Chapter 642 Camellia

Ning Li, “…”

Lu Huaiyu went closer to her and looked at her with a smile. “Hmm?”

“What you said makes sense,” Ning Li took a step back and said in seriousness, “So we’ll talk about it at another time when we have the chance.”

…

In the afternoon, Ning Li went to the First Affiliated Hospital.

Mei Yanqing had recovered well after his surgery and would be discharged after a short period of rest.

Ning Li sat by the bed and patiently advised him.

“I heard that you’ve been losing your temper a lot lately.”

Mei Yanqing’s neck tensed. “When have I been doing that?”

Ning Li looked at him expressionlessly.

Mei Yanqing immediately quieted down. His lips moved as he muttered softly, “I… I’m just a little louder and more straightforward. I’ve been like this for so many years, so it doesn’t count as scolding people… Besides, if they didn’t always make me angry, would I have done that?”

Ning Li said, “Then you have to learn to adjust and control yourself.”

Mei Yanqing stifled his frustration. He met her gaze and swallowed his words.

“… Oh, I’ll try my best then.”

Ning Li nodded, but she actually did not quite believe him.

Mei Yanqing had said this too many times, but it was always forgotten the moment he finished saying it.

This was his temper for life, and it was something he could not change.

She did not really expect him to change. She just wanted to remind him from time to time to control his emotions.

Seeing her like this, Mei Yanqing felt that he should quickly change the topic. He covered his chest with one hand.

“Oh no, my wound is hurting again… But don’t worry, Ah Li, I will endure it until it pa.s.ses. I’ll be fine…”

Ning Li looked at him indifferently.

“Yes. After all, it was your stomach that was operated on. Your heart should be fine.”

Mei Yanqing, “…”

He silently withdrew his hand.

Yu Pingchuan, who was beside him, turned his head with a complicated expression. He could not bear to watch this!

Ning Li, on the other hand, nodded again. Her expression relaxed a little.

“It seems that you have indeed recovered well.”

He was even in the right frame of mind to try and fool people.

Mei Yanqing, “…”

He gave Yu Pingchuan a look as if to say, ‘What are you standing there for?! Why aren’t you coming over to help me!’

Yu Pingchuan silently chanted in his heart three times, ‘This is my master. I can’t just stand by and watch him die.’ Only then did he finally speak up. “Oh right, Ah Li, how have things been at the Arts a.s.sociation recently?”

Ning Li knew that the two of them were changing the topic, so she did not expose them.

She nodded. “It’s been fine, not very busy.” Yu Pingchuan heaved a sigh of relief. Mei Yanqing also chuckled. “That’s good, that’s good. I know that Ah Li never makes mistakes when she does things. Ah Li has worked hard–“

Ning Li looked at him. How could she not see that he was still trying to slack off?

“So it’s better for you to get better as soon as possible, don’t you think so?” Mei Yanqing pressed his fist against his lips.

“Cough! I’ll try… try my best!”

Ning Li nodded.

“Then I’ll take that as a promise. When you’re better later, I’ll make a trip back to the Arts a.s.sociation.”

Mei Yanqing, “… Oh.”

The next day was Sunday. Wei Songze had invited Ning Li to look at some paintings at the Xijing Art School.

It was not to look at his.

Xijing Art School was holding a themed art exhibition called “The Return of Dreams.” The selected works were the works of students who had already graduated from the academy.

Naturally, as the top art academy in the country, the students from Xijing Art School were extraordinary.

In addition to paintings, the works on display in this art exhibition, which included sculptures, attracted a lot of people.

The exhibition would be running for three days. Since Wei Songze figured that Ning Li had no cla.s.ses on Sunday, he had specially invited her over. When Ning Li arrived at the Xijing Art School, it was ten o’clock in the morning.

Outside the main entrance of the exhibition hall, many people had already gathered. The place looked very lively. However, everyone tacitly maintained their silence as they queued up to enter the hall.

“Sister Li, the sculptures are displayed on the first floor while the paintings are on the second floor.”

Wei Songze walked in front of Ning Li and whispered, “There’s a lot of s.p.a.ce inside. I heard that one of Teacher w.a.n.g Yan’s paintings has also been included in this exhibition.”

Ning Li smiled. “Is that so? Then it seems that the time span for the selected works is quite large.”

Wei Songze chuckled. “I’ll definitely have to go and admire Teacher w.a.n.g Yan’s work from his university days later!”

They soon reached the head of the line, and the two of them entered.

As Wei Songze had said, the s.p.a.ce for this exhibition was indeed large.

Everyone had lined up to enter. There had originally been quite a number of people, but after they entered the building, they quickly dispersed.

The whole hall still seemed quite empty.

Wei Songze asked in a low voice, “Sister Li, I plan to go to the second floor first. What about

you?”

Ning Li felt that the sculptures on the first floor were quite interesting, so she planned to stay here for a while and only go up after she had seen enough.

Wei Songze went up the stairs alone.

Ning Li slowly walked around the first floor alone.

Occasionally, someone recognized her and looked over at her.

However, because they were in the exhibition hall, everyone followed the rules and remained quiet.

Most of them only stared at her or whispered to their friends. No one approached her to talk.

Ning Li was happy to have some peace and quiet. She looked at the sculptures on the first floor for an hour before she went up the stairs to the second floor.

The second floor was full of paintings, but it had been divided into many small sections.

Ning Li went to the traditional Chinese painting area first.

In comparison, there were more people on the first floor than on the second floor. On the second floor, there were more people in the section displaying the oil paintings rather than the traditional Chinese painting section.

In comparison, it was rather quiet here.

Ning Li was able to look at everything more casually as she walked along and looked at everything

She came to a small square exhibition hall and turned to enter.

There were a total of eight Chinese paintings hanging here with the theme of flowers.

Starting from the left-hand side, the first one she came to was a peony.

After that, there were plum blossoms, lotus flowers, and so on.

Suddenly, she stopped in front of the fourth painting

The red camellia flowers were in full bloom, with dark inky branches and the leaves showed a hint of rich emerald green. The hot and cold colors complemented each other and glowed with vigorous vitality. The red color of the petals went from light to deep, gradually becoming more intense and flamboyant.

When Ning Li looked at the painting, the first thing she felt was that it was lively and joyful.

There were very few paintings that gave her such a feeling

She did not know whether it was because the petals cascaded out in layers, or because the color was intense and bright.

In short, it was a very subtle feeling.

At just a glance, she seemed to be able to clearly sense the joyful mood of the painter when he had painted this painting.

Ning Li stared at it for a long time.

She did not pay attention to the sound of footsteps approaching. Until a clear voice came from behind her.

“Do you like this painting very much?” Ning Li was stunned and turned back to look.

The person who had come was actually Shen Zhijin.

“Teacher Shen?”

She was a little surprised. She had not expected to see Shen Zhijin here.

He did not seem to have the kind of personality of someone who would come to such a place…

Shen Zhijin’s gaze fell on the painting behind her. His handsome and clear eyes became a little warm.

She came back to her senses and nodded.

“I do like it.”

She noticed Shen Zhijin’s eyes and asked tentatively, “Do you… like this painting too?”

Shen Zhijin nodded slightly and paused for a moment before saying, “This is my wife’s painting.”

Ning Li’s eyes widened slightly and she turned her head to look. As expected, she saw the sign next to the painting which introduced the artist.

“Mountain Tea”

–Gu Tingyin.