Mr. Li maintained his expression and said, “According to my plan, I will agree to let you participate in the event to create some distance between the two parties. During this period, I will have a private conversation with Qin Jin.”
Li Xiangfu, with his fingertips rubbing his chin, responded, “So, this is your plan.”
The subject shifted discreetly, and Mr. Li inquired, “When is the painting competition scheduled for?”
Li Xiangfu powered up his mobile phone to check and replied, “We’re meeting at L station on Monday.”
Mr. Li nodded and advised, “Since you have the intention of venturing into the world of art, aim for a good ranking.”
Of course, he couldn’t bring Li Shasha with him on this outing.
While packing his bags, Li Shasha, displaying maturity beyond his years, casually asked, “What did the organizers say about the masked man’s identity?”
“Interaction with the official Weibo account. They’ll post promotional content every two days during the competition,” Li Xiangfu explained.
Li Shasha commented, “Isn’t that practically revealing his identity?”
Li Xiangfu replied, “According to them, the collection point is quite remote, and not many people would be willing to spend a lot to follow us.”
Li Shasha inquired further, “What about the other contestants?”
Li Xiangfu chuckled, “They probably wish I were less well-known.”
He even posted a photo of his true face online, stating that the man wearing the mask wasn’t trying to hide an ugly face, which might actually help him attract more attention.
Li Shasha mused, “No one is pursuing it now. Once the competition is over, the revelation might make a small splash.”
Li Xiangfu’s identity as the mask-wearing man didn’t worry him. As long as he didn’t enter the entertainment industry, the past rumors would remain dim.
L station was a transportation hub, allowing for both air and sea travel.
Li Xiangfu, inspired by a romantic notion, had envisioned taking a leisurely cruise on the sea. However, in reality, they didn’t even leave the train station. The group’s guide mentioned they would directly transfer to the green train bound for Cangyang.
This competition featured eight young contestants.
Artists were often a reclusive bunch, and this applied to the art world as well. After their self-introductions, they exchanged a few reserved words before immersing themselves in their smartphones. Only one individual, a young man named You Fang, was particularly enthusiastic and worked to liven up the atmosphere.
Li Xiangfu was drinking water when one of the two girls present suddenly spoke up, saying, “I heard the final prize money was doubled, and it’s a special sponsorship by Qin Jin.”
He inadvertently choked on his water, retreating to a corner as he coughed.
Once his breathing returned to normal, he returned to the group and asked, “Qin Jin?”
The girl who had spoken earlier, Mo Yijing, expressed her expectations. “I heard from one of the judges that Qin Jin had taken a vacation and wanted to join us for this event.”
“Is that so?” You Fang leaned in, and now that they had a topic to discuss, the atmosphere became livelier.
A judge who had helped them get their train tickets navigated through the crowd and approached, coughing lightly. You Fang still wore an excited expression. “Teacher Zhao, is it true that Qin Jin is coming?”
The judge sighed in exasperation and gestured for You Fang to look behind him.
You Fang turned and saw a slender figure walking alongside several other judges. He felt a bit awkward.
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.
Li Xiangfu, meanwhile, remained detached, keenly observing other details. The judge standing to the left of Qin Jin, wearing a fawning smile, briefly made eye contact with one of the contestants. Later, when his eyes met Li Xiangfu’s, he discreetly licked his lips.
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In recent years, old trains had become a trend, with their redesign making them quite popular among tourists. However, the train they were on was a well-worn one with original window glass.
It seemed like the train either didn’t have air conditioning or was malfunctioning. The summer heat had no qualms about making its presence felt.
When the ticket collector came to check their tickets, she cheerfully remarked, “This train will be retired soon. Original green leather cars like this one will be rare to find in the future.”
“…” Li Xiangfu couldn’t help but notice the contestants’ expressions darkening.
…
He had quite an unfortunate stroke of luck on this trip as he ended up on the “last train” without any air conditioning.
Among the judges, there was a foreigner who wasn’t very fluent in the language. He kept repeating one idea over and over: This isn’t what he saw on TV.
His sad and frustrated expression had everyone laughing.
Li Xiangfu gave a faint twitch of his lips outwardly, but his true thoughts remained a mystery to everyone.
Cangyang is a well-known tourist province, offering hot springs, ancient cities, and various competitive attractions. However, Cangyang is massive, with vast and sparsely populated areas, as many regions are rugged and unsuitable for railway construction, hence remaining undeveloped.
While waiting in the car, Li Xiangfu realized that Tianxi Ancient Village was also located in Cangyang.
