CH 31.2

Chapter 31.2 – Away from the Haze

Zhuge Yu was one of the bosses of Freewheeling. He recently had an exchange meeting at the Academy of Arts in Shanghai. Just after the meeting, he went to Freewheeling to have a look. As soon as he opened the door of the store, Zhuge Yu saw the young man he had seen in the hospital park that day.

The young man looked a lot healthier than before. Although he was still thin and weak, at least his face was ruddy now, not as pale and sick as before.

The clerk saw Zhuge Yu coming in and was about to greet Zhuge Yu. Zhuge Yu motioned to the clerk not to speak out, and instead walked in the direction of Chen Li and Wei Chen.

Chen Li was obsessed with the paintings on the wall and didn’t notice Zhuge Yu’s approach. Wei Chen discovered Zhuge Yu first, and greeted Zhuge Yu softly with a paralyzed face, “Mr. Zhuge.”

Zhuge Yu nodded to Wei Chen, but his gaze fell on Chen Li, observing Chen Li’s expression openly.

Coincidentally, the painting called “The Setting Sun” that Chen Li was looking at now was from Zhuge Yu’s hand.

In the painting, the setting sun spread like blood. A round of blood-red sun had fallen on the mountainside, and there seemed to be a little darkness in the distance, making people know that night was coming.

When Wei Chen saw this painting, he unconsciously thought of “The sunset is infinitely beautiful, but it’s almost dusk.” This line made him sigh with emotion.

And this was also the feeling that most people thought “The Setting Sun” wanted to express.

Just as Zhuge Yu was observing Chen Li, Chen Li suddenly burst into tears. Wei Chen was the first person to notice Chen Li’s tears. He was a little anxious. He took Chen Li’s hand and asked anxiously, “What’s the matter? Are your eyes uncomfortable after watching the painting for a long time?”

Chen Li didn’t respond, his gaze still fell on “The Setting Sun”, the tears flowed more and more fiercely, as if the sadness in his eyes would overflow in the next moment.

Chen Li’s sudden crying made Wei Chen a little at a loss, but he didn’t forget to gently wipe away the tears on Chen Li’s face, his heart was full of worry.

“Don’t worry,” Zhuge Yu spoke, “He was just infected by the emotions of the painting.” Zhuge Yu’s face was light, but he couldn’t help but feel shocked in his heart. Everyone else thought that this “The Setting Sun” was his lament for the old people about the passing of time. Only the thin young man in front of him could see the sadness buried in his heart.

This painting was made late on the day when his wife died. The so-called sunset was a reflection of his state of mind at that time.

The departure of his wife was a very sad thing for him. It was almost dusk. Would it be far from the night? She took away all the light in his life, and the night would soon come, but he was full of sorrow, but willing to indulge in the night.

Zhuge Yu didn’t know how Chen Li could see the deep emotions in his painting, but Zhuge Yu could be sure that this young man had very sensitive nerves, and he could capture the deepest emotions in the painting.

Thinking of this, Zhuge Yu’s gaze couldn’t help but brighten a bit. He thought of seeing the young man’s painting at the entrance of the hospital that day. If the young man could use these emotions in his paintings, then the young man’s paintings would surely shock the entire world of painting and calligraphy!

Thinking of this, Zhuge Yu’s gaze at Chen Li became a bit hotter. It just so happened that Chen Li had just recovered from “The Setting Sun” and suddenly found a person looking at him like this, even a normal person would be startled, let alone Chen Li who was afraid of people. Chen Li’s reaction was more direct. He immediately shrank into Wei Chen’s arms in fear and lowered his head to look at his toes.

Wei Chen put his arms around Chen Li, stroked Chen Li’s back, and comforted Chen Li, but his gaze passed coldly to Zhuge Yu.

Zhuge Yu innocently raised his hand and took a few steps back, he was now sure that the young man was suffering from a psychological disorder.

After Zhuge Yu retreated to a safe distance, Wei Chen also calmed Chen Li and led Chen Li to continue looking at the paintings.

Zhuge Yu didn’t bother them and just observed Chen Li’s expression from a distance, and finally became more sure of his conclusion – this young man’s perceptual ability was really very strong!

……

Time passed in a flash, and the sun set in a blink of an eye. Chen Li still wanted to continue looking. Wei Chen took into account Chen Li’s body and coaxed Chen Li to buy painting materials.

Chen Li was very obedient to Wei Chen’s words. After listening to Wei Chen’s explanation that he would continue to bring him over tomorrow, he obediently let Wei Chen lead him to the shelf to choose materials. Chen Li really liked painting materials, as if he had to try all kinds of painting materials. When he came to one kind of painting material, he stood still and looked at Wei Chen without saying a word.

“Okay, let’s buy this,” Wei Chen said gently.

After taking a few steps, Chen Li stood still again and looked at Wei Chen.

“Okay,” Wei Chen nodded.

After a few more steps, Chen Li stood still again, staring at Wei Chen with wide eyes.

“No problem.”

……

And so, when Wei Chen and Chen Li went to the checkout, they almost had all kinds of the same set of painting materials.

All the materials used were the best materials, and the price was naturally not cheap, but when Wei Chen went to check out, he handed over the card in his hand without blinking.

The cashier didn’t take the card in Wei Chen’s hand, but said, “Hello sir, our boss said that you can just take whatever the gentleman likes, it’s an apology gift for disturbing the gentleman just now. “

Wei Chen withdrew his bank card expressionlessly and said, “Say thank you to your boss for me.”

The clerk handed over the packed materials, “Okay sir, please take care, and you’re welcome to visit again next time.”

Wei Chen carried the materials in one hand and took Chen Li’s hand in another hand, and went out of the shop.

Although the clerk had already thanked the man on his behalf, after Wei Chen got into the car, he found the business card Zhuge Yu gave him that day and sent a text message according to the mobile phone number on it.

It didn’t take long for Zhuge Yu to reply – [It was me who disturbed him first, I would like to thank you for not pursuing it. I hope you can protect that young man and keep him away from the haze.] As a well-known painter in the contemporary world, Zhuge Yu’s eyesight was naturally extraordinary. After seeing Chen Li’s painting in the hospital that day, he could see Chen Li’s state of mind from the painting. He mentioned this also because he was distressed for the talented young man.

Wei Chen did not reply. When he put away his mobile phone, he glanced at Chen Li, who was sitting in the passenger seat in a daze, with a soft smile in his eyes.

Wei Chen wasn’t sure if he could be the sunshine of Chen Li’s world, but he would do his best to drive away the darkness that surrounded him.

……

After leaving the city square, Wei Chen took Chen Li to a quiet restaurant by car. He didn’t know what Chen Li liked to eat, so he took it upon himself to order a few light but nutritious dishes.

Chen Li was not a picky eater, or it could be said that compared with what Chen Li ate before, no matter what Wei Chen ordered now, they were all delicacies of the mountains and seas to him. So after knowing that Wei Chen would be next to him, Chen Li ate the food in front of him with peace of mind. Obviously, he didn’t eat in a hurry, but the food decreased quickly, and in the end, there was nothing left.

Chen Li, who had finished dinner, still looked sluggish. After Wei Chen led him to the checkout, so as not to make Chen Li’s stomach feel heavy, he took him for a walk for half an hour to consume food, and then took Chen Li to Wei’s house.

Wei Chen could not have imagined that when he returned to Wei’s house this time, there were a few more people in the house that he didn’t want to see.