Why didn't you tell me earlier that my little sister is still waiting for me?

“Let’s change it…” Lin Bufan stroked his chin, pretending to think seriously again. His eyes swept over Nana’s face before he said, “Alright, let’s change it then. This time, I’ll kiss you.”

Nana was stunned. Before she could react, Lin Bufan suddenly leaned in and, with great speed, gave her a light peck on her right cheek, which was still flushed.

It feels warm to the touch and separates instantly upon contact.

You bastard, are you serious?

By the time Nana came to her senses, Lin Bufan had already taken a step back, creating some distance between them, with a triumphant, signature smug smile on his face.

"Alright, we're even." Lin Bufan clapped his hands, turned around and walked out, waving casually as he went: "I'm off now. If you have time tonight, remember to come see my performance! I'll save you a front-row seat!"

Nana stood there, raising her hand to touch the spot where she had just been kissed; a slight warmth still lingered there. She watched Lin Bufan's tall figure disappear quickly through the doorway, and it took her several seconds to fully recover from the series of "accidents" and "ambush."

A mixture of embarrassment, amusement, and some other indescribable emotion welled up inside her. She raised her voice and shouted towards the now-empty doorway, "Get out! Who wants to see you?!"

The sound echoed in the quiet little restaurant, with a slightly upturned ending tone that she herself was unaware of.

Hearing the commotion, the customers at the table in the distance who were chatting quietly looked over curiously. Nana immediately realized that she had lost her composure and quickly lowered her head, pretending to be busy wiping the bar. However, the blush behind her ears did not fade away for a long time.

……

When Lin Bufan returned to the Windy Courtyard, the setting sun was casting its last golden rays upon the courtyard. As soon as he stepped through the gate, he saw Xu Hongdou, Chen Nanxing, and Da Mai sitting at a stone table under the grape trellis, with some snacks they had bought from the village on the table.

"Oh, you're back so early?" Lin Bufan was a little surprised.

Da Mai looked up and explained in a soft voice, "Nan Xing and Hong Dou said they were thinking of coming back to see if there was anything they could help you with."

Lin Bufan raised an eyebrow and glanced at Xu Hongdou and Chen Nanxing: "At least you two have some conscience. I didn't spoil you for nothing."

Xu Hongdou didn't reply, but simply picked up her teacup, took a sip, and her gaze fell on the two wooden sculptures covered with red cloth in the corner of the courtyard. Chen Nanxing, however, snorted, leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms, and said in a somewhat sarcastic tone, "Looks like we were worrying for nothing. Why would you, President Lin, need our help?"

Lin Bufan was completely baffled by Chen Nanxing's nonsensical and sarcastic remarks!

Upon hearing this, Da Mai explained in a low voice, "When we came back just now, we ran into Aunt Gui. She said... she saw you helping out at the restaurant, working as a waitress!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Bufan gave a look of sudden realization, then cleared his throat in a serious tone: "Ahem, well... Aunt Gui only saw the surface. What I call going deep into the grassroots and experiencing life. Think about it, where does artistic creation, especially wood carving, which requires the infusion of emotion and vitality, come from? You can't just lock yourself in your room and imagine things out of thin air every day, can you?"

Lin Bufan walked to the stone table, picked up a small pastry, and popped it into his mouth. As he chewed, he said, "Art comes from life, but it must transcend life. I'm just immersing myself in life, experiencing the most authentic atmosphere of everyday life. People come and go in this little restaurant, all sorts of people, and by observing, I might capture a fleeting moment of inspiration and use it in my work. This is called gathering inspiration, understand?"

Chen Nanxing glanced at Lin Bufan sideways and slowly drawled out, "Oh—so you're going to collect folk songs? I thought you were going to collect Nana's folk songs!"

Chen Nanxing deliberately emphasized the word "Nana," glancing at Xu Hongdou beside him. Xu Hongdou, however, remained focused on her teacup, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings.

Lin Bufan listened to Chen Nanxing's words, his smile unchanged. He slowly picked up another pastry, eating as he spoke, "Nanxing, I went to the restaurant to soak up the atmosphere and observe all sorts of people. There are customers, an environment, and of course, staff. Nana is one of the staff, so she's naturally within my scope of observation. Do you think I can only focus on one person when I go to the restaurant? That would make my artistic vision too narrow, and what kind of creation would I be doing then?"

Immediately afterward, without giving Chen Nanxing a chance to dwell on the topic, Lin Bufan changed the subject: "It's getting late, and we have important business to attend to tonight. How about we eat a little earlier tonight? What would you like to eat? I'll make it!"

