Chapter 3: Chapter 2

Lin FenXiang slowly exhaled as he carefully ran through the original owner's laptop. Fortunately he'd inherited the original owner's memories including the password so using the laptop wasn't a problem for him even though he was a technology idiot.

Lin FenXiang believed that he'd soon catch up with this modern world. Back in his previous life he'd been quick to grasp things and besides, for many things having talent isn't enough; persistence and hard work were more necessary to learn.

And the last thing Lin FenXiang lacked was persistence and patience.

Since he'd been blessed with a new life he might as well strive to live it with the best of his abilities. Even if his new life could never equalize to his previous life.

He browsed through the files and folder in the laptop and deleted the ones that seemed unimportant, except for the confidential and official ones. He quietly searched how to create back ups and watched a quick tutorial on the internet.

After approximately five minutes of watching the video he replayed it and watched again. When he absolutely was sure that he'd learned it only then did he take a pendrive and started backing up the official as well as confidential files.

It took more than half an hour for the export to complete.

Lin FenXiang removed the pendrive, placed it inside the safe in his room and locked it.

After this he cleared all those files from the laptop and scrolled through the internet with a peace of mind.

He searched many different things and got the general gist of the current time. 

Finally being unable to stop himself, he searched up the names of the paintings he'd seen back in his time.

He found that most of the paintings that'd been highly appraised in his time were considered masterpieces in today's world.

Be it Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, Lady with an Ermine, The Last Supper, Portrait of Ginevra Benci or the masterpieces of other painters, all of them were worth more than hundreds of millions.

They truly deserved the fame though.

Lin FenXiang sighed and closed the laptop leaning back on his armchair he shut his eyes.

Sure enough, a dead artist was of greater value than an alive one. 

Though perhaps he had no right to speak about it for he'd been valued quite a bit when he was still alive.

Drystan Meyer, back in his days, was widely known for his artworks and his art. He never lacked the comfort of house nor the relief of food and, of course, was sought by people who were willing to be patrons of art.

If looked carefully, he never suffered from an excessive lack of material things required to live comfortably. Compared to other artists of his time, his life, was far more fulfilling.

It was just that every artist wished to be famed beyond his time but not everyone could achieve the goal.

He wondered if his friend was just as famous as the painters of the renaissance period but he was afraid of disappointment.

It was fine if he was forgotten, buried in the endless tides of time. But his friend…

No, his greatest ambition was to be renowned beyond ages if he wasn't…

Lin FenXiang didn't want to think about it. So he opened his eyes, got up from the armchair and prepared to walk out of the room.

Just as he took a step towards the exit, a familiar nagging voice spoke to him at the back of his mind.

"Not going to check whether, he made it through the holocaust of history?"

That made him pause. Did he want to know? Did he want to renew his pain with the cruel reminder of what could have happened to Adrastus? 

A cruel part of him did, the desperate part of him did. But the more rational part of him stopped Lin FenXiang. It lulled him, told him that no, it doesn't matter, not anymore. Let the bygones be bygones. That this drastic change has already caused him a lot of pain, he didn't need more of it to add into the chaos.

So he listened to that part of him. Despite knowing that he shouldn't, he did.

Just as he climbed down the stairs, he saw Lin QingLan sitting on a couch, reading a thick book. Hearing his steps, the young girl looked up from her book. Her bespectacled face contorting in askance as she opened her mouth to speak.

"Gege? Do you need something?" Lin QingLan asked. "You could have called for me, ah!"

Oh god, poor girl. She sounded so earnest that Lin FenXiang felt guilt stirring in the pit of his stomach yet again.

He sucked in a breath, "Your brother isn't made of glass, Qing'er. I can still walk."

"Of course you can!" She huffed shutting her book close. "Are you going somewhere?"

He nodded, "Mn. I'm gonna go to art stores. I want to buy something."

"You," She asked dubiously. "Want to go to an art store?"

He nodded again.

"Can I come with you, Ge?" She smiled sweetly. "I can help show you around since you are mostly out of Beijing. You can't be too familiar with this place, right?"

Lin FenXiang thought for a moment. She was righ, he was in England and only ever gone around Europe throughout his life. Naturally he was unfamiliar with this terrain.

Initially he'd thought he could rely on the original owner's memory to go around this place but now that he thought about it carefully, the memories that he inherited from the original owner were rather hazy. If not for OingLan's timely reminder he would most likely have lost his way.

