Did these two people… know each other?
Shen Li’s gaze swept over the two of them.
One was an artist, while the other was a businessman. Moreover, one was refined and noble, while the other was shrewd and calculative. No matter what, they did not seem to be very compatible people.
However, this was still their own private matter, after all. What the specific situation was, outsiders had no way of knowing.
Shi Yang was talking to a man who was beside him. His gold-rimmed glasses masked the expression in his eyes, and he carried himself in a refined and amiable manner. He seemed to be chatting quite happily.
The group of people very quickly left.
Shen Li withdrew her gaze and returned to the barbeque shop.
…
Half an hour later, Cheng Xiyue drove the two home.
Along the way, he mentioned that he would be going to visit Elder Mei the next day. He then chatted with Shen Li about the matter between her and Elder Mei.
“Right, little sister Ah Li, I still don’t know how you became Elder Mei’s disciple,” asked Cheng Xi Yue, very curiously, “Would it be convenient for you to reveal it?”
He was not the only one who wanted to ask this question. It was likely that many people really wanted to know about this matter as well.
Not much needed to be said about Mei Yanqing’s position in the world of art. The number of people who wanted to be accepted under his tutelage was truly as many as the number of carp crossing a river.
However, ever since Yu Pingchuan, he had never taken in another disciple.
As time passed, everyone had stopped thinking about it.
Who would have known that after so many years, Elder Mei would take in Shen Li when he was almost 80 years old?
This was also why the news that Shen Li was Elder Mei’s disciple had caused such a huge commotion.
Shen Li smiled.
“There’s nothing inconvenient about it, however, it was also just a coincidence. At that time, I was drawing a picture of someone in the park, and coincidentally met my master who had gone to Lincheng for some relaxation. After he saw the drawing I did, he took the initiative to look for me and asked me if I wanted to learn painting from him.”
Cheng Xiyue was a little confused when he heard that.
“And then?”
“And then I agreed and formally acknowledged him as my master,” Shen Li said casually.
Mei Yanqing was the Mount Tai Beidou1 of the domestic painting world. It had been on his own initiative to ask to take in a disciple, so surely… not many people would have rejected him, right?
Cheng Xiyue was dumbfounded.
An opportunity that others could not even beg for had easily been handed to her on a silver plate, just like that.
It was extremely difficult for so many people to receive any sort of praise from Elder Mei, but she had been quite lucky. After all, wasn’t it actually Elder Mei who had taken the initiative to look for her and offer to take her in as a disciple?
It was too infuriating to be compared with.
Cheng Xiyue could not help but sigh.
“… But Elder Mei really has sharp eyes. Out of so many people, he only picked you. Most painters who are much older than you, much less those around your age, haven’t even achieved the level of fame and standards as you, right? You immediately became famous from the first painting.”
“I was lucky,” said Shen Li as she looked out of the window, seemingly recalling something, “The first painting was sold at a price that was tens of times higher than the starting price.”
At that time, she was still a greenhorn and had not had any fame.
The paintings of nameless artists usually did not sell for a high price.
It was only because the paintings were really good that the Yunzhou Art Association had decided to send them to be auctioned off.
The starting price had been set very low, but the final price had increased by a hundredfold.
Since then, “Tree’s Shadow” shot to fame.
At that time, even Shen Li herself had not expected the painting to be able to fetch such a high price.
Later on, her works had been auctioned off one after another, and the price had reached new heights. Soon, she had her own place in the art world.
“Speaking of which, I still have to thank the person who bought my first painting,” she said.
Cheng Xiyue was stunned and subconsciously stole a look at Lu Huaiyu.
‘What’s going on? Does Sister Ah Li not know that that painting had been bought by Lu Er?
Lu Huaiyu’s expression remained calm and unperturbed.
However, he was undoubtedly demanding a tacit agreement.
Cheng Xiyue’s eyes widened slightly, and he only reacted after a long while.
It was no wonder that when they had been eating together, Lu Huaiyu had said the same thing.
It was true!
Both of these people were still hiding quite a lot of things from each other, even until now!
Young Master Cheng let out a long sigh, feeling tired and loveless.
When Shen Li did not hear any movement from him in quite a while, she turned to look forward.
“Brother Xiyue? What’s wrong?”
Feeling the vicissitudes of life, Young Master Cheng said,”Nothing. It’s just that I suddenly felt a little redundant.”
Shen Li was perplexed.
Lu Huaiyu tilted his head and smiled faintly.
“Why do you need to belittle yourself? At the very least, you have self-knowledge, which can be considered an advantage.”
Cheng Xiyue did not know what to say.
He was still single. Why on earth had he been so stubborn as to ask this couple out for a meal?!
…
Cheng Xiyue sent Shen Li back to Skyleaf City first before proceeding to send Lu Huaiyu home.
He held the steering wheel, feeling extremely uncomfortable:
“It’s fine when we’re in Yunzhou, but why am I still working as your chauffeur when we’re in the Capital?”
Lu Huaiyu leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. Clearly, he did not want to answer this meaningless question.
“Speaking of which, since you already know that Sister Ah Li is Tree’s Shadow, why haven’t you told her that you’re the person who bought her first painting?” Cheng Xiyue said before shaking his head, “No, that’s not right. Which of the paintings that she released for sale is not in your hands?”
Only then did Lu Huaiyu slowly open his eyes to say, “She knows that I have some of them in my possession.”
“Some, compared with all. How can that be considered the same? You–”
Cheng Xiyue snorted lightly and suddenly stopped.
He looked at Lu Huaiyu and opened his mouth.
That’s right.
It was precisely because it was different that he did not say it.
If he did, then many things related to it would be dragged out.
What Lu Huaiyu wanted to hide was not just those paintings.
After a long time, Cheng Xiyue finally said in a low voice, “Lu Er, I’ve never seen you so worried about gains and losses.”
Lu Huaiyu’s gaze was calm and profound, but he did not say anything.
He had already placed that book and that hand painting there.
It was not that he did not dare to gamble, he was just…
…not willing to.
…
Near the end of the semester, Shen Li’s classes had already been suspended.
She took the textbook to the laboratory.
Because the previous topics had been completed ahead of time, she now had more time and freedom. She only needed to choose a new topic within a month.
This was still the standard that Shen Zhijin had set for her.
In fact, if she had been working with other teachers and project teams in the Institute of Physics, those two articles in Universe would have been enough for her to retire early.
On the other hand, Fu Niannian and Tang Yi were extremely busy.
Shen Li would do some reading in the laboratory. Occasionally, she would help them with their experiments and process data.
The laboratory was completely silent. There was only the sound of the machine running and Fu Niannian tapping on the keyboard.
Shen Li flipped through her book in silence.
Yan Qiu walked in with an obvious smile on his face.
“What are we having for dinner tonight? It’s on me!”
Fu Niannian raised his head.
“Yo, Eldest Senior Brother, why? Is this your last meal before you leave?”
Yan Qiu pointed at him.
“Very good, there will be no place for you tonight.”
Fu Niannian was very sensible.
“Hey, hey, Eldest Senior Brother, I was just joking! Why don’t you take it that it’s because you’re going to graduate and we can’t bear to part with you?”
Yan Qiu moved forward and patted him on the shoulder to comfort him.
“Second Junior Brother, there’s no reason to miss me.
“Your dear eldest senior brother… which is, me… will be staying on in school.”
