Chapter 35
When we arrived at the art museum in the Lin family's car, the exhibition had already started for more than an hour and the opening ceremony had already ended.
Amid soothing light music, well-dressed men and women strolled leisurely in the spacious and bright exhibition hall, admiring the paintings and occasionally chatting in low voices.
This is a world that Tao Xi has never been to, but he does not feel that he is out of place. Instead, he feels calm and at ease as if he belongs here.
As soon as Qiao Yitong arrived, she reunited with her college boyfriend who had been waiting for her for a long time and walked away. Tao Xi took Lin Qinhe and Tang Nan to find the booth of her paintings, which was the most remote corner of the exhibition hall.
"This is my painting." Tao Xi pointed to his painting hanging on the wall and said to Lin Qinhe.
On the oil painting canvas, there is a little girl wearing a red corduroy jacket, with natural black curly hair and a pair of bright almond eyes. She is running in the golden rapeseed field in spring, happily chasing a pink butterfly.
There is a large butterfly-shaped red spot on the little girl's chubby cheek, which spreads from the bridge of her nose to the left side of her face. However, people who look at the painting will not think that the little girl is ugly at all, because the smile on her face is brighter than the spring sunshine in March.
Tang Nan looked up at the painting and asked curiously, "Brother, who is she?"
Tao Xi looked at the girl in the painting intently, with longing in his eyes, and said softly: "This is my sister." He turned to look at Lin Qinhe and asked with a smile: "Is my sister cute?"
Lin Qinhe hummed and whispered, "Same as you."
Tao Xi was stunned and bit her lip to hide her embarrassment.
Lin Qinhe looked at the painting and finally understood why Tao Xi was always in a hurry to make money. He knew very well what a child with lupus erythematosus meant to a family in the mountain village with a meager income.
He looked at the boy who was looking at the painting nearby.
He thought at the time that this person might be working harder than he thought.
Tao Xi noticed that Lin Qinhe was looking at him. He looked back and was slightly stunned.
He heard Lin Qinhe say to him: "Taoxi, you will have your own exhibition in the future, and many people will come to see your paintings."
The tone was serious and firm.
Tao Xi was stunned for a moment, then narrowed his eyes and said, "If I have my own art exhibition, will you come to see it?"
Lin Qinhe answered without hesitation: "Yes."
Tao Xi's eyelashes trembled. He looked at Lin Qinhe's handsome profile, blinked, and said with a smile: "Okay, when I have my own art exhibition, I will be the first to tell you, you must come!"
Little boy Tang Nan at the side didn't quite understand what was said, so he shouted, "I want to come too, I want to come too!"
Lin Qinhe patted Tang Nan on the head and said coldly, "Forget it."
The two of them took the children to see other paintings in the exhibition hall. On the way, they met Qiao Henian and several seniors from the Calligraphy and Painting Association. The old man wanted his students to get to know more people, so he held Tao Xi and wouldn't let him leave.
Originally, Lin Qinhe had been nearby, but Tang Nan suddenly complained of a stomachache, so Tao Xi asked Lin Qinhe to take the child to the bathroom to relieve himself, so as to avoid getting sick from holding it in.
Lin Qinhe had a dark face and walked away with Tang Nan in his arms, looking very unhappy.
Tao Xi was introduced by Qiao Henian to several seniors in the literary and art circles. He was somewhat nervous, but he still tried his best to be polite. Those seniors had been very curious about Qiao Henian accepting students again after many years, and they were very enthusiastic towards Tao Xi.
One of them is the current president of the Calligraphy and Painting Association, Guan Shuwen, a famous calligrapher. He joked to Qiao Henian, "Mr. Qiao, your student looks a bit like my daughter."
Qiao Henian knew that this president, who was a playboy when he was young, had an unsuccessful illegitimate daughter who had once wanted to learn painting from him but was rejected. He didn't think much of her and said, "Really? She looks more like one of my former female students."
Guan Shuwen's face turned a little unhappy when he heard this, as if he remembered something.
Tao Xi was unaware of the undercurrents between them. After saying goodbye to several seniors, he planned to look for Lin Qinhe. However, on the way, he was attracted by a painting hanging in the non-sale area of the exhibition hall.
The painting shows a paddy field with green seedlings and white water in a valley. A young peasant woman wearing a straw hat and black rubber shoes is planting rice in the paddy field. A young woman in a white dress is sitting in front of an easel painting on the edge of the field. Several egrets fly from the field to the moist misty mountains, creating light ripples on the water.
