Rebirth: He Decides to Lie Flat
Chapter 296 - 296 293 Eldest Son of Xie Family

Chapter 296: Chapter 293: Eldest Son of Xie Family Chapter 296: Chapter 293: Eldest Son of Xie Family Mu Jiawen and Jiang Yan arrived at the Dexin Building at seven, Mu Chenyan and Song Qingping were deeply engrossed in their conversation and had made plans for him to visit the gallery after the competition ended the next day.

The opening hours were meant for outsiders and tourists, insiders of course didn’t need to worry about that, and moreover, it was better this way, without the disturbances of outsiders.

Song Qingping let out a heavy sigh of relief.

However, Huang Kai was sitting on the side with an agonized expression as if constipated. His backpack hung on the back of the chair behind him. His left hand reached in and then pulled out, did this back and forth several times, until Jiang Yan couldn’t watch any longer and asked him, “What are you doing?”

The two were sitting together; on the other side of Huang Kai was Song Qingping, who was engaged in a lively conversation with Mu Chenyan. Both of them had studied Chinese painting from a young age and had a lot to talk about.

“My Chinese painting was enlightened by my father, who was a student of Mr. Xie Xian…”

“Mr. Xie Xian? I remember him. My teacher was good friends with Mr. Xie and had invited him to join the Chinese Painting Association in Beijing, but he declined, and afterward, he was never seen again.”

“Alas,” sighed Song Qingping, “more than fifty years ago, the Xie Family in Yunzhou was one of the top households. Elder Mr. Xie’s older brother was a politician. Whether he offended someone or simply caused trouble by accident, during the civil unrest that year in Yunzhou, the Xie Family was investigated. Elder Mr. Xie and his brother were taken away, and in half a year, a great family like theirs vanished from Yunzhou without a trace. I remember my father mentioned that Elder Mr. Xie’s eldest son had an exceptional talent in Chinese painting and calligraphy. It’s just unfortunate he didn’t live in peaceful times…”

Jiang Yan’s eyebrows raised slightly, and he looked toward Mu Jiawen, who indeed seemed deep in thought.

At that moment, Huang Kai tugged at his sleeve and whispered, “Do you think if I ask Master Mu for an autograph, she would agree?”

Jiang Yan said in surprise, “You’ve been fretting over this the whole time?”

Huang Kai nodded lightly.

“Where do you want the signature?”

Huang Kai gestured toward his backpack and whispered, “I have a notebook.”

“Take it out.”

Huang Kai sneakily fished out his notebook like a thief, while on the other side, Mu Chenyan and Song Qingping continued their earlier conversation.

“What happened to Mr. Xie Xian later? Do you know where he was taken? Did he ever return?”

Song Qingping shook his head in regret, “No, my father wanted to help, but our family is just an ordinary teacher’s family with no connections. My father was even suspended for a month because he asked too many questions, and after that, no one dared to inquire about the Xie Family.”

At this point, Mu Jiawen joined the conversation, “Teacher, do you know the name of Elder Mr. Xie Xian’s eldest son?”

“Yes, he was a few years younger than my father, his name was Xie Chenyang.”

Indeed…

Mu Chenyan turned to look at her, asking, “Xiaosi, he is…?”

“My maternal grandfather.”

No wonder she was able to impart such good knowledge to Xiaosi. Although Mu Chenyan was confident in her own abilities, if she had been the one to start teaching her daughter, it might not have been better than it is now.

Song Qingping exclaimed in surprise, “Xie Chenyang is your maternal grandfather?”

“Yes, he was my foster mother’s father; he was the one who initiated me into Chinese painting.”

“So Xie Chenyang didn’t leave Yunzhou; he went to Jianghai? And now he…”

“He has passed away.”

Song Qingping felt very sorry for him. During the year the Xie Family fell apart, he was still young. After his father was suspended for a month, he no longer dared to ask about the Xie Family. Despite that, if he had known Xie Chenyang had gone to Jianghai, he definitely wouldn’t have ignored it.

As for why Xie Chenyang didn’t contact his father, he probably didn’t want to implicate him.

“Does he have any family left now?”

“My uncle’s family lives in Jianghai; he’s a middle school math teacher with a son who is in his senior year of high school.”

Grandfather used to say that my uncle wasn’t very talented and was well-suited for this kind of simple and ordinary life.

The waiter brought all the dishes to the table, and Mu Chenyan was about to pick up her chopsticks when Jiang Yan got up and handed her a notebook, “Auntie, Huang Kai wants your autograph.”

“Sure.”

Mu Chenyan gladly took it, first writing some words of encouragement for Huang Kai, before signing her own name.

When returning it to Huang Kai, she smiled and said, “Next time you want something, just come to me directly. You’re Xiaosi’s senior; you can just call me Auntie from now on, no need to be polite, okay?”

Auntie?

Master Mu is his aunt?

With excitement, Huang Kai took the notebook with both hands and smiled stupidly.

Song Qingping felt too embarrassed to watch but then thought of how he looked when he first walked into the private room and saw Mu Chenyan earlier… ahem, not much better.

After the meal, as they all walked downstairs from the second floor, chatting, they passed the first-floor lobby when suddenly a voice rang out unexpectedly, “Qingping?”

Song Qingping turned around upon hearing his name, and paused, “Senior Fang? You’re… back from your business trip?”

Fang Ji’s face twisted slightly when Song Qingping mentioned the business trip.

That afternoon when Song Qingping called him, saying he was taking students to Beijing for a competition, Fang Ji, not wanting to deal with this underachieving junior, lied that he was on a business trip and not in Beijing, and that he would not be involved in this year’s competition.

It was true that he wasn’t participating, but he was still in Beijing.

He hadn’t expected to run into them at Dexin Building tonight, let alone, why was Junior Song with Master Mu? They seemed more than just acquainted, they looked quite familiar with each other.

Since when had he gotten so close to Master Mu? How come he didn’t know?

Because he was so shocked, Fang Ji forgot about the lie he told that afternoon and blurted out Song Qingping’s name.

“I was… on a business trip in nearby Kang City, had something to take care of and just got back tonight.”

Fang Ji struggled to keep his lie going and turned to Mu Chenyan to offer a respectful greeting, “Dean Mu.”

Although Mu Chenyan was reluctant to take the position of dean of the Fine Arts College, the president of Beijing University had given her the honorary title of dean, and she gave lectures at Beijing University every month.

She knew almost all the professors at Beijing University Fine Arts College, but most of them were merely acquaintances, nothing more.

For an ordinary professor like Fang Ji, their interaction was limited to just exchanging greetings when they met.

From just a few words exchanged between them, Mu Chenyan could sense Fang Ji’s previous attitude towards Song Qingping.

She gave him a casual look, nodded, and didn’t say anything.

“Well, Senior Brother, you’re busy so we’ll be heading out first.”

Song Qingping wasn’t clueless. He’d guessed as much when he called Fang Ji that afternoon and Fang Ji claimed to be on a business trip.

Actually, it was unnecessary; he rarely bothered Fang Ji when he came to Beijing, and he called him just to say hello, without any specific intentions.

The group left Dexin Building, but Fang Ji was still standing there, staring blankly in the direction they had gone.

….

The competition had already started. Song Qingping pulled himself back to the present and felt his phone vibrate. He took it out and saw it was Fang Ji asking him out for dinner.

He declined without hesitation.

After the competition in the afternoon, he planned to visit Sister Mu’s gallery. Since Mu Chenyan was two years older than him, she allowed him to call her “Sister,” and she simply called him by his name.

This way of addressing each other sounded much closer.