DP Chapter 25

Chapter 25

After the Lantern Festival, Xiang Yiye found a suitable apartment, paid the deposit and rent, and only needed to move his belongings from the dormitory. He wasn’t materialistic and favored a minimalist lifestyle, so he didn’t have much stuff, making the move relatively easy.

From the moment he started looking for an apartment, Xu Chuo offered to help, but Xiang Yiye declined each time.

He knew that Xu Chuo’s idea of “helping” meant taking care of everything from beginning to end, allowing him to effortlessly “move in with just a suitcase,” freeing up his time to focus on Xinghui’s training and Gu Wenyu’s personal tutoring. But he had already experienced being even busier at the end of last year, and Xiang Yiye preferred to rely on himself.

Xu Chuo also entered a period of intermittent busyness. After the start of the semester, he entered the second half of his second year of graduate school, and his graduation thesis was rapidly brought onto the agenda.

Unlike Xiang Yiye, who planned ahead and implemented things in an orderly manner, Xu Chuo was the type to cram at the last minute. Xiang Yiye had witnessed him dealing with a pile of documents in a single day, including project proposals, investment plans, budget estimates, market analyses, and so on. Therefore, Xiang Yiye tried not to disturb him when he was busy.

During this time, they maintained a proper distance, as if they had automatically retreated to the position of friends. Occasionally, Xiang Yiye would come to his senses and feel that, in this silent waiting, the initiative he had briefly taken had unconsciously shifted back to Xu Chuo.

But Xiang Yiye knew in his heart that he couldn’t be too hasty. Once Xu Chuo categorized their relationship as just casual sex, there would be no going back.

The day after moving into his new home, in the evening, Xiang Yiye put on a windbreaker and went for a night run around the neighborhood to burn off the day’s energy and familiarize himself with the surrounding environment.

He had a good sense of direction, and even in the dim evening light, he could clearly distinguish the road conditions. On the pedestrian path along the riverbank, there were occasional pedestrians walking or walking their dogs.

The river breeze ruffled Xiang Yiye’s hair, bidding farewell to the last strand before dissipating behind his head, carrying his wandering thoughts far away.

He had a habit of browsing the news regularly and recalled a post he had seen yesterday morning. The post announced the preliminary list of winners for the art competition held in City S last year, and Xu Chuo and his work were prominently featured.

It was late February, and the art competition schedule was tight. After the preliminary list was released, the semi-finals would begin immediately. By the end of next month at the latest, the first, second, and third prizes, as well as awards for excellence, would be decided.

Next month, Xu Chuo would bring back the gold medal from the competition, like a rising star, but his brilliance would not completely illuminate the sky and would soon fall from the heavens again.

A little over a month ago, Xiang Yiye didn’t stop Xu Chuo from entering the competition, and the crisis of his work being falsely accused of plagiarism had not been resolved.

In his previous life, when Xu Chuo recalled that plagiarism incident, he said with reservation, “The only person who saw that piece and offered guidance was my teacher.”

Because it was a past event, Xiang Yiye didn’t want to deliberately reopen Xu Chuo’s wounds. He hadn’t asked about the details of his falling out with Xie Lei, only knowing that it also involved some instigation from others and exchange of interests.

After a slow 7-kilometer run, Xiang Yiye bought a bottle of soda water at a convenience store on the street. After drinking it, he twisted the plastic bottle into a knot and threw it into the nearby trash can. The soda water was cool and slightly astringent, relieving the heat after the exercise and clearing his chaotic thoughts.

He looked at the nearby street signs, turned a corner, and entered a nearby shopping mall to buy a box of tea.

Stone^3 Drawing Studio had a faint light shining from within. Xiang Yiye stood on the other side of the street, watching the light and sending a message to Xu Chuo, asking him what he was doing.

The evening was Xu Chuo’s most active time. He replied, “Researching at school.” He also sent a real-time location and an indoor photo of the L University library, as if to prove that he wasn’t fooling around.

Xiang Yiye chuckled, “I believe you, you don’t have to do that.”

He was actually very easy to coax. He believed whatever Xu Chuo said. But now, who was coaxing whom was uncertain. Xiang Yiye then asked, “Do you want to see a movie?”

Xu Chuo: “Tonight?”

Xiang Yiye: “Do you have other plans tonight?”

Xu Chuo: “No, I just feel like a spur-of-the-moment date isn’t your style.”

Xu Chuo: “You’re more like the kind of person who calculates the weather a week in advance, books a restaurant, figures out what flowers to give, what clothes to wear, before officially sending out an invitation.”

Xiang Yiye was speechless. Although it was a bit of an exaggeration, it sounded like something he would do.

Xu Chuo: “Which one do you want to see? The Chinese New Year movies probably haven’t been removed yet.”

Xiang Yiye replied, “Another day, there are no tickets left today.” Seeing a movie was just a pretense. His purpose was to find out Xu Chuo’s movements tonight and confirm that Xu Chuo wouldn’t come to the studio.

Xu Chuo: “Okay, let me know when the time is set.”

Xiang Yiye put away his phone, carried the tea, and pushed open the glass door of Stone^3 Drawing Studio. Only one lamp was on on the first floor, but there was no one there. Easels, tables, chairs, and plaster statues were scattered in a mess. The paint on the side walls was peeling off in places, revealing a heavy dusty atmosphere.

It wasn’t even eight o’clock yet, so it was impossible for him to be resting already, right? Xiang Yiye walked to the stairs and called upstairs, “Teacher Xie, are you there?”

“I don’t offer classes here. If you want to learn to draw, go somewhere else.” The voice didn’t come from upstairs, but from behind him.

Xiang Yiye turned around and saw Xie Lei sitting up from a chair. A few easels formed a blind spot, completely shielding him from view while he was lying down.

“You misunderstood. I’m not here to learn to draw,” Xiang Yiye said.

Less than a month had passed since the art exhibition. Xiang Yiye had only greeted Xie Lei that day and hadn’t said a few words. Seeing Xie Lei’s expression at this time, he seemed to have no impression of him at all, so he reintroduced himself.

Xie Lei lifted his eyelids with some effort, looked at him, and recalled for a long time before saying, “Oh, it’s you.” Then there was no follow-up, as if he wasn’t interested in the reason why Xiang Yiye appeared here.

Perhaps geniuses don’t have room for mediocrity in their eyes, or perhaps too many people come and go around Xu Chuo, so he’s used to it. Xie Lei’s reaction was mechanical and unreal. He was too lazy to completely display the weariness on his face, looking as if he was bored with everything around him.

“I’m grateful for your introduction at the last art exhibition,” Xiang Yiye said. “I don’t know if you have time these days. I’d like to treat you to a meal to express my gratitude.”

Xie Lei finally showed other expressions besides boredom. Confusion flashed across his face, and he said, “You should ask Little Xu. I have nothing to do with you.”

Xiang Yiye certainly knew that his business had nothing to do with Xie Lei. Saying this was just an attempt to get closer. He cleared away the sketches on the table, put the box of tea on it, and said, “Without your strong promotion, the exhibition wouldn’t have been so successful. I should thank you too.”

A hint of contempt surfaced in Xie Lei’s eyes. He yawned and said, “Give up. It’s useless for you to spend any more energy on me. I won’t say a word to Little Xu for you.”

He thought that he wanted to please Xu Chuo, so he was taking a different approach from him. Xiang Yiye suppressed his displeasure at being misunderstood and said, “I don’t need you to speak for me. I like your paintings very much and want to buy a few for my collection.”

Xie Lei said, “My paintings are not for sale to outsiders.” Moreover, he hadn’t painted a piece that satisfied him in several years.

This was an unachievable exchange. Xiang Yiye stopped talking and caught sight of a few dark red posters on the table with the words “Qunsheng Club” printed on them.

There were several glaring decorations pasted on the side windows. He lightly stroked the lantern with his fingertip, feeling that those red things were very incompatible with this studio with a decaying smell.

“No one is born an insider.” Xiang Yiye picked up a charcoal pencil from the ground, wrote his phone number on the drawing paper, and said, “If you change your mind and want to sell paintings, you can contact me.”

A first prize in a municipal competition might be more like icing on the cake for Xu Chuo, but for those behind him, it might be a stepping stone to a prestigious school or other opportunities.

Xie Lei was very likely to have reached a secret deal with others because he was short of money. Currently, Xiang Yiye could only speculate like this.

Before clarifying the truth, in order to prevent Xie Lei from directly directing his thoughts to Xu Chuo, he threw out the opportunity to buy paintings, giving Xie Lei another option.

“Please don’t tell Xu Chuo that I came to you today,” Xiang Yiye said.

He and Xie Lei were not in the same weight class. One was a friend he had known for less than half a year, and the other was a teacher who had taught him for almost ten years. It was self-evident who Xu Chuo would choose to believe.

So he couldn’t directly remind Xu Chuo. What he had to guard against was what would happen in the future. Xu Chuo might not believe it and would instead suspect him of having ulterior motives.

“I said I wouldn’t speak for you, so I won’t mention you even half a word,” Xie Lei said directly, bluntly, and full of irony. “But smart people like you who are willing to lower their faces and carefully manage things will succeed in whatever they do in the future.”

A few days later, D University started classes. After finishing the first week of classes, his roommates egged him on to treat them to a meal, saying they wanted to celebrate his “housewarming.”

In the year and a half he had been in college, he had gotten along well with his other three roommates. After he moved out of the dormitory, he would see them less often, so this meal was somewhat of a farewell dinner.

After the meal, some roommates felt unsatisfied and suggested finding a place to continue drinking: “I know a Qunsheng Club. I heard it’s not bad inside, and you can also play billiards.”

Another roommate, Wu Yiyue, said, “Say something that Xiang Shen can participate in.” In their impression, Xiang Yiye had never been to a nightclub. They thought he had strict family rules and wasn’t allowed to go to those places.

But Xiang Yiye said, “Go if you want to. It’s my treat.” He remembered the poster in Stone^3 Drawing Studio.

When they arrived at Qunsheng Club, some roommates played billiards, some sang, and some drank. Xiang Yiye didn’t particularly like any of the three, so he sat on the sofa and ate a fruit platter, obediently acting as a mobile wallet.

“I just saw that there’s another floor upstairs. I don’t know what it’s for, and there are people guarding the stairs,” Wu Yiyue said.

“Don’t go up there. It’s probably not a good place.” Xiang Yiye also saw that something was wrong with that floor and reminded them, “Just stay on this floor.”

Wu Yiyue’s brain turned quickly, and he immediately understood: “No way, the floor above wouldn’t be gathering people for… that kind of thing, would it?”

“Very likely.” Xiang Yiye called the other two roommates over: “Don’t eat anything of unknown origin, and the same goes for drinks.”