Chapter 486: Chapter 484: More Than Friends, Not Yet Lovers

It is impossible for Lin Wanwan to give away the two paintings she currently holds; both were gifts from friends and she wants to preserve them well.

She decided to spread the word among the nobility in Mao County, offering a hefty sum to obtain Yu Shinan’s calligraphy, along with his inscription.

The famous figures of Great Tang who write and paint often dislike inscribing their works, a habit she finds troublesome and something she must specifically remind them about.

It’s not an impossible task, and the hope of achieving it is quite high.

Because Yu Shinan’s family is indeed the Yu Family from Yu Yao, plus the house Lin Wanwan owns in Xiaoxi Town was bought from the Yu Family.

Although she’s unsure whether the original owner and Yu Shinan are within five degrees of kinship, they definitely belong to the same family.

Yu Yao is not far from Mao County, both are part of Yuezhou, so Lin Wanwan claims obtaining Yu Shinan’s calligraphy is not out of reach.

However, it is already mid-November, and there is just over a month until Lu Shouyue’s birthday, making it quite urgent.

If there are no calligraphies left by Yu Shinan in the family and they need to be brought back from Chang’an, given the transportation speed in Great Tang, it would be impossible to make it before Lu Shouyue’s birthday.

Therefore, Lin Wanwan must work on multiple fronts, requesting Yu Shinan’s works and those of other masters are needed as well.

Unfortunately, the gentry of these times are proud, and their works are not available for sale in the market, let alone the calligraphies of eminent historical figures, which are impossible to acquire with money.

If famous calligraphy and paintings are unattainable during this period, Lin Wanwan will have to temporarily use the Lantern Festival Painting by Zhan Ziqian, gifted by Dugu Di.

After all, only a national treasure level painting like this could fetch a value of four or five billion, equating to the blue diamond gifted by Lu Shouyue.

Lin Wanwan does not wish to take advantage of her friends too much; reciprocation is necessary.

As for Dugu Di, returning a gift to him is much easier; many modern items are treasures in Great Tang.

Moreover, the reason he gifted her the painting was probably because she previously gave him a copper-handled magnifying glass. Although this magnifying glass costs just over a hundred in modern times, it is a treasure in Great Tang.

Regarding the return gift for the blue diamond necklace, Lin Wanwan has already made up her mind, so she isn’t too anxious about it.

As for the matter trending online, she can only handle it with indifference.

Fortunately, netizens have not been able to uncover Lu Shouyue’s true background, which eased Lin Wanwan’s guilt somewhat, since Lu Shouyue got implicated because of her employee.

What Lin Wanwan doesn’t know is that the true reason netizens and media haven’t exposed Lu Shouyue’s background is not because they can’t, but because they dare not.

If it were just the identity of Lu Group and Times Square Crown Prince, he might have been exposed as a patriotic red businessman. Lu Shouyue wouldn’t necessarily be able to maintain a low profile.

But in reality, he has an influential mother from the Ye Family in Beijing, and his uncle happens to be a high-level official in charge of the Ministry of Rites.

With such a background, no media, big or small, that could touch upon his identity would dare to disclose it.

Unless he wishes to reveal it himself, no media will expose it, and those that do will be shut down.

Lin Wanwan knows nothing about Lu Shouyue’s familial connections, so she naturally wouldn’t think of this.

Born a commoner and without parental protection, Lin Wanwan was just an ordinary person struggling for her livelihood before discovering the jade bracelet’s time-traveling feature, having had no contact with the allure of high society, realizing the shallowness of her knowledge.

As for those online trending topics, Lu Shouyue doesn’t care to watch; they can’t stir any waves in his heart.

What bothers him is Lin Wanwan, who is more than a friend but not quite a lover.

Maybe girls of Lin Wanwan’s age enjoy this kind of ambiguous distance, with freshness, joy, and romance, without the mundane quarrels and disagreements that might arise between lovers, everything appears perfect.

They maintain each other’s ideal image, enjoying different colors of life from a distance.

But Lu Shouyue is already in his thirties; he hasn’t been single all these years because he likes it, but because he hasn’t met someone who makes his heart race.

Now that he has met such a person, he only wants to get close and clarify the relationship.

Lu Shouyue even wants to marry her immediately, spend joyful, carefree days together, instead of being tortured by not knowing whether she loves him in this ambiguous situation.

He is a man with normal desires, not some Platonic prince in a girl’s dream.

But giving up on Lin Wanwan is not something Lu Shouyue is willing to do.

Money isn’t a concern for him, but what about the emotions he’s invested?

He is someone who won’t give up once he sets a goal, determined to achieve it no matter what.

If time could be turned back, maybe on the day Lin Wanwan came to sell antiques, Lu Shouyue wouldn’t have impulsively received her or added her on WeChat out of greed for beauty.

If there was no interaction, he wouldn’t have unknowingly fallen into this situation.

A single dog’s life, without emotions, would be much better than this current torment.

But can time flow backward?

No.

So Lu Shouyue can only suffer the pain of longing.

Having grown up in the commercial and political environment, Lu Shouyue’s ability to calculate is exceptional, yet he cannot predict matters of the heart.

He plans romantic nights of climbing mountains, playing the zither, and stargazing, but he cannot plan for the love he cannot express at the critical moment.

If Lin Wanwan simply takes a step back, his courage will vanish.

In his mind, he envisions pulling her over for a passionate kiss, taking her breath and reason away before confessing to increase his chances, yet in the end, he only restrainedly gazes at the distant stars, lightly saying “I’m sorry.”

This timid self, he both despises and helplessly accepts.

Emotion truly is more difficult to handle than he imagined; thinking is easy, doing is too hard.

After a long reflection, Lu Shouyue’s phone rang.

Upon looking, he sees it’s a message from Wang Bocheng, who was coming from Yongcheng and is almost at their usual bar.

Feeling restless and unable to work, Lu Shouyue decides to change his mood, look at the vibrant city nightlife, and feel the earthly atmosphere.

He puts on a coat, grabs his phone, and drives to the bar where he agreed to meet Wang Bocheng.

Wang Bocheng, arriving from Hai City, gets there earlier than him, accompanied by several pretty girls with internet celebrity faces, none older than twenty-five.

It seems Wang Bocheng has broken up with his previous girlfriend and is now setting the stage for a new selection.

Greeted by Wang Bocheng, Lu Shouyue sits in a booth, observing the game of love unfolding before him, feeling like he’s just a passerby in the world.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep