TCOR CH17

Chapter 17: So don’t cry

[I’m sorry about yesterday, I had to go away for a while, when are you free, let’s go to the cinema again, OK? By the way, let’s have dinner together.]

Once again, as Shen Wunian had predicted, Bai Qixuan sent me a message early the next morning, asking me to meet him next time.

I replied to him as Shen Wunian had taught me, saying that it was too expensive to go out to eat and watch a film, so why not go straight to his house.

After that, I started waiting anxiously, and he didn’t come back until a few hours later.

[He had just left for a meeting. Let’s make an appointment for next Saturday, I promise I won’t go to whoever calls me that day.]

Without even answering him, I couldn’t wait to send the screenshot to Shen Wunian first.

[It worked! Next Saturday!]

Shen Wunian returned the message as quickly as ever, without comment, just asking me to get there early.

I typed ‘fine’, and as an afterthought, I looked at his WeChat avatar and found that he had somehow morphed into the silhouette photo I took of him yesterday.

So he really liked it. I thought it was just a courtesy.

That day, the mood is very good from the morning, three o’clock in the afternoon, after work, I went to the art museum near the fresh food supermarket, in accordance with the basic etiquette of the country people go to other people’s homes as a guest, bought some fruit.

The apples were the little red ones I’d seen Shen Wunian buying before, and the oranges I couldn’t pick, but Simone helped me with the sugar oranges, saying that if they weren’t good enough I should go back and look for them. The two sorts together amounted to about a hundred, not quite enough I think, before I left the box of strawberries.

It was a quarter past four when I arrived at Shen Wunian’s station by underground.

I walked down through the small but exquisite garden and arrived at the apartment building. This flat is called ‘Qingyun’, built in 1929, in the centre of the busy Wutong district, with red brick facades, white cornices, a seven-storey building and a bronze plaque at the entrance saying ‘Historically Protected Building’.

I had secretly searched the description of the flat and found that a number of characters from language textbooks had lived here.

I don’t know how much the rent is per year, but it must be very expensive.

Shen Wunian lives on the fifth floor, nearly a hundred years old lift is still very hard, the pointer above the head a small arc from ‘G’ to ‘Ⅳ’, but only a few seconds time.

Ming is not the first time to come, but probably the significance of this time is particularly extraordinary, always feel …… inexplicably have a kind of “close to the countryside love shy” feeling.

Once out of the lift door, I heard the faint sound of piano playing in the corridor, at first I thought it was a resident of the piano practice, and so on to Shen Wunian’s house to take a few more steps, and found that the sound of music seems to be coming from there.

Is the door open?

The security iron door in front of me suddenly opened, Shen Wunian was holding the iron door with one hand, the other hand was holding the door frame, his upper body was sticking out, he looked at me with a smile, ‘I thought you’d be a little late.

The setting sun shone through the rows of lattice windows on one side of the corridor, tinting half of his body a warm gold.

I couldn’t help but quicken my pace, ‘How did you know I was here?

He moved out of the way and closed the iron door behind me, ‘I saw it from where I was sitting at the window.

I changed my slippers and glanced at the window, there was a white porcelain coffee cup on the transparent table, obviously Shen Wunian had just sat there.

‘And you brought a gift?

After he reminded me, I remembered that I had also brought two bags of fruit.

I thought everything would be according to the specifications of my visit to Bai’s house, so it would be realistic. I held the bags up to him and said, ‘And you took care of me when I was sick before, and then you took care of me when I drank too much, it was so hard, I haven’t even thanked you properly yet.

Shen Wunian took the bag, his mouth saying polite words, ‘I’m not hardworking, you’re more hardworking. Having said that, he took the bag into the kitchen and left me to play alone in the living room.

There was an old record player with an open lid on the cupboard against the wall, the needle slowly sliding off the surface of the record, and soothing piano music came out, quite magical.

I rummaged through the pile of magazines next to the sofa and found a copy of the latest photography magazine, which I took to the sofa and leafed through.

Composition, colour and expression, the work of professional photographers was overflowing with boundless imagination and creativity, as if they were free and uninhibited, as if the sky were the limit. Compared to them, I am like a kindergarten child immersed in an uninteresting game, childish and unaware of it.

I used to sit on the sofa and look at it, then I leaned against the sofa, and then I just leaned my upper body down, holding the magazine up to my head.

Aren’t you tired of this posture? Shen Wunian leaned over and placed a bowl of cleaned strawberries on the coffee table.

I put down the magazine, pulled it over my chest and said despairingly, ‘The last thing this world needs is talented people.

He laughed and didn’t argue with me, but asked, ‘Do you know what the fastest way for an artist to become famous is?

Do you know what the fastest way for an artist to become famous is?

‘It’s meeting famous curators and patrons, breaking into their circles, making friends with famous people and getting your name out there. He said as he pulled out a roll of paper towels and wiped his hands.

I sat up immediately, surprised, ‘But ……’

But what, I am clumsy and difficult to express, always feel that …… it should not be so.

In the 19th century, the only way for French painters to become famous was to send their paintings to the French Academy of Fine Arts for exhibition. The Académie des Beaux-Arts de France represented the state and had absolute authority, and paintings that couldn’t be selected for the Salon’s exhibition halls would not be seen by the world. He sat down next to me, twisted a strawberry and peeled the green top, while he told me: ‘The unsuccessful candidates rebelled against the hegemony of the Académie des Beaux-Arts and created the Salon des Unsuccessful Candidates. Some of the world-famous painters you know today, such as Cézanne and Monet, were part of the ‘Salon des Chosen’.

