Chapter 5
The man before her had fair skin with an almost porcelain-like sheen, like the Yongle sweet-white glazed plum vase Yu Xia had visited before. But he didn't appear effeminate; on the contrary, his high, straight nose and well-defined profile added to his handsome features.
His eyes, in particular, were deep-set and held a captivating quality, as if they could perceive everything with keen sensitivity. Especially when he looked at people, under the gaze of those eyes, it seemed that no secret could escape, and any attempt to hide would be mercilessly exposed, because they were so sharp and direct.
Yu Xia was completely stunned.
Such a face, as if it stepped out of a comic book, is a perfect model, completely exceeding Yu Xia's expectations.
It's really hard to get an artist to look away.
Gu Yubai frowned strangely, his face showing more confusion and doubt.
It seemed as if everything before my eyes was an illusion.
A junior live streamer?
A livestreamer who calls herself "sister"?
Now standing in front of me?
Is this... a face-to-face meeting?
Gu Yubai glanced at her.
The young anchor is very pretty.
Her almond-shaped eyes were curved and bright, even more expressive than when I saw them on my phone during the live stream that day.
She wore a light-colored top and a brown skirt, her slender legs were white and straight, looking like they hadn't been in the sun. The young anchorwoman was wearing a layered outfit, with a light blue plaid shirt jacket tied diagonally around her waist and leather boots on her feet, making her look very lively and beautiful.
In that brief moment of eye contact, Gu Yubai even had a moment to think to himself what kind of phone could capture such a beautiful and vivid face in such an ordinary way.
Perhaps it's time to avoid this brand.
Gu Yubai's pause forced the people behind him to stop as well, and the whole group came to a halt.
The air was silent for a second.
It was Director Fu who reacted first, taking two steps forward and extending his hand to Yu Xia: "Are you Miss Yu?"
"Yes," Yu Xia also came to her senses, and extended her hand to shake his. "It's me. May I ask who you are?"
Director Fu adjusted his glasses and gave a polite smile: "I am Fu Ze, the director of this studio."
Responsible?
That's an interesting name.
"Oh, hello." Yu Xia gave a polite smile.
“This is our studio’s boss, Mr. Gu,” Fu Ze introduced to Gu Yubai, his palm facing her.
Yu Xia smiled and nodded to Gu Yubai in greeting: "Hello, President Gu."
Gu Yubai nodded slightly in response.
Then, he uttered two words from his throat with a detached and indifferent tone: "Hello."
Yu Xia looked somewhat surprised.
Surprisingly, this person even had a nice voice.
“Miss Yu, you’re here to deliver a painting, right?” Fu Ze said with a smile. “Please come this way with me.”
"Okay." Yu Xia smiled and nodded, then followed him.
When Yu Xia turned around, the bag on her back was revealed.
There was a small green doll on the bag, hanging on the bag chain, which was particularly eye-catching.
It came into Gu Yubai's sight.
Gu Yubai paused for a moment, then raised an eyebrow in a subtle way.
—
"Miss Yu, please have a seat." Fu Ze arranged for Yu Xia to sit on the sofa, then made her a cup of tea and placed it on the table in front of her. He gestured to her, "Miss Yu, please have some."
"Thank you." Yu Xia picked up the paper cup and took a small sip.
Fu Ze sat down at the opposite end of the sofa, facing Yu Xia.
Yu Xia took a sip, put the paper cup back on the table, and without any hesitation, opened her bag and took out the painting.
"This is the painting I commissioned last time. Could you please take a look and see if there's anything that needs to be revised?"
Yu Xia handed him the painting.
Fu Ze took it.
Yu Xia's painting style is very distinctive: it is novel and flamboyant. In particular, she can grasp the core characteristics and expand upon them, making them very memorable.
This time, their studio commissioned a phoenix as the image to express its rebirth from the ashes.
Yu Xia's entire painting uses red as its base color, with large areas splashed with color, creating a visually striking and eye-catching effect. Behind the phoenix is this large expanse of dazzling red, with its entire body extending from the edges to the center, its golden wings folding in the middle and then spreading out in the center of the painting. Half gold and half red, it represents the process of its rebirth.
The true essence of this painting lies in the phoenix's expression.
Struggling and pain, tinged with the transcendence of new life, soared straight into the sky. Nearby were black clouds and mist, until the phoenix broke through to the other side, revealing a dazzling gold.