The whole painting exudes the quiet and peaceful tranquility of the mountain village scenery. The two women in the painting are one busy and one idle, but the expressions on their faces are calm and peaceful. They are dressed very differently, but they look like long-time good friends and confidants.
Tao Xi held her breath and looked at the name framed in a black box below.
Square spike.
He clenched his fingers instantly, his eyes turned red uncontrollably, he thought.
It turns out that in his mother's eyes, the years in the mountains when she nurtured him were peaceful and beautiful.
It turns out that the mother had also carefully painted Guo Ping, the last person to accompany her in her life, into her own world.
But, but...
"Tao Xi?"
Tao Xi suddenly heard a strange yet familiar voice calling him. He turned around and looked in the direction of the voice, and saw Yang Zhengming walking towards him with a smile. There was also a graceful young woman beside him, holding Yang Zhengming's arm.
It was difficult for him to describe his feelings at the moment. He could only try to suppress the emotions that were surging up, and mechanically raised the corners of his mouth to greet Yang Zhengming: "Uncle Yang."
Then he glanced at the woman next to Yang Zhengming, and a strange feeling suddenly arose in his heart, because the woman, who was probably in her twenties, looked a bit like him, especially her eyes.
The woman looked at him, also stunned for a moment, but soon raised her chin slightly and smiled.
Yang Zhengming said politely: "Are you coming to the exhibition alone?"
Tao Xi shook his head and said, "I came here with my classmates." He didn't say which classmates.
Yang Zhengming smiled and said, "I just saw your painting at the booth over there. I thought it was good and wanted to buy it, but the staff told me it had been sold."
Tao Xi was startled, unable to hide her surprise, and asked, "It's sold?"
Yang Zhengming didn't expect Tao Xi didn't know yet, so he said, "Yes, I heard that it was sold not long after the exhibition started. The buyer is Su Yun, don't you know her?"
Tao Xi shook his head in a daze and said, "I don't know him."
But Yang Zhengming knew the secretary of the chairman of Ruize Group. He felt strange but said nothing. He turned to introduce his female companion to Tao Xi and said:
"This is Guan Fanyun, the vice president of the Qinghua Association. Perhaps you could get to know her."
Guan Fanyun seemed dissatisfied with this introduction. She glanced at the man beside her with a frown, handed Tao Xi a business card, and smiled:
"Hello, my name is Guan Fanyun. I also think your paintings are good. You can join our Qinghua Association and meet many friends who are about your age and have similar interests."
Tao Xi guessed that this woman named Guan Fanyun was Yang Zhengming's lover. She was not like herself, but more like Fang Sui.
But the person is gone, so what is the point of doing this for someone who is already dead?
He took Guan Fanyun's business card with both hands and said thank you.
People who are not familiar with each other should go their separate ways after exchanging pleasantries, but perhaps because Yang Zhengming saw Tao Xi staring at the painting too intently, or perhaps because of some natural connection, Yang Zhengming couldn't help but ask Tao Xi:
"You like this painting too?"
Tao Xi was silent for a few seconds and said, "The place in the painting looks beautiful."
That was where he was born and raised, but its beauty bound him for sixteen years.
Yang Zhengming looked at the painting, which seemed to bring back some memories. His usual polite smile faded a little, and he said slowly:
"This is a painting of my late wife. She loved that place and spent the last days of her life there."
Guan Fanyun glanced at Yang Zhengming and wanted to say something but held back, but her expression was already somewhat displeased.
At that moment, Tao Xi had many thoughts in his mind and wanted to ask Yang Zhengming many questions, but in the end he only asked one question to his father:
"Didn't you go there afterwards?"
There are your children.
Yang Zhengming was silent for a while, then he raised his lips and smiled helplessly, saying, "I really wanted to go, but I didn't dare to go. Once I had already reached the entrance of the village and was planning to visit the family where my wife was staying when she was pregnant, but I still went back. There was nothing I could do. Sometimes people are just cowardly."
Tao Xi's breathing stagnated. He wondered, why did he ask this question?
Cruel and pointless.
He suddenly wanted to escape from here. He didn't want to see this painting, which proved that his mother once cherished Guo Ping, nor did he want to see his father who was with his lover.
Just as he was about to run away, someone tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Why don't you come find me?"
Tao Xi looked over and saw Lin Qinhe looking at him with a slightly frown.
He looked at Lin Qinhe, looking hard, as if he had finally found a shore to anchor after drifting in the water for a long time. He smiled and said, "I came across a very good painting, so I looked at it for a while longer."
