59. Lingering into a painting
Yu Chuanbei unwrapped a painting wrapped tightly in newspaper. A man stood in a hallway, a girl looking up at him, their faces silent. But his memory of their conversation, every smile, was still crystal clear. He glanced at the date Ling Ling had signed. It turned out she'd been in love with him ever since. This confused girl. "Ah, don't look!" Ling Ling suddenly appeared, trying to block his view, but the smile in his eyes made her realize it was futile. "I'm in here, why can't you look?" Yu Chuanbei teased. Though she blushed internally, secretly cursing the dead dragon armor for sending just this one painting, she feigned contempt and rolled her eyes at him. "How do you know it was you?" she asked. "I'd rather it wasn't me. That way I'd avoid the painful experience of rejection," Yu Chuanbei pouted helplessly, while Ling Ling watched with amusement. Yu Chuanbei suddenly had an idea, and he immediately told her about it: "Don't I have a painting of yours in my bedroom? I want to hang both the tulip painting and this one on this wall—" He pointed to a blank wall extending from the entrance and excitedly described his brilliant idea: "Look, the tulip painting represents our first meeting; the one in the hallway represents our ambiguity; and you can paint a picture of us being intimate. I'll hang these three paintings staggered together like a staircase, representing the path our love has taken. How do you think it is?" "I don't want to paint a picture of us being intimate. It's too embarrassing, and how can I hang it up?" The conservative Lingling immediately rejected it. Yu Chuanbei put his arm around her waist and begged her, "You don't have to paint it realistically. You can paint something abstract, postmodern, like Picasso, where no one knows what he painted except himself, right?" Lingling refused to agree to his crooked idea. But while she was tidying up the guest bedroom, Yu Chuanbei had hurriedly hung the painting just as he'd intended, leaving the space deliberately empty, his intentions all too obvious. He also moved her painting supplies to the study, setting up the easel by the window. "From now on, I'll work here, and you can paint there," he gestured to her. "I'll be looking at the scenery outside the window, and at the same time, I'll be looking at you. Just thinking about it makes me happy." She snuggled in his arms. Although their journey to this point had been a long one, she still felt that happiness had come suddenly. This man's love always came as a new and surprising blow, pounding her heart fiercely. She thought, spending a lifetime with this man would be really wonderful. The next week...
Yu Chuanbei unwrapped a painting tightly wrapped in newspaper. In it, a man stood in a corridor, a girl looked up at him, silent. But he could still clearly remember their conversation, every smile and frown. He checked the date Ling Ling had signed. It turned out she had been in love with him since then. This confused girl.
"Ah, don't look!" Ling Ling suddenly appeared, trying to block his sight, but looking at the smile in his eyes, she knew it was futile.
"I'm in here, why can't you look?" Yu Chuanbei teased her.
Although she felt ashamed and secretly cursed the dead dragon armor for only sending this painting, she still pretended to be arrogant and rolled her eyes at him and said, "How do you know it must be you?"
"I would rather it wasn't me, so that I can avoid the painful experience of being rejected." Yu Chuanbei pouted helplessly, while Ling Ling was laughing beside him.
Yu Chuanbei suddenly had an idea, and he immediately told her his new idea: "Don't I have another painting of yours in my bedroom? I want to hang both the tulip painting and this one on this wall—" He pointed to a blank wall extending from the entrance and excitedly described his brilliant idea: "Look, the tulip painting represents our first meeting; the one in the hallway represents our ambiguity; and you can paint another one of us being intimate. I'll hang these three paintings staggered like a staircase, representing the path our love has taken. How do you think?"
"I don't want to draw a picture of us being intimate. It's too embarrassing, and how can I hang it up?" The conservative Ling Ling immediately rejected it.
Yu Chuanbei put his arm around her waist and begged her, "You don't have to paint realistically. You can paint something abstract, postmodern, like Picasso, where no one knows what he's painting except himself. Isn't that enough?"
Ling Ling refused to follow his devious idea. But Yu Chuanbei took advantage of her time to clean up the guest bedroom and quickly hung up the painting according to his idea, deliberately leaving the space empty, which was too obvious.
He also moved all her painting supplies to the study and set up an easel by the window. "From now on, I'll work here, and you can paint over there," he gestured to her. "I'll be looking at the scenery outside the window while I look at you. Just thinking about it makes me happy."
She snuggled in his arms. Although it had been a long journey for them to get to where they were today, she still felt that happiness had come suddenly. This man's love always came to her in a new and surprising way, pounding her heart fiercely. She thought, it would be really nice to spend the rest of my life with this man.
For the next week, Yu Chuanbei didn't dare order deliveries or takeout to her home, fearing the knocks on the door would scare Lingling again. Whenever his schedule allowed, he would pick her up and drop her off at work every day. With Yu Chuanbei's companionship and care, Lingling quickly healed the trauma of the violent incident.
Living under the same roof, they are busy with their own work, but the sweetness and warmth they feel when they meet every night is the most delicious candy that the trivial life gives them.
Ling Ling also laid out the rules for their relationship: since they now lived and worked in the same building, she didn't want them to be seen together every day by colleagues, as that would diminish their professionalism at work. She also didn't want him to cling to her all the time, taking up their own personal space. Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, she didn't want him to pick her up and drop her off, and they each went to work on their own schedules.
