Tercer matrimonio

Capítulo 114

Xia Lin didn't even open his eyes: "Practice calligraphy."

My friend asked in surprise, "Practicing calligraphy? You're practicing calligraphy right before the exam? Does your head hurt?"

Xia Lin opened her eyes and glanced at him disdainfully: "You're the one with a headache."

He first practiced regular script, immersing himself in it wholeheartedly, and his mind was at peace.

Later, he practiced running script calligraphy, which was as graceful as dragons and phoenixes, and showed lofty ambitions.

My sister is truly amazing. Last night, he didn't even have a dream while sleeping; he remained calm and confident.

Li Changsheng was the last to walk out of the examination hall. He shaded his eyes with his hand and looked northwest. It was four o'clock in the afternoon, and the sun was blazing, but it couldn't stop the students who were liberated from cheering.

A few close friends came over, putting their arms around each other's shoulders: "Changsheng, how did the exam go?"

Chang Sheng smiled and said, "It'll do."

"What's the big deal? Didn't you say you wanted to go to a university in Beijing and go to Beijing with your girlfriend?" The speaker's accent was slightly Shaanxi, making him stand out among the group of people with southern accents.

Someone joked, "You're quite the ladies' man, one here and another back home—hey, I heard the one back home is pretty? Show me a picture!"

Fan Chao, speaking in a Shaanxi-accented Mandarin, mocked, "You bunch of good-for-nothings! That painting of a girl picking tea that sold for a sky-high price at the art exhibition the other day, isn't it a perfect depiction of his girlfriend!"

Everyone exclaimed in surprise: "Really? Really? Hey, that girl must be really young—I'm telling you, Li Changsheng, you're an old cow eating young grass, wow!"

Changsheng laughed and patted them on the shoulder: "Nonsense. Shanglin is already an adult, she's just dressing younger." She likes to dress young, with bangs that reach her eyebrows, a bun hairstyle, and a big apple headband. Anyone who doesn't know her would think she's only sixteen at most.

Fan Chao scoffed: "Come on, don't forget, you're already twenty-two!"

"But the girl is really pure. Changsheng is so lucky. He has a school beauty in the south and a childhood sweetheart in the north. Tell me, which one do you choose?" Everyone winked and mocked him.

Changsheng let them laugh and joke, but remained silent.

Fan Chao said, "Can't you see that? The tea-picking girl offered 350,000 in the end, did Li Changsheng even blink? Was he tempted? He said it so casually: 'Sorry, this is for personal collection, I can't sell it.'" He imitated Li Changsheng's tone and mannerisms.

"Why are you making such a fuss if you're not going to sell it to anyone!" He relentlessly mocked Changsheng. A real man acts with integrity and honesty; if he's jealous, he'll admit it and won't hide it.

Same age, same experience, how come their lives are so different?

In terms of family background, none of them were inferior to the others; in terms of intelligence, none of them were less intelligent than the others. In terms of starting line, this group of people might even be better than Li Changsheng. They had all been studying piano, calligraphy, and violin since childhood and attending cultural centers extensively. So why was it that Li Changsheng's paintings were favored, invited to participate in exhibitions, and made him famous overnight, being called one of the most talented young painters in recent years?

A painter? Pshaw! What is a painter? A painter should have long hair, melancholic eyes, wear ripped jeans, and be a da Vinci or Michelangelo. Li Changsheng, on the other hand, has a buzz cut shorter than anyone else's, big, piercing eyes, and a cunning mind, full of calculations, only thinking about how to make money and succeed. Where is even a trace of an artist's demeanor?

As they were joking and laughing, Fan Chao winked and said, "The school beauty is here..."

A tall, slender woman walked towards them from a distance. Her dress perfectly accentuated her figure, her skin was fair, and her eyes held a slight smile. Ignoring the chaotic surroundings, she walked straight toward them.

The crowd jeered, "Oh..." One mischievous person took advantage of the chaos to whistle. The beautiful woman walked up to them; they all knew each other well. After nodding in greeting, she turned to Li Changsheng:

"Chang Sheng, my dad said he's treating us tonight. We're going to the Marriott Hotel in a bit."

Fan Chao grinned and said, "Sister Yihan, you're only inviting Changsheng, not us?" The others exchanged glances and started teasing.

Sun Yihan showed no embarrassment whatsoever, and said generously, "Today is a family dinner. When you have some free time another day, I'll treat you to seafood."

