Chapter 181: Old Houses in Memory

Han Yangting paused, then said: "It's too fast. Nana and I haven't officially started dating yet; we need to at least get through the dating stage before meeting the parents."

Ye Caiyue realized she had indeed been a bit impatient, so she hurriedly said: "That's true, Mom was just... seeing that you're getting older, I was a little anxious."

Han Yangting said: "Mom, is it you who is getting older?"

"Yes, yes, Mom is indeed getting older. When people get older, they love to worry; it's very normal."

Han Dongbei said from the side: "Neither of you is old. Be careful, or my dad will be sad if he hears that; he is the one who is truly old."

Han Weimin has not been coming down for meals lately; the servants have been bringing them up to him.

He is also truly worried about Han Yangting's lifelong affairs and hopes to see a great-grandchild sooner.

Just as they were eating, a message came to Han Yangting's phone, and he took it to glance at it.

Ye Caiyue reflexively leaned over and asked again: "Is it Nana?"

Han Yangting nodded.

"What did Nana say to you?"

Han Dongbei said to Ye Caiyue from the side: "Can you not be so gossipy? You're more anxious than our son; it makes it seem like our son can't find a wife."

Han Yangting did not avoid the suspicion and honestly said: "Nana wants to ask me to go see an art exhibition."

"Seeing an art exhibition is good. Which artist is it?"

Han Yangting said: "It's a local one, quite well-known in the circle."

Han Dongbei asked: "Is it the kind of artist who is only slightly known while alive, but whose paintings become very valuable after death?"

Ye Caiyue and Han Yangting both glared at him.

He said aggrievedly: "It's the truth. That's the situation in this industry. It's about the same as photographers; after a while, I want to hold a photography exhibition too."

"Then hurry up and hold one, and see if anyone comes," Ye Caiyue said.

"People will definitely come, and I dare say that those who come will all be well-known photographers in the circle."

"..." The old couple started bickering again, which shows they have already made up.

The art exhibition is at the Beishi Art Gallery; those who frequent this place are all people from the cultural circle.

Nana is wearing a white dress today, a red coat, and a pair of black boots. Her skin is white with a rosy tint, her eyes are large, and she smiles very sweetly.

Han Yangting walked toward her; her smile was as shy and bashful as an Eastern girl's.

When Han Yangting got close, she said: "Brother Yangting, I was really afraid you wouldn't come."

Han Yangting said: "I'm not busy during this time."

"Then... shall we go in?"

Han Yangting nodded.

There are quite a few people who came to the art exhibition today out of admiration; the artist graduated from the Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts and focuses mainly on landscape oil paintings.

Han Yangting is not well-versed in this field, but art is interconnected; if he observes carefully, he can also tell where these paintings are good.

Fearing he would be bored, Nana introduced them to him along the way: "This artist's paintings are mostly of old houses. These old houses have witnessed the changes in the city, and they have a lot of artistic conception, as if every old house has its own story..."

Walking to the middle of the exhibition, Han Yangting stared blankly at one of the paintings, seemingly lost in thought.

Nana said: "This is an old house in Fengcheng. That old house should have a history of more than seventy years. At that time, Western-style architecture was popular, so the roof has a spire. During a special period, it was taken over by the public for a while, and later the owner of the house was rehabilitated and got it back. I heard that this owner even became wealthy for a while later, but for some reason, they fell on hard times again. I don't know how they are doing now."

Han Yangting certainly knows this old house. The outer wall of this old house is painted with yellow paint, but because of its age, the paint has fallen off. Outside the wall, there is also an old wampee tree. When summer comes, the wampee fruits ripen, and the fragrance is enticing.

This is the old house where Bai Shuruo once lived.

"Brother Yangting, what's wrong? Do you like this old house? Or do you like this painting? If you like it, shall I buy it and give it to you?" Nana said enthusiastically.

Han Yangting said without hesitation: "I don't like it."

"..." Nana didn't understand him then.

Han Yangting said: "Let's look at others. See if there are any you like. If there are, I will buy them and give them to you; any number of them is fine."

Nana clearly likes these paintings very much, otherwise she wouldn't have come.

Moreover, there is nothing wrong with accepting things from the person one is dating; the more he pays, the more it shows his affirmation of their relationship.

She smiled and said: "Then I won't be polite. Brother Yangting, I like these few."

Nana pointed to a few, all of which were old houses with a sense of history. Under the twilight sun, these old houses were full of vicissitudes, as if they had many stories.

This also included that old house of Bai Shuruo.

Han Yangting said: "Except for this one, I can give you any of the others, but this one is not possible."

"Ah?" Nana sensitively sensed that Han Yangting must have seen this house before; he has a connection to this old house.

Could it be related to his ex-wife?

Nana then sensibly decided not to take this painting.

However, while Nana was waiting for the framing, she discovered that Han Yangting had gone back to buy that painting himself.

Nana smiled bitterly.

This is a man who cannot forget the past; wanting to walk into his heart will probably take a long time.

During the date, Han Yangting also dutifully acted as a gentleman.

After leaving the art center, he invited Nana to dinner again.

This time he put in effort; the place for dinner was chosen at a private restaurant inside a bamboo forest, and the per-capita consumption was not expensive, only 600-something per person.

Nana clearly liked this place. Although she is of mixed heritage, she likes domestic traditional culture and also likes Chinese food.

As a result, just as they arrived at the restaurant, they ran into someone.

"Oh, Yangting." The other party took the initiative to greet him.

Han Yangting glanced at the other party, his eyes devoid of any ripples, as if he did not recognize her.

Meng Siyu was here to eat with her husband today; she had married two years ago, but had not been able to conceive since, and was now preparing to undergo in vitro fertilization.

Seeing that Han Yangting ignored her, Meng Siyu gave an awkward smile.

She already knew that her actions back then had caused Han Yangting to remain all alone for these past few years.

Also because of those actions back then, Ling Feng and Ni Xianglei had both cut ties with her, and everyone who was close to Han Yangting had also distanced themselves from her.

She could not help but look at Nana again.

She had already heard that Han Yangting was currently dating the daughter of a diplomat.

She then greeted Nana: "Hello there, I am a childhood friend of Han Yangting."

Nana returned a smile to her in a poised and generous manner.

But she was pulled away by Han Yangting, who said: "You don't need to pay any attention to this person; I am not close with her, and she is not a good person."

Nana smiled awkwardly.

Meng Siyu also felt awkward; she knew that Han Yangting was a person who held grudges very deeply.