Chapter 64
Sixty days after separating from Murong Jing, Chi Yu felt like he was hallucinating.
Yesterday, at the City Art Center, he thought he saw Murong Jing.
But he was currently in H City. That man should be far away in A City, playing the role of the young master vying for the family fortune with his brother.
This kind of situation had only happened a few times during the first week after their separation, after he was exhausted and had to be hospitalized.
“Then, Teacher Chi, I wish us a successful collaboration.” The liaison from the art center extended his hand for a handshake.
Chi Yu smiled and shook his hand in return: “It will definitely be successful. Thank you to all the leaders and colleagues at the art center for your strong support.”
The contract for the exhibition venue had already been signed. Today was just to confirm the details of the on-site setup. Next, the actual setup would begin.
After driving to the supermarket to restock on some daily necessities, Chi Yu carried a large bag of loot home. His mother made mixed rice noodles for lunch, and after the family ate together, his parents went back to their room for a nap.
Chi Yu sat at the computer in his study for a while and felt thirsty, so he got up to buy a coconut downstairs.
He took his keys and went out. Just as he reached the entrance of the building, he stopped.
This time it was definitely not a hallucination.
The figure leaning against the wall at the entrance of the building was too familiar. So familiar that just one glance sent a faint pain through his chest, forcing him to hold his breath.
“What are you doing here?” Chi Yu walked over, his gaze fixed on Murong Jing.
After a long separation, the man was still the same, dressed in brightly colored summer clothes. But from the look in his eyes, he seemed to have been having a rough time lately, with a tinge of weariness in his expression.
He met Chi Yu’s eyes directly, but didn’t answer.
Chi Yu couldn’t help but let out a sarcastic laugh: “Don’t tell me you’re here to fish for information again? Yes, Murong Cheng does live in the same complex as me, but not in this building. Oh, right, your brother, Murong Yan, seems to have moved here recently too. You’ve already successfully driven him to H City, so why are you still relentlessly pursuing him?”
“Chi Yu…” Murong Jing opened his mouth, but in the end, only an apology came out, “I’m sorry.”
The young man suddenly looked up, staring into the man’s eyes: “Didn’t you say you wouldn’t appear in front of me again? Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten your own words.”
Murong Jing averted his gaze guiltily and unconsciously straightened his posture: “I…”
He wanted to say something, but the young man had already opened the building door and walked out: “Please keep your word and don’t appear in front of me again.”
How could he describe the feeling of seeing Murong Jing again this time? Chi Yu couldn’t say.
His body was more honest than his mind. Although he didn’t want to admit it, the moment he saw Murong Jing, he couldn’t help but want to get closer. As soon as Murong Jing opened his mouth to explain, he was afraid that the man’s sweet words would be enough to sway him, so he fled first.
Murong Yan had already left Guangyu and A City. Murong Jing coming to find him now couldn’t be because of his relationship with Murong Cheng, could it?
Then what was it for? Chi Yu tried his best to stop himself from thinking further.
Busy with the preparations for the exhibition, the incident of seeing Murong Jing was forgotten the next day.
The night before the official opening, Chi Yu had dinner with Little Murong Cheng and his boyfriend, Murong Yan.
Perhaps because he drank a bit too much, or perhaps because of the excitement of holding his first solo exhibition, he tossed and turned in bed that night, unable to sleep. He got up as soon as dawn broke and went to the art center.
With the staff’s key, Chi Yu smoothly entered the art center building, which hadn’t opened yet.
After checking the works that would be exhibited in two hours for the umpteenth time, he finally stopped in front of an empty display stand in the center of the exhibition area.
To his agent, to the art center, to all the visitors who would come to see the exhibition, his explanation for this empty display stand was that it was reserved for the future. Reserved for the most satisfying work of his life, and he would continue to work hard and make progress, so this display stand would remain empty, reserved for him, and also for all visitors, a future of infinite possibilities.
But in fact, this display stand, in his original plan for the solo exhibition, had been arranged for a work.
It was arranged for a painting he had done of Murong Jing after they got together.
He vaguely remembered that it was early morning. He woke up from his sleep and turned his head to see Murong Jing still asleep. The morning light from the gap in the curtains cast a golden glow on the man’s well-defined features, as beautiful as a dream.
Chi Yu was reluctant to blink, wanting to capture that moment and make it eternal.