Lin FenXiang secretly let out a breath of relief. Thank god, for Lin QingLan.

"Sure," he said softly. As soon as he acquiesced, Lin QingLan promptly sat up from the couch and smiled brightly.

"Alright," she said. "Wait for me Gege, I'll get ready real quick." He nodded.

Lin QingLan turned around and made her way to her room, stopping abruptly, she advised him generously.

"Gege, you should wear a mask and a cap. It's Beijing, you won't survive a day without them out of the house."

Beijing was without a doubt a highly populated and polluted city. It was practically impossible to go out of the house without a mask. So Lin FenXiang took his sister's words into consideration and put on a black mask and a peaked cap.

But perhaps the stature of the original owner was to be blamed because every once in a while various people kept sneaking glances at him. 

Which he ignored, of course.

Walking by his side, Lin QingLan whispered teasingly. "People are looking at you, Gege. So attractive."

Lin FenXiang looked at her sideways, ignoring her as he continued walking.

"Wait Ge," she followed him hastily. "Let's go down to the Western Antiques Streets. There you'll get the best painting materials and the best thing is that they are quite close to the materials used by painters during the Renaissance!"

Lin FenXiang had made his mind to go there as soon as he heard that. Then Lin QingLan seemed to hesitate.

"But… Gege, aren't you trying for the first time?" 

Lin FenXiang froze. Oh. He hadn't actually thought about that. Halting on his steps, he nodded slowly.

"So we'll go for modern materials," Lin QingLan nodded to herself. "They'll be easier and faster to handle, or do you want something else, Ge?"

"No," he shook his head. "I'll listen to Qing'er's arrangements."

"No, no, Ge. You don't have to!" 

He shook his head, "Let's just go." He wanted to start painting as quickly as possible. It was the only way he could spill his heart out without stating things explicitly.

Lin QingLan nodded and excitedly pulled him into another street just beside Antiques Streets. 

She explained enthusiastically, "This place, Ge, has the best material used for painting domestically. In the past I wanted to be an artist so I collected a lot of information about it! I even started a painting spree," she paused sheepishly. "But then after wasting a lot of things I realised I have zero talent for art. So I stopped all at once and took the medical route."

He nodded along as she spoke, listening quietly.

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"And now look!" She smiled at him. "I passed College entrance exam with good marks and got admitted in means Sea Star XīngHǎi University. This one has found her dao Gege, and I believe you will too." Lin FenXiang bit back a smile at her words.

"You speak a lot," he said simply.

Lin QingLan humphed with a pout and pushed open the door of a shop. The bell hanging there rang, making a crisp sound which broke the quietness of the place.

"Mr. Du!" Lin QingLan called out slowly. "Look who's back?" The man sitting behind the counter put down the newspaper in his hands and smiled.

"Hello to you to, Ms. Lin," Mr. Du greeted politely. "What are you doing here? I thought you gave up on art?"

Lin QingLan snickered, "You know how to touch a sore spot, no? But I'm not here for myself. This time I'm here with my Ge."

The old man showed a look of surprise, "Mr. Lin ZhiHuangJin?" Lin QingLan shook her head.

"No, Mr. Du it's my other brother. My third brother, Lin FenXiang."

The old man looked even more disbelieving. "Captain Lin?"

Lin QingLan nodded and looked back at him. "Brother, this is Mr. Du, father's old friend, he deals in the art industry."

"Hello, Mr. Du. It's good to finally meet you." Lin FenXiang stepped forward and extended his hand for a handshake. The old man seemed to get over his shock. He hurriedly nodded and took his hand, shaking it vigorously.

"The pleasure is mine, Captain Lin," he said. "I didn't know you were interested in art."

"Ex-captain I would say," Lin FenXiang shook his head gently. His body carried an air of nobility with it. "It was a passing interest before. Now that I've retired I might as well do something productive."

"Passing interest in art seems to be genetic in our family," Lin QingLan joked. 

Lin FenXiang calmly took his hand back and spoke, "I would like to buy supplies for painting if Mr. Du doesn't mind."

"Sure, sure," the old man nodded happily. "We keep the best goods in our shop. What branch of painting does Mr. Lin want to try?"

Lin FenXiang thought about it. He was born in England during the late 17th century. He was born and brought up in the Georgian Era - as known today - his passion for art was enough for his parents to agree to let him study it. 

