The next morning, Chen Luzhou forcibly brought Chen Xingqi downstairs for breakfast. Chen Xingqi was full of morning grouchiness and was about to lose his temper, but then he saw his brother leaning against his doorway with a cold face, looking heartless and ready to execute him on the spot, completely lacking his usual carefree attitude. Chen Xingqi sensed the gravity of the situation and immediately crawled out of bed obediently.
The restaurant wasn’t crowded, with only a few people eating breakfast. Looking around, the entire dining area was empty, with only a few scattered sounds of plates clinking. Fu Yu Mountain Resort’s location was uniquely advantageous; besides being a scenic spot for summer retreats, it was mostly frequented by art students like Zhu Yangqi and Chen Xingqi who came to find inspiration.
Zhu Yangqi had been interested in aesthetics since childhood, but Chen Xingqi wasn’t. He purely wanted to get into a good university through art exams. His academic performance was poor, and he definitely couldn’t get in through regular studies, unlike his brother. After all, having such a brilliant brother puts pressure on anyone. Yesterday, he had a tantrum with his young tutor Zhu Yangqi, refusing to paint anymore, and impulsively throwing his brushes and drawing board down the mountain.
“I just said a couple of words to him. He’s half-hearted about painting, you know. He’d paint for a bit, then play with his phone for a while,” Zhu Yangqi seized the opportunity to complain to Chen Luzhou while Chen Xingqi was getting his buffet. “With his slapdash attitude, fishing for three days and drying nets for two, he might not even pass the provincial exam by senior year. If he can’t pass that, it’s all for nothing. He might as well go back to repeat a year without even taking the college entrance exam.”
Chen Luzhou wore a baseball cap, dressed in a loose T-shirt and sweatpants, the same as yesterday, unchanged, very casual and relaxed, clearly not groomed. This was because Madam Lian Hui had repeatedly instructed him that Chen Xingqi had a weak stomach and wouldn’t eat breakfast without supervision, so he must accompany him to eat breakfast.
Let’s face it, he was nothing but a full-fledged “three accompaniments” service.
Chen Luzhou picked up a piece of bread, a hot dog, and some lettuce leaves, placing them on his plate to make a sandwich for himself. Hearing this, he frowned and glanced at Zhu Yangqi, “He threw away the brushes and drawing board? What’s he going to use to paint for the next few days?”
“Who knows? I can’t teach him anymore,” Zhu Yangqi eyed his sandwich enviously and said, “Make one for me too.” Chen Luzhou ignored him, put down his plate, and was about to go scold Chen Xingqi, but Zhu Yangqi held him back, advising, “Hey, hey, hey, scolding a kid early in the morning is unlucky. Let the little boss finish his breakfast first. Going over now would be pointless. Wait until he comes to you, then you can scold him to death.”
“Do you know how much that set of art supplies I bought in Spain cost? I saved every penny, didn’t even buy the audio equipment I wanted most, to buy him that set of art supplies, and he just throws it away?”
Chen Luzhou felt he could spit blood from anger.
Zhu Yangqi finally realized, “Damn, that Faber-Castell set was real?”
“Of course, what did you think?”
“I thought you just bought it randomly on Taobao. I was just saying. There were only a few thousand sets, how did I know you could buy one,” Zhu Yangqi himself couldn’t afford to buy that Faber-Castell set. It wasn’t just expensive, people said it was artist-grade brushes. He felt his current level wasn’t up to par, and not worthy of using them. What right did that brat Chen Xingqi have? He wordlessly picked up a Western knife from the buffet table and handed it to Chen Luzhou, saying murderously, “Here, stab him to death.”
…
As Chen Xingqi sat down, he saw Chen Luzhou’s plate was empty and asked suspiciously, “Brother, aren’t you eating?”
Chen Luzhou wore his baseball cap, hadn’t shaved, his chin smooth and sharp but with some neglected light stubble. He leaned back, arms crossed, looking at Chen Xingqi with a sarcastic tone: “How dare I? You eat more.”
If he couldn’t hear the sarcasm in that, Chen Xingqi would have wasted all these years living with him. He turned to look at Zhu Yangqi’s gloating expression as he lowered his head to eat and understood that he must have tattled.
“He started it. That guy clearly can’t paint as well as me, but he insisted the other person painted better,” Chen Xingqi said.
Chen Luzhou looked at him coldly, “So you throw away the art supplies I gave you? You’re not good enough, but your competitive spirit is so strong?”
These words were harsh, especially for the sensitive Chen Xingqi. Even Zhu Yangqi couldn’t help but glance secretly. How to put it, Chen Luzhou usually showed various forms of disdain for his brother, but he rarely spoke so harshly to him, especially the word “not good enough.” Chen Luzhou might use it on anyone else, but never on Chen Xingqi. Because they all knew Chen Xingqi wasn’t smart, not just in studies, but in all aspects. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have tried to get into a good university through art exams, just not wanting to be too far behind his brother.
Chen Xingqi was stunned by his words. He couldn’t react immediately to his brother speaking to him like this. Was he on something? Zhu Yangqi started to smooth things over, “His color work is still okay.”
“No need for you to be the good guy here,” Chen Xingqi was ungrateful, then retaliated against Chen Luzhou, “Yes, I’m not good enough. You’re the best. You’re so great, but that sister still doesn’t like you.”
Chen Luzhou turned to look at Zhu Yangqi expressionlessly, sneering, “Can’t you keep your mouth shut? If not, I’ll pay someone to do it for you.”
