Chapter 87 Good night, I wish you a good dream tonight
Chang Xile had originally planned to just take a look at the painting "Blue Eyes" and then leave. She had no intention of accepting this inexplicable gift, as she believed in no merit.
But now, she has changed her mind.
When Ding Suxin waited until Chang Xile came out, she was surprised to find a blue-eyed long-haired cat in her arms.
Security at the venue was always strict; entry and exit required registration, and participation in the auction required capital verification. Furthermore, this was the 18th floor. How had this cat managed to get through all the security on its own?
"Will you provide transportation?" Chang Xile didn't bother explaining why the cat was there. She simply said, "If I do it myself, it might cause some unnecessary losses."
In addition to the risks of wind, rain, car accidents and fire, the risk of robbery cannot be ruled out. After all, this is a famous painting worth 68 million yuan. Such a high transaction price may be reported in the local news tonight. Of course, it should be treated with caution.
Ding Suxin was stunned for a moment before she spoke with impeccable manners, "Of course. Mr. Eric cherishes this painting very much and has entrusted me to help you with all the difficulties. Please provide your address. Once the formalities are completed, I will arrange for someone to transport the painting for you."
Chang Xile nodded and exchanged contact information with Ding Suxin. The lion cat lay in her arms, silent, with only the slight rise and fall of its breathing, probably asleep.
Ding Suxin resisted the urge to ask about the cat's origins. Chang Xile didn't seem surprised by its presence at all. She nodded to Chang Xile and contacted the staff to handle the paperwork.
When Chang Xile exited her branch of the corridor, Dai Xigang was already waiting outside. He noticed the cat in Chang Xile's arms, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Where did the cat come from?"
"We met on the road, it felt like fate." Chang Xile smiled and said to him, "I'm not going back to school tonight, so I won't bother you to take me home. It's hard for you to wait for me for so long."
"That's a bit too cold." Dai Xigang's mood visibly dropped when he heard the second half of her words. He advised, "It's too dangerous for you to go back alone. If Chen Moxin dares to attack you once, there's no guarantee she won't do it again."
Chang Xile felt unhappy when she heard the three words Chen Moxin. She snorted coldly, "I'm not afraid of him." She was not prepared enough the previous time. If it happened again, she would have complete means of self-protection.
But after all, Daisy Port didn't know the situation, so it was normal for him to worry about her. Chang Xile then comforted him: "Don't worry, Miss Ding and I will go together, nothing will happen."
Having said that, Dai Xigang couldn't force it. He could only tell Chang Xile, "Then, let me know you're safe when you get home."
Before Chang Xile could answer, Anping in her arms suddenly opened his eyes. He turned his head to look at Daisy Harbor, his eyes slowly filled with emotions.
Daisy Port met its gaze and inexplicably felt the urge to retreat. But he gathered his composure and thought to himself, what's so special about a cat?
He warned Chang Xile, "Don't just pick up any stray cats. If they scratch you, you'll be in trouble."
"It's not a wild cat." Chang Xile's expression calmed down. She slowly combed the lion cat's white fur from its neck downwards, and said word by word, "This is my cat."
It was rare to see her like this in Daisy Port, and it was all for a cat. I was speechless for a moment.
"Anyway, thank you today. See you next time." Chang Xile broke the silence first. She nodded to him politely and turned to meet Ding Suxin.
The address Chang Xile gave Ding Suxin was neither Shancheng University nor the residential building Anping had taken her to before, because she believed that any place with insufficient security was not suitable for storing "Blue Eyes".
Ding Suxin instructed them to put the paintings away, confirmed the address again, and said to the driver, "Go to Jingmeng Garden."
It was already late at night. When the car arrived at the gate of Jingmeng Garden, the security guard recognized Chang Xile. He registered Ding Suxin and her group's identities, reason for visit, and duration of stay, and then let them through. If they weren't detected leaving after half an hour, security would return to confirm.
Chang Xile was already very familiar with the roads in Jingmeng Garden, but this time she was not going to Building 16 of Jingmeng Garden, but rather—
"Just park it at the door of a building, thank you." Chang Xile did not ask the staff to help move the painting in, but asked them to put "Blue Eyes" at the door of his house.
Chang Xile watched the group drive away. She put the lion cat on her shoulder, then pressed the combination lock and pushed open the door.
This was one of his residences that An Fangfang had just told her.
Chang Xile no longer felt surprised by anything Anping said. She readily accepted everything, unfazed by the villa's considerable value. She simply wanted to find a place to rest and ask Anping what had happened.
The lion cat jumped down from her shoulder and transformed into a young man in white. Chang Xile, however, rarely paid him any attention, instead staring intently at the scene before her.
If the huge painting "Laughter and Talking from an Aerial View" that I saw last time at Jingmeng Garden No. 16 was already shocking, the scene before me was a hundred times more shocking.
To be fair, all the villas in Dream Awakening Garden were quite large. Although it would be a bit of a waste to use them solely for an art exhibition, they were definitely suitable.
At this moment, the two-story silver hall in front of Chang Xile revealed a lone figure inside in the warm light faintly shining in from the door.
Anping slowly walked to the far left of the door. With a soft click, the white curtains of the French windows slowly closed on both sides, and the lights in the hall all lit up, perfectly illuminating each painting. They say a single tree cannot make a forest, and the same seems to be true for paintings.
