With the Dragon Boat Festival holiday over, Qiao Nan had to go to school the next morning.
Pei Xu woke up early to make him breakfast, and after he finished eating, drove him to school.
The school did not allow external vehicles to enter, so Pei Xu’s car could only stop at the school gate.
Qiao Nan felt that their little spat from before was over.
After getting out of the car, he walked around to the driver’s side and sticky-sweetly made a request, “I have a full day of classes today. Will you come pick me up after work? We can go home together.”
He leaned over, resting on the car window, his beautiful eyes full of expectation as he looked at Pei Xu.
Pei Xu almost couldn’t help but agree.
But rationality reined him in just in time.
He hesitated for a moment, then gently but firmly refused, “The company is rushing a project, so I’ll be working overtime these next few nights. I won’t be coming back. Have Uncle Wang pick you up after school.”
Those words effectively shut down all of Qiao Nan’s little plans.
The smile on Qiao Nan’s face gradually disappeared.
“Then don’t come back,” he said.
After staring at Pei Xu for a while, he stomped off angrily, not even saying “goodbye” to Pei Xu.
Pei Xu watched his furious retreating back, took off his glasses, and somewhat dejectedly pinched the bridge of his nose.
He didn’t drive away until Qiao Nan’s figure was completely out of sight.
His request to go home together was tragically rejected, and Qiao Nan’s mood plummeted to rock bottom early in the morning.
He was even listless in class.
He sat in front of his easel, holding a pen, lost in thought.
Monday mornings were always professional courses, but Qiao Nan was already in the second semester of his sophomore year, and with the end of the term approaching, the teachers basically let them do their own thing after assigning homework.
Zhao Yutong from next door leaned over to look at him.
Seeing him staring blankly at a white piece of paper, he poked him with the tip of his pen.
“Qiao Nan, have you started your assignment yet? Old Li said he’d check it on Friday morning.”
Old Li was the vice dean of the oil painting department and Qiao Nan’s first studio teacher.
Before the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, Old Li had assigned a major project.
The atmosphere at Nanjiang Academy of Fine Arts had always been free and open.
Teachers were not strict about classroom discipline or attendance, but they were absolutely uncompromising when it came to assignments.
Just like Old Li, who had asked them to submit a full-body portrait painting the day before the holiday, but then suddenly announced after the holiday that he would check it on Friday.
A full-body portrait painting would take at least two weeks to complete, so if they hadn’t started during the holiday, they would basically have to pull all-nighters from then on.
Qiao Nan belatedly let out an “ah” and immediately perked up.
“That fast? I completely forgot!”
The Dragon Boat Festival and weekend combined were only a three-day holiday.
He had been busy arguing with Pei Xu and had long forgotten about his assignment.
“Have you found a model?”
Qiao Nan leaned over to look at his easel, also a blank canvas.
“Nope, otherwise why would I ask you?”
Zhao Yutong said with a chuckle.
“You go find one.”
He fawningly massaged Qiao Nan’s shoulder.
“With Young Master Qiao on the case, nothing is impossible.”
Models were hard to come by now.
For group assignments, they could contact the teaching aids department to apply for models, but this time it was a free assignment, and everyone had different themes, so they had to find models themselves.
Others might have to go to a modeling agency and pay, but if it were Young Master Qiao, he could probably just post on Moments and many men and women would voluntarily come to model.
Qiao Nan found the contact for the modeling agency in his contacts.
“Then I’ll contact them.”
Zhao Yutong understood his stance, slumped powerlessly into his chair, covering his eyes and wailing, “I really don’t want to paint grandpas, grandmas, uncles, and aunts anymore.”
“It’s good enough that you have something to paint; stop being so picky,” Qiao Nan muttered, ignoring him.
He squeezed paint onto the palette and began to mix colors.
This time, the agency was very efficient.
The model arrived at 2 PM, and it turned out to be someone he knew.
“Why is it you?”
Qiao Nan looked at Qin Feng, his expression surprised.
Qin Feng’s attire was completely different from that day at the club.
