Chapter 40 Published

The next morning, Ji Ruan knocked on the door of Cheng Zizhan's ward.

The one who opened the door was Cheng Yunxiu. She was wearing a simple light-colored long dress, with her hair tied up behind her head. She looked very elegant. When she saw Ji Ruan, she smiled gently, "Xiao Ruan, I am glad to see you. I am Zi Zhang's mother, and I often hear Zi Zhang talk about you."

She had soft features and a very friendly appearance. Ji Ruan smiled and said, "Hello, Teacher Cheng. I have heard of your name for a long time."

"What's so great about hearing about her?" Cheng Yunxiu said kindly, taking Ji Ruan to the ward. "Come on, come in quickly. Zi Zhang can't be discharged from the hospital yet. Thank you for coming here."

Ji Ruan handed the flowers she brought to Cheng Yunxiu: "No, I should have come to see you, Senior."

The single ward is not large, but it has ample lighting, and the whole room is filled with the smell of warm sunshine.

Cheng Zizhan half leaned against the head of the bed drinking noodle soup and smiled warmly at Ji Ruan. Even when she was sick, she was still a great beauty.

"——Ji Ruan?"

Ji Ruan turned around and saw Lin Qing coming out of the bathroom.

His eyes were a little red and he looked quite haggard, completely different from the gentle and elegant man he was when he came on stage yesterday. He looked exhausted as if he had been through a lot of torture.

He stopped where he was, his eyes wandering around Cheng Yunxiu and her daughter, his expression gradually becoming a little embarrassed: "Why did you call him here?"

Lin Qing felt indignant and confused. Now that things had come to this, was there any need to invite an outsider to come and laugh at him?

Ji Ruan raised his eyebrows. It seemed that after a whole night, Lin Qing still hadn't figured anything out.

Cheng Zizhan swallowed the soup as if nothing had happened and ignored her. Her mother was still returning the favor, so there was no need for her to say anything.

Cheng Yunxiu poured a glass of water and walked straight past Lin Qing, still speaking to Ji Ruan in a friendly tone: "Come on, Xiao Ruan, sit down first, drink some water and we'll talk slowly."

Ji Ruan thanked him and sat down on the chair beside the bed.

Cheng Yunxiu was silent for two seconds as if thinking about where to start, and then looked at Lin Qing with a much more serious expression: "Do you know where you did wrong?"

This sentence can be said to be quite gentle. Lin Qing seemed to have expected this question a long time ago, and said calmly: "Teacher, where do you think I went wrong?"

Cheng Yunxiu sat down next to Ji Ruan: "Okay, since you don't want to say it yourself, then let me ask you, is the work in the promotional event your own?"

Lin Qing curled his lips and said, "Teacher, you clearly know that it was you who asked me and my senior sister to complete this together, and we are doing it according to your instructions."

Cheng Zizhang sneered.

Cheng Yunxiu looked at Lin Qing quietly for two seconds, then sighed and said, "Go get the things on the table."

Although she has a gentle personality, her eyes are quite sharp when she is serious.

Lin Qing felt a little frightened by being stared at. He was dazed for a moment before doing as she said, and his steps were stiff.

It was a rectangular object wrapped in cotton cloth, about half a meter long, and felt like a wooden picture frame. Lin Qing had a vague guess as to what it was.

He handed the item to Cheng Yunxiu, but she refused to take it and only said, "Open it and take a look."

Lin Qing's Adam's apple rolled, and his fingers trembled slightly when he lifted the cotton cloth.

He guessed correctly. It was indeed the work "A Corner of the Courtyard" that they exhibited at the event yesterday.

Cheng Yunxiu's eyes fell on his face, as if she didn't want to miss any of his expressions: "Now that you have seen it yourself, point to it and tell me clearly, which ones are embroidered by you and which ones are embroidered by Zi Zhang?"

Lin Qing's hands trembled violently and he almost dropped the things in his hands to the ground.

"...I embroidered the pond, and my senior sister embroidered the fish, water and paths..." He stopped when he pointed to the plum blossoms, opened and closed his lips twice, but in the end no sound came out.

Cheng Yunxiu's eyes were sharp: "Who embroidered them?"

Lin Qing pursed his lips until they turned pale, but he didn't say a word.

