PTBLSI chapter 28

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After Uncle Quan tidied up the remaining things in the study, he left. Before leaving, he went to tell Fu Yanchuan.

“Sir, you haven’t gone home in a while. The chairman hasn’t been in a very good mood lately. When you have time, you should go back. No matter what, a father and son shouldn’t stop interacting completely.”

Fu Yanchuan stood there without saying anything. After Uncle Quan left, he went to have dinner with Qi Xi as usual. Recently, Qi Xi couldn’t hold himself back anymore. While eating, he would always find reasons to talk to Fu Yanchuan. The rules he had followed since childhood were broken, and he realized that nothing was completely unchangeable.

Qi Xi had always wanted his own studio. When he lived at his dad’s place, Qi Zhounan had his own small study where he could store his equestrian gear and toys and do his homework. He only had a small bay window. Qi Xi had always been very envious.

At first, Qi Zhounan would call him over, saying they could share it. But not long after, his dad said his presence affected Qi Zhounan’s studying, and he wasn’t allowed to go anymore.

Back then, Qi Xi often thought that when he grew up, he would buy a big house and use one room for painting, another for storing his paintings, and another specially for Dasheng to play in.

Although it was a bit different from what he had imagined, Fu Yanchuan was willing to give him half of the study to use for painting. He was very happy.

After dinner, he immediately went to his half of the studio and began inspecting every corner. He thought about what to put where and what each place would be used for.

While thinking, he suddenly thought of how to show that he was rich, then remembered that he actually was rich now. He couldn’t help but laugh. In the end, he laughed so hard that he rolled off the sofa.

The orange cat followed Qi Xi. Seeing him twist around like a big green caterpillar, the cat thought he was about to die. It jumped onto the sofa, slapped his forehead with one paw, and cried out anxiously.

“Meow—”

Qi Xi immediately picked up the orange cat, twisting around with it and saying, “Dasheng, are you happy too? You have a big villa now. I have a place to paint. Isn’t Brother Yan the best person in the world?”

“Meow!”

The orange cat struggled out of his arms, but was immediately grabbed back.

Qi Xi hugged the cat and said, “I hope I can be Brother Yan’s stand-in for a lifetime!”

Fu Yanchuan happened to be walking to the doorway when he heard Qi Xi say this. He stood there without going in until Qi Xi noticed him.

“Brother Yan!”

Qi Xi jumped up from the sofa, pulled Fu Yanchuan inside, and pressed him down to sit on the sofa. Then, he stood in front of Fu Yanchuan and asked seriously, “What gift do you want?”

Fu Yanchuan leaned against the sofa and stretched his long legs forward. Qi Xi ended up standing between his legs, an extremely possessive posture.

Without speaking, he looked up at Qi Xi, who continued, “If you hadn’t taken me to find Brother Zha, I would never have become this rich in my life! I don’t know how to thank you. What gift would you like?”

“No need.”

After being rejected, Qi Xi instantly deflated like a balloon with no air. After frowning and worrying for a long time, he suddenly asked again, “Then do you want money? I can split it with you, okay?”

“Split it with me?”

“Is that too little? But—”

Qi Xi didn’t say what the “but” was, but his face seemed to say, “I’m reluctant to part with it.”

This look of wanting to be generous but not wanting to let go amused and shocked Fu Yanchuan a little. A few hundred thousand was nothing to him, but to Qi Xi, it was half of everything he had. He hadn’t expected Qi Xi, who had been so happy after receiving the money, to be willing to give him half.

After thinking for a moment, Qi Xi explained, “If I give you more and split some with Xie Hui, I won’t have any money left.”

“You’re also going to give some to Xie Hui?”

Fu Yanchuan’s voice sank. Qi Xi nodded and said, “Xie Hui used to buy food for me, paints, and even cat food for Dasheng. But he didn’t have much money either. His parents run a breakfast shop, and it’s hard for them to make money, so he worked part-time to earn money to buy things for me. He finally managed to go to university abroad, and I don’t dare tell him that I make money from painting. Otherwise, he would definitely give me the money he worked so hard to earn.”

