Blue Cocktail chapter 71

“He asked when we would be available?” Lu Huaiqian continued, “He wants to arrange an offline meeting with us.”

“Offline?!” Cheng Shuo couldn’t help but be surprised. It seemed that Mr. Song was more enthusiastic than Lu Huaiqian described. “I thought it was already nice of him to offer help online.”

Lu Huaiqian explained, “He mentioned that some information is not suitable for online dissemination due to the risk of being copied. So, he plans to show it to you offline. He asked if this Saturday works for us. Isn’t that tomorrow?” 

Cheng Shuo nodded eagerly, “Yes, yes, yes.”

“Good, then tomorrow, we’ll go together. The location is at his home.”

“Did he invite you too?”

“Yes.”

The next morning.

After half an hour of driving, Lu Huaiqian’s car stopped in front of a villa. The villa, mainly of Chinese architecture, was adorned with a pond, lotus leaves, and willow trees. Lu Huaiqian and Cheng Shuo walked over a stone bridge and rang the doorbell.

A few seconds later, the door opened.

Mr. Song was seen in an ordinary white silk shirt and black satin trousers, with a casual style. The fabric draped loosely on him, outlining his tall figure like the intentional blank spaces in a freehand painting, both casual and vivid.

“Mr. Lu,” Mr. Song greeted. His gaze shifted to the right of Lu Huaiqian. “I presume this is Cheng Shuo, hello.”

“Hello,” Cheng Shuo replied.

Leading the two into his studio, Mr. Song poured two cups of tea.

Cheng Shuo fidgeted with the teaware in his hands, made of purple sand. He glimpsed the dark patterns on Mr. Song’s silk shirt without leaving a trace, carefully examining them. The patterns were auspicious cranes and clouds, and he had a premonition that he had asked the right person; Mr. Song should appreciate the Chinese style very much.

Recalling last night, Cheng Shuo had deliberately searched for a list of books related to the restoration of cultural relics. Because Lu Huaiqian mentioned that people who restore ancient paintings usually have some knowledge of art, the search results were full of books like “General History of Chinese Art,” “Development History of Chinese Painting,” and “Comprehensive History of Chinese Painting,” as well as chronological histories like “Record of Famous Paintings of the Tang Dynasty.” This was not just a little knowledge; it was almost like a grasp at every level.

The glass door divided the studio into two parts. Lu Huaiqian sat outside the glass door, sipping tea, while Cheng Shuo and Mr. Song conversed inside.

Cheng Shuo took out his notebook from his backpack. “Mr. Song, could you please take a look and tell me what’s wrong with the colors in this painting?”

“The color scheme of this picture reminds me of ‘Landscape in Blue and Green.'”

“Amazing,” Cheng Shuo praised. “I referred to the color scheme of that painting.”

“I am not a professional in fine arts, and I cannot identify issues in color,” Mr. Song said, focusing his gaze. “Where do you think the problem lies?”

Cheng Shuo replied, “I wanted to create a modern Chinese style, but currently, it seems more traditional than modern. At first glance, it’s not stunning enough. I wanted to ask if you have any suggestions for improvement.”

“Lu Huaiqian told me that you are designing a packaging image with the theme of—” Mr. Song squinted slightly, pondering for a moment, “intoxication?”

“Almost!” Cheng Shuo said. “The theme is light intoxication.”

“Your design is on point,” Mr. Song said casually.

“Really?”

“Yes.” Mr. Song nodded gently.

Cheng Shuo was delighted. “Thank you, Mr. Song, for your approval!”

“No need to thank me; it’s just a small favor.”

After saying that, Mr. Song stood up, opened the locked bookshelf in the studio, and picked out five or six books and seven or eight folders. The folders contained printed materials, images, and more. He carefully handed them to Cheng Shuo. “These books might be helpful for you. Take your time to go through them. Don’t rush. If you have no classes tomorrow, you can stay overnight.”

“I’ll be outside the door, chatting with Lu Huaiqian. Feel free to find me if you have any questions.”

“Thank you, Mr. Song!”

Sitting on the sofa, Song Qingyi picked up the purple sand teacup and blew on the floating tea leaves on the surface.

Lu Huaiqian, sitting across, took the initiative to speak, “So fast?”

“He has high comprehension and strong abilities. He doesn’t need me to say much.”

Lu Huaiqian chuckled twice, “Then let me thank you, Mr. Song on his behalf for the exaggerated praise.”

