Capítulo 53: Old Friend
No. 32 Ancient Street.
There was a century-old stop.
The name of the shop was very simple. There was a small plaque next to it with the world "Gallery" written on it.
Decades ago, this place was very famous throughout the Ancient Town, countless dignitaries came here every day to spend a lot of money for painting.
Because of the mastery of the painter inside, each painting was very precious, they were very real and lifelike.
But with the development of technology, with the advent of cameras, video games, and mobile phones, the demand for portraits had decreased.
Until modern times, the door of this shop had long been unpopular and unattended.
Even the coachman, when he saw the storefront of this shop, he was full of puzzlement.
"Sir, I know a very good photography studio, the quality is much better than here. Everything you want will be guaranteed and it is cheaper there. As for this place, the efficiency is not good, the fee is expensive and it's not cost-effective." The coachman persuaded Ye Bei according to his own thoughts.
"Just stop here." Ye Bei did not explain much, he just said lightly.
"Okay, sir." The coachman was no longer wordy, knowing that it would be annoying to talk too much, and there were indeed some people who liked ancient paintings. But the coachman felt that he would not appreciate that kind of art in his lifetime.
The cart stopped and Ye Bei paid him.
The coachman left quickly. Soon, he met another guest and he enthusiastically talked with that guest like he did to Ye Bei earlier, he praised the beautiful environment of the Ancient Town, introduces the local customs, told some small stories, and had a great chat with the guest. As for Ye Bei, he had become a passerby in his life.
…
Ye Bei stood at the gate of the shop.
The old man wearing reading glasses did not notice him at all, he was still painting seriously.
Ye Bei did not bother him either. He just stood behind, watching quietly.
The painting was huge. The pictures inside contained mountains, rivers, huts, and old trees.
The color was bright and soft.
When looking at this painting, Ye Bei felt that his state of mind became more and more peaceful.
However, the only thing that made Ye Bei feel a little regretful was that the old man did not paint with the ancient brushes, but with the latest paintbrush. Consequently, in the painting, it seemed that there was always a missing conception of life and art.
Time passed quietly, Ye Bei stationed there for two hours.
On the side of the street, the tourists passed by, wave after wave.
Some people stopped, some just looked sideways.
However, those people might only be curious occasionally and would leave after staying for less than ten minutes.
Three hours later.
The sky was getting a little dim. The setting sun went to the west, many lanterns were lit on both side of the street, however, what was lit inside the lantern was no longer a candle, but a modern electric bulb. Compared with the silence of the dusk, now in the Ancient Town, it was completely reversed, as the evening looming, more tourists came, the Ancient Town became even more noisy and lively.
The old man finally drew a round of golden sun on the painting, that was the finishing touch.
Then he stretched out the paper carefully and sealed it up with tools.
He pushed the reading glasses at the corner of his eyes. Then he stood up and stretched his waist, feeling that his body was very old now, and his body ached badly.
After a long time, he turned around and saw Ye Bei who was standing behind, he saw that white gown. In his cloudy eyes, some surprise appeared, then he was full of vigilance.
"Sir, the shop is closed now, if you want a painting, please come back tomorrow." His voice was not polite at all.
After all, in the eyes of this old man, even though Ye Bei was dressed in retro, he was very young. In this era, few young people came to buy paintings, so instead of wasting time with this young man, it was better to close the shop and rest earlier.
"I'm not here to buy paintings, I'm just here to appraise paintings." Ye Bei's voice was flat. He looked at the old man, from the outline, the old man looked familiar.
If Ye Bei was right, this old man should be the offspring of that old man.
"Appraise paintings?" The old man was a little puzzled, frowning slightly, "Sir, you must have come to the wrong place. Our gallery is only responsible for painting, not for appraising. If you want to appraise paintings, you should go to experts who are more knowledgeable, this place is not suitable."
"Don't you need to look at the painting first?" Ye Bei was still very indifferent. When he was speaking, he ignored the old man as he stepped forward and walked directly into the store.
"Sir, it's closed." The old man blocked him and quickly followed, "Sir, we are really closed today. I'm old and can't paint anymore, if sir really wants a painting, please come back tomorrow."
As his voice fell, a breeze blew by.
The door of this shop closed automatically.
Inside the gallery, a candle was lit and the walls were covered with various paintings.
There were people, beasts, mountains, water, and all kinds of beautiful sceneries.
