The audience finished fully venting their overly excited emotions, and the noisy cheers subsided a bit.
Media reporters who wanted interviews lined up outside the organizer’s office, determined to interview the champion of the Star Cup.
The other spectators left the venue in an orderly manner under the guidance of the event staff. The front row of the venue suddenly became empty.
The moment Qian Li picked up her bag and stood up from her seat, Vivian came over and looked around. Then he asked in confusion, “Madam, isn’t Chairman Pei leaving with you?”
Vivian supported Qian Li properly. Then she heard Qian Li laugh and say, “Don’t wait for him.”
The golden powder celebrating the winner of the Star Cup’s gold medal was still spreading throughout the venue.
Vivian understood immediately, and a smile appeared in her eyes.
“Then let’s go first.”
The moment Vivian’s voice came out, there was a sudden commotion outside the venue. Many people could be heard shouting in surprise.
In the middle of the crowd, a tall man with his hat pulled down and wearing a low-key black coat walked out of the venue quickly. He got into a business car under the protection of his agent.
“Ahhh! Yun Guanqing!”
“It is the first time seeing him in person. I didn’t recognize him because he was wearing a hat. He was sitting behind me!”
“Did he watch the whole thing? Does a movie star like this type of competition?”
“You are so stupid. Haven’t you seen Matching Heartbeat? It must be for You Mian.”
The car door was slammed shut, blocking out all questions from the crowd outside.
The gent got in the car right after him and sat next to Yun Guanqing, asking, “Are you going to the set?”
Yun Guanqing looked sideways out the car window and hummed heavily.
The agent immediately gestured to the driver. “Go back to the set.”
The agent didn’t understand why Yun Guanqing, who had stayed up all night last night and had been working non-stop for two days, didn’t go back to the hotel to rest when he finally got a break. Instead, he insisted on coming to watch the competition.
He had also watched Matching Heartbeat, but he never expected that Yun Guanqing seemed to care about You Mian much more than what the other person showed on the show.
Yun Guanqing took off his baseball cap and threw it on his knees. The man’s long hair was cut short. The prickly hair ends made him look tougher. His androgynous aura was reduced a lot and he looked more heroic.
Yun Guanqing’s eyelids lowered tiredly. His dark circles were very obvious. Then when he thought of You Mian holding up the golden trophy and the flowers just now, the fatigue in his heart seemed to dissipate.
By the time Guan Tong’s group walked out, they only saw the exhaust of the black business car and had no idea who was sitting inside.
Guan Tong realized it was unlikely he could meet You Mian today when he saw the group of media reports blocking the door of the organizer’s office, so he followed Qu Miao and the others to leave.
Who knew that as soon as they walked out the venue, a familiar male voice would be heard behind them?
Guan Tong turned around in confusion and saw Yan Tingxuan standing behind him in a brown coat.
“Brother Yan?” Guan Tong’s eyes widened, his tone a bit surprised. “You’re here too? Why didn’t I see you?”
Yan Tingxuan pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses and smiled politely. “I bought a ticket in the back row.”
Guan Tong nodded.
Yan Tingxuan seemed to come just to say hello to him. The man pushed up his sleeve, looked at his watch, and said goodbye with a smile. “There are customers waiting, so let’s not talk for now.”
Guan Tong hurriedly replied, “Okay.”
Yan Tingxuan hurriedly left as if he had really taken time out of his busy schedule just to watch the finals.
Guan Tong stared at his back. Fang Xiaofeng, who had never watched the romance show, asked softly, “Your friend?”
Guan Tong immediately shook his head. “No, he is…” You Mian’s friend.
But before he could finish the second half of the sentence, Guan Tong realized that something was wrong. He was silent for a moment before changing his words. “Yes, my friend.”
The report about the gold medal winner of the Star Cup spread quickly on the Internet just after the finals ended. The official website of the Star Cup also released the final works of the gold medal winner as well as the runner-up and third place winners.
In less than five minutes, the official Weibo account of Huajiang Art Museum liked and reposted the media post.
[Huajiang Art Museum: Congratulations to You Mian for winning the Star Cup’s gold medal award! I wonder if the new work can be exhibited in the museum for a limited time [cute wink.jpg].]
The boxing arena was filled with the sound of punches.
The moment the middle-aged coach walked in, he saw Huo Yanzhi sitting on a bench, drinking an energy drink and looking at his phone.
Huo Yanzhi’s condition had improved since the last fever, but he still hadn’t returned to his peak level.
The coach didn’t want to put too much pressure on him, so the coach just walked over and smiled. “What are you looking at?”
Huo Yanzhi’s mobile phone was on the page that read, ‘The gold medal work of the Rebirth themed finals. Contestant 0409, You Mian, created a perfect work amidst the boos of the audience…”
The texture of the huge sculpture was captured with incredible clarity under the high-definition camera. Every texture was breathtakingly beautiful.
The man’s eyes subconsciously showed a gentle smile.
Then after hearing the coach’s voice, Huo Yanzhi pressed on his phone and turned off the screen.
Huo Yanzhi raised his hand and put the energy drink next to his backpack. Then he stood up and said calmly, “It’s nothing. Let’s continue training.”
The coach looked at him in confusion.” “Is it the finals you wanted to get a ticket for but didn’t get?”
Huo Yanzhi’s punch almost missed. He said sullenly, “No.”
The coach smiled and walked over to hold the sandbag for him. “Just pretend it isn’t the case.”