The color scheme is perfectly stunning, perfectly illustrating the meaning of rebirth from the ashes.
After reading it, Fu Ze made no attempt to hide his admiration. He slapped his thigh and said to Yu Xia, "Miss Yu, you're joking. You even asked me what I could improve. What needs to be improved? It's simply a perfect work of art."
Fu Ze looked at the painting and clicked his tongue in admiration.
As expected, my judgment was correct; finding Yu Xia's artwork was the right choice.
Even Yu Xia, who was quite confident in her painting skills, was a little embarrassed by the exaggerated praise. She smiled and said, "You flatter me."
"No, Miss Yu, I'm speaking from the heart. Your painting truly exceeded my expectations." Fu Ze's smile was sincere, and his words were devoid of any flattery, making them pleasant to listen to rather than offensive.
"Thank you for choosing to cooperate with us. We are very grateful."
Yu Xia stood up and shook hands with him: "It's my pleasure."
As Yu Xia spoke, she picked up her bag from the sofa.
Seeing her action, Fu Ze asked, "Miss Yu, are you leaving so soon? Won't you stay a little longer?"
Yu Xia slung her bag over her shoulder and said with a smile, "No, I have something to do, so I won't bother you any longer."
Adults have their own sense of propriety.
Having said all that, Fu Ze didn't linger any longer.
“Alright, then I’ll escort Miss Yu downstairs,” Fu Ze said.
"Miss Yu, please." As he spoke, Fu Ze had already walked to the door, opened it, and gestured for Yu Xia to enter.
"Thank you." Yu Xia followed him out.
After seeing Yu Xia off, Fu Ze made some polite, official remarks.
"Goodbye, Ms. Yu. I hope we'll have the opportunity to work together again in the future." Fu Ze was very hospitable.
"I definitely will when I have the chance. See you again, Director Fu." Yu Xia smiled and waved to him.
And at this moment.
The twelfth floor.
Standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, Gu Yubai watched the slender, cheerful figure walk towards the bus stop. He was particularly struck by the doll on her bag, swaying in the sunlight as if reflecting its owner's mood.
His phone screen was still lit up, displaying a message sent by the junior anchor during a meeting.
Including her own recorded voice messages.
Actually, Gu Yubai himself hadn't listened to his own recordings after these merchandise sets were made. The voice message he received from the live streamer on his phone just now was the first time he'd heard the recordings for these merchandise sets.
Actually, he himself felt it was just average, and even thought he hadn't performed well.
However, the young streamer seemed to really like this merchandise, and kept praising how nice it sounded.
Perhaps it's because things are rare that they become valuable.
Gu Yubai stared as the figure walked further and further away until only a small dot remained in his sight.
"Hey, Gu Yubai, I'm telling you, we've really struck gold this time!" Suddenly, the door was pushed open from the outside with a bang. Fu Ze strode in, holding the painting, his voice filling the entire space.
Hearing the sound, Gu Yubai looked away, sat back down in his chair at his desk, and his previously absent-minded expression returned to normal. He then looked up at Fu Ze, who had walked in through the loudspeaker, and said somewhat speechlessly:
"I've told you so many times, knock before entering the office."
"Don't give me that." Fu Ze ignored him and plopped down in front of him.
"What brings you here?" Gu Yubai asked as he picked up his pen and signed his name.
Fu Ze placed the painting on his desk, raised his eyebrows, and pointed at it: "Look at this."
"What is that?" Gu Yubai asked without looking up.
Fu Ze got angry looking at his deadpan expression: "The painting! The last painting in our series! The artist just delivered it to us."
Upon hearing this, Gu Yubai stopped what he was doing, put down his pen, and looked at the table.
"How is it?! Isn't it amazing! It completely exceeded my expectations! I guarantee that once this whole series is released, the response will be huge." Fu Ze said impatiently, his face full of pride and showing off, as if he had drawn it himself.
Gu Yubai lifted his eyelids and glanced at him coldly: "It wasn't you who drew it."
“I hired the artist!” Fu Ze immediately retorted upon hearing this.
Gu Yubai ignored him, coldly shifting his gaze and intently scanning the painting.
Actually, there was nothing unexpected about it.
