PTBLSI chapter 19

 

The orange cat sleeping beside Qi Xi suddenly got up, turned its head toward the door, and meowed for no reason.

Startled, Qi Xi turned his head as well. Through the crack in the door, it seemed like there was something there. When he looked over, it flashed past in an instant.

The commission he was working on required a girl who had been sacrificed by ignorant humans to an evil god and then returned as the god’s chosen one to take revenge. Although the colors in his painting were fantastical and gorgeous, his mind was filled with the horror stories the client had given him as references.

In that moment, those horror stories were projected onto the crack outside the door. He hurriedly threw down his paintbrush, jumped onto the bed, and wrapped himself tightly in the blanket.

The orange cat pawed around outside the blanket for a long time before he finally revealed one eye. He cautiously glanced at the crack in the door again and said, “Dasheng, you’re the brave one. Go see if there are any monsters!”

“Meow!”

Qi Xi didn’t understand what the orange cat was saying. Qi Xi suddenly picked the cat up, took two seconds to prepare himself mentally, and then, with his eyes half-closed, rushed out of the room and ran straight toward Fu Yanchuan’s room.

No one ever dared to barge into Fu Yanchuan’s room, so he never lock the door.

At that moment, Qi Xi was so scared by his imagination that he didn’t care whose room it was. He grabbed the doorknob and twisted it. Seeing that the door was open, he slipped inside and locked the door behind him.

After hearing the lock click into place, he relaxed a little and started looking for Fu Yanchuan.

“Brother Yan?”

After searching around, he came upon Fu Yanchuan in the shower. Hugging the cat, he stood outside the bathroom door and called out to the hazy light inside, “I feel like there’s something in the house. Can you talk to me for a bit?”

Fu Yanchuan didn’t respond from the other side of the door for a while. Only the steady sound of rushing water could be heard. Qi Xi started to imagine that the person inside wasn’t Fu Yanchuan but a terrifying monster.

Immediately, he took a step back and stared nervously at the door.

After a while, a blurry shadow appeared on the semi-transparent door. At the same time, the sound of the door opening rang out.

His body stiffened, and he couldn’t move until the door opened. What came out wasn’t a monster but Fu Yanchuan—perfect, complete, and as flawless as a manga protagonist. Only then did he let out a long sigh of relief.

Fu Yanchuan was wearing only a bath towel. He walked up to Qi Xi and asked, “What did you want to say?”

Qi Xi was still afraid. He instinctively wanted to grab onto something, but there was nothing on Fu Yanchuan to grab onto. His fingertips landed on Fu Yanchuan’s waist instead. His beautiful peach-blossom eyes were still misty from fright. He looked at Fu Yanchuan and answered cautiously, “I was in my room just now, and I felt like something outside the door was watching me. When I looked, it disappeared.”

Fu Yanchuan stayed silent and didn’t reply. Qi Xi found his own explanation. “Maybe I drew for too long and started hallucinating?”

“Mm.”

He answered without much meaning. Qi Xi was still uneasy. The fingers on his waist tightened, and he said, “Brother Yan, don’t stay quiet. Just say something to me. As long as I forget about it, I won’t be scared.”

“Scared of what?”

“Monsters.”

The skin on Fu Yanchuan’s waist was tickled by Qi Xi’s soft fingers. Suddenly, he pressed down on Qi Xi’s hand, gripping it in his palm. With his other hand, he reached over and held Qi Xi by the waist. In a low voice, he asked, “Qi Xi, do you know who the monster in this house is?”

“Is there really a monster?”

Qi Xi tensed up, unaware of Fu Yanchuan’s intentions. He even moved closer to Fu Yanchuan instinctively.

Fu Yanchuan smiled helplessly, released him, and said, “Of course not. If you can’t sleep, stay here. I’ll chat with you.”

“Really?” Qi Xi hugged the orange cat and ran toward Fu Yanchuan’s bed. “Brother Yan, you’re too good!”

“I’ll put some clothes on first.”

Fu Yanchuan went to the walk-in closet. Qi Xi sprawled onto the bed unceremoniously, rolled around once with the orange cat, and said, “Hurry up. I’m waiting for you.”

