Yu Pingchuan nodded.

“Yes. He is also an outstanding alumnus of the Xijing Art School.”

The Xijing Art School produced quite a number of talented painters every year, but the number of those who could truly become famous was extremely few.

And those who were able to achieve success like Shi Yang and hold the status as a heavyweight in the domestic painting industry were even rarer.

“To be honest, he has had quite a complicated life experience.”

Yu Pingchuan sighed.

“He came from a poor family and suffered a lot in order to come to the Xijing Art School to study painting. Fortunately, he had an outstanding talent and he was tenacious enough to get to where he is today.”

Shen Li understood.

The current Shi Yang looked refined and elegant. If Yu Pingchuan had not mentioned it, it would be hard to tell his background.

“Why did you suddenly think of asking this?” Yu Pingchuan asked.

Shen Li smiled faintly.

“It’s nothing. I happened to bump into him and suddenly remembered.”

She did not continue the topic.

“Let’s go back to Shiyuan Shijia now. What would you like to eat today?”

Hearing her words, Yu Pingchuan’s interest was immediately piqued.

“Stir-fried meat with green peppers! Or braised pork ribs with soy sauce!”

Shen Li answered, “Stir-fried bitter melon? Sure.”

Yu Pingchuan was dumbfounded.

…

On Friday night, Lu Huaiyu came to pick Shen Li up for dinner.

The two of them went to a private restaurant.

Just as they finished ordering, Shen Li’s phone rang.

Shen Li glanced at it and picked it up.

“Mr. Ronai.”

Lu Huaiyu’s eyelids lifted slightly.

There was a hint of a smile in Ronai’s voice as he reminded her, “Shen Li, your membership forms haven’t been filled up yet.”

Only then did Shen Li recall that there was such a thing.

She thought for a moment and said, “I’m sorry, I’ve been a little busy recently and neglected it. I’ve booked a plane ticket to fly to Bai City tomorrow morning.”

“Okay. I’ll wait for you here.”

The membership of Bai City’s Fashion Association was for life, so the membership process was very strict. It could even be called troublesome.

As the president, Ronai had to be there.

“Thank you.”

“It’s just a small matter. There’s no need to thank me. On the other hand, the first exhibition of my art exhibition tour will be held in Leland the day after tomorrow. If you have time, you should follow me back to Leland from Bai City,” said Ronai with a smile.

Shen Li finally understood that this phone call had not only been to remind her to submit the membership materials, but also to invite her to the exhibition again.

She paused for a moment.

“Mr. Ronai, thank you for your invitation, but I might not be able to go with you.”

Hearing this, Lu Huaiyu’s eyes twitched slightly.

Shen Li continued to speak.

“The recent courses and experiments have all been rushed together, so it’s not a good time for me to ask to take time off.”

Hearing her words, Ronai knew that she could not be persuaded, and he could not help but feel very regretful.

He sighed and smiled.

“Alright then. It seems that we’ll just have to wait for another opportunity in the future.”

He really liked Shen Li a lot. That was why he had repeatedly invited her. Other than the art exhibition, he had always wanted to let her see his private gallery.

It was a pity.

“However, this art exhibition tour will be held for a month. The last stop will be in the Capital. At that time, you can’t refuse,” Ronai said.

Shen Li was stunned for a moment. She had not expected that his art exhibition would be held in the Capital this time.

The last time he had held an art exhibition in this country was almost ten years ago. At that time, it had been held in Haicheng.

In this way, it was quite normal for him to choose the Capital this time.

She pursed her lips into a smile.

“Okay, I will definitely go there.”

After hearing what she said, Ronai finally felt relieved. He smiled and said, “Okay, then it’s a deal.”

Lu Huaiyu poured some tea for Shen Li. The faint fragrance of jasmine tea filled the air.

Seeing that Shen Li had put away her phone, he asked, “Is that Mr. Ronai’s phone number?”

“Yes, he urged me to go to Bai City to submit the membership information.” Shen Li picked up the teacup. “In addition, he invited me to see his art exhibition.”

However, she had refused.

Lu Huaiyu raised his eyebrows slightly.

“I remember that Mr. Ronai’s first stop for this art exhibition is in Leland?”

Shen Li nodded slightly.

Lu Huaiyu’s gaze fell on her face as he looked at her with his dark eyes. After a few seconds, he said, “It’s a rare opportunity. It’s a pity to have to miss it.”

Shen Li took a sip of the tea. Her red lips were full and shiny.

“It is quite a pity,” she said. “But fortunately, Mr. Ronai said that the last stop will be held in the Capital. It will be the same if we go there to take a look.”

Lu Huaiyu did not say anything.

It was true that she had been quite busy recently. However, if she really wanted to go there, it would be easy for her to ask for a day or two off.

But she had not.

Rather than saying that she could not find the right time, it would be better to say…

That she did not want to go to Leland.

Hearing that there was no movement from his side for a while, Shen Li looked up at him.

“Second Brother, what’s wrong?”

Lu Huaiyu gathered his thoughts, and his thin lips curled up into a lazy arc.

“It’s nothing. It’s indeed much more convenient to do it in Capital.”

…

The next morning, Shen Li boarded a flight to Bai City.

Shen Zhijin had originally wanted to go with her, but Shen Li said that she was only going to hand in some information this time and that she would come straight back after it was done. She did not want him to go back and forth with her, so she firmly rejected his offer.

In the end, Shen Zhijin had nodded and specially called Professor Carroll to ask him to help pick her up.

Professor Carroll had readily agreed.

Initially, Shen Li had refused and felt that it was a little troublesome for the other party. Moreover, it wasn’t like she had never been to Bai Town before. She could completely handle these matters by herself.

Unfortunately, Shen Zhijin did not think so.

The confrontation between the father and daughter had ended in Shen Li’s failure.

Shen Li had a good rest on the plane. She had slept most of the way there. By the time she got off the plane, it was three o’clock in the afternoon.

She was carrying a black backpack and wearing a baseball cap on her head. She followed the crowd and walked out.

Because it was only a day’s journey, she had not brought any suitcases.

As soon as she stepped out of the door, she saw a particularly eye-catching figure in the crowd in front of her– Bella.

Subconsciously, she looked to the side and only then did she see Professor Carroll standing at the side.

Both husband and wife had come to pick her up together.

Even though she was dressed in ordinary clothes and wore a hat, her wavy, long black hair was really very eye-catching in the crowd of blonde and white-skinned people.

Bella stood there. Even without saying anything, her aura was still fully unleashed. It was not until she saw Shen Li that she smiled and waved at her.

“Ah Li!”