They ate dinner together, but didn't talk much about painting. After all, they'd already covered everything in the past ten days or so. Now, all they could do was eat and drink well, conserve their energy, and be fully prepared for the painting session.
Wei Dong, with a sly look, watched Ke Xun lead Mu Yiran into the room, and said to the person next to him, "Do you think the big boss will really be won over by that kid Ke'er?"
After waiting for a while with no response, he turned around and saw that Zhu Haowen had already left.
Ke Xun curled up on the sofa in front of the French windows, watching the city night rain illuminated by neon lights.
Mu Yiran sat opposite him, working on his phone.
The room was dark, the neon lights and the light from his phone reflecting off his face.
Handsome, Ke Xun thought to himself.
He took out his phone, logged into Weibo, and posted a message: "
Corgi Has a Human: Admiring His Looks is Like Taking Drugs, You'll Know Once You Do."
Three comments quickly appeared.
"Crossing the ocean to see you": A fan reporting in, asking for photos and medicine. "
Two dogs barking": Fans don't compete for spring, they only announce its arrival. "
Did my idol marry me today?": A beaming auntie smile when the chrysanthemums bloom.
Ke Xun: "..."
Looking at the follower count, he was stunned to find it had surpassed 30,000. He
then opened hundreds of unread private messages, reading dozens before finally figuring out the reason.
It turned out that the "pretty boy locator" he had blocked had been promoting Zhang Hanrui's Weibo post with his photo everywhere, which was then reposted by a marketing account with the title "Those ordinary handsome guys photographed on the street," and the middle picture in the nine-grid image was him.
Below this Weibo post, the comment from "Pretty Boy Locator" topped the list with the most likes. It read: "The guy in the fifth picture has the Weibo ID @CorgiHasAPoopOwner. He's so cute and adorable~~ [Flirting][Drooling]"
Ke Xun: "..."
Looking back at the Weibo post he had just made, the number of comments had already exceeded a hundred...
The comment with the most likes was simple and blunt: "No photos, what are you talking about?"
Ke Xun: "..."
Mu Yiran didn't put down her phone until after nine o'clock. Looking up, she saw Ke Xun already asleep on the sofa opposite her, and couldn't help but pick up her phone again to check the time.
...Sleepy at nine o'clock? Is this a three-year-old's biological clock?
"Ke Xun, go to bed." Ke Xun
paused, opened his eyes, looking blank, like a child who couldn't find his home or parents.
Mu Yiran felt a softening in her heart.
"Didn't you sleep well last night?" she asked, getting up to turn on the bedside lamp.
The warm yellow light suddenly cast an ambiguous atmosphere over the exquisitely decorated room. Ke Xun snapped out of his reverie, his thoughts scattering like a flock of startled sparrows.
"Hmm." Ke Xun stood up from the sofa and scratched his head.
"What's wrong?" Mu Yiran asked.
Ke Xun licked his lips and looked up at him: "I was so excited to see you today that I couldn't sleep all night."
Mu Yiran met his gaze for a moment, then slightly moved his chin: "Come here."
Ke Xun's heart pounded. He slowly walked over, wondering whether to put his arm around his waist, hug his shoulders, or simply cup his face in his hands. Just as he was about to fill in all the options, the boss reached out a hand, ruffled his hair, and said: "Then go to sleep early and get enough rest for the painting."
Ke Xun: "Okay." ...I might really be a corgi.
The night rain fell softly, and everyone slept peacefully as usual.
The rain continued the next day. The group had breakfast at the hotel restaurant and then returned to Ke Xun and Mu Yiran's room to make final preparations for the art exhibition.
This mainly involved collecting more paintings by the sixteen artists whose works would be exhibited at the Water Flower Art Museum that day.
Midway through, Ke Xun received a call from Li Yaqing. This girl had also arrived in E City the day before and said she was staying at a youth hostel. Ke Xun gave her the address of the Crystal Swan Hotel and asked her to come and meet the group so they could go to the art museum together in the afternoon.
Half an hour later, Li Yaqing knocked on the door, followed by a young man of similar age, wearing black-rimmed glasses, thin and with a strong student-like air.
"And this is?" Ke Xun raised an eyebrow.
"My boyfriend..." Li Yaqing's eyes were still red. This girl called Ke Xun almost every day crying, and it seemed she had cried again on the way here.
Li Yaqing was about to go inside when Ke Xun blocked her way with his long legs, looking at her expressionlessly: "Why did you bring him here?"
Tears welled up in Li Yaqing's eyes again: "He insisted on coming with me..."
Ke Xun suddenly flared up, grabbing Li Yaqing and dragging her into the room, slamming the door shut and leaving her boyfriend out.
"Are you out of your mind?!" Ke Xun frowned at Li Yaqing, "Once you enter the painting, unless you die inside, you'll have to keep entering the next one—we've told you this before, why did you bring your boyfriend in?! You're just hurting him!"
"I can't help it…" Li Yaqing cried, "I thought… I might die this time… so I wanted to leave a will for my family… but he found it, and he asked me what happened… He… he's so smart… he doesn't believe me when I lie… I'm coming to E City, and he wants to come with me… he said whatever I want to do, he'll be with me… I can't dissuade him…"
Wei Dong, overhearing this, was speechless: "Your boyfriend doesn't think you've been tricked into a pyramid scheme, does he?"
Ke Xun thought about the look the kid had given him earlier, full of defensiveness and hostility, and couldn't help but sigh: "He probably thinks so."
Just then, the kid's voice came calmly from outside the door: "I'm a policeman…" "I'm telling you, release him immediately! I've already called the police and notified hotel security."
