I Rely on My Versatility to Reach the Top of the Entertainment Industry [Ancient Times to Modern] - Chapter 44

The Lu family’s study was exceptionally spacious, and its decor style greatly appealed to Jing Yi. From the folding screens to the floor-standing scroll vases in the corners, everything exuded an aura of timeless elegance.

“Come, come, feel free to choose any brushes and ink you like,” the elderly man said with utmost generosity, as if the items in the room were of little consequence.

Lu Yuzhi’s parents, who had followed the elders into the study and taken their seats, exchanged glances, each seeing profound astonishment in the other’s eyes.

They were deeply familiar with this study.

The brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones here had all been acquired by the old man at great expense, including ancient artifacts collected as rare treasures from bygone eras.

Aside from his late wife, the old man had never allowed anyone to casually handle these items.

Lu Yuzhi’s elder brother and sister-in-law were equally stunned.

A couple of years earlier, their child—the old man’s great-grandson—had sneaked into the study to play, taken a few items outside, and been severely punished by the old man. The severity of the reprimand had been as if the child were a stranger.

So why was he now being so warmly welcoming to a young man he had only met once?

Jing Yi took a leisurely stroll around the room.

Most of the framed works on the walls were authentic pieces by renowned masters, the exquisitely packaged inksticks in the cabinets appeared immensely valuable, and the brushes stored in boxes even featured delicate handles carved from ivory and jade.

Even in their own time, these items had been extraordinarily precious. To gather and preserve them to this day must have cost a fortune.

“Amitabha.”

Jing Yi pressed his palms together, bowed his head slightly, and let out a soft sigh.

The old man looked puzzled. “Xiao Yi, what is it?”

Jing Yi smiled. “Just feeling a bit sentimental, Grandfather. Please wait a moment—I’ll start writing now.”

The old man was taken aback.

Sentimental? What kind of sentiment was expressed through a Buddhist chant?

Though perplexed, Jing Yi offered no further explanation, and the old man refrained from pressing, simply following behind him.

On the writing desk, the water dropper, inkstone, inkstick, and brushes were arranged with impeccable elegance.

Without hesitation, Jing Yi selected a nearly depleted oil-soot inkstick, dripped water into the inkstone, and gently ground the ink with his left hand. With his right, he picked up a weasel-hair brush with a long tip, moistening it with water.

Brushes need not be soaked for long; after dampening it, Jing Yi temporarily hung it up and used his right hand to select a piece of unprocessed xuan paper, securing it with a paperweight.

The old man watched, nodding with a smile.

After a short while, Jing Yi set down the inkstick, picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, and began to write.

With fluid, effortless strokes, the character for “tranquility” emerged vividly on the paper—lively in spirit and expressive in form.

A gleam of admiration flashed in the old man’s eyes, and a smile spread uncontrollably across his lips.

“Firmness within softness, strength wrapped in gentleness—excellent penmanship, truly excellent.”

As he praised repeatedly, the more he looked at Jing Yi’s face, the more he found it endearing.

Quite apart from Jing Yi’s clear, bright eyes and gentle, serene features, his calligraphy revealed a character that balanced strength and flexibility. How could someone with such skill in brushwork be anything less than admirable?

“Why are you all still sitting there in a daze? Come over and take a look!”

The distant spectators, hearing the command, hurried over to the writing desk.

Even if they couldn’t write themselves, having often observed alongside the old man, they had developed a discerning eye for calligraphy.

At the sight of the character “tranquility” on the paper, their eyes lit up, and they nodded in agreement, offering sincere praise: “This character is truly exceptional—just looking at it brings a sense of calm.”

“Father is right. He’s handsome, and his writing is superb. Yuzhi has excellent taste.”

“Indeed, the writing reflects the person—beautiful in every way.”

“Could you write a piece for me another day to hang in my office?”

Jing Yi looked at the speaker and nodded gently. “Alright, brother.”

Though it felt a bit strange to be addressed so formally as “brother” for the first time, Lu Yuzhi’s brother still smiled.

Beside them, Lu Yuzhi’s father, Lu Qinghao, nudged his son and said to Jing Yi, “Xiao Yi, write one for me too. I can hang it in my office as well.”

