Courir partout et jouer des rôles mineurs

Chapitre 115

After saying that, he excused himself and left the table first.

Everyone at the table was embarrassed as they watched him walk out of the private room.

Li's mother laughed awkwardly, "He's lost his mind, Teacher Sun, please don't mind him..."

Sun Yihan bit her lip, stomped her foot, and chased after him, shouting, "Li Changsheng, you stop right there!"

Changsheng had already reached the lobby. The luxurious lobby was empty except for the waitresses. A female waitress wearing a red cheongsam with a slit up to her thigh curiously peered at the two of them, but neither of them said a word.

Sun Yihan bit her lip: "Explain yourself clearly, what exactly do you mean!"

Chang Sheng countered, "What do you mean?"

Sun Yihan grew anxious and asked in a coquettish voice, "Explain yourself clearly, do you like Qiu Shanglin?"

Chang Sheng chuckled: "You're only finding out now? I thought it wasn't a secret."

Everyone knows how much he cares for Qiu Shanglin, but she herself doesn't appreciate it.

Sun Yihan's chest heaved with anger: "Qiu Shanglin doesn't like you!"

He countered, "How do you know?"

"My cousin Li Wenwen, she goes to the same school as Qiu Shanglin, she said it herself! Most people at school know that Qiu Shanglin kicked you out because he found out you liked her!" She was so angry that she blurted out the truth without thinking.

Changsheng's face darkened, then he smiled again: "That's right, she's very well-informed. Qiu Shanglin said it himself?"

"No, Qiu Shanglin was afraid of losing face, so she hid it as fast as she could. It was her younger brother and her best friend who told her... Oh dear, you tricked me!" She realized this and stomped her feet in anger. Her delicate body trembled, and her full breasts rose and fell. Even though Li Changsheng was devoted to Qiu Shanglin, he couldn't help but admire her.

Appreciating beautiful things is one thing, but his feelings for Qiu Shanglin were very loyal: "I didn't trick you into saying anything. You said it yourself, so you can't blame me. That's right, Qiu Shanglin disliked my early romance and sent me to the south." He shrugged, looking relaxed: "Now that the college entrance exam is over, we've grown up, and she has no reason to send me away anymore."

I secretly thought to myself, "I'm financially independent now, I'm free. She can't just leave me like that."

He didn't sell the tea-picking girl painting, but he had other odd jobs painting scrolls, so he was financially independent. Recently, he and a friend from the art academy took on a mural project for the lobby of a trading company. They would each receive about 20,000 yuan, but his friend kept complaining that he had lost money and that he was now a celebrity. It's a pity the contract was signed too early; the painting hadn't even been exhibited yet.

He had agreed with the company that he would paint for them after the college entrance examination, but now that the exam is over, he wants to hurry up and go back to Zifang Town.

Sun Yihan watched him walk out of the hotel, biting her lip in resentment. "I refuse to believe that I can't get what I want!"

Another kiss

Weiming International Trading Company has a grand name and impressive facilities, having rented two entire floors of office space in one of Guangzhou's most expensive areas. Most people would simply buy a famous painting or calligraphy and hang it on the wall, but the boss refused, saying it was a matter of reputation and couldn't be taken lightly; he insisted that clients see the company's spirit and energy as soon as they step out of the elevator.

An entire wall was left blank, waiting for someone to paint it. The painting depicted a vast landscape, grand and magnificent. The company employees whispered, "The boss doesn't know anything. He's just a nouveau riche, trying to appear cultured."

Whether it's just a affectation or genuine refinement, the person they supposedly hired was a rising star in the oil painting world. The boss, having signed the contract early and unaware of the star's true value, got a small windfall and was overjoyed. He treated the client to the best of everything.

The landscape painting was nearing completion. Changsheng, with a paintbrush in his mouth, was climbing on the scaffolding, mixing colors, when he suddenly heard someone below call out, "Li Changsheng?" He was puzzled.

He turned his head, still holding a paintbrush in his mouth, a black stain on his cheek from somewhere, and wearing a hat, looking like a clown. His gaze locked onto the person below, and then his eyes lit up: "Cheng Jiu!"

Accompanied by the CEO of Weiming International, Cheng Chong stood under the scaffolding and looked up: "What are you doing here?"

Chang Sheng put down his paintbrush, nimbly climbed down, and before he could even stand properly, Cheng Chong punched him: "Hey, no wonder Boss Lin said you're different from before, you've changed quite a bit!"

Meeting an old friend in a foreign land, Changsheng smiled broadly and returned the gesture by giving him a light punch: "Likewise!"

The CEO of Weiming International asked in surprise, "You two know each other?"

Cheng Chong introduced with a smile: "One of my little friends."

Chang Sheng chuckled: "Ninth Brother, you're not that much older than me, are you?"

Mr. Weiming, the shrewd CEO, left the space to his two old friends, said hello, and went downstairs to wait.

Cheng Chong looked up at the nearly completed masterpiece and exclaimed in admiration, "I knew you were multi-talented, but I didn't expect you to be so capable."

Changsheng chuckled, said a few modest words, and then asked what Qiu Shanglin and Xia Lin had been up to lately. He couldn't reach Shanglin by phone, and even Xia Lin only said a few words before hanging up.

Cheng Chong asked in surprise, "You don't know?"

Chang Sheng's heart tightened: "What?"

Seeing that he was indeed unaware of the situation, Cheng Chong sighed: "Shang Lin wants to study abroad and is currently choosing a school."

Changsheng was first surprised, then disbelieving: "How could that be? She went abroad to study—would Xia Lin not have told me?"

Cheng Chong whispered, "They're keeping it from you. Shanglin told us to keep it from everyone, and I'm afraid Xialin won't dare tell you either."

