Seeing the half-mocking look on A Yue’s face, Dai Feng raised a finger against her mask, her eyes full of warning.
“Shh! What do you mean, skulking around? I’m just… standing here, appreciating this… this abstract painting!”
She gestured vaguely at a wildly colored decorative painting on the wall.
A Yue followed her gaze and looked at it.
That painting looked like a palette that had been accidentally knocked over.
She pursed her lips and ruthlessly called her out:
“Oh, come on, my dear Lady Dai. Your ‘coincidental’ spot is just too well chosen. What a clever angle, perfectly positioned to appreciate every single move Miss Yan makes.”
She looked Dai Feng up and down, then the corner of her mouth twitched uncontrollably:
“Speaking of which, Sister Dai, not to criticize, but your outfit today… is way too ‘flashy,’ isn’t it? Anyone who knows you’d think you’re here for the art exhibition. Anyone who doesn’t would think you’re about to pull out a sack and rob a bank.”
Hearing this, Dai Feng rolled her eyes and retorted indignantly:
“What do you mean? I’m dressed perfectly normally. Black, goes with everything, low-key, understand? A Yue, don’t judge me by your weird internet influencer aesthetics.”
“Yes, yes, you’re low-key, the lowest of keys.”
A Yue raised her hands in surrender, but her eyes were full of laughter.
“Then may I ask this low-key Lady Dai, how long do you plan to ‘appreciate’ over here? Or are you just going to keep hiding like this until Miss Yan Yu finishes the entire exhibition?”
Dai Feng was caught off guard by the question.
Her gaze darted around, and her voice was muffled through the mask:
“I-I’m just looking for the right moment to make small talk…”
A Yue held back her laughter, watching the usually bold and free-spirited Lady Dai acting like a flustered, lovestruck high schooler.
She found it both amusing and… strangely fascinating.
“Alright then, take your time finding your ‘moment.'”
A Yue patted Dai Feng on the shoulder.
“I’ll go look around elsewhere, check out some other paintings. You got this. Looks like this Miss Yan Yu holds a much heavier weight in Dai Feng’s heart than any of us guessed. Sister Dai, I believe in you!”
With that, A Yue, silently laughing, turned and slipped into the crowd on the other side, leaving Dai Feng alone behind the decorative wall, locked in a fierce mental battle between “go talk to her” and “keep watching.”
On the other side, Yan Yu wheeled herself slowly along the exhibition line, finally reaching her own painting in front of a relatively secluded wall at the innermost part of the hall.
<Time’s Reflection> hung alone on this wall, with soft spotlights casting their glow onto the canvas, making the scattered gold on the river’s surface, the city’s skyline, and the reflections all take on a quiet, moving luster.
Below the work, a simple label bore the painting’s name, the artist’s name, and a brief description.
Seeing the name “Yan Yu” printed neatly there, a sense of accomplishment quietly filled her heart.
Yan Yu stopped in front of the painting, quietly gazing at this work she had poured her heart into.
“Hey, come look at this one!”
Several voices, full of the unique vitality of youth, sounded nearby.
Yan Yu turned her head slightly and saw three high school students in blue-and-white uniforms, shoving and laughing as they made their way over.
Judging by the uniform, they were students from a key high school in the city.
“I’m telling you, out of all the pieces in today’s exhibition, this one is definitely my favorite!”
The tallest boy in the lead walked up to the painting, crossed his arms, and announced with great gravity.
“Huh? This one?”
A girl with a ponytail beside him leaned in for a closer look, then stepped back, tilting her head.
“It’s pleasing to the eye, sure, but… is it really that amazing?”
Another boy wearing glasses also adjusted his glasses and examined it carefully.
Yan Yu’s attention was immediately caught.
Hidden meaning?
To be honest, when she had painted this piece, she just thought the scenery was beautiful.
She hadn’t thought too deeply about it.
She was actually a bit curious about what this seemingly opinionated boy could “interpret” from her painting.
“I’m telling you, look at the composition.”
The tall boy lowered his voice as if about to share some earth-shattering secret, his finger vaguely tracing the skyline part of the city in the painting.
“It might seem like just a random riverside angle of the city, but look closely. The three most prominent and cleverly positioned high-rise buildings—”
He paused, making sure his companions’ attention was fully focused:
“Those are the three most famous landmark office towers in Jiangcheng’s downtown area: ‘Lingyun,’ ‘Shengjing,’ and ‘Guanchao.'”
“So what?”
The ponytail girl was still confused.
“Everyone knows that. They’re landmarks, so of course they’d make it into a painting.”
“You still don’t get it?”