The heavy snow outside the art center had stopped. The sky, which had been gloomy for the whole morning, had completely cleared up. The sun was warm and seemed to symbolize that this season of cold winter was about to end.
The audience in the venue had all left. The surroundings were empty and extremely quiet.
Outside the glass door of the art center, Marcia held Hillman’s briefcase. The blonde-haired woman stood beside him, looked at the sky with a smile, and said softly in German, “The sun in Huajiang City is so rare.”
Hillman had been here twice. The last time was to judge the second round of the Star Cup. The heavy rain that day made his trouser legs wet.
It snowed heavily on the final day, starting late last night and only stopping now.
Standing under the eaves, Hillman said, “Winter will soon be over. In spring, there will be more sunshine like this.”
The silver-haired, gray-eyed man stood at the gate in silence with no intention of moving his feet.
Marcia asked in a puzzled voice, “Dean? You have a seminar in Switzerland this afternoon. Your plane will take off soon.”
Hillman knew how full his schedule was. Just as he was about to leave, he heard footsteps behind him.
He saw a group of reporters walking out in a daze after finishing the interview. Each one of them was holding a camera while their editors were holding laptops. They had urgent looks on their faces as if they had gained some big news and were ready to rush back to their respective cars to grab the first release.
Hillman realized something and jerked back.
The lights were faintly bright. The two people walked out of the quiet art center again.
You Mian and Pei Huaiji walked out of the gate of the venue together. Their arms were touching each other and the fabric of their coats rubbed against each other from time to time.
Hillman noticed that it was an extremely intimate distance.
You Mian had just finished a press conference that lasted over 40 minutes. Now he looked a bit tired.
The young man leaned part of his body weight on Pei Huaiji and walked forward affectionately.
“The car is already outside. You can’t sleep here,” Pei Huaiji said softly.
Pei Huaiji said sternly, but his arms wrapped around You Mian to give him the most comfortable position to lean on.
You Mian smiled. “I’m not tired to that extent.”
Pei Huaiji gently kissed the top of Pei Huaiji’s head, holding his hand and interlocking their fingers.
“The snow has stopped,” Pei Huaiji said.
“Huh? Did it?”
Hearing this, You Mian looked up. At this moment, he was somewhat surprised to catch a glimpse of Jaeger Hillman standing at the gate.
The famous dean of the Clios Fine Academy of Arts was old. He had neat silver hair and gray eyes that were always serious. He seemed to be able to utter harsh criticism in the next second.
You Mian immediately stopped when he saw the other party and greeted politely. “Dean Hillman.”
Pei Huaiji also nodded politely.
You Mian thought that this was just a chance encounter between him and Hillman. The two parties would politely greet each other before leaving.
He didn’t expect that Hillman didn’t intend to just pass by like this.
The dean, who hadn’t smiled much and looked serious, stood in the doorway and tried to talk to him.
“Your eye color is special,” Hillman said in not very proficient Chinese.
Marcia stood aside and looked at Hillman with some surprise. She didn’t expect Hillman to pay so much attention to the young man, even stopping to say a few words to him when the plane was about to be missed.
Pei Huaiji stood beside You Mian, a bit taller than Hillman in terms of height and volume.
The man stood beside You Mian as if to block all the wind and snow for the other party.
Hillman’s words made Pei Huaiji frown slightly, making him slightly vigilant.
You Mian gently touched the back of Pei Huaiji’s hand with his own to show comfort.
You Mian smiled at Hillman and said, “There are indeed a lot of people who say that.”
Jaeger Hillman stared at You Mian’s pupils for several seconds after hearing You Mian’s answer. He seemed to think of something. His tone slowed down, and he said carefully, “Your eyes remind me of an old friend of mine.”
Pei Huaiji’s brow furrowed.
Even You Mian couldn’t help being slightly surprised when he heard this.
Once it came to a longer conversation, Hillman had to rely on Marcia’s translation. He pursed his lips, his cold expression faded slightly. “My old friend in Germany. His name was Valentine Wagner.”
Hillman was lost in thought and didn’t notice You Mian’s reaction when he said the name.
He said softly, “This should be a German name that you don’t often hear. He has such beautiful green eyes. Your eyes are more amber, but they resemble his.”
“He was a great mountaineer, an adventurer, and an extremely professional geoprospector.”
“He died unexpectedly many years ago…”
Hillman whispered, “I lost a good friend.”
You Mian’s hand suddenly lost its strength as he gripped Pei Huaiji’s hand.
Jaeger Hillman’s brow loosened slightly. He held his forehead as if his mind had returned. “Sorry, I said a bit too much. It is just…”
Hillman turned to look at Marcia.
Marcia appropriately translated, “The scene brought out these emotions.”
Hillman nodded casually. “I guess so.”
The gray-eyed man smiled with some relief after he finished speaking, as if he hadn’t expected to meet someone who reminded him of his old friend in Huajiang City, and this young man turned out to be the contestant who had given him such a great surprise.
All these coincidences made Hillman change his serious expression and say a few more words.
Just as he waved and was about to turn and leave, You Mian behind him stopped him.
“Dean Hillman!” You Mian softly called out for him to stop.
Hillman and Marcia, who had already walked down a few steps, turned back at the same time.
You Mian blinked fiercely, his throat a bit dry. He clenched Pei Huaiji’s wrist and said in a trembling voice, “The friend you mentioned…”
“Maybe he is my father.”
Avid fan of danmei novels! If you want access to advance chapters, you can subscribe on Patreon. Thanks!
https://www.patreon.com/WhiteLily476
damn i was close! not his grandpa but a friend of his dad