He flew into a rage: "Nonsense! -- I wasn't talking about you, I was talking about Xia Lin!" He was so angry that he didn't care about anything else, he ripped off his hat, grabbed his backpack, and hurriedly said goodbye to his friend: "I'll go back first, you finish."

He then said to Cheng Chong, "I'll treat you to a meal next time I have the chance!"

He rushed home to call Qiu Xialin and find out the truth.

Keeping it from everyone, including me? She told you to keep it from her, so you kept it from her? You ungrateful little devil, all the kindness I showed you was for nothing!

Studying abroad? The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He stomped around frantically, keeping everyone at bay. When he got home, he realized he didn't have his keys. He rang the doorbell furiously, but Sun Yihan came out instead, delighted: "You're back!"

Li's mother was in the kitchen when she heard this and scolded, "What kind of talk is that? I invited Yihan over for dinner."

He didn't say a word, picked up the phone and dialed the Qiu family. Sun Yihan and Li's mother didn't know what had happened, and seeing the violent aura emanating from him, neither of them dared to provoke him.

Just then, Qiu Xialin answered the phone, listlessly saying "Hello?" Changsheng's anger surged forth like a raging storm: "Why are you only answering the phone now? Are you dead?!"

Xia Lin was stunned, and stammered, "Brother..."

"You still remember I'm your brother? I thought you'd forgotten about me long ago! Don't you have anything to say to me?"

Xia Lin, feeling guilty, stammered, "No, no..."

"Nothing's wrong at home?"

"No, no, nothing..." He broke out in a cold sweat.

Chang Sheng sneered: "Very well, all is well now!"

Xia Lin noticed that something was wrong with him, her eyes darting around. Seeing that no one was home, she timidly said, "Brother, I have something to tell you..."

Changsheng interrupted without hesitation: "What did you say? What did you say? You said you've learned to lie to me now, and that you're very proud of yourself for lying to me so well!"

He couldn't help but want to swear.

I've been trying to contact them ever since the exam, but either no one answers the phone, or when they do, they make excuses about being busy. When I ask how they're doing, they always say "I'm fine"—fine my ass, their wives are practically leaving them!

Xia Lin apologized: "Brother, I was wrong. I shouldn't have kept it from you. I knew I couldn't hide it from you. It's all my sister's fault. She threatened me that if I told you, I would have to repeat a year of high school..." He choked up, feeling really bad after being ridiculed and questioned by Chang Sheng.

Rewinding to two weeks ago, on the third day after the college entrance exam, Qiu Xialin, having slept for three days straight, finally opened her bedroom door and stretched: "Ah, my head hurts from sleeping so much... Sis, how many days is it?"

Shang Lin sat on the sofa, flipping through the documents on the coffee table without looking up: "The third day."

Xia Lin sighed, "It's only been three days... It's like they're demolishing houses outside, how can anyone get any sleep!" He had promised to sleep for a week to make up for all the sleep he missed during his senior year of high school.

“They’re renovating a house across the street. Besides, it’s broad daylight, so why would you walk on tiptoe like a cat?”

Xia Lin was speechless: "Sister, you're so cruel... No matter what, I'm still your only younger brother, you don't have to treat me like this..."

Shang Lin looked up and gave him a disdainful glare: "I didn't sleep like a pig for three days straight without washing my face or brushing my teeth, my clothes were wrinkled like a rag, and I smelled like a little brother I just picked up from a garbage dump."

Xia Lin pulled up her pajamas and sniffed them: "Does it smell bad? Does it smell bad? No, it doesn't smell bad."

Shanglin tossed a cushion at him with disdain: "Ugh, go take a shower!"

Twenty minutes later, Qiu Xialin came out of the bathroom, soaking wet, and plopped down on the sofa: "Sis, help me dry my hair."

Shanglin took the towel and nagged, "Look at how long your hair is! You should have said you'd get it cut sooner. Why did you have to copy people and grow it into a side part? If you go for a middle part, what's the difference between you and a hooligan!"

Xia Lin leaned back comfortably, letting his sister knead and shape him, patting his belly and chuckling, "I may look like a rogue, but I'm gentle inside."

Shang Lin was both amused and exasperated: "Come on, you think you're so kind-hearted? Let me ask you, Wang Wei called you several times this morning to ask if you tore up your book, what's going on?"

Upon hearing this, Xia Lin jumped up excitedly, only to be pressed back down onto the sofa by Shang Lin, who muttered, "Hehe, I knew he couldn't hold on either, he slept even less than me..."

Shang Lin tightened his grip, annoyed: "I'm asking you, what's with tearing the book!"

Xia Lin twisted his fingers, seemingly casually: "Oh, nothing. Three years of hellish life are finally over. Can't a person vent a little?"

Before she could finish speaking, a towel was slammed down on her head, and Xia Lin's vision went black as the towel blocked her view: "Sis, what are you doing!"

Take the towel down yourself.

Shang Lin looked at him with a half-smile: "You've grown quite capable, tearing up books? Who said you're guaranteed to escape high school? Don't forget, if your grades come out and you don't do well, you'll be packing your bags and going to repeat a year!" She showed no mercy.

Xia Lin pouted: "I know, I know—Sis, I'm hungry, can you get me some food?"

Shang Lin went to the kitchen. He sat on the sofa, bored out of his mind. He picked up the things his sister had been looking at and flipped through them, but the more he looked, the more shocked he became. He shouted, "Sis, why are you looking at foreign universities?"

Shang Lin quickly made a bowl of noodles, placed it in front of him, and casually tidied up the scattered papers on the coffee table, saying:

"Compare the schools and see which one is more suitable for me."