Curious, Zhu Ran looked up. Four staff members wheeled in a massive crate, nearly five meters long, covered in thick black velvet cloth. In an inappropriate metaphor, it resembled a coffin.
The crowd exchanged puzzled glances, unsure where to look.
Huo Boyan stood before the black crate and smiled. “This is an installation artwork that debuted at the Saatchi Gallery London, later exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, passing through several private collectors. I was fortunate to acquire it, and it arrived back on Hong Kong Island just in time for Grandpa’s birthday last week. With this gift, I wish Grandpa health as vast as the eastern seas and a life as enduring as the southern mountains.”
Hearing this, the crowd’s stiff expressions softened, and they smiled cooperatively.
Huo Zhixiao cast Huo Boyan a sidelong glance and said with a half-smile, “Nephew, quite the grand gesture. What’s so mysterious inside?”
Huo Boyan smiled faintly and said to Huo Zhixiao, “Since Second Uncle is curious, why don’t you do the honors of unveiling it?”
Huo Zhixiao was extremely cautious. He knew Huo Boyan meant no good, but he was also very face-conscious and believed that under so many eyes, Huo Boyan wouldn’t truly harm him.
Leaning on his cane, with his left leg slightly lame, he stepped forward, gripped the heavy black velvet, and yanked it off. With a whoosh, the fabric slid away like flowing water, revealing the artwork’s true form.
No one expected it to be a shark specimen!
The nearly four-meter shark body was cut into three sections, preserved in over-two-meter-tall formaldehyde tanks. It was titled The Indifference of the Living to the Dead.
The shark, once an apex predator of the seas, now hung suspended in glass cases, forced in death to endure human gazes as an artwork.
This shark was eternally dead here, compelling viewers to confront themes of death and eternity.
Its impact was so profound that everyone who saw it for the first time fell silent in unison.
The hall went deathly quiet until Huo Zhixiao suddenly shouted, shattering the stillness.
“Ah! What is that?” The massive shark’s jaws faced straight at Huo Zhixiao, like a beast mid-hunt.
But on closer look, it was merely a corpse.
Huo Zhixiao, who had maintained his dignity all his life, had never lost face like this. Suppressing his fear, he scolded in an elder’s tone, “Huo Boyan, how dare you give Dad a corpse!”
“Second Uncle must be scared, right? Otherwise, how could he not understand a work like this?” Huo Boyan smiled faintly and said considerately, “There’s nothing to fear, really. I believe in Second Uncle’s character. We’re all law-abiding citizens. No guilty conscience means no fear of ghosts knocking at the door.”
The crowd watched in confusion. Those who knew of the past scandal remained silent.
From the back, Zhu Ran finally realized that the rift between Huo Boyan and Huo Zhixiao was even deeper than he’d imagined. He grew increasingly anxious to tell Huo Boyan about Huo Xitong contacting him.
Unfortunately, they were too far apart, and the timing was off. Otherwise, Zhu Ran would have gone straight over.
Perhaps his gaze was too intense, because Huo Boyan suddenly turned and looked his way, still wearing that smiling mask, ever the picture of elegance.
For some reason, Zhu Ran’s mind flashed to that day at the Art Museum, when Huo Boyan had pinned him against the sculpture, his face cold.
That was Huo Boyan’s true face, he thought.
Their eyes met briefly before parting. Before Zhu Ran could recover, Huo Boyan had turned away.
“Bo Yan,” Huo Tinghua spoke up then. “I’ll accept the gift.”
Huo Boyan bowed respectfully. “As long as Grandpa likes it.”
Huo Tinghua added, “Don’t send anything like this again.”
Huo Boyan replied, “Yes.”
Huo Tinghua said no more. His wrinkled, fragile hand rested on the armrest as he addressed the crowd without lifting his head. “I’m tired. Everyone, carry on.”
The crowd was momentarily stunned until the music started, and they began bidding the old man farewell in a cacophony of voices.
The band played on, and within minutes, the revelry resumed.
Zhu Ran was stunned by the chain of events and figured Huo Boyan probably wouldn’t have time to see him now.
But he still needed to say what he had to. Zhu Ran thought for a moment, got paper and pen from a staff member, and planned to leave a note for the secretary to pass to Huo Boyan.
Zhu Ran squatted at a tea table in the reception room to write. Halfway through, a shadow fell over him from above.
He looked up to see Huo Boyan, who had just caused a scene at the birthday banquet, standing before him, gazing calmly. “Zhu Ran, you were looking for me?”
Zhu Ran nodded, set down his pen, glanced around to ensure no one noticed them, then leaned in close, lowering his voice.
Huo Boyan was too tall; Zhu Ran had to tiptoe to reach his ear.
Huo Boyan’s body stiffened, but he didn’t pull away.
Zhu Ran had worn perfume that day—a faint figgy milky scent that briefly dispelled the oppressive gloom of the century-old mansion.
“Zhu Ran.” Huo Boyan’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he reminded him in a low voice. His warning worked; Zhu Ran stopped and didn’t lean closer.
“Mr. Huo,” Zhu Ran said, eyes wide like an alert cat, whispering right by his ear. “Huo Xitong contacted me.”
The young man’s shallow breaths brushed Huo Boyan’s neck, making it hard for him to focus on the conversation.
Zhu Ran was dressed more formally than before, smelling nice, his curly black hair styled, his loose suit and pants accentuating his slender frame. Paired with his pretty, aloof face, he resembled those artistic, broken boys on Paris streets who survived on coffee and cigarettes.
Like a little cat, he whispered tensely by Huo Boyan’s ear, “He didn’t say outright what he wanted, but he said he was representing his dad. I’m worried they might be plotting against you…”
Suddenly, the man before him stepped forward. Huo Boyan braced one hand against the wall, trapping Zhu Ran between his body and the wall.
Caught off guard by the abrupt move, Zhu Ran froze. “Mr. Huo, you…”
Gurgle gurgle~~
A server pushed a food cart past behind them. Huo Boyan had merely made way.
