"Yshi?" Westley repeated the name with evident delight. He retracted his gaze from her and turned it back to the piece on display. "Do you really like this painting? You've been standing here for quite a while."
Quite a while? So you've been watching me this whole time?
As previously mentioned, Evolvers had their own ways of identifying one another. For instance, that scar-faced pirate Anthony could tell Vivienne was a sentinel just by sensing her spiritual tendrils.
But Vivienne? She was a heavyweight in this arena. Whether it was a natural gift or sheer talent, she could tell someone's secondary gender at a single glance.
And at this moment, she could clearly tell that the graceful young man in front of her was a guide—one with a very high mental level.
If he weren't from the ruling elite of Capital Planet, he'd be a top-tier marriage candidate.
Vivienne thought solemnly: Meeting a guide is my destiny.
Even though she wasn't exactly looking to date him, she figured ogling a pretty guide might cleanse her eyes and help her forget yesterday's absurd "catch the cheater" restaurant drama. She relaxed and chatted easily.
"Who doesn't love a castle in full bloom?" she said. "Just now there was a little girl who stood beside me to admire this too, like a kindred spirit… Too bad—"
"What happened?"
"Her parents bribed her away with cotton candy."
"That is unfortunate." Westley chuckled lightly, then said, "But this painting had a rough journey—it nearly didn't make it into the exhibit."
"Chris Bull called it trite and uninspired, and the critics backed him up. They said it was hopelessly tacky…"
Tacky?
Having just complimented Afternoon Repose, Vivienne felt personally attacked. "Tacky? Well, I'm a tacky person then. This reminds me of a certain flower…"
Gardenias are bold and fragrant, their scent so strong it clings to everything. So the cultured folks say they lack refinement and dismiss them as vulgar.To which the gardenia replies: 'Screw you. I want to smell like this—boldly, unapologetically. What's it to you?'
Westley blinked in surprise.
So this was the same quirky girl who'd been circling around earlier watching a couple argue. Turns out, when she got serious, she was… decent.
Vivienne felt refreshed after spiritually clapping back at the critics with her imaginary gardenia.
She had no intention of chatting with Westley too deeply. She'd even given him a fake name. So naturally, she wasn't going out of her way to impress him—her tone remained casual and carefree.
"People are emotional beings," Vivienne said breezily. "Critics can analyze art all they want, but I only care about what I like. To be honest, this scene looks a lot like a place back in my hometown."
You've got artistic knowledge? Well, I've got sentimental high ground—TV shows always play it like this.
"Ah, homesickness," Westley murmured, his cat's-eye green gaze softening. "Where can I see such a beautiful castle?"
In a dream, Vivienne thought silently, but on the outside, she faked a cautious look as if being asked about her hometown made her uneasy. "Well, the painting's called Afternoon Repose—maybe it's the artist's private castle?"
"Perhaps." It might've belonged to a relative, but Westley wasn't offended by her sudden guardedness. He didn't press her about where she was from either. Instead, he seemed genuinely intrigued and changed the subject. "Speaking of homesickness, Yshi, you should check out the moon-themed gallery."
Vivienne pulled a face. "You mean that sardine can showing Twin Moons next door?"
Westley's lips quirked up. "Want to go?"
…
Although the organizers had limited the number of guests per time slot to manage crowd flow, popular exhibits were still a zoo—public taste was always fairly unified.
As they headed toward the Twin Moons exhibit, Westley started talking about the artist herself.
"Librena didn't follow in her musician parents' footsteps," he said lightly, "She started from scratch and carved out her own path in the art world."
"Gutsy."
Vivienne thought his tone sounded a little snide, so she didn't take it seriously. She tossed out a half-distracted reply. "A painter seedling growing in a musical family, huh?"
"Exactly." Westley kept a three-step distance from the tourists in front. "The exhibit being a success means she's delivered a decent report card. Master Rodel can finally rest easy."
"Rodel?" Vivienne raised her brows. "You mean the Rodel who composed Bouquet for Tolia?"
"You didn't know?" Westley gave her a similarly surprised look, then chuckled, "That's what it means to be a 'from scratch' painter seedling."
He meant that Librena didn't benefit from her family's fame—not like her world-renowned parents.
But that's not what Vivienne thought about.
"I like his Serenade," she said.
Vivienne didn't know much about art, but she'd dated a few cultured types—like the artsy Callum Rivers.
Back when they were sneaking around in a secret relationship, Callum used to play piano for her sometimes. Most of the pieces were by Rodel—like Serenade, and his more famous works like Bouquet for Tolia.
Vivienne couldn't exactly analyze music with any great depth, but she enjoyed getting lost in those peaceful melodies.
Thinking of Callum made her sigh quietly. Before she found out about his mysterious background, Vivienne had been very satisfied with her would-be lifelong meal ticket…
What a shame.
Turns out, Callum's piano teacher had been none other than Rodel himself—a man who appeared in textbooks. The master had taught him personally, guiding his hands over the keys to coax out beautiful music.
Yeah, no thanks.
Vivienne had no intention of dating someone so deeply connected. So she'd cut things off cleanly…
And then Callum had pointed a gun at her with those very same hands—
"Serenade?" Westley echoed, surprised. "That's one of Rodel's lesser-known pieces…"
Before he could finish the sentence, he suddenly turned to the side, dodging a tiny elementary schooler who ran past and brushed his coat.
His green eyes flickered with mild annoyance. "The exhibit's crowd control still needs work."
…
Vivienne: "…"
Vivienne: He's definitely a princess.
Ten minutes of snail-paced shuffling later, they finally arrived at the main attraction of the exhibit.
Home Is Where the Moon Is: In the night sky, two moons of different sizes and colors hung suspended. The larger one was a radiant silver-white, its glow bright and edges sharply defined—like a flawless round gem. The smaller one shimmered faintly gold, its light softer, and edges slightly blurred.
The description underneath revealed that the artist, Librena, had grown up on the planet Udos, which had two natural satellites. She often gazed up at the double moons from the lawn as a child. Even after moving to other planets, she frequently dreamt of them.
"Hmm…" Vivienne stared in silence for a moment, then said, "I guess everyone has their own moon."
To her, it was just a pretty picture.
What she was really curious about was how many starcoins it might sell for.
Westley wasn't surprised by her lukewarm reaction. He observed the painting thoughtfully. "Rumor has it there are untapped rare metals on one of Udos's moons…"
…
They wandered around the exhibit together for a while longer, taking turns throwing out dramatic critiques. Vivienne was clearly just there for the fun of it, while Westley—well, he might have been genuinely unimpressed.
Still, Vivienne was starting to get a feel for this aristocratic young man's personality.
Beautiful face, gentle smile… but actually kind of snide underneath.
Suddenly, a man in a suit hurried over to them. His face lit up. "Sir, there you are!"
"Ms. Librena is looking for you…"
…
"Understood." Westley asked the assistant to wait a moment. Then he turned to Vivienne with a smile.
"Yshi, after the exhibit, I'll be attending the post-event celebration banquet. Would you like to join me?"
Well, well.