Ke Xun opened the door, grabbed the boy by the collar, dragged him inside, slammed the door shut, and shoved him forward: "Dr. Qin, it's all yours now."
Qin Ci stood up, took out his identification from his bag, and handed it to Li Yaqing's boyfriend: "Hello, I'm a doctor at the First Hospital of X City. This is my ID card, and this is my medical license. You can call 114 to find our hospital's phone number, then press 0231 to find my department. Ask anyone; they can verify my identity."
Li Yaqing's boyfriend didn't readily believe Qin Ci's words. He took the documents and examined them carefully, even taking photos with his phone.
Qin Ci didn't mind his actions. After he finished taking the photos and retrieved his ID, he calmly glanced at Li Yaqing and said to her boyfriend, "The reason Xiao Li kept it from you was because she didn't want you to worry about her. The reason she came here is to treat her depression.
I don't know if you understand depression, but to put it simply, this disease is very difficult to treat. Currently, the international community is constantly trying various fast and effective methods. It can be said that the treatment of depression is always being explored and discussed."
"So, I brought Xiao Li and several other patients to this seminar on depression treatment in City E. I hope to get help from colleagues in the field, which would be a good thing for these patients. As
Xiao Li's boyfriend, you should know very well how she's been lately. This is one of the symptoms of depression, and we don't want her family and friends to react with tension or agitation after learning the truth, as this could worsen her condition. Therefore, Xiao Li's trip
here is quite private, and we don't want to disclose her privacy. Please understand and respect her, and the other patients as well."
He gestured towards the people in the room.
Wei Dong was stunned for a moment, then made a depressed expression: "I really don't want to live anymore. What's the point of living? Xiao Zhu, why don't we say goodbye to this world together?"
Zhu Haowen: "..." I'll ignore your act.
"Did you understand what Dr. Qin said?" Ke Xun still frowned, staring at Li Yaqing's boyfriend. "Li Yaqing doesn't need you to stay with her for now. You can go back to the hotel and wait. She'll be back before tonight."
Li Yaqing's boyfriend also stared at Ke Xun through his glasses for a while, feeling that this man had a more depressed air than the previous one, but he still refused to believe it easily: "Where is your seminar being held? I can take her to the door."
"The business conference room on the 23rd floor." It was Mu Yiran who spoke, glancing at him indifferently. "It starts at 2 PM. Please be on time. You can leave with her now."
Before he finished speaking, Ke Xun had already opened the door, glancing at Li Yaqing and her boyfriend towards the outside.
Li Yaqing's boyfriend sensed that this depressed patient was not someone to be trifled with, but without saying anything, he pulled Li Yaqing out the door—of course, his talk of calling the police and security was just a ploy to bluff these people.
As soon as Ke Xun closed the door, Mu Yiran picked up his phone: "Crystal Swan Hotel? I'm booking a meeting room. Yes, this afternoon. Around forty to fifty people. Tea is fine. I need a projector and speakers. For details, my company will send someone to meet with your relevant person in charge in ten minutes. My surname is Qin. Thank you."
Qin Ci: "..."
Wei Dong: "..." A big shot is a big shot. Even without a meeting, he can arrange a large meeting on the spot.
Zhu Haowen looked at Mu Yiran: "Where are you going to find so many people?"
Boss Mu casually replied: "There are four business meeting rooms on the 23rd floor. Two large business meetings are being held there this afternoon."
So there's no need to hire people to act. No one can tell which meeting the people coming and going on the 23rd floor are attending.
Everyone is really going to great lengths to prevent innocent people from getting involved.
"We'll leave through the back door," Mu Yiran added at the end.
Ke Xun looked at him, puzzled: "How do you know everything? When did you find out there was a business meeting on the 23rd floor of the hotel?"
Mu Yiran glanced at him indifferently: "I overheard people at the next table chatting during breakfast this morning."
Ke Xun: "..." Okay, being sharp-eyed and quick-witted is one kind of intelligence, but being able to make good use of these seemingly useless details is more than just intelligence.
The man I've set my sights on is just that awesome.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, the five-person "Painting Theory" group, along with Li Yaqing, who had managed to shake off her boyfriend through a clever escape plan, appeared at the entrance of the Water Flower Art Museum, holding umbrellas.
The simple yet grand building reflected the lake below, appearing somewhat dreamlike and ethereal in the rain. However, the group had no interest in appreciating it, and in the silent atmosphere, they walked heavily through the door.
Because of the rain, there weren't many guests in the exhibition hall. Wei Dong said, "We might not be able to gather thirteen people this time."
"Not necessarily," Qin Ci said in a low voice. "We already have six people. Look over there."
Everyone looked in the direction he indicated and saw Qi Qiang standing outside Hall F with a gloomy face, and Huang Pi walking towards them with a cautious look.
"That makes eight people. We only need to gather five more." Qin Ci glanced at the entire hall. Even with fewer guests, five people would be enough.
Everyone didn't say anything more and slowly walked towards the entrance to the exhibition hall—Hall F.
Just as they stepped into the hall, they heard a series of footsteps running towards them from behind, accompanied by a shout: "Ya Qing!"
Everyone turned around and saw Li Ya Qing's boyfriend running into the hall with a wary look on his face.
"What's going on?!" Ke Xun suddenly looked at Li Ya Qing.
The business meeting setup was flawless. When her boyfriend dropped her off on the 23rd floor, he was completely convinced.
Li Yaqing was also filled with shock and uncertainty. Then, when all the lights in the exhibition hall went out, Ke Xun heard her sob with deep remorse: "I—I wrote him a suicide note email… I set it to be sent at midnight tonight. If I don't come back…he—he must have logged into my email…"