Chapter 148
As the car was driving on the road, Dai Qingyue took out the prepared snacks and handed them to Xu Qingye.
"The exhibition hall is a bit far, you should eat something first."
"Thank you, Uncle Dai. What is the theme of this exhibition? I'd like to learn about it first."
Xu Qingye took the pastry and took a bite. It wasn’t very sweet and was quite to his liking.
Xu Qingye likes desserts, but he doesn’t like them to be too sweet, so he basically only buys them in a few fixed stores.
Unexpectedly, the one Dai Qingyue bought also suited his taste.
"If I had to pick a theme, it would probably be time. For this film festival, I've selected the works I'm most satisfied with from different periods. Although some of them seem immature now, they were my favorites at the time. These works, which I'm very satisfied with in the 'present', constitute a time that is unique to me."
Dai Qingyue talked freely, saying that he had lived a very free and unrestrained life, and his works recorded the different stages of his life.
"That sounds really interesting. I guess I have to shoot something meaningful, or else when I'm old and look back, all I'll have are boring photos."
Xu Qingye imagined the scene of himself when he was older. The exhibition hall would probably be filled with accurate photos from different periods. If nothing unexpected happened, the years between them would probably be entangled for a long time, until the end of their lives.
"What you like is meaningful. It is a happy thing to have someone photographing you for the rest of your life. I once thought so too, but unfortunately I missed it in the end."
Dai Qingyue looked at Xu Qingye and corrected him. What was meaningful was not the work, but the photographer's state of mind. Liking it was the greatest meaning.
Xu Qingye listened to Dai Qingyue's words thoughtfully. He suddenly felt that being able to photograph someone for a lifetime was also a kind of extreme romance.
The car stopped at the exhibition hall. The exhibition hall was not open to the public today, so Dai Qingyue took Xu Qingye inside.
"I invested in this exhibition hall, but it's not very profitable. I often rent it out to young artists for exhibitions at low prices, so it seems like business is booming."
Dai Qingyue briefly introduced his exhibition hall, and his introduction was purely sentimental.
"If you want to hold an exhibition in the future, you can come to my place. My basic equipment is pretty good."
Dai Qingyue and Xu Qingye introduced the facilities inside. Xu Qingye felt a little embarrassed. He really didn't have any works worthy of a special exhibition. He had posted the photos he thought were good on Weibo. At most, he could bind them into a dozen heavy personal photo albums.
Dai Qingyue’s photography exhibition has been set up. Huge photos are hung on the wall, and the lighting creates an artistic atmosphere.
Dai Qingyue started out as a photographer on the crew, shooting a lot of portraits, and Xu Qingye saw many familiar veteran stars.
Some of these people have aged gracefully, and some have even passed away, but in Dai Qingyue's photos, they are forever young.
I didn’t take many portraits, and the rest of the photos were landscapes and some intangible cultural heritage themes.
The division of the photos completely coincides with Dai Qingyue's life trajectory. The author did different work in different time periods and left behind works of different styles.
Xu Qingye looked at these photos slowly, as if they connected Dai Qingyue's life together.
He started out as a photographer on set, then became a film director, later began making documentaries, and finally returned to photography again.
"Uncle Dai's life is truly enviable. He's so free and easy, and it seems like he can succeed in everything he does. However, I don't think I've seen any of your movies. Did they fail to be released?"
After looking at all the photos, Xu Qingye felt as if a period of time was missing.
"In my era, there was a kind of product called independent films. They had no official distribution system, so they couldn't be released. Moreover, I violated the rules by entering the competition and was banned from filming. Later, I switched to making documentaries because I was tired of the complicated interpersonal relationships in the film industry, and also because I was banned from filming."
Dai Qingyue explained and then looked at Xu Qingye with some melancholy.
"That period wasn't just mine. I guess they didn't want me to treat it as a bygone past, so they didn't put it here. But I can take you to see it. It was my most beautiful time, but also my most regretful."
Dai Qingyue looked at Xu Qingye with an expression that was a little difficult to understand. Xu Qingye seemed to have sensed something. He looked into Dai Qingyue's eyes, which were filled with sadness.
Xu Qingye had a hunch that if he looked at those photos, the relationship between him and Dai Qingyue might change.
It is impossible to tell whether it is getting better or worse at the moment.
There was a secret small hall in the exhibition hall that was not open to the public. Dai Qingyue opened the door. The moment the lights came on, Xu Qingye was shocked by a huge photo in the middle.
In the photo, the woman is dancing in a red dress. She is passionate and bright, with the baby fat on her face showing her youthfulness, but her eyes are charming, with a pure and ambiguous temperament, which makes people fall in love with her lively eyes at first sight.
Xu Qingye looked at the photo in front of him, and his guesses were filled in bit by bit. In this exhibition hall, everything was related to this woman.
And this woman was very familiar to him. She was the mother of this body, Xu Hong.
"If I had to give this period of time a name, it would be 'Xu Hong'. She occupied a crucial period in my life, filled with joy, bitterness, regret, and a mixture of all sorts of emotions."
Dai Qingyue also stood in front of the huge photo. He seemed very calm when looking at the photo. Even the most turbulent emotions became peaceful after years of settling.
