A Chan – CH 041

Chapter 41: Her Dream (2)

Mr. Li was still unwilling to give up, feeling that his daughter switching to an arts degree wasn’t respectable, and remained unmoved. Zhang Jingchan pondered for a moment, then said, “How about this: when I get to university, I won’t date or go out partying. I’ll use all my spare time to pursue a double degree in humanities—that is, two majors at the same time, getting two degrees.”

Mr. Li’s eyes lit up: “Really? Then you have to keep your word. You won’t date randomly in university, and you won’t be playful. You’ll honestly study for that double degree.”

Zhang Jingchan smiled slightly: “It’s a deal.”

Mrs. Li: “Won’t that be tiring?”

Zhang Jingchan: “I’m not afraid of being tired.”

Li Weiyi: !!!

Mr. Li sighed, his eyes filled with loving affection. He said, “Dad knows you’ve wanted to learn to paint since you were little. Before, your parents wouldn’t let you, but you still… Times are changing so fast now; your parents don’t understand the outside world. But now that you say it, learning to paint is a good thing. Just remember, whatever you learn, you must be diligent and hardworking. If you encounter difficulties, talk to your parents. If you switch to painting and feel uncomfortable or can’t keep up, then switch back immediately. At least your studies won’t suffer.”

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Zhang Jingchan was silent for a moment, then said, “No, I really love painting, and I’ll persevere no matter how difficult it is. Actually, all I said before was to prove to you that this is a good path, that I can live a good life on my own. That way you’ll be at ease. But the main reason is that I love it. This is my dream, something I want to do for the rest of my life; that’s what makes me happy. If I can’t learn to paint, I’ll definitely regret it in the future.”

Mr. and Mrs. Li had a quick meal at the coffee shop and then left. Zhang Jingchan said he was going to buy reference books, but after wandering around for a bit, he came back and sat down opposite Li Weiyi.

Li Weiyi asked curiously, “The professor from the China Academy of Art has seen my paintings. You made this up, didn’t you?”

Zhang Jingchan placed his phone in front of her. She saw the screenshots of the chat history, and her eyes widened.

“A professor at my school has a very good personal relationship with this art professor. I asked him for help last night.”

Li Weiyi looked at him, sitting calmly; even as a woman, he was like a still, deep pool of water. She had only asked him for this favor around 9 pm last night, and he had not only seen her paintings but also indirectly asked the art professor and even prepared this whole story.

She suddenly wanted to ask him if this was always how it was. Whenever he was there to back her up, she would never be disappointed.

“Thank you,” Li Weiyi said softly, “but I still won’t easily forgive you for agreeing to a double degree. You’ve ruined my happy college life! I don’t want to have such a miserable college experience!”

Zhang Jingchan picked up her teacup, lowered her eyes, and sipped. “Anyway, if you switch to painting, you won’t run into your ex-boyfriend again. Wouldn’t it be better to use the time wasted on dating to pursue a double degree? With your taste in men, you might repeat the same mistakes. I think you should work for a few years before considering it.”

Li Weiyi actually found this quite reasonable and nodded. “That’s right, men will only slow down my painting.” Then she frowned. “What do you mean? Do you think my taste in men is terrible?”

Zhang Jingchan chuckled. She had briefly mentioned her romantic history to him because it was one of the fates she wanted to change.

Li Weiyi felt embarrassed and tried to salvage the situation: “He’s not that bad. He’s in the top ten of the department, vice president of the student council, lots of girls chased after him…”

Zhang Jingchan raised an eyebrow: “Top ten?”

Li Weiyi suddenly didn’t want to talk to him anymore. After a while, she leaned closer to him again: “I didn’t expect you to convince my parents so well.”

Zhang Jingchan sat upright and looked up: “What did you expect me to say?”

“Well, talk about ideals, hobbies, and life,” Li Weiyi replied. “I thought that since they love me so much, maybe they would support me in pursuing my dreams, as long as I spoke sincerely.”

Zhang Jingchan shook his head and said, “People often say, ‘Parents who love their children plan far ahead for them.’ Many parents believe that making choices for their children is for their own good. Especially since you’re still a minor, talking about ideals and hobbies right away will only displease them, and they probably won’t even listen to you carefully. Most people of their generation don’t consider dreams. Especially with your parents’ personalities, the more they love you, the more they want you to live a conventional life.”

Li Weiyi nodded.

“We have to start with reality, with persuasion based on their concerns about income and social standing. Once they approve of your painting, talking about hobbies and ideals will be a nice bonus. However, your parents care a lot about your feelings. It’s precisely because they care that they’ve been trying to make what they believe is the right choice for you.”

Li Weiyi: “Yes, I understand. My parents are the best. Actually, your parents also care about your thoughts.”

Zhang Jingchan looked unconvinced.

“Really! Otherwise, would your dad have listened to me and decided to pull back from the brink? That’s hundreds of millions, half a lifetime’s worth of savings, and he’s just letting go of it like that.”

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A hint of relief finally appeared on Zhang Jingchan’s face.

Li Weiyi continued, “I’ve never seen you say so much in one go before, all to help me. You’ve helped me so much; besides Fuming’s matter, where else can I help you? As long as it’s something I can do, I’ll go to great lengths for you. I’m serious; you can think about it slowly.”

Zhang Jingchan was slightly taken aback. Aside from work, he rarely bothered to say so much to someone at once. To be precise, in life, he was almost a reticent person.

However, this habit seemed to have subtly changed since he met her…

Zhang Jingchan looked at her, crossed his arms, and gently rubbed his chin with his right index finger and thumb, saying calmly, “No need to go to such lengths. Since you want to repay me, do it now—you… roll your eyes at me again.”

Li Weiyi thought she had misheard: “What?”

A faint smile appeared on Zhang Jingchan’s lips. “You heard me right,” he said, “like yesterday at the airport, roll one.”

Li Weiyi was stunned. “That’s a bit perverted, Mr. Zhang.”

He chuckled. “I just wanted to see an emoji, to see just how ugly you can make me look. Go ahead and roll it.”

Li Weiyi: “No!”

“What about your loyalty?”

“But that doesn’t include satisfying someone’s perverse tastes!”

Zhang Jingchan chuckled again, his dark eyes fixed on her, his tone softening: “What’ll it take for you to roll it?”

Li Weiyi was utterly speechless. Mr. Zhang, a company with a net loss of 1 billion, was actually negotiating with her just to see her roll her eyes! Should she negotiate her commission from 100 million to 150 million?

However, Li Weiyi remained unmoved by wealth and power; her response was resolute: “Absolutely not!”

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He said, “Fine, we’ll talk about it later.”

Li Weiyi: “Pah, there’s no later.”

Zhang Jingchan returned to his calm and collected demeanor, as if he hadn’t been the one with the perverse tastes just moments before. Li Weiyi, however, remained quiet for a moment, then burst out laughing.