A beautiful summer night

Chapter 165 Clues

The studio's showroom displays all of Xia Wanzhi's paintings from childhood to adulthood, arranged chronologically. Due to space limitations, older paintings are piled together in a cabinet.

"Is it a fabric-textured cardstock or an oil painting frame?" Zhu Zi pondered, thinking that ten years ago was when Xia Wanzhi had a burst of inspiration and was most passionate about creating, so it would probably be hard to find.

Xia Wanzhi squeezed in after her: "The oil painting frame should be 60 by 80."

The oil painting frames were stacked together and placed vertically, with each painting separated by singula paper to prevent them from sticking together. To avoid messing them up and having to rearrange them again, Xia Wanzhi moved very carefully: "The background of the painting is a large blue field of philodendron flowers, and the main subject is a beautiful woman wearing ethnic clothing."

Bamboo diligently searched for the bamboo as required.

As Xia Wanzhi searched, she recalled the town of Youqin from back then.

Back then, Xia Wanzhi was passionate about landscape sketching. She had traveled to many cities and met too many people. Although she remembered this incident, the images of that boss and his sweetheart had long since become blurred.

But Xia Wanzhi had a vague feeling that something was stirring up inside her.

For example, right now, because Zhu Zi wants to know the story behind that sea of ​​flowers, she is eagerly searching for that painting.

Perhaps it was because of the bamboo's suggestion.

Or perhaps it's not just because of bamboo.

Xia Wanzhi couldn't quite explain this feeling.

"Blue, philodendron, blue..." Most of the paintings in the showroom were arranged by Zhu Zi, the assistant. She moved quickly, muttering to herself as she searched through the paintings.

As Xia Wanzhi searched, she began to think about what happened back then.

She vaguely remembered that the guesthouse owner's sweetheart seemed to be a bit...

He is delirious.

"Xilin Grass Flower Sea! Found it, take a look and see if this is the one..." Zhu Zi pulled out the painting and excitedly handed it to Xia Wanzhi to see.

Xia Wanzhi was stunned, her pupils focusing on the person in the painting bit by bit. Her throat itched slightly, and she murmured, "Yes..."

"Amazing! I don't know whether to praise your skill or this beautiful woman, it's absolutely lifelike!" Zhu Zi commented, then looked up and saw Xia Wanzhi's furrowed brows. Sensing something was wrong, she asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

Xia Wanzhi shook her head, took the painting from Zhu Zi's hand, and walked out of the exhibition room with somewhat hurried steps.

Bamboo followed closely behind, watching Xia Wanzhi place the words on the table, then take out her phone and find several pictures to compare something with.

Xia Wanzhi's heart leaped into her throat, her whole body tense, her fingers holding the phone trembling slightly. After comparing it several times, her breathing became more and more rapid: "Zhu Zi, come and see, isn't this painting very similar to these photos?"

Bamboo blinked. What she found incredible was that the photo on Xia Wanzhi's phone used to compare the painting with this one was a portrait of Xie Qiyan's mother that Xia Wanzhi had painstakingly painted over two months last year.

Swallowing hard, Zhu Zi didn't dare to draw a conclusion. She looked at Xia Wanzhi and compared them again: "This...this is too similar."

As soon as the last word faded, Xia Wanzhi's eyes stung, and her clear, bright eyes instantly filled with tears.

Whether it is true or not, it is a tremendous hope for her, and even more so for Xie Qiyan.

She had only seen a photo of Yao Qin when she was 27 years old. In the photo, Yao Qin looked young and gentle. Later, based on her calculations, she realized that there was only a 60-70% chance that the Yao Qin she drew at each age stage would look the same as the real Yao Qin in her later years.

But the protagonist in this painting now bears a striking resemblance to Yao Qin, who is forty years old, as depicted by Xia Wanzhi.

Xia Wanzhi's lips moved, and she hurriedly tried to speak, wanting to find Xie Qiyan. After taking two steps, she put down her phone, picked it up, and called Xie Qiyan with trembling hands.

Bamboo, watching from the side, also got a little excited: "Don't rush, don't rush, sister, take your time."

What excited her even more was Xia Wanzhi's extraordinary encounter.

It just so happened that Xia Wanzhi went to Yuncheng and Youqin Town, and coincidentally, she met the guesthouse owner. In a twist of fate, she even met Xie Qiyan's mother and even had a painting drawn for her.

The moment Xia Wanzhi heard Xie Qiyan's voice after the call connected, tears welled up in her eyes, and she sobbed, "Qiyan, I...I have some clues about Auntie from ten years ago in Yuncheng."

Xie Qiyan had waited for more than twenty years, and this was the first time he had truly heard clues about where his mother had been.

Ten years ago…

This proves that Yao Qin is not dead.

Yao Qin is still alive, and has even appeared in Yuncheng.

Xia Wanzhi quickly composed herself and made a point of saying before hanging up the phone: "Have Yu Fei drive you over. I'll wait for you, don't worry."

During the ten-minute drive, Yu Fei almost took off while rubbing the tires, but managed to keep the speed down to single digits.

While waiting, Xia Wanzhi recalled many things from the past. When she heard hurried footsteps outside the studio, she quickly stood up to greet them.

She reached out her hands to support Xie Qiyan to prevent him from running too far. Xie Qiyan stopped abruptly when he grabbed Xia Wanzhi. Driven by a mix of emotions, Xie Qiyan's eyes reddened, and his chest heaved as he murmured, "Wanzi..."

"Don't rush, don't rush, drink some water first, and I'll explain it to you slowly." Xia Wanzhi held his hand tightly, and Zhu Zi poured a glass of water for Xie Qiyan.

Xie Qiyan took the painting but didn't drink it. His gaze followed Xia Wanzhi's movements and finally landed on the painting on the table.

In the painting, a woman dressed in ethnic clothing sits on the ground with her hair loose, moving in the wind. She wears a wreath woven from philodendron and is carefully weaving another wreath in her hand with her eyes downcast.

Behind her was a vast sea of ​​flowers, and she was engrossed in doing her own thing amidst it, as if everything around her was irrelevant to her.

The moment he froze, Xie Qiyan recognized who this person was.

Even if we haven't seen each other for many years, even if this is just a painting.

How could he not recognize his own mother?