After work, Ye Zhenshu called a ride and headed to Liuchaochun Restaurant for dinner.
Liuchaochun was one of Nancheng’s grand restaurants. Beautiful women filled the place, singing and dancing in Hanfu[1]Traditional Han Chinese-style clothing, worn today for cultural events, performances, and personal fashion. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3733029_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3733029_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });. It was like a second Tang Palace Banquet[2]A Chinese dance performance evoking court women and costumes of the Tang dynasty; the comparison suggests lavish, period-style entertainment. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3733029_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3733029_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });.
When Ye Zhenshu walked in, she felt as if she’d stepped back in time to ancient China.
At the same time, she sensed unusual looks gathering on her.
They gave her the creeps.
She followed a woman dressed in Hanfu upstairs toward a private room.
The door hadn’t even opened all the way when she heard classical music coming through the crack.
“Zhenshu! You’re here!”
A graceful woman in a dark green qipao[3]A close-fitting Chinese dress, also called a cheongsam, associated with twentieth-century Chinese fashion. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3733029_1_3').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3733029_1_3', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); hurried to her feet to welcome Ye Zhenshu.
She was Wu Tong, a friend of Ye Zhenshu’s mother from when she was alive.
“Auntie Wu[4]“Auntie” is a respectful and affectionate address for an older female family friend, not necessarily a relative. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3733029_1_4').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3733029_1_4', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });.” Ye Zhenshu smiled.
“Come sit! I finally managed to get you out!”
As she spoke, Wu Tong led Ye Zhenshu over to the seat beside her.
After Ye Zhenshu’s parents passed away, Wu Tong had worried she might take it badly. She’d invited her out several times, but Ye Zhenshu had never come.
Ye Zhenshu sat down and greeted each of the teachers at the table.
Only then did she notice that, besides several teachers she’d met at the art museum before, there was another familiar face in the private room.
Qi Wenwan.
Ye Zhenshu’s gaze lingered on her for two seconds.
She’d known Qi Wenwan was beautiful, but up close, she was even more so.
Ye Zhenshu had no idea what had happened between Qi Wenwan and He Zhinian. They’d made such a good-looking couple. How had they ended up breaking up?
Since Qi Wenwan was at this table, she must have some standing in their circle.
The two women exchanged nods.
Wu Tong began the introductions. “This is Qi Wenwan. She just returned from overseas a little while ago. She’s the one who founded the Nancheng Art Museum, which is opening after the New Year. Her parents are professors at the Academy of Fine Arts, so I imagine she knew Tingting too.”
At the mention of Su Ruoting, Wu Tong fell silent.
The Nancheng Art Museum had received plenty of publicity lately, and it was quite a large undertaking. It must have drawn on a lot of people in the industry.
Ye Zhenshu smiled. It felt as though all of this had happened a very, very long time ago. She had come to terms with it.
She parted her lips and introduced herself to Qi Wenwan. “Hello, Miss Qi. I’m Ye Zhenshu.”
She said nothing more.
Qi Wenwan gave her a gentle nod.
Before Ye Zhenshu arrived, Wu Tong and the other teachers had been talking about her. Qi Wenwan had heard a little about her, too.
Ye Zhenshu’s mother, Su Ruoting, had been a natural painter, one of the few who specialized in realism.
In one of her hyperrealistic paintings of lychees, she’d rendered even the tiny hairs on the leaves and branches with astonishing precision.
The masterpiece, worth tens of millions, had taken more than two years of painstaking work to complete. It was now in the collection of a renowned collector.
One of Su Ruoting’s paintings also hung in the National Museum.
Qi Wenwan had heard that Ye Zhenshu had helped with it.
The work had caused quite a stir at the time.
But only Ye Zhenshu’s mother had attended the exhibition opening. Ye Zhenshu had been studying abroad, and few people knew her.
Meeting her today—and getting to share a table with her—was an honor.
Qi Wenwan had seen Su Ruoting on television.
The Ye Zhenshu before her seemed to embody her mother’s beauty completely.
She was strikingly beautiful, with cool, exquisite features and fair, delicate skin that glowed softly in the warm light.
Her features were as finely drawn as a painting. The outer corners of her brows lifted slightly, giving her an alluring charm, yet her refined air made it hard to approach her too casually.
Qi Wenwan couldn’t help thinking that Ye Zhenshu was a masterpiece of creation.
The two women nodded to one another, and soon dinner was about to begin.
Ye Zhenshu still wasn’t feeling well, so she didn’t eat much, but she kept pace with the others, eating slowly.
Qi Wenwan kept looking at her, trying to find a topic they could talk about.
But ever since their brief greeting, Ye Zhenshu had been chatting with Wu Tong and hadn’t looked her way once.
Ye Zhenshu looked several years younger than Qi Wenwan, but she carried herself with calm maturity as she spoke with Wu Tong.
It wasn’t until Wu Tong brought up Qi Wenwan that their parallel lines finally crossed.
“I heard Tingting’s final realism workshop will be held next year. You’ll be taking her place this time. I was hoping to ask you for a spot—do you think there’s any chance I could still get in?”
Ye Zhenshu had started painting with Su Ruoting when she was eight, and had spent more than a decade honing her skills.
Ye Zhenshu had worked on most of the paintings Su Ruoting exhibited.
Now that her mother was gone, Ye Zhenshu would take her place at the final workshop. It would be a way of fulfilling one of her mother’s dreams.
But…
Anyone else would be fine. Qi Wenwan, though…
Ye Zhenshu paused, then pressed her lips together in a smile. “Miss Qi, with your parents being professors at the Academy of Fine Arts, I’m afraid my little studio wouldn’t be worthy of your attention.
“Besides, I doubt I’ve been painting longer than you have. If you joined us, it would be an honor for me.”
Ye Zhenshu didn’t refuse outright, but Qi Wenwan could hear the polite brush-off in her words.
She didn’t take offense.
“There’s no ranking art as higher or lower. Teacher Su was so talented, and anyone who could create alongside her must be talented too. Besides, you wouldn’t be holding this workshop if you didn’t have the skills to back it up, would you?”
Ye Zhenshu admired Qi Wenwan’s quick response.
But she still wasn’t about to let her in.
She smiled at Qi Wenwan, then turned her head slightly toward Wu Tong and said softly, “I’m sorry, Teacher Wu[5]In Chinese, “Teacher” may be used as a respectful title for a mentor or accomplished professional, not only a classroom instructor. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3733029_1_5').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3733029_1_5', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });. The list was finalized while my mother was still alive. The dead must be respected; I wouldn’t dare go against her wishes. Miss Qi hasn’t attended either of the first two workshops, so I’m afraid…”
It would break the rules.
And Ye Zhenshu wasn’t sure how good Qi Wenwan really was.
She and Qi Wenwan weren’t close to begin with. If she let her join halfway through, what would all those people who had worked so hard to earn their places think?
She had no intention of breaking the rules.
Besides, she might have to consider He Zhinian’s feelings too.
Qi Wenwan was He Zhinian’s ex-girlfriend. For all Ye Zhenshu knew, the two of them might end up arguing about it later.
The others couldn’t make out what Ye Zhenshu and Wu Tong were saying.
But Qi Wenwan could guess most of it.
The real purpose of tonight’s dinner was to get Ye Zhenshu to give her a spot.
It didn’t matter how much she learned. Being able to say she’d taken part in Su Ruoting’s workshop would raise her standing considerably.
It would also give her Nancheng Art Museum a boost.
She had to secure a place!
*
Upstairs.
“Hey, He, I think I see your ex-girlfriend.”
Han Jichuan stood on the private room’s small balcony. He glanced at He Zhinian, who was drinking tea, then looked down toward the floor below.
Qi Wenwan was talking on a balcony with a well-proportioned woman. They had their backs to the two men.
He Zhinian barely reacted. He gave a quiet “Mm.”
He didn’t know why, but he’d meant to head home early today.
Then he’d thought of something, and his heart had started racing. He’d felt so restless that he’d simply come out for tea.
He just wanted to calm himself down.
But ever since the Buddhist bead had fallen, he hadn’t managed to find a moment’s peace.
Han Jichuan watched He Zhinian with interest, then turned his attention back to Qi Wenwan.
Just then, the woman talking to Qi Wenwan slowly turned around, and Han Jichuan finally got a clear look at her face.
“Hey, He. Your wife’s here too.”
He Zhinian’s hand stopped halfway to his mouth, the teacup suspended in the air. Then he calmly finished the half-cup of tea.
“Your ex and your current wife are both here. He Zhinian, you’re having a good year for romance.”
Han Jichuan watched the two women while eating a sweet pastry.
Unable to settle himself, He Zhinian slowly stood and walked over to him, stopping at his side.
He rested his elbows on the railing, folded his hands, and leaned forward to look down.
Then Han Jichuan asked, “He Zhinian, does Ye Zhenshu know about what happened between you and Qi Wenwan?”
He Zhinian didn’t answer.
Han Jichuan persisted. “Does Qi Wenwan know about you and Ye Zhenshu—”
He Zhinian’s gaze somehow landed on Ye Zhenshu. His voice drifted down, light and airy. “Han Jichuan, nobody thinks you’re mute when you keep quiet.”
Following his gaze, Han Jichuan couldn’t tell whether he was looking at his current wife or his ex-girlfriend.
References[+]