Just like when Gu Yubai first came across the live stream of the small streamer, the painting was very novel and unique, with clever use and matching of colors that could catch people's eye at first glance.
After a moment, Gu Yubai nodded as expected, just like his evaluation in the small streamer's live broadcast room: "It is indeed very well drawn."
“Right?” Fu Ze felt relieved after hearing this, patted the picture frame, and looked smug. “Of course, the artist I found is excellent.”
"Was the artist you hired before also her?" Gu Yubai asked.
Fu Ze has always been in charge of commissioning artists for the studio. After the artwork is completed, it must first pass through Fu Ze's review before he can present it to Gu Yubai for the final decision.
Therefore, Gu Yubai knew nothing about the previous handover, and naturally he didn't know that the commissioned artist they had been so satisfied with was the small streamer he had found while watching live streams.
Thinking about it that way, it does seem like quite a coincidence.
"Yeah, how about it? I found a pretty good one, didn't I?" Fu Ze crossed his legs.
Gu Yubai nodded at him, a rare occurrence, to indicate his approval: "Mm."
Before Fu Ze could even get excited, Gu Yubai's next words brought him back to reality.
"This is indeed one of the few and only correct things you've ever done in your life," Gu Yubai said calmly.
Fu Ze chuckled: "Hey, Gu Yubai, can you change your personality? Didn't I tell you to watch that high EQ show last time? Did you watch it?"
"I've seen it, it's so fake, it's useless." Gu Yubai said, giving him a very disdainful look, his eyes full of contempt, "You guys like that kind of ridiculously fake stuff?"
Fu Ze suppressed the urge to roll his eyes, too lazy to argue with him: "I'm too lazy to talk to you, you haven't been beaten down by society."
Fu Ze stood up, preparing to leave.
Just as he put his hand on the doorknob, Gu Yubai suddenly called out to him.
"etc."
"What's wrong?" Fu Ze paused on the doorknob and turned to look at him.
For some reason, Gu Yubai's expression showed a rare hesitation. He coughed before asking, "What's the artist's name?"
"Miss Yu?" Fu Ze frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "I think her name is Yu Xia."
Which "yu"?
"The Yu in Yu Feihong's name." Fu Ze looked at him and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, just asking," Gu Yubai said.
Well, this immediately puzzled Fu Ze.
Gu Yubai would never have asked such a pointless question before. He would only care about the progress of his work that day, and as for other irrelevant people, spending even a second on them would be a waste of his precious brain space. What's wrong with him today? Why is he even concerned about the name of an unknown artist?
And if you're going to show concern, then so be it. This hesitant attitude is really not like his usual style.
That's really strange.
He leaned against the door with his arms crossed, about to ask something, when Gu Yubai's voice rang out again.
"Didn't you reimburse them for their travel expenses?" Gu Yubai asked.
At this point, his expression returned to its usual indifferent state, completely devoid of emotion.
"What?" Fu Ze didn't react for a moment.
Gu Yubai frowned, a hint of displeasure on his face, recalling how the young anchor had walked to the bus stop under the blazing sun. He said, "She came all this way, and you didn't even think to reimburse her for her taxi fare and send her home? You just made her take the bus? Is our studio that poor?"
These questions came crashing down on Fu Ze in one breath, leaving him completely bewildered and unable to understand what these righteous questions were trying to say.
When he finally realized what Gu Yubai was referring to, he was immediately speechless: "No, I..."
"Please transfer an extra thousand yuan to the final payment this time. The drawings for this series are all quite good. It would be best to maintain a friendly cooperative relationship and not let others have any negative opinions about us." Gu Yubai interrupted him before he could finish speaking.
Fu Ze paused for a moment, then replied after a while, "Okay, I understand."
Then, he put on a fake smile and asked through gritted teeth, "Is there anything else?"
"It's gone."
"OK." Fu Ze didn't linger, opened the door, clapped his hands, and left.
"Damn it! What the hell?" Fu Ze scratched his hair as he stepped out the door, feeling incredibly frustrated as he thought about what Gu Yubai had just said.
No, how can you blame him? Yu Xia refused herself. How was he supposed to know she was taking the bus? Besides, he offered to call a taxi for her downstairs, but she refused. A grown man like him can't just force her to get on, can he? Tell me, who's to blame? Honestly.
Huh? Wait a minute.
No, how did Gu Yubai know which bus the other person took?
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