From Evil Sect Leader to Doctor

Xu Chunliang was not a sharp-tongued person by nature, but since Qiao Rulong dared to ridicule his grandfather for going to the Capital City to plead, Xu Chunliang wouldn’t show him any courtesy, speaking without holding back.

Qiao Rulong felt a sharp pain in his heart.

Xu Chunliang said, "Although I respect Elder Qiao greatly, I don’t believe he would sacrifice everything for you. What matters most in his heart isn’t your happiness, but the honor of the family. In this regard, you are far less fortunate than I am."

Qiao Rulong struggled to control his inner rage. Xu Chunliang’s words were like sharp knives, each one piercing precisely into his heart.

Qiao Rulong realized that Xu Chunliang saw through his weaknesses and struck unrelentingly at them. He took a deep breath and said softly, "Even though you and Xiaoxue have broken up, I never regarded you as my enemy. I even sympathize with you somewhat."

"Sympathize with me for what?" Xu Chunliang looked at Qiao Rulong with a smile.

Qiao Rulong said, "Sympathize with your predicament."

Xu Chunliang replied, "I sympathize with you more."

Qiao Rulong said, "Some things cannot be changed through effort. The Ye Family is essentially no different from us. No matter how you try to please Qingya, you cannot enter this circle."

Xu Chunliang said, "President Qiao, you have changed a lot since the surgery."

Qiao Rulong retorted with Xu Chunliang’s earlier words, "I’ve always been like this; it’s because you don’t understand me well enough."

Xu Chunliang laughed, "I’m afraid you don’t understand yourself that well either." His gaze rested on Qiao Rulong’s chest. "Have you ever understood the owner of this heart?"

Qiao Rulong frowned.

Xu Chunliang said, "I once saw a news story about a person whose personality changed after a heart transplant. Everyone has a Heart Demon. If you can’t control the Heart Demon, the Heart Demon will control you."

After speaking, Xu Chunliang walked away from Qiao Rulong, swaggering over to Ye Qingya’s side. The more something displeased Qiao Rulong, the more Xu Chunliang wanted to do it.

Qiao Rulong felt his heartbeat quicken. He had no love for Ye Qingya, but that didn’t mean he didn’t care. Their divorce hadn’t been made public, so many people were still unaware. Ye Qingya, you should at least consider my feelings. Parading publicly with a young man in front of me, where does that leave my face?

Ye Qingya whispered, "What did he talk to you about?"

Xu Chunliang laughed, "Discussed some calligraphy."

Ye Qingya guessed he wasn’t telling the truth. Qiao Rulong had little interest in calligraphy and painting. Ye Qingya actually knew about Xu Chunliang breaking up with Mei Ru Xue. One of her reasons for coming to Dongzhou was to comfort him, otherwise, she wouldn’t have contacted him. But after seeing Xu Chunliang, she found that he hadn’t become despondent over it, so she didn’t bring it up.

Qiao Rulong walked over, "Qingya, can you come here?"

"What’s the matter?"

Qiao Rulong nodded. He glanced at Xu Chunliang, implying, what are you still doing standing there?

Xu Chunliang could clearly see that Qiao Rulong was jealous. Sometimes it is indeed strange; you don’t cherish it when you have it, but losing it makes you value it more.

Xu Chunliang recalled his earlier reminder to Qiao Rulong. Could Pei Lin’s heart have truly changed Qiao Rulong’s personality?

He Wanying came over to Xu Chunliang’s side, gazing pensively at the "Chen Siwang’s Beauty Manuscript" on the wall. Xu Chunliang said, "Do you like these characters?"

He Wanying glanced at him and laughed, "These characters display considerable skill,"

Xu Chunliang said, "The original should be by Xue Tao from the Tang Dynasty."

He Wanying’s major was in the Department of History, and she had profound knowledge in both history and Chinese culture. Her eyes lit up, and she said softly, "Xue Tao, whose courtesy name was Hongdu, was a female poet and calligrapher from the Tang Dynasty. The stationery she invented has been passed down to this day. Her writing lacks the frailty of a woman, with strong and vigorous brushstrokes. She often wrote her own poems, which were skillful and charming, with ingenious structures and elegant, bold expressions. Her representative work is the cursive script in ’Chen Siwang’s Beauty Manuscript,’ with its undulating and graceful brushstrokes, exuding an air of heroic femininity."

Xu Chunliang said, "I had the privilege of seeing the original. This replica captures the form but not the spirit."

He Wanying smiled, "How can you tell?"

