Closer to Revealing My True Self
Chapter 590 - 385: Private Collection Gallery_1

Chapter 590: Chapter 385: Private Collection Gallery_1

Attending a banquet, even though Feng Yi didn’t spend much time there, the news about him spread especially quickly among certain people.

After he returned home, he received many messages and friend requests, some probing, others cordial.

Feng Yi only replied to a selection of people.

The Liang Family’s birthday party also invited the media, which was selective, and so was the news release.

Not much information about Feng Yi was released, with the focus still on the Liang Family and the ocean charity event.

The nature of this birthday party was different from entertainment gossip. The media knew what could be said and what couldn’t, otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to enter the venue.

There wasn’t much coverage about the celebrities who attended the party, so online remained calm.

The next day, Feng Yi didn’t stay at home.

Before leaving Yang City, he had to take a trip to Xiao Feng Mountain to check on Mute Uncle and his private museum’s renovation status.

Mute Uncle was his usual spirited self, stuffing a basket of fruit he grew into Feng Yi’s hands before shooing him away to go and play mahjong. His schedule was quite tight.

Coming down from Xiao Feng Mountain, Jia drove Feng Yi to the construction site.

Half a year had passed, and the place had completely transformed.

The previously chaotic construction sites nearby now showed orderly progress and were much cleaner.

A number of old warehouses, factory buildings, and some ancient dwellings had turned into newly erected buildings or well-prepared foundations.

Feng Yi’s museum had not started earlier than other sites, yet it was far ahead in terms of progress.

Just as Feng Chi had thought, with sufficient funds, professional management, and promptly resolved issues during the project, efficiency improved. A private museum of moderate size had quickly taken shape over the last six months.

Some special construction materials were ordered when the design was finalized, some installed, others awaiting installation.

From the outside, the museum looked circular. If viewed from above, one would notice it resembled a snake biting its own tail.

According to the original design, this type of building could generate power from wind and especially solar energy. The exterior devices were carefully chosen for decoration and solar energy collection, saving a considerable amount of energy. Of course, a lot of money was invested in this, which many saw as not cost-effective.

Feng Yi’s attention wasn’t much on those solar devices on the outside. His visit today was to check on the renovation progress inside and out, mainly to check on the small garden at the center of the museum.

Standing outside the museum, Feng Yi didn’t immediately go in, listening to the project manager discuss the recent progress.

After glancing at the external wall decor, Feng Yi scanned the surroundings.

"Are all the doors to the inside open?" Feng Yi asked.

"Not all. Only two are open for the convenience of the construction work," the project manager responded.

Guessing at the boss’s concerns, the project manager continued: "We have security inside and outside the museum, and personnel stay overnight. There’s no need to worry about expensive equipment being stolen or unauthorized people accidentally entering."

Besides thieves, construction sites attract visitors with other intentions.

Nearby, some young people for some adventurous livestream had quietly trespassed on a site, and someone got hurt, prompting a late-night call for an ambulance.

As an owner, obviously, you wouldn’t want your site to be involved in various troubling matters.

Feng Yi had some fame online. Even though others didn’t know this was his private museum being built, if someone received tips and came snooping around, it could cause unnecessary trouble.

What could be avoided should be avoided.

Therefore, the project manager had left a security team on site to watch for those attempting to infiltrate for different reasons and intensified surveillance during construction.

"The monitoring system hasn’t been installed yet, but we always take this very seriously. Apart from our internal project team and construction and equipment staff, so far, we haven’t found any outsiders breaking in," the project manager said.

Feng Yi discerned the scents in the air, "I’m not talking about people, I’m asking if any other animals have gotten inside?"

"Uh..."

After thinking for a moment about the broad term "animals" within this context, the project manager replied cautiously, "We haven’t found any stray cats or dogs, nor rats. There were a few days when pipelines were exposed during construction, and we set up mousetraps to prevent damage from gnawing."

As he spoke, the project manager watched Feng Yi’s expressions but couldn’t glean anything.

Feng Yi didn’t pursue the matter further.

"Shall we view the interior first?" the project manager offered.

Feng Yi changed direction, "Let’s go to the small garden in the middle first.

"Oh, sure. Director Cui, in charge of the garden design, is already waiting there," said the project manager.

The project manager accompanied him in that direction.

Having received advance notice of Feng Yi’s arrival, the pathways here were cleaned and clear of obstacles.

"Has the door to the small garden also been kept open?" Feng Yi asked.

"Recently it’s been open more frequently. There’s a lot to do in the small garden, such as transplanting, maintenance, and some re-planting," the project manager replied.

Approaching the central small garden of the museum, Director Cui, who was responsible for the garden’s landscaping, was already waiting. The miniaturized landscape project had been his studio’s responsibility.

