A Moment Too Late (GL) - Chapter 88

On the lush green lawn, the photographer held up his camera and clicked the shutter—snap.

The image froze in time.

A group of young people wearing black doctoral caps posed in front of a Gothic-style building. Behind them, the hall hosted an exhibition of graduates’ works, including oil paintings, watercolors, photographs, sculptures… many art pieces that attracted a large crowd of onlookers.

After the photo session, Shu Yubai prepared to leave. Her teacher patted her shoulder from behind, “Getting ready to go back to China?”

“Yes,” Shu Yubai nodded. “How about you, teacher?”

“I’ll stay a bit longer,” Su Hanting said. “In the next few days, I plan to travel around some small European countries nearby. The scenery is beautiful, and once I’ve seen enough, I’ll head back.”

“Great, I hope you have a wonderful time,” Shu Yubai said hurriedly, looking at her densely packed schedule. “I can’t join you; I have an exhibition back home in a few days.”

“I told you to study abroad,” Su Hanting smiled. “And look at you now—you’re a Ph.D. graduate from the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. With the current policies, you’ll go straight to an associate professor position back home, while others need years to achieve that.”

“You didn’t want to come at first,” Su Hanting patted her shoulder again. “Do well when you get back. You’ve always been excellent.”

“Thank you,” Shu Yubai felt her cheeks warm as a breeze lifted her long hair.

After a quick photo session, Shu Yubai packed her luggage at her place, hailed a taxi by the roadside, and headed to the airport.

The plane soared through the thick, white clouds with a violent jolt before breaking through the rain clouds into the stratosphere, flying silently. The azure sky was as clear as an oil painting.

The sunlight was intense. Shu Yubai shielded her eyes with her hand and closed them briefly in the window’s light.

••••

The streets were unbelievably crowded.

With a large black backpack on her shoulders and a suitcase in hand filled with her works from the past few years, she was jostled onto the subway and then off again by the crowd.

The next day, she was to participate in an art exhibition.

The Hong Kong Art Basel, or Art Basel HK, is an important event for Asian artists, showcasing globally renowned artists’ works. The old city, with its buildings from the last century, had small signs hanging in the narrow, crowded streets, surviving in the gaps. The walls were covered with various billboards that dazzled the eyes, and the wind carried the scent of roasted chestnuts from the street into her eyes.

Her hotel was booked in Mong Kok.

The price was shockingly high—an ordinary room cost several thousand per night. Even though she was more financially comfortable these days, she still felt a pinch in her wallet.

Shu Yubai checked in at the hotel reception, feeling dizzy from the staff’s Cantonese-accented Mandarin. After finishing the conversation, she took her room key and went upstairs. She opened the door to a well-ventilated room, opened the window, closed the curtains, and listened to the sound of traffic in the dim light. As soon as she entered, she fell asleep.

Unfortunately, she was soon awakened.

Her phone rang. Shu Yubai struggled for a moment, then sat up from under the blanket and grabbed her phone from the bedside table. “Hello?”

Her messy black hair scattered around her as she asked, “I was still sleeping. Where are you?”

“At the airport,” the woman on the other end laughed.

Shu Yubai mumbled, “Do you want me to pick you up?”

“No need, I’ll come by myself,” the woman said. “You just rest well. When I get back, I’ll take you out to have some fun.”

The woman who called herself “sister” on the phone was Shi Chu, a friend Shu Yubai had met while studying abroad. Shi Chu studied art theory and was the only person Shu Yubai could really talk to in her narrow social circle abroad.

Before Shi Chu pursued her PhD, she worked as an agent for famous painters.

Painters need agents.

Agents are responsible for selling paintings, opening up the art market, and even creating publicity.

After meeting Shu Yubai, Shi Chu returned to her old profession. Although they were friends, Shi Chu also took on the role of helping Shu Yubai break into the market and manage her earnings as her agent.

Shu Yubai, who didn’t understand how to operate in the market, only needed to quietly focus on painting well.

She hung up the phone, still sleepy, and crawled back under the covers to continue sleeping.

Half an hour later, the phone rang again:

“Shu Yubai,” the voice said, “I’m here. What room are you in?”

