What Are Your Tastes? chapter 5

What Exactly Is Your Vision?

“Mr. Lu, can you really draw?”

Receiving this message, Lu Yunchu’s eyes darkened, feeling the urge to curse Zhou Yanchuan.

The night before, after Zhou Yanchuan had dropped him off at the studio, he had taken the initiative to add him on WeChat for easier progress communication, which Lu Yunchu did not refuse. After adding him, he sent the sketches of the new designs he had come up with during the day to Zhou Yanchuan for review, only to have both designs rejected outright.

“Is this supposed to be a horse?”

“Why does it look asleep? Where’s the momentum?”

…

All he received were such blunt criticisms. This time, directly asking him if he could paint. Following that message was another one, a very crude drawing.

Below it: “See what I’ve drawn for you, aim for this kind of feeling.”

Lu Yunchu almost spit out the tea he had just drunk. Even calling that sketch a “horse” was an overstatement; many preschoolers’ drawings had more spirit.

He typed a few words in response.

“What exactly is your vision?”

Then he put down his phone and didn’t want to deal with Zhou Yanchuan anymore, going to take a shower first. However, he roughly understood Zhou Yanchuan’s aesthetic preferences and redesigned a set of plans based on that “childish drawing.” After coming out of the bathroom, he bent over his desk again.

He was the only one in the studio at night, upstairs and downstairs quiet and silent. Time passed imperceptibly, and by the time he had finished the rough design draft, it was nearly midnight. It was a bit late to send it to Zhou Yanchuan now, but when he opened the WeChat interface, he found a new message that had been sent just a minute or two ago.

“Looking forward to your design.”

Lu Yunchu was half-angry and half-amused. This time, the drawing went smoothly, and he didn’t want to argue anymore.

“You’re still not resting?”

“Dealing with some documents. Take your time to consider, no rush.”

“What do you think of this?”

Since the other party was still awake, Lu Yunchu sent over the new drawing he had made.

Zhou Yanchuan’s feedback came quickly.

“That’s more like it, not bad, you can still draw.”

Liu Yunchu knew then that this person had a way of saying nice things that could still make one roll their eyes. But having solved a big problem, he could at least sleep well that night.

Since that rainy day, the weather in Sen city had been unpredictable, with temperatures fluctuating. It was rare for June to be so hot and cold.

Lu Yunchu’s life hadn’t changed much, but now that business was booming, he was busy all the time. Mid-month, he was invited to attend a celebration party for a project hosted by Chen’an Real Estate, with whom he had previously cooperated.

Although this type of party didn’t necessarily require formal wear, he still changed into a shirt and trousers he rarely wore.

The guests were all Chen’an employees or directly related enterprise representatives. Apart from the manager he had previously interacted with, Lu Yunchu knew almost no one. Actually, he couldn’t figure out why he had been invited, just because he had designed a fountain sculpture for the building, a trivial little job; with the manager’s introduction, he exchanged greetings with Chen’an’s Chairman Lin, who seemed unfamiliar with him and exchanged a few polite words.

Since childhood, Lu Yunchu had often accompanied his father to social gatherings. Lu Changming had unrealistic expectations of him, and when he found that his son always dealt with people around him in a passive and arrogant manner, he would get angry.

He wasn’t shy, but he only showed initiative to people he admired or found interesting, even opened up to them. Most people, even those in front of him, were no different from the air. So in this lively banquet, he was still immersed in his own thoughts, found the most corner position, and tried to lower his presence as much as possible.

The buffet-style reception was relatively less restrained, and after the chairman’s opening speech, few people stayed in their seats. Lu Yunchu considered when it would be more appropriate to leave.

Halfway through, an unfamiliar call came in; thinking it might be work-related, he sought a quiet place to answer it, standing up and heading towards the terrace.

Several steps away from the terrace glass door, a man he had never seen before suddenly rushed out and unfortunately collided with him. The man was holding a wine glass, and wine splashed onto Lu Yunchu’s white shirt, instantly blossoming a brilliant red.

“Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention,” the man’s voice sounded almost amused, lacking sincerity in his apology, “It’s crowded here, maybe it’s better to walk slower.”

Lu Yunchu walked fast but had good vision; he was sure there had been no obstruction in front of him. This person inexplicably rushed out and collided with him, as if it were intentional.

“Forget it,” his phone was still ringing, and he didn’t have time to ponder the other’s intentions, impatiently saying, “Please move aside, I need to take a call.”

Lu Yunchu pushed open the balcony door. Behind him came the voice of the man again, “I’ll wait here for you. I can help you clean the stains on your clothes later.”

What else could he do? His mood was ruined; he answered the call with resentment, “Hello.”

“Yunchu? What’s wrong with you?”

Lu Yunchu immediately recognized Ning Ruowei’s voice. She had recently joined a tour group to Japan and probably wasn’t using her own phone, as her number didn’t appear.

“Nothing.”

“It was too hectic during the day, I didn’t get a chance to call you,” she asked apologetically, “Are you busy? Did I disturb you?”

“It’s okay.” Through the glass door, the tranquility of the terrace and the clamor inside the venue seemed worlds apart, and he wasn’t in a hurry to go back.

Ning Ruowei mainly wanted to ask what gift he wanted.

“Forget it, it’s inconvenient for you to carry too much,” Lu Yunchu didn’t care much about these things. When he returned from abroad, he didn’t bring anything special for his friends either; besides, with online shopping so developed now, if there was a real need, he didn’t necessarily have to buy locally.

Ning Ruowei thought he was being polite and continued to talk about shopping. Later, she complained about her roommate.

She was straightforward and never hid negative emotions. The roommate she was assigned during the trip was a doctor, very obsessive-compulsive; on the first day, she accidentally touched the other’s things and apologized, only to receive a cold shoulder the whole day. The next day, when she ate in her own bed, the person complained about her hygiene.

“What does it have to do with her if I eat in my own bed!”

The conversation turned into a rant. Although Lu Yunchu also didn’t like eating in bed, Ning Ruowei was upset now, not the time to remind her to pay attention to her living habits.

“Where are you making the call?” Lu Yunchu asked. “Aren’t you afraid your roommate will hear?”

“She’s gone,” Ning Ruowei grumbled again and then paused. “An Yuan is back…”

“Who?”

“The doctor, her name is An Yuan. I see her downstairs,” she sighed, “Okay, I’ll talk to you later.”

“Oh, don’t buy anything!”

Ning Ruowei hung up quickly; he didn’t know if she heard it.

Lu Yunchu returned to the main hall from the terrace, and the man who had collided with him earlier was nowhere to be seen. He hadn’t planned to get involved with strangers over such a trivial matter and relaxed. But his clothes were dirty, and it wasn’t appropriate to stay longer. He explained the situation to the manager he knew and took the opportunity to leave early.

A few days after the reception, Lu Yunchu, who had always been in good health, suddenly fell ill with a severe cold.

He lay in bed all day, his fever causing soreness throughout his body, almost unable to do anything, and his head felt like it was about to explode; regular cold medicine didn’t work, and painkillers only alleviated symptoms temporarily.

Early the next morning, finding no improvement in his condition, he reluctantly went to the nearest People’s Hospital.

Perhaps due to the season, there were many sick people, and the outpatient hall was bustling, especially crowded in front of the windows. Without an appointment, he waited for more than ten minutes just to register.

Lu Yunchu took his medical insurance card from the nurse at the window, and his phone timely “beeped” with a notification of successful registration: [You have successfully registered for the Department of Internal Medicine, Dr. An Yuan…]

An Yuan? Lu Yunchu shivered when he saw those words. Wasn’t Dr. An Yuan the doctor Ning Ruowei had complained about? Their trip should have ended by now. Could it be such a coincidence? Or was it a common name?

As he hesitated, someone behind bumped into him. Lu Yunchu realized he was blocking the way, hastily apologized, and stepped out of the queue.