Cheng Yunxiu looked at him for a long time. After getting no response, he finally looked away with a disappointed look on his face: "Do you remember what you said on the stage yesterday? Do you need me to help you recall?"

Lin Qing's chest rose and fell twice, and he suddenly raised his eyes: "Do you trust Cheng Zizhang so much?"

Cheng Yunxiu met his gaze: "What does this mean?"

"Cheng Zizhang told you that she embroidered the flowers, and you believed her, so you think I'm lying, right?"

He chuckled, raised his hand and pointed at Ji Ruan, saying, "In order to show that you are selfless, you specially found an outsider to be a witness. Is this necessary?"

Cheng Yunxiu's eyes suddenly became unfamiliar when he looked at Lin Qing: "So you still don't want to admit it, right?"

"Then why do you think I'm lying?" Lin Qing blurted out, "The needlework on that plum tree doesn't look exactly like Cheng Zizhang's. Why couldn't it be me? Why did you choose to believe her without even asking?"

He waited for two seconds, and seeing Cheng Yunxiu shaking his head without saying anything, he thought he was right, so he took a step closer.

"Is it because the pear blossom was temporarily changed to plum blossom? She has loved doing this kind of thing since she was a child, so you think I'm lying without even thinking about it? It has been like this since she was a child. You have been biased since she was a child!"

Lin Qing's eyes gradually turned red, as if the resentment that had been suppressed for a long time found an outlet at this moment. Once the slightest sign was revealed, it was out of control and his dissatisfaction with Cheng Zizhang intensified.

Cheng Zizhang is like this every time. She never embroiders according to the original plan. She just does whatever she wants, as if she is the most imaginative person in the world. But the teacher just likes her and thinks she is smarter.

"But the plum blossoms were not embroidered by me." Cheng Zizhan, who had been drinking soup quietly on the hospital bed, suddenly spoke.

Lin Qing was stunned.

Cheng Zizhang put down the soup bowl and met his gaze: "I have never said such a thing before."

Cheng Yunxiu sighed, "You said I made the decision without listening to your explanation, but I asked you, did you tell the truth? You are still lying to this day!"

The color on Lin Qing's face gradually faded, and he whispered: "It's not her...if it's not her, then who else could it be? It's the two of us—"

Suddenly he stopped.

"Could it be you?"

Ji Ruan gave him a faint smile in return.

Lin Qing took a half step back uncontrollably, as if he couldn't believe what he saw.

"Yes, it was Xiao Ruan who did it." Cheng Zizhang said, "I was sick that day, and you couldn't get in touch with me. Xiao Ruan happened to come to me and helped me when he saw that I was in trouble."

As Lin Qing's expression changed drastically, she said leisurely, "It was not intentional to change the name from pear blossom to plum blossom. It was because Xiao Ruan pricked her finger and blood dripped on it, so we had to change it."

"As for why the needlework is very similar to mine," Cheng Zizhang glanced at Lin Qing sarcastically, "It's just because he doesn't want to stand out, and he also cares about the coordination of the work, so he deliberately moves closer to the overall style."

"——It's that simple. I'm surprised you couldn't guess it."

Lin Qing's face turned blue and red, and then red and white. It seemed that it was more difficult for him to accept that the work was created by Ji Ruan than by Cheng Zizhang.

"How, how could he do that?" He laughed ridiculously. "How could he have such a show of skill when he hasn't even learned it... and he's even imitating you. Are you deliberately deceiving me, Cheng Zizhang?"

He took two steps closer and said, "Is your needlework so easy to imitate? If it were really that easy, others wouldn't have to spend ten or twenty years learning it!"

"You don't believe it, right?" Cheng Zizhang was too lazy to talk nonsense with him, and pushed the handkerchief that Ji Ruan gave him in front of Lin Qing: "Look for yourself."

"Xiao Ruan's plum blossom is intentionally imitating me, but it also has a lot of his own style. If you put the two together and you still can't tell the difference, then my mother has really wasted all these years teaching you."

Lin Qing stared at the two embroidery pieces in front of him, one of primrose and the other of plum blossom, which were indeed very similar. The stitches were fine and the thread was tight and solid, which showed a very solid basic skill.

He saw it, so he felt more like a clown.

The water in his hand was almost cold. Ji Ruan took a sip. Seeing that Lin Qing seemed to be possessed, he said calmly, "So now you know why I didn't believe you that day in the operating room, right?"

