Chapter 1 Some Things You Just Can't Understand

May 2nd, 1:00 PM.

City S, Ruoyun Gallery.

This was an art gallery located in the eastern district, handling art appraisals and auctions in addition to exhibitions.

On this day, a young man in a black casual suit arrived at Ruoyun Gallery. This person was none other than the mystery novelist, Mr. Feng Bujue...

"So I actually have to buy a ticket..." Feng Bujue muttered to himself with some annoyance after buying a ticket and entering the gallery, "I had a bad feeling about this before I even left, but one hundred and eighty is more expensive than most movies... Come to think of it, no one would usually arrange a first meeting in an art gallery, would they..."

Jue-ge and Siyu had agreed to meet at 1:10 PM, and as a gentleman, he was naturally a little early.

[Since I'm already here, might as well take a look around. Standing here like this really makes me look suspicious... In the short time I've been here, that security guard has glanced at me a few times, intentionally or unintentionally.] Feng Bujue thought to himself, [That look is either suspicion or an attempt to flirt... Hmm... I need to do something quick.]

He casually strolled inside, his hands in his pockets, and stopped in front of a rather large painting. [Okay, no one's paying attention to me now. It's pretty simple, actually... Just pretend to be looking at the painting. Yeah, yeah... As long as I'm in sync with everyone else, I won't be...]

"Do you like his work too?" A strange voice suddenly sounded beside him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jue-ge saw an uncle in a wool sweater, who looked to be in his late forties, with a friendly face.

[Who the hell is "he"? And who are you, uncle!] Feng Bujue didn't expect anyone to strike up a conversation with him, and he mentally retorted with a barrage of complaints, but on the surface, he hesitantly replied, "Ah... Ah... It's alright."

"His works are all very good. Russia hasn't had such an innovative painter in a long time," the uncle continued with interest.

[Oh... So this is a work by a Russian painter... Anyway, it's either a -nov or a -ski...] Jue-ge quickly moved his gaze to the LCD screen next to the painting, glanced at the relevant annotations, and continued, "Ah... Impressionism, everyone probably has different ideas when they look at it."

"Hehe... That's true," the uncle said. "Young man, what do you think this painting expresses?"

[It expresses that this "-ski" is either drunk driving or is already colorblind to the point of not being able to see the traffic lights... I could paint ten of these for one hundred and eighty, just throw Arthas into the paint and let him roll around on the paper.]

"Maybe he wants to express... that the damage to the human brain from alcohol and marijuana is irreversible," Feng Bujue finally couldn't help but retort.

The uncle was stunned for two seconds, then burst out laughing, "Hahaha..."

And he laughed like that for a full minute...

[Hey, hey... Is it really that funny? Even if you get the joke, you don't have to laugh to this extent, a lot of people are looking over here, uncle! Should I just leave this guy behind and quietly slip away... Security guards, why are you guys selectively ignoring me at a time like this? At least come over and say something like "Please don't make so much noise!"]

The security guards, of course, wouldn't come over... because this uncle was the owner of Ruoyun Gallery. His name was Li Feng, and he was a low-profile businessman. Also... he was Li Ruoyu's father.

"What are you two chatting about?" At this moment, Siyu's voice suddenly came from behind Jue-ge.

Hearing the voice, Feng Bujue turned around and saw Li Ruoyu in the real world for the first time. Jue-ge really didn't expect Siyu's real appearance to be even more beautiful than her game avatar. Her skin was as white as snow, her face as beautiful as a hibiscus, her eyes sparkled, and she was utterly charming; her figure was graceful and elegant, naturally refined. However, her temperament was still the same... faintly revealing a coldness that made people feel hard to approach.

Today, Siyu was wearing a long-sleeved black t-shirt and light-colored jeans. Her attire was very simple, without any accessories; she didn't have any ear piercings or tattoos, and even her nails were cut short. Of course, this was also her consistent style, it seemed she hadn't put much thought into meeting Jue-ge.

"Eh? Why did you come out from inside the gallery?"

"This is my family's gallery," Siyu replied.

"Huh?" Feng Bujue was stunned.

[So I could have just waited for you to come out! What did I buy a ticket to come in for!]

"Dad, what are you laughing at?" Siyu said to her father, who was already gasping for air from laughing.

"Haa... Haa..." Uncle Li took a few breaths and just managed to catch his breath. "Siyu, this... this young man... Hahaha..." He wiped away a tear. "Eh? Wait... You guys know each other?"

[That's my line! You're her dad! No wonder you're wandering around in a wool sweater, so you came out from inside too!]

"Um... Uncle, hello," Feng Bujue said. "My name is Feng Bujue."

[I blurted it out! Why did I say "Uncle"! I should have said something like "Sir"... I carelessly fell into the atmosphere of a grade schooler going to a classmate's house...]

Uncle Li suddenly widened his eyes and stared at Feng Bujue's face. The next second, he took three steps back and sized Jue-ge up and down. Then, he turned to his daughter and said, "Could this be your boyfriend?"

Siyu still had that indifferent expression on her face, and replied calmly, "No." She paused for a moment. "Just a regular friend."

"Yeah, yeah, just a regular frie..." Feng Bujue also wanted to say that, but before he could finish, he felt a cold and sharp gaze... which made him swallow his words.

[Hey... It's okay for you to say regular friend, but not for me... What are you trying to do...]

"Oh!" Uncle Li immediately took out his phone, and without waiting for Feng Bujue's consent, he took several full-body and half-body photos of him with lightning speed.

Then, this middle-aged uncle, with fingers like the wind and momentum like lightning... performed a series of operations on his phone with amazing speed, and then dialed a number.

"Hello? Honey, did you get it?" After the call connected, Uncle Li turned around with a happy face and said into the phone, "It's our daughter's friend! Yes! A living, breathing boy! Yes, he's pretty handsome. Oh... Not that, but she finally has a friend!"

[How miserable is your life! This is way beyond the level of social awkwardness... Even I wouldn't be friendless!]

"Okay, I'll tell you when I get back." Uncle Li hung up the phone, turned around, and suddenly his eyes shone brightly and his face was stern, "Xiao Feng, I'm leaving my daughter in your care..."

Siyu shook her head and facepalmed. "Dad, stop saying unnecessary things..."

"Hehe... You, you're too kind," Feng Bujue replied with a dry laugh.

"What's with that look on your face, like you're happily accepting it?" Siyu glared at Jue-ge and continued.

[Hey! Your dad is so awkward, silly, and cute, I'm covering for you, and you're still glaring at me?]

…………

Ten minutes later, Siyu dragged Jue-ge onto the street.

Only then did she let out a long sigh of relief.

"Ah... I feel like I've accidentally learned some information I shouldn't have... You're not going to silence me, are you..." Feng Bujue said weakly.

"Doesn't matter, you have nowhere to say it," Siyu replied.

"Yeah... That's right, Little Skeleton is your cousin, she should know, and Little Tan probably already knows too..." Feng Bujue speculated.

At the same time, behind the green belt across the street, two shadowy figures wearing sunglasses and baseball caps were furtively observing the movements on this side.

"For some reason... I suddenly feel a chill down my spine," Little Tan said. "They wouldn't be talking about me, would they?"

"Who knows... Sigh! I wish I could read lips," Bei Ling replied. "I really want to know what those two talk about when they're alone together..."

"Speaking of... Aren't we being a bit too much like stalkers?" Little Tan glanced around uneasily.

"What are you afraid of, with a super~beautiful girl like me by your side, the chances of being misunderstood are zero," Bei Ling replied.

"Yeah, yeah... With a super~beautiful girl like you, it's okay to do anything bad," Little Tan retorted. "Speaking of, you're already twenty-two, and you still call yourself a beauti..." Before he could finish, he was elbowed in the stomach.