Chapter 38 Idea
"Going to Hong Kong?" Pu Zhihe and Xiaomai repeated in unison.
Hang Liumei leaned back on the sofa, her feet propped up on the cushions. "Yes, my husband wanted to go but couldn't. While I'm still healthy, I want to go on his behalf. Kids, pack your bags, check your flights, book a hotel, and get moving!"
Pu Zhihe had to go home and look for her ID. After breaking up with Zhu Fu, she'd been avoiding the people around her, but she couldn't avoid a message from a female college classmate she was close to, saying they'd called Zhu Fu over during a party, and he was drunk and kept nagging about their breakup.
"Anyway, after the meal, he and I became anxious. The way he talked was really unpleasant to listen to." The female classmate said angrily.
"What's wrong?"
"He kept saying how deeply in love he was and how good he was to you. If he had known you were like this, he might as well have broken up with you sooner. I said no one forced him to be with you, and being in a relationship is something you both agree on. Don't act like he was being cheated on. Then he started saying you were sick, that he kept helping you win over artists for your sake, but you didn't help him at all to pretend in front of his boss, and that you ruined his promotion. He also said that you broke up over a bracelet worth tens of thousands of yuan, that you wanted it but he didn't buy it, and you got upset and insisted on buying it. He said all sorts of nonsense. But I think you're definitely not that blind! Don't let him talk nonsense outside. If I were you, you should stand up and tell me what's going on between you two."
Unexpectedly, Zhu Fu also became the one gossiping behind her back after the breakup, but Pu Zhihe didn't plan to fight back. No matter what she said, it would eventually reach Zhu Fu's ears, and it would develop into an endless debate, and the two of them would eventually become the laughing stock of others. Pu Zhihe would rather others think she had become an unfashionable weirdo, and let the matter stop with her. That was also fine.
The chat box kept displaying "The other party is typing," and finally a message came in: "They are all introducing him to new girlfriends. I heard Zhu Fu is already dating one."
Pu Zhihe was not surprised. She replied: "That's great. I hope he can get over it soon."
"Well, I mean, even though he's been nagging others, he seems to be recovering pretty well. You should also be more open-minded. In the end, marriage is the same for everyone. Come to my house when you have time. My baby was only a month old when you came last, but now he can call people. It's a lot of fun..."
Pu Zhihe had no interest in any of this, realizing she was gradually losing touch with her former life. She and Qi Xiuchun, Hang Liumei, were still working on "Water Moon Guanyin," a painting that would take until next year at this rate. She had never been so diligent before, terrified of failing to excel in front of her two predecessors. She toiled day and night, rehearsing hundreds, even thousands, of times before finally setting down her hand on the clay tablet.
But even with her best efforts, she couldn't match Hang Liumei's effortless brushstrokes. This was due not only to years of practice but also to a gap in talent. Pu Zhihe wasn't discouraged by this; she felt fortunate to have a mentor like Hang Liumei guiding her through the difficult paths. She weighed her strengths before becoming complacent. Now, she could paint without any expectations.
But compared to Hang Liumei, does she really love painting? Pu Zhihe approached Hang Liumei because she wanted to see how someone like Jingwei filling the sea spent their life, and to see what would happen to someone who spent their whole life painting.
Now she knows that she can never become Hang Liumei, but she vaguely feels that they are similar in some ways.
Hang Liumei seems to have stayed in Dunhuang because of her love for painting, but in fact, it was Dunhuang that allowed her to persist in painting. Not only her, but also Lao Jiang, Qi Xiuchun, and all the people who appear in Hang Liumei's story, are like this.
Pu Zhihe once believed that cultural relic restoration was a skill and artistic creation was the way. Now, it seems that this was all due to obsession. Was her flash of inspiration, which she was so proud of, due to her own limited talent or the encounters she had with Caotang Temple and the Dunhuang murals at the ages of six and twenty-six?
She began to understand that painting was not the most important thing. What was important was what to paint, or even what to protect.
Pu Zhihe didn't know whether she was one of them who had taken the same path but ended up in the same place. She couldn't ask anyone. To find out, maybe she had to go to Dunhuang herself.
