Fu Jianzhi didn't say anything, and he and Ruan Chen took turns using their chopsticks to pick up food from the pot, seemingly ready to devour it in a whirlwind.
After a long silence, he finally said in a low voice, "Later, I treated her wounds, and on the day I thought she was almost healed, she told me that she was going to die."
Ruan Chen raised an eyebrow but didn't press the matter.
Ruan Chen doesn't like to talk while eating, so Fu Jianzhi only said this one sentence, then poured orange juice for Ruan Chen, and the two continued eating.
After finishing their meal, the waiter came to clear the table. Fu Jianzhi's nose was a little sweaty from eating. He took off his coat and hugged it to his chest. "Are you free tomorrow?"
Ruan Chen thought to herself, "Oh, this time she's not calling me 'sister,' she's not even calling me by my name."
"That depends on what it is. I can take leave."
"No need to ask for leave. We can go tonight; it's an art exhibition." Fu Jianzhi placed two tickets on the table.
As if afraid that Ruan Chen would refuse, he quickly added, "Last time we went to a concert, you said you'd come with me to do what I like next time."
"You like art exhibitions?" Ruan Chen picked up the ticket, glanced at it, and her expression became a little strange.
[A special exhibition and charity auction in Jingzhou featuring Yu Lei, China's leading Impressionist artist.]
If I remember correctly, Ruan Chen's paintings were the centerpiece of this art exhibition.
Of course, there was more than one painting by Ruan Chen. Yu Lei had a habit of not specifically labeling the paintings of her favorite students when exhibiting them in her own art exhibitions.
Before holding this special touring exhibition, Yu Lei asked Ruan Chen for seven or eight works, which gave Ruan Chen a headache for a while, and she worked overtime to submit her assignments.
"Yes, I really like Yu Lei's paintings. Speaking of which, she's a member of the Yu family, your good friend's family."
This was the first time Ruan Chen had heard about this. Yu Lei had never specifically told Ruan Chen about her background; she just liked to tell Ruan Chen about her days studying and working part-time abroad.
Yu Xiaoya never said that her Yu family, which was steeped in the stench of money, could actually produce an artist.
Fu Jianzhi reached out and tugged at her sleeve, his voice softening, "Are you going or not, sis?"
Ruan Chen: Now you know to call me "sister".
Also, Fu Jianzhi's voice really isn't suitable for acting cute now. It's completely lost its previous childlike quality.
She sighed helplessly, "Go away, I also like painting. Art is so elegant, who doesn't like it?"
Fu Jianzhi grinned foolishly.
"Let's go back, I'm stuffed." Ruan Chen stood up.
"I'll have the driver bring the car over and take you there first."
"No need, I'm full, I'll just take a walk."
"I'll be with you."
Ruan Chen lowered her head and rubbed her temples again. How come this child is getting more and more clingy as he grows up?
She just wanted to walk around alone for a bit, feel the breeze, and think about things. She had refused Cheng Lu's offer to come and take her home.
Seeing Ruan Chen's pained expression, Fu Jianzhi wisely took two steps back and said, "Then I'm leaving. See you tomorrow."
-------------------------------------
Beneath the huge oil painting in the center of the exhibition hall, Ruan Chen looked up, pondering the issue of color matching.
Because of the short notice, many details were not perfected, but Yu Lei was very satisfied and put it directly on the tour.
Her gaze lingered on a clump of weeds in the lower right corner of the image. Upon closer inspection, the pattern there read "Yan," a mark she had left behind.
A crowd had gathered beneath the painting, whispering amongst themselves.
"This painting is said to be the work of Yu Lei's last disciple, who just won the gold medal in the youth group at the Venice International Painting Competition."
“I’ve heard about it too. The news reported on it for several days, but Yu Lei’s student seemed very mysterious. Her name wasn’t even revealed, and the news reports could only focus on her artistic achievements.”
"Don't even mention their names, we don't know their gender or age, they're really discreet."
"Artists all have a few quirks. I guess they're afraid that fame will bring trouble and affect their creative work."
"Speaking of which, wasn't Master Yu Lei not even an adult when she won her first award? Was she sixteen or something?"
"Seventeen, I think? I heard that her student is also very young, and seems to be still a high school student."
Upon hearing this, the people gathered around the painting gasped in surprise.
"real?"
“It’s true. My friend is from the Yu family and is a distant relative of Master Yu Lei. He said it himself, that Master Yu Lei values this disciple very much.”
Ruan Chen remained calm and composed.
Someone approached from behind, and the footsteps stopped behind her.
Fu Jianzhi's voice was deep, "You like this painting? I checked the auction list, and it's on it. How about I bid for it and give it to you when the charity auction starts?"
Ruan Chen thought it was a bit outrageous.
"Save your money, Young Master Fu. My small apartment can't hold it all."
She completed this painting in Yu Lei's studio; it's really big.
This painting depicts an endless wheat field, which at first glance appears golden and full of fruit. However, upon closer inspection, one will find that the sky is gloomy, with a dark flock of crows circling beneath the clouds.
The scenery surrounding the wheat field was desolate and barren, withered grass covering the ground.
Ruan Chen was nitpicking, but Fu Jianzhi seemed to really like the painting. He stared at the gloomy, almost dripping sky, as if he had resonated with something, and raised his hand to cover his chest.
"Ruan Chen, look at this sky. Doesn't it look like the sky over Mei City?" Fu Jianzhi stared, somewhat lost in thought. "Why do you think crows circle above the wheat fields? Is it because there are corpses buried underneath? Then isn't this wheat sucking human blood...?"
Ruan Chen made a gesture, "Stop. Don't say it, it's kind of scary."
She hadn't expected Fu Jianzhi to be so sensitive.
Maybe that's how it is during puberty.
The two left the painting and walked deeper into the painting.
Ruan Chen noticed that whenever Fu Jianzhi passed by her painting, he would stop and take a second look.
“I remember when you were in Meicheng, you would sometimes sit at the door and scribble on the ground with a charcoal pencil.”
Ruan Chen gave a mumbled reply.
Just when she thought Fu Jianzhi was going to continue the topic, Fu Jianzhi suddenly changed the subject and asked, "When you went to the United States, I remember there was a jewelry exhibition there. Several small media outlets in China reported on it, and I happened to see it."
"When it was the last item up for auction, someone bid for it and specifically asked you to give it to them, but you refused it in front of everyone."
Ruan Chen was taken aback. "Is that so? What happened?"
Fu Jianzhi's dark eyes gazed at her silently. "Why not? It suits you perfectly. If I were there, I would definitely take a picture and give it to you."
Ruan Chen chuckled, "If you gave it to me, I would definitely accept it, but the problem is that it's such an expensive item, and I don't even know who bought it. Why should I owe a favor to someone I don't know?"
Fu Jianzhi: So that's how it is.
The quiet exhibition hall was suddenly filled with the sounds of a group of people chasing and playing. Those admiring the paintings frowned and looked towards the entrance.
Ruan Chen glanced at it subconsciously, then frowned.
It's true what they say, enemies are destined to meet.
It was Feng Shuang and her group.
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