"So, you've always known that I'm Xu Hong's son, and you're nice to me because of that?"
Xu Qingye turned his head expressionlessly and looked at Dai Qingyue. Looking closely at Dai Qingyue's face, he found that there were some similarities between them. Xu Qingye was careless before and didn't notice these things. Now he thinks that there are too many coincidences.
Xu Qingye looked at Dai Qingyue. To be honest, he had a high degree of overlap with the image of the father he expected. It was just that he appeared a little too late, and he no longer had any expectations for family affection.
Or perhaps, he has found replacement emotions elsewhere. He now has Brother Huang's family and Shen Que's family, so he is no longer lacking in family affection.
"I didn't know it from the beginning, but I've known it for a while now. During this time, I've been hesitating whether to tell you. I think you have the right to know the truth. As for whether you want to acknowledge me as your negligent father, that's your right."
Dai Qingyue sighed. Looking at Xu Qingye's expressionless face, he felt a little regretful. Perhaps he shouldn't have said that.
"I want to ask you a question."
After a brief silence, Xu Qingye spoke.
"Ask me whatever you want to ask, and I'll answer you."
Dai Qingyue suddenly felt a little nervous. He had lived for most of his life, but this was the first time he felt a little at a loss in front of someone.
"If I were not your son, and I were just Xu Qingye, a stranger you met by chance, would you still be my friend, help me, and guide me like you do now?"
Xu Qingye stared into Dai Qingyue's eyes. Eyes never lie. He wanted to hear what Dai Qingyue really thought.
"When I first met you, I simply thought you were interesting, and our subsequent interactions were genuine. That's why I felt particularly conflicted when I found out you were my son. I was afraid I'd lose a friend like you who I get along so well with."
Dai Qingyue spoke very sincerely. Apart from their blood relationship, he and Xu Qingye got along very happily. Xu Qingye was very interesting and hardworking. The two of them had always been good friends regardless of age difference.
But when you know that such an outstanding and hardworking person is your own child, you will inevitably be more excited and can't help but want to give him more and more.
Dai Qingyue couldn't say against his will that he didn't care about blood relationship at all, but no matter whether Xu Qingye was his child or not, they would be good friends, both teachers and friends.
"In that case, what are you worried about? Blood connection only deepens our bond, but even if it weren't for our blood, it wouldn't affect our relationship. You are Dai Qingyue, and I am Xu Qingye. We met unexpectedly and became good friends. You were surprised to find out that I was the child your ex-girlfriend gave birth to. It all sounds very dramatic, but it really happened. In fact, I've thought that if I had a father, he would probably look like you."
Xu Qingye opened his arms towards Dai Qingyue. Dai Qingyue looked at him somewhat helplessly. Xu Qingye took the first step forward and hugged him gently.
"If I had to have a father in my life, I'm glad it's you."
Xu Qingye hugged Dai Qingyue. Dai Qingyue had a pleasant pine scent on his body. He sniffed it hard, trying to remember the smell.
Dai Qingyue was hugged, his eyes a little red. He wanted to say something, but the words couldn't come out when they came to his lips. He just hugged Xu Qingye tightly with his backhand.
"On a day like this, shouldn't we take a photo to commemorate it? But I think some photos require more emotion than technique. Why don't we take a selfie?"
Xu Qingye let go of Dai Qingyue, took out his cell phone from his pocket and turned on the selfie mode.
Dai Qingyue stood beside Xu Qingye somewhat awkwardly. He didn't take selfies very often and didn't know how to do it.
"Smile a little, aren't you happy?"
"I'm happy, I'm happy. I'm just a little nervous. This is my first time taking a selfie with my son as a father, so I need to get used to it."
Dai Qingyue quickly smiled, and Xu Qingye made a heart shape with his hands to the camera. With a "click", Dai Qingyue's somewhat embarrassed smile was captured.
"By the way, although I don't know what the grudge is between you and Xu Hong, my relationship with her isn't good, so don't tell me to be more considerate of her or anything like that. It's fine for us to each live our own lives like this, including between us. I also hope to maintain our current relationship model. Don't give me all kinds of orders just because I acknowledge you as my father. I'm already thirty years old, and my values are already formed, so I need to live my own way."
Xu Qingye put away his phone and told Dai Qingyue his thoughts very seriously. He was afraid that if he gave Dai Qingyue a little sunshine, he would climb up the pole and really become the boss.
"Of course. I think we get along well now, but I also hope you can give me some chances to treat you better. I really want to make it up to you."
"There's no need to make amends. I'm fine now. I'm not used to being too close to others, so you don't have to cling to me too much. I might not be comfortable calling you dad right now, so maybe I should still call you uncle."
"You can call me Lao Dai, but let's go out. You haven't given me any feedback on my exhibition yet. It can't be so perfect that there's nothing to find fault with it, right?"
Dai Qingyue laughed heartily. He put his arm around Xu Qingye's shoulder and walked out. Xu Qingye's willingness to accept him was already the best outcome. He didn't care about the title, whether it was uncle or dad. He would be happy even if Xu Qingye called him by his name.
Dai Qingyue felt that his development seemed to need to add another section, and his life had a new good time.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
