There were limited ingredients inside Wan Tong’s refigerator. She thought she wasn’t hungry, so she let Shao Heng make whatever he wanted.
As a result, Shao Heng made caramel pudding, which surprised her.
It was so delicious and didn’t fill her stomach too much; it was the perfect late-night snack.
Wan Tong was in a good mood, so she took a picture and posted it on Weibo to share with her fans.
Most of her fans knew that she often had meals at her neighbor’s house, so when they saw the pudding, their first reaction was, [Did the handsome neighbor make it?]
Wan Tong proudly responded, [Yes, he did.]
Her fans faintly sensed something unusual.
Li Zhi waited for Shao Heng, who didn’t come back, but she instead saw Wan Tong’s post on Weibo. When she saw the pudding in the picture, she didn’t need to think twice; she knew Shao Heng had made it.
“This b*tch!”
Until late at night, Wan Tong saw Shao Heng off. “A’Heng, are you free this Saturday?”
Shao Heng hesitated for a moment, then nodded silently.
“There’s an art exhibition. Do you want to go together?” Wan Tong invited.
When Shao Heng met her gaze, it was just a moment, and he nervously looked away. As he turned to leave, he threw out a sentence, “Let’s talk about it later.”
Wan Tong understood his character to some extent and felt that he had already agreed in his heart.
“It’s already so late, is Sister Zhi asleep?” She asked another question.
Only then did Shao Heng remember that Li Zhi seemed to have been drinking before he left.
So he vaguely replied, “Probably asleep.”
Watching Shao Heng close the door, Wan Tong retreated to her room. Hopefully, Li Zhi wouldn’t do anything to Shao Heng.
To protect the boss’ innocence, she had been quite worried.
Wan Tong went online to check the data from her recent livestream sales. She was quite satisfied with the results. Previously, she couldn’t make ends meet, but now, within a month of livestreaming, she was earning tens of thousands each month. Most importantly, her reputation was growing, and she had a group of loyal fans.
As for Zhang Jiajia’s apology in her livestream, Wan Tong had addressed it during the livestream as well. Wan Tong didn’t blame anyone and only wished everyone well.
As for the company’s plans to arrange for her and Zhang Jiajia to livestream together, she directly refused.
The company originally wanted to create a sisterly image for the two of them, and Zhang Jiajia agreed, but they didn’t expect Wan Tong to refuse. Because of this, they had many conversations with Wan Tong.
Nowadays, Wan Tong’s popularity has already surpassed Zhang Jiajia, and there are signs that she is becoming famous. The company wants her to bring in more traffic, but they also don’t want to pressure her too much.
After Wan Tong flatly refused once again, the company had to temporarily put aside the development with Zhang Jiajia.
So now, Zhang Jiajia also doesn’t dare to openly offend Wan Tong too much.
In the living room, Shao Heng didn’t see Li Zhi’s figure. Seeing her room door closed tightly, he guessed that she had gone back to sleep and went into his own room.
He had always liked painting since he was a child and used to go to art exhibitions frequently. However, after the accident five years ago, he hadn’t paid attention to this aspect.
He glanced at the calendar on the desk and then sat down in front of the drawing board.
Li Zhi didn’t have a high salary, and it was a bit difficult to support the two of them. Every once in a while, he would paint a picture, and she would contact his previous buyers to help him sell it and make some extra money. As for what his paintings were used for, he never cared.
Because he never thought his paintings were worth much.
Not long ago, just after the college entrance exam, he helped an art student as a substitute and painted a picture for a competition. It was this time that he made a not insignificant amount of money.
Having slept for almost the entire night, Shao Heng covered the finished painting with a white cloth, washed his face in the bathroom, and started making breakfast.
After Li Zhi went to work, Wan Tong came over.
“A’Heng, did you pull an all-nighter again?” Wan Tong stared at Shao Heng’s face and asked.
Shao Heng often stayed up all night, but she was the only one who noticed every time.
