Chapter 21
Lin Yue sat nervously in a luxurious private room in the café, her fingers gently curled around the strap of her bag.
She'd arrived ten minutes early, her paintings carefully packed and secured.
The room itself was quiet and refined, with plush velvet chairs, a polished oak table, and classical music playing faintly in the background.
In front of her sat the buyer—no, buyers.
A stunning young woman in her mid-twenties, elegantly dressed in a creamy silk blouse and a soft beige pencil skirt.
Her makeup was light and refined, her delicate gold earrings catching the light as she tilted her head to examine one of Lin Yue's paintings.
Beside her was a tall, handsome man dressed in an immaculately tailored dark suit.
He looked like someone from a luxury brand billboard, but his expression was casual and curious.
The woman's eyes sparkled as she looked through the paintings one by one, laying them across the table gently. "These are incredible," she whispered more to herself than anyone else. "Look at this one, Fei'er."
Fei'er, the man beside her, leaned in with a grin. "Mm. This one has a story in it. The loneliness, the contrast... It's not amateur work."
Lin Yue sat quietly, trying to suppress her anxiousness.
Her hands were clammy under the table, but she kept her face calm.
Are they really going to buy one?
Just one will help so much… she thought.
Twenty minutes passed.
They kept admiring the paintings, whispering between themselves, sometimes smiling in awe.
Finally, the elegant woman looked up at her, a sheepish but excited grin on her face. "Miss Lin Yue… I know this may sound bold, but... could we buy all five of these?"
Lin Yue's eyes widened. "A-All five?" she repeated.
The man, Fei'er, chuckled. "They're all stunning. We can't choose. It would be a crime to separate them."
"I... of course!" Lin Yue stammered. "You can."
The two practically cheered like excited kids. "Yes!" the woman clapped her hands lightly. "Grandpa will love them! And I want to keep at least one for myself." She added poking her tongue out.
Lin Yue watched the joy on their faces and couldn't help but smile too.
They really seemed like kind, genuine people.
"May I ask," the woman said, "how much would you like for them?"
Lin Yue's smile faded slightly. She bit her lip. "This is my first time selling any of my work… I really don't want to ask for something too high. I mean... I can see you're good people. But I also don't want to suffer a loss."
Fei'er nodded. "Honesty is rare these days."
He turned to the tall bodyguard standing quietly behind him. "Lin Yue, do you have a bank account?"
"Yes, I opened one recently," she replied, still unsure where this was going.
"Good," Fei'er said. "We'll settle it now."
She hesitated, then took out her phone and shared her account information.
"Transfer five to her." The man said while looking at the paintings again.
"Yes, sir."
The bodyguard stepped out, phone in hand.
"Wait... right now?" she asked.
"Of course," the woman smiled. "We want to pay immediately. Or are we taking on credit?"
They laughed at the joke, the air lightening.
A few quiet moments passed.
They continued admiring the paintings and even asked about her techniques and inspirations.
Lin Yue answered as calmly as she could, though her heart was racing.
He said five. Was it five hundred thousand?
That was already a good price.
Then, her phone pinged with a message.
You have received 5,000,000.00.
Lin Yue stared at the screen, frozen. Five... million?
Her vision blurred for a second.
She sat straighter, blinking in disbelief.
"Um... excuse me," she said softly, "I think... there's been a mistake."
Fei'er looked up. "What's wrong? Did he send less?"
"Less?" Lin Yue repeated. "No. More. He sent five million!"
The woman chuckled behind her hand. "Yes, that's right."
Fei'er nodded casually. "One million per painting. That's a bargain, to be honest. We're collectors. We know value."
Lin Yue's jaw dropped. "One million... per painting?"
"Yes," the woman said, then took out a business card and handed it to her. "Here. My name is Mo Yuwei. Call me anytime you have more. I'm serious. Your art is amazing. You have raw emotion. It's rare."
Lin Yue took the card with trembling fingers.
"Thank you... thank you so much," she said, her voice unsteady.
As they carefully packed the paintings with the help of their assistant, Lin Yue stood slowly and walked out of the café.
---
Her steps were slow at first, disoriented.
Five million… she repeated in her head.
She stepped out into the daylight, the sun glowing down as if congratulating her.
The air felt different.
Lighter.
She walked along the sidewalk in a daze, like someone floating on clouds.
Five million.
Not five hundred thousand.
Not fifty thousand.
FIVE.
MILLION.
Tears welled up in her eyes, but she blinked them away.
No.
She wouldn't cry.
Not here.
This is the beginning.
This is hope.
She immediately thought of Ah Yan.
How he wanted to sell his watch.
How he worried about rent and food.
And now... now they had enough to live for a long while.
For a long time, Lin Yue had believed her life was cursed.
That no matter how hard she tried, happiness and success would always be one step too far.
But now… things were changing.
She pulled out her phone and opened her messages. Her fingers trembled as she typed:
"Ah Yan... I have something to tell you tonight. Something really, really good."
She pressed send, then let out a soft laugh, right there in the middle of the street.
People walking past turned to glance, but she didn't care.
She had just sold her first artwork for five million.
---