Fu Yanchuan remained silent and motionless. What Qi Xi said was completely opposite to his own concept of money. In his view, money was a tool, a means to an end. Once he had funds in his possession, the only thing he considered was how to use them to obtain greater profits, not giving them to others.

After staring at Qi Xi for a long while, he suddenly grabbed his wrist. “You don’t need to split it with me. If you want to thank me, consider another way.”

“What other way? What do you want?”

“Think about it yourself.”

Qi Xi’s brain couldn’t process things quickly enough. He felt that Fu Yanchuan could have just told him directly—why make him think it himself?

Whenever he tried to think, he felt dizzy. He lunged toward the sofa, but didn’t notice Fu Yanchuan’s legs, tripped, and sprawled across them. He turned his head to look at Fu Yanchuan, laughed twice, and hurriedly crawled off his legs. He sat down beside him, pretending nothing had happened.

Fu Yanchuan placed his hand on the spot on his leg that had just been pressed against it, turned over, and called out, “Qi Xi.”

“Hm?”

Qi Xi stared at his phone and replied absently. Fu Yanchuan glanced at the phone screen from the corner of his eye. Qi Xi was very good at thinking of solutions; he had immediately gone online to ask for help.

[How do you express gratitude to someone who’s really good to you?” He doesn’t want money or gifts. He says to thank him in another way and wants me to think of it myself. Why doesn’t he just tell me directly?]

Fu Yanchuan pretended not to see it and asked him, “Have you thought about how you want to develop in the future?”

“Develop what?”

Only then did Qi Xi realize that Fu Yanchuan could see his phone. He quickly put his phone away and turned to face Fu Yanchuan.

“In terms of painting, do you want to publicly promote your work?”

Qi Xi still didn’t quite understand. Fu Yanchuan continued, “You can’t use the YI site account for now. If you want, you can wait a few months or register a new one.”

“That website is such a hassle to use. Can I register on a domestic site? Anyway, I can’t understand what foreigners say.”

When Qi Xi got to this point, he suddenly slumped again. “But what if I post my paintings, people see them, and they say they’re ugly. What do I do then?”

Fu Yanchuan realized that Qi Xi was still affected by Brother Zha’s words. Although he acted like he didn’t care when he talked about it, subconsciously, he still doubted himself.

“Qi Xi.”

Fu Yanchuan called his name and said seriously, “Your paintings are the most shocking I’ve ever seen. They have a kind of tension that feels like it can pierce straight into the viewer’s heart. They’re special; they’re one of a kind. Some people might not like them, but art isn’t meant to be liked by everyone. It’s for those who understand you and your paintings to appreciate. So, don’t worry about people who say bad things. Believe in those who can understand you.”

Qi Xi stared blankly at Fu Yanchuan without moving. No one had ever praised him like this before. People only said he was stupid and that he was no good and didn’t know his own limits. Fu Yanchuan’s words hit him straight in the heart, making his heart beat faster and a part of him tremble uncontrollably.

He unconsciously started crying. Tears rolled down from the corners of his eyes as he asked, “Do you really think I paint that well?”

“Yes, Qi Xi.”

Fu Yanchuan reached out, wiped away a tear from the corner of Qi Xi’s eye, and said, “At a time like this, you should be smiling.”

Qi Xi brust into even harder sobs. He lunged forward and hugged Fu Yanchuan, letting fresh tears fall onto his neck. He wrapped himself tightly in Fu Yanchuan’s arms. “Brother Yan, how can you be so good?”

Fu Yanchuan hooked an arm around Qi Xi’s waist and pulled him over in one motion. Caught off guard, Qi Xi sat down on Fu Yanchuan’s lap. He suddenly remembered how they had been squeezed together in the car. Subconsciously, he arched his back, not daring to lean too close. He hung his arms around Fu Yanchuan’s neck and said, “Brother Yan, what about the rules? In your house, hugging isn’t allowed.”

Looking at Qi Xi’s suddenly smug expression, Fu Yanchuan smiled and said, “You broke the rules first.”

“You set the rules. How can you not lead by example and break them yourself?”

“Then follow the rules and let go of me.”

