Chapter 19: My Xiao An Is Not Inferior to Anyone Else
Outside the car window, in the vast, boundless fields, large patches of emerald green sunflower leaves merged into a sea of green. The vibrant stalks swayed gently in the breeze, radiating a soft and bright golden glow under the sunlight.
Jian An leaned against the window, smelling the fresh and thick fragrance of the flowers along the way. His dull, lifeless eyes actually regained a bit of spirit.
The car drove all the way into the center of the flower fields. Shen Yunheng stopped and unbuckled his seatbelt. “Weâre here, Xiao An. Let’s get out and take a look.”
Jian An gave a soft “Mhm.” The moment he pushed open the car door, he felt momentarily lost, as if he were experiencing a different lifetime.
The sea of sunflowers before his eyes was even more vast than it had appeared from the car. The breeze brushing past his ears seemed to come from the heavens, carrying a slight chill that was pleasant and comfortable.
For three whole years, other than going to school for classes, he had never stepped foot out of the Ji household.
He remembered the last time he had come here to sketch was back in university.
He used to love freedom, yet he had willingly let himself be locked in this magnificent cage for so long.
Being a bird in a cage isn’t the most tragic thing. Whatâs tragic is that when the cage door opens, youâve forgotten that you can fly.
He suddenly closed his eyes, letting himself feel the wind on his face, letting the swaying sunflowers touch his fingertips. His heart churned with deep emotion and a long-lost sense of relief.
Those trivial, terrible worries, those lonely moments of lifeâgradually, they were all buried in this pure, romantic fragrance.
The sea of flowers surrounded him, making him look like a fairy among the blossoms, creating a breathtakingly beautiful scene.
Shen Yunheng stood beside him, his gaze obsessed.
He silently took a step back, then quietly raised his camera and snapped a series of quick photos of the man’s profile.
Hearing the shutter sound, Jian An opened his eyes and looked blankly at the man with the beaming smile.
“Yunheng… were you taking pictures of me?”
As he spoke, he tilted his head slightly to look at Shen Yunheng. His fingers instinctively touched his gaunt cheek, and a surge of inferiority filled his heart. He murmured in a low voice:
“I’m not good-looking.”
“Who said you aren’t good-looking? It’s just his eyes that are bad. Be confident. My Xiao An is not inferior to anyone else!”
Shen Yunheng handed the camera to him, then reached out to gently pat his shoulder. He said patiently:
“The old you was full of confidence, strong and optimistic. You weren’t self-pitying like this.”
Jian An bent down slightly, one hand carefully cupping a sunflower petal. His thumb traced the veins of the leaf, and he leaned in to smell it. After a long time, he asked softly:
“Can I… still go back to how I was?”
The other man didn’t hesitate for a second, giving a firm answer:
“Of course! Whether it’s now or the past, Jian An will always be that person who lives towards the sun, high-spirited and full of life.”
The manâs voice was clear and deep, like a spring of fresh water, nourishing the withered sunflowers in the depths of Jian Anâs heart.
Jian An stood up, a clear and light smile appearing on his face. The sunlight hit his porcelain skin, giving him a halo-like glow, making him look even more clean and pure.
“Thank you.”
“A-Ting, I’m ready! Remember to make the photos look good~ I have to be the most beautiful, just like the flowers!”
Shen Chuyan held a bouquet of colorful flowers in both hands, his round, doll-like face wearing a sweet smile.
“Okay.”
Ji Songting carefully adjusted the shooting angle. Before he could press the shutter, his gaze was suddenly drawn to a figure behind a row of sunflowers. He froze.
The figure looked familiar, but he wasn’t sure.
As the camera zoomed and focused, he quickly saw clearly the person surrounded by the sea of flowers.
It was actually Jian An?!
Not only that, but Shen Yunheng was also beside him.
The camera caught Jian Anâs radiant smile, which was like a bright sky after a rain. Even the golden waves of sunflowers seemed to be mere backdrops for the “angel.”
Such a Jian Anâfree, passionate, and unconstrainedâwas someone he had never seen in three years. It was a complete contrast to the person who was always depressed and gloomy at the Ji house.
Ji Songting found himself staring in a daze.
“A-Ting! What are you looking at? Did you take the photo? My face is getting stiff from smiling!”
Shen Chuyan waved a hand in front of him, but his gaze couldn’t help but follow the man’s line of sight toward the back. His joyful expression turned ice-cold in an instant.
Ji Songting snapped back to reality, holding his phone properly again. “Cough… I didn’t get it right. Let’s do it again.”
But the youth holding the flowers no longer cared about taking photos. He stood on his tiptoes to look behind, saying in surprise:
“Eh! Why is Brother Xiao An here too? The person next to him looks like my brother. What are they doing?”
“What could two men be doing?”
A hint of anger appeared on Ji Songtingâs calm face, and several sharp glints of cold light surfaced in his eyes.
“A-Ting, I suddenly realized Brother Xiao Anâs back really does look like Professor Lin’s.”
Shen Chuyan lowered the binoculars from his eyes, but he had intentionally mentioned that name in front of the man.
He knew perfectly well how much Ji Songting hated people mentioning his mother, especially in relation to Jian An.
The atmosphere plummeted to freezing point. The man beside him said nothing, but his expression was terrifyingly sinister.
Seeing this, Shen Chuyanâs lips curled into a satisfied smirk. He feigned a look of being moved, continuing to lament:
“The Professor used to love taking her students to the flower fields to sketch. I think Brother Jian must be trying to paint something related to the Professor to help A-Ting miss his mother less.”
“Let’s go somewhere else.”
Ji Songting retracted his gaze, a fluctuating sense of irritation binding his mind and body.
At this moment, he didn’t want to see Jian An for even another second. He turned and pulled the youthâs hand as he walked back.
Shen Chuyan was led through the sunflowers, looking back with a face full of innocence. He asked in confusion, “Aren’t we going to go say hello?”
“No need. He’s like a ghost that won’t go away.”
On the other side, the completely unaware Jian An had picked up a paintbrush again under Shen Yunhengâs encouragement. Just like in his student days, his gaze was focused and passionate.
In the entire field of flowers, there was only one that caught his eye, and that was the only one he painted. He counted the petals in his heart as he sketched the outline, already deeply immersed. It was as if the entire world of green was there only for him.
When he finished the final stroke, Shen Yunheng leaned over to admire the oil painting from a close distance. His brows arched. “As expected of Xiao An. Would you sell this to me for a million?”
Jian An smiled and took the painting off the board, handing it to him. “Not for sale. I’m giving it to you.”
“Really?”
The other man took the painting carefully, his eyes glowing with great joy. He then compared the lifelike sunflower in the painting to the flower fields not far away.
After a moment of thought, he asked:
“The thousands of flowers before us are breathtaking, but why did Xiao An only paint one?”
Jian An gazed at the sunflower and said softly:
“Compared to the sensory beauty of a group, I prefer the unique beauty of an individual. Thereâs no need to depend on others, nor to cater to others. In one’s own world, one should just strive to bloom.”
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