004
So many passersby were looking at him that Xu Yu had to get on the bus reluctantly.
"Will my food..."
"fine."
Zhu Wenxu half-opened the window and put his cell phone aside.
Xu Yu stared at the vegetables in his hand. Now that he had driven in a Maybach, the value of the vegetables had increased a bit.
The price of cabbage that cost five yuan has increased to five and a half yuan, and the price of onion that cost two yuan has increased to two and a half yuan. They all increased by fifty cents, and when rounded up, they are considered luxury dishes.
He realized that it was not the time to think about these things.
"What does Mr. Zhu want to see me about?"
Zhu Wenxu wiped his glasses and asked, "Are you in a hurry?"
"No rush."
"If you're not in a hurry, tell me later." Zhu Wenxu said, "I need to think about where to start."
Still need to think?
All we have to say about Xi Jiang is the same things. If you ask him who the specific people are that he has an ambiguous relationship with, how can he answer?
"arrive."
"Okay." Xu Yu got out of the car.
In front of me is a sixty-year-old old steamed bun shop with a slogan. The shop has been renovated and is on the second floor. The chef arranged a seat by the window.
Zhu Wenxu didn't even need to look at the menu: "Same as before."
The boss said "Hey" and turned to go downstairs.
Xu Yu sat opposite: "Come here to talk?"
"Isn't it good to talk while we eat?" Zhu Wenxu explained nonchalantly, "My question won't take long."
"What does Mr. Zhu want to ask?"
"No rush."
The boss served steamed buns, dumplings, and millet porridge, and put down two cups of soy milk. "This is for you two. Thank you, handsome man, for visiting our store so often."
"Mr. Zhu, do you come here often?"
"Yeah, the taste suits me." Zhu Wenxu said, "I lived in Northeast China for a while before."
Xu Yu took a bite and said, "It's really delicious."
It was so delicious that I forgot my purpose and finished half a basket of buns and half a basket of dumplings in one go.
Realizing his loss of composure, Xu Yu came to his senses and asked, "What does Mr. Zhu want to ask?"
Zhu Wenxu chewed slowly, swallowed the steamed bun, and wiped his mouth: "What does Xi Jiang like to eat?"
Xu Yu thought about it carefully: "He likes shrimp dumplings for breakfast, beef for lunch, and noodles for dinner."
Zhu Wenxu seemed to be thinking: "What about you?"
"It has nothing to do with Mr. Xi's question," Xu Yu said. "There's no conflict between our lifestyles."
"Can't ask?"
Xu Yu was stuck: "No, as for me... I don't know, I like to eat everything."
For a moment, he really couldn't remember what he liked to eat.
Zhu Wenxu stood up and said, "Let's go."
After leaving the breakfast shop, Xu Yu stood by the car window: "I haven't finished buying groceries yet. President Zhu, please be careful."
Zhu Wenxu put on his glasses again, nodded, closed the car door, and waited until the thin figure disappeared in the crowd before he relit a cigarette.
…
Xu Yu asked Xi Jiang in advance to confirm that he and Jiang Dan would be back after get off work, and started cleaning the kitchen and preparing to cook at four o'clock.
He often lost his mind, his mind full of thoughts about how to reconcile Xi Jiang and Zhu Wenxu. If he succeeded, Xu Yu would not take anything but himself.
Time stretched to six o'clock. Neither Jiang Dan nor Xi Jiang showed up. Xu Yu texted Xi Jiang but got no response, so he called Jiang Dan.
Jiang Dan knew the purpose of Xu Yu's call and deliberately lowered her voice: "Maybe he won't be able to come back. My brother is meeting with Mr. Zhu from Wan Lai. We are at the hotel now. Brother Xu, you eat first."
The phone was hung up.
Xu Yu looked at the table full of food, was silent for a moment, and slowly cleaned it up.
Wang Li sent him Zhu Wenxu's schedule on his mobile phone.
He copied it into a mind map, turned on his computer and pulled out Zhu Wenxu and Xi Jiang Encyclopedia. In early news reports, the Zhu family had been training their eldest son Zhu Baiming. Zhu Baiming inherited the family business for a period of time, but his health was always poor. He chose to commit suicide at the age of 25.