When the old man came after him, Ye Bei stopped looking at the paintings.
When seeing the old still wanted to drive him away, Ye Bei revealed the scroll in his hand.
When the beautiful person in the painting was presented in front of the old man, his body directly stopped.
Then, his body trembled violently and those old eyes went wide.
The gods did not know, the ghost did not realize, his hands unknowingly reached out to take the picture.
The old man slowly spread out the painting. He put his reading glasses on again and observed it earnestly. There was still a lot of water mist gradually overflowing from the corner of his eyes. After a long time, he said in a hoarse voice, "Yes, it really is… I did not expect that after so many years, I still have a chance to see this painting again, this is my old master's wish."
His voice murmured, when he said this, the old man's thoughts floated far.
"These are defective products, defective products!" In the gallery, a middle-aged man violently tore paintings to pieces, his voice was angry.
"Why? What can't I draw that picture anymore? I remember it very clearly…" In that same gallery, the old man had a hoarse voice and burning eyes.
"Little Gu, the thing that I'm most proud of in my life is that painting. But since then, no matter how I remember or copy, I can't make that same painting again. I just want to see that painting again, just once and my life is worth it! That is my most perfect and proudest work…" In the gallery, two old people were sitting face to face, the atmosphere was silent.
After a long time, this old man came back to his senses, his eyes were hot when he looked at Ye Bei.
"Sir, can you sell this painting to me? You can give out any conditions." He spoke slowly and expectantly.
Hearing this, Ye Bei looked away from the paintings on the wall and quietly looked at the old man in front of him.
"Wang Gu, how is your father?" After a long time, Ye Bei spoke slowly, his voice was low.
The old man was a little surprised. He did not understand why the young man in front of him knew his name. In his impression, he was sure that he had never seen him before.
Creak!
When Wang Gu was about to inquire, a small wooden door connected to the backyard of this gallery was suddenly pushed open.
An old man with gray hair and shaky stature standing in the doorway, all his eyes were on Ye Bei.
REFLEXIONES DE LOS CREADORES 
Venerable_Linfeng
Venerable_Linfeng Tenacity and adversity are old foes.
Capítulo 54: The Painting
In the gallery, the light was a bit dim.
Wang Gu held the painting, his hands trembling uncontrollably.
In the backyard, in front of the door, the old man trembled even more severely.
Ye Bei just stood quietly.
He looked back faintly, in those deep eyes, there were no waves, they were very calm.
The old man in front of him looked kind, he combed his hair very carefully, without a trace of messy, but the silvery-white hair was still clearly visible in the dim light. In his slightly sunken eye sockets, a pair of dark brown eyes quietly revealed about the years and the transformation of life.
If his outline was not so similar, who would think that this old man, eighty years ago, was handsome, versatile, as countless beautiful women lined up in a long line, boldly pursuing him alone throughout the Ancient Street?
"You…" Looking at Ye Bei, he slowly stretched out his hand, his mouth was half-sound before spitting out such a word, all his pupils were shocked and unbelievable, but there was still a lot of hesitation in his eyes.
"Old Master, why are you here? I have good news, that painting is found. Look, it's in my hand now. I've seen you tried to paint it many times, it's very similar to this painting. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it." When Wang Gu saw the old man, he ran over with the painting quickly, his voice excited, with some mist around his eyes, he was clearly crying with joy.
But when Wang Gu stretched out the painting in front of the old man, he did not expect that the old man would actually slowly push it away, without even looking at it. Those eyes were still on Ye Bei.
"It's me." Ye Bei looked at the old man, and when the atmosphere in this gallery was extremely silent, he spoke softly.
His words were not much, just simple two words, his voice was hoarse and a bit young, but it was extremely deep.
After the old man listened, his trembling body was shaking more and more at this moment.
It seemed that at this moment, he went straight through countless hours and returned to eighty years ago.
He was wearing a blouse, sitting at the door, painting for a young girl.
A young man in a white gown came with small steps, stood with his hands behind his back, he did not speak, he just watched quietly.
The youth looked indifferent. Those eyes were like the void which contained countless stars and countless stories.
But now, when the old man saw Ye Bei again, he only felt that the two images were magically overlapping.
There seemed to be an illusion of a thousand years instead.
"Guest, my name is Wang Xiu, penname is Winter Jasmine. I don't know whether the guest is here to paint for himself or buy paintings?" That day, Wang Xiu was very young and personable. When he spoke, his voice was clear and confident.