Later, after they broke up, Chi Yu personally tore up the draft of that painting. Now, only emptiness remained on the central display stand of the exhibition.
The young man slowly squatted down, his back against the cold stone slab. The coldness seeped through the thin fabric of his clothes.
He leaned against the display stand and fell asleep unconsciously.
The opening ceremony was hosted by Sister Xin and broadcast live simultaneously.
On the first day of the exhibition, visitors lined up in an orderly manner to appreciate the paintings, and the atmosphere was exceptionally harmonious.
But there were also uninvited guests.
“What is this you’re displaying? You charge eighty yuan for a ticket, isn’t this fooling people? This one, a three-year-old could have painted this! Refund!”
Noisy shouts came from afar, particularly jarring in the quiet art center.
Chi Yu hurried to the entrance of the exhibition hall where the noise was coming from.
The person shouting at the top of his lungs was a man in his sixties. He came with a little boy carrying a schoolbag, who looked like he had just started elementary school and should be his grandson. The child was frightened by his grandfather’s loud voice and stood aside, not daring to speak. The old man, however, was relentless, pestering the staff at the entrance to demand a refund.
“Eighty yuan for a ticket, and we can finish viewing in ten minutes. Are you robbing us?”
The ticket price was indeed eighty yuan, and children under 1.4 meters tall were admitted free. Therefore, only the old man should have paid for a ticket.
“Sir, this is Mr. Chi Yu’s private exhibition, consisting of one hundred and eleven works…” The old man waved his arms and looked like he was about to get physical. The female greeter took a half step back in fear, trying to explain to the old man.
“I don’t want to hear it! We’ve only been in this exhibition for less than ten minutes. Give me a refund! Our child doesn’t understand it!” The old man said unreasonably.
Agent Sister Xin also arrived in time: “Hello, sir. For our art exhibitions, tickets are non-refundable once validated. Our exhibited works encompass various styles. How about this, I’ll have a guide accompany you and explain the content of each painting to you and your child?”
The old man shoved his ticket forward, his eyes wide: “No need, no need! What kind of messy things are these paintings? Refund, refund!”
The agent wanted to explain further, but the old man was gradually losing his patience. He stretched out his arm and started shoving. Chi Yu quickly walked over and pulled Sister Xin and the greeter away.
“Hello, sir. I am Chi Yu, the artist of this exhibition. Are you dissatisfied with any of our exhibited works?”
Hearing him admit to being the artist, the old man looked him up and down, then aggressively took a step forward: “You painted all this junk? And you still have the nerve to charge eighty yuan for a ticket? You’re just wasting paper!”
In the years he’d been painting, Chi Yu had heard a lot of praise, and also quite a bit of abuse. But those insults were all through the internet. This was the first time he had encountered such a situation face-to-face.
The other party obviously didn’t understand respect and had no concept of the rights and restrictions that came with purchasing an exhibition ticket.
Chi Yu tried to suppress his anger: “Sir, do you have any suggestions regarding any specific piece?”
“Which one? None of them are good! Are you in charge here or not? I want a refund! Stop with the nonsense.” The old man said, reaching out to shove him again, using all his strength.
Chi Yu didn’t dodge in time, and just as he thought he was about to take the hit, someone stood in front of him.
It was Murong Jing.
“Security is here,” the man said, facing Chi Yu, his voice gentle.
Sure enough, the art center’s security guards quickly arrived and surrounded the troublesome old man.
Agent Sister Xin gave Chi Yu a reassuring look: “You go first, I’ll handle this.”
Glancing at Murong Jing, Chi Yu slipped away.
After spending the whole day at the art center receiving visitors, Chi Yu finally breathed a sigh of relief when the first day of the exhibition officially ended.
He stayed at the art center all day, and Murong Jing accompanied him all day. The man stood in the corner of the corridor outside the exhibition hall, watching Chi Yu’s busy figure from afar.
As the exhibition neared its end, Murong Cheng and Murong Yan came back from outside to check on the situation.
“Why are you two here again? Didn’t you just come this morning?” Seeing the two, Chi Yu, who was summarizing the first day of the exhibition, looked up.
“It’s the successful end of the first day of the exhibition, so we came to see you. How was it? Everything went smoothly?”
Murong Cheng stayed to chat with Chi Yu, while Murong Yan excused himself and strolled nearby.
He walked out of the exhibition hall and saw Murong Jing standing in the corner of the corridor at a glance.