The hall displays all the surviving works of art from Anping, arranged in sequence. Among them are oil paintings, sketches, and brush paintings, and the artist's years of experience can be clearly felt through the techniques and tools used.
Initially, his works mostly depicted realistic landscapes from various locations. Later, he also painted local customs and portraits. These were probably created during his travels in Europe, many of which Chang Xile had never even seen. She marveled as she read through the sequence, Anping following her leisurely, occasionally adding a few words of explanation.
"I painted 'Tears of Victoria Harbour' when Eric and I first met," Anping said. "Back then, he was still a proud young man."
Chang Xile slowly walked up the stairs to the second floor. She found that although there were not many paintings here, they looked very familiar.
The painting style of these paintings is very similar to the "Blue Eyes" painting on display tonight. Chang Xile suddenly remembered that the painting Prosit originally planned to auction was not "Blue Eyes".
She turned around and asked, "Which painting did you originally plan to sell?"
Anping pondered for a moment and said sincerely, "I forgot."
Chang Xile looked at him in disbelief: "Did you forget?"
Anping doesn't think it matters: "Most paintings are the same to me. They're meant to be thrown away."
"How can you throw them away?" Chang Xile's tone became anxious. She stroked the picture frames lovingly and said softly, "These are all proof of your past years. How can you throw them away so easily?"
"But why did you choose to give me 'Blue Eyes'?" Chang Xile was still a little puzzled. She turned back to look at the paintings on this floor. Most of them showed a little girl with an unclear face. She was running, jumping, or lying in the grass and sleeping.
The painting that most impressed her was an all-blue painting. The perspective was as clear as glass, yet not as hard. The colors transitioned softly, and upon closer inspection, it resembled ripples on a lake. The painting's perspective was like looking from the bottom of the water toward the shore. A girl, holding an umbrella, squatted on the shore, her face tilted to the bottom. Ripples rippled from the center of the lake, perfectly shading her face.
This floor is clearly divided into paintings of a human girl as seen through the eyes of a cat. In these paintings, the girl gradually grows up, but one day, the number of paintings stops increasing.
Chang Xile squatted in front of the last painting. When he turned around, he was startled by Anping who had approached him at some point. He almost fell to the ground and was only able to maintain his balance after he was pulled by Anping.
It turned out that Anping was quietly getting very close to her, and when she turned her head, they were almost face to face.
Chang Xile didn't know whether she was frightened or what, but she lost her cheerful demeanor and simply asked him, "Does this painting have any special meaning as a gift?"
He looked at her calmly, then pointed to his eyes and said, "Look."
Chang Xile looked into his eyes earnestly, but received no answer. After a moment, she muttered, "Nothing..."
Anping smiled slightly, his slender fingertips almost touching her eyelids. Gently, like a lake, he guided her to explore further: "Take a closer look."
Chang Xile calmed down and stared intently into Anping's eyes. Within his lake-blue pupils, a woman's figure slowly emerged. She was dressed in a blue cheongsam, with willow-shaped eyebrows, cat-like eyes, red lips, and white teeth. She was staring intently at him.
"Ah..." Chang Xile was stunned for a moment before saying, "This is..."
herself.
He looked at her calmly and sighed softly, "I am the one who has been looking for you for a long time, but I can't find you anywhere."
Has anyone ever said that you shouldn't get too close to a lake? Even if the surface of a lake appears calm and peaceful, there may be undercurrents and turbulent waves beneath.
Chang Xile watched An Ping getting closer and closer, until she felt her eyes had lost focus and could only stare blankly at An Ping's straight nose and slightly red lips.
She slowly closed her eyes, but for a long time, she did not feel Anping's touch, nor did she hear Anping's voice.
She opened her eyes, but the young man in front of her had vanished. She looked down and saw he had transformed into a lion-cat, curled up at her feet. He had buried his face in his chest, looking very angry.
Chang Xile first chuckled softly, then couldn't hold it in any longer and sat on the ground, laughing so hard that she could hardly breathe: "Anping, how...how can you be so cute!"
The lion cat roared at her ferociously, but it had no killing power and only made Chang Xile laugh even more wildly.
She wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes breathlessly, and in a good mood, she picked up the lion cat that didn't want to look at her anymore and coaxed it, "Hey, whose kitten is so cute?"
When Chang Xile found the bedroom, he put Anping on the bed, then gathered his things and went to wash up.
This house looked much cleaner than the one Anping had lived in before, and it had everything she needed. Chang Xile changed into her nightgown, wiped her slightly damp hair with a towel, and walked out the door. She saw the lion cat curled up on the pillow at the edge of the quilt, seemingly asleep.
She tiptoed onto the bed and covered him with the quilt. Chang Xile lay on the pillow, muttering his name softly: "Anping... Anping... Ping'an?"
She reached out and scratched Anping's beautiful white ears, and asked softly, "Are you safe?"
The average lifespan of a cat is about 15 to 20 years. In Chang Xile's mind, the kitten should have been very old or even dead.
But he just lay quietly beside him, with a warm air flow between his breaths - he was still alive.
Chang Xile looked at the white lion cat and placed his palm on its furry head.
The room was plunged into darkness, while the night sky was bustling with twinkling stars. They seemed to be gazing at each other from afar, yet also seemed to be embracing each other intimately, indicating that two destined people would meet.
"Good night, Anping.
I wish you a sweet dream tonight."
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