There were very few posts about the ancient village on the internet. He had only come across hiking check-in photos in some travel forums. After swiping through the pictures multiple times, he had secretly developed some expectations for this obscure and overlooked location, hoping it might be the gathering point.
“I’ve reviewed your resume,” his thoughts were suddenly interrupted. The judge who had been eyeing him with sinister intent now appeared amicable and approached him, saying, “I was the one who insisted on having you compete against all odds.”
Li Xiangfu expressed his gratitude with some insincerity.
There was no way to verify the veracity of these claims; it seemed all of this had been decided by Judge Fang. Li Xiangfu had a feeling that the credibility of this statement wasn’t very high.
“Good luck with the competition.” Judge Fang said this casually and headed to the restroom.
Initially, the train was quite fast, but after passing through a couple of tunnels, its speed decreased significantly.
The scenery outside the window changed multiple times, and the train was now surrounded by mountains on both sides. Li Xiangfu’s phone suddenly vibrated twice, and when he looked at it, he realized he had just received voice messages that were ten minutes old.
Both messages were from Li Xichun, inquiring about his whereabouts and asking if he could bring back some local souvenirs.
Li Xichun had a penchant for products with distinct local characteristics.
“Sure,” Li Xiangfu agreed simply.
During the summer, the mountainous and forested landscapes were teeming with various vegetation, providing beautiful vistas for photography.
He sent a few pictures to Li Xichun, who showed great interest. Shortly after, she initiated a video call. Due to signal issues, Li Xichun’s voice was intermittent, but she managed to convey, “Point the camera… outside the window… at the scenery.”
Understanding her request, Li Xiangfu adjusted the camera’s angle.
Li Xichun sat in her office, where she habitually took snacks from the cabinet. The theme for her next art exhibition happened to be the four seasons, and she was searching for inspiration.
The imposing mountains projected a simple and steady aura even through the lens. The occasional passerby was like an inconspicuous pebble quickly rolling a long distance away.
Unconsciously, Li Xichun’s eating slowed down, and she sighed, “Compared to nature, human power is nothing.”
Li Xiangfu’s phone beeped, indicating a low battery.
Li Xiangfu retracted his arm, and as the camera shook, it accidentally captured a figure.
Li Xichun, who had been lamenting the lack of manpower, had a slight change in expression and hesitated briefly. She asked, “…where did Qin Jin come from?”
“Nuclear weapons?” Li Xiangfu was startled, thinking he had misheard. “What did you say?”
With the battery level dropping to 7%, he decided to pause the conversation and said, “I need to charge my phone; we can talk later.” He ended the call.
Li Xichun stared at her screen, slightly baffled. It seemed like she had glimpsed Qin Jin in that brief moment, but the image had flashed by so quickly that she couldn’t be certain.
Her mind raced, and she wasn’t sure whether to tell Li Xiangfu about Qin Jiayu or not. Considering that he was on the train and sudden revelations could be overwhelming, she decided it might be better to keep this information to herself for now.
After a moment of silence, she returned to her usual tone. “I’m fine here; don’t worry about Dad anymore. Come back as soon as you can.”
Li Xiangfu responded, “It’s okay; Dad wants me to enjoy a few more days here before coming back.”
Li Xiangfu added, “Just because I’m going to Cangyang doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll visit Tianxi Ancient Village.”
He always adheres to a principle of starting and finishing what he begins. In fact, this family, to a greater or lesser extent, follows Mr. Li’s temperament. There’s a streak of stubbornness in their nature, usually hidden beneath the surface, but once they make a decision, they don’t easily consider turning back.
The actual destination is not the critical factor… Li Xichun almost voiced these thoughts but then stopped himself. She only said, “Keep your phone on during these days.” Before hanging up, Li Xichun offered a final reminder: “Remember the rule of survival, ‘treasure your life and stay away from Qin Jin.'”
Li Xiangfu stood near the pool for a while before he turned around and noticed that several people had fruit plates in front of them, but he had missed the fruit cart.
Qin Jin, who was not far away, offered him an orange. “Would you like an orange?”
Feeling a bit thirsty, Li Xiangfu accepted the offer, peeled the orange, and started eating it.
Zhou Panbai, who was on the opposite side of the compartment, couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed. He and Li Xiangfu were in the same space, but Li Xiangfu hadn’t even asked him if he wanted any. What did this mean?
Moreover, Zhou Panbai had observed early on that Qin Jin had a rather aloof personality, yet he occasionally engaged in small talk with Li Xiangfu. Zhou Panbai decided to casually inquire, “Do you two know each other from before?” This question piqued the interest of nearby contestants, who seemed curious about this sensitive topic.
