“Why was the wrong one taken?”
Liangji scratched his head, looking helpless as he said, “I don’t know either. Maybe I was too sleepy yesterday, so…”
I cut him off before he could finish.
For the first time, I scolded Liangji sternly. “Liangji, are you going to keep lying to me? When you were packing the paintings, I specifically asked if you brought Summer Night Queen of the Night. What did you say then?”
Under my questioning, Liangji’s face turned pale. He immediately knelt on the ground. “Young Master Chun, I’m sorry. I switched the paintings in secret.”
“Why?” I looked at Liangji in disbelief.
Liangji lowered his head, his voice trembling with a sob. “I didn’t want Young Master to keep getting scolded. Those instructors are always lecturing you. I thought if you turned in that painting, they would definitely praise you. Young Master Chun, I’ll never do it again. Please forgive me this once.”
He moved forward on his knees and reached out to grab my sleeve.
As my study attendant, Liangji was sometimes in the classroom with me. When the instructors yelled at me, he would get lectured right along with me.
I remained silent for a long time. Liangji’s face grew whiter and whiter. After a moment, he actually began to knock his head against the floor. Startled, I hurried to stop him.
“Are you crazy? Be careful, you’ll hurt your head.”
In just two hits, a large red bruise appeared on Liangji’s forehead. He looked at me with tearful eyes. “Young Master Chun, if you forgive me this time, I really won’t ever do something like this again.” After saying that, he moved to slap his own face.
I grabbed his hand. “Enough!” My voice felt a bit dry, and my throat tightened. “Don’t do this next time.”
Instructor Ming didn’t realize that Night Tour of the Qixi Festival wasn’t painted by me, and I didn’t explain. I wanted this matter to pass quietly.
It was just a painting; everyone would forget about it soon.
What I didn’t expect was that Instructor Ming truly loved that painting. He even personally carved a seal for me.
“Chun Di, come here. This is a seal I carved for you. Do you like it?” Instructor Ming was very excited, his face beaming. “I noticed your painting didn’t have a seal. This seal is made from a material I’ve cherished for a long time. A good seal belongs with a good painting.”
I stood there awkwardly, holding the seal he handed me. Seeing me stand still for so long, Instructor Ming couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong? You don’t like it?”
“No!” I wanted to give the seal back to him. At a glance, I could tell it was made of extremely precious material. “This is too valuable. I can’t accept it.”
“It already has your name carved on it, so it’s yours. I specifically asked the Grand Tutor to write your name, and then I carved it. Take a look, do you like it?” Instructor Ming showed me the characters on the seal.
The three characters “Lin Chun Di” were written on the seal in a beautiful, flowing style.
“I like it,” I said, unable to lie.
Hearing that I liked it, Instructor Ming smiled even more kindly. “It’s good that you like it. I was afraid you wouldn’t. If you think my carving is decent, then use it to stamp your painting.”
I met Instructor Ming’s appreciative and expectant gaze. My throat felt just like it had in the classroom before, as if an invisible hand were squeezing it. I couldn’t speak, and as if possessed, I did something even I couldn’t understand—
I stamped my own name onto that painting of the Night Tour of the Qixi Festival.
“Young Master Chun, please have some tea.” Baichi poured a cup for me. “The Young Master won’t be back until a bit later. He was called by the Professor to help with something.”
“Ah, okay. I’ll wait here for a while then.” I unnaturally avoided Baichi’s gaze.
About half an hour later, Lin Chongtan finally returned. He had likely already heard about my visit from Qingqiu and the others, so his face showed no surprise when he saw me.
“Wait for me a moment longer. I need to change my clothes,” he told me.
I hadn’t decided how to bring it up yet, so I could only nod.
Lin Chongtan soon came out after changing. Since it was a summer night, he was dressed lightly in a semi-worn set of green clothes. He picked up the teapot, poured himself a cup of cold tea, took a pill with it, and then looked up at me. “You didn’t bring any books today. It seems you’re here for something else. What is it?”
This person was truly too clever.
I had to admit it.
My fingers resting on my lap twisted together unconsciously. I didn’t speak, and Lin Chongtan didn’t rush me; he just waited quietly by my side.