Feng Yi’s requirements were different from others, requiring Director Cui and his team to invest considerable effort.

Other people’s gardens might emphasize elegance or lay out for feng shui. But Feng Yi wanted an "authentic ecosystem"!

And an imitation of an ancient one at that.

At present, the small garden only offered a general idea and hadn’t yet achieved the ambiance depicted in the design drawings.

The construction was speedy, but the plants required time to be nurtured. If the transplantation failed, a replanting was necessary. Some plants had only recently been transplanted and thus weren’t looking too vigorous.

"Some of the plants here were transplanted over two months ago, while others have been moved in the past few days..." Director Cui introduced the planted species to Feng Yi.

The majority were real plants, with only a small portion being artificial. This was agreed upon during the original design phase, after all, some plants no longer exist, but to create the desired atmosphere, some artificial decorations were still needed.

Walking on the gravel pathway, Feng Yi pointed at certain plants:

"We don’t want this one... replace this one too..."

Feng Yi had a sensitive sense of smell. In his olfactory system, the scent of plants could be amplified countless times; he could clearly sense what others couldn’t. Of course, any unpleasant scents had to be changed!

Even if a plant was attractive or popular, if he didn’t like it, he simply didn’t like it!

Director Cui took notes diligently, taking photos and recording details of each plant that Feng Yi indicated.

Though he didn’t understand the criteria behind Feng Yi’s selection of plants, he didn’t ask any questions.

What’s there to ask? If the financier wants a change, of course you change it.

When the initial design of the little garden was unveiled, Feng Yi had mentioned he would review and possibly revise it once the plants were transplanted.

Now, the revisions had begun.

Feng Yi, Jia, the project manager, and Director Cui, four people walked on the small garden’s gravel road.

Jia was attentive to his surroundings.

When Feng Yi had asked earlier if any animals had intruded, he knew that there must be an "outsider" that the project manager hadn’t noticed.

Feng Yi’s choice to check the small garden first also indicated that the intruder was here.

The project manager and Director Cui’s attentions were on Feng Yi’s words and the plants he pointed out, while Jia was searching for the hidden "outsiders" among them.

Suddenly, Jia noticed something unusual.

He stepped aside, lifted the leaves of a plant, and examined the traces on the ground.

"Boss?" Jia asked if anything needed to be done.

Feng Yi waved his hand, signaling no need, and continued forward along the gravel road, pointing out another plant for Director Cui to replace.

Then, Feng Yi stopped in his tracks.

The project manager and Director Cui who followed closely looked at him with puzzled eyes.

Feng Yi signaled to them, "Step back a bit."

Without understanding why, the two took a step back.

Whoosh whoosh—

Some noises came from the denser part of the vegetation.

The project manager’s gaze sharpened: A wild cat? Birds? Or something else?

Whoosh whoosh—

The noise from before happened again, and this time it didn’t stop after just one instance. It was continuous and getting closer!

Something was running towards them!

And it seemed to be fairly large in size?

It wasn’t the small size of a wild cat or bird!

The project manager’s heart skipped a beat. An unknown, potentially dangerous animal had intruded and he hadn’t noticed. If it came to assigning blame, it was his dereliction of duty!

He wanted to stand in front of Feng Yi, trying to make up for his lapse, but before he could move, Jia held him back.

He couldn’t move, but he warned orally, "Be careful!"

Whoosh—

A creature burst out from behind a thicket of leaves, charging straight towards Feng Yi.

Feng Yi calmly lifted his leg and stomped on it.

Of course, he controlled his strength. He was able to hold it down without squashing it flat.

His gaze was cold as he stared at the creature under his foot, and nobody else noticed the slight change and quick recovery of his pupils at that moment.

With the release of information molecules invisible and undetectable to others, the animal that was initially restless under his foot became completely still.

Behind Feng Yi, Director Cui and the project manager were also startled by the sudden appearance of the creature, but after a clear view, they were less panicked.

This unexpected animal looked showy and rather intimidating, with spike-like features running from its neck to its tail.

"A lizard?" The project manager exclaimed.

This lizard was over one and a half meters long, though most of it was its tail. Ignoring the slender tail, its torso and head weren’t that big.

Feng Yi was careful not to crush it with his foot.

"Whose pet sneaked out here? Isn’t it forbidden to keep these things now?!" The project manager muttered under his breath, glancing at Feng Yi and, seeing he wasn’t upset, said, "I’ll call someone to catch it."

"No need," said Feng Yi.

The project manager realized it made sense; Feng Yi, an expert in catching snakes, surely could handle a lizard.

After all, whether it was snakes or lizards, they were both "reptiles."