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The next morning, the sun was shining brightly.After eating breakfast, Lucas stood in front of the mirror and looked at it. His slender body was wrapped in a silver-gray suit with dark stripes, looking refreshed.He raised his wrist to check the time, there was still a quarter of an hour until nine o'clock.Looking down from the window, the awning of the cafe downstairs has been set up, like a few colorful flowers blooming in the sun.

"Good morning, Leo." Lucas greeted him standing in front of the store.

"Good morning, please wait for a few minutes, I will be ready soon." Leo walked into the store quickly.Taking advantage of this time, Lucas went to the next flower shop to buy a bouquet of lilies.

Leo came out of the store. He had already changed his clothes. The silver-white thin sweater was covered with a white shirt with a stand-up collar, and his lower body was white slim-fitting board pants. He looked very neat and tidy.He had a windbreaker on his left arm, and a small paper bag in his right hand. He didn't know what was in it.

"Mr. Constantine..."

"Please call me Lucas."

"Lucas, this is the windbreaker you left in the store last time."

"Ah, I forgot. Thank you very much." Lucas took the clothes.

"Do you drive? They need the car in the store. Sorry."

"No problem. The car is parked in the back." The two walked around the building side by side.

"Where is it? How long will it take to get there? Is it early?"

"It's over there in Chinatown. It takes about half an hour at this time. It's a good time to go now. Your car is so beautiful."

"Do you want to try it?"

"is it okay?"

Lucas tossed the key to the other party, opened the door on the other side and sat on it: "I'll leave it to you."

"Please don't worry." Leo familiarized himself with the settings of the instrument panel and started the ignition.He drives as sure as he himself, with little bumps to feel.

The car turned along the river into a relatively remote alleyway, and the scenery along the way refreshed Lucas' understanding of the city where he had lived for many years. After more than 20 minutes, the car stopped in front of a row of townhouses whose walls were occupied by plants.

"Here we are." Leo turned off the ignition, pulled out the key and handed it to Lucas. "This car is awesome. Thank you."

The two stopped in front of the hall, and Leo rang the doorbell.After a while, the door opened, revealing a very elegantly dressed middle-aged Asian woman behind the door.

"Hello, Teacher Wei. Excuse me." Leo still greeted in French, "This is the friend I told you about, Mr. Lucas Constantine."

Lucas came forward to say hello and gave the flowers in his hand to Ms. Wei.

"Thank you." The lady's French tone was soft, reminding Lucas of his mother.

Ms. Wei introduced the two into the living room.Calligraphy banners are hung on the front wall of the hall, and cigarettes are faintly rising from the incense burner below. In one corner is a pot of green bamboo that is half the height of a person. The bookshelf that occupies the entire left wall is full of books and several trophies.On the right, under a Han and Tang Palace lantern, there is a guqin on a low table.The furnishings here made Lucas feel an elegant and scholarly atmosphere.

Leo and Ms. Wei said a few words, then turned to Lucas and said, "I'm going to make tea, you can take a look around. Teacher Wei is very easy-going."

After all, the two entered the kitchen.Lucas carefully collected books at the front of the bookshelf, and found that the classification of books is very organized, not only music theory, but also literature, history, cooking, etc., in Chinese, French and English.

After a while, the two came over with plates and teapots.

"Judging from the collection of books, Ms. Wei has covered a lot." Lucas turned back and said.

"Art comes from life and cannot be separated from life." Ms. Wei said with a smile.

After the three sat down, Leo began to pour tea.

"Mr. Wei, this time I brought you white tea. My grandfather bought it from a tea farmer himself." Leo placed a cup of tea in front of Ms. Wei.

"Thank you, I'm lucky again." She raised her glass and looked at it for a moment, took a sip, and said, "The soup is clear, with a light aftertaste. Not bad, not bad."

Looking at the light green tea in the cup, Lucas was still attracted by the faint aroma, took a sip and held it in his mouth, the tea was slightly astringent, but after swallowing, his mouth was filled with a touch of sweetness.

"Since I want to learn about Guqin, let me briefly introduce it first." Ms. Wei put down her teacup and said to Leo, "I don't speak French very well, can you please translate for me?"

"No problem." Leo filled the teacup again.

The two spoke one sentence in Chinese and one in French, and Lucas gradually became fascinated by it.