A faint sense of helplessness appeared on Song Qingyi’s cold face. His expression was always calm, as thin as a wisp of smoke. “He calls me Mr. Song, but why are you also calling me Mr. Song?”

He subtly frowned, seemingly puzzled, “Do I look that old?”

Lu Huaiqian laughed, “Not at all. It’s just that we admire professionals in cultural relic restoration, and calling you ‘Mr.’ is our way of showing respect.”

Song Qingyi nodded slightly, then said, “There’s no need to address me like that. It creates a sense of distance. Just call me by my name.”

“Okay.”

While Lu Huaiqian agreed outwardly, internally, he sarcastically thought, “Mr. Song, your whole demeanor, sitting there with an icy face, already creates quite a bit of distance. What we call you doesn’t really matter, haha.”

Looking at Song Qingyi’s demeanor, which was cool and distant, Lu Huaiqian guessed that he probably didn’t like talkative people. After all, he was seeking a favor, and Lu Huaiqian was afraid that the other party might find him too noisy, so he chose to remain silent.

On the other side, Song Qingyi took a sip of tea, remained silent for a while, and probably felt that it was a bit awkward with both of them not speaking. He began to find something to say, “You and Cheng Shuo should have a good relationship.”

Lu Huaiqian didn’t hide anything, “He is my partner.”

With his outgoing personality, Lu Huaiqian would have loved the whole world to know about his relationship with Cheng Shuo. On the night they got together, he had originally planned to make an official announcement on his social media, but Cheng Shuo was too lazy to take photos, edit them, and write captions, so he gave up.

“Never mind, I think it’s troublesome just thinking about it. It’s not necessary,” Cheng Shuo had said that night.

Song Qingyi was slightly surprised, then lowered his eyes and said, “That’s good. I wish you both happiness.”

“Thank you,” Lu Huaiqian probably sensed something and said, “Mr. Song, there’s something I’m actually curious about.”

“What is it?”

“How did you get my contact information—remember, it was you who added me first.”

Song Qingyi almost didn’t hesitate, “At that time, I saw a group photo on a friend’s social media. I wasn’t very familiar with the list, but I saw you and Fu Mingchen close together, looking very intimate. So I contacted this friend and found out that you were college classmates. This friend was very enthusiastic and asked if I wanted to add you, saying that you accepted all friend requests—because you were in the bar business, and you accepted all friend requests. I thought about it and added you.”

“Since someone in your list also knew Fu Mingchen, why didn’t you directly ask that person about him?” Lu Huaiqian suddenly became interested and decided to continue the conversation.

“Why didn’t I think of that?” Song Qingyi took the bait, “That person in the list said he didn’t know Fu Mingchen well. He said he was just called by a friend to join the gathering. He, however mentioned that your relationship with Fu Mingchen was very good, that you were college roommates.”

“That’s true. I have a very good relationship with Fu Mingchen. We’ve been in contact for many years.”

“Hmm.”

“Do you want me to give you his contact information?”

“No need, I have it.”

“You have it,” Lu Huaiqian squinted unexpectedly, “Speaking of which, I also want to ask, what’s your relationship with Fu Mingchen? You said you knew him, but you came to me to inquire about him.”

After a few seconds of silence, Song Qingyi finally said calmly, “I know him, but he doesn’t know me.”

Lu Huaiqian was slightly surprised, “how?”

But Song Qingyi did not respond, seeming unwilling to say more.

Lu Huaiqian stopped probing further, “Since you have his contact information, there are many things you can directly ask him. He is very kind, cheerful, and friendly, although in recent years, perhaps due to the torment of the business world, he has become more mature, stable, and reserved. After all, the business world is like a battlefield.”

“He doesn’t know me, so it might be a bit presumptuous.”

“But when you asked me about him, we didn’t know each other either.”

There was a momentary unnatural expression on Song Qingyi’s face.

Lu Huaiqian keenly caught that, but changed the subject, “Oh well, people become more familiar over time. Maybe your relationship with him will be even closer than mine. I feel you’re a good person. Thank you for guiding Cheng Shuo this time. In the future, I’ll find an opportunity to invite Fu Mingchen out for dinner and introduce you to him.”

“No need!” Song Qingyi vetoed, his tone becoming tense. However, he quickly regained his calm expression and added as if to remedy, “You don’t have to trouble yourself. I have his contact information; I can contact him on my own.”

“okay.”

Continuing to ask would be impolite, so Lu Huaiqian changed the topic and chatted with Song Qingyi about other things.

