TLLKTBD CH 22

Chapter 22: Thank You, Sir

Inside the lounge, an impromptu apprenticeship ceremony^[1] was about to take place. Ji Shengsheng poured a cup of water and placed it on a tea tray, using it as a makeshift master’s tea. Meanwhile, Ding Qiao was already seated on a high chair, waiting for Jin Lang.

“Once a teacher, always a father,” Ji Shengsheng stood beside Ding Qiao, deliberately clearing his throat for effect. “Jin Lang, go ahead and perform the ceremony.”

Jin Lang carefully lifted the tea tray with both hands, knelt on both knees, and presented the tea to Ding Qiao. Ding Qiao accepted the cup while Lu Qian stepped forward to take the tray. Looking up at his new master, Jin Lang solemnly said, “My parents gave me life, but my teacher gives me knowledge. I will study diligently and never fail you.” With that, he kowtowed three times.

After receiving such a formal gesture of respect, Ding Qiao immediately helped Jin Lang up. Before anyone could react, Ji Shengsheng quickly declared, “The ceremony is complete!”—as if afraid Jin Lang might regret his decision.

Jin Lang grinned like a fool. He had only come to visit an art exhibition, yet somehow, he had gained a master—one who also happened to be the legendary artist he had always admired. He could hardly believe his luck.

“Jin Lang, you just called him ‘Master,’ but you haven’t addressed me yet,” Ji Shengsheng suddenly reminded him.

“Call you? What does my taking in a disciple have to do with you?” Ding Qiao shot him an annoyed glance.

“He should call me Shizhang^[2] (Master’s spouse)!” Ji Shengsheng huffed in grievance. “You didn’t even introduce me properly!”

Ding Qiao closed his eyes and exhaled deeply through his nose, then helplessly said, “This is my <em>zhuojing</em> ^[3](humble wife), my jiannei (lowly spouse)… basically, the one who does all the house chores. Just call him Uncle Ji.”

“Uncle… Ji…” Jin Lang hesitated under Ji Shengsheng’s dissatisfied gaze but still obediently addressed him. Then, when Ding Qiao wasn’t looking, he tugged on Ji Shengsheng’s sleeve and sweetly whispered, “Shizhang.”

Ji Shengsheng instantly burst into laughter, his eyes crinkling with joy. Ding Qiao, watching him, couldn’t help but wonder if his partner had taken the wrong medication again.

After spending the afternoon browsing the exhibition until the gallery closed at 5 PM, Lu Qian and Jin Lang joined Ding Qiao and Ji Shengsheng for dinner before heading home.

During the meal, Jin Lang and Ding Qiao finalized their schedule—he would come to the studio every Monday and Thursday for practice. Each week, there would be assigned homework, starting with the fundamentals of still-life sketching.

At first, Jin Lang felt incredibly self-conscious. After all, he was having an internationally renowned artist personally teach him the most basic techniques. However, Ding Qiao reassured him, explaining that while Jin Lang had a solid foundation, it was still unstable. He wanted to review everything from the beginning and identify any weaknesses.

Though the lessons would start from fundamental sketching, they wouldn’t be as slow-paced as a beginner’s training, which could take two to three years. As long as Jin Lang could keep up, the course would progress rapidly.

Jin Lang was thrilled and deeply moved by his teacher’s words. He couldn’t wait to rush to the studio and start painting right away. However, Ding Qiao reassured him that there was no need to rush. Instead, he gave him a list of recommended books and essential supplies, instructing him to gather them first.

Dinner ended on a cheerful note, and after the four of them bid farewell, Lu Qian dragged Jin Lang to an art supply store to pick up everything on the list. Initially, Jin Lang was worried that Lu Qian might be too tired after such a long day and considered going by himself on Monday instead. But seeing how enthusiastic Lu Qian was, he decided not to refuse.

The two of them ran around town, stopping at multiple bookstores and art shops to get everything they needed. It felt like a scene from an old saying—“Buying a fine steed in the east, then searching for a saddle in the west.”^[4]

By the time they got home, Jin Lang was waiting his turn to shower. While waiting, he eagerly unpacked all the supplies in the living room, spreading them out like a child unwrapping his favorite new toys. He carefully examined each item—some he had used before, while others had always been too expensive for him to afford. Yet now, thanks to Lu Qian, he had them all.

Jin Lang recalled how, just earlier, Lu Qian had meticulously asked the shop owners about each item, not focusing on the price or brand but on what would suit him best. The serious, attentive expression on Lu Qian’s face was deeply imprinted in Jin Lang’s heart.

Ever since his father passed away, Lu Qian was the first person to genuinely care about him and his needs in such a thoughtful way.

It didn’t matter what his role was now—he was sincerely grateful.

When Lu Qian stepped out of the shower, he was greeted by the sight of Jin Lang sitting in the middle of the living room, surrounded by unpacked art supplies. He was happily touching and inspecting each item, his eyes sparkling like an excited puppy that didn’t know where to start playing.

