An Yi stayed in the hospital for observation for two days and was discharged when there were no major problems.

Xie Nancang originally wanted to take him back to Ling’an for recuperation, but fearing that the old man would worry, An Yi temporarily stayed in Jin Hai and stayed at Xie Nancang’s house.

Xiao Xie called a video call across the ocean and enthusiastically taught An Yi how to take care of his injuries.

He loved extreme sports, and getting injured was like a daily routine for him. In his words, except for the cartilage below his belly button, which hadn’t been broken, all the other bones had been examined by orthopedic doctors.

However, Xiao Xie’s Chinese was too poor. After a few sentences, he switched to English. He was a person who easily got excited and his speech speed became extremely fast. An Yi could only understand him with the help of Xie Nancang’s translation.

An Yi lay on the sofa, propping his chin and watching Xie Nancang and Xiao Xie chatting, one being noisy and the other laughing, enviable.

As he watched, he became a little absent-minded.

Yan Chen’s teary-eyed appearance that night would occasionally come to mind.

Why is it that when others are in love, they feel sweet with just one glance, but when it comes to him, he messes up the solution to this love problem?

He and Yan Chen had been circling around each other for nearly ten years. How many more decades could one afford to waste?

An Yi noticed that Xie Nancang’s expression suddenly became serious.

He listened intently, Xiao Xie’s tone on the screen was ambiguous, taking advantage of his role as a bystander who couldn’t understand the language, daring to flirt with Xie Nancang. The phrase “suck my dick” unexpectedly entered An Yi’s ears. He quickly got up and moved into the guest room.

In a moment, Xie Nancang came knocking on his door, explaining the situation to An Yi, “Xiao Xie loves to joke around, don’t take it to heart.”

An Yi smiled, “He’s quite cute.”

“Indeed,” Xie Nancang also smiled, “He’s a very genuine person, just not as calm and steady as you, he’s childish.”

An Yi disagreed, “Love is not about choosing who is better.”

Moreover, he genuinely felt that Xiao Xie was cheerful, warm-hearted, and a good person, very suitable for Xie Nancang.

When the two were together, they would share the same interests, hobbies, and life beliefs. Whatever one wanted to do, the other immediately responded. Wherever one wanted to go, the other immediately followed. It was enviable.

Xie Nancang looked at him, “You’re right. But how come it’s hard to keep a positive mindset when it’s your turn?”

An Yi smiled bitterly, and Xie Nancang stopped there.

During his recuperation period, An Yi, bored, began preparing for the further studies exam in October. Xie Nancang bought him a stack of study materials. When he got tired of reviewing, there was a energetic Xiao Xie to accompany him for video chats.

The two taught each other, one practicing English, the other learning Chinese, and it was endlessly fun.

Later, when Xiao Xie came online, he clamored to find his “Teacher An.” Xie Nancang was left aside, sighing heavily, “Looks like you’ll be falling in love with someone else in a few days.”

Xiao Xie replied to him word by word in his learned Chinese, “Love you, me, and my little butt, all love you.”

An Yi: “…”

Xie Nancang chuckled, “Good boy.”

“…” An Yi decided to move back to Ling’an sooner rather than later.

A month later, An Yi’s recovery was almost complete, not affecting his daily activities, so he returned to Ling’an.

The annual Ceramic Art Tour was about to open, and he locked himself in the yard to focus on creating. Drawing inspiration from what he saw and heard on Yun Tong Mountain, he used porcelain to paint, and in seven days, he completed a three-panel porcelain painting titled “Pink-colored Silver Snow Engulfs the Mountains”.

Each panel of this porcelain painting, when looked at separately, featured meticulously crafted and exquisite details of the snowy scenery. When combined, they created a lofty artistic conception of the snowy landscape. In addition, the firing process and coloring technique of the porcelain panels were very traditional, making it an unparalleled antique.

When Xie Fei Nian saw the finished product, he happily walked around the courtyard, constantly saying, “The student can be taught,” repeatedly marveling at his lucky junior brother, who had such a talented and spirited good grandson.

Once the pink-colored snowscape porcelain painting made its appearance at the touring exhibition, it attracted the attention of many collectors and investors. Well-known curators and auction houses also came to inquire, hoping to obtain authorization from An Yi to exhibit and auction this work.

The highest estimated price offered was not low.

But An Yi rejected them all.

He unconditionally donated these three-panel porcelain paintings to the Jin Hai Art Bank.

Zhang Ming specifically called to thank him and asked if he had any disposal intentions. The Art Bank would prioritize and respect his ideas.

An Yi had no objections: “Let your President Yan decide.”

“It’s President Su now,” Zhang Ming said, “President Su said they can take them abroad for exhibition. Didn’t we sign cooperation agreements with several institutions in Europe last month? It’s also a good opportunity to push abroad. Calling you is also President Su’s idea.”

An Yi hadn’t heard of President Su before, so he asked, “What about Yan Chen?”

“Mr. Yan submitted his resignation report to the board of directors,” Zhang Ming sighed, “Last month, I don’t know what he was up to. He suddenly disappeared for several days and came back to resign. Now Vice President Su Fan is taking over all his work.”

An Yi frowned, and he didn’t pay attention to what Zhang Ming said next.

An Yi said, “Let’s do as you suggest.”

Things were quickly settled.

The Art Bank had currently signed cooperation agreements with similar institutions in seven countries, and the related influence was spreading to neighboring countries. It was possible that more artists would join the group exhibition in the future. An Yi’s porcelain paintings, white porcelain carvings, and works by several other emerging artists were transported to Italy together, opening the path for overseas group exhibitions.