Jing Yi obediently nodded again. “Alright, Uncle.”

Lu Qinghao froze for a moment.

Seeing his son’s odd expression, the old man glared at him and forcibly shooed everyone aside.

“Good child, you must be tired after traveling so far. It’s all my fault for being too curious and making you write calligraphy right away—you must be exhausted.” The old man beamed, his eyes crinkling into slits. “Come on, come on, Grandpa will take you to the guest room to rest. Leave the calligraphy for now; we’ll tidy it up tomorrow.”

Jing Yi had just finished washing his brush and hung it on the brush stand before following the old man.

The other onlookers quickly chimed in, “Dad, shall we go rest too?”

“Grandpa, we’re heading back to our rooms now.”

As everyone dispersed, Jing Yi noticed the old man showed no intention of going downstairs and glanced toward the lower floor.

In the corner, Lu Yuzhi still stood facing the wall, ramrod straight. The torn left pant leg, scratched by Lu Yi, fluttered in the breeze.

“Grandpa, Yuzhi had a fever this morning,” Jing Yi said softly. “He drove for over four hours on the road and must be very tired. Could he rest too?”

The old man glanced downstairs and chuckled cheerfully. “Sure, since you asked, Xiao Yi, he can rest.”

“Thank you, Grandpa. You should rest early too. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

Jing Yi turned and went downstairs.

Watching from behind, the old man noticed Jing Yi seemed to use some special technique while walking, moving extremely fast. A wave of nostalgia rose in his eyes.

“Youth is wonderful. My late wife used to dote on me like this too.”

Jing Yi walked up behind Lu Yuzhi and stopped.

“Yuzhi, Grandpa says you can rest now.”

Lu Yuzhi turned around, a flicker of meaning passing through his amber eyes. As he lifted his foot, his whole body visibly tilted to the side.

Jing Yi reached out to steady him.

Lu Yuzhi leaned against Jing Yi, burying his face in Jing Yi’s neck.

The scorching breath caused a warm, tingling itch on his skin, making Jing Yi slightly uncomfortable. “What are you doing now?”

Lu Yuzhi chuckled quietly but said, “I’ve been standing too long; my foot’s numb. Can you help me upstairs?”

His tone was almost childlike.

Resigned, Jing Yi supported Lu Yuzhi. Seeing the long staircase, he briefly considered simply scooping Lu Yuzhi up in a horizontal carry.

But as soon as his hands reached Lu Yuzhi’s waist, Lu Yuzhi immediately straightened up and said, “My foot isn’t numb anymore.”

Jing Yi looked at him suspiciously.

Lu Yuzhi’s face showed no other emotion. He casually took the young man’s hand and walked upstairs with him.

He wanted to walk intimately close, not be carried.

In other places, it might be fine, but doing so at home would make him seem somewhat henpecked.

Who knows what the family would think!

“Are you tired? Grandpa is becoming more and more like a child. Making you write calligraphy as soon as we got home…”

“Not tired,” Jing Yi replied to Lu Yuzhi, his expression calm but his tone slightly cold. “But don’t do this again. Visiting elders late at night isn’t appropriate.”

Lu Yuzhi glanced at the little guy’s expression and, realizing it was indeed a bit too cold, quickly apologized, “My fault, I was too impatient.”

“Not angry.” Jing Yi looked at the staircase. “What’s the hurry? I’m not going to run away.”

“You say you won’t run,” Lu Yuzhi stared at Jing Yi’s profile, his voice tinged with vulnerability, “but before, you always talked about becoming a monk.”

Jing Yi stopped walking.

“I am going to become a monk, but…” He glanced at Lu Yuzhi. “I have to settle my worldly ties first.”

He didn’t reject Lu Yuzhi, nor did he reject Lu Yuzhi’s family, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t continue his spiritual practice.

Lu Yuzhi felt a mix of emotions under Jing Yi’s gaze.

Worldly ties—to put it bluntly, those worldly ties referred to him. Settle… how to settle them? Break up or something else?