He brought the peeled strawberries in front of me and continued, ‘So there’s no shortage of talent in this circle, it’s just people with talent and ambition who know how to take advantage of opportunities.

Ah, thank you. I didn’t expect that Shen Wunian would not only wash the strawberries, but also remove the strawberry tops and put them in my mouth for a moment, in addition to being flattered or flattering.

I raised my hand to pick them up, but Shen Wunian moved his hand aside.

Use your mouth. He gave the command, sending the strawberry back to my mouth, against his lower lip.

Eyelashes fluttering slightly, I clutched the magazine in my arms, telling myself this was an exercise, a relationship guide, the Pygmalion effect ……

Dropping my eyes, I parted my lips slightly, biting into the strawberry and rolling it around in my mouth with the tip of my tongue. My lips and tongue inevitably touched Shen Wunian’s fingertips, but he didn’t pull away as he had yesterday, instead he pushed the strawberry with a swimming motion, sending it deeper into my mouth.

As he walked away, I can’t tell if it was intentional or not, the tip of his index finger crossed my lower lip, leaving a distinct touch.

The sweet and sour juice in my mouth exploded in an instant and my brain crackled like juice in hot oil. Sweet and dark.

No, this is too hard, how can I learn this?

How can you learn this?

I should get dinner ready, do you want to come and help?

While I was standing there like a wooden man, Shen Wunian had already stood up like a nobody.

I quickly swallowed the strawberries into my mouth and nodded, ‘Oh yes, I …… can help you prepare the food!

Auntie is a typical chauvinist who thinks he has already earned money to support the family and housework is not his concern. Du Jingchuan and is a spoiled, learning can not learn, his father is a perfect replica. Therefore, the household chores basically fall on the head of the sister-in-law, laundry, cooking, child rearing, and sometimes have to fight with my uncle for me.

To save my sister-in-law’s heart and to prove that I was a valuable member of the family, I took the initiative to take out the rubbish every day, wash the dishes, fold the laundry for the whole family and wash and cut the dishes for my sister-in-law before she came home for the summer and winter holidays.

So a little thing like preparing vegetables isn’t hard for me, you could even say I’m comfortable with it.

Asparagus cut and tomatoes diced, yes?’ I stood in front of the counter, arranging the washed asparagus in rows.

Yes, I don’t want the asparagus roots, they’re too old.

‘This long row?’ I cut off a section and showed it to Shen Wunian.

A little longer. He came up behind me, held my hand with the knife and cut the asparagus to the length he wanted.

The position was too intimate, as if there were a fire burning on my back, and if it were quieter I suspect I could feel Shen Wunian’s heartbeat. If I focused my attention further down, my hips might feel his ‘something’ ……

Shen Wunian’s hand retreated, but his body was still pressed against mine: ‘Speaking of which, wouldn’t you like to consider hugging my thigh? I could sponsor you, give you the time you need to travel, buy expensive photographic equipment and personally curate exhibitions for you. In less than five years, you’ll be able to rise to fame and become one of the most respected photographers of the younger generation.

I had heard in the past from my older sisters and the others in the photography club that many artists have a patron with a strong background behind them, and this has been the case since the early Renaissance, but I never thought it would fall into my lap.

This …… never crossed my mind. Maybe it was the posture that made it hard for me to concentrate on his conversation, it always felt like we weren’t communicating about the serious subject of investment and sponsorship, but some kind of unseemly subterfuge.

It’s a well-worn shortcut: I’ll package you, market you and turn you into a hapless genius. He almost half hugged me, rubbing his ear against my cheek, ‘Let’s just say …… you’re going to go into photography in honour of your parents, who could have died on the way to helping you develop your photos.

Family is always great to use, deceased family even more so. His voice was obviously still soft, but it was cold for no reason.

‘Hiss!’ Without a second thought, the fingers of my left hand were sliced into the root of my armour by the sharp, blood-soaked blade.

I stood still, and the devilish whispers behind me stopped.

I’m not into photography because of my parents, it has nothing to do with them. I pulled away from Shen Wunian behind me and held the wound under the tap to rinse it.

The bright red blood was washed away by the cold stream of water and fresh pink blood flowed out.

Even if they’re gone, I won’t use them for myself. I was so angry and sad that I just wanted to slam the door and never see Shen Wunian again.

What does he think of other people, what does he think of other people’s parents? How could he say such things?

Let me see. Shen Wunian grabbed my hand and put a piece of kitchen paper over the wound.

I wanted to jerk my hand away, but I didn’t.

Come here, let me treat your wound. He grabbed my hand and asked me to sit on the sofa outside, then took a medical kit from the cupboard and sat down beside me to sterilise and bandage it.

By this time it was as if those cold, venomous looks on his body had become an illusion for me again, but I knew they were there, and my wounded finger was proof of that.

You just went too far. It’s not often that I point out someone’s problems so harshly, or demand in such a direct tone: ‘Apologise!

I had it all worked out: if he didn’t apologise, I would walk away and say the safe word to end this unfortunate experiment.

What was the safe word, plus …… Galatea?

‘I’m sorry, I was wrong.

‘Plus ……’

Unexpectedly, Shen Wunian apologised very silkily and immediately called me stuck.

He applied a plaster, took my fingertips and, lifting his eyes to look at me, kissed my injured one.

‘So don’t cry.’