Breaking into a private house
She often heard Ye Jing'an talk about how great Brother Liu was; he couldn't stop talking about him. Brother Liu had given her a bracelet during Mid-Autumn Festival, and he'd take pictures of it and send it to her every day to show it off. It was truly something special, a rare and precious treasure, and Ye Jing'an had seen many of them. But if she were to buy this bracelet, she wouldn't be able to find it.
Brother Liu had always taken care of her annoying brother, but never asked for anything in return. This made Ye Jingning feel very guilty. After all, she knew her brother's character better than anyone else. It was absolutely impossible for Brother Liu not to be tormented by him.
Since he didn't ask for anything in return, he would just give it to him on his own initiative. Some of the good things Ye Jingning gave him were either rejected by him or immediately given to Ye Jingan.
It made sense when she thought about it. That bracelet was so valuable, she could buy her company with just one. But Brother Liu was just giving it away casually, and there was no guarantee they would appreciate the good things she gave him. It was rare to see him actively wanting to buy something today, so she had to help him get it.
Ye Jingan came in from the fight and found that her elder sister was staring at Brother Liu. She immediately rushed over to block her: "Sister, what are you looking at?"
Ye Jingning came back to his senses and was furious at his wicked behavior. He slapped him in the face as if someone was trying to steal his brother Liu: "Get out of here, you ignorant dog!"
Ye Jingan narrowed his eyes and glared at her, thinking to himself, if his elder sister dared to snatch Brother Liu away, he would not want this sister anymore!
"Brother Liu, I will ask the painter out tomorrow." Ye Jingning said with a polite smile.
"Okay, thank you for the trouble." Liu Muzhe didn't know what the brother and sister were thinking. He found it funny to see them glaring at each other, and curled up the corners of his mouth as he watched the joke.
Ye Jingning didn't bother to pay attention to her annoying brother and continued chatting and looking at paintings with the painter.
Ye Jing'an curled his lips and turned to ask Liu Muze what was wrong with the painting. He knew that Brother Liu was not interested in paintings, but now he had looked at it for so long and wanted to buy it, so he guessed that there was something wrong with the painting.
"What do you think?" Liu Muzhe asked instead of answering.
"It's very weird. The painting doesn't look like a living person. It looks quite like the ghost bride in our ghost marriage." Qiu Zimu said.
"It's quite depressing." Ye Jingan said, "So what's the problem?"
Liu Muzhe told the two that there was a faint ghostly aura on the painting, which seemed to be asking for help.
Ye Jingan and Qiu Zimu asked curiously what was going on. After all, it was the first time they heard the painting ask for help.
"Didn't I just tell you not to touch the painting? The aura is too weak. I don't know what happened right now." Liu Muzhe waved his hand and walked out of the exhibition. "We'll know tomorrow."
The next morning, Ye Jingning asked the writer out. He was wearing black suit pants, a gray wool sweater over a blue plaid shirt, and a khaki octagonal hat, revealing his wolf-tail hair. He had a well-proportioned figure and fair skin, and his simple style of clothing revealed an artistic temperament.
After a few brief and polite introductions, Liu Muze got straight to the point: "Is the painting for sale?"
Yu Yifan's face changed instantly and he shouted: "Not for sale!"
"No, you can name any price you want! You should know my credibility, I won't let you suffer any loss." Ye Jingning said with a smile.
Yu Yifan was initially so polite to Ye Jingning that his face was wrinkled with smile. But when he heard that the price could be set at will, he didn't feel happier, but instead became angry.
"I said I won't sell it!" he shouted loudly and stood up to leave.
Ye Jingning was confused. She had bought paintings before, and people always rushed to sell them to her. This was the first time she had come to a painter who was unwilling to sell even though she had taken the initiative.
Ye Jingan was very upset by the painter's attitude towards Liu Muze. He slammed the table, stood up and shouted: "Why are you so angry? I'm not trying to steal your things!"
Liu Muze stopped Yu Yifan and said in a friendly manner: "I am sorry for the offense. I admire your paintings. Can I visit your studio?"
Ye Jing'an was about to tell Yu Yifan not to be ungrateful when Liu Muze stopped him. Ye Jing'an didn't understand what this Liu guy was doing today. He had always been stern to everyone, and he had never seen him speak so politely to anyone. Ye Jing'an also knew that Brother Liu had his reasons for doing things, and he didn't want to disturb him, so he turned his head to the side in dissatisfaction.
Yu Yifan frowned and glared at Liu Muze. Seeing Liu Muze smile at him, he said angrily: "Private space, it's inconvenient."
"Oh, then it would be convenient for you to do me the honor of signing your name." Liu Muzhe handed over a piece of yellow paper.
Yu Yifan was very reluctant to sign his name, but fearing to offend Ye Jingning, he took out a pen and wrote his name carelessly. The strokes were so few that the three characters "Yu Yifan" were barely discernible; it looked like a casual scribble.
After signing his name, Yu Yifan threw the paper on the ground, snorted coldly, and left.
"What's your attitude? Wearing a hat and holding a pen, you really think you're Da Vinci? How many beards do you have? You're so arrogant!" Ye Jing'an finished scolding, squatted down and picked up the paper, wiped it on his clothes, handed it to Liu Muze and said, "Ignore that idiot!"