Lin Qing's eyes moved and he turned to Ji Ruan with some hesitation.

"Because I really don't need you to tell me how much you embroidered and what you embroidered," he shrugged, "I saw it myself, but you didn't believe it at the time."

Lin Qing's face almost turned blue.

His jaw was tense, and after a long while he looked at Cheng Yunxiu, his voice hoarse:

"So you actually saw it at first sight, and you kept it secret from yesterday until today, just to wait for him to come over? Waiting for him to come over and expose me in person, and make a fool of me?"

In his current state, he no longer had any respect for his master Cheng Yunxiu, but Cheng Yunxiu didn't care too much and said coldly:

"No one wants to make things difficult for you. You impersonated someone else's work. Apologizing in person is the most basic thing to do. But I didn't expect you to be so stubborn."

"Heh." Lin Qing laughed out loud. He didn't say anything, but his eyes were full of unwillingness.

Cheng Yunxiu closed her eyes and said, "I know you are sensitive and thoughtful, so I have always taken good care of you. Although Zizhang is my biological daughter, I dare say that I have never treated you unfairly over the years. I am even afraid that you will think that I am partial to you and I am lenient with you in every way. In the past two years, you have neglected your homework and practice. How much has Zizhang helped you? If I don't punish you ruthlessly, do you really think I am easy to fool?"

Lin Qing's expression was stiff: "After saying so much, aren't you still biased? You've praised Cheng Zizhang more than me since we were young. You always encourage your own daughter, but you only tell me to practice, practice, practice. Am I really not as good as her?"

Cheng Yunxiu shook her head: "I don't know why you have such thoughts, but you have always been arrogant and impetuous since you were a child. If I don't suppress you, will I let you float to the sky?!"

Lin Qing let out a laugh from his nose, his eyes were vague, and it was unclear whether he heard it or not.

Cheng Yunxiu waved her hands, looking like she didn't want to continue arguing about this matter: "There's no point in talking any more, just apologize to Xiao Ruan, apologize sincerely and sincerely!"

It's easy to say sorry, but for someone like Lin Qing whose self-esteem is higher than the sky, how can it be that easy?

He stood there, his back straight, without saying a word.

Cheng Yunxiu waited for him for a long time, and in the end every minute and every second turned into a sigh.

Lin Qing watched Cheng Yunxiu stand up, walk to Ji Ruan step by step, and bend down little by little:

"I'm sorry, Xiao Ruan. Lin Qing was my apprentice. It's my responsibility that I didn't teach him well. I apologize to you on his behalf."

Lin Qing's eyes suddenly turned blood red.

Ji Ruan quickly supported Cheng Yunxiu: "Teacher Cheng, please don't do this."

Cheng Yunxiu patted Ji Ruan's hand and said, "It is a taboo to replace other people's works. You have to do it."

But Ji Ruan still couldn't let a master of Cheng Yunxiu's level bow to him. He couldn't bear it: "I really can't, Teacher Cheng."

Cheng Zizhang, who was lying on the hospital bed, pulled the corner of Ji Ruan's clothes and shook his head: "Xiao Ruan, let go."

Ji Ruan hesitated for a long time, but seeing that the situation was getting too stalemate, he had to let go of Cheng Yunxiu's hand.

Only then did Cheng Yunxiu smile at him gently and bowed deeply.

Because of this, Ji Ruan's palms started to sweat.

Cheng Yunxiu noticed Ji Ruan's discomfort, patted the back of Ji Ruan's hand and asked him to sit down, then walked a few steps towards Lin Qing.

She looked at Lin Qing, the pain in her eyes gradually turned into deep fatigue: "This is the last time I will speak for you as your master. The future path...you walk on your own."

Lin Qing was stunned for a moment, as if he didn't understand what he said. He froze in place, not even blinking.

"What do you mean? You...you don't want me anymore? You want to drive me away?" His eyes were full of disbelief.

Cheng Yunxiu closed her eyes and didn't look at him: "If you still want to save some face for yourself, then apologize to them and leave, okay?"

"What are you talking about, Master?!" Lin Qing seemed to have heard some ridiculous joke, and his expression became distorted: "I, I have followed you since I was twelve years old. Even if I make mistakes, I, I am wrong, but you can't abandon me!"