Seeing Murong Yan, Murong Jing subconsciously straightened up, a trace of unnaturalness flashing across his face.
He hesitated for a few seconds before finally uttering the word “Brother.”
Murong Yan’s expression remained neutral, and he responded faintly: “Mm.”
The air fell silent.
Murong Jing carefully chose his words before speaking: “Guangyu’s performance this quarter is quite good. The company’s new product plan for this year has basically been finalized and has entered production. Brother, should I have my secretary show it to you?”
“No need,” Murong Yan said, facing the window, his back to him.
“Brother, the Huaqian incident wasn’t my doing,” Murong Jing mumbled.
The man lowered his eyes: “I know.”
Murong Jing: “I did want to join Guangyu, but I never thought of completely driving you away…”
Murong Yan said indifferently: “There’s no need to mention the past.”
“Brother, I was wrong before,” Murong Jing took a deep breath and said.
Ever since he learned that Murong Yan was the founder behind the UZ Research Center, he had been reflecting on his years of antagonism towards Murong Yan. In fact, it seemed that he had always been the one targeting Murong Yan unilaterally. The other party had never retaliated or really done anything to him. What Murong Yan wanted to fight for was never Lingyu, or Guangyu, or some small CEO title. He valued the entire market, the future of the entire group, the future of the Murong family, and the future of the entire technology industry.
In the past, because he wanted to compete with Murong Yan too much, he had also done some things that were detrimental to the company. Thinking back now, it was truly ridiculous.
He had clearly already lost, yet he was still stubbornly vying for a win or loss.
Murong Jing couldn’t bring himself to say such heartfelt words to Murong Yan. But he sincerely wanted to apologize for his childish behavior and past mistakes over the years.
Murong Yan interrupted him.
“Work hard at Guangyu.”
He then turned and walked towards the exhibition area: “I look forward to future cooperation.”
Was this forgiveness?
Or a new beginning?
Murong Jing stood where he was, realizing his palms were now covered in a thin layer of sweat.
He hadn’t expected that after so many years, he would still subconsciously fear his brother. It was both fear and awe.
He leaned against the railing by the window, watching the sun gradually set, the afterglow casting a fiery halo across the sky, until he heard footsteps behind him again.
This time, it was Chi Yu who approached.
The young man’s eyes reflected his silhouette as he walked towards him step by step.
“Why haven’t you left yet?”
The young man’s tone was deliberately gruff, inexplicably endearing.
His eyes, fixed on him, clearly held a hint of surprise.
“Is the exhibition over for today?” Murong Jing asked in return.
Chi Yu nodded, hesitated for a moment, and asked awkwardly: “Are you hurt?”
Murong Jing: “Huh?”
“That troublemaker, did he hurt you?” The young man’s gaze was concerned, his eyes fixed on him.
Murong Jing suppressed the urge to smile and lied: “It’s been taken care of.”
The young man frowned nervously: “Where were you hurt? Let me see.”
Saying that, he stepped forward, grabbed his arm, and started to check both his arms for injuries.
After finding no apparent wounds on him, Chi Yu seemed to realize he had been tricked and quickly retreated a step: “You lied to me?”
Murong Jing pointed to his left chest.
Chi Yu quickly looked over.
Murong Jing: “It hurts here.”
Chi Yu: “He hit you? I’ll take you to the hospital.”
He reached out to grab Murong Jing’s wrist.
The man took advantage of the opportunity and pulled him into a hug.
“It’s not because of anyone else, it’s because of you,” Murong Jing wrapped his arms loosely around him, whispering in his ear, “Because I miss you, it hurts here.”
His embrace was loose, and Chi Yu could easily break free with a slight movement.
But the young man stayed obediently in his arms.
“Baby, give me another chance. Let’s start over, okay? I think… I think I’ve fallen in love with you,” the man whispered in his ear.
His voice was soft, but every word reached Chi Yu’s ears clearly.
Perhaps it was because of the dazzling sunset, but the young man’s eyes reddened silently.
Exhibiting all his past works was, for Chi Yu, a symbol of rebirth. Showing his past self, all the parts that had never been revealed, to others. Not dwelling on the past, but embracing his future self.
The exhibition would last for more than ten days, and he thought that would be enough time.
Enough time for him to create another painting to fill the void on the central display stand.
And to fill the empty space in his heart.
