Gao Yuheng did his best to calm himself down, staring at the scornful looks of the crowd, and gritted his teeth as he asked, "Can the curator give me a reason? Why does Master Zhu see Lu Ming but not me? Where am I inferior to Lu Ming?"
Heh, is there any need to answer you?
The curator decisively chose to pass the buck, tilting his head slightly and saying, "I'm sorry, that's Master Zhu's decision. Whom he wants to see and whom he doesn't is his decision. I don't know the reason."
This answer was flawless, making Gao Yuheng feel like he had punched cotton, his anger having nowhere to vent.
Two words: frustration!
Then, he could only watch as Lu Ming, following behind the curator, swaggered off to see Master Zhu.
Unhappy, extremely unhappy.
If looks could kill, Lu Ming would have been killed ten thousand times by Gao Yuheng by now.
He cursed Lu Ming a thousand, ten thousand times in his heart.
In fact, it wasn't just Gao Yuheng who couldn't figure it out; everyone else shared the same doubt: why was Lu Ming being seen alone?
Just now, their reason was that Master Zhu was a man of good character, but it didn't seem like it now.
If he were truly a man of good character, he wouldn't play favorites, seeing Lu Ming but not Gao Yuheng.
It seemed that Master Zhu had quite a temper and personality. The fact that he was seeing Lu Ming alone must have had a deeper reason behind it, one that they couldn't fathom.
They, of course, couldn't fathom it.
They couldn't fathom that Lu Ming was the Dragon Warlord, couldn't fathom that Zhu You was once a raw recruit under Lu Ming, and even less that the supposed Zhu You seeing Lu Ming was actually Lu Ming seeing Zhu You, with the roles reversed!
A few minutes later.
The curator led Lu Ming to a door and said with a smile, "Master Zhu doesn't like crowds, so I won't accompany you in. Mr. Lu, you must pay attention to etiquette after you go in, and don't anger Master Zhu, understand?"
Lu Ming smiled and said nothing.
He pushed the door open and walked in, closing it behind him.
Upon entering the room.
Lu Ming finally met Zhu You, a young man less than thirty years old, but with a head full of white hair and a scruffy beard, looking like he was in his sixties.
It seemed that all artists were this unkempt.
Upon seeing Lu Ming, Zhu You was so moved that tears welled up in his eyes, and he desperately wanted to kneel down and pour out his longing for Lu Ming over the years.
If he hadn't known that Lu Ming was in Jinling, Zhu You might not have even come to hold the art exhibition this time!
Even if he had come, knowing that Lu Ming was hiding in the Jiang family, it was inconvenient to meet, and his identity couldn't be revealed, so Zhu You suppressed his longing and didn't see Lu Ming, for fear of exposing Lu Ming's identity.
Zhu You was even afraid that he wouldn't be able to see Lu Ming today.
Fortunately, opportunity favors the prepared.
Lu Ming chose to come and meet Zhu You proactively. When Zhu You learned this news from the curator, he was so excited that he almost cried!
Everyone thought it was Lu Ming's good fortune to be seen by Zhu You, but in reality, it was Zhu You's good fortune!
"Warlord, I finally see you. I've missed you so much all these years."
For some reason, Zhu You's legs went weak, and he knelt directly in front of Lu Ming, his adoration for Lu Ming evident in his every move.
Lu Ming was startled and quickly helped Zhu You up. "Hey, hey, hey, you are now a renowned big shot in the art world. How can you demean yourself like this?"
Zhu You wiped away tears and said, "What big shot, what not? In front of you, Warlord, I will always be a raw recruit. Warlord, without you, I would have died countless times by now."
This was not just politeness. During the war back then, Lu Ming had saved Zhu You's life more than once. Zhu You had experienced several times where he was on the verge of death and was pulled back by Lu Ming.
It was precisely because of this that Zhu You was so fanatically devoted to Lu Ming.
Patting Zhu You on the shoulder, Lu Ming smiled and said, "I came to see you today not only to catch up, but I actually have something I need your help with."
Hmm?
Please?
Zhu You's expression immediately fell, and he said sternly, "Warlord, why would you use the word 'please' with me? If you have anything for me to do, just give me an order!"
Ahem.
It was indeed awkward.
Lu Ming said, "Actually, my fiancée really likes your work. I want you to take her as your apprentice. Can you do it?"
"Uh... this... I..." Zhu You looked very troubled.
Lu Ming asked, "Is it not possible?"
Zhu You explained, "I don't take apprentices not because I'm arrogant, but mainly because I'm clumsy with words and don't know how to teach anyone! Moreover, your fiancée, Warlord, is my Warlord's wife. If I take her as my apprentice, wouldn't that mess up the辈分 (generation order)? Impossible, impossible."
Lu Ming was stunned.
What the heck?
Warlord's wife?
This term must have been invented by Zhu You himself!
Zhu You said with a chuckle, "It's like the boss and the boss's wife. You are my Warlord, so your fiancée is naturally the Warlord's wife, right?"
Lu Ming put a hand to his forehead, his face full of dark lines, feeling so awkward he wanted to dig his toes into the ground.
Afterward.
Zhu You offered a compromise.
He said, "Although I cannot take the Warlord's wife as an apprentice, my research and insights into painting over the years have been compiled into a practical handbook. I can give this handbook to the Warlord's wife. I believe she will find it helpful."
"That works too," Lu Ming nodded, agreeing to Zhu You's approach. "However, you absolutely must not address me as Warlord in front of outsiders later, nor mention anything about the Warlord's wife, do you understand?"
Not mentioning Warlord was to avoid revealing his identity, and not mentioning Warlord's wife was because it was embarrassingly awkward!
Zhu You said with a chuckle, "No problem, I will obey the Warlord's command in all matters."
Then, the two of them walked out of the room together and went before the crowd.
Lu Ming, wanting to showcase Zhu You's masterly demeanor, chose to stand behind Zhu You; while Zhu You, out of respect and admiration for Lu Ming, chose to stand behind Lu Ming.
This resulted in them walking very strangely. People usually walked forward, but they felt like they were walking backward.
It was comically absurd.
Finally, they reluctantly walked side by side, neither yielding to the other.
When the crowd saw this scene, they were even more shocked.
"My god, Master Zhu is actually walking alongside Lu Ming. How much respect this shows for Lu Ming."
"As expected of a master, his character is first-class."
"Lu Ming is truly lucky to be able to walk side by side with Master Zhu. His life is worth it."
"If this makes the news, Lu Ming will definitely be the winner."
They didn't care about the underlying reason; they would just blindly praise Zhu You and relentlessly put down Lu Ming.
It seemed that mocking Lu Ming had become a trend.
Zhu You saw all this and was quite displeased. Lu Ming was the person he admired most, how could he be so humiliated?
Therefore, under the watchful eyes of everyone, Zhu You did something that no one could have imagined.
Just like back then.
Zhu You actually held Lu Ming's hand!
The feeling was like a young girl leaning into her boyfriend's side and holding his hand, making the scene incredibly awkward.
Lu Ming felt ten thousand mythical creatures stampede through his mind, wishing he could die.
He knew Zhu You was trying to cheer him on and help him regain his dignity, but such an action would indeed cause unnecessary misunderstandings!
Jiang Mengxin, his actual fiancée, looked even more ashen-faced, unsure how to react to such a scene.
The two of them approached the crowd.
Zhu You even raised Lu Ming's hand and loudly declared, "Today, Mr. Lu and I hit it off immediately. From now on, Mr. Lu is my good brother, Zhu You!"
Huo.
This was serious!
Actually, Zhu You said this because he was trying to climb the social ladder a bit, but others thought it was Lu Ming who was climbing the social ladder.
Gao Yuheng was so jealous that his teeth ached, and he muttered, "This Lu Ming bastard, what filthy means did he use? Could he have used the twenty million from selling paintings to bribe Zhu You?"
It no longer mattered.
At this point, Gao Yuheng's face had been repeatedly rubbed in the dirt by Lu Ming.
Now, only one last thing remained: would Zhu You accept Jiang Mengxin as his apprentice?
Looking at the current scene, Gao Yuheng had almost no hope. He thought Zhu You would definitely accept Jiang Mengxin as his apprentice, especially since they were holding hands with Lu Ming.
But Gao Yuheng still wanted to know the truth.
So he asked publicly, "Master Zhu, do you agree to take Director Jiang as your apprentice?"
One question held everyone's attention.
Everyone stared at Zhu You, not daring to breathe loudly. Jiang Mengxin's heart raced, and she kept swallowing, so nervous it was worse than the college entrance examination.
In everyone's anticipation, Zhu You shook his head and answered with only one word: "No."