By the time Fu Yanchuan came out in his sleepwear, the person and cat who said they would wait were already asleep. He went over, adjusted Qi Xi into a proper position, and covered him with the blanket. Then he turned and sat motionless facing the floor-to-ceiling window.

In his sleep, Qi Xi reached out and grabbed something—the strap of Fu Yanchuan’s pajamas. He muttered something under his breath. Fu Yanchuan leaned his ear closer and finally heard it clearly:

“Brother Yan… are you going to get into bed with me?”

The next day, Qi Xi woke up in his own room. After washing up and leaving the house, he found that Fu Yanchuan was already gone.

He asked the housekeeper, “When did Brother Yan leave?”

“Was Sir here last night? I didn’t see him when I arrived.”

Qi Xi was surprised. Had Fu Yanchuan carried him back to his room in the middle of the night and then left? Had he done something in his sleep that had made Fu Yanchuan angry again?

Qi Xi had planned to apologize to Fu Yanchuan when he returned, even though he didn’t know what he had done wrong. But Fu Yanchuan left and didn’t come back for several days.

He took the time to inform Brother Zha that he wanted to cancel Bai Peiyong’s commission. Unexpectedly, Brother Zha became very angry.

[You didn’t even finish the drawing properly, and you’re already learning to pick and choose commissions? Have you thought about how no one might hire you again after canceling this one?]

[Is it because the last two payments were higher, so you think you’re pretty good now?]

[Or do you think the fans on the YI site follow you because you draw well?]

[Do you have any awareness of your own level?]

[I just don’t want to take this commission. That client is a creep—he went to my school to harass me!]

[You know him?]

[Yeah, he’s a scumbag. He asked me out for drinks.]

[So I don’t want to draw for him.]

After a long while, Brother Zha finally replied.

[The contract has already been signed. If you cancel, you have to pay ten times the cost. Do you have the money to pay?]

When Qi Xi saw “ten times,” his anger at Bai Peiyong instantly disappeared. The commission fee was five hundred, so ten times that would be five thousand. He didn’t have that much money, so in the end, he compromised.

[Then I’ll just draw it myself. I won’t accept his commissions in the future.]

[Mm, I’ll be careful not to take his again.]

[Since he went to your school to harass you, it’s best to stop paying attention to him and not believe what he says. He must be lying to you.]

[Of course. I won’t be fooled by him.]

[Good that you know.]

Over the next few days, Qi Xi slacked off in class during the day and drew at night. Fu Yanchuan didn’t come back. After Qi Xi returned home, he did nothing except eat.

During this time, Bai Peiyong came to the school several more times to look for him. Each time, he complimented Qi Xi’s artwork and lied, saying that commissioning a painting had cost one hundred thousand. If Qi Xi was willing to put the painting in an art museum, it could be sold for an even higher price.

“Stop talking nonsense. Other people aren’t idiots—who would spend that much money to buy my painting? That’s not how you brag. You clearly only paid six hundred! I only took five hundred from you!”

Qi Xi kicked Bai Peiyong and told the school security to throw him out.

After that, Bai Peiyong didn’t come again. Qi Xi also finished the large order worth 1,000 two days early. The royalties Brother Zha transferred to him happened to arrive on Friday.

He excitedly called Fu Yanchuan. The ringtone rang for a long time before Fu Yanchuan finally picked up.

“What is it?”

His voice revealed no emotion, but Qi Xi said excitedly, “Brother Yan, I got the payment! Are you coming back today?”

Fu Yanchuan didn’t answer. Dejectedly, Qi Xi said, “Are you still busy? If you don’t come back soon, your stand-in will forget what you look like.”

Meanwhile, Zhou Zhiwei was checking next week’s schedule with Fu Yanchuan. She didn’t know who he was talking to on the phone, but she noticed him smile for the first time ever. The smile disappeared so quickly that she almost didn’t catch it, but she was sure he had really smiled at the phone.

Then, in a gentle voice, Fu Yanchuan replied, “I still have half an hour.”

It seemed as if the other person said something else. Fu Yanchuan held the phone and listened for a long time. In the end, he didn’t respond, hung up, and calmly continued discussing work with her.

Fu Yanchuan came back later than Qi Xi had expected. Qi Xi said he would wait for him to eat. When Fu Yanchuan entered the house, he saw only the dishes on the table covered with heat-preserving lids and no sign of Qi Xi.

