The twenty-fifth day of wanting a divorce.
Lin Jingxi was actually gambling. He was betting that An Rao could not open this door; these were high-end locks that even a professional locksmith might struggle with.
An Rao turned on his flashlight and shone it at the keyhole. It was true; the structure of this door lock had an additional inner cylinder compared to an ordinary lock. Usually, picking a lock involves hooking one latch, but this required a two-step process. An Rao inserted the pin into the lock and wiggled it gently to test it, listening to the subtle sound of the needle hitting the latch.
“Can you do it? This lock looks very difficult to pick,” the MC asked.
“It is indeed difficult. We still need a professional master,” An Rao said, straightening up and pulling the needle out.
Lin Jingxi breathed a secret sigh of relief and put on a harmless smile. “Forget it. Everyone should come and visit my garden instead. I have planted many flowers and plants.”
“But,” An Rao suddenly interrupted him, inserting the needle into the keyhole once more, “as long as you understand the principle, everything becomes clear.”
Two clicks sounded as the two latches in the cylinder popped open. An Rao pulled down the handle and pushed the door open, a meaningful smile on his lips. “It is open.”
He looked at Lin Jingxi and read the word “embarrassment” through his darkened pupils.
“Wow! This is too grand! This commoner’s eyes have been opened!” The staff members looked at the luxurious interior, which was comparable to the Palace of Versailles, and shed tears of envy.
“Huh? I do not see An Rao’s calligraphy,” VJ Wang noted. Unlike the others, his only goal was that piece of art. The walls were empty; there was not even a hook.
Lin Jingxi clenched his fingers, acting as if he had just realized something. “I remember now! The house has been undergoing renovations lately, so I sent An Rao’s work to my father’s house for safekeeping. I am afraid everyone will not be able to see it.”
The MC rubbed his nose and said cryptically, “Then there is nothing we can do.”
Seeing that everyone had finally dropped the topic, Lin Jingxi breathed a sigh of relief and enthusiastically invited them to see his plants again.
After visiting Lin Jingxi’s house, the next stop was Yin Xueya’s home. This time, Lin Jingxi followed along. As the group walked out, they happened to encounter a garbage truck collecting trash in the villa area. A crisp clatter caught everyone’s attention. Normally, trash is not worth looking at, but a large mahogany frame in the truck looked a bit familiar.
VJ Wang immediately took out his phone, pulled up the Weibo post from Lin Jingxi’s birthday, and compared the frames. After a while, he said thoughtfully, “Do you not think that frame looks very familiar?”
An Rao gave a cold laugh, his slender fingers stroking his knee. He said nonchalantly, “Frames all look similar.”
“They are not the same,” VJ Wang said, zooming the camera lens to its maximum focus. On the corner of the mahogany frame, the small characters “Presented by An Rao to Jingxi” were engraved.
Lin Jingxi sat up straight, his eyes glued to the frame. After a long moment, he bit his lower lip and turned to look at An Rao, who was watching him with a smile. His voice was so aggrieved it could wring out water: “I am sorry, Rao Rao. Actually, a friend left his dog at my house recently. The dog is very naughty and bit your work into pieces. I was afraid you would be angry if you found out, so I thought about handling it secretly.”
He added, “Actually, I cherish your work very much. You are my friend; we have known each other for four years since we were in the same group. You believe me, right?”
An Rao laughed softly. He rested his chin on his hand, a friendly smile remaining on his face. “It is fine. I will write another piece for you. What should I write this time? How about ‘Rising from the mud yet remaining untainted’?”
Anyone with an IQ above 65 could tell An Rao was mocking Lin Jingxi, but with so many cameras on him, Lin Jingxi could only swallow his anger and nod. “Okay.”
The group had a great time at Yin Xueya’s house. She clearly came from a scholarly family, with many paintings and calligraphy pieces hanging on the walls. It was not until Yin Xueya’s father came to visit that everyone was shocked to discover that the renowned calligraphy master, Yin Suzhi, was her father!
When the production team asked Yin Xueya to show her most precious collection, she took out a yellowed photo album from a drawer, filled with photos of her childhood with her parents and brother. Even as a child, her appearance was extraordinary, like a fairy who had wandered into the mortal world. Her brother and she looked almost identical.
When asked what her brother was doing now, Yin Xueya kept a smile on her face, but her fingers rubbed together nervously. She said softly, “He got lost when he was little. We have not found him yet.”
She was smiling, yet it was more heartbreaking than crying. The nosy MC continued flipping through the album and saw a familiar face. “Do you know Lan Jiao?”
Yin Xueya smiled. “She is my mother.”
The crowd went wild. They exclaimed that even with millions in assets, nothing could beat having a highly respected calligraphy master as a father and a singer mother who was still remembered and celebrated by tens of millions.
In the living room, An Rao and Yin Suzhi sat side by side. Yin Suzhi frequently looked at An Rao, appearing particularly curious about him. After a long while, he asked softly, “What is your name?”
“Uncle, my name is An Rao.”