“I painted a picture.” Shao Heng seemed to be in a good mood, and when he mentioned his painting, there was a noticeable warmth in his eyes.
Wan Tong was a bit curious. “What did you paint? Let me have a look?”
“Nope.” Shao Heng raised his chin stubbornly and his firm jawline looked especially graceful in the morning light.
Wan Tong said a bunch of nice things, but in the end, she still couldn’t see his painting and was pushed out of the door.
“You stingy guy,” she said through the security door.
Shao Heng slammed the door shut and, when he lowered his head, the corners of his mouth formed an attractive curve, while the ink-black eyes were tinged with delight.
He returned to the room, lifted the white cloth, only to find an empty canvas – the painting was gone.
Instinctively, he searched around before considering one possibility.
He called Li Zhi, but it took her a while to answer on the other end.
“Sister Zhi, you took my painting,” he spoke in a low voice, his hand holding the phone tightly.
“Yes, I’ve been urging you to paint for the past few days. When I saw that you had finished it just now, I took it with me,” Li Zhi’s calm voice came from the other side.
“But that wasn’t meant to be sold.”
“What’s the difference? I think it’s quite good, and I’ve already taken it to someone. The price for this painting has doubled compared to before, fifty thousand yuan, enough for us…”
Shao Heng didn’t let her finish; his voice was already filled with anger. He yelled at her for the first time, “Li Zhi, where is the painting?”
Li Zhi remained unmoved. “Shao Heng, you’re taking care of Gu Wantong, and I have no objections, right? Selling paintings was agreed upon between us. Now that the painting is already with someone else, and I’ve received the money, what can I do?”
“Who bought it?”
“The same person as before.”
“Give me the contact information.” Shao Heng said with a stern tone.
“Shao Heng, what are you planning to do? It’s just a painting,” Li Zhi replied after a moment of thought. The painting depicted a girl with braided hair, running towards the sunrise, nothing particularly special.
However, Shao Heng refused to back down and insisted on getting the contact information of the buyer.
“That painting is not for sale,” Shao Heng said firmly.
“Shao Heng, let me tell you, the painting has already been sold. I can’t get it back, and I won’t get it back. You know the situation at home; you don’t have to spend money on food, and you don’t have to pay for your college education,” Li Zhi said, refusing to give in, and then she hung up the phone.
When Shao Heng called again, her phone was already turned off.
Li Zhi thought that Shao Heng would continue to make a fuss, but for two consecutive days, he was just in a low mood and didn’t ask her about the buyer’s details.
He probably knew her temperament, knew that it would be useless to bring it up again. After all, the money from selling the painting was meant to support their lives.
Gu Wantong also sensed Shao Heng’s displeasure, but when she asked him about it, he didn’t say anything.
She used her need for rehabilitation as an excuse, making him accompany her to the community activity room every day, and only when he did, did her mood improve. He even promised to accompany her to the art exhibition.
On Saturday morning, Wan Tong woke up early and filmed a breakfast-themed vlog, and in the midst of it, Shao Heng’s slender hands made an appearance.
Although it was just a fleeting moment, fans seemed to react as if they had taken an energy booster. Exaggerated praises flooded in response to those hands.
So much so that on the way to the art exhibition, Wan Tong kept staring at Shao Heng’s hands.
With distinct knuckles, elegantly long like jade, and a slightly sexy appearance when the veins on the back of his hand bulged, for those who appreciated hands, it was indeed a rare treat.
Shao Heng noticed she had been staring at his hands all along, feeling a bit embarrassed. He quickly put his hands in his pockets and blurted out, “What’s with that look? Are you planning to eat me?”
“…” She couldn’t believe he said that.
“My fans think your hands are good-looking, so I just wanted to confirm,” Wan Tong explained.
Shao Heng pulled his hands out, glanced at them himself, and didn’t find anything special. Instead, he thought her hands were good-looking, fair and delicate, and looked quite soft…
He cleared his throat, but couldn’t help asking, “And then?” What conclusion did she come to?
