40 The Painting

"Weimin-ge, I'm so happy to see you here." Zhou Bingbing smiled at Si Weimin as she held onto his arm, "I don't expect you to be here." She spoke demurely as she never let him get out of her touch. She made sure that her bosom was slightly touching his arm.

She was so happy to see him attend the art exhibit. When she arrived with Zhou Jiayin, she immediately asked her dad to enjoy inside. She left him as she looked for Paul Mcmillan and exchanged some pleasantries.

She knew that she had to endure just to see Si Weimin. She hated this kind of boring stuff but because of him, she decided to go. All she could think about was to act fast and looked for him. Since her dad was with her, she knew that Si Weimin would pay more attention to her.

She was overjoyed when she heard from her manager that Si Weimin would be on the guest list. She commended her, she knew that asking Wang Guo would be a punch in the moon, yet her manager was able to get the vital information.

She had been waiting for him as she decided to arrive early when she learned that he would be attending the art exhibit. The venue was filled with people that she knew from the inside and outside of the entertainment industry.

She specifically did her best to look stunning for Si Weimin, admiring gazes were thrown her way as the people who attended couldn't help but admire her beauty. She smiled at them as all the flattery reached her ears.

She was talking to Director Han about the movie, Sweet Memories, trying to know more about Si Weimin's involvement in the film. She was seething with anger but managed to hide her feelings. Then, she saw Si Weimin walking towards a painting. Like a girl who saw her favorite candy, she immediately said goodbye to Director Han and went directly in his way.

With feet as fast as lightning, she approached him.

"Weimin-ge, did you like the painting? This looks very interesting." Zhou Bingbing said as she pretended to have interest in the art.

Instead of answering, Si Weimin shrugged his arm that Zhou Bingbing was holding. Upon getting his arm free, he ran his hand on his face before he faced her – giving her his nonchalant gaze. The indifference from his gaze made Zhou Bingbing feel fretful.

She pouted her lips and held him again as she said, "Weimin-ge, why are you so peevish when talking to me?" She looked pitiful as she tightened her grasp on him, casting sideway glances to her surroundings.

Si Weimin ignored her as he shrugged her off and walked away. The annoyance was clearly shown on his face.

'Why are you so cold to me?' Zhou Bingbing fumed inside as she scurried forward to follow him.

Xu Jia Li was walking around the venue when she was stopped by Paul McMillan. She smiled and hugged him, surprised to see him have time to talk to her.

"Dearest Jia Li! You look even more stunning than the last time I saw you."

"This isn't flattery. This is pure honesty being able to have my humble exhibit to be graced by you, my goddess." Paul McMillan held her right hand as he slowly raised it to his lips.

"Paul, you never changed." Xu Jia Li chuckled as she rolled her eyes at him.

"It's been long. I was really surprised when I heard you will be attending."

"It's called support to a friend Paul."

Xu Jia Li laughed as Paul playfully held her hand on his chest. She couldn't help but smile as she was reminded of how the two of them met.

They met during university days, where they were both competing in painting. Xu Jia Li won against him and since then, he had become one of her fans.

They shared the passion for painting but Xu Jia Li had always been aloof, so they really never had that close relationship. Paul McMillan knew that she boxed herself in , trying to avoid people from getting close to her.

Xu Jia Li immediately said goodbye to Paul McMillan when she saw the face she had been waiting to see. She pretended to look around the other paintings as she walked towards the person.

With heart beating faster than ever, the pain suddenly made her heart ached. The old memories of her mom came flooding back in her head. The person who she hated was finally there.

"Zhou Jiayin..." she whispered as she gritted her teeth. She closed her hands which made the knuckles on her hand turned white.

Zhou Jiayin was standing in front of the painting she had made simply for this moment. When she heard about Paul McMillan planning for an art exhibit, she spent the nights painting.

She told Paul to invite the Zhous because she was dying to see Ye Lingling and Zhou Jiayin's reaction when they saw her mother painted in her canvas as if she was still alive.

She knew that Paul was Zhou Bingbing's friend, she knew that woman didn't like art exhibits. She never attended even once, her parents usually attended on her behalf. In addition to that, Ye Lingling was a lover of painting and other arts.

She knew that Zhou Jiayin and Ye Lingling would attend on her stead so she asked Shen Linqin to tell Paul McMillan to place her painting on his art exhibit which the latter agreed to.

She immediately got white wine from the waiter walking around carrying different drinks. Trying to act unmindful of her surroundings, she sipped and pretended to look around, trying to make people see that she was having a good time.

She approached Zhou Jiayin, she couldn't help feel anger towards him. She gazed at him intensely as she grasped all that she could remember of him.

He was tall, his physique was still dazzling. He was still handsome despite his age. She suddenly remembered him from the picture he had with Xu Huifen/Yang Yi Fei.

She glared at him, blaming him of her mother's death. There, she saw how his eyes grew big from looking at the painting as if he had seen a ghost. His broad shoulder shrunk as if a big boulder was put on his back.

His head was sweating profusely, his hands closed into a fist as his gaze never left the painting. His brows formed a valley over his nose as he was frowning so deep. She saw him tremble in a fraction of minute as he tried to remain calm and cool.

She sneered inside as she said, "Doesn't this painting look so alive?"