The peony painting was sold for 500,000 yuan. Jiang Yu handed it over to the buyer, a young man in his twenties who had the look of a nouveau riche. He was tall, sporting flashy gold chains on his hands and neck. Just sitting across from him, the overwhelming aura of wealth was impossible to ignore.
Jiang Yu handed him the painting and he opened it for a quick glance. Then, he gave her a thumbs-up and said, “I really like this painting. The moment I saw it, I knew I had to have it. It just radiates wealth. When I get home, I’ll hang it on my wall. It’s bound to bring me fortune!”
The man’s surname was Fu, with the given name Gui, making him Fu Gui (T/N: literally translates to ‘wealth’). His family owned coal yards and in recent years, they had acquired several more mines. They were the literal definition of ‘a family with a mine’.
Fu Gui was ecstatic about the painting. He was a straightforward man who didn’t understand art or calligraphy, he just liked how this painting made him feel: prosperous. Besides, someone else had been bidding against him for it, but so what? Fu Gui had money to spare.
“I’ve bought paintings before. You’re different from those other people,” Fu Gui remarked.
Jiang Yu let out an “Oh” and asked, “How am I different?”
Fu Gui explained, “I know those art people look down on me. They think I’m just a nouveau riche who doesn’t understand their precious paintings… But so what? I may not understand art, but I have money. When I want to buy their paintings, they still have to sell them to me. If they really had integrity, they wouldn’t sell them to me in the first place! But you, you’re different. You didn’t look down on me. You’re a good girl. I’ve decided! From now on, you’re my good meizi.”
Then, he patted his chest and declared, “Meizi, listen, your ge here has money. If you ever need anything, just come to me!”
Jiang Yu blinked in confusion, unsure of how she had suddenly gained a new ‘ge’.
“Mr. Fu–”
Before she could finish, Fu Gui slapped her shoulder and said, “What ‘Mr. Fu’? Just call me Gui ge. ‘Mr. Fu’ sounds way too distant.”
Her shoulder stung from the slap and she forced a smile. “Alright… Gui ge. Uh, but… Gui ge, that slap hurt a bit.”
Fu Gui blinked in surprise before quickly pulling his hand back. “You little girls are so delicate. I barely used any strength! If I had really hit you hard, you’d probably shatter.”
Looking at the girl in front of him, fair-skinned and delicate-looking, he scratched his head awkwardly.
Jiang Yu rubbed her shoulder and stayed silent. She wasn’t the chatty type.
“I didn’t expect you to be this young,” Fu Gui continued. He gestured toward the painting and said, “When I saw your work, I thought you’d be some old man with a white beard.”
In his mind, people who loved calligraphy and paintings were usually elderly. Seeing Jiang Yu, who looked like a high schooler, had caught him off guard. Before meeting her, he had even double-checked multiple times to confirm that she was indeed the artist ‘A Fleeting Dream’.
“I actually wanted you to paint something for me. 800,000 yuan, how about it?” Fu Gui asked.
Jiang Yu replied, “What kind of painting?”
“You know Dream of the Red Chamber, right? That big noble family? Isn’t there a group of twelve beautiful women?”
“The Twelve Beauties of Jinling?” Jiang Yu corrected him.
“Yes! That’s it! I read that book before, but reading puts me to sleep, so I didn’t really remember any of the characters.” Fu Gui had been planning to commission this painting anyway and now that he had met Jiang Yu, he said, “I’ve seen your portraits of beautiful women, they’re amazing. You’ll definitely do justice to these twelve ladies.”
Jiang Yu asked, “You said you don’t understand paintings. Why do you want this one?”
Fu Gui laughed. “It’s not for me, of course. It’s a gift. Business matters, you wouldn’t understand. Just tell me, can you paint it?”
Jiang Yu nodded. “I can, but it will take some time… Do you need it urgently?”
“I want it before the New Year,” Fu Gui said.
Jiang Yu did a quick calculation. That meant less than a month to complete it. That was too tight a deadline. She shook her head and refused. “The time frame is too short, I wouldn’t be able to finish it in time.”
Fu Gui sighed in disappointment and gave up. He’d have to look for another gift.
That afternoon, Jiang Yu headed to school to pack up some things she had left behind after exams. After handing over the painting to Fu Gui and declining his invitation for a meal, she returned to campus.
It was deep winter. Most of the plants in school had withered, leaving only some evergreen shrubs still standing strong. There was a pond near the school’s garden, which had lotus flowers in the summer. A pavilion stood nearby, a popular spot for students to study in warmer months. But now, in the cold, the place was nearly deserted.
As Jiang Yu passed by, she overheard a conversation. She originally planned to avoid it, but when she heard a familiar name, she stopped in her tracks and turned toward the voices.
Inside the pavilion stood several students wearing school uniforms. Among them was someone Jiang Yu recognised, her deskmate, Xu Ruyi.
Xu Ruyi had a chubby figure, but it wasn’t an unappealing kind of fat. She was soft and round, resembling a fluffy white dumpling. Because she was always cold, she had shrunk deep into her uniform, making her look even rounder.
The girls surrounding her, however, were taller and had unfriendly expressions. It was clear they were giving her a hard time.
“Can you stay away from Qin Ying? You’re fat and ugly, don’t you have any self-awareness?” one of the girls sneered.
Xu Ruyi, however, seemed unfazed, her gaze unfocused as if she wasn’t even listening.
“Hey, Fatty Xu, I’m talking to you! Are you deaf?”
When Xu Ruyi didn’t respond, the girl next to her lost her patience and shoved her, making her stumble.
Xu Ruyi finally looked up and said seriously, “Don’t push me.”
The other girl scoffed. “Did you hear that? She said not to push her! Hahaha! Not only will I push you, I’ll hit you too!”
She clenched her fist, pretending to strike.
But Xu Ruyi tilted her head and suddenly asked, “Do you know my surname?”
Her question was so unexpected that the girl paused before replying, “Isn’t it Xu?”
Xu Ruyi nodded slowly and said, “So you do know my surname. Then you should also know that all the air conditioners in the school buildings were donated by my family. The very ground you’re standing on, the school garden, was funded by us. The sports field? When I enrolled, my family invested in it too.”
“What’s your point? You’re trying to brag about your money?” the girl snapped.
Xu Ruyi’s words were practically inviting resentment, enough to make people want to hate the rich.
She shook her head and said, “I’m just telling you one thing: my family is rich. If you’re thinking about hitting me, you’d better think carefully. Money isn’t always a good thing, but sometimes, it’s extremely useful. If you dare to lay a finger on me, I can have you expelled by tomorrow. And not just expelled. If I want to, I can make it so that you, your family and your relatives won’t be able to find a foothold anywhere in S City. Do you think I can do it?”
“You… you’re trying to scare me?”
“You think I’m bluffing?”
Xu Ruyi lazily lifted her eyelids and glanced at them. She looked relaxed, like a little fox that had just extended its claws. “I’m just stating a fact. If anything happens to me, none of you will escape unscathed. I hold grudges, you see. And given my family’s wealth and power, I wasn’t joking about what I just said. You’d better think it through.”
Hearing this, the girls began to panic. Xu Ruyi had laid everything out clearly, and they knew that much of the school’s funding came from the Xu family. If something really happened to Xu Ruyi, the school would definitely investigate.
What now?
The girls exchanged uneasy glances. They wanted to back down, but they couldn’t swallow their pride so easily. After talking big just moments ago, wouldn’t it be humiliating to retreat now?
Just then, Jiang Yu, who had been standing behind them all this time, finally spoke up. She walked over and said, “Ruyi, what are you doing here? Aren’t you cold? …Eh, who are these people? Your friends?”
Xu Ruyi smiled. “Nope, don’t know them. Just ran into them by chance.”
At the sight of Jiang Yu, the girls looked at each other again. Unexpectedly, they felt a wave of relief and turned to leave.
It was strange, normally, Xu Ruyi seemed like a harmless little rabbit to them. But just now, she had exuded a sharpness that made them instinctively shrink back in fear.
Once they were gone, Jiang Yu chuckled. “I thought they were bullying you, but you didn’t seem panicked at all.”
Xu Ruyi hunched her shoulders, looking as round and harmless as a little dumpling. But beneath that innocent exterior was a core of black sesame filling. In a soft voice, she said, “Oh, they were planning to bully me. If they were dumb enough, they could’ve hit me or cursed at me, I wouldn’t have minded at all. But I do hold grudges. If they had actually done it, I would’ve gotten my revenge.”
Sighing, she added, “It’s all Qin Ying’s fault. I already told him to stay away from me, but he just won’t listen. Now all these girls see me as their enemy.”
“Qin Ying?” Jiang Yu asked. “Speaking of which, I never asked you, what’s the deal between you two?”
There were plenty of rumours at school about them. Some said that Xu Ruyi used her family’s wealth to sponsor Qin Ying’s education in exchange for making him her fiancé.
Jiang Yu had heard this gossip more than once, but she had never asked Xu Ruyi directly.
Xu Ruyi replied, “Qin Ying? Well, I suppose he’s my fiancé… more or less. Back in ninth grade, his grandmother was seriously ill and they didn’t have money for treatment. So I told him that if he agreed to be my fiancé, I’d pay for his grandmother’s medical bills and fund his education through college.”
Her tone was light and casual, but Jiang Yu’s expression froze for a moment, so the rumours were about 80% true?!
Xu Ruyi sighed again. “It’s my fault. Back then, I only thought he looked good and got blinded by his face. Who knew he’d turn out to be such a troublemaker? I already told him to stay away, but he won’t listen. He keeps sticking around me, making all the girls at school hate me. Don’t think I don’t know, those rumours spreading around school must’ve come from him.”
Jiang Yu: “……”
She no longer knew what to say. This was quite different from what she had imagined.
“What do you mean, rumours? Which part of what I said isn’t true?”
A voice came from behind them. No one knew how long Qin Ying had been standing there, but he now strolled over at a leisurely pace. The young man was handsome and elegant, his warm gaze settling on Xu Ruyi as he stopped in front of her.
Xu Ruyi puffed up her cheeks and waved him away with a small hand. “Stay away from me! You’re nothing but trouble!”
She had been too young back then, blinded by his good looks and hadn’t realised one crucial truth, men were all just scoundrels.
Qin Ying caught her hand and leaned in to whisper something in her ear.
Jiang Yu silently turned away and headed toward the teaching building. She had no intention of playing third wheel in their little drama.
Half an hour later, Xu Ruyi finally returned, slumped over her desk like a boneless cat. She smelled of food, delicious, mouthwatering food.
“That guy Qin Ying is too cunning. He actually brought me beef potstickers from Yu Ji… Ugh, they were so good. I think I could eat two more!” she said, smacking her lips in satisfaction.
Jiang Yu: “…”
Xu Ruyi scooted closer, still carrying the scent of beef potstickers. “Jiang Yu, what are you drawing?”
Jiang Yu replied, “Just doodling something… Oh, by the way, your cousin who’s renovating his house, has he finished?”
“Nope. My cousin said he had the renovation team tear everything down again because he wanted to try a different style,” Xu Ruyi said, exasperated. Honestly, he was only able to do this because their family is rich. If he kept spending money like this without their backing, he’d probably be begging under a bridge by now.
At this rate, he’d be renovating for years.
Jiang Yu suddenly remembered that Xu Ruyi had once mentioned her cousin wanted a painting to decorate his house. But since there hadn’t been any updates, she had nearly forgotten about it.
Xu Ruyi said, “I’ll ask him about it when I get home. Actually, I want you to paint something for me too.”
Jiang Yu blinked in surprise. “What kind of painting?”
“The Twelve Beauties of Jinling from Dream of the Red Chamber. My grandma loves that book. Her birthday is coming up soon, so I was thinking of giving her a painting as a present.”
Hearing this, Jiang Yu’s eyes twitched. What a coincidence, she had just heard someone mention this.
“…Wait, your grandma’s birthday isn’t right before the New Year, is it?” she asked.
Xu Ruyi looked at her in surprise. “How did you know? It’s the day before New Year’s Eve. There’s less than a month left… Time is too tight. Maybe you could just paint a portrait of Lin Daiyu first.”
Jiang Yu hesitated, then said, “Actually, someone else asked me for a painting of the Twelve Beauties of Jinling today…”
She thought for a moment before telling Xu Ruyi about Fu Gui’s request.
Xu Ruyi responded with an ‘Oh’, unsurprised. She said, “My grandma’s birthday does tend to attract a lot of people trying to give her gifts, all for the sake of personal gain. But this Fu Gui person is quite thoughtful, he even considered my grandma’s interests.”
Jiang Yu thought for a moment and said, “If it’s just one or two paintings, I should have time… But after the holidays, I’ll be heading to B City. How about I mail it to you once it’s done?”
Xu Ruyi nodded. “That would be great! My grandma loves Dream of the Red Chamber. She’ll definitely be thrilled to see the painting.”
Over the years, it was no secret what Grandma Xu liked. The family often catered to her tastes, and she had already received plenty of Dream of the Red Chamber-themed gifts. However, Jiang Yu was especially skilled at painting portraits with lifelike detail, which was why Xu Ruyi had this idea.
“Not long ago, I just finished painting a Liangshan heroes piece,” Jiang Yu recalled, mentioning Shen Zhiwei to Xu Ruyi. “And now I’m painting Dream of the Red Chamber. At this rate, I’ll probably end up painting all four great classical novels sooner or later.”
“As for payment, don’t worry about it. Consider this my birthday gift to Grandma Xu,” Jiang Yu said.
Xu Ruyi hesitated. “That doesn’t feel quite right…”
Jiang Yu replied, “Why not? We’re friends, and your grandma is like my own. What’s wrong with giving her a painting? The most important thing is that she likes it.”
After packing up her school materials, Jiang Yu started a livestream in the evening. She wasn’t sure what to paint this time, lately, she’d felt uninspired, with too many scattered thoughts cluttering her mind.
“How about a heavy-colour painting?” she mused aloud, rummaging through her art supplies.
The camera shook slightly, revealing her extensive collection of art materials, brushes, paints and everything else an artist might need.
[Whoa, did you see that? It’s Rong Yan! 1551, I want it so bad! This is the dream of every art student!]
[That entire collection must be worth at least 100,000 yuan… I could never afford that.]
[Rong Yan? What’s that? Is it a brand?]
[Let me tell you, Rong Yan is indeed a brand, it specialises in art supplies. Every product is amazing, but they’re also ridiculously expensive. Broke students like us can only dream of buying them!]
Jiang Yu owned quite a few Rong Yan supplies, one set was a gift from her Ning shixiong, while the rest she had purchased herself. Among them was a heavy-colour paint set.
Taking it out, Jiang Yu said, “I really love Rong Yan products. They’re a bit pricey, but compared to bigger brands, they’re actually quite good for the price, great quality! Oh and I swear I’m not advertising for them.”
Compared to her early livestreams, Jiang Yu had become much more comfortable. She could now chat casually, though once she started painting, nothing could distract her.
“I love heavy-colour paintings. The colours have great expressive power and easily remind people of Dunhuang murals… This time, I’ll paint a Dunhuang Flying Apsara!”
As she mixed colours and prepared, she explained to her audience, “Flying Apsaras are often depicted as a pair, one male and one female. They were a loving couple, essentially performers who put on artistic shows for people.”
Their status wasn’t particularly important, and in Dunhuang murals, they were usually placed in the corners as decorative elements. However, their graceful, flowing figures made them widely recognisable.
Jiang Yu decided to paint a Flying Apsara in the iconic ‘reverse-pipa’ pose, where the figure plays a pipa (T/N: a traditional Chinese lute) behind their back. The bold, rich colours of heavy-colour painting added depth, vibrancy and vitality, perfect for capturing the spirit of the Flying Apsara.
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