Lin Qinhe had no intention of blaming Tao Xi. He then looked at Yang Zhengming and called out "Uncle Yang" in an indifferent tone.
Yang Zhengming looked at the two young men in front of him, thinking of the painting that Su Yun had bought. He smiled thoughtfully and said, "Qin He, I thought you wouldn't be interested in the exhibition."
When Luo Zhengyin held an art exhibition for Fang Sui, Yang Zhengming and Yang Duole also went, but they had never met Lin Qinhe.
Lin Qinhe blocked Tao Xiwei behind him and said coldly to Yang Zhengming: "Just because I wasn't interested before doesn't mean I'm not interested now."
Yang Zhengming smiled, feeling that he was not welcome here, and said nothing more. He said goodbye and left with his female companion.
Lin Qinhe turned around, looked into Tao Xi's eyes for a while, and asked in a low voice: "Do you want to take a rest?"
Tao Xi still looked at him and nodded obediently.
Whenever Tao Xi showed such an expression and looked at him with dependence, Lin Qinhe wanted to raise his hand and rub his hair, but he finally held back and took Tao Xi to the tea break area in the corner of the exhibition hall, where Qiao Yitong, who was playing with his mobile phone bored, and Tang Nan, who was sleeping prone after having diarrhea, were sitting there.
"Have you finished reading it? My boyfriend was found by his tutor and ran away without me." Qiao Yitang pouted unhappily.
Tao Xi sat down at the coffee table and saw Lin Qinhe pour a cup of coffee in front of him. He asked him, "Do you want sugar?"
He nodded and said, "Yes, I want a lot of candy."
He wants to eat a lot of sweet things now.
Lin Qinhe, however, directly placed a whole plate of candies from the tea break area in front of him and asked, "Is this enough?"
Tao Xi looked at the various candies in exquisite packaging in front of him, and suddenly remembered that night in the hospital when Lin Qinhe put a candy with a smiling face printed on it in his hand and said to him, "All children will become happy after eating this candy."
He looked up and smiled at Lin Qinhe, "Of course it's enough."
This person always seems to easily notice his or her own unhappiness.
Tao Xi picked up a candy, removed the candy wrapper and put it in her mouth, feeling the sweetness on the tip of her tongue. Gradually, the sweetness spread from the tip of her tongue to her chest, and it seemed that there was really no bitterness at all.
The three of them sat and chatted for a while, mainly Qiao Yitang complaining about how unreliable her boyfriend was. Tao Xi occasionally responded, but Lin Qinhe didn't say much, just lowered his head and played with a piece of colorful candy wrapper.
Not long after, a staff member came over and said to Tao Xi: "Hello, Mr. Qiao wants you to come over."
Tao Xi was startled and looked at Qiao Henian who was standing across the exhibition hall. There were several middle-aged people, both men and women, standing next to him, and they seemed to be waiting for him to come over.
Qiao Yitang said: "Someone must be interested in you after seeing your paintings. Don't be nervous. It's just a chat. Go ahead."
Tao Xi subconsciously looked at Lin Qinhe, and Lin Qinhe nodded to him and said, "I'll wait for you here."
Only then did he get up and leave.
Qiao Yitang glanced at Tao Xi's back, and said to Lin Qinhe with a smile, "Are you sure he can go alone? Why don't you accompany him?"
Lin Qinhe took a sip of coffee and said calmly, "He will have to face many people and many things alone in the future. I believe he can handle it."
Qiao Yitang said with a click of his tongue: "Look at your tone, like an old father."
Lin Qinhe gave her a cold look.
Qiao Yitang was not afraid. She looked at this old friend in front of her who was obviously one year younger than her but seemed much older than her, and wondered when such a weird person would get what he wanted.
She suddenly remembered her childhood. Because the two families were old friends, she and Lin Qinhe often visited each other. When she was about seven years old, her family raised a white kitten that was very clingy. When Lin Qinhe came to her house, the cat clung to Lin Qinhe's legs and wouldn't let go. But Lin Qinhe was a cold person at that time. No matter how cute the cat was, she would ignore it and just pick up the cat by the neck and throw it to her.
However, after that, Lin Qinhe came to her house more often. Every time he entered the door, the cat would meow and pester him, but he remained indifferent and was too lazy to touch it.
She secretly hated her own cat for being a traitor and yet being infatuated with the wrong person. But one day, she accidentally saw Lin Qinhe squatting in the corner of the stairs, taking out some dried fish from home from his pocket and feeding the cat. While feeding, he stroked the cat gently, obviously loving it very much.
