LRAPTC Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Art Exhibition (3)

Yu Zhuo’s art exhibition was later reported by the local media. Overnight, Yu Zhuo’s social media account gained many new followers, and the number of people visiting the exhibition also increased.

Yu Zhuo was not very active in China before. His account was more about sharing his daily life. Starting from his university days, recording life with photos became a habit for Yu Zhuo. He would update his account every few days, sometimes with landscapes, sometimes with food, and sometimes with the process of painting. Yu Zhuo rarely posted photos related to people.

There was only one time when Yu Zhuo exceptionally posted a nine-grid photo. It was during the winter season, and there was a heavy snowfall. He took a picture of the snowman he built, standing in the snow, smiling at the person outside the camera. The last photo was of a young man squatting in the snow. He was wearing a dark blue scarf, revealing a small half of his fair profile, next to a snowman that was not completely finished. Yu Zhuo captioned: “Today, I’m the photographer.”

Among the scattered comments, one was particularly eye-catching. Someone asked in Chinese: “Who is the handsome guy in the ninth picture?”

Yu Zhuo replied: “A friend.”

The person in that photo was Shen Jue. That winter, Shen Jue encountered the biggest snow he had ever seen in his life. The ground was covered with thick snow, and Yu Zhuo dragged him downstairs to build a snowman.

Yu Zhuo seemed very enthusiastic about building snowmen. He even took off his scarf and put it on the snowman. He encouraged Shen Jue to build one too. Once immersed in something, Shen Jue became particularly focused. His hands were frozen red, but he still carefully attached the two branches he had picked up to the sides of the snowman. Yu Zhuo took the opportunity to capture this moment.

Soon, someone discovered that the person in the photo was one of the protagonists of the recent same-sex wedding. Shen Jue didn’t understand how netizens could recognize him from that photo.

After that, people began to reveal online that they had seen Shen Jue and Ji Yuanan together in the exhibition hall on the opening day of the art exhibition, supposedly to support Shen Jue’s friend.

Among them, there was a candid photo that was widely circulated online. Shen Jue and Ji Yuanan were standing side by side, behind them was a rainbow-colored waterfall of flowers composed of different varieties, cascading down from the ceiling, coupled with a dark green lawn, it looked like another wedding scene.

Only the two of them were in the picture. Ji Yuanan was very satisfied. After saving the picture, he lingered on it for a long time. Shen Jue saw Ji Yuanan staring at his phone from afar. As he approached, Ji Yuanan quickly switched the screen as if to cover something up. Shen Jue only saw a fleeting blurred photo.

Shen Jue didn’t think too much about it. Instead, he told Ji Yuanan his intentions: “I’ll cook lunch today.”

Ji Yuanan’s expression became confused and surprised. Shen Jue thought for a moment and asked, “Do you have any preferences?”

Ji Yuanan said, “No.”

The answer was exactly what Shen Jue wanted. Since their last separation, Shen Wei had been taking a small amount of free time every day to improve his gaming skills, hoping to get revenge one day. So he began to pester Shen Jue, hoping to have another match with Ji Yuanan when he had time. Seeing his hopes dashed, Shen Wei then made a big demand, asking Shen Jue to cook him a meal himself, and he even specifically named a few dishes, without any politeness.

Compared to inviting Ji Yuanan, this request was obviously much simpler. Shen Jue agreed without thinking. In order to satisfy Shen Wei’s request, Shen Jue decided to practice on Ji Yuanan first.

Shen Jue went to the nearby supermarket to buy some necessary ingredients and put them in the refrigerator, sorting them by category. Ji Yuanan leaned against the door frame, watching Shen Jue busy and methodically cutting vegetables. He watched quietly for a while, until a subordinate called, and then he turned and left.

For this meal, Shen Jue was trying some dishes for the first time and wasn’t very confident. While eating, he silently paid attention to Ji Yuanan’s expression. After seeing that Ji Yuanan’s expression was normal, he secretly relaxed and began to plan a time to meet Shen Wei.

The two agreed to meet at Shen Wei’s rented apartment. On Monday evening, Shen Wei had already prepared the ingredients in advance. When he opened the door for Shen Jue, he poked his head out and looked around, reluctantly asking: “Ji-ge really didn’t come?”

Shen Jue had been in the door for a while. He finally believed that no miracle would happen. Ji Yuanan really didn’t come with Shen Jue today. Shen Wei was disappointed for a while, but then his attention was drawn to the aroma of the food Shen Jue brought out. He immediately threw his sadness behind him. He hurriedly washed his hands and sat obediently at the dining table, waiting for the meal to begin.

Shen Wei had an evening class at six o’clock. The two went downstairs together and found that it had started to drizzle outside. The rain started suddenly, and neither of them had expected it. Shen Jue looked at the pouring rain with empty hands. Shen Wei clutched the only umbrella he had just found in his room and said, “Brother, let me take you to the entrance of the community first.”

It seemed that was the only option. Shen Wei opened the umbrella and walked towards the gate with Shen Jue. When they reached the gate, Shen Wei was still unwilling to leave and insisted on waiting with Shen Jue until his taxi arrived. The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and the fine raindrops hit the road, splashing circles of ripples.

Shen Jue looked at the time and urged Shen Wei, “Hurry up and go, you’ll be late for your evening class later.”

“Then I’m leaving.” Shen Wei looked at Shen Jue and came up with an idea for him, “Brother, why don’t you call Ji-ge to pick you up?”

“You’ll really be late if you don’t go now.”

This time, Shen Wei really left. Shen Jue hid under the eaves to avoid the rain. The interface of the ride-hailing app showed that the car was expected to arrive in five minutes. A gust of wind blew in, and some raindrops were blown onto Shen Jue’s body, blurring into dark spots.

Perhaps because the road was slippery in the rain, the car was unusually slow. It was finally a full ten minutes late. Shen Jue was forced to stand in the cold wind for a long time, feeling his body gradually getting cold, until he got into the car and slowly recovered.

Shen Jue sent Shen Wei a message saying that he had already gotten into the car. The car started to drive slowly on the street and soon turned onto the cross-sea bridge. The rain showed no signs of weakening, and the whole sky was gray. Shen Jue looked out. The sea seemed to be covered with a layer of misty fog, and it would be easy to lose direction if one was not careful.

Back home, in just a few steps, Shen Jue was completely soaked. When he raised his hand to open the door, he experienced the feeling of the wet fabric clinging tightly to his skin, a sensation he would never forget, no matter how long it had been.

Shen Jue hated rainy days the most: cold, damp, they reminded him of some bad memories. The continuous drizzle seeped into his body little by little, and Shen Jue’s heart seemed to be experiencing a small-scale rainfall as well.

The next second, Ji Yuanan came to his side and covered his wet hair with a dry towel, gently wiping it. Ji Yuanan asked, “How did you get yourself so wet?”

There was no scolding, just an inquiry. Ji Yuanan was too gentle. Shen Jue lost all his language skills for a moment. Under Ji Yuanan’s gentle movements, he simply closed his eyes. The rain finally stopped.