She could understand what Li Chonglou was saying.
A teacher had once spoken to him about "shi" and "tu."
The so-called "shi" was the art of negative space. If a painting was completely filled, leaving no empty space, it was like a Western oil painting.
A few strokes of ink on white Xuan paper, that was traditional Chinese painting.
A colorful painting depicted not just landscapes and flowers, but also the Way of the Square within the Circle.
Just like the principles of dealing with people in China, one should leave some room in their words when interacting with others.
This was "shi"!
As for "tu," it referred to the fact that Chinese painting, despite thousands of years of immense changes, remained ever-present and ever-new. The fundamental reason for this was its ineffable "Guo Wei," or national essence.
This "Guo Wei" was "tu." Of course, this was a self-deprecating term used by those who admired foreign things excessively.
This "tu" contained our beliefs, wisdom, philosophical thought, life experiences, and even aesthetic preferences.
These two points could summarize the characteristics of traditional Chinese painting.
She hadn't expected Li Chonglou to be an expert.
Qi Yu suddenly felt a sense of admiration at this moment.
She asked enviously, "Then... what about the other point?"
Not only her, but Fan Meng, who had followed them up, was also curious. Li Chonglou had suddenly come to advise this girl painting traditional Chinese art, and they seemed to know each other.
"The most important point is 'qi,' also known as 'yi'," Li Chonglou said with a slight smile. "Ink is water, and water has a natural connection with qi."
"There is a channel for mutual transformation. From a physical perspective, water vaporizing into qi is natural."
"From an artistic perspective, it represents the unity of heaven and man."
"Only when ink and qi are connected can traditional Chinese painting achieve its ultimate grandeur."
"Many people find this 'yi' to be ethereal, something they cannot touch or see. But in reality, it resides in your heart."
"Ink is dead, Xuan paper is dead, but the human heart is alive."
"Your painting has skilled brushwork and techniques, but it is lifeless, filled with self-indulgent pride and despair. If that phoenix were you, it would certainly not have experienced nirvana."
At these words, Qi Yu's beautiful eyes became distant.
Her complex emotions were evident in her gaze.
She stood frozen, silent for a long time.
"Little junior brother, life's insights are not gained in a moment or from a single event. You are too impatient," Lin Ying gently reminded him from the side.
Li Chonglou was taken aback and found himself speechless.
Senior sister was right. The realm of "yi" and "qi" was the most difficult to comprehend, not just in painting, but in life as well.
He himself, after enduring countless hardships and facing near-death situations, had only managed to step through this threshold in his early forties, achieving clarity and enlightenment that guided him throughout his life.
Qi Yu was only in her early twenties. Even though her family was in trouble, and she was forced to paint traditional Chinese art for others' appreciation,
Her spirit was still present. The expression on the phoenix could tell that.
He had wanted to help her out of a sense of shared destiny, but he had been too hasty, causing her to fall into confusion.
If he continued, it might have the opposite effect.
"Let's go."
Li Chonglou did not disturb the contemplative Qi Yu further. He beckoned the two women upstairs and entered a private room.
"Brother Li, do you know that beautiful girl who was painting?" Fan Meng asked, her eyes full of gossip, as she had a server bring over good tea.
"We know each other, in a way."
Li Chonglou nodded and changed the subject. "You invited us to dinner today, you must have something on your mind, right? Just say it."
Fan Meng was different from other women. In his past life, they had shared a marriage.
Though their feelings were gone, they were now even more distant than strangers.
Back in Rain City, out of consideration for their past relationship, he had helped her out. But afterward, he had no desire for any further contact.
However, life never went as planned, and trouble always found its way to him.
Fate had led her to him again.
Whether it was Fan Keli, Song Yi, or Fan Liang, they had all entangled him further with the Fan family.
It was truly vexing.
Fan Meng saw that Li Chonglou clearly did not want to talk about Qi Yu, so she did not press the matter and said earnestly, "Brother Li, Grandpa Song is our Fan family's guardian deity."
"He will not interfere in our Fan family's internal struggles, so even though he knows Fan Keli and his son are looking for me, it's inconvenient for him to act."
"He said he would wake Grandpa up, but I cannot put all my hopes on him alone."
"I know you are capable, otherwise Fan Liang would not have given up so easily."
Although she had been hiding with her father's friends during this time, she had not stopped gathering information.
The conflict between Fan Liang and Li Chonglou was no secret. The incident where they surrounded Jiutian Zhongya was widely circulated in their circle.
The result was that it ended without resolution. What did that indicate?
She knew Fan Liang's character too well. He would never tolerate such humiliation.
Unless the other party was powerful enough to make him and Fan Keli wary.
For some reason, she had unwavering confidence in Li Chonglou, believing he must possess such ability.
Not only had he escaped from Song Yi's clutches, but he had also managed to put Fan Liang in a difficult position.
That was why she had risked coming forward to invite Li Chonglou to dinner.
She just wanted to secure this powerful external support.
To help her reclaim what was rightfully hers.
"Fate truly likes to play tricks." Li Chonglou heard her words and felt a sense of helplessness.
In his previous life, he had been involved in this matter and had ended up in a mess. Although Fan Meng had ultimately won, he truly did not want to go through it again.
But the more he wanted to avoid it, the more things seemed to seek him out.
This time, he was determined not to get involved in such trashy affairs.
So, he put on a stern face and sternly refused, "Fan Meng, I have no interest in your Fan family's matters."