He pointed at Ji Ruan and said, "...You can't abandon me just because of this person. He doesn't even do Han embroidery!"

"Do you still remember that you are doing Han embroidery?" Cheng Yunxiu said, "Then do you still remember what I said on the day you became my apprentice? Although we make a living by our craft, the character of the embroiderer is far superior to his skill. It is the soul of your work! It is something that we must pass down from generation to generation, not something you can just steal from others. Do you understand, Qing?"

There were tears in Cheng Yunxiu's eyes, as if she was extremely disappointed. Lin Qing had never seen such emotion in his teacher's eyes.

He was stunned for a long time and realized that the teacher was serious this time.

But being expelled from the sect is a great shame. Cheng Yunxiu almost represents the entire Han embroidery industry. If he is kicked out today, everyone will know what he has done tomorrow, and everyone will scold and laugh at him. Lin Qing would rather die than be cursed by so many people.

His tears fell: "I apologize, I apologize, okay." He rushed to Ji Ruan: "Ji Ruan, I'm sorry that I should replace your work, I shouldn't do this, I'm sorry..."

"——Teacher, teacher, I apologize," he pulled Cheng Yunxiu's sleeve: "I was wrong, please don't chase me away, please!..."

Cheng Yunxiu looked at him steadily, his eyes were deep, and finally, he gently brushed Lin Qing's hand away: "Ah Qing, there is no need, and your mind is no longer here, right?"

The weather was really good today. Beams of sunlight pushed through the tender buds on the branches and penetrated onto Cheng Zizhang's white bed, illuminating Lin Qing's pale face.

The hand that was clutching Cheng Yunxiu's sleeve gradually lost strength, and he suddenly fell to the ground like an unconscious puppet.

Cheng Zizhang tilted his head and looked at him, frowning slightly: "In fact, I have never understood. You clearly know what it means to replace other people's works in our industry. It's just a small activity. It doesn't do you any good. Why do you still do this?"

"Why don't you know?" Lin Qing laughed softly and looked at Ji Ruan, as if he was very unwilling but had to admit it.

“Because it’s so good,” he said, “…so good that I want to own it.”

He wiped his face, propped up Cheng Zizhang's bed and stood up, his eyes scanning Cheng Zizhang's beautiful face inch by inch: "Then I will surpass you, and the teacher will not always praise you, but only say that I don't work hard."

Cheng Zizhang seemed puzzled: "Then why don't you just work hard on your own?"

Lin Qing's body shook.

Ji Ruan saw that his eyes suddenly became dazed.

After talking about this matter, Ji Ruan finally got the apology he deserved. Although it was hard to say how much sincerity there was in Lin Qing's words, at least he spoke openly, and Cheng Yunxiu also made a very sincere apology on his behalf.

The current atmosphere has obviously involved the internal affairs of their sect. Ji Ruan doesn't care whether Lin Qing will be kicked out or not.

But his family had been doing Han embroidery for generations, and he knew very well how much of an impact it would have on the career of a disciple who had been taught by a famous artist for ten years but was kicked out because of replacing someone else's work.

If that person had a higher spirit, he would wish to die.

Not to mention someone like Lin Qing who thinks he is extremely noble.

If this was the result that Cheng Zizhang said would satisfy him, he would indeed be happy to see it.

However, he really didn't like this depressing environment, and didn't plan to stay any longer, so he stood up and said goodbye: "Teacher Cheng, Senior Sister, I have something else to do, so I'll go back first."

Cheng Yunxiu also knew that it was not a good thing to make such a scene, so he wiped his face and smiled at Ji Ruan guiltily: "I'm really sorry, Xiao Ruan, for causing you so much trouble. I will come to apologize to you another day."

"It's really not necessary, Teacher Cheng," Ji Ruan pursed her lips, "It's okay, if you still have something to say, I won't bother you, I'll come to see you another day."

Cheng Zizhang couldn't get out of bed, and said with shame on his face: "I'm sorry to have embarrassed you."

Ji Ruan smiled, shook his head and gently closed the door.

It was not until he left the ward that Ji Ruan finally breathed a sigh of relief and sent a message to Gu Xiuyi to let him know that everything was over.