Fan Chao was the first to cheer: "Sister Yihan is so generous! Come on, come on, don't be a third wheel here. Even if each third wheel is only 10 degrees, all of us together will be 40 or 50 degrees..."

They burst into laughter and left arm in arm.

Speaking of which, Sun Yihan is not a stranger.

Back in elementary school, Sun Yihan and Gu Zhiyuan were the hosts of a talent show at a prestigious elementary school in Huaiqiao City. At the time, Sun Yihan was a junior host for a children's program on the provincial television station, and she occasionally crossed paths with Li Changsheng on television. Her parents were then government officials in Huaiqiao City, but later they both left their jobs to join relatives in the south, where they built new businesses. Her mother ran a plastic products business, and her father made his fortune in his original trade and is now a well-known arts broker.

Art brokerage, simply put, is the act of reselling and trading paintings.

Sun Yihan's father was originally a low-level cadre in the provincial cultural department. He had an art background, but due to bad luck, his paintings were not recognized. He spent most of his life feeling depressed. He and his wife made their fortune in the south by selling plastic products. By chance, he helped a client buy an oil painting by a contemporary painter. Unexpectedly, that painter became a hot commodity, and the price of the oil painting more than quintupled in a few months. He saw the business opportunity and jumped in. With his professional eye and hype skills, he quickly made a name for himself as a young painter and made a fortune.

Sun Yihan moved south with her parents to take the college entrance examination and was admitted to the School of Fine Arts at Jiangnan University, majoring in art appreciation. She interned at her father's gallery during university. Changsheng transferred to Guangzhou last year and, in his spare time, attended an intensive oil painting training program at Jiangnan University, where he was highly regarded by the professors. Sun Yihan accidentally discovered his oil paintings and recommended them to her father, only to find that they were both acquaintances.

From then on, the two families became friends and visited each other frequently.

Sun Yihan, known as the campus belle of Jiangnan University, has countless young talents falling at her feet, yet she has taken a liking to Li Changsheng, who is still a high school student. Her mother has some reservations about this, believing that although the Li family is wealthy, they are still nouveau riche and not considered extremely wealthy in Guangzhou. Moreover, despite Li Changsheng's talent, he is still a high school student with an uncertain future.

Sun Yihan's father, however, had a long-term vision and encouraged his daughter to associate more with Li Changsheng.

He thought highly of this young man.

He is talented, persevering, and sincere, but also quick-witted. Most importantly, he is not a womanizer—how many boys these days are not womanizers?

Spring Gallery held an exhibition of works by young painters. Sun Yihan's father selected three works by Li Changsheng for the exhibition, one of which was a girl picking tea.

"The painting is emotionally vibrant and full of passion, its style overflowing with tender happiness and affection, brimming with joy. Although the technique is slightly immature, the passion more than makes up for it." This is the evaluation given by professional art critics. Under the deliberate manipulation of Sun Yihan's father, titles such as genius painter and the most outstanding young painter of our time were bestowed upon her, and within just a few days, the bid for "The Tea-Picking Girl" quickly reached as high as 300,000 yuan—of course, there was also some inside manipulation involved.

To everyone's surprise, Li Changsheng resolutely refused the sudden honor and money.

Not only did he not show up, but he also refused the buyer's offer, saying that the work was not for sale.

Although Sun Yihan and her father were slightly dissatisfied, they appreciated his humble and unassuming demeanor even more. Everything would wait until Li Changsheng finished his college entrance examination, at which point Sun Yihan's father planned to sign him and focus on nurturing him.

Sun Yihan is 1.73 meters tall, which is just the right height for her to stand next to Li Changsheng. She is fully developed, with a bright and beautiful face, and she gracefully takes Li Changsheng's arm: "How did the exam go?"

They walked towards the school gate while talking.

Chang Sheng frowned slightly, but because her attitude was so natural, he didn't try to break free: "It's alright."

She laughed: "It's alright? You've been studying like crazy."

In the final few months of intensive preparation, Changsheng heard that Shanglin planned to apply to a top university in Beijing. Worried that his grades wouldn't be good, he studied like crazy.

Sun Yihan knew all of this and had her own plans.

Good grades are one thing, but bad grades are another. Furthermore, Li Changsheng's mother didn't want him to go to Beijing, so far away; she thought the ideal situation would be for him to stay in the south, not too far from his parents. After nearly two years of getting to know each other, she was very satisfied with Sun Yihan, her 'future daughter-in-law'.