A loose, plain gray T-shirt paired with army green cargo pants, high-top basketball shoes, and a pair of sunglasses hanging from the collar of his shirt, plus eye-catching metal accessories, gave him a completely trendy look.
Qiao Nan just casually glanced and recognized these individual items on him—all luxury brands, quite expensive.
Someone who could hang out with Qian Chuan would likely come from a decent family, so it was unlikely he would need to do a part-time job.
“We meet again, Young Master Qiao.”
Qin Feng clearly saw his confusion and explained with a hearty smile, “Let me reintroduce myself. I’m Qian Chuan’s cousin, Qin Feng. My profession can probably be considered a model, but my family doesn’t really support my career, so I haven’t let the agency know.”
He shrugged, self-deprecatingly, “An 18th-tier unknown model, I just happened to hear you needed a model, so I volunteered myself.”
“Don’t you dare tell anyone,” he said, putting his index finger to his lips and winking at Qiao Nan, revealing a knowing smile.
Qiao Nan said “Oh,” not too surprised.
In their circle, although nonconformist second-generation rich kids like Qin Feng weren’t abundant, there were quite a few.
For example, he had a great family business waiting to be inherited, yet he chose to study oil painting instead — to others, that probably seemed like outright rebellion.
“Have you ever done figure modeling before?”
Qiao Nan asked.
“I have,” Qin Feng replied, “but I’ve never done nude modeling. If you need it, I could give it a try…”
“No need, no need,” Qiao Nan quickly cut him off and pointed to a display stand in the corner of the studio.
“Just sit over there and strike whatever pose is comfortable for you.”
Qin Feng clicked his tongue in mild disappointment but still obediently sat down on the chair atop the platform.
Once the model was in position, Qiao Nan sent a message to Zhao Yutong, who had gone out for lunch, then began focusing on sketching and setting up the base shapes.
Qin Feng’s gaze rested on him with growing intrigue.
—When Qiao Nan painted, he had a completely different aura from usual.
Normally, Young Master Qiao was elegant and proud, like a beautiful, delicate porcelain vase — one that needed to be handled with care.
But now, he sat in front of the easel in a plain white T-shirt, his fair, slender fingers holding a brush and smudging paint.
When his fingers accidentally touched the pigments, it was as if beautiful flowers were blooming from his fingertips, full of vibrant life.
Qin Feng rubbed his fingers together slightly, suddenly feeling a creative itch.
From the very first moment he saw Qiao Nan, he knew this person was like a captivating piece of art — something one would want to admire and possess.
But it was only upon getting closer that he realized there were far more surprises than he had imagined.
“I heard from Chuan’er that the person who picked you up the other day was your foster brother?”
Qin Feng casually brought up a topic.
“At first, I thought he was your boyfriend. You two seem really close.”
“My brother and I grew up together, of course we’re close.”
Qiao Nan paused his brush and looked at him with a curious glance.
“Even though this major has a pretty high proportion of gay students, at least I’m not one of them.”
Qin Feng let out a meaningful “Oh,” chuckled, and let the topic drop, saying only, “Then I must have misunderstood.”
Qiao Nan lowered his head and continued painting, no longer making small talk.
Once he got into the zone, he would often lose track of time.
It wasn’t until Zhao Yutong called him several times asking if he wanted dinner that he realized it was already past five in the evening.
—He hadn’t even noticed when Zhao Yutong came back.
He glanced at Qin Feng, who was still sitting in the same position on the display stand, and apologized.
“Sorry, I lost track of time.”
It’s exhausting for a model to maintain a single pose for long periods.
Typically, after about two hours, the model would be given a break to stretch and move around.
But Qiao Nan had been so immersed that he forgot the time, and Qin Feng hadn’t reminded him either — he had just held the pose for more than three hours straight.
“No big deal,” Qin Feng slowly stretched his numb limbs, his handsome face slightly contorted from the stiffness.
Seeing that, Qiao Nan felt even more embarrassed and casually said, “We’re just about to have dinner. Want to join us? It’s on me.”