The orange cat came out of Qi Xi’s room, saw Fu Yanchuan, and then went back in as if to show him where Qi Xi was.

Fu Yanchuan put down his coat and walked to Qi Xi’s room. This time, the door was wide open. He saw Qi Xi at a glance—and the painting on the easel.

The painting wasn’t as gorgeous or fantastical as last time. It was just an ordinary human body: the face visible only below the lips and the legs visible only above the knees. The figure was walking straight toward the viewer. However, the muscle lines were outlined with tension exuding masculinity.

“Qi Xi.”

Fu Yanchuan called out. Qi Xi jolted and hurriedly stood up to block the painting. He said to Fu Yanchuan, “You’re back?”

“Who are you drawing?”

Fu Yanchuan walked in. Qi Xi didn’t let him look, but the easel was there—all he needed to do was step past Qi Xi to see it.

The person in the painting didn’t have a complete face, but there was a mole above the hollow of the neck. Fu Yanchuan had one in the same place. He shifted his gaze to Qi Xi’s face and asked,

“Is it me?”

Qi Xi’s face instantly turned red. He was drawing a nude body, and although he hadn’t added the details yet, they were still there.

He didn’t dare look straight at Fu Yanchuan. After all, being caught secretly drawing someone’s body was quite offensive.

He lowered his head and explained softly, “I—I just thought your body was perfect, so… If you don’t like it, I won’t draw it anymore.”

Fu Yanchuan didn’t say whether or not he liked it. Instead, he suddenly pinched Qi Xi’s chin, lifting his face, and asked in a calm tone, “Do you want me to be your model?”

Qi Xi’s eyes lit up instantly. “You’re willing?”

But Fu Yanchuan suddenly let go, didn’t answer, turned around, and walked out, saying, “Eat first.”

After seeing Fu Yanchuan leave, Qi Xi took the painting off the easel, hid it in the box, and went out.

Fu Yanchuan waited for him outside the door. As they walked toward the dining room together, he asked, “Who did you learn to paint from?”

In his circle, hobbies like this were taught by top-level masters.

Qi Xi answered, “I didn’t learn from anyone. Don’t laugh at me! I know I’m not good at it.”

“You draw very well.”

For Qi Xi to draw like this without a teacher was impressive.

No matter how much Bai Peiyong praised him, Qi Xi always thought it was nonsense. But when Fu Yanchuan said it, he became embarrassed. “I don’t draw well. I just draw randomly on my own. Don’t praise me; I’ll take it seriously.”

“What I’m saying is serious. Didn’t you say you got paid for it?”

“Yeah!”

Talking about the payment didn’t make Qi Xi feel embarrassed at all. He said happily, “I took commissions online. Even though I’m not a good artist, I earned one thousand from a single order this time! It’s the most I’ve ever earned.”

“Is it the one you’ve been drawing all this time?”

Fu Yanchuan thought of the painting he saw that night. It clearly hadn’t been finished yet, but the foundation was already visible.

He asked Qi Xi, “Who did you sell it to? Who gave you the price?”

The word “price” was unfamiliar to Qi Xi. He didn’t know why Fu Yanchuan had suddenly brought up the price and started talking about Brother Zha.

“One of my friends from online. I met him when I was a freshman. He goes to an art academy. He added me when he saw that I also liked drawing. Later, when he found out that I wanted to make money, he often gave me commissions.”

Qi Xi spoke of Brother Zha with certainty. “He’s a good person, too. Since I never learned properly and I’m not a good artist, he went everywhere begging people to help me. He helped me a lot.”

“He’s the one who told you that you don’t draw well?”

Qi Xi was a bit confused by the question. “I really don’t draw well. Brother Zha is from an art academy, so he definitely knows more than I do. What he says must be right. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t even get commissions.”

“Brother Zha? The online friend you just mentioned?”

After Fu Yanchuan asked, Qi Xi nodded. Fu Yanchuan then asked, “The previous commissions he took for you—was the payment one thousand?”

Qi Xi thought Fu Yanchuan was about to praise him for being able to make money. He raised two fingers and said, “It was two drawings.”

Instead, Fu Yanchuan frowned. “What exactly did he tell you? Show me.”

 

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