News of Zhu Fu's blind date had spread not only among her friends, but her parents had also somehow found out. They weren't eager to inquire, each side digesting the news tacitly. During this trip home, Pu Zhihe felt she should have a chat with them.
"Dad, are you the only one here? Where's my mom?"
Master Pu was spreading out his rice paper and painting when Pu Zhihe opened the door and walked in. He raised his eyebrows and glanced at her. He picked up the small teapot with his left hand, and with his right hand still holding the brush, he drew bunches of grapes, one after another. He replied, "Your mother was called away by the store. Why did you come back so suddenly?"
"I came back to get some things. I'll need them when I go out to work with Teacher Hang later."
"Well, you're doing pretty good following her. When does the exhibition open?"
"Would you like to come in a couple of days? I've got tickets for you two."
"Just asking. I'm not going. I'm going out to collect folk songs soon." Master Pu put down his brush, picked up a hot towel beside him, wiped his hands, and walked over to his daughter. "Take a look at this scribbled 'Grapes by Spring Creek.' Remember when you were little and just starting out, I taught you to draw grapes? Small things like this are the easiest to learn, but it's not easy to really draw them well. It's like Qi Baishi's shrimps. Why did he become such a great artist? But remember, my daughter, painting is different from reality. If something is easily given to you but you find it hard to let go, it's probably not a good thing."
Pu Zhihe stood at the other end of the table. Master Pu spread out a new sheet of rice paper and motioned her over. She walked over to where he had been, sat down, and began sketching the outlines of "Rebounding Pipa." Master Pu stood behind her, watching her quietly for a moment before commenting, "You're doing quite well now. Those few strokes must have been quite laborious, weren't they?"
"I don't feel anything. I'm just concentrating on painting and not thinking too much."
"Hmm—very good. It's just like what I said before. If something is hard to get, but you can still work day and night for it and finally become as skillful as a butcher cutting an ox, then you are doing it right."
Pu Zhihe stared at the rice paper and smiled, then asked her father, "Is this what you mean by painting?"
Master Pu pulled out a stool and sat down next to her. Even though there was no one else in the room, he lowered his voice and said, "Dating is like painting. Tell Dad what you think about you and Zhu Fu."
"That's what you said. It's easy to play together when you're young, but it's hard to live together when you grow up, so you have to separate."
"Painting, are you still painting?"
“Drawing is simple, but painting for a lifetime is too difficult.”
"Easy to get, easy to lose; hard to get, hard to lose. You say this is difficult, that is difficult, you can't always give up when it becomes difficult."
"I'm not giving up, I'm just still making choices, and I'll seriously consider them."
Director Ou returned, and that evening the three of them had a long talk. The parents' attempts at persuasion were futile, and they ultimately resigned themselves to fate. Director Ou lamented that a fortune teller had previously told Pu Zhihe that she would marry either very early or very late, with her luck starting at 22. After missing this opportunity, it was uncertain. In that light, if she hadn't been able to marry Zhu Fu and go abroad together then, it made sense that she wouldn't be able to marry him now.
The two asked Pu Zhihe what her future plans were. Pu Zhihe said that after the exhibition she would accompany Hang Liumei to Hong Kong. When she came back she would think about it carefully and maybe find a down-to-earth job.
When Pu Zhihe came back, Xiaomai was also at home, and the two of them were sitting together discussing something.
"Zhihe, you're back just in time. Have you eaten yet?" Hang Liumei pulled Pu Zhihe to sit next to her. "There's been a change in the plan for going to Hong Kong. I'd like your Uncle Jiang to come with us. Is that okay?"
"Well, Xiaomai's mom heard I was going to Hong Kong and said their auction house is currently doing some business there and there's an art exchange going on. She told me to stop by after our exhibition is over. "Have you found the documents? It's good that you've found them all. Then I thought about how we previously discussed helping his dad see if he could get Xiaomai's mom back, and I think this is our chance."
Pu Zhihe said, yes, yes, that’s a good idea.