Yin Suzhi froze, leaning forward eagerly. “So, that work the minor star posted on Weibo was it really by your hand?”
He referred to Lin Jingxi as a “minor star.” Yin Suzhi did not recognize Lin Jingxi, nor did he know that the person sitting opposite them with a terrible expression was the one he was talking about.
“Yes, but it was not well written. I have made a fool of myself in front of you, Uncle,” An Rao said modestly.
Hearing this, Yin Suzhi immediately ran into the study and brought out the four treasures of the study. He looked at An Rao expectantly. “Why do we not have a live exchange of skills?”
An Rao narrowed his eyes, his lips curving like a crescent moon. “Sure.”
The production team had come for a surprise visit to Yin Xueya’s home, but An Rao had mysteriously become the protagonist again. Yin Suzhi watched his posture and his fluent brushwork, nodding excitedly. “If my stupid students had half your spiritual energy, I would not age this fast.”
Yin Xueya sat by Yin Suzhi with her Devon Rex cat, watching her elderly father act as playful as a primary school student. “My dad is at it again. He used to force my brother and me to practice calligraphy and would pull us out for a contest every now and then. Nothing has changed after all these years.”
The old child ignored his daughter, his eyes fixed only on An Rao’s writing. Tall and upright like a pine tree, who would have thought a young man in the entertainment industry would have such wisdom? His brushwork was experienced and old-fashioned; it was definitely not a short-term result but the product of at least ten years of practice. For An Rao, calligraphy was not just a required course for his major but a tool his mother used to please his father. He had held a brush since he was seven. It was not just talent; it was the result of secret hard work where no one could see.
Looking at the vigorous and dragon-like characters on the paper, Yin Suzhi smiled with relief, nodding continuously. But as he smiled, his eyes suddenly turned red. He lifted the paper and looked at it more than ten times, rubbing his eyes and murmuring, “If my Xiao Zhou were still here, he would surely be as good as you.”
Yin Xueya froze, leaning over to hug her father. “Dad, be good. Do not say any more.”
An Rao looked at them blankly. He seemed to remember Yin Xueya saying her brother had the character “Zhou” in his name. When he left, An Rao whispered to Yin Suzhi, “Uncle, I will come to visit you again when I have time.”
Yin Suzhi stood up and grabbed An Rao’s hand. “You must come!”
After visiting the homes of all the guests, An Rao was exhausted by the time he got home. Chu Guannan had left again; he had not participated in the surprise visits either. He was very busy, which everyone understood.
An Rao opened Weibo, feeling a bit nervous. The vote gap between his group and Lin Jingxi’s group was over 1.2 million. Whether he could make it to Nepal depended entirely on the surprise visit videos the production team would release tomorrow. He curled up in bed, feeling sleepy, and drifted into a deep dream. On the other side, the production team was working overtime, adding special effects and music before posting everything online.
The next morning, fans woke up to the voting results. Some felt Rao Rao was so pitiful that everyone should vote for him and let him go to Nepal. Others mocked the idea of going to a place still being rebuilt after an earthquake. Although Lin Jingxi’s votes were far ahead, the surprise visit video of An Rao had garnered the highest number of likes. Many of the likes were from pure passersby who found him cute and grounded.
An Rao saw his Weibo followers rising, but the votes were increasing slowly. In the afternoon, Song Weichuan called him to the company.
“Do you want to go to Nepal?” Song Weichuan asked directly.
“I do not accept unspoken rules,” An Rao replied.
Song Weichuan sighed. “A Hope Primary School reached out to me today. They want an artist to do a one-month teaching activity. Regarding cultural level, I could only think of you.”
“Hope Primary School?”
“Yes, a village school under Jincheng. You want to go to Nepal, but with your current votes, it is hard to surpass Lin Jingxi. Do you want to just give up? For an artist, the most effective way to boost popularity is charity; it is more useful than filming a hundred movies.”
An Rao straightened up. “But I really do not know how to teach. I would be a bad influence.”
“You are too modest. Your painting videos are so popular. Besides, can you not handle primary school students? You can do one plus one and write ‘I love my country,’ right?”
An Rao remained silent. Song Weichuan sighed, his smile fading slightly. “They are left-behind children whose parents work far away. Many elders do not understand the importance of education. Some seven or eight-year-olds have to take on the burden of caring for their families. The school hopes to invite a star because of the celebrity effect.”
An Rao clenched his hands. “I understand. When do we leave?”
“The day after tomorrow. A cameraman will follow you.”
An Rao nodded. “I will leave if there is nothing else.”
“Wait,” Song Weichuan stopped him. “I thought of you first for a good thing. Does Teacher An want to give me some reward?”
An Rao turned around, looking righteous. “President Song can actually talk to Chu Guannan. As long as you can convince him, I will go with you anytime. But if you cannot, please respect yourself.”
Song Weichuan was stunned, then let out a sneer. “There are many people who want to climb into my bed. Stop acting pure in front of me. Get out!”
A smile instantly climbed onto An Rao’s face. “President Song, bye-bye!”