Zhu Yangqi felt utterly wronged, “Damn, this isn’t because I have a big mouth. He sent me a WeChat message last night saying he heard someone shouting your name while doing fish therapy in the pond next door. That’s why I told him. I’m telling you, that bar really shouldn’t be visited. Once the microphone is on, the whole resort can hear. It’s good that not many people here know you, otherwise it would be so embarrassing.”
Chen Luzhou: “…”
Chen Xingqi, still nosy, asked: “Do you like that sister?”
“None of your business,” Chen Luzhou turned back, “We’re talking about your problem now. If you don’t want to study, say it early. We can go down the mountain and go our separate ways. I don’t have so much time to waste here with you.”
“You’re afraid of staying here and running into that sister, right? I’m not leaving. Anyway, I’ve thrown away my drawing board. I’m not painting. I’ll make you mad,” Chen Xingqi’s temper also flared up, taunting, “If I can’t submit my paintings when we go back, I’ll tell mom it’s because you scolded me, said I’m not good enough, can’t get into university anyway, so learning is useless. Why should I waste time?”
Zhu Yangqi couldn’t bear to listen anymore, “You’re going too far. Your brother never said those last words.”
“Fine, do as you please.” Chen Luzhou was truly angered, not wanting to say another word to him.
Just as he finished speaking, the wind chime at the restaurant door tinkled lightly, and two familiar figures pushed the door open. Zhu Yangqi noticed too, whispering in his ear, “Fate is not shallow, Young Master Chen. Your schedules seem to match.”
“Get lost.” Chen Luzhou coldly averted his eyes, looking out the window to avoid the irritation.
There wasn’t much to see. Fu Yu Mountain Resort’s beautiful scenery was all on the tea mountainside. This site had remnant mountains and leftover waters, overgrown with weeds, and a dilapidated public toilet. But he still put on a show of appreciating a world-famous painting, looking with great interest, because he had no intention of greeting her or initiating conversation.
Zhu Yangqi: “Looks like they’re coming towards us.”
Since she’s not interested in me, we don’t have to greet each other when we meet. We’re not that close, are we?
Zhu Yangqi incessantly teased Chen Luzhou: “What’s she holding in her hand? It couldn’t be a gift for you, could it?”
“Are you annoying on purpose?” Chen Luzhou turned back impatiently to glance at him, unable to bear it any longer.
The next second, Xu Zhi put something in front of Chen Luzhou, “Is this yours?”
It was the drawing board stand and brushes that Chen Xingqi had thrown down. Zhu Yangqi instinctively looked at Chen Xingqi, who was pouting high, looking upset that someone had picked it up. There you go, that’s what you get for bullying your brother. Our Sister Xu is the real deal.
“How did it end up with you?” Chen Luzhou finally looked up at her.
“Yingying, you say, I’m dying of thirst,” Xu Zhi had just come down from the tea mountain, and her throat was parched. She didn’t have time to explain to Chen Luzhou and went straight to the buffet area, “What do you want to drink? I’ll get it for you.”
“Just watermelon juice.” Cai Yingying said.
Both girls were dripping with sweat. Zhu Yangqi chimed in, “Did you two go work in the fields?”
“Uncle Fu took us to pick tea on the tea mountain this morning,” Cai Yingying said, fanning herself casually, “By the way, Chen Luzhou, aren’t you going there to take photos today?”
Chen Luzhou made an affirmative sound, then nodded at the pile of art supplies, “You found these on the tea mountain?”
“Yeah, a lot of people used to sketch on the mountain. It looked like yours and seemed pretty new, so we picked it up for you. We wanted to ask if you still want it. If not, don’t just throw it away, because there are a lot of people picking tea at the foot of the tea mountain.”
“We hadn’t even had time to go back yet and just happened to see you guys eating here, so we brought the stuff over,” Cai Yingying added.
Chen Luzhou glanced at Chen Xingqi, who was keeping his head down, but didn’t call him out this time, “I’ll go apologize to Manager Fu later.”
Xu Zhi came back with the watermelon juice. Hearing him say this, she sat down in the seat next to him, drinking watermelon juice while telling him: “That’s not necessary. Uncle Fu said he understands.”
The restaurant had a round table for six, but only five chairs, one of which might have been borrowed from another table.
Chen Luzhou: “What does he understand?”
Also, why are you sitting next to me?
Xu Zhi drank the refreshing watermelon juice, her throat like a dry sponge suddenly absorbing moisture, even her voice becoming sweet and clear: “He said, if he painted like that, he’d throw it away too.”
Zhu Yangqi: “…”
Chen Xingqi: “…”
Chen Xingqi left, walked halfway, then came back, grabbed the drawing board and brushes, and stormed out, slamming the door.
“Oh, it was your brother’s?” Cai Yingying looked at the retreating figure of the boy.
Xu Zhi also realized, turning back bewilderedly: “Ah, if I had known earlier, I wouldn’t have said that.”
Chen Luzhou glanced at her sideways, “Right, if it was mine, you’d just say whatever.”
The restaurant was getting busier now, with the sound of plates clanging all around. Xu Zhi was thinking about what to eat next when she heard him say this. She slowly glanced over at him,
“You’re an adult after all, can’t you handle this little setback?”
Chen Luzhou hadn’t expected Xu Zhi to suddenly look over. He reflexively tilted his head slightly to the side, lowered his cap brim further, leaned back in his chair, and shifted his feet a bit uncomfortably, clearing his throat.
Because at that moment when their eyes unexpectedly met, Chen Luzhou belatedly remembered—
He hadn’t shaved.