“They do look good,” Wan Tong nodded.
“Tch,” Shao Heng scoffed disdainfully, not bothering to put his hands back in his pockets. He casually rested them on the car window, with a slight curve to his lips.
Wan Tong : “…” Why did she feel like he was showing off a bit?
This was the first solo art exhibition of a genius young painter who had been abroad for years. The gallery would display over forty of his works from recent years.
Wan Tong brought Shao Heng here because she knew about this painter named Li Xutian from the original plot. He was a few years older than Shao Heng, also a young prodigy, hailed as a genius. However, it was unfortunate that he was over-promoted, frequently appearing in various promotional events, and gradually, his artistic talent was worn down. By the time he grew up, he could hardly create anything.
But in the current storyline, Li Xutian had gained international fame and was returning to hold an art exhibition in his homeland.
Wan Tong had searched online for some of his recent works and had naturally found some clues.
Those paintings might have been bought from Shao Heng.
In this art exhibition, Li Xutian also promoted the attraction of showcasing his latest artwork on the first day, and surprisingly, some media were present.
Shao Heng lacked interest and simply followed Wan Tong, occasionally taking a few tourist photos at her request.
Shao Heng appeared to be a straightforward guy, but he was skilled at photography.
Upon entering the gallery, the walls were filled with Li Xutian’s introductions and achievements.
Wan Tong glanced briefly, while Shao Heng didn’t even look at them. He turned to another exhibition area, and his gaze suddenly fixated on the first painting.
A few seconds later, he glanced at the other paintings, his eyes flashing with a peculiar light.
After a while, he curled his lips disdainfully and stopped looking at those works.
Wan Tong had been observing his expression all along, and now she had her answer.
Li Xutian’s style in recent years was completely different from before, and this had been a hot topic in the industry. Many believed he had experienced a rebirth after being highly praised, and now he was even more talented!
But who knew that his works in recent years were actually created by another person’s hand?
In the center of the exhibition hall, a crowd of people had gathered.
There was a framed painting depicting a rosy sunset, with a girl in a white sundress running. Her two braids and the hem of her pure white dress were fluttering. The scene was very pleasing, as if there was a young man outside the frame who had been watching her with admiration, and the mood soared along with her.
Several reporters were surrounding a young man who seemed to be giving an interview, and that young man was the owner of this art exhibition, Li Xutian.
He smiled gently at the camera, “This was the scene I saw on my first day back in the country. At that time, I was still jet-lagged and stressed about my solo exhibition. While I was taking a walk by the river, the sunrise, the girl in the white dress passing by—it was all so beautiful. Every time I think of that scene, I feel like my whole self is filled with vitality, confidence, and strength. I genuinely hope the girl in the painting can have a happy and joyful life…”
Listening to this, Wan Tong couldn’t help but get goosebumps, but Shao Heng, who was beside her, coldly remarked, “It’s the sunset, by the artificial lake.”
*Pfft* Wan Tong couldn’t help but laugh, so this was also one of Shao Heng’s paintings?
Shao Heng glanced over, “What are you laughing at?”
“Once you put it that way, I also think it’s probably the artificial lake. Why would Li Xutian go to the riverside far from the city center?”
Shao Heng, seeing her so calm, had a strange look in his eyes and asked, “Didn’t you notice anything?”
Wan Tong, upon hearing this, stared at the painting for a while and then shook her head.
“So, it really is…” Shao Heng glanced at her chest and said with a smirk, “All beauty, no brains?”
“Shao Heng!” Wan Tong gritted her teeth. This kid had quite the sharp tongue.
Seeing her getting angry, Shao Heng laughed and then turned to walk towards another exhibition area.
Wan Tong took a deep breath, finding it somewhat amusing. Previously, it was her who occasionally got on his nerves, but now it seemed he knew how to counterattack.
However, his mood seemed to have brightened a bit, so she didn’t feel like arguing with him.
After all, she really couldn’t figure out the clues behind that picture of the young girl’s silhouette.