"In China, the art of guqin is unique, apart from the fact that the virtue of the qin is the best. Let me explain that Chinese people place their affection on objects, and match them with people's moral character according to the characteristics of objects. It is also because its musical characteristics conform to the Natural, thought-provoking, in line with the characteristics of traditional Chinese culture in pursuit of artistic conception, advocating connotation and implicit meaning, and embodies the virtues of ancient Chinese people's self-cultivation and enlightenment."

Speaking of this, Ms. Wei got up and walked to the piano and sat down, brushing the strings with her hands, and the unique and pleasant voice resonated on the heartstrings.

"The sound of the Guqin is pure and elegant, clear and far-reaching, elegant and interesting, joyful but not lewd, pure-hearted and ascetic, sad but not sad, resentful but not angry, gentle and honest, and peaceful in form."

"The piece that Ms. Wei played is "A Good Night"."

The clean and transparent sound of the piano reverberates in the quiet room, as if even the air and breath have been purified.Amid the melodious sound of the piano, Lucas slowly closed his eyes.He seemed to be surrounded by stars, and the clear breeze blew through his hair, leaving only the vast starry sky twinkling in the vast world.

At the end of the song, there was a pause for a few seconds, and the sound of the piano sounded again.

"This song is "Three Lanes of Plum Blossoms". It is a tribute to wintersweet flowers that bloom alone in the cold wind."

Different from the previous long and profound tunes, the syllables of this one are short and pleasant, and the melody is quiet, like delicate flowers blooming in the wind, exuding a refreshing fragrance.Listening to the sound of the piano, Lucas couldn't help but feel very happy, and his fingers tapped gently on his knees in time with the rhythm.

After a song is over, the strings are drawn and the style of the song is changed again.

"This should be "Flowing Water", the title of the song mentioned in the letter."

Lucas seemed to see the gurgling mountain streams, the splashing waterfalls, thousands of small streams converging into torrents, and the rapids passing through mountains and valleys, turning a thousand times, rushing and turbulent, and finally merged into the vast ocean.

Suddenly, the sound of the piano became gentle and long, Lucas's rapid breathing gradually slowed down, and he opened his eyes at the last sound of the piano.He clapped his hands.

"It's wonderful! I really can't find any words to express it. Your performance has inspired me a lot. I can't wait to grab a paintbrush now."

Ms. Wei got up and walked over, and sat down at the tea table again: "It seems that you like guqin music very much. Welcome to come often when you are free."

"Ms. Wei has practiced the piano for many years, and her skills are very superb." Leo replaced the tea in front of the two of them with a new one. "She regularly holds guqin appreciation meetings. If you have the opportunity, you can go and listen."

The two stayed for a while, then got up to say goodbye.Ms. Wei handed a small bag with a CD to Lucas: "This is my recorded repertoire for you. Guqin can help anxious people calm down and return to the present moment. I hope you like it."

Back to the car, Lucas handed the key to Leo: "I have to revisit Ms. Wei's performance again, I can't concentrate on driving, please."

"no problem."

Along the way, Lucas was immersed in the sound of the piano constantly echoing in his mind, and in the end it was Leo's call that brought him back to his senses.

"Sorry, please park the car behind, I have to go back to capture inspiration."

Without waiting for a response, Lucas opened the car door and ran towards the house.

This painting is a whole day.When he was dizzy from hunger, he realized that it was already dark outside.The downstairs doorbell is ringing.Leo's face was reflected on the monitor.Lucas pressed the door button, and after a while, a young man with a lunch box stood at the entrance.

"I'm here to give you the car keys. By the way, I guess you forgot to eat." He raised the box in his hand.

"You really hit the spot." Lucas smiled shyly, "I'm so hungry that my chest sticks to my back. Thank you very much."

"The Yangzhou fried rice I made, tremella and lotus seed soup, I don't know if it tastes like you."

Lucas hurried to the kitchen to take out bowls and plates and put them on the dining table.As soon as the lunch box was opened, the aroma overflowed, and Lucas couldn't help swallowing his spit.

"I can swallow a cow right now." Lucas watched as Leo poured the soup into the bowl.

"If you're hungry, drink soup first."

Lucas picked up the spoon and scooped it a few times, turning up the milky white fungus and white lotus seeds.The entrance is sweet but not greasy.Lucas quickly finished his drink, and his clamoring stomach was temporarily soothed.

Leo pushed the plate full of fried rice in front of him again, the crystal clear rice dotted with green peas, carrot cubes, meat cubes, onions, and more.Chewing a spoon full of rice in his mouth, Lucas felt full of happiness.

After a plate of fried rice, Lucas was full.

"It's really delicious, comparable to the cooking skills of the Michelin Chinese restaurant a street away."