The comments online about the eldest son Zhu Baiming are all regretful. He is a rare genius with a face that would be a waste for him to enter the entertainment industry. Some people also said that they were infected by his gentleness after meeting him once.
Xu Yu scrolled down the news and saw Zhu Baiming's photo. He looked a bit like Zhu Wenxu, and just like the comments said, he was a gentle type with a mild temperament, the kind of person who was very easy to get along with.
However, no matter how outstanding such a person was, it had nothing to do with him. Xu Yu searched for older news and finally found a relevant piece of information - the Painting Children's Palace.
The two went to different elementary schools, middle schools and universities, and seemed like completely unrelated people, but in their early days their paintings were both ranked in the Children's Palace of Painting, with Zhu Wenxu first and Xi Jiang second.
Judging by the year, they should be around 19. High school students.
Repeating his usual routine, Xu Yu bought some groceries and went home. He changed his clothes, stuffed the camera hidden in the box into his schoolbag, went to the bus stop, got off at the mall, and went to the bookstore on the second floor of the mall without hesitation.
The bookstore has doors on both sides, and it is extremely complicated inside when there are many people. After walking around the bookshelves twice, Xu Yu walked around the bookstore twice and left.
He entered a clothing store, picked up a piece of clothing at random and went into the changing room. After making sure that no one in black clothes and black pants had come in, he hung the clothes back.
He took a taxi to the Children's Palace. This Children's Palace had been relocated a long time ago and was located in a remote area. The large area it used to have was turned into a small courtyard.
Xu Yu knocked on the door and was greeted by a white-haired old man: "Hello, who are you?"
"I'm a reporter, and this is my business card. I heard someone mention this Children's Palace of great significance, and I wanted to take some photos to commemorate the occasion."
Take the business card. Reporter, Wang Li.
"I didn't expect that after all these years, someone still remembers our Children's Palace, which has been eliminated. Reporter Wang, please come in."
Xu Yu entered the yard. There was a huge tree in the yard, and on the tree were works of art hung under waterproof covers.
They are all ancient landscape and figure paintings, some are outstanding and some are ordinary, but each painting is taken care of very well.
In order to make it more realistic, Xu Yu took a few pictures with a camera.
"These are the works of our students from many years ago. There is no shortage of talent among them. After studying here, some of them were admitted to various art universities. Every stroke of their brush carries the original intention of giving their all. Every time I see these paintings, I feel proud."
Xu Yu agrees: "Their value has long surpassed their age."
"I love to hear that. Hey, come on, I'll show you inside."
Pushing the door open, dust flew everywhere. The room inside was connected and very spacious. It was filled with paintings with bold colors and strong personal style.
"These are the students who won awards that year. There are more than 900 of them in total. I put some of them away. These are the best ones."
Xu Yu looked around and saw Zhu Wenxu and Xi Jiang's paintings in the report - Rising Sun and Ming Moon.
The Rising Sun is a work by Zhu Wenxu. A bird transforms into the shape of the scorching sun. From a distance, it looks like an eye burning with hope, while from a closer distance, it is a flaming bird about to spread its wings and fly high.
Xu Yu couldn't take his eyes off her for a moment.
"This painting was created by one of my wife's most proud students, but this student later gave up painting and went abroad, which became a regret for my wife."
"Study abroad?"
"Yes, I come from a wealthy family," he said without further ado.
Xu Yu asked: "Why is the painting not signed?"
"This student has a special status now, so I will erase his name."
Xu Yu took a picture and looked at Yue Ming beside him. Compared to Zhu Wenxu's strong expression, this picture seemed even more lonely and gloomy. The black sky, dark clouds, dead branches, rotting apples scattered on the ground, and the moon surrounded by countless circles of light above.
Xu Yu asked, "This painting has the feel of a horror story."
"This painting was casually drawn by a student and won an award. Later, someone wanted to buy it, but we refused, so it has been kept here ever since."
Xu Yu took a picture and said, "Very impressive."
After walking around twice and praising a few more pictures, Xu Yu found a place to rest for a while.
I gave him some water and brought him a photo album that contained all the photos we took at that time.
"This is the happiest time in my 40-year career. In recent years, I have often thought that there are students who carry the spirit of our teaching towards a better future."
He seems nostalgic, and treasures every photo. In every group photo, everyone has a smile or not on their face, and behind them is a screen full of paintings, some of which are blurry, but extremely bright.