But instead of letting go, Fu Yanchuan tightened his grip around Qi Xi’s waist, making it impossible for him to get down.

But Qi Xi cooperated with him very well. He suddenly leaned closer and said, “Can we get rid of this rule in the future? I want to hug you.”

“Mm.” He replied softly.

Qi Xi’s hand immediately slid down from his chest to his abdomen. He said, “I also want to touch your abs. Is that okay?”

The winter loungewear was a bit thick. Through the fabric, he could only feel Qi Xi’s hand. After pausing for a moment, Fu Yanchuan suddenly let go of Qi Xi and pushed him back onto the sofa. “Go paint.”

Reluctantly, Qi Xi asked, “Then when are we going swimming?”

“When do you want to go?” Fu Yanchuan asked back.

“Tomorrow?”

Fu Yanchuan thought for two seconds. “Go paint.”

Qi Xi didn’t know if Fu Yanchuan meant yes or no. He jumped off the sofa, took two steps away, and then suddenly turned back to Fu Yanchuan and asked, “Where’s my phone?”

After saying that, he pretended to look for it. While searching, he touched Fu Yanchuan. In one motion, Fu Yanchuan grabbed his hand and pulled him closer.

Hot breath brushed against his face. His chest rose and fell involuntarily as he thought that Fu Yanchuan was about to kiss him again.

However, at such close range, Fu Yanchuan simply took Qi Xi’s phone out of his pocket and handed it to him. He said seriously, “Found it.”

“Oh, I’m going to paint.”

He pulled his hand out of Fu Yanchuan’s and finally went to sit on the other side of the sofa.

Fu Yanchuan looked at Qi Xi for a moment, then stood and walked over to his side. Warm light shone down. Qi Xi was focused on painting while Fu Yanchuan worked at the computer. Only the orange cat patrolled back and forth between them, as if this had always been their routine—quiet and harmonious.

The next day, Qi Xi only had one class in the afternoon. Fu Yanchuan didn’t wake him up in the morning; he only told the nanny to wake Qi Xi up later to eat breakfast.

After Qi Xi finished breakfast, he went out. Fu Yanchuan left Driver Yan and the car for Qi Xi to use.

He had the driver take him to an art supply store, where he spent money lavishly and bought a trunk full of paints and drawing paper. After bringing them back, he finally filled his cabinet.

“Dasheng, doesn’t this show at first glance that I’m very rich?”

Qi Xi showed off to the orange cat beside him, which was scratching its whiskers. Then, he took photos from all angles and registered a new account on V-blog.

He had always signed his paintings “Qiyueqi.” Fearing his hobby website accounts would be discovered, he changed his username to “Qixi Xixi Xixi Xixi Xixi.” There were so many “xi” because even with one less “xi,” the name was already taken.

While registering the new account, he reflected on what Fu Yanchuan had said to him the night before. He gathered his courage and used the username “Qiyueqi.” His first post showed off the paints he had spent tens of thousands on.

[So many paints I can’t finish using them!

After posting on his new account, he didn’t receive a single click. After waiting a long time, he realized that no one was going to envy him, so he sent it to his good friends: Fu Yanchuan, Xie Hui, and Qiu Yizhou.

It was still the middle of the night for Xie Hui, so he didn’t reply.

Qiu Yizhou had secretly added Qi Xi as a friend. After receiving Qi Xi’s post, he thought about it for a long time but still couldn’t figure out what Qi Xi wanted him to say. However, he replied with an impressive emoji to show his support.

Fu Yanchuan was busy with documents. When he heard his phone ring, he didn’t pay attention. More than ten minutes later, he suddenly picked up his phone and saw Qi Xi’s message.

He didn’t care how Qi Xi was showing off. He tapped his fingers on the desk and called Zhou Zhiwei in.

“Does our group have any projects that require commissioned paintings or similar work? Subsidiaries are fine, too.”

Zhou Zhiwei didn’t understand why Fu Yanchuan suddenly cared about such a small matter. She reviewed the group’s projects and said, “Hotel business promotions, commercial events, and brand packaging for some subsidiary products usually require this, but these are typically outsourced to marketing companies.”