One of the exhibition stops was in Berlin.

The exhibition day was expected to be in early June, just in time for An Yi’s 32nd birthday.

At the strong invitation of Xie Nancang and Xiao Xie, An Yi bought a plane ticket to Berlin. Firstly, he could relax and hang out with his friends, and secondly, he could visit the exhibition at the museum.

“An An!”

As soon as he got off the plane, before An Yi even saw Xiao Xie himself, he heard the vigorous call from him.

Clear and accent-free.

An Yi followed the sound and immediately spotted a young man with curly gray hair among the crowd receiving passengers. He wore a white T-shirt with black sports pants and a pair of flashy sneakers, waving at him with a bright smile.

Xie Nancang stood shoulder to shoulder with him, not much taller.

An Yi walked over, just about to say “hi,” when Xiao Xie reached out with his long arms and gave him a tight hug.

“Finally! I finally see you!” Xiao Xie hugged him excitedly, shaking him a few times. “My Teacher An An!”

An Yi was out of breath from the tight hug.

Xie Nancang timely separated them, taking the luggage from An Yi’s hands with a smile. “Let’s go, back to the hotel first. The car is waiting outside.”

Xiao Xie draped his arm over An Yi’s shoulder, walking behind Xie Nancang with him. He playfully gestured at Xie Nancang’s back, amusing An Yi.

An Yi’s room was on the same floor as theirs. After putting down the luggage, the three of them had dinner in the hotel restaurant. During the meal, Xiao Xie introduced An Yi to his dog, talked about many tourist destinations he had been to, and even showed him photos of his favorite teachers at university.

He was so talkative, mixing Chinese and English. An Yi had known him for a long time, so he no longer needed Xie Nancang to translate and could understand the conversation without any problems.

Xie Nancang sighed again, “I seem to be the third wheel between you two.”

Xiao Xie chuckled, “Then I’ll go sleep with An An.”

An Yi choked, covering his mouth with a napkin and coughing violently.

Xie Nancang sighed helplessly, “No speaking nonsense.”

After dinner, Xiao Xie wanted to take An Yi around nearby, but Xie Nancang asked An Yi to go back to his room to adjust to the time difference first. After all, they would be staying in Berlin for several days this time, so there was plenty of time to see the place.

An Yi’s birthday was in two days, and Xiao Xie came to knock on An Yi’s door early in the morning.

Seeing that An Yi was about to go out in a white T-shirt and khaki pants, Xiao Xie said “NO” three times in a row, then put his necklace on An Yi. An Yi felt awkward looking at himself in the mirror, “I’m not used to wearing these.”

“This is yours, home turf, you must wear it!” Xiao Xie shook his shiny left hand. “Look at how many I wear, I’ll give you one.”

After giving An Yi a ring, Xiao Xie then fiddled with his ears, saying, “Why don’t you have piercings!”

An Yi: “…I have ear piercings.”

“Are you afraid of pain?” Xiao Xie showed him his equally shiny left ear, then lifted his T-shirt to show An Yi his belly button ring, “I have one here, and down below…”

Xie Nancang covered Xiao Xie’s mouth, smiled at An Yi, and said, “Let’s go, Museum Island is huge, we can spend the whole day there.”

An Yi nodded, and the three of them set off together.

The street art atmosphere in Berlin was very strong. On the way to Museum Island, An Yi was deeply impressed by the city’s inclusiveness. Traditional and emerging cultures collided freely, sparking flames. With just a glance, he felt like he could have an inadvertent gaze with a creator from some time and space.

They first visited the famous Pergamon Museum, had lunch nearby after the visit, and then casually strolled around in the afternoon before going to the museum where An Yi’s works were exhibited. The organizers would treat them to dinner and reserve seats for them at the evening auction.

One of the organizers was a friend Xie Nancang had met when he held an exhibition in Australia. He needed to exchange a few words with him. He instructed Xiao Xie not to talk nonsense and to accompany An Yi well. Then he went to the office area first and would join them in the exhibition area later.

Xiao Xie nodded repeatedly. When Xie Nancang left, he immediately complained, “Bad daddy, not letting me say anything.”

An Yi chuckled, “You can say it secretly, I won’t tell him.”

Xiao Xie chuckled and hugged his shoulder, saying, “An An is still cute.”

As friends, Xiao Xie was proud of An Yi. He asked many questions about An Yi’s creative inspiration and process.

An Yi smiled and spoke in English, very softly and slowly, telling Xiao Xie about the interesting things he did with his grandfather when he was a child.

Xiao Xie listened attentively, with his arm around An Yi’s shoulder, occasionally twirling his fingers in An Yi’s hair.

As they chatted, they walked towards the ceramic area.

In a huge ceramic exhibition hall, there weren’t many people viewing the exhibition. As soon as An Yi entered, he saw his own triptych porcelain painting, and standing in front of it was a tall figure in black.

For a moment, An Yi was speechless.

“An An?” Xiao Xie called him strangely.

Seeing that he didn’t react, he poked An Yi’s cheek with his fingertip.

The figure in front of the porcelain painting turned to look over, and when his eyes met An Yi’s, a trace of surprise flashed across his handsome face.

Then, that gaze shifted downwards, landing on An Yi’s shoulder. Yan Chen’s eyes stung, and his stomach twisted in pain.

After a moment, Yan Chen reluctantly withdrew his gaze, put his hands in his pockets, lowered his head, and walked towards the exit on the other side of the exhibition hall.