He, Drystan Meyer, was proficient in Renaissance Art. From the use of Proportion, foreshortening, Sfumato, Chiaroscuro, Sketching, Mannerism and a lot more. Drystan had also painted things which didn't actually exist in reality. Although most of them were given to Adrastus and he didn't know whether they were intact or not.

Heck he didn't know whether Adrastus was fine or not.

"What is the name of the painting technique where artists paint things which don't exist?" He asked in a low voice.

Mr. Du paused slightly, "Oh so you want to try Imaginative Realism?"

"Imaginative Realism?"

"Oh, of course you don't know! How silly of me!" The old man laughed. "It is a style from the 19th century which was popularised and created during the French Revolution."

He paused. "Or so they thought. Imaginative Realism was dated back to the Georgian Era. It was first used by another artist but after his death. The style disappeared only to re-emerge in the 19th century but now it is commonly associated with that time rather than its actual time."

"Oh," Lin FenXiang nodded. "I understand. I would like to learn and try Imaginative Realism."

After buying everything they needed, when Lin FenXiang got out of the shop with Lin QingLan, the girl insisted on shopping in a mall.

"Gege, let's go," she whined. "I really get to spend time with you, now we have an opportunity! Please."

Lin FenXiang simply nodded, "Let's go then."

┈♔◦☓◦☙◦♔◦☙◦☓◦♔┈

By the time the shopping spree ended, Lin FenXiang knew more about modern women's fashion then he knew of the men's fashion. When they exited the shopping mall which belonged to their father's company, Lin FenXiang's hands were full of shopping bags.

Lin QingLan insisted, "Gege, give me the bags, you should hold them. I can do it myself."

Lin FenXiang shook his head gently, "I can do it, Qing'er."

"No, but," Lin QingLan started. "Give them to me, ah."

"Call the driver," he opened faintly, gesturing to his trouser pocket. "We should head back."

Lin QingLan smiled, "I have my phone, Ge. I can call the driver myself." She took out her phone and dialed the driver's number.

"Hello, yes Uncle, pick us up…"

Lin FenXiang tuned her out and engaged himself in looking around. He saw several huge billboards displaying ads or some other things he didn't pay too much attention to. He wondered whether he should be happy about the family or drown himself in grief of traversing through time.

Everything, everything was too different. Too dynamic, too changing for him to cope easily. He could still feel the time dysphoria. He felt out of place, he couldn't find the sense of belonging.

Drystan had once lived at the bottom of the society. His ability to adapt wasn't weak. He had adapted and overcame many things in his life. But this was something else.

How could he - who'd lived almost the entirety of his life in the Georgian Era, the past - adapt to everything so quickly, so, so differently.

Lin FenXiang gathered his thoughts as soon as he saw Lin QingLan, his sister, approaching.

"Ge," she spoke gently. "The driver will be here in a few. Give me the bags so I can hold them too."

Lin FenXiang sighed, finally giving in, he handed some of the shopping bags to her. The two of them stood in silence, staring into the void.

"Ge," OingLan's soft voice sounded beside him. "You know why I switched to the medical line?"

Lin FenXiang shook his head, speaking slowly. "I don't think I do."

"I did it because," Lin QingLan smiled. "I wanted to help you."

"Help me?" Lin FenXiang asked softly.

"Mn," she nodded with a smile and turned to look at him. The outlines of her face softened with her smile, her eyes crinkling at the end. "The last time you came back it was two years after you left for the military. You were hurt. It scared me, in fact it scared all of us. But you never showed whether you were hurt or not. It was that time…"

She took a deep breath, "It was that time when I decided that I wanted to go into the medical field so that I could join the military as a doctor and help you whenever you need."

Lin FenXiang's heart warmed. The original owner was really lucky to have a family like this. He envied him.

"So thoughtful," Lin FenXiang said softly, his lips curling into a small smile.

Wind blew along with his voice as it gently hit their faces. Lin QingLan's hair blew along with it. She smiled.

"But now you aren't in the military anymore, so there's no need for me to join them," she brought her fist in front of her. "Now I will try to get into First City Hospital!"

Lin FenXiang stared deeply at his sister.

"Jiayou, Qing'er."

Maybe he could try to adapt, for this family.

･༓☽ ☾༓·━━━·༓☾ ☽༓･

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