Sun Yihan has been a TV host since childhood, witnessing countless acts of deceit and treachery, so naturally she's no less cunning than anyone else. Li Changsheng's attraction to Qiu Shanglin is understandable—everyone has their share of youthful folly. And Qiu Shanglin, to be fair, is indeed likable.

But times have changed.

Judging from Aunt Li's tone, she had some reservations about Qiu Shanglin. She was grateful to the Qiu family for taking care of her son for so many years, but taking care of him didn't mean taking him for granted. If her son really got together with Qiu Shanglin, would he still be her son? Would he still be on her side?

Every mother is selfish, and she was no exception.

Furthermore, whether Qiu Shanglin likes Li Changsheng or not is another matter.

Sun Yihan had some idea why Li Changsheng had transferred schools in such a hurry.

With these two points as a backing, and with her beauty and intelligence, she didn't believe she couldn't win back Li Changsheng's heart!

The Marriott Hotel is located on Guangzhou's most bustling commercial street and is famous for its seafood, so naturally, the prices are not cheap. Even the wealthy Li family can't just come here whenever they want; they always have to consider the cost of a meal here.

Sun's father chose this place to host the Li family, firstly to show his wealth and power, and secondly to demonstrate his high regard for Changsheng.

After a few rounds of drinks, they got down to business. Mr. Sun put down his chopsticks and asked with concern about Changsheng's expected grades, saying, "Changsheng, with your grades, getting into the Central Academy of Fine Arts won't be a problem—your mother just told me she doesn't want you to go too far. I disagree with that. Young people should fly freely, learn more, experience more, and grow more!"

Turning to Li Changsheng's mother, she said, "Sister-in-law, don't blame me for being old-fashioned. Changsheng is a very talented child. With a few years of proper training, he'll definitely amount to something great. I've already made plans. I have a few old friends at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. I'll ask them to take good care of Changsheng, help him in his career, and help him build connections. Who knows, he might even nurture a master painter like Gauguin or Picasso! Then you'll be the great mother of a master painter, haha..."

Li's mother laughed along. She had no opinions of her own and used to do whatever her husband said. Now that her son was grown up, she couldn't control his affairs. Sun Yihan's father was very capable, so she let him make the decisions.

Changsheng listened politely and smiled, "Teacher, I've made up my mind. I want to apply to the architecture department in Beijing."

Everyone was taken aback. Sun's father, who had been holding a wine glass with a smug expression, was stunned upon hearing this: "Architecture Department?"

Studying oil painting and then applying to architecture school? Isn't that like Confucius teaching the Three Character Classic—a waste of talent?

Sun Yihan's expression darkened, and she lowered her head without saying a word.

Sun's father understood his daughter's thoughts and pondered for a moment: "You have a great talent for painting. You've studied it for more than ten years. Isn't it a pity to give it up like this?"

We must not rush things with Li Changsheng; we need to guide him patiently.

Changsheng replied, "I am interested in painting, but as for talent..." He smiled, quite dismissively, "It's fine to do it occasionally, but if I were to make it a profession, I'm afraid I wouldn't have the patience. Besides, as you know, teacher, my talent is only good for starting fires; it's a bit too little to be a lifelong career."

Sun Yihan argued, "Don't forget how many accolades your paintings have received... Even the most demanding Master Qi said your paintings are full of emotion..."

Changsheng interrupted her: "Because the people in the paintings are different." He smiled faintly: "As you all know, all the paintings that receive high praise feature the same person. I can't possibly paint the same person for the rest of my life, can I?" He turned to Sun's father: "Teacher, you also know how Teacher Qi evaluated my other paintings."

Sun Yihan disagreed, arguing, "That street scene sketch from Zhouzhuang is excellent!" Although the tea-picking girl didn't receive much praise, she did receive commendation from Master Qi.

Changsheng smiled and said, "Sister Yihan didn't look closely, did she? It's mostly street scenery, but the person standing to the side at the street corner is the same person."

It's because it's the same person that it's so full of emotion.

Sun Yihan was stunned, unsure of what to say.

Li Changsheng was pulled by his mother: "What nonsense are you talking about? What do you mean by the same person? Yihan meant well, don't go looking for trouble!"

Chang Sheng, unhurried and calm yet firm in his tone, stated his position: "I am only truly talented when I paint her. At other times, as Master Qi said, I have a little inspiration, but no heart." After saying this, he stood up, raised his wine glass, and said: "Teacher, this glass is for you, to thank you for your help over the past two years."

After saying that, he drank it all in one gulp.

"But I really don't want to make a living by painting, I'm sorry."