"I've never been to the Children's Palace, so I'm a little confused. Looking at the photos, their ages vary quite a bit. Do they accept people of all ages?"
"We initially focused on cultivating concepts from a young age. Later, we discovered quite a few talented children, so my wife added a class. The students performed really well and later won many awards. Many people came to study here because of our reputation. Gradually, students from the art class also came to study here, so we added another class for art students."
He pointed at a few photos and said, "Look at these. These are the photos of the group of art students."
The photo enlarged everyone's face. They looked very energetic and made a "yeah" gesture in the last row.
Xu Yu flipped a page, and the scene froze on a photograph nearby. He recognized the eighteen-year-old Xi Jiang, and for some reason, the pale, expressionless Zhu Wenxu next to him.
They are particularly noticeable in the crowd, perhaps because the camera is biased towards them, and the resolution of their faces is higher than that of others.
It might be an illusion, Xu Yu thought, because he felt that Zhu Wenxu looked somewhat similar to himself during this period.
"Pretty, right? These two used to come together often, both were very good. I don't know why they stopped hanging out. And, come to think of it, her face shape is very similar to yours, reporter."
Xu Yu's heart was in suspense, and he continued, "Are they very similar? Did they have a falling out?"
"Yes, they do. Maybe the photo is too old and blurry, or maybe I'm old. Don't mind what I say. As for their falling out, that's probably right. The two kids were pretty, and I have some memories of them. The skinny, expressionless, seldom-smiling boy often made bets with the smiling boy, each time with a piece of candy. Then one time, the two of them didn't come together, and they haven't been together since."
Xu Yu pointed at Xi Jiang's face and asked, "Did he love to laugh before?"
"Haha, yes, he's very likable." He said, "The guy next to him doesn't talk much, but he's very studious."
Xu Yu flipped through a few more pages, heard about some other outstanding students, and looked at the time. It was almost time.
He returned the photo album to his hand and just as he stood up to leave, the wooden door creaked open.
A girl came in, holding a box in her hand, and called out enthusiastically, "Uncle Liang, why didn't you take a break? Who is this?"
Uncle Liang introduced cheerfully, "This is a reporter who wants to take some photos with us."
Xu Yu waved: "Hello."
"Hello, I'm Shu Wei, a former student of Uncle Liang."
Uncle Liang took the box from Shu Wei and said, "Thank you for delivering the medicine again."
"It's not a bother, it's my duty." Shu Wei asked, "Is Master okay?"
"It's an old problem. I accompanied her to relax today, and she fell asleep." Uncle Liang said, "Now that the medicine has arrived, I can't accompany the reporters. Weiwei, you accompany the reporters."
Shu Wei nodded: "Leave it to me."
Uncle Liang turned and walked towards the backyard. Shu Wei looked at his back and said to Xu Yu, "Uncle Liang treasures these works very much and has kept them for several years. He even goes to the backyard to eat and boil medicine, for fear that the smell will contaminate the works."
Xu Yu held the camera and took a picture of Uncle Liang's back.
"When did the Children's Palace close down?"
"Seven years ago," Shu Wei said, "My master, Uncle Liang's wife, became ill and couldn't stand or sit for long periods of time. I couldn't teach anyone anymore, so I had to stop my business."
“What a pity.”
Xu Yu hadn't seen a painting with such bold use of colors for a long time.
"Yes, it's a pity. By the way, Mr. Reporter, you should have taken some photos. Can you show them to me?"
Xu Yu didn't mind: "Okay."
Shu Wei gave a thumbs-up after watching it: "Great photos, very high-end, Mr. Reporter is amazing."
“Not that bad.”
“Can you send me a copy?”
Xu Yu nodded. They added each other on WeChat. Shu Wei walked him out of the yard. They said goodbye at the intersection before Xu Yu dared to pull out his phone.
While talking with Uncle Liang, my cell phone kept ringing, all of them were calls from Xi Jiang.
Xu Yu remained calm for a long time and did not call back. He went to a nearby store and bought a bottle of white wine. He got on the bus and drank while plugging in his headphones. When he got off the bus, he felt obviously drunk. He suppressed his nausea and walked towards his door.
I controlled my body, which was about to faint, hid the camera, drank some ice water, and lay down at the door with my eyes closed.
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