NOVEL WEB Chapter 3: If You Have Problems With So Many People... The Issue Is Probably With You
Sun Weiming turned the corner and paused.
A familiar silhouette stood by the far wall. The silhouette of the one person he knew would never let him down. The tightness in his chest loosened by a tiny fraction.
Jin Haoran turned, as if sensing Sun Weiming's gaze on him. A smirk—half smug, half fond—slid onto Jin Haoran's face as he lifted his champagne flute in a slow salute.
Sun Weiming steadied his breath, squared his shoulders, and crossed the gallery floor.
"Hi," Sun Weiming said softly as he came to a stop beside Jin Haoran.
"Hi," Jin Haoran replied in the same tone.
"Thanks for coming. I know you don't like... things like this."
Jin Haoran chuckled softly. "You know I'll stomach anything for you."
A small blush touched Sun Weiming's cheeks, the tightness loosening by another fraction.
Noticing Jin Haoran's distraction, Sun Weiming followed his gaze and immediately furrowed his brows. "Do you like this kind of art?"
"Not really," Jin Haoran said with a small shrug. "It has two nipples. It's anatomically incorrect."
Sun Weiming's facial features relaxed. "Maybe that's the art. Not everything has to be anatomically accurate."
Jin Haoran tilted his head, still studying the piece. "I wonder why she likes it."
"Who?"
"Wanrou. I saw her staring intently at it."
"Oh! She's a lady. Maybe she finds it empowering."
Jin Haoran chuckled lightly. "Two nipples on one breast? Are you stupid?"
"Hey, I don't know how women think, okay?"
Jin Haoran glanced at him and noticed the downward pull of the frown around his mouth. The way his eyes didn't shine as bright as he'd imagined they would. He chuckled again. "Shouldn't you be happy? Why do you look like you got kicked in the crotch?"
"I am happy." Sun Weiming said with a sulky pout. He took Jin Haoran's flute and threw the whole drink down his throat.
Jin Haoran stared at the now-empty hand. "You've convinced me." He started to walk with Sun Weiming trailing behind him. "Were you... expecting your mum?"
Sun Weiming grabbed another drink from a server. "No. She... probably doesn't know about this."
Jin Haoran nodded. He suddenly stopped walking, then gave Sun Weiming a side eye. "Is it a man?"
Sun Weiming's spine straightened. His shoulders pulled back. He moved around Jin Haoran and wrapped his hand around his waist. "What if it's a man. Are you jealous?"
Jin Haoran let out a sound that was half scoff, half chuckle. He removed Sun Weiming's hand and turned to face him. He brushed away a strand of hair that had fallen over Sun Weiming's face. His fingers lingered. His voice dropped to a low, melodramatic tone. "If another man comes into your life and takes you away from me..."
Sun Weiming raised an eyebrow.
Jin Haoran tapped him lightly on the head. "I will be so happy, I'll help him pay your dowry."
"Ayy, fuck you, Jin Haoran." Sun Weiming rubbed his head with exaggerated motions.
Jin Haoran laughed softly, then continued walking.
They walked a few more paces in silence.
Sun Weiming stopped and tugged him. "I like this piece, Haoran."
Jin Haoran glanced at the artwork. "It's a... black glass heart."
"With a diamond pattern. It's exquisite." Sun Weiming bent to look at it, his face close to the glass. "Handcrafted too."
"If you like it... Then buy it." Jin Haoran started walking again.
"Ayy, if I could buy it, I would." Sun Weiming pouted as he spoke.
"I'm not your sugar daddy."
"Haoran-ge..."
"Idiot."
"Gege..." Sun Weiming continued while laughing. Even as Jin Haoran teased and brushed him off, Sun Weiming clung to the comfort of his presence. It didn't fix the ache in his chest, but it kept him from unraveling completely. This was his Haoran—annoying, smug, loyal.
Jin Haoran stopped walking. His body stiffened. He drew in a breath and exhaled slowly. Sun Weiming followed his gaze and saw Jin Wanrou standing a short distance away. Her posture was rigid.
"Did you fight again?"
"Mm."
"How bad?"
"I had to pull rank."
"You did what?"
"Asked her to book an appointment with my secretary."
"And you're still alive?"
Jin Haoran resumed walking, his stride slower now. "She's just too much sometimes."