……

After dinner, twilight gently enveloped Yunmiao Village. The temporary exhibition area set up in the open space was ready. Several high-powered but soft-light spotlights shone on the booths from different angles, ensuring adequate illumination without being glaring. The backdrop simply read "Yunmiao Village Woodcarving Art Appreciation Meeting," and was decorated with some ethnic patterns.

Several wood carvings were displayed side by side on the stand. The most prominent spot was temporarily empty, covered with a dark velvet cloth, clearly reserved for Lin Bufan's two pieces. Next to it were some of Xie Heshun and his apprentices' masterpieces, including adorable little animals and simple, abstract decorative pieces, all gleaming with a warm, lustrous wood color under the lights, showcasing their solid traditional skills.

However, these are all early works. As for recent works—there's only one apprentice left, so where would any recent works come from?

Villagers and tourists who had arrived early gathered in twos and threes around the area, chatting quietly, creating a lively yet orderly atmosphere.

Xu Hongdou, Chen Nanxing, and Da Mai arrived early and stood near the front. Chen Nanxing seemed excited, looking around; Xu Hongdou was quieter, her gaze occasionally sweeping over the empty center of the booth; Da Mai had a notebook with him, seemingly intending to take notes; as for Nana, she hadn't arrived yet, it was unclear whether she wasn't planning to come or had been delayed by something!

Holding a simple microphone, Huang Xinxin walked with a smile to the small table in front of the booth.

"Distinguished guests, fellow villagers, good evening! Welcome to the Yunmiao Village Woodcarving Art Appreciation Meeting!" Huang Xinxin's voice was clear and bright, carrying the unique enthusiasm of a host: "Today, we are very honored to be able to showcase the inheritance and innovation of our village's woodcarving craftsmanship. Special thanks to Master Xie Heshun and his apprentices for bringing us so many exquisite traditional works!"

A round of applause broke out in the crowd, and Xie Heshun and Xiaxia nodded to everyone somewhat shyly.

Huang Xinxin continued, "Of course, there's also our star of the night, Mr. Lin Bufan! As you've all heard, the most anticipated pieces tonight are Mr. Lin Bufan's two wood carvings, 'Quiet Moon' and 'Flowing Wind.' You've probably already heard about their remarkable qualities. So, without further ado, let's give Mr. Lin Bufan and his works a warm round of applause!"

Amid applause and expectant gazes, the crowd automatically parted to make way.

Then, the entire room fell silent for a moment.

Lin Bufan steadily carried the two wooden sculptures covered with red cloth on his shoulders, walking briskly from the back of the crowd. However, after everyone's gaze swept past the sculptures, it involuntarily and uniformly settled on his clothing.

A black turtleneck top paired with light gray overalls with white straps. One strap is neatly draped over the shoulder, while the other hangs casually at the side.

Correct!

This is my brother Chicken's most classic outfit!

What's even more amazing is that behind Lin Bufan, Sang Biao followed closely, dressed in the same manner as Lin Bufan!

Actually, Sang Biao didn't want to dress like this, but he had no choice. When Lin Bufan said that he couldn't go on stage with him if he didn't dress like this, Sang Biao had to agree!

Xu Hongdou and Chen Nanxing, who were standing in the front row, both raised their hands to cover their eyes.

Xu Hongdou peeked through her fingers at Lin Bufan approaching and couldn't help but lower her voice to ask Chen Nanxing beside her, "Nanxing...didn't you say you were going to pick out a few outfits for her? This...this is what you picked out?"

Chen Nanxing put down his hand, looking helpless and exasperated: "I did pick! I picked a shirt, a casual suit, and even a top with a bit of an ethnic style... but he insisted on deciding for himself! Saying things like classics never go out of style, paying tribute to legends, and this outfit has the most artistic flair... How could I stop him?"

"Even if you're going to choose this outfit, you should at least make him wear it properly. What's with the suspenders dangling down like that?"

He said it was intentionally designed, that it was a trend, and that I shouldn't worry about it!

Xu Hongdou: ...

Da Mai whispered her opinion: "Actually... after looking at it for a while, it actually seems quite... distinctive..."

"Is that recognizability? That's an eyesore!" Chen Nanxing sighed again.

At this moment, Lin Bufan had already walked to the center of the exhibition stand. He carefully placed the two statues covered with red cloth on the reserved velvet table, while Sang Biao squatted at his feet, head held high and chest puffed out, looking as if he had sculpted the statues himself.