He walked slowly out of the inpatient building and waited for Gu Xiuyi at the hospital gate. Spring had come, and many small blue and purple flowers had bloomed in the roadside flower beds. He couldn't name them, but they were very beautiful.

He took a few pictures with his mobile phone and sent them to Gu Xiuyi without thinking too much.

The other party replied quickly: [Like?]

[Isn’t it beautiful?]

[You like flowers so much, but you complained when I gave them to you yesterday?]

Ji Ruan: “…”

No normal person would choose to send such a big bouquet of flowers that are big enough to crush someone to death.

He pursed his lips and pressed harder on the keyboard: [Yesterday's flowers were beautiful. It would be nice if there weren't so many and so heavy!]

Gu Xiuyi didn't reply.

Ji Ruan waited for two minutes but there was still no movement. Just when Ji Ruan thought he was angry, the phone finally vibrated twice.

[Boss Gu: Got it.]

Ji Ruan: “……?”

What does he know?

It takes a while to get here from Gu Xiuyi's company. Ji Ruan was kicking pebbles on the roadside with nothing to do, but he met Lin Qing first.

Lin Qing's condition looked worse than when he was in the ward. I don't know what they said after Ji Ruan left. He looked dazed and distraught.

I bumped into several pedestrians while walking.

Ever since the day he met him at the villa, Ji Ruan knew that he was a man with extremely high self-esteem and a keen sense of face, and his back was always deliberately straight.

He had never seen Lin Qing behave so badly in public.

Lin Qing seemed to be waiting for a bus as well, and walked slowly to Ji Ruan.

Ji Ruan just glanced at him and then looked away, not intending to chat with him.

Lin Qing said expressionlessly: "Are you very proud?"

Seeing that Ji Ruan didn't answer, he took a step closer and said quietly, "On the day when Cheng Zizhang had surgery, you deliberately didn't tell me that you embroidered the plum blossoms, just to make fun of me, right?"

His eyes were hollow, like a deep cave, faintly revealing scarlet blood beads, mixed with an indescribable gloom.

Ji Ruan frowned, looked at him, and moved away unnoticeably.

Lin Qing is obviously in a bad state now, and reason tells Ji Ruan not to talk to him.

After the experience of being almost beaten by Gu Xiuyi's stepbrother at home, Ji Ruan gained a new understanding of the uncontrollable nature of human behavior and realized that they may go crazy in any environment.

But now we are on the street. If Lin Qing really wants to fight, wouldn’t it be embarrassing for Ji Ruan to be unable to defeat him?

Ji Ruan glanced at the passing vehicles and said casually, "It's almost noon, are you hungry?"

"……What?"

Lin Qing didn't seem to understand why he suddenly said this and was stunned for a moment.

Ji Ruan licked his dry lips and said, "If you're hungry, go home and have lunch."

Don't mess with me.

Lin Qing: “……?”

A low-key black car drove around the corner and slowly stopped on the side of the road. It was a familiar license plate. Ji Ruan quickly took two steps forward when he saw it.

Gu Xiuyi came out from the back seat, walked towards Ji Ruan with a bouquet of flowers in his hand, and naturally held Ji Ruan's hand. His warm big hand gradually soothed Ji Ruan's somewhat uneasy mood.

This time the amount of flowers was much larger than yesterday's, a bouquet of blue-purple hydrangeas that was neither too big nor too small, and was very delicately packaged.

Gu Xiuyi smiled and said, "I checked the flowers in your photo. They are blue hydrangeas, but the flower shops nearby don't have them for sale, so I bought a few hydrangeas. Is that okay?"

Ji Ruan held the flower in her arms, with dimples on her cheeks: "Well, it's so beautiful..."

Gu Xiuyi pinched his face, opened the car door and wanted him to get in, and caught a glimpse of Lin Qing behind him.

He paused and looked at Ji Ruan: "Do you have anything else to say to him?"

"Oh, yes."

Ji Ruan almost forgot about that person.

Now that Gu Xiuyi was by his side, he was not afraid that Lin Qing would dare to make a move. He held the car door and shook the hydrangea in his hand: "You are right, I deliberately didn't tell her that I embroidered the plum blossoms."

"But I didn't do this to make fun of you, nor do I feel proud of it," he said with a curved eyebrow, looking very innocent: "We weren't familiar with each other, were we?"