"I hate it when you guys fight."
"I love it."
Sun Weiming fell quiet, his footsteps softening.
"Where's your work?"
"She's standing in front of it." A small, sad smile spread across his face.
Jin Haoran paused again. He breathed in and out. Then continued walking.
"By the way... How's your search for a wife going?"
"Fine. The app's algorithm is excellent. Pretty much everyone that's suggested is a good fit. Good background. Same values. Same interests."
"You don't have any interests."
Jin Haoran side-eyed him. "Cute."
"So you're really just going to marry someone off of a dating app?"
"I'm COO now. It's the next logical step. COO, wife, two kids. In the future... CEO."
Sun Weiming shook his head. "So you chatted someone up yet?"
"No. It's all the same to me. I'll send their profiles to my mum and have her handle it."
"Love isn't important to you at all?" Sun Weiming sighed as his mind drifted to that breath on his face. His heart racing...
"It'll come in marriage. No need to waste time chasing oxytocin."
'Oxytocin', Sun Weming thought. What an accurate word to describe the high that man had made him feel.
They let the quiet settle as they reached the painting.
Jin Wanrou looked past Jin Haoran and walked straight to Sun Weiming. As she passed her brother, her shoulder knocked against him—a small but unmistakable push. She beamed at Sun Weiming. "You pulled it off. I'm so proud of you."
Jin Haoran sighed and walked up to the painting.
"You don't like it." Sun Weiming's voice was measured.
"I just... Never mind." Jin Haoran murmured.
"Say what you think about it."
"I like that it's unambiguous and I don't have to think about what it means. I hate art that makes you think."
Jin Wanrou rolled her eyes.
"You're saying it's simple?"
Jin Haoran stared at Sun Weiming. Eyes fixed on his, he spoke. "I'm saying you're pretending depth that you don't have. Cosplaying pain that you don't understand."
Sun Weiming felt his chest tighten. "You can't say that."
"What is this painting? A clink in the armor for the rich? You are the rich! The fact that you're pretending not to be one right now is not going to change that."
Sun Weiming blinked to stop a tear from falling.
"You've never been lonely in your life! You've always had me and you always will."
Sun Weiming hesitated. When he spoke, his voice was quiet, each word breaking apart. "I don't have my mother, Haoran."
Jin Haoran felt a sharp pain in his chest.
"This is my dream, Haoran. This is the most important day of my life, and the only family I have isn't here. And you think I don't understand pain?"
Both stared at each other. Sun Weiming on the brink of tears, Jin Haoran fumbling for words in his head.
Jin Wanrou scoffed, breaking the silence. "Personally, I like it."
The other two remained quiet.
"If not for anything but for what a bold choice it is to force the people here to look at the mirror and reevaluate their life choices." She looked at Jin Haoran. "No matter how hard you try, some people will always be spineless." Her gaze shifted back to Sun Weiming. "But that's not you."
Silence stretched between them.
Jin Wanrou scanned the QR code with her phone. "I'll hang it in my bedroom. Every morning when I look at it, I'll remember how much I hate spineless people."
Jin Haoran's jaw tightened. He grabbed a flute from a passing tray. The champagne fizzed as he brought it to his lips. He drank, turned to Sun Weiming and finally spoke. "I should not have said that. I'm sorry."
Sun Weiming opened his mouth to speak and lifted a finger toward Jin Haoran. No words came out. He sighed and walked away, his shoulders sagging. His back felt exposed.
Jin Haoran's fingers tightened around the flute until his knuckles turned white.
Jin Wanrou walked toward him with a smirk tugging at her lips. "If you have problems with so many people... the issue is probably with you."
Jin Haoran didn't look at her. But his ear twitched. His jaw clenched, and his eyes flicked once toward the wall, as if the painting might somehow justify everything he'd said.
She scoffed and walked away. As she passed, her shoulder hit Jin Haoran again, his body jerking slightly to the side.
Jin Haoran sighed.
Alone now, he retrieved the phone from his pocket and scanned the QR code.
Once he heard a beep that confirmed the scan was complete, he tapped the phone a couple of times and placed it against his ear. He looked around the gallery, his eyes searching, then spoke. "Yes, yes. I bought the painting. I'll come out to meet you."