“Organize a list of projects with recent needs, look up this artist’s paintings, and match them with the most suitable project. Give me the final result.”

“Okay.”

After Zhou Zhiwei returned to her seat, she saw the works that Fu Yanchuan had sent over, as well as the V-blog account that Qi Xi had just registered.

She hadn’t studied art. Her knowledge of painting was limited to artists like Van Gogh[mfn]Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter and one of the most influential figures in Western art. Some of his most well-known paintings was: The Starry Night, Sunflowers (series), Bedroom in Arles[/mfn] and Monet[mfn]Claude Monet (1840–1926) was a French painter and the founder of Impressionism, a movement that changed how artists painted light, color, and everyday life.[/mfn], and she didn’t really understand the modern art world. Looking at the paintings on the screen, she couldn’t tell if they were good or not. She only felt that the colors were very rich and dazzling.

Suddenly, a colleague leaned over and asked, “Is this the work of the great artist Qi Xi? When did you start following him?”

Zhou Zhiwei looked at her colleague. “Do you know him? President Fu asked me to find projects to commission him.”

Her colleague did CP fanworks and knew many big artists on the YI site. Upon hearing Zhou Zhiwei’s words, she took a deep breath. “This artist’s paintings have a pretty special style. People either love them or think they’re strange because they’re so dazzling. How would President Fu even notice an online painter like this and want to commission him?”

Zhou Zhiwei wanted to know, too, and guessed, “Maybe someone he knows?”

“But is President Fu the kind of person who would pay attention to such small things just because he knows someone?”

Zhou Zhiwei thought not, which made her even more curious about who this “Qiyueqi” really was.

Qi Xi didn’t know what Fu Yanchuan was doing. He finally found a way to thank Fu Yanchuan, thanks to netizens. After class, he hurried downstairs to the Chuanrong Building to wait for Fu Yanchuan.

By the time Fu Yanchuan remembered to leave work, it was dark outside. When he came out of the office, everyone in the secretary’s office was gone. He usually went straight to the garage. Two people got on the elevator midway through his journey. They didn’t recognize him and discussed something quietly.

“Do you think that handsome guy downstairs is still there?”

“He probably left. He’s already waited two hours.”

“What kind of person would make such a handsome little guy wait that long?”

“Maybe he fought with his girlfriend. If I had a boyfriend that handsome, I’d never fight, no matter what!”

As she spoke, she took out her phone and showed the person next to her a photo that had been posted in the group. “He’s already so handsome—what could he have done wrong?”

Fu Yanchuan glanced at the photo and immediately recognized Qi Xi holding an eye-catching bouquet of red roses in his arms.

He got off the elevator on the first floor and walked out quickly. He spotted him at once.

In front of the building was a spacious plaza. At this hour, there weren’t many people around. Qi Xi stood alone under a streetlight, holding flowers. He looked like a sprite breaking through the darkness, rushing straight into his vision. From far away, he noticed him and smiled.

The other people in the elevator only realized this after Fu Yanchuan left. “Was that just now, President Fu?”

“Seems like it.”

“He was in such a hurry—could the little handsome guy have been waiting for him?”

They both exchanged gossip-filled looks in their eyes and hurriedly followed him outside. They made it just in time to see Qi Xi holding flowers and running toward Fu Yanchuan.

“Brother Yan!”

Qi Xi reached Fu Yanchuan. The 199 roses[mfn]199 roses → “I want to love you forever.” 1 = you, 99 = forever / long-lasting love[/mfn] almost blocked him from view. He spoke to Fu Yanchuan through the flowers. “I came to pick you up.”

Looking into Qi Xi’s eyes, which seemed to bloom with peach blossoms, Fu Yanchuan’s voice sank involuntarily. “Didn’t you think to call me? If I hadn’t come out here, were you planning to wait forever?”

“But you came out!”

Qi Xi didn’t care how long he had waited, nor did he mind waiting forever. He handed the flowers to Fu Yanchuan. “If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise. You said you wanted me to think of a way to thank you myself. I asked a lot of people, and they said that sincerity is the most important thing. So, are you willing to accept these flowers, which represent my sincerity?”

 

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