Boyfriend material

Song Zhiran suspected nothing and handed Yu Qingchuan's painting to Professor Kong.

Professor Kong taught in Studio One of the oil painting department. He was one of the leading figures in China's classicist school and a master's supervisor. Many of his works were held in art museums across the country, and one had even sold at auction for over six million.

His eyes lit up when he saw the oil painting Song Zhiran handed him. "This painting has real spirit, and such intense emotion. You can tell the artist hasn't had much formal training and worked entirely by instinct, but he's very talented. I haven't seen this student's work before. Who is he?"

"It's Yu Qingchuan, Professor. He hasn't attended many classes before, so you don't know him."

Professor Kong knew a student had been admitted to their oil painting department through connections, but he was only there to teach oil painting. He did not concern himself with matters like that.

He lowered his eyes and studied the dreamlike, exquisitely beautiful portrait of the Eight-Winged Holy Angel, feeling that something did not add up. If this really was his work, a student who took painting so seriously should not have stayed away from class.

Professor Kong could even sense a kind of devotion in the painting. Its artist truly loved to paint.

He wanted to meet this student.

He did not want a promising young talent in romanticism to go undiscovered.

The student adviser, Li Chengze, was a distant relative of Su Ningyue's. When Yu Chenyi had entrusted Yu Qingchuan's enrollment to Su Ningyue, she had sent him straight here, where he would also be easier to manage.

Su Ningyue had given him a large sum of money at the time and said little else, only that she cared about Yu Qingchuan and wanted Li Chengze to keep her informed of how he was doing at school. Li Chengze knew being a stepmother was not easy for his distant older cousin, so he was happy to report back to her.

Now he called Su Ningyue and told her that Yu Qingchuan had submitted an exceptionally beautiful oil painting.

Su Ningyue froze for a moment. Her first instinct was to wonder whether Yu Qingchuan had hired an artist to paint for him again.

It was hardly surprising she thought that way, given what Yu Chenyi had told her.

After finalizing the partnership with the Xingyi Group, Yu Chenyi had come home in a very good mood. Feeling threatened, Su Ningyue had naturally probed him about it.

Yu Chenyi had said at the time, "Qingchuan may not be particularly capable, but he's fairly quick-witted. He hired an artist to paint something for Liang Xingyao, and it caught his eye. That sealed the deal."

Su Ningyue had bought Yu Qingchuan plenty of paints, drawing boards, and canvases. When the mood struck, he would sometimes daub a few strokes onto them. She knew his skill level-it was no different from a small child's.

That had also been her reason for placing him in the oil painting department: to gradually wear down his resolve.

So when Yu Chenyi said that, she believed him and concluded that Yu Qingchuan had found a skilled artist.

Now, hearing Li Chengze bring it up, she instinctively assumed Yu Qingchuan had come to an arrangement with that artist. He wanted to use this to build momentum and improve his reputation so he could fight them for the family assets.

Su Ningyue's heart tightened, and she immediately said, "He didn't paint that himself. He hired an artist to do it for him. Report that to the department and don't send his work to the exhibition. Otherwise, when the truth comes out, it'll disgrace your oil painting department."

Li Chengze knew what Yu Qingchuan was like, too. This Eldest Young Master had once been utterly ignorant and unskilled. Hearing that he had hired someone to paint for him only deepened Li Chengze's dislike. He said at once, "All right, understood. I'll speak to Professor Kong and have the painting withdrawn."

The school's reputation was at stake in this competition. How could someone who hired another artist to do his work be selected?

"Sorry for the trouble. I'll have a word with Qingchuan later, too. It's one thing to lack ability, but quite another to be dishonest."

After their conversation ended, Li Chengze returned to the office. Professor Kong had already made a preliminary selection of several paintings with outstanding technique and was reviewing them again. Seeing Yu Qingchuan's painting among them, Li Chengze went over and said quietly, "Professor, this painting can't be shortlisted. I've just learned that he hired an artist to paint it for him. If that gets exposed later, it'll turn very ugly and damage the school's reputation."

Professor Kong's brow furrowed. A painter needed a pure heart; otherwise, every stroke on the canvas would reveal it, leaving the work merely mechanical. Yet judging the artist by the painting, its creator clearly had a pure heart. Why would someone like that agree to paint for another person?

"Is your information reliable?" Professor Kong asked.

Li Chengze nodded. "Yes. I can still find his old paintings. His skill level was completely different, and Yu Qingchuan has barely attended any classes. There's no way he could have improved so dramatically in just one month."

Professor Kong sighed and pulled out the angel portrait. "All right, then. This painting won't be selected."

"I'm sorry, Professor Kong. I failed to keep my student in line. I'll be more careful."

Listening to their conversation, Song Zhiran recalled the bright, clear look in Yu Qingchuan's eyes as he had approached him earlier with the painting in his arms. He could hardly believe Yu Qingchuan had hired someone else to paint it.

But when he thought back, Yu Qingchuan's painting skills had indeed been virtually nonexistent. He could only sigh. Young masters from wealthy families were far too willful. How could he treat such an important competition as a game?

Professor Kong spent a full two hours selecting ten works to represent the school in the competition. He also reviewed them with other professors, and only after confirming everything was in order did he gather them up and hand them back to Li Chengze and Song Zhiran.

As for the rejected paintings, Song Zhiran would post a message in the group chat telling their owners to collect them.

After they left the office, Li Chengze told Song Zhiran, "When Yu Qingchuan comes to collect his painting, don't expose him. He might refuse to admit it and cause a scene."

Song Zhiran nodded. "Understood, sir."

Yu Qingchuan had lunch out with Lu Shiyi that day. Lu Shiyi could now eat foods other than nutritional supplements, though he still had to keep his diet light and avoid eating too much.