But living together, they were both still full of passion, and what started out as light kisses often turned into passionate kisses, followed by near misses. Ling Ling still didn't want them to move too fast. She knew what kind of era it was and how everyone around her fell in love, but she was just an old-fashioned person, otherwise she wouldn't have remained single until now.
Yu Chuanbei obeyed her in everything, showing great tolerance and strong restraint.
That evening, after they each got home from get off work, Yu Chuanbei changed into his sportswear and asked her, "Tonight I'm going to the Olympic Sports Center with some friends to play three-on-three basketball. Do you want to come with me?"
"Your leg has just healed. Are you okay?" Ling Ling was still worried about his old injury.
Yu Chuanbei said bluntly, "It's fine now! The doctor also recommended more exercise to stimulate bone recovery. If I keep curling up and not moving, I might end up with uneven legs. And the reason I went out to play ball so late at night is because I wanted to exhaust my energy before bed."
Seeing his pitiful appearance, Ling Ling chuckled and said, "That's fine. I have a responsibility too. I'll go with you! But I still have work to do, so I might have to watch you play on the sidelines with my computer."
"It's okay, as long as you're here." He grabbed her hand and held it in his palm to warm it.
After arriving at the stadium, Yu Chuanbei did a simple warm-up and then went to play.
Ling Ling glanced at the other five players on the three-on-three basketball court. The other two on Yu Chuanbei's team were likely IT guys, delicate and frail, their arms tucked in, looking restrained. The other team's leader was a handsome man, a few years younger than Yu Chuanbei, his vibrant face naturally flushed with rosy cheeks. The other two were likely senior clerks working in offices at established state-owned enterprises, resembling Hao Shengnan's colleagues.
Ling Ling glanced at Yu Chuanbei showing off in front of him, gave him a few sweet smiles as a reward, and then buried herself in the brief she had just received.
Suddenly, a man's groaning sounded, as if someone had been knocked down and injured. Ling Ling, fearing it was Yu Chuanbei, quickly stood up and ran over. It turned out to be the relatively chubby man among the old state-owned enterprise staff, Xiao Hu, who had sprained his ankle.
Ling Ling hurried back to her desk to retrieve the trauma kit, which she had been carrying in her laptop bag to care for Yu Chuanbei. She used the spray to relieve Xiao Hu's pain, and the pain soon subsided.
Everyone helped the man up, called Xiao Hu's wife who was playing tennis in the next venue, and watched them go home.
The remaining five men were worried. It had only been a few minutes since the game started, and they couldn't disperse. They couldn't continue playing because they couldn't get the game going.
Seeing this, Ling Ling whispered in Yu Chuanbei's ear, "I can join you and fight with you."
"You? Can you really do it?" Yu Chuanbei found it unbelievable. He had never played basketball with a girl before.
"It's not much, but it's enough to deal with you. I just looked at the skill level of the enemy and our teammates. To be honest - you may still be more suitable for working in the workplace." Ling Ling said provocatively.
Yu Chuanbei smiled crookedly, "Haha, that's good, you really do give me a lot of insights."
Ling Ling was still wearing her formal attire for work, and Yu Chuanbei accompanied her to a simple stall at the entrance of the venue to buy a set of sportswear and basketball shoes.
When Ling Ling changed her clothes and walked back into the basketball court, all the men present were stunned.
"This is the only set left in the store, and the size is a bit small." Ling Ling frowned and said helplessly to Yu Chuanbei.
Yu Chuanbei originally just glanced at her briefly, but after this glance, he couldn't retract his burning gaze.
Ling Ling was wearing a creamy white tennis outfit. The short skirt clung to her slender legs, and the top was a bit tight, but it perfectly outlined her smooth chest and waistline. She had her braids tied up high, completely revealing her fair and delicate face.
The men present were stunned, as if the image of a goddess stored in the most secret folder of their phones had suddenly materialized. They swallowed and coughed dryly, trying their best to dispel the traces of excitement, acting as if they were at a year-end assessment meeting.
Yu Chuanbei felt a little regretful about letting Ling Ling join. He couldn't stand Ling Ling moving around among these smelly men, with clothes being torn and physical contact.
"I'll be jealous if you play with us like this." He murmured in her ear, actually begging for mercy.
Ling Ling said disapprovingly, "Later, the only thing you'll be jealous of will be my ball skills."
Ling Ling jumped forward to take up the fight, replacing Xiao Hu. She then learned that the man leading their team was called Ge Fei.
Ling Ling, dressed in tennis clothes, played basketball with five men, becoming the most eye-catching presence on the court. Her nimble figure allowed her to maneuver effortlessly among the three men, who normally didn't get enough exercise. With Yu Chuanbei present, the other men also held back, refraining from making any bold moves. It wasn't long before she'd scored three goals.
On the sidelines, Ge Fei leaned over to Ling Ling and whispered, "Beautiful girl, why do I feel like you've been just hanging out with Chuanbei the whole time? Are you two a couple?"
Ling Ling raised her eyes and replied, "Of course we are a couple. That's why I need to use up more of his energy because I have to work overtime tonight."
Ge Fei laughed dryly twice, a few beads of sweat trickling down his slightly curly hair. He then leaned over to Ling Ling and whispered, "Then I'll help you."
They smiled at each other and touched elbows, like a brotherly pact.
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