“I came to see you about that painting.” After an unknown amount of time, I finally gathered my courage. “I… I… I’m sorry. I turned in your painting as my own assignment. Instructor Ming didn’t realize it wasn’t mine, and he gave me a seal…”
I told him everything I had done. Because I didn’t dare to see Lin Chongtan’s expression, I kept my head down while speaking.
But Lin Chongtan’s next words made me look up almost instantly.
“The Night Tour of the Qixi Festival? Since that painting was given to you, you have full authority to handle it.”
His expression was flat, as if this were just a common, everyday matter—just like when he had passed on the gift our eldest brother gave him to me.
Lin Chongtan’s reaction was outside my expectations. I thought he would be very angry and scold me, or perhaps tell me to go explain everything to Instructor Ming. I had to admit, his reaction finally let my heart settle.
I took a few deep breaths. “Thank you, Tansheng.”
Hearing me call him that, Lin Chongtan seemed slightly stunned for a moment. “Why do you call me that?”
“Isn’t that what everyone calls you?” Thinking I had said something wrong, I hurried to correct myself. “Then I’ll still…”
“It’s fine. You can call me Tansheng.” Lin Chongtan gave me a gentle smile.
After leaving Lin Chongtan’s place, my mood was lighter than ever before. This matter was finally over; I didn’t have to toss and turn or lose sleep over that painting anymore.
However, something went wrong after all.
Instructor Ming suddenly approached me in private. He looked a bit troubled. “Chun Di, can you paint another one similar to that one?”
“Wha… what?” I couldn’t help but stutter.
Instructor Ming said irritably, “I showed your painting to Professor Yuan in the Upper House. He insists that a painting like that requires over ten years of experience and couldn’t possibly be done by a young child like you. Chun Di, paint another one similar to it. Paint it seriously and do it well, so I can cure that fellow of his habit of doubting people for no reason.”
I stood frozen in place. It took me a long while to say, “Instructor Ming, I might not be able to…”
Instructor Ming looked at me with concern. “What’s wrong? Is it a lack of inspiration, or a problem with the materials? If there’s any problem, just tell me. Chun Di, I’ve actually been wanting to apologize to you. I used to think you weren’t suited for studying at the Academy, but now I feel you are extremely talented in this area.”
If Instructor Ming found out I lied, he would surely be very angry. He wouldn’t call me Chun Di anymore, he would take back the seal he gave me, and he would never again look at me with encouraging and caring eyes during class.
I gritted my teeth. “No, I just need a bit more time.”
“Oh, so that’s it. It’s fine, take your time. There’s no rush.” Instructor Ming’s expression became cheerful again, and he even started humming a tune.
He loved art as much as his own life, yet he didn’t know the person standing in front of him was an impostor.
I went to find Lin Chongtan again. This time was even harder to talk about than the last. Hearing my words, Lin Chongtan fell silent as expected.
Seeing his reaction, I knew things were bad, but now I was stuck with no way out. I had already missed the best opportunity to explain things clearly to Instructor Ming. Even when he approached me last time, I didn’t tell the truth; instead, I promised to paint another one like the Night Tour of the Qixi Festival.
I had no other choice. I could only beg Lin Chongtan to help me.
I grabbed his sleeve. “Just help me this one last time. Just one more painting.”
He didn’t speak; he simply pulled his sleeve out of my hand. Seeing this, I grew desperate. In my helplessness, I shamelessly hugged him.
When I hugged him, Lin Chongtan’s body visibly stiffened. I couldn’t care about anything else now; I just wanted him to help me one more time.
“Tansheng.” I called him by his childhood name just like the others did. Fearing he would push me away, I wrapped my arms tightly around his waist and, imitating the way the twins acted spoiled in front of him, I gently rubbed my cheek against his clothes.
I had never done anything like this before. Even in front of my mother, I had never acted so spoiled. Out of shame, my face couldn’t stop burning, but my heart was full of fear—fear that Lin Chongtan would refuse me.
After an unknown amount of time, my face was lifted up.
Lin Chongtan’s fingers were long and his fingertips were slightly cool. His downcast eyes calmly examined me. For a moment, I wanted to turn my face away, but I eventually endured it.
I couldn’t let Instructor Ming find out I was lying.
“Tansheng,” I whispered softly, making my voice even gentler.