Chapter 50 [VIP]

Jiang Zhuochen sniffed the air; there seemed to be a very faint, indescribable, and murky smell permeating the air, not the chemical smell of paint.

Li Mingtian chuckled, stirring his paintbrush in the water. "This? It's just ordinary gray, used to add texture to the ruins at the bottom."

Jiang Zhuochen stared at his restless hands and asked, "Will it seem more realistic?"

“That’s one way to understand it.” Li Mingtian shook his paintbrush, as if he had done it a thousand times before, and with a casual flick of his wrist, the colors at the bottom of the canvas began to deepen. “I sometimes use it to highlight the texture and expressiveness of the painting.”

"Oh." Jiang Zhuochen nodded as if he understood, and didn't ask any more questions.

By noon, Li Mingtian was already immersed in his art. He glanced at his half-empty palette and was about to add more paint when he realized there was someone else beside him.

"Look at me, I forget everything when I get down to business. Mr. Jiang, are you getting bored?"

Jiang Zhuochen's dazed eyes immediately focused, and he straightened his back a little. "Fortunately, I learned a lot of things I didn't know before."

"Hehe." Li Mingtian chuckled twice. "It would be best if I could help Mr. Jiang."

After speaking, he glanced at the clock on the wall, thought for a moment, and then quickly tidied up his art supplies. "It's getting late. Would Mr. Jiang be willing to have a simple meal with me?"

Having barely made it through the fake schooling phase, Jiang Zhuochen was unwilling to continue pretending and dealing with him, so she blurted out a lie: "No, my stomach hasn't been feeling well lately, I need to eat what's cooked at home."

His original intention was to shake off Li Mingtian and take advantage of the other man's meal to check out the address he had just found. But the other man hesitated for a moment, slowing down his hand-wiping motion, as if considering it before speaking.

“If Mr. Jiang doesn’t mind, my home isn’t too far from here. I was planning to eat at home today anyway, but we can make do with this meal now.”

Jiang Zhuochen was speechless for a moment. He didn't understand what Li Mingtian meant.

But the other party's expression remained normal and his behavior was natural, not showing any ill intentions. Fortunately, even if I didn't understand, it would be more to his liking to go openly and honestly, and I could always improvise later.

"Thank you for your help, Mr. Li."

Jiang Zhuochen was led to a residential area. Before entering the gate, he pretended to be lost and asked where this was. After receiving the answer, he compared it with the address he had received at the studio. The two were almost identical, so it should be the same place.

He had assumed someone was home, but upon entering, Li Mingtian went straight to the kitchen. Jiang Zhuochen was secretly surprised, his doubts deepening.

He harbored his own thoughts, trying to avoid the other person's sight as he quickly searched the house. The meal was prepared and eaten, but nothing came of it.

Jiang Zhuochen realized that the timing wasn't right and was about to find an excuse to leave, but just as he stood up, Li Mingtian poured him a cup of tea, showing no intention of seeing him off.

"Is there something you need, Mr. Li?"

Li Mingtian sighed, seemingly hesitant to speak, feeling somewhat embarrassed. As an artist, he was used to being proud, so he felt a little awkward when he needed someone's help.

"There is something I hope Mr. Jiang can help me with."

Jiang Zhuochen, who had been on edge all afternoon, finally relaxed. It turned out something had happened, causing him to worry for nothing. "You said it, after all, Mr. Li helped me. If I can do it, I will definitely help."

Li Mingtian spoke tactfully: "Since the opening of the art exhibition, the venue for my overseas tour has always been the same art museum. I had almost reached an agreement with the person in charge some time ago, but unexpectedly, someone intercepted the deal halfway. I met you two the other day, and Zhang Zhou told me that it had been sublet to President Xu for the exhibition."

“That venue is of great significance to me,” he cleared his throat and continued, “It’s where my mentor led me to my first award, so I hope Mr. Xu can be lenient and change the venue.”

"Then why don't you just talk to him?" Jiang Zhuochen asked, puzzled.

“It’s not that we can’t meet…” Li Mingtian smiled awkwardly, his fingers tracing the rim of his glass. “The agent over there keeps refusing.”

I happened to run into him a couple of days ago. Zhang Zhou tried his best to get Xu Xing to stay for dinner, intending to talk about this matter. But the other party turned around and left without hesitation, all because of the person in front of him.

It all came down to Xu Xing; without him, he wouldn't have been able to get into the other person's house so easily.

Jiang Zhuochen's face remained expressionless, yet a hint of irritation flickered within him. He couldn't very well admit that he and Xu Xing had argued, so he vaguely agreed, "Okay, I'll ask him for you later."

After listening, Li Mingtian smiled and his previously uneasy heart gradually calmed down. Once he relaxed, he felt a little thirsty.

Just as Li Mingtian was concentrating on pouring himself tea, Jiang Zhuochen quickly took out a Soul-Stealing Talisman that he had prepared beforehand and slapped it at him.

Seeing that the other person's pupils were unfocused and that he was completely motionless, Jiang Zhuochen let out a breath and leaned back against the sofa.

He originally intended to keep Li Mingtian unconscious for a while so he could take the opportunity to find the ashes. However, he did not expect that the other party's soul was extremely unstable. When he looked over, the talisman seemed to have the potential to force the soul out directly.

Jiang Zhuochen was startled. Having no other choice, he spread out his remaining spiritual energy and quickly checked every corner. After a while, finding nothing, he tore off the Soul-Stealing Talisman with a pale face.

Upon regaining consciousness, Li Mingtian was momentarily dazed, but quickly stood up and supported the unsteady Jiang Zhuochen.

"What’s wrong with you?"

Jiang Zhuochen was so tired that he didn't even have the energy to make up an excuse, so he just casually replied, "It's nothing, it's just an old ailment."