"Thank you." Liu Muzhe curved his eyebrows and smiled. Although Ye Jing'an often scolded him, he always protected him in front of outsiders and never let him suffer any injustice.
"Brother Liu, I know a lot of good painters. Feel free to look around their studios. How about going to see if there are others you like?" Ye Jingning showed an apologetic look on his face.
"No need." Liu Muzhe put the signature in his pocket.
Ye Jingning recommended a famous painter to him and invited him to the studio to choose the one he liked. Liu Muze declined the offer and went straight back to the hotel.
"That guy has a problem!" Ye Jing'an said indignantly, "Why are you being so polite to him? Don't you always just grab what you want?"
"In a society ruled by law, please pay attention to your words and actions," said Liu Muzhe.
Ye Jingan rolled his eyes and said, "When you stole someone's treasure, why didn't you tell him to obey the law?"
"When did I steal someone's treasure?" Liu Muzhe asked back.
"The things you took back from the evil craftsman were not stolen?" Ye Jing'an sneered.
"Is he a human? There's no law that prohibits stealing things from fairies!" Liu Muzhe said.
"That's right, Brother Liu is getting rid of a threat to the people!" Qiu Zimu echoed.
"Get lost! What are you doing here?" Ye Jing'an couldn't win over Liu Muze, and cursed him inwardly for being shameless. He continued to ask, "Why did you ask for his autograph when you were so angry?"
Liu Muze took out the yellow paper signed by Yu Yifan, wrote a rune on the back of the signature, and waved it towards the two of them, saying, "Go to his studio and take a look. The ghost energy comes from the paint. Maybe you can find something in the studio."
Qiu Zimu and Ye Jingan widened their eyes.
"Breaking into a private residence!"
"Wow, let's go!"
Ye Jing'an put his arm around Qiu Zimu's shoulders and said with a sly smile, "We're going to rescue the victim, so it doesn't count as trespassing. If we get caught by the police, just give Brother Liu away!"
Qiu Zimu glanced at Brother Liu and nodded slowly: "Hmm...good idea! Look behind you."
Ye Jing'an turned his head and saw Liu Muze looking at him with a fake smile: "Hey, Brother Liu, let's go."
The talisman paper in Liu Muze's hand immediately combusted when he crushed it with his thumb, and a wisp of green smoke drifted out the door. On the way, Liu Muze told Ye Jing'an and Qiu Zimu about Yu Yifan and his wife.
"No wonder he treats you so badly. He probably thinks you are coveting his wife's beauty." Ye Jing'an said.
Liu Muzhe smiled but said nothing.
On the way, Ye Jingan looked up information about Yu Yifan. He was quite famous. He was known for his portraits, belonging to the realistic school. His characters were clean and simple, with vivid colors and lifelike appearance, comparable to photos taken by a camera.
Someone once showed photos and his paintings and asked volunteers to stand five meters away and guess which one was the painting. Half of the people were wrong, and Yu Yifan became famous because of this.
Ye Jingan despised all the praise for Yifan. He couldn't stand the arrogant artists. What's more, this ignorant little artist actually spoke to Brother Liu in such a bad manner. If it weren't for his sister and Brother Liu's face, he would definitely hit him directly.
They followed the smoke to an old residential building and saw it drift into room 602 of Building 2. Liu Muze knew that Yu Yifan was at home, so he asked Ye Jingan to call his sister and ask Yu Yifan out.
Liu Muze and the other two came to a secluded place and sat there waiting for Yifan to leave. Less than twenty minutes later, they saw him walk out of the residential building.
This old residential building has no elevator. The white walls of the dim corridor are covered with traces of rainwater leakage and are cluttered with various lock-opening advertisements. The walls close to the ground are also covered with blue-gray mold spots, and a musty smell permeates the small space.
It is hard to imagine why Yu Yifan would choose such a place as his studio. The knitted sweaters he wears are high-end goods worth thousands of dollars. He doesn't look like a poor artist, so there is no need for him to choose such a place as his studio.
Climbing up to the sixth floor, the door of room 602 was different from the others. It used a smart anti-theft lock with a high security factor. The door was clean and there was not a single advertisement. Looking at the locked door, Ye Jingan and Qiu Zimu were stunned. How could they open the door without a key when they broke into a private house?
It's no use calling a locksmith, unless Yu Yifan himself uses a password or fingerprint to unlock the door. If anyone else touches the lock even slightly, the homeowner will immediately receive a danger alarm.
Liu Muze now felt that the messy talismans that Ye Chenyi had researched were very useful. Just talking about this door-opening talisman, he had already used it twice. The door was opened easily without triggering the safety warning device.
"Brother Liu, you can do it!"
"I have to go to the Public Security Bureau to file a case, hahahahaha..."
As the door opened, a pungent smell of paint hit them, and the three of them took two steps back. This was indeed Yu Yifan's studio. The room was small, with only one bedroom and one living room.
There was little furniture in the house, only painting tools scattered around. Paints and brushes were scattered on the floor, some spilled, some dried and cracked, and the mess was in disarray, suggesting it had never been cleaned.
In stark contrast to the clutter on the floor, the living room walls were pristine white, covered in paintings of all sizes, all depicting the same woman. Unlike the exhibition, the figures in these paintings had their faces uncovered, their skin not cadaverous but with a normal complexion. In every painting, Gu Mo beamed, looking happy and content.
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