Secret operations were something that the game participants were supposed to avoid at all costs.
One of the judges who had been engrossed in his phone looked up, looking surprised. “Huh?”
The contestants’ faces showed genuine shock, and it appeared that the sponsor hadn’t hinted at anything to the judges beforehand.
Unaware of the hidden concerns, Li Xiangfu nodded in a cooperative and respectful manner. “I’ve had the pleasure of meeting him on several occasions before.”
After these simple words, the previously calm atmosphere in the carriage returned to its normal state. Only Zhou Panbai rolled his eyes, his thoughts unknown to others.
Time passed agonizingly slowly when you had nothing to do.
Lunchtime approached, and one by one, everyone rushed to the dining car.
Li Xiangfu, however, remained in his seat, engrossed in a message he had just received from Liu Yu.
“It seems Luo An sent people to the resort to provoke your father.”
Confused, Li Xiangfu sent a question mark in response.
A voice message explained further: “He got someone to provoke your father into denying the existence of his grandson, but after that, he failed to keep his end of the deal and even cheated the other party in a contract. As a result, the person came to you in anger. Dad, please tell me what happened.”
Though he wasn’t privy to the details, Li Xiangfu had a general idea of why Luo An regretted his actions. When he attended the wedding banquet with his old man, it was clear that the older man had taken Li Shasha with him, making his stance unequivocal. Any of Luo An’s behind-the-scenes antics were bound to backfire.
Liu Yu sent another screenshot from Luo An’s WeChat Moments –
[I’ll just wait, the bad guys will be punished.]
The accompanying image was a photo of Qin Jin giving a speech.
“I guess his business has been significantly affected, leaving him with no time for any mischief,” Liu Yu gloated, making no effort to hide it. “He even described Qin Jin as a god, which is quite flattery.” Since he had decided to mend his relationship with Li Xiangfu, he was eager to give Luo An a piece of his mind.
Li Xiangfu was still looking at the screenshot of the WeChat Moments. He couldn’t help but glance in Qin Jin’s direction. When he bought the guqin, Liu Yu mentioned that Qin Jin wasn’t on good terms with his family, which implied that the old man held some grudge against him. But he had never imagined that Luo An shared the same sentiment.
Repeatedly hearing Li Xichun’s warning to cherish life and stay away from Qin Jin, it seemed that, in everyone’s eyes, this was a person with a strong desire for vengeance.
“Is something bothering you?” Qin Jin inquired quietly, noticing Li Xiangfu’s gaze.
Li Xiangfu stroked his chin, his long hair slipping through his fingers. He sighed softly, “I suddenly feel that people in the world seem to have many misconceptions about you.” Despite his politeness, he wouldn’t decline small favors for others.
Qin Jin raised an eyebrow at this comment.
Li Xiangfu sat across from him and continued, “We… could actually make pretty good friends.”
He was subtly suggesting that their relationship should remain at the friendship level and not exceed those boundaries.
Qin Jin stared at him, noncommittal.
Not receiving a rejection, Li Xiangfu smiled, raised his phone, and said, “Smile.” Uncertain about his intentions, Qin Jin pursed his lips and reluctantly cooperated for a moment.
With a snapping sound, the camera captured a fleeting smile.
Li Xiangfu quickly edited the content: [A thousand pieces of gold are easy to get, but a confidant is hard to find.] accompanied by the photo, he posted it on WeChat Moments.
From his perspective, this was a win-win solution. It would eliminate the awkwardness between them and ease the tension that others perceived in their relationship.
Qin Jin had never experienced such intricate social dynamics before, and he was momentarily taken aback by this move. His gaze towards Li Xiangfu was filled with complex emotions.
Li Xiangfu didn’t look up, so he missed that look, and asked, “Would you like to post it? If you want, I can send you the photo.” It had been a long time since he had posted on WeChat Moments, and he suddenly felt like he was truly part of society.
He posted it casually, not anticipating the impact this WeChat Moments post was about to have.
The author has something to say:
Onlookers: Irony? Conspiracy? Compromise? … Or simply a smile and letting go of grudges when they meet? This game is just too hard to understand!
Jsbdizhfud. Oh my god. I can’t wait for the next chapter. I wonder how much chaos this single photo is gonna cause. Thank you for the translation~.
+1
Thank you for the chapter
Lollll our mc is so out of tune with modern day society that it’s cutee
Indeed! One of the reasons why I chose the title as “Worldly Affairs” is because he is so detached from society!!
Thank you for the update ❤️💯
This poor man is getting “friend-zoned” so hard rn lol
Thanks for the chapter! Our MC lives on the moon…