Connecting this to what Jiang Zhuochen had said earlier, Li Mingtian tentatively asked, "Gastrointestinal problems?"

Jiang Zhuochen nodded. He didn't know what kind of illness was caused by gastrointestinal disease, and to avoid saying too much and making a mistake, he could only close his eyes and pretend to be extremely uncomfortable.

Li Mingtian, understanding the situation, stopped talking and helped him to the sofa to rest.

Once he felt a bit better, Jiang Zhuochen got up to say goodbye. It wasn't convenient for him to stay long; he needed to find a place to carefully review the clues he had gathered. Seeing this, Li Mingtian was worried and insisted on going downstairs to see him to his car.

Unable to dissuade him, Jiang Zhuochen could only let him weakly support him as they slowly walked towards the roadside.

A gentle breeze outside, carrying a coolness and softness that air conditioning couldn't provide, caressed Jiang Zhuochen's face, making him squint his eyes in comfort and feel a bit more relaxed.

From a car not far away, Xu Xing witnessed this intimate scene between the two. His eyes were dark and unfathomable as he opened the door and got out of the car after the other person approached.

Jiang Zhuochen stopped in his tracks. Li Mingtian, whose attention was on him, looked up as soon as he stopped. He was stunned for a moment, then realized something and quickly let go of his hand.

The three looked at each other in bewilderment. Just as Li Mingtian was about to explain, Xu Xing silently took Jiang Zhuochen's hand and led him back to the car.

The partition slowly descended. One second you could still hear the low hum of tires rolling over the ground, and the next second the surroundings suddenly fell silent.

Anger rolled through Xu Xing's heart like muffled thunderclaps, each explosion fueling deeper anxiety. His tightly pursed lips and taut jawline betrayed his undisguised low spirits, ready to explode at any moment without warning.

I was so exhausted in one day that I could barely stand. I'd rather sleep on the streets than contact him. Is he really that annoying?

A bitter feeling welled up with this thought. How could he really not help him? He just wanted to compete with someone the other person cared about deeply. He would be willing to do anything, even if it was just to send a signal that favored him or to soften his temper a little.

But Jiang Zhuochen didn't. Dragging her still-unwell body, she ran around everywhere, completely excluding him.

In just one short day, Xu Xing had countless thoughts of kidnapping the man and not letting him go anywhere, but in the end he could only give in to those stubborn eyes.

Listening to the messages his subordinates kept sending, he finally couldn't hold back any longer after the other person went home with someone else, despite having forced himself to stop so many times.

Seeing the other person's expression of pretending to be asleep and unwilling to talk, he reached out his hand and accidentally pressed a red mark on the other person's chin with his annoyed fingers.

Jiang Zhuochen opened her eyes involuntarily from the pain, bit her lip and glared at him, grabbing his wrist and trying to pull him away.

Why aren't you answering the phone again?

"I'm busy." Jiang Zhuochen couldn't argue with him, so she turned her head to the side in a huff. "I don't have time to waste on unimportant things."

"Irrelevant?" Xu Xing chuckled, gently rubbing the reddened area with his fingertips. "Then what is important to you?"

Jiang Zhuochen opened his mouth to stab him, but the other party had anticipated this and pinched his cheeks. His mouth was forced to purse, and he felt that he was not very imposing at the moment, so he struggled a little.

"Ugh...!"

If I had known it would be so easy for someone to manipulate me, I shouldn't have acted rashly and exhausted all my spiritual energy. Now look what's happened; it will take me ten days to half a month to recover.

His resistance was futile, and he felt increasingly frustrated, further aggravated by the man's grip. Having exhausted all his strength, a strange, stinging feeling welled up in his nose, and he loosened his grip on Xu Xing's hand.

Jiang Zhuochen wanted to smash the phone at the other person, but when he took it out and felt its weight in his hand, he rationally threw it onto the other person's lap.

Xu Xing's heart tightened at the sight of the pitiful creature, and he unconsciously relaxed his movements a little, looking down at the long-off scrap metal machine.

Jiang Zhuochen was able to move his mouth again, so he mumbled, "No... um... I'm used to using it."

He did have some selfish reasons for not wanting to talk to people, but his phone wasn't important to him, and he didn't have many contacts anyway. After a long period of silence, he naturally forgot about it.

Jiang Zhuochen's attitude softened, and Xu Xing couldn't bear to pinch him anymore. He closed his fingers on both sides to support the other's cheek and looked into the aggrieved eyes.

But others will worry about you.

Jiang Zhuochen wanted to say that he didn't know many people here and no one would worry about him, but seeing Xu Xing's expression, he swallowed his words and turned his head away, saying sullenly, "It was clearly you who inexplicably lost your temper first."

Xu Xing asked calmly, "So you went missing?"

“I didn’t disappear,” Jiang Zhuochen retorted. “Didn’t you find me?”

"What are you doing at Li Mingtian's house?" Xu Xing didn't answer his question. He felt a surge of displeasure as he recalled what he had seen not long ago, and his voice even lowered a bit: "Your relationship has become so good?"

"You don't need to know." Jiang Zhuochen lowered his voice, sounding somewhat tired. "I can handle it myself."

Xu Xing's expression remained unchanged, but the fingers resting on Jiang Zhuochen's cheek twitched almost imperceptibly. The gentle touch, seemingly tender enough to melt water, coalesced into a terrifying torrent in the tranquil atmosphere.

Jiang Zhuochen belatedly realized that he might have said something wrong again, but he really didn't want to argue anymore. Just as he was about to close his eyes to physically isolate himself from the trigger, he heard a sound the next moment.

"I want to know, is that alright?"

It seemed like a compromise, yet also like a sense of desolation.

A note from the author: