Huo Yu’s movements were a bit slow, but he stood up straight and walked over.
He lowered his head, pulled up the straps on both sides of the apron, and tied it carefully, making sure not to touch Xia Wan’s clothes.
As Huo Yu tied the apron belt, Xia Wan’s waist became visibly defined, appearing very slender. The two thin straps accentuated his excellent body proportions. Tempting him to hug Xia Wan.
Huo Yu remained silent for a moment, restraining his urge to hug Xia Wan from behind. He slowly took a step back and said, “Done.”
Xia Wan reached out and touched the apron on his body. It was a bit loose, but it didn’t affect his movement.
“I’m going upstairs to change my clothes,” Huo Yu said and walked out of the kitchen without waiting for Xia Wan’s response.
“Oh,” Xia Wan stared at Huo Yu’s back for a moment before realizing it.
Huo Yu went upstairs and took a quick shower. He changed clothes and washed his hands carefully to remove the smell from the bar before heading downstairs again.
It took only ten minutes, and when he came down, the hot food was already set on the table.
Xia Wan was still wearing the apron and was walking out carefully holding the hot soup bowl.
Huo Yu’s footsteps didn’t stop, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously curved into a beautiful arc.
At that time, in the restaurant outside the hospital, he had thought that Xia Wan’s family must be very happy to have a child like him.
Now, Huo Yu was rediscovering that long-lost sense of happiness about “home.” Through these unremarkable human moments, they were slowly warming his heart, bit by bit.
“By the way,” seeing Huo Yu coming down, Xia Bian bent down, carefully placing the bowl on the dining table. He said, “I wanted to let you know I’ll be attending an art exhibition with my roommates tomorrow, so I won’t be bringing lunch.”
Since the last conflict with Qiu Qi, Huo Yu had started to insist that Xia Wan would take the lunchbox to school.
“Art exhibition?” Huo Yu glanced at him.
“Yes,” Xia Wan nodded, feeling a bit excited and looking forward to it. “I heard there are many works by famous painters at the exhibition. We’re going to study together.”
Huo Yu stirred the soup in the bowl with a spoon: “Will Shen Xing also go?”
“Yes,” Xia Wan said, “He will drive us.”
With Shen Xing present, Huo Yu felt more at ease.
Bowing his head to eat, he said generously, “Go.”
“Thank you, Eldest Master,” Xia Wan held his cheeks happily. He continued watching Huo Yu eating slowly.
Huo Yu always seems like this, never rushing or showing impatience in everything he does.
Xia Wan was watching intently when Huo Yu suddenly raised his eyes again, meeting his gaze.
The two looked at each other quietly for a moment. Then, Huo Yu lowered his eyes and continued to drink the soup. “Take off the apron and go to bed.”
“Oh,” Xia Wan responded reluctantly. He got up and took off his apron.
Huo Yu didn’t look up at Xia Wan until he reached the second floor.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Wlj Qjc abbx j yjat, atfc rja bc atf yfvrlvf jcv bqfcfv j wfrrjulcu jqq. Lf kjcafv ab mtja klat rbwfbcf yea ofia ilxf tf mbeivc’a rtjgf atf ageat klat jcsbcf.
Aera jr tf kjr ibra lc atbeuta, atf qtbcf revvfcis nlygjafv lc tlr qjiw. Ktfgf kjr j cfk wfrrjuf lc atf vbgwlabgs ugbeq.
[Xiao Tiantangguo: I won’t be setting off with everyone tomorrow. Grandpa Xue also wants to go to see the exhibition. I’ll ride in his car.]
[Little Sweet Zero: I got it, Shen Xing seems to be taking a bath, I will tell him later. ]
[Big bowl of sweet tea: Grandpa Xue is also interested in the exhibition? ]
[Xiaotiantangguo: Yes, he is quite a fan.]
When Xia Wan looked at those three words, he found the idea of Xue Zhen going to an art exhibition amusing and couldn’t help but laugh.
Xue Zhen truly loved collecting antique calligraphy and paintings, but he had no interest in modern art.
The reason why Xue Zhen wanted to go with Su Tang this time is that he heard there were works exhibited by Xia Wan.
While Xue Zhen is loving and tolerant of Xue Wenxuan, he is even more gentle when it comes to his little grandson.
When Xia Wan and Shen Xing Fu Ling arrived at the exhibition hall, Su Tang was standing with the old man in front of two paintings by Xia Wan.
While most people were attracted to the painting “Spring Mountain,” Xue Zhen focused on the painting “Jackdaw,” lost in contemplation.
“Spring Mountain” is warm, beautiful, and hopeful. But “Jackdaw” feels very cold and sad. With the sky covered in dark clouds, and a solitary old tree stands with just a few ink strokes. An aged crow, with feathers unable to let it soar, partly extends its wings, gazing at a desolate wilderness.
Though the brushstrokes are simple, they carry a profound sophistication.
A mere few strokes convey the loneliness and despair of the dying crow, grounded and unable to fly. It quietly observes the vast wilderness, anticipating the inevitable end of its life. The painting is simple, yet it shows how the crow feels, lonely and waiting for the end.
Xue Zhen stayed quiet. He thought about Xia Wan’s difficult journey and Xia Chengzhang’s situation.
“Grandpa Xue.” Xia Wan’s voice suddenly came from behind.
Turning around, Xue Zhen met Xia Wan’s smiling eyes. The emotions he had managed to suppress while observing the painting were caught off guard by Xia Wan’s simple and pure smile, causing a dull ache in his heart.
Xue Zhen fell silent for a moment, his expression growing even more serious. Xia Wan, who had always believed there were no barriers in their relationship with the old man, unconsciously halted, startled by the sudden change.
“Grandpa just saw your painting.” Su Tang explained to him in a low voice.
Xia Wan finished this painting in the dormitory, and everyone there has seen it.
Back then, Su Tang dismissed it as old-fashioned and desolate. However, now that it was officially displayed here, he realized the charm of the painting. Staring at it for a while, an unexplainable sadness crept over him. It felt as if the old crow’s eyes held countless untold stories, making it difficult for him to look away.
“Oh.” Xia Wan suddenly realized. This painting was specially selected from the works he has done in his previous.
He was only fourteen or fifteen years old when he painted this painting. He painted this painting in his most desperate time. When he knew his disease relapsed.
“Why are you carrying such a heavy burden at such a young age?” Xue Zhen asked.
“It’s just for creation,” Xia Wan pursed his lips and smiled, “I’m not that I’m not happy. This is just a hypothetical situation if I’m not happy in my life. You see there is another one.”
Xia Wan pointed his finger toward the “Spring Mountain”.
Xue Zhen glanced at the two paintings for a moment. Not only did he mentally note down the name, but he also silently noted the codes of the paintings.
“This picture makes me feel old.” He pointed to “Jackdaw” and sighed, “When I was at your age, it was the happiest time. And here look at you, how can you have these feelings at your age?”
Su Tang narrowed his eyes and playfully teased the old man, “Were Grandpa Xue and Grandma Xue together back then?”
Usually, if Su Tang asked such questions, Xue Zhen would pretend to be serious and stern. However, today, he unusually smiled and shared, “I first met her when I was twenty years old.”
“Was Grandpa and Grandma engaged to each other at that time?” Xia Wan asked.
“What engagement?” Xue Zhen laughed, “There was no Xue family at that time, but Maoying’s family were in good condition.”
After a moment of silence, he sighed involuntarily, “If it weren’t for Maoying, perhaps there wouldn’t be an Xue family today.”
Troubled by emotional topics, Xia Wan couldn’t help but ask, “Why?”
“Because I wanted to be better for her, I worked so hard later.” Xue Zhen recalled.
“It’s so romantic,” Fu Ling couldn’t help but yearn, “that must be the grandma that Grandpa pursued.”
Xue Zhen nodded: “Of course, some people may never meet the person they like in their whole life, so if you are lucky enough to meet one, you must grab it well.”
“But how can I tell if that one is better for me?” Fu Ling was a bit puzzled. “How do I figure that out?”
“You will know if you need the right one.” Xue Zhen was amused by his puzzled expression, and said, “If you want to be happy, you have to take the initiative and be bold.”
Upon hearing these words, Xia Wan fell into contemplation. As he pondered, Xue Zhen added, “But it must be done step by step, or else it might backfire.”
In the evening, Xia Wan lay in bed and thought about the current situation between him and Huo Yu. He felt that he had taken the initiative, but thinking about it carefully, it seemed that he had not taken enough initiative.
He turned over and asked his roommates: “Say, today Grandpa Xue talked about being more boldly and proactively. What should I do?”
The dorm fell silent briefly. Su Tang was the first to speak, sounding confused. “Isn’t being bold and proactive supposed to be our partner’s job? Why do we have to overthink it?”
Upon hearing that, Shen Xing suddenly said: “Then I take your words as a hint.”
He took out his mobile phone. Which looked like he was going to send a message to Shen Yan.
“Your brother went too far with initiative,” Su Tang stated calmly. “If you allow him to be bold again, it won’t just be his problem; he might end up overturning the Shen family.”
Shen Xing remained silent, quietly placing the phone back.
“Hey, Shen Xing,” Su Tang continued, “You are much smarter than your brother. Why not meet your family’s expectations and safeguard your family’s assets? Aren’t you concerned your brother might end up controlling the Shen family sooner or later?”
“Stop, stop, stop!” Fu Ling said, “It’s too much, Tangtang, they are brothers.”
After speaking, Fu Ling turned over, lay on the bed, and questioned Xia Wan, “Right, Wanwan?”
Xia Wan stayed silent. He lay on the bed, his phone screen glowing as he furrowed his brows, deep in thought. He kept looking at his mobile screen.
The phone screen displayed the word “bold.” Xia Wan’s fingers moved, sliding through the entries one by one. After reading, he pulled the quilt and frustratingly covered his head.
Three days later, the gallery bustled with unprecedented activity as the exhibition concluded. Several paintings stood out most, drawing the interest of numerous buyers. The crowd grew, and prices soared higher and higher.
The first to be auctioned was Xia Wan’s “Jackdaw” and “Spring Mountain”.
“Spring Mountain” has more interested buyers, while “Jackdaw” was relatively niche. There are slightly fewer people as compared to the other paintings. Most of them were old people.
Considering the painter’s skill and future investment potential, the bids were still on the higher side. But because one of the mysterious buyers kept raising the price, the final prices of both paintings were unexpectedly high.
The mysterious buyer finally bought “Jackdaw” for 5 million, and “Spring Mountain” was sold at 1.28 million.
For a novice painter making their debut, Xia Wan’s accomplishments are truly remarkable. They have far surpassed the expected value Langqiao initially had in mind.
Especially for Jackdaws.
Even though Xia Wan was a skilled but unknown artist.
According to Langqiao’s experience, Jackdaws would only fetch around 150,000 to 60,000 yuan at most.
However, the final price of his painting skyrocketed to dozens of times its original value.
Although the psychological price of “Spring Mountain” was slightly higher, it was only around 200,000. Now it was also sold at six times the price.
This incident made the name “W” very popular in the circle.
After the two paintings were released, people kept coming to ask about the artist’s new works.
This caused Li Yue to doubt the operation methods he had always been proud of.
At the same time, Xia Wan was also shocked.
Langqiao has indeed introduced many popular painters in recent years. Despite some artists’ works fetching high prices, none have reached the 5 million mark.
Even Shi Xinda’s famous paintings were sold for more or less than one million.
Even his internationally famous mother, not every painting of hers sells for five million.
Xia Wan was puzzled. He considered Xue Zhen as a mysterious buyer but dismissed the idea. Despite the Xue family being wealthy, Xia Wan couldn’t understand why Grandpa Xue would spend so much on the painting, even if he liked it.
Xia Wan felt a mix of excitement and nervousness, recalling everything that unfolded since he came to this world. Despite some initial troubles, everything surprisingly went smoothly for him.
It’s like fate was kindly compensating him.
Since his previous life was so difficult, fate granted him valuable things this time around: a partner like Huo Yu, nice roommates who are easy to get along with, friendship with the Xue family, and success in his career.
Xia Wan twirled his fingertips quietly. He felt so grateful and happy inside.
TN
Is it only me or is anyone else experiencing issues with the site? It’s lagging and takes minutes to load!!
The site is truly frustrating
me too yep this site has been not giving for the past like month? at this point
Thank You for the new chapter ( ˘ ³˘)♥ Me too, but I’m waiting patiently and cheering for fixing works!
i was tearing up reading the description for Jackdaw 😭😭😭 I was so sad for the sick XW 😭😭😭
I wonder what Huo Yu’s input on when he saw the arts selection? Did he ever felt resonance with “Jackdaw”? I know he still in the dark about W’s identity, that is why I am even more curious over his opinion on it since it is raw and unbiased opinion.
Se essa não fosse a melhor tradução já teria desistido desse site a muito tempo!