Shu Yubai gave the room number, got out of bed, changed her clothes, and opened the door, leaning against the frame, sleepily waiting. She hadn’t slept well and could barely keep her eyes open.

“Hey,” Shi Chu said, dragging her suitcase and running over. “Finally made it. What shall we eat tonight? Let’s go out and explore.”

Shu Yubai watched her enter the room and asked, “You’re staying here too?”

“Yes,” Shi Chu said, opening her suitcase and picking out a few pieces of clothing to throw on the bed. She blinked and said, “Isn’t this a two-bed room? I booked it this way to save you money—split between the two of us, it’s only a thousand per night each.”

“Alright,” Shu Yubai said, climbing back into bed to catch up on sleep.

“Don’t sleep,” Shi Chu said, leaning in affectionately. “Let’s go out and explore for a bit? Maybe buy some lipstick or something.”

Shu Yubai shook her head. “I don’t wear makeup much anymore. You go ahead.”

“You don’t even wear makeup?” Shi Chu clicked her tongue. “You’re only in your twenties, no need to be so plain.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Shu Yubai said, her black hair spreading over her face. “I’m not looking for a partner. Who am I putting on makeup for? You go ahead. You still have a boyfriend…”

She rolled herself up in the blanket and buried her head.

Shi Chu hummed a little and said, “Actually, I’m taking you to see some beautiful girls—get up! If we hurry, we can get someone’s WeChat before they leave.”

“…”

Shu Yubai didn’t respond.

“It’s true,” Shi Chu emphasized, seeing that Shu Yubai didn’t take it seriously. “I saw a pretty girl.”

Shi Chu clicked her tongue. “I have a feeling she’s just your type.”

“How do you know?” Shu Yubai squinted at her.

“Tall, slim, fair, very clean. Wearing a light blue plaid shirt.”

“Shoulder-length short hair, very distinguished, cool and aloof.”

“Looks really young… If she’s a student, you should pursue her, she’d be easy to win over.”

“Your paintings now sell for as much as a regular person’s several years’ salary. You’re gentle and pretty, and an artist too. You’ve got great qualifications.”

Shi Chu even joked with her, imagining, “Keeping a young girl would be wonderful.”

Keeping… Shu Yubai laughed at her joke.

“Get up!”

Shi Chu was determined to drag her out of bed. Shu Yubai, afraid of her persistence, finally got up and washed her face at the hotel’s sink.

“Let’s go,” Shu Yubai said, drying the water droplets on her face.

“You’re going out just like that?” Shi Chu asked.

“What else?” Shu Yubai was puzzled. “I’ve always gone out like this.”

“No makeup? No cute dress?” Shi Chu said, “No wonder you’re always single.”

Shu Yubai closed the door and said, “Being single is fine.”

Shi Chu looked at her and couldn’t help asking, “Are you still hung up on it?”

Shu Yubai didn’t reply, keeping her head down as she slipped the room card into her purse. In the dim light, the hallway doors were tightly closed, and the soft carpet with an unknown pattern made no sound underfoot.

Shi Chu asked, “Then why did you break up at that time?”

Shu Yubai closed her eyes briefly. She didn’t say anything.

Outside the hotel, the cold night wind from Victoria Harbour was shockingly chilly.

At the end of spring, a Cantonese song started playing on the street, coming from an unknown shop. People in gray coats walked with their heads down on the narrow, clean street as the night fell and the lights came on.

It was Janice Vidal’s “Streetlight Dinner.”

“Everyone says you never grow up / Now even if we were still entangled, it wouldn’t mean living together and not fearing hardship / Even if I’m unhappy, I just want your understanding, you know how to care / Was loving you for settling the future / Who wants to calculate enjoying future blessings, then being together—”

With her head down, Shu Yubai said softly, “She’ll be better off without me… I messed up her life… You wouldn’t understand.”

Shi Chu, with her bag slung over her shoulder, looked at the bustling street, “You’ve been apart for so long, she hasn’t tried to get back together with you. She’s moved on, why are you still clinging to it?”

Shu Yubai remained silent.

The night wind felt a bit lonely.

Shi Chu patted her thin shoulder, “Come on, let’s go see that pretty girl.”