Lu Shiyi drove him to a private dining restaurant whose specialty was medicinal congee. It tasted surprisingly good.

Yu Qingchuan drank two large bowls and ate some of the signature dishes, his eyes narrowing in satisfaction.

Lu Shiyi ate little, but simply watching Yu Qingchuan eat made him happy. Once they finished, he had dessert brought out.

The dessert looked like a work of art. It was so beautiful and intricate that Yu Qingchuan could hardly bear to touch it with his spoon.

"We'll get another one to take home later, so you can admire it at your leisure." Lu Shiyi chuckled. "Qingchuan, could you feed me a bite?"

That deep, resonant voice sent a jolt through Yu Qingchuan, making his ears tingle. He hurriedly said, "Of course."

Then he scooped up a piece and lifted it to Lu Shiyi's lips.

Lu Shiyi parted his lips slightly, took the spoon into his mouth, and ate the dessert.

It was a perfectly ordinary action, yet when Lu Shiyi did it, it became impossibly suggestive, as though a male fox spirit had come down from the mountains to lead an innocent young scholar astray.

Yu Qingchuan stared, thinking, Good thing Lu Shiyi knows Muay Thai-and is a top-level expert, at that. Otherwise, someone might have devoured him whole long ago.

Satisfied at the sight of Yu Qingchuan blushing furiously from his teasing, Lu Shiyi could not help smiling again. "Thank you, Qingchuan. That was delicious."

When Yu Qingchuan was with Lu Shiyi, he often felt as though he could not even keep his breathing steady. At those words, he instinctively drew the spoon back and put it in his own mouth. When he realized what he had done, he was so embarrassed he wanted to disappear into a crack in the ground.

But Lu Shiyi did not laugh at him, which helped him feel a little more at ease.

Remembering the painting he had submitted, Yu Qingchuan grew a little nervous. "I wonder if I'll be selected."

Lu Shiyi reassured him. "Have a little confidence, Qingchuan. You'll be fine."

Yet his fears came true. Not long after they finished eating, a new message appeared in the class group chat.

It was from the class representative, Song Zhiran. He tagged the artists whose works had been selected one by one and wrote: Guys, Professor Kong has chosen the ten shortlisted paintings! They'll be delivered to Professor Chen this afternoon. Thanks for taking part so enthusiastically. We're definitely going to beat Q University next door! Those who weren't selected, don't be discouraged. You'll have more chances to represent the school in the future. You can come and collect your paintings from me now.

Yu Qingchuan carefully checked the people tagged. He was not among them.

His heart kept sinking. He felt lost and deeply dejected. The painting he had worked so hard on for so long had not been selected.

Was he really not talented enough? Was that why the professors had passed him over?

"Qingchuan, look at me." Lu Shiyi held his hand and soothed him gently. "It won't be a problem with you. You can ask your class representative for photos of the selected paintings and compare them. We'll analyze them together."

Fortunately, someone else in the group had the same question and asked Song Zhiran to post the shortlisted paintings.

The decision was final now, and Song Zhiran had taken photos of all of them. Seeing the reply, he posted the pictures.

Yu Qingchuan looked through them one by one.

Students who could get into Z University were naturally no ordinary talents. Besides their gifts, many had studied painting since childhood and had very solid fundamentals. These ten works were indeed convincing, some classical and others romantic. It was clear that Professor Kong had chosen them with great care.

So after seeing the photos, the other students had no objections.

Except for Lu Shiyi. He had not studied oil painting in depth, and this was not merely personal bias. He genuinely felt that Yu Qingchuan's painting skills should have placed him among the stronger candidates.

Yu Qingchuan already lacked confidence, and seeing how excellent their paintings were only made him feel even more certain he had little talent. His pretty face dimmed.

Lu Shiyi drew him into his arms and comforted him. "Don't worry. I'm here."

Lu Shiyi immediately began asking his contacts to reach Professor Kong. Yu Qingchuan was a student in the oil painting department, after all. He could certainly ask Professor Kong to point out where his painting fell short and how he could improve.

His connections were extensive. In less than an hour, he had obtained Professor Kong's phone number.

He called him directly.

Professor Kong answered, sounding puzzled. "Hello, who is this?"

"Hello, Professor Kong. I'm Lu Shiyi from Xingyi, and I'm also Yu Qingchuan's... guardian," Lu Shiyi replied. "I've been following the competition between the oil painting departments of Z University and Q University these past few days. Our boy put a great deal of care into his painting, but unfortunately, he wasn't selected to represent the school. Would you be willing to offer some guidance on where it fell short?"

When Lu Shiyi called him their boy, Yu Qingchuan's heart trembled. Those words sounded so wonderful!

But Professor Kong's voice turned cold. He had wanted to hang up immediately, yet even though he was not part of the financial world, he had heard of Lu Shiyi, an exceptionally capable man. So he explained the reason. "Are you certain he painted it himself?"

Lu Shiyi's phone was on speaker, so Yu Qingchuan could hear Professor Kong as well. At that question, he instantly grew agitated. How could it not be my own work?

Lu Shiyi quickly stroked his back, signaling him to stay calm. "It seems you do approve of the painting, Professor Kong. To be perfectly honest, I watched Yu Qingchuan paint it. The holy angel in the painting was even modeled after me. If you don't believe me, it's easy enough to prove. He can simply paint it again in front of you."

Hearing Lu Shiyi's firm tone, Professor Kong began to question the claim as well. After all, there would be no opportunity to cheat while painting right in front of him.

Besides, his first reaction upon seeing the painting had been to want to meet the student who painted it. He always did everything he could to nurture talented students.

So he said, "Then come to my office. I have no classes this afternoon."