Those Sweet Times - Chapter 64 Part 2

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Those Sweet Times
Chapter 64 Part 2

Yue Yingying continued: “Do you know why we use ‘joy of life’ to compliment your father’s paintings? There are many interesting works of art, but only Professor Xiang’s paintings can be described as being filled with the ‘joy of life.’”

Xiang Nuan was like a sidekick in a TV commercial: “Why is that?”

“Because Professor Xiang’s paintings contain a kind of purity, finesse, and vitality. His whole heartedness during the creation process, totally void of any distraction, gives it a sense of purity. The finesse is the reflection of his optimistic and positive personality in the work. And his passion for the beauty of the world gives his works great vitality.”

Her father seemed more and more incredible as Yue Yingying continue speaking…...Xiang Nuan didn’t know how to continue the conversation.

Lin Chuyan looked at his own mother with disbelief in his eyes.

“It’s true.” Yue Yingying said with all seriousness: “It is said that someone had cured his depression through Professor Xiang’s painting.”

Xiang Nuan thought about it and asked: “Could it be that someone’s just pulling some publicity stunt?”

“No, it’s not like that. The news didn’t report the incident. I heard that the reporter had already written a piece on it, but he went to Professor Xiang to ask for some money. Professor Xiang called the police to report it as a spam call. The reporter never released their piece on it.”

Xiang Nuan couldn’t believe such a thing could happen……

Xiang Nuan felt a bit strange but found it funny to hear gossip about her father from someone else.

Yue Yingying chatted with Xiang Nuan over a wide range of topics from life philosophy to literature and poems. Lin Chuyan discovered that his mother could actually be rather talkative. But he didn’t feel particularly good about it. Shouldn’t his mother let him be alone with Xiang Nuan at a time like this…...Why hadn’t his mother leave yet……

Lin Chuyan felt that only his parents constantly discredited their own son, unlike everyone else’s parents.

-- --

Lin Xueyuan cooked eight dishes and one soup. It was an assortment of cold dishes and hot stir fries, some that had meat and some vegetarian. Yue Yingying told him about Xiang Nuan’s family background after he had finished cooking. Lin Xueyuan was surprised by the information but didn’t react with as much excitement as his wife. He knew he was just an ordinary person; though he collected some antiques to put on an air of being cultured, he could never like the arts as much as he loved money.

He had to admit, however, that he was somewhat jealous when he saw his wife admiring some other man.

Nonetheless, he could fully understand his wife.

Yue Yingying loved painting ever since she was young. Unfortunately, she was born with a great aesthetic taste but a minimum drawing talent. No matter how hard she tried, all her paintings lacked originality-- --Those were her own words. She had said that an amateur may think her paintings were fine, but real painters would laugh at her paintings. She never showed her paintings to anyone anymore; they were all hidden in their house.

Lin Xueyuan could feel his wife’s pain. He figured it was like someone who knew how to make money but just somehow couldn’t and had to watch others counting their earnings…...He could imagine how heartbreaking that would be.

“Hubby, what are you thinking?” Yue Yingying said.

Lin Xueyuan collected his thoughts and put down the last dish on the table. Then he patted his wife’s shoulder and said with a solemn look on his face: “Wife, go for it.”

Yue Yingying: ? ? ?

She gave her husband a baffled glance then turned to fill a bowl with rice for Xiang Nuan.

Xiang Nuan received the rice bowl with both of her hands: “Thank you, auntie.”

“Xiang Nuan, just act like you’re in your own house. Don’t be a stranger, eat more.”

“Mom, where’s my rice?” Lin Chuyan asked.

“Don’t you have hands?”

Lin Chuyan actually sat the furthest from the rice cooker, but had no choice but to walk to the rice cooker to fetch his own rice. After he filled the bowl for himself, he also filled two more bowls for his parents. He thought to himself: does this count as repaying ill will with good will?

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.