The tall boy looked at her with an expression of “you can’t polish a turd,” his voice carrying a hint of mystification.
“Those three towers symbolize the true ‘Three Mountains’ of Jiangcheng’s business world—the Su Family, the Bai Family, and the Dai Family.”
“Even though the three buildings are treated with unified tones, seemingly blended into the overall scenery, their height and positioning still subtly suggest dominance over the other structures.”
“This composition, this play of light and shadow… tsk, this artist definitely didn’t just paint for fun. This is clearly using subtle brushwork to depict Jiangcheng’s three-way standoff, the delicate balance of power!”
“Oh, give it a rest!”
The boy with glasses couldn’t help but laugh, patting the tall boy on the shoulder.
“Listen to yourself. You sound so convincing. Do you really think I had anything that complicated in mind? A power structure? Ha! I just thought the angle looked nice and painted it on a whim.”
The tall boy let out an exaggerated sigh and spread his hands, wearing the regretful look of “everyone’s drunk and I’m the only one sober”:
“Sigh, what can I do? You have eyes but cannot see, truly. Ordinary people just can’t grasp the artist’s deeper meaning. You might only see a corner of what the artist envisioned, but I see… the ambition of those in power…!”
“Beneath this tranquil surface, the painter’s desire to control the three great families…”
The tall boy wanted to continue, but his companions clearly had no patience for his grand lecture.
“Let’s finish looking at this and go get our souvenirs!”
The ponytail girl tugged at him.
“Yeah, stop being so dramatic. Let’s finish up and go grab our souvenirs!”
“Exactly, don’t deliver your ‘brilliant insights’ here. I heard this time’s souvenir is a limited-edition metal bookmark, and the design is gorgeous. If we’re late, they’ll be gone!”
The boy with glasses urged as well.
“I don’t care about some bookmark—hey, wait, don’t leave! I’m not done yet… hey, wait for me!”
The three of them laughed and jostled their way off, leaving Yan Yu standing there, somewhat dazed, mulling over what the boy had just said.
Shaking the foundations of the three families? Ambition?
She really hadn’t noticed that her painting, born from personal sentiment, could be interpreted with such… unsettling implications.
“Ha…”
Yan Yu let out a soft laugh, shook her head, and muttered to herself in front of the painting, her voice so low only she could hear it:
“Control the three families? What would I even do with that kind of power?”
“Maybe… you could?”
A sweet, gentle female voice suddenly spoke up from very close behind Yan Yu.
Yan Yu’s heart tightened.
She immediately tried to turn around.
But her movement was stopped by a hand that gently rested on her shoulder.
That hand was slender and soft, clearly a young woman’s hand.
“If it were anyone else, I’d think such a thing was nothing but a fantasy…”
The owner of the voice leaned in slightly, her warm breath brushing Yan Yu’s ear,
“But if it were my sister…”
She paused, let out a light chuckle, and leaned in a little closer.
“I believe that at least you’d win me over, as long as you…”
It was Bai Yan’er.
Yan Yu had no idea when Bai Yan’er had come up behind her.
Finally sensing the gaze that had been on her all along, Yan Yu’s spine stiffened for an instant, her body frozen in place.
She knew that even if she asked now, this sister of hers, whose thoughts were so hard to fathom and whose actions always defied expectation, would never give a real answer.
“Don’t joke around.”
Yan Yu let out a soft sigh, finally managing to turn her head around.
“You know I’m just an ordinary person.”
The moment the words left her mouth, however, her gaze landed on Bai Yan’er, and she couldn’t help but pause in surprise.
Bai Yan’er was always like this.
Today, Bai Yan’er was dressed… very cutely.
In fact, it was somewhat unexpected, even to Yan Yu.
From what she remembered, this young lady of the Bai Family’s style always leaned toward that sort of heiress look, elegant with a hint of distance.
But today, she was wearing a Lolita dress suitable for a casual day out.
It was a small dress with pink tones, the fabric looking soft and comfortable, with a light A-line skirt decorated with embroidery and lace in matching colors.
A small white bow was tied at the collar, and the puff sleeves added a touch of sweet playfulness.
She was even wearing a matching headband with sheer fabric and small flowers, making her look like a noble girl who had just stepped out of a fairy-tale picture book.
Strangely, she harmonized perfectly with the art-filled gallery.
“What’s the matter, sister?”
Bai Yan’er tilted her head slightly, her thick, curled lashes blinking.
“Do I look nice in this today?”
Her gaze was fixed directly on Yan Yu, her eyes filled with undisguised anticipation and a hint of “come on, compliment me.”