Qin Feng didn’t refuse.
“Then I won’t say no.”
After packing up his brushes, Qiao Nan went to dinner with Qin Feng and Zhao Yutong in the school cafeteria.
Zhao Yutong walked beside Qiao Nan and finally got the chance to gossip.
He nudged Qiao Nan with his elbow and asked quietly, “Didn’t you say the agency arranged the model? Where did this guy come from?”
Figure modeling is tough work and not particularly well-paid, so most of the models agencies send are older, average-looking people.
Occasionally, there would be a few young students doing it as a side gig.
But someone like Qin Feng — handsome and well-built — even if he couldn’t break into the entertainment industry, should at least be a small influencer.
There was no way someone like him would become a figure model.
Qiao Nan replied, “He was arranged through the agency, but I actually know him too. He’s my childhood friend’s cousin. He’s currently chasing a modeling dream.”
“That’s such a coincidence?”
Zhao Yutong secretly glanced back.
Qin Feng was replying to messages on his phone.
Sensing Zhao’s gaze, he looked up and gave a smile.
Zhao Yutong clutched his chest and whispered to Qiao Nan, “Even as a straight guy, I gotta admit — he’s really good-looking. He honestly looks like one of those influencers…” He tried to recall the name of that influencer for a long time but couldn’t — just vaguely remembered that the guy was a young artist who returned from abroad, and whose face was more famous than his paintings.
Qiao Nan wasn’t very interested in influencers, so he didn’t pay much attention.
Seeing the cafeteria up ahead, he stopped responding to Zhao Yutong’s muttering and called Qin Feng over.
After dinner, Qiao Nan exchanged WeChat contacts with Qin Feng and scheduled a time for the next morning.
Then he went back to the dorm with Zhao Yutong.
Although he usually stayed at home, he had kept a bed in the dorm, though it was often left empty.
He and Pei Xu had fought recently, and he had angrily said he’d move back to the dorm — at the time, it was just a threat.
But now, with deadlines looming, he really did have to stay at school to work.
His roommates were surprised to see him back and immediately understood once he mentioned he had work to finish.
They all looked at him with sympathy.
For three days straight, Qiao Nan stayed in the studio and didn’t go home.
On the first day, Pei Xu sent him a WeChat message, but Qiao Nan, likely still angry, didn’t respond.
That night, worried, Pei Xu called Uncle Wang and learned that Qiao Nan was staying in the dorms to finish his assignment.
It wasn’t the first time this had happened.
Back then, Qiao Nan had been sweet — every night he would video call Pei Xu, complain about how much homework there was, and share small details of his day.
But now, clearly still angry, Qiao Nan wasn’t being sweet at all.
Staring at the unanswered chat, Pei Xu licked his upper palate and tried to hold back.
By the third afternoon, still no reply.
Pei Xu called home again.
Uncle Wang said Qiao Nan hadn’t come back at all.
Since Qiao Nan was an adult and had already mentioned he’d be staying on campus to work, Uncle Wang wasn’t worried. He assumed the brothers were just having a spat and even gently advised Pei Xu to move back home.
Pei Xu hung up and scrolled through his contacts. His thumb hovered over a number labeled only as “K” — but he didn’t press it right away.
After a long pause, he tossed the phone onto the couch, ripped off his tie a bit roughly, and went into the gym.
He had a habit of working out, and his apartment in Boting Mansion had a dedicated gym.
He pounded at the punching bag, each blow dulling the restlessness that had been surging inside him.
But only a little.
A louder, more urgent voice in his head screamed: Go find Qiao Nan.
He wanted to know Qiao Nan’s whereabouts, confirm where he was, what he was doing — and whether he had met any new friends or admirers…
The possessiveness he had long tried to suppress was rearing its head again, like a wild beast growling restlessly.
Pushing his damp bangs back, Pei Xu stared at the phone on the couch for a while, and finally couldn’t resist the urge.
He picked it up.
Unlocked it.
Opened his contacts.
Found Old K’s number and typed a message: [Send me the photos from the past three days to my email.]