"I need a portrait of one person." The youth in the white gown spoke softly.
"Oh?" Wang Xiu was puzzled.
"I will narrate, you will sketch." The youth said flatly.
"Difficult!" After Wang Xiu understood the meaning, he looked thoughtful and cautious.
"Accept?" The youth in the white gown asked.
"Accept." Wang Xiu nodded earnestly after pondering for a few seconds.
The memory of that year, at this moment, became extremely clear.
Standing in the gallery, Wang Xiu's trembling body could not stop shaking.
The air almost solidified at this moment.
Wang Gu was a little unclear about this, but in any case, he still held the scroll tightly though he did not know what to say.
After a long time, Wang Xiu finally recovered.
He raised his head and looked at Ye Bei again, he sighed softly, "People who are very similar also exist. Guest, are you a descendant of that person? He once said that a hundred years later, he will definitely come to see me."
"I am that person." Ye Bei opened his mouth and looked at Wang Xiu who had been eroded by the years, his eyes were indifferent to the extreme. His eyes did not have any wave as he made another statement, but when his sentence fell, the gallery was instantly occupied by a kind of sadness.
Wang Xiu did not speak, staring straight at Ye Bei with his dry eyes.
Doubts, at loss, ups and downs…
He was thinking.
He could not believe it and did not dare to accept it.
There was no trace of age on the face of the old friend 80 years ago, even his voice and clothes were exactly the same as before.
Could it be that the years are fake? In this world, could it be there is someone who is unbound by time?
"Old Master, and this gentleman, what are you talking about? How do I feel that I don't understand at all? And, where did this painting come from?" Wang Gu beside him could not help it anymore, he opened his mouth and broke the silent atmosphere.
Ye Bei was silent, he did not make any special actions.
The corners of Wang Xiu's wrinkled eyes trembled a little, "Little Gu, you go to the backyard first, I have something to ask the guest."
"Old Master?" Wang Gu became more puzzled.
"Go!"
"Yes, father." Wang Gu did not dare to talk anymore, he put the painting on the table near that. In his heart, Wang Xiu was not only his father but also the one who disciplined him the most severe. Even though he was already nearly 70 years old, when facing this father of his, he did not dare to disobey.
When Wang Gu left, only Ye Bei and Wang Xiu were left in the gallery.
Wang Xiu looked at Ye Bei and spoke slowly, "Guest, my name is Wang Xiu, penname is Winter Jasmine, I don't know if the guest is here to paint for himself or buy paintings?"
The words were the same, but the sound was completely different from the clearness of the past.
"I need a portrait of one person." Ye Bei said lightly.
"Oh?" Wang Xiu shook his body and put one hand on the table, trying to stand firm.
"I will narrate, you will sketch."
After hearing this, Wang Xiu was finally determined and he no longer had any doubts.
"It's really you! Eighty years ago, that day, after you left with the painting, I repeatedly trying to paint that painting every day, but no matter how hard I work, no matter hard I paint, I can't draw that painting again with that perfection, why is that?" When he said this, Wang Xiu stared at Ye Bei. Compared to that painting, Ye Bei's unchanging appearance was undoubtedly more amazing for him.
"I'm looking for this answer too. If I'm not wrong, about the person in this painting… I have a hunch that in the near future, the girl in the painting will appear at No. 32 Ancient Street." Ye Bei did not hide it and said calmly.
"The girl in the painting? Eighty years…" Wang Xiu stared at Ye Bei blankly. Eighty years ago, he had a foreboding of everything? This was too strange.
However, Wang Xiu understood that there were some things that he did not need to know.
"Whatever, guest, since you are here again, Winter Jasmine has only one thing to ask for." Wang Xiu was serious.
Ye Bei nodded, he did not wait for Wang Xiu to tell what was the matter, he agreed directly.
Wang Xiu had lived for a long time, he was already over a hundred years old.
Ye Bei looked at his old face and immediately judged that he had run out of time. So since he had a relationship with him, he could not refuse.
"Why don't you ask about it?" Wang Xiu was surprised.
"Paint a picture." Ye Bei replied lightly.
Wang Xiu grinned, his old face revealed a rare smile.
REFLEXIONES DE LOS CREADORES
Venerable_Linfeng
Venerable_Linfeng
Think about your own faults during the first half of the night, and the faults of others during the second half.
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