As they chatted, Cheng Shuo pushed open the glass door and came out. The backpack hung on one shoulder as he walked up to Song Qingyi, “The materials you provided are very useful, and they’ve given me a lot of inspiration. Thank you very much! If I win an award in the future, I’ll remember to invite you for a meal!”

Song Qingyi just casually said, “No need; I didn’t help much.”

Cheng Shuo thanked him again.

Lu Huaiqian took the backpack from Cheng Shuo, bid farewell to Song Qingyi, and on the way home, his mouth couldn’t stop, “When you said the materials were useful, was it just a polite compliment, or did Mr. Song really provide significant help?”

“Definitely the latter.”

“It seems he’s very skilled.”

“And very handsome,” Cheng Shuo added.

“Handsome?” Lu Huaiqian squinted and repeated, “Are you trying to make me jealous?”

“No, I’m not making you jealous. I just casually complimented him.” Cheng Shuo thought for a moment and hurriedly added, “You just praised his skills too and I didn’t get jealous.”

“No, I’m not jealous. I just suddenly remembered that Fu Mingchen seems to like this type, a beautiful person with a cold personality. I wonder if after all these years, his taste has changed.”

“Well, we can’t assume Mr. Song’s sexual orientation.” Cheng Shuo reminded.

“I may not know his sexual orientation, but I can tell that he has a crush on Fu Mingchen.”

“How do you know?”

“I guessed.”

“You guessed, and you’re saying it so confidently?”

“While waiting for you, I teased him a bit and squeezed out some information. Mainly, I was curious why he knows Fu Mingchen but Fu Mingchen doesn’t know him.”

“It’s possible they met but Fu Mingchen forgot?” Cheng Shuo guessed.

“Impossible,” Lu Huaiqian refuted, “Let me tell you, Fu Mingchen’s memory is excellent. During our university days, we studied finance, a half-literary and half-logical field with a lot to memorize. During the final exam week, he reviewed one subject a day and then played games while watching us struggling to memorize. The result came out; we scored seventy to eighty points, and he ranked first in the major. He claimed not to know, so it’s true that he has never seen Song Qingyi.”

Seeing Cheng Shuo’s puzzled face, he added, “You don’t believe me; I’ll make you believe.”

“Help me open WeChat, search for Fu Mingchen, and long-press the voice button. Wait until I finish talking before letting go.” Lu Huaiqian instructed.

Cheng Shuo followed the instructions.

“Fu Mingchen, I have something to ask you. Do you know someone named Song Qingyi? Song as in the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties; Qing as in the green mountains and rivers; Yi as in the character on the side of Wei’s zither?”

Message sent successfully.

Cheng Shuo found it inexplicable, “Didn’t you know he didn’t recognize him? Why ask again?”

“You’ll know in a moment.”

He thought for a moment and added, “Actually, I find it a bit hard to understand. If you like someone, why not take the initiative? Why hide it? It makes me anxious. I wish I could tell Fu Mingchen directly that someone has a crush on him.”

“You really want to tell Fu Mingchen directly?”

“No, I’m just saying. Unless Song Qingyi asks me for help, I won’t actively intervene in someone else’s feelings, lest I help and make things worse.”

Cheng Shuo fell silent for a moment, “I think I understand Song Qingyi. Because I’m that kind of person too. If I like someone too much, I won’t dare to get too close. I’ll just watch from a distance.”

“Will you watch from a distance all your life?”

“No, maybe one day when I become excellent enough, and I can stand on equal ground with the person I like, I will take the initiative. Only when that happens will I have the courage to be proactive.”

Lu Huaiqian sighed in a joking tone, “Fortunately, I took the initiative to confess. If I had waited for you to confess, would I have to wait another five or ten years, until you became a bestselling manga artist or a top designer, or a well-known studio owner? By then, I would be old and my youth would be gone.”

Cheng Shuo clicked his tongue, “With your personality, can you even wait that long?”

“Indeed, if I meet someone I like, I will immediately take the initiative. Waiting and waiting, saying it’s waiting for the right moment, what if someone else takes the opportunity?”

Suddenly, the phone vibrated.

“See what it is for me.”

Cheng Shuo entered the password, successfully unlocked the phone, “It’s a voice message from Fu Mingchen.”

“Turn on the speaker.”

Fu Mingchen’s voice came through the speaker, “Lu Huaiqian, didn’t you ask this question before?”

Lu Huaiqian raised an eyebrow, “You see, what did I say? His memory is indeed good.”