"Furthermore, I have important matters to attend to now and cannot be distracted. I cannot help you with your problems, so please find someone else."
"It seems I am not worthy of this meal."
With that, he got up to leave.
"Brother Li... you've misunderstood." Seeing this, Fan Meng's face showed urgency, and she quickly got up to persuade him. "It was my oversight, but no matter what, I want to befriend you and Sister Lin."
"Dinner is dinner, and matters are matters. Please don't go."
Then she cast her gaze towards Lin Ying and pleaded in a charming manner, "Sister Lin, please persuade him."
"Little junior brother, since we are here, let's just enjoy ourselves. Sister hasn't tasted good food in many days, and this restaurant should not disappoint me," Lin Ying said with a charming laugh.
Li Chonglou immediately lost his temper.
In this world, his senior sister was one of the few people he held dear in his heart.
Even though he didn't want to get too close to Fan Meng, he didn't want to go against his senior sister's wishes.
He immediately sat back down.
Only then did Fan Meng breathe a sigh of relief and quickly called the server to bring out the already ordered dishes.
In a short while, all sorts of delicacies were served, a total of eighteen dishes.
Each dish looked as if it had been prepared by a royal chef, with excellent color, aroma, and taste.
It made one's mouth water involuntarily.
"As expected of a famous private restaurant in Zhonghai. Today, I'm benefiting from your good fortune, little junior brother." Lin Ying's beautiful eyes lit up, and she praised the food after tasting it.
Fan Meng smiled flatteringly, no longer daring to mention anything about Li Chonglou helping her.
She knew that some things could not be rushed; haste made waste.
As long as she could establish a connection with Li Chonglou and get closer to him daily, Fan Keli would not dare to touch her easily.
She had already decided to move into the hotel where Li Chonglou was staying and occupy the room next to his.
This would ensure her safety and also facilitate getting closer.
Li Chonglou had never been particularly interested in gourmet food.
Like female attention, these things were usually pursued by people with empty souls to fill the void within.
Appetite was the easiest desire to satisfy.
And for a person to succeed, they must first learn to control their desires.
He had done this very well in his previous life.
After the meal, the three of them went downstairs to prepare to leave.
As they reached the turn of the stairs on the first floor, they heard Qi Yu's angry shouts from downstairs: "Let me go, or I'll call the police if you come any closer!"
Immediately afterward, Fan Liang's characteristic crow's voice rang out, accompanied by a sinister laugh: "You little slut, this young master has been looking for you for a long time."
"Without that bastard protecting you, do you think you could escape my grasp so easily?"
"This is Zhonghai, my territory!"
"If you're smart, you'll come upstairs with this young master obediently, otherwise, I'll make you regret being born."
The naked threat made Qi Yu's face turn pale.
The partially painted "Phoenix Cries to the World" was splattered with ink, and even her qipao was stained with black ink.
Her expression was filled with helplessness and anger.
The other servers dared not step forward, and even the lobby manager pretended not to hear and ran outside.
They couldn't afford to offend the young master of the Fan family.
Fan Liang's expression was extremely smug. After speaking, he reached out to drag Qi Yu's chin.
Qi Yu trembled, wanting to resist but her limbs seemed frozen, unable to move. She could only watch as Fan Liang was about to take liberties with her, her heart filled with shame and indignation.
"Fan Liang, how dare you! If Grandpa knew, he'd skin you alive!" At this moment, Fan Meng rushed down the stairs and shouted loudly.
Fan Liang was actually molesting Li Chonglou's friend.
Before Li Chonglou could react, she was already anxious.
Fan Meng felt that by helping Li Chonglou, she could get closer to him.
Furthermore, she already hated Fan Liang and his father to the core, so she naturally could not stand by and do nothing.
Fan Liang turned his head upon hearing the sound, his pupils constricting sharply. "Cousin, you were hiding here? My dad and I have been looking for you everywhere."
His narrowed eyes were filled with malice, and his face was contorted with smugness.
He had searched high and low, and now she had appeared before him.
Fan Meng had walked right into his trap to cause trouble for him.
This was great. His father's biggest concern was about to be eliminated.
As for the old man, he had already collapsed in bed, unconscious, so why should he be afraid of him?
He immediately roared at the bodyguards beside him, "What are you still standing there for? Escort the young lady home!"
The two bodyguards immediately understood and stepped forward to press towards Fan Meng.
Seeing this scene, Fan Meng's pretty face changed, and she instinctively stepped back. "Don't come any closer, or I'll call for help."
"Call for help? Let's see who else you can call. Your father is already in jail, and now we just need to capture you," Fan Liang said, temporarily abandoning Qi Yu and shouting smugly. "Everything in the Fan family will be decided by me, Fan Liang."
"I'll let you live and I'll let you die. You've always bullied me since childhood, now it's my turn to get back at you."
"Fan Meng, you bitch, even the gods can't save you today!"
Today was truly a cause for great joy. He had originally sent people to investigate Qi Yu's whereabouts and come to cause trouble.
Unexpectedly, he had also run into Fan Meng.
It was killing two birds with one stone, achieving two goals with one action.
From now on, he would live without worry, being the supreme ruler.
"Is that so? Then who can save you? Fan Liang." At this moment, a voice that made Fan Liang's heart pound like a drum came from the stairs.
Immediately afterward, he saw his face change drastically, as if he had seen a ghost.