each other on WeChat, Ji Wei and the others left Feile Plaza looking like they had just leveled up in a game with all new gear. Before they went in, they were penniless. When they came out, each was holding a large bag of snacks—vacuum-packed chickpeas, sweet fruit pies, Niçoise salad, and other famous local delicacies.
Ji Wei took a bite of a pie. Although it was a bit too sweet, it was soft and springy, with a decent texture. The four of them took a taxi to the first instrument store. The translated name was very simple and direct: China Zither House.
When Ji Wei stepped into the zither house, it wasn’t crowded. The walls were decorated not with Chinese knots but with traditional Chinese paintings, giving it a rather ancient charm. A few foreigners were taking pictures of a guqin placed in the hall, their eyes filled with admiration. At the counter, two young men of mixed heritage were talking to each other. One of them was even holding a writing brush, as if he were painting.
“Excuse me, have you seen this person?” Zhao Yue preemptively snatched the drawing from Ji Wei’s hand and walked to the counter, asking fluently in English.
[Zhao Yue’s English is actually that good? There’s no accent at all. I thought people calling him an academic ace in the entertainment industry was sarcasm.]
[Brother Yue is a graduate student at the Central Academy of Drama. Don’t compare him to those influencers with just a pretty face. Anyway, I came for the looks, stayed for the talent.]
[I’m genuinely surprised. Watching the show, I always thought he had a middle school education.]
[To the person above, I can’t tell if that’s a compliment or a diss.]
Zhao Yue’s swift action left Ji Wei a bit bewildered. He stood there empty-handed for a good while before he reacted. Lu Shenxing frowned. He was about to say something, but Ji Wei tugged on his sleeve and shook his head. In the end, the man said nothing.
The young man holding the brush at the counter put it down and glanced towards the camera. “Are you celebrities filming a show?”
Zhao Yue quickly nodded. The young man’s expression changed instantly. “We don’t welcome celebrities here, nor do we allow filming. Please leave!” he said, displeased.
The other young man glanced at Zhao Yue. “What do people like them know about art? They can go to a community college and then come out to act. They probably haven’t even read Shakespeare.”
Zhao Yue was a bit embarrassed. “We’re Chinese.”
“I’m French, but I’m also learning Chinese painting. Art has no borders.” The red-haired youth waved the Xuan paper in his hand, his tone sarcastic. “Can Chinese people be proud of not having read Shakespeare?”
Zhao Yue’s face suddenly changed.
[Emmm, Zhao Yue’s answer was so dumb. It makes others think Chinese actors are arrogant and disdainful of even Shakespeare.]
[I’m speechless. It was clearly these two foreigners who were rude. Why are you blaming Zhao Yue for his tactless response? Can’t we have some cultural confidence?]
[International image is also important.]
Not only were the bullet comments in a heated debate, but the on-site staff also looked terrible. This was a very difficult question to answer, and Zhao Yue was too young. A slight misstep would cause an uproar on Weibo and attract a storm of criticism. The assistant director raised his walkie-talkie, preparing to cut the live broadcast. Just then, he heard a man’s deep yet powerful English voice.
“Who would fardels bear, to grunt and sweat under a weary life, but that the dread of something after death, the undiscover’d country from whose bourn no traveller returns, puzzles the will and makes us rather bear those ills we have than fly to others that we know not of?”
Lu Shenxing walked over step by step, as if performing in a stage play, his expression getting into character. “Thus conscience does make cowards of us all; and thus the native hue of resolution is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought…”
He recited a long soliloquy from Shakespeare effortlessly. The lighting was dim, yet he seemed to have a light shining on him. Logically, it would be hard to ignore such a person’s superior looks, but everyone’s attention was focused on his voice. They held their breath in unison, not daring to disturb him.
[Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap! That line delivery! Film Emperor Lu is so damn amazing! Hearing it live must be even more stunning. I can’t, I have to listen to it again from the beginning.]
[His English pronunciation is so intoxicating.]
[He is the youngest Film Emperor in the mainland, after all. I’m once again amazed at how incredible Yancheng Television Station is. How did they manage to get this great god on a variety show?]
After Lu Shenxing finished, it was still deathly quiet. It wasn’t until a minute later that everyone, as if waking from a dream, began to applaud, including the two mixed-race youths, their expressions having changed from contempt to admiration.
That was his… idol. That was his incomparable idol. Ji Wei clapped vigorously, the loudest of all, his eyes brimming with pride, happier than if he had received the praise himself.