Lin Bufan turned around to face the crowd, took the microphone from Huang Xinxin, and wore his signature slightly roguish smile.

"Ahem, good evening, everyone." Lin Bufan tested the microphone, his gaze swept across the audience, lingering for a second longer in the direction of Xu Hongdou and the others, before beginning his "speech".

"First of all, thank you all for coming tonight, thank you so much for your presence, really."

As you probably know, I have a wide range of interests. I've dabbled in technology, dabbled in finance, and invested in some projects... but to be honest, I've never really studied wood carving in depth before.

Lin Bufan paused, then his tone shifted, becoming both helpless and unable to hide his pride: "But, there's nothing I can do about it. Talent is something that's just there. I'm also very troubled! I just casually learned a bit, looked around, and pondered a bit, and hey, look, I've reached this level."

Lin Bufan turned to the side, pointed to the wooden carving covered with a red cloth behind him, then turned back and spread his hands: "To be honest, I'm a little embarrassed myself. This level, I wouldn't say there will be no one like it in the future, but it's certainly unprecedented. Master Xie, I'm sorry, it's not that I intentionally wanted to surpass you, it's just that this talent doesn't allow me to be low-key." After saying that, he "sincerely" cupped his hands in the direction of Xie Heshun below the stage.

Xie Heshun's face had already darkened when he heard him say that there was no one like him before, and this sentence, "It wasn't intentional to surpass him," made him so angry that his nose almost twisted out of shape. He snorted heavily and turned his head to the side. Xia Xia next to him wanted to laugh but didn't dare to, so she could only keep her head down.

Lin Bufan seemed oblivious to Xie Heshun's reaction and continued his "Versailles" spiel: "Actually, it's not just wood carving; it's the same for everything else. Take scientific research, for example. Flying cars, reversing clocks, mechs, all sorts of special medicines—many people think it's impossible, but for me, it's like child's play. The key is to broaden your thinking and elevate your perspective. Of course, the most crucial thing is..." Lin Bufan pointed to his head: "Here, the hardware configuration is different; it runs smoothly."

Lin Bufan got more and more excited as he spoke, jumping from scientific research to finance, and then from finance to game development, as if he were about to review all his "great achievements": "...So you see, it's the same with investing. Others chase after trends, but I usually just stand there, and the trend comes to me on its own. That's called..."

"Ahem!" Huang Xinxin, who was standing to the side, couldn't stand it anymore and coughed twice. She maintained an awkward but polite smile and whispered, "President Lin, President Lin! Shall we... talk about wood carving? Talk about tonight's main character?"

"Oh right!" Lin Bufan slapped his forehead, as if he had just remembered: "Let's talk about wood carving, let's talk about wood carving. You see, I easily go off-topic when I talk about these insignificant little achievements. It's mainly because of these experiences, they're all integrated, artistic cultivation, scientific thinking, business acumen, they're all one, so as I talk, I end up..."

"Wood carving!" Huang Xinxin quickly emphasized again in a low voice, her smile already a little stiff.

"Alright, alright, the wood carvings." Lin Bufan finally steered the conversation back on track. He walked over to the wood carvings covered with a red cloth, placed his hand on the cloth, and his expression became slightly more serious. "Let's get back to the point. These two wood carvings, 'Quiet Moon' and 'Flowing Wind,' have something special about them that I believe everyone has heard about. But I still want to emphasize—this is by no means a simple visual illusion or some kind of high-tech special effect."

Truly great art resonates with the viewer's inner world. These two sculptures are such examples.

Their expressions change in an extremely subtle and personalized way, depending on each observer's current state of mind, emotions, and even their most genuine subconscious thoughts.

Many people in the audience had already learned about Lin Bufan's explanation of "spiritual resonance" through the live broadcast, and they were somewhat distracted as they listened, their eyes frequently glancing at the two tightly covered red cloths.

"Mr. Lin, we understand the reasoning, please let us take a look!"

"Yes, we've been waiting for days, just to see the actual product!"

"Let's find out! Is all that incredible stuff online really true?"

"Yes, yes, let us also experience this spirituality!"

……

Urgent calls rose and fell, and the atmosphere grew increasingly tense.

Seeing this, Lin Bufan stopped teasing and replied with a smile, "Alright, alright, let everyone see its true form!" With that, he reached out and grabbed a corner of the red cloth, pulling it down forcefully—

It wouldn't budge!

The red cloth seemed to be nailed to the display stand by something, remaining completely still.