“It’s your turn to shower,” Lu Qian said as he tilted his head to towel off his damp hair. He nodded toward the bathroom with his chin. “Go on.”

“Oh, right—there’s an easel in my room. It’s one I used before, but you can have it now.” With that, he was about to walk away when he noticed Jin Lang still sitting there, unmoving.

Jin Lang sat on the floor, clutching a handful of pencils, and looked up at Lu Qian with a bright smile, his eyes curved in delight.

“What are you grinning at? Go take your shower already,” Lu Qian said, feeling slightly puzzled by the way Jin Lang was staring at him.

“Thank you, sir.” Jin Lang unconsciously reverted to calling him sir as a sign of deep respect. His soft voice carried a trace of shyness. “Thank you for taking me to the exhibition today. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have had the chance to meet Teacher Ding, let alone become his disciple. I owe it all to you. And these…” He gestured toward the scattered art supplies. “You spent so much on them…”

“There’s no need to thank me,” Lu Qian said as he sat down on the sofa. “You earned Ding Qiao’s recognition all on your own. Honestly, at first, I was considering asking him to do me a favor and give you some guidance. But in the end, he was the one who insisted on taking you as a disciple. If you didn’t have talent, it wouldn’t have mattered how much I pleaded—he wouldn’t have even spared you a second glance, let alone taken you in. He wouldn’t even teach Ji Shengsheng.”

“Shizhang wanted to learn painting from him too?” Jin Lang asked in surprise.

“Yeah, actually, Ding Qiao and Ji Sheng grew up together—they were childhood friends, practically inseparable. They lived right next door and were even classmates. Back then, Ji Sheng saw how good Ding Qiao was at painting and how popular he was with the girls, so he kept pestering him to teach him how to paint. But Ding Qiao completely ignored him. I heard they even had a cold war over it and didn’t talk for a whole month.”

“Shifu ^[5]was jealous, wasn’t he?” Jin Lang burst out laughing, eagerly gossiping.

“Of course,” Lu Qian smirked. “Actually, Ji Sheng was furious seeing all those girls fawning over your shifu. But at the time, neither of them understood their own feelings, let alone each other’s. So, from childhood to adulthood, they had their fair share of silent jealousy. It wasn’t until Ji Sheng finally realized that what he felt was love that he started pursuing Ding Qiao relentlessly.” Lu Qian shook his head with a fond smile, his tone soft with amusement.

“They have such a great relationship,” Jin Lang said sincerely.

Lu Qian nodded. “When Ding Qiao was searching for you, that childish Ji Sheng got jealous more than once. But despite his jealousy, he was more invested in finding you than anyone else.”

“They really were looking for me?” Jin Lang’s voice was tinged with anticipation. He longed to hear that someone had been searching for him, caring about him. Because compared to Ding Qiao’s efforts to find him over the past two years, Jin Lang had spent that same period with no one seeking him out—except debt collectors. In this city, he had been like an abandoned person, struggling to survive alone.

Now, knowing that during what he thought was his darkest, most painful time, someone had actually been searching for him… it felt like a flickering candlelight warming the cold abyss he had been trapped in.

Lu Qian nodded. “I helped renovate Ding Qiao’s Yunyuan Studio, so we had a lot of contact for a while. I remember hearing them mention they were looking for a student. Once, they thought they had found you, but when they went to confirm, it turned out to be the wrong person. Ding Qiao was so disappointed that he sulked for days. I didn’t ask much back then—wouldn’t have helped anyway, since I didn’t know you yet.” Lu Qian spread his hands. “So, you see? Sometimes, things don’t happen early, but they happen at the right time. Today was just perfect timing.”

Jin Lang was still smiling, his eyes half-closed in contentment. The events of the day felt like a dream he didn’t want to wake up from.

“Alright, hurry up and take a shower, then get some sleep,” Lu Qian said, standing up and nudging him toward the bathroom.

“I don’t want to sleep,” Jin Lang groaned, covering his ears dramatically. “I’m scared that if I wake up tomorrow, I’ll realize this was all just a dream—ow, ow, ow!”

Lu Qian had grabbed his ear and gave it a firm tug. “See? It hurts, doesn’t it? That means this isn’t a dream. And when you wake up tomorrow, all this mess will still be here. Make sure you clean it up,” he said, pointing at the pile of packaging paper Jin Lang had torn open.

“I’ll clean it up now,” Jin Lang said hurriedly, gathering up all the scattered packaging and shoving it into a bag. Before heading to his room, he turned back and said earnestly, “Really, thank you, sir. You’re my benefactor.”

Lu Qian chuckled. “Did you have a good day?” he asked.

Jin Lang nodded vigorously. “Yeah. I’m happy.”

This was the first truly joyful thing to happen to him in years.

Even as he drifted off to sleep, Jin Lang was still thinking about how incredible the day had been.

Before closing his eyes, he made sure to jot down today’s extraordinary events in his little notebook.

At the very end, he didn’t forget to write: Thank you,sir.

(To be continued…)