"That's because you are very hungry and think everything is delicious." Leo replied with a smile.

"No, no, I don't have a bad reputation, it's the truth." Lucas licked his lips, and he couldn't finish it. "Thank you very much for bringing me food at such a late hour."

"You're welcome, I think we're already friends. It's right to take care of friends." Leo put the car keys on the table, "The car is parked in place."

"Thank you." Lucas got up and put the dishes in the sink, thinking he should give something back. "When are you free next week? I would like to invite you to go to the winery to taste the new wine together, to thank you for your help recently."

"I wish I could. I take turns off on Thursday, is that okay?"

"Okay, according to the current progress, I should be able to finish the painting before then. That's settled."

"Okay. Do you need me to deliver food to you these few days? Judging by today's situation, you probably don't have time to cook."

"Is it possible? Will it be troublesome? Thank you very much! My cousin Nathan used to take care of me, but unfortunately he is busy these days. I will let Nathan go to your place to settle the bill together, including the translation fee."

"You're welcome, nothing is more important than good health. Is there anything you particularly like or don't like?"

"Chinese food and French food are fine. No celery, it will make my stomach hurt. Don't be too spicy, it seems that many Chinese food likes to put chili."

"Then you probably eat Sichuan food, which is more spicy. I see, do you have three meals?"

"I will prepare breakfast by myself." Lucas looked at Leo hesitated for a moment, and said, "I think I can trust you. I don't like to be disturbed when I am painting, so I will record my fingerprints. The password is this, and you can do it yourself. up."

"Thank you for your trust, I won't move anything in the house casually."

After the fingerprints were recorded, Leo said goodbye, and Lucas continued to go to the studio to draw.

It was almost noon when I woke up.Lucas painted all night because of a burst of inspiration.After washing up, I sat in front of the window in the sunshine, holding a glass of water in a daze.

There was a door opening downstairs, followed by light footsteps.Lucas stood up and called out, "Leo?"

"Good day." Leo pushed open the door of the living room with the lunch box in hand, "I thought you were painting, I was afraid to disturb you."

"No, I just woke up and drew all night last night." Lucas walked over to pick up the lunch box and went into the kitchen to find tableware.

"Fried steak and borscht? Looks good. Do you want to use it together?" Lucas turned to Leo who came in.

"No, I usually don't eat until after two o'clock in the afternoon. Do you have lunch at this time? When is the right time for dinner to be delivered?" Leo said leaning against the console.

"During the painting period, um, it's about this time for lunch, maybe at night, around seven or eight o'clock." Lucas put the meal on the table, took out a wine glass, took out a bottle of champagne from the wine cabinet, poured Come on, hand it to Leo.

"Try the champagne from my collection, a little will not interfere with your work."

"Okay." Leo took a look at the wine glass, sniffed it slightly, and took a sip. "It tastes good. I don't know much about wine."

Lucas smiled and said, "You should drink it with the steak you made today. It's a bit too much, so help me share it."

"Okay." Leo got up to get the plate, knife and fork, and Lucas gave him some.

"Why don't you have some wine?" Leo shook his glass lightly.

"I don't drink alcohol while I'm painting." Lucas pointed to the plate with his fork, "This steak tastes good."

"It's still the original chef. I took over everything, but the boss has changed." Leo looked at him and smiled.

"Haha, a wise move. Papa Sean has been in business for decades and has many regular customers."

"My friend knows Sean, and I did him a little favor, so he is willing to pass it on to us and teach me his secret recipe. It seems that he likes you very much."

"We have known each other for more than ten years. The first time I saw Papa Sean, well, I was about nine years old, and I came to my aunt's place with my mother for vacation. I remember that day I broke a picture on the wall, and he just Let’s say that little Lucas has grown up and painted paintings to make up for it. He has a unique vision for appreciating beauty, and I got a lot of encouragement from him.” Reminiscing about the past, Lucas lost his mind for a moment, recovered, picked up the water glass and lightly Taking a sip, he said, "I heard from my mother that he traveled to China, and I hope to receive a postcard soon."

"I also heard from him that he was going to China for a trip. I gave him the phone number of a friend in China, and I also called and explained, hoping to help."

"You are so kind, I feel more at ease now."

After the meal, Leo packed up his things and prepared to say goodbye.

"Then I will deliver dinner before eight o'clock in the evening. How about Chinese food? It's lighter and better for digestion."

"Okay, thank you for your trouble."

"You're welcome. See you later."

"See you."

Lucas liked Leo more and more and was comfortable with him.