Lu Shenxing looked over at him and moved his lips, as if wanting to say something, but his words were drowned out by the tide of applause. Not to be outdone, Ji Wei clapped even louder.
Under everyone’s gaze, Lu Shenxing walked to Ji Wei’s side. The man stood very close, his deep voice seeming to come from above his head. “I can hear you now.”
Ji Wei’s clapping slowed down, and he looked at him, puzzled.
“So—” Lu Shenxing paused, his gaze falling on his hands as he said slowly, “you can be a little gentler.”
Ji Wei subconsciously looked at his hands, which had turned red from clapping without him realizing. He let out an embarrassed “oh” and then continued to clap with less force. But, he was still… the loudest clapping cub in the room!
[Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha, I’m dying of laughter. I’ve already stopped! But I can’t help it, everyone else is too weak.]
[Everyone but me is weak.]
[Film Emperor Lu: Fine, pretend I didn’t say anything.]
[Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha, Weiwei is so cute. I’m going to steal him through the screen.]
The red-haired youth took the initiative to take the portrait from Zhao Yue’s hand. He initially glanced at it casually, but then he unconsciously stood up straight, his eyes filled with shock. He was an art student. A simple likeness couldn’t impress him. No matter how realistic a drawing was, could it be more realistic than a digital camera? What shocked him was the precision of the strokes, with no traces of correction, and a fluid, spiritual charm.
“How long did this take to draw?”
It must have taken two or three days. “Probably about half an hour,” Du Ruosong recalled.
Half an hour? The red-haired youth was a bit surprised. “Did… you draw this too?”
Ji Wei nodded. “I drew it. Is there a problem?”
The red-haired youth hadn’t expected the artist to be so young, probably only in his late teens. He looked at Ji Wei as if he were looking at a future master. The youth couldn’t sit still anymore and came out from behind the counter. If he had known that Ji Wei had drawn it from memory after looking at a photo for five minutes, he would have been too stunned to speak.
“No problem, no problem at all.” The red-haired youth waved his hands frantically and bowed to him. “It’s drawn so well! I must apologize for my and my companion’s earlier remarks. I’m sorry.”
Ji Wei looked at Zhao Yue, who had been silent for a long time. Zhao Yue didn’t expect Ji Wei to ask for his opinion. The young man’s eyes were so clean that an inexplicable emotion welled up inside him. He subconsciously avoided Ji Wei’s clear gaze. “I have no objections.”
Du Ruosong also put his CCTV host skills to use. “As the westernmost point of the Belt and Road Initiative in Europe, the people of our two countries should naturally support each other and work together for a common cause…”
[Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha, I thought I was watching the evening news!]
[My roommate asked me why I was watching the evening news in the middle of the day, I…]
[Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha, I give this answer full marks!]
Just as Ji Wei and the others were about to leave, the red-haired young man suddenly took a few steps forward and chased after them. “Can I… make a request?”
Ji Wei stopped, puzzled.
“Could you give me a painting?”
Fearing that Ji Wei would refuse outright, he ran to the storeroom and brought out several guqins. “I can trade them with you for a zither.”
The camera panned over the exquisitely crafted guqins, and the bullet comments exploded.
[The first one is the authentic Zhongshi model from Dade Zither Workshop, right? Not considering shipping and rental costs, the price is over ten thousand, and the other ones are also quite good.]
[Holy crap, is he that rich?]
[Nonsense, he runs a zither house in France, and there aren’t many people learning the zither. How could he stay open without money?]
The young man looked at him with great earnestness. Ji Wei didn’t have the heart to refuse. He looked at the clock on the wall and, thinking it wouldn’t take much effort, agreed. The red-haired youth immediately went to find drawing paper and a pen. Ji Wei shook his head, walked to the counter, and picked up a writing brush. “This is all I need.”
He spread out the Xuan paper, dipped the brush in ink, and the moment he lifted the brush, the stream’s bullet comments exploded.
[Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, my Weiwei also knows how to do traditional Chinese painting??!!]
[I love the way he holds the brush. Suspended elbow, steady strokes, you can tell he’s trained. His elbow strength is amazing.]
[Last episode he played “Ode to the Luo River Goddess,” and I had a feeling he might know how to do traditional Chinese painting. I didn’t expect him to actually know how. Sob sob sob sob sob, what kind of godly little brother have I discovered?]