She finally understood why her cat was pestering Lin Qinhe, and she also felt that this brother was really weird. He obviously liked her, but he refused to admit it awkwardly.
Not long after that, the cat died of illness. She cried bitterly and buried the cat in the courtyard. Lin Qinhe heard about it from somewhere and soon came over. He moved a small stool and sat beside the cat's grave. He put a few dried fish in front of the small mound of earth. He didn't cry or say anything. He just sat there for the whole afternoon.
After that, Lin Qinhe seldom came to her house.
Qiao Yitang smiled as she recalled this childhood anecdote. After thinking for a while, she couldn't help but act like a sister and said to Lin Qinhe earnestly:
"You did so much for him. You paid for him to study in our school, asked me to take care of him in the art club, introduced my grandfather to him as a teacher, and even bought him clothes for the art exhibition. You bought today's paintings early in the morning for fear that someone would snatch them away. Why didn't you tell him about all these things?"
She believed that Lin Qinhe must have done more unknown things for that person that she didn't know about.
Lin Qinhe looked at the person who was talking and laughing in the distance, was silent for a while, and said calmly:
"I just hope that he can become an excellent and proud person, looking at me with level eyes, not out of gratitude or indebtedness, and without having to repay me a penny."
Qiao Yitang was stunned. She fell silent after hearing that and rarely stopped teasing or joking.
She just suddenly felt that the ten relationships she had been in seemed to become insignificant.
Perhaps true love is to be nice to someone silently and restrainedly, not using this kindness as a means of pursuit, nor demanding anything because of this kindness.
Qiao Yitang also looked at Tao Xi in the distance. The handsome young man in an expensive suit was talking calmly with several elders. The gloomy look she had when she first saw him seemed to have faded away, and it was impossible to tell that he came from the lowest mountain village.
It was as if he was born to be a proud young master of noble birth, and had become the outstanding and proud person that Lin Qinhe hoped for.
But the so-called self-confidence and arrogance have always been watered by pampering, and it is difficult for them to flourish in the muddy swamp.
Qiao Yitang looked over there in a trance, and suddenly found that Qiao Henian and the middle-aged men who had spoken before had left, and a young and beautiful girl walked over and talked to Tao Xi.
Her heart moved, and she looked at Lin Qinhe beside her, and found that Lin Qinhe was also looking over there.
She calculated the time in her mind, and sure enough, before the two men had finished their one-minute conversation, Lin Qinhe stood up.
Qiao Yitang laughed and said, "What? Can't help it? Didn't he just say he could handle it?"
Lin Qinhe ignored Qiao Yitang and walked over there.
He thought, he was not as bright and clear as he said he was.
He couldn't stand Tao Xi talking to others for a few more words, drawing for others, or smiling at others.
He hoped Tao Xi would only look at him forever.
Obviously he was the one who brought him here, he thought darkly, he even wanted to hide him in a place only he knew.
But he knew he wouldn't do that.
He would not let Taoxi become a canary or dodder that only depended on him.
He wants Taoxi to be as bright as a star and as bright as the moon, and have a wonderful life.
And he.
"Are you leaving?" Tao Xi looked at Lin Qinhe who was walking towards him in surprise.
Ding Yanan, a freshman at the Academy of Fine Arts who was talking to Tao Xi, stared blankly at the tall handsome guy who was walking towards her. Her face turned red and she quickly looked at Tao Xi, whom she had just met, hoping that he would introduce this handsome guy to her.
But since this man came, Tao Xi's attention was all on him, not giving her any attention at all.
Lin Qinhe didn't even look at the girl and said to Tao Xi, "It's getting late, let's go back together."
Tao Xi nodded and apologized to Ding Yanan: "I'm sorry, I still have to go back to finish my homework. I will consider joining the Qinghua Association as you said. Thank you."
Ding Yanan had a strange feeling in her heart. She inexplicably felt that the two boys in front of her seemed to only have each other in the world, and she seemed redundant even if she stood beside them.
She smiled and said, "You're welcome. I still really hope you'll join our association."
Lin Qinhe was ready to turn around and leave, but Tao Xi, who was behind him, said goodbye to Ding Yanan and quickly followed.
He paused and waited until Tao Xi was completely next to him before starting to walk back.
And he.
He wants to be a fellow traveler in this beautiful life.
The author has something to say:
OMG the word count has reached over 5000, but I don't want to break it up into two chapters
Tomorrow's update is doubtful, maybe fix the previous bugs
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