As they were talking, Mai's father rushed over and asked, "Mom, you called me back in a hurry. Is there something important?"
Hang Liumei frowned at the sight of her son's attire. He'd grown his stubble again, swapped his glasses for sunglasses, and was wearing a motorcycle windbreaker, even gloves on. A few days ago, he'd been trying to be a scholar, but now he'd gone back to being that wild, tough guy.
"How long have you been so refined? Where are those new shirts and suits you bought? Didn't I tell you not to wear those old clothes and stop growing a beard? Look at you now, you look like a bandit from the mountains."
Mai's father was busy removing gloves from each other's hands, and without looking up, he replied to her: "I am already old, and this is who I am. I can't change."
"So do you still want to remarry the mother of your child?"
Dad Mai finally raised his head and looked at his mother silently, then looked at Pu Zhihe, as if to remind Hang Liumei that there were outsiders sitting here and not to talk nonsense.
"It's just a divorce, everyone already knows about it. I thought you also wanted to remarry, so if you don't, then go back early. It's still light outside, and I'll feel more at ease riding your roaring motorcycle. Originally, Mai Sui asked us to go to Hong Kong to participate in an event, and I think it would be nice for you to come along. In that case, let's go with the three of us. It just so happens that they didn't invite you, right?" After saying this, Hang Liumei squinted her eyes to observe her son's reaction.
Sure enough, Dad Mai sat down while listening. "I know she went to Hong Kong. I was planning to go see her later. She asked you to come over? Then why didn't she invite me? Mom, did she invite me as well? Are you deliberately deceiving me?"
Hang Liumei was amused by him: "I didn't expect my son to have such a sense of humor. If you don't believe me, ask Xiaomai——"
Xiaomai confirmed her words: "Dad, I really didn't mention you." The water in the kitchen boiled, and he stood up to make tea after he said that.
Dad Mai shook his head grimly, "No need. Let's find a quiet place to talk things over. I've already booked her plane tickets. When she's done with her work, I'll go to Hong Kong to pick her up."
"Ah? Where are you taking her? Why have you never told us what you are thinking?" Hang Liumei scalded her mouth with hot tea and asked in a hurry while putting down the teacup.
"Mom, I have my own arrangements." Dad Mai was embarrassed to talk about these little tricks because his son and Pu Zhihe were present.
"Xiao Pu broke up a few days ago, and we were trying to talk to her about how good your relationship was back then. We were just chatting after dinner. If you have any recommendations for couples' destinations, let her have some for reference."
"I plan to take her to Australia. It's winter there now, and we can drive by to see the snow."
"Did she say she wanted to go?" Hang Liumei asked.
"no."
"Does she know about your arrangement?" Xiaomai asked.
"I don't know yet."
"Are you sure she will agree?" Pu Zhihe asked.
"Of course. When Xiaomai was four years old, she went on a business trip to Northeast China. I unexpectedly went to see her one day to surprise her, and she was very happy. We also went to the Greater Khingan Range and Tianchi Lake, and we promised to see the snow together again in the future. We have shared memories, I know that."
Pu Zhihe thought he was so naive, racking her brains for an explanation. Hang Liumei, unable to sit still, interrupted, "When was that? When your relationship was still good. What age was that? When you were just starting out in your careers. Sui Sui is a career-oriented woman. She still had the energy to be moved by these things back then, but now she's so busy with work. If you don't think about what she really wants beforehand and just blindly ask her to leave her business and team, do you think she'll go with you?"
Dad Mai was silent, clutching his teacup. He knew deep down that his mother was right, but even such a mediocre idea had taken a lot of effort on his part to come up with. Could it be that he really didn't understand Mai Sui anymore?
Xiaomai saw that her father's expression was similar to that of her roommate who had been rejected. She shook her head and thought he was childish. She proposed the plan again: "Dad, you should come with us this time. Let's check on Mom at work first. Don't let her feel like you're suddenly interrupting her."
Dad Mai put down his teacup and sighed. He had known that he was not as good as his father, but he didn't expect that now he is not even as good as his son.
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