Lu Yuzhi tightened his grip on Jing Yi’s hand. “You can’t abandon me.”

“I’m not abandoning you.” Seeing the panic on Lu Yuzhi’s face, Jing Yi couldn’t help but smile. “Let’s rest first, okay?”

Lu Yuzhi still felt uneasy inside.

But there was nothing else he could do, nor could he force a change in Jing Yi’s wishes. At least for now, Jing Yi was willing to be close to him. The rest could wait.

Thinking this, Lu Yuzhi asked, “The guest room might not be tidied up. How about resting in my room tonight?”

Jing Yi gave him a strange look.

“Didn’t we rest just fine at my place without a guest room?”

Lu Yuzhi breathed a sigh of relief.

…

The next day at noon, Jing Yi felt quite embarrassed.

He had woken up early, but Lu Yuzhi had his arm around his waist, saying he wanted to sleep a little longer, which made Jing Yi doze off again as well.

When they went downstairs, the entire Lu family was seated at the dining table in the living room. The food was already served, as if they had been waiting for the two of them.

There was also a boy around 12 years old at the table.

Fortunately, the elders didn’t say anything and instead gently asked if they had rested well.

After lunch, Jing Yi accepted Old Master Lu’s invitation to paint in the study.

“Just send your painting directly to the competition,” the old man said cheerfully. “This old man just wants to take a look.”

Jing Yi smiled faintly. “If Grandfather likes my painting, I’ll give it to you.”

“You’re so thoughtful, Xiao Yi. When Yuzhi was your age, all he knew was how to annoy me.” The old man glared at Lu Yuzhi but smiled again when he looked at Jing Yi. “Go ahead and paint, just pretend we’re not here.”

He spent the entire afternoon on one painting.

Jing Yi painted a landscape—layered peaks and pine trees with vigorous, powerful forms. In the upper left corner, he inscribed a poem that complemented the painting’s theme.

“This painting is sure to win an award,” the old man said delightedly. “I bet it’ll make those old folks at the association overjoyed.”

The association naturally referred to the National Calligraphy and Painting Association.

Jing Yi humbly responded with a few words before Old Master Lu pulled him over to the chessboard for a game.

After a fierce battle between black and white pieces, Jing Yi won.

The old man was even happier. The next day, he took Jing Yi to the chess club and had him play against his chess friends.

When the old men asked who he was, the old man happily said, “My grandson.”

After staying at the Lu family’s main residence for a few days, Jing Yi received a call from Gu Chen about joining the film crew.

He returned to his apartment to pack his things, and Lu Yuzhi drove him to the Ningcheng Film and Television Base.

“Goodbye.” Jing Yi smiled and waved at Lu Yuzhi.

Lu Yuzhi, looking dissatisfied, leaned down and gave Jing Yi’s lovely lips a light kiss. “Wait for me to handle company matters, and I’ll come see you.”

Although Galaxy Company was operating smoothly, it couldn’t go without its boss for too long.

Jing Yi nodded, watching Lu Yuzhi depart.

He went to the front desk, showed his ID to collect the room key, stored his belongings, then headed to the base to join the film crew. After greeting Gu Chen, he proceeded to the makeup room under Gu Chen’s peculiar gaze.

Upon arrival, he unexpectedly found Sheng Xiaguang standing outside the makeup room.

“Mr. Sheng, long time no see,” Jing Yi greeted proactively.

Sheng Xiaguang’s previously unpleasant expression softened slightly as he replied, “Yes, it’s been a while.”

Jing Yi asked curiously, “Is something troubling you, Mr. Sheng?”

At Jing Yi’s question, Sheng Xiaguang glanced toward the makeup room and said, “I just stepped out to use the restroom, and now I can’t get back in. They even locked the door—quite the grand display.”

The film crew’s schedule at the photography base had overlapped with another crew’s, forcing the makeup rooms to be shared. As a result, actors from both crews had to share the same space.

Sheng Xiaguang had arrived early, changed into his costume, but hadn’t yet had his makeup done. After stepping out briefly, he found himself locked out.

The artist inside was a veteran performer, and this kind of behavior was commonly referred to as “clearing the set.”