Xu Chunliang said, "The copier is already very accomplished in imitation and also has her own ideas, adding a lot of ’feibai’ strokes based on Xue Tao’s original work. This should have referenced Wu Zetian’s calligraphy style." The term ’feibai’ refers to brushstrokes with a hint of white appearing in them, a technique that’s very challenging yet exceedingly elegant, featuring a gentle, robust style.

Wu Zetian, the only female emperor in Chinese history, was particularly skilled in ’feibai’ and cursive scripts. She once rewarded ministers by writing their names using ’feibai,’ showcasing her calligraphy prowess.

Initially, He Wanying didn’t pay much attention to this young man, but now she was completely intrigued by his remarks, "How can you be so sure that the artist drew inspiration from Wu Zetian?"

Xu Chunliang said, "Wu Zetian loved to create new characters, and there are several characters in here that were invented by her."

Xu Chunliang pointed it out, and He Wanying couldn’t help but laugh: "Young people nowadays are remarkable indeed. I hadn’t even noticed until you mentioned it."

Xu Chunliang said, "You don’t seem to be much older than me."

He Wanying smiled, "I’m past the age of forty, and you’re only in your twenties, right? Your last name is Xu, isn’t it?" She had just heard Ye Qingya introduce him as her god-brother but didn’t take it to heart.

Xu Chunliang introduced himself, "Xu Chunliang."

He Wanying said, "Are you in the calligraphy and painting field too?" She had no impression of Xu Chunliang.

Xu Chunliang replied, "I’m in the healthcare system, currently working at the Dongzhou Infectious Disease Hospital."

He Wanying was somewhat surprised that someone from the healthcare system could have such insights into ancient culture, especially calligraphy.

Qiao Rulong and Ye Qingya’s conversation was not pleasant.

Qiao Rulong finally couldn’t help but remind Ye Qingya to beware of Xu Chunliang.

Ye Qingya replied unhappily, "What should I beware of him for?"

Qiao Rulong said, "Qingya, those involved can’t see clearly, but observers see clearly. Yesterday he stuck to you, and today he’s following you. Doesn’t he have anything else to do? Why is he always around you?"

Ye Qingya said, "Qiao Rulong, what’s wrong with you? He’s my god-brother. I called him to pick me up yesterday, and today I asked him to come. Don’t project your dark thoughts onto others, okay?"

Qiao Rulong felt a stab in his heart when he heard "dark thoughts," as he’s now very sensitive to people mentioning psychological issues. He took a deep breath to calm his emotions: "Qingya, even though we’re divorced, we were once married. I don’t want you to be taken advantage of."

Ye Qingya said, "Who’s taking advantage of me? Even if I’m being used, it’s my own choice and has nothing to do with you. You should wake up; we have nothing to do with each other now."

Qiao Rulong glanced at Xu Chunliang, who was talking enthusiastically with He Wanying some distance away, and said in a low voice: "Just look at him; his best skill is leveraging opportunities to climb up. Xiaoxue saw through him, so she broke up with him. He’s not resigned, so he started targeting you."

Ye Qingya’s eyes widened: "Qiao Rulong, are you still the Qiao Rulong I used to know? What happened to your supposed broad-mindedness and perspective? I’m telling you, Chunliang is my brother, and I regard him as my own brother. From now on, I don’t want to hear a single bad word about him from you, and since we’ve parted ways, it’s best not to see each other again."

Ye Qingya left after finishing her words.

Qiao Rulong felt somewhat helpless: "Qingya, I haven’t finished speaking..."

Ye Qingya was already reluctant to give him a chance to talk.

Ling Hongzhou sensed the unpleasantness between the two and quickly came over to Ye Qingya with a friendly smile: "Qingya, did President Qiao upset you? Tell me, I’ll help you stand up for justice."

Ye Qingya replied calmly, "There’s nothing to say. There’s something I haven’t told you; I’ve already divorced him."

Ling Hongzhou was visibly surprised; she truly didn’t know. She recalled Qiao Rulong’s recent car accident, which had many rumors surrounding it.

He Wanying and Xu Chunliang also came over, and they seemed to have hit it off. He Wanying said, "Qingya, your brother is quite something."

Ye Qingya smiled and said, "His calligraphy is also excellent."

Upon hearing Ye Qingya praise Xu Chunliang’s calligraphy, Ling Hongzhou immediately suggested having the guests write on the spot to add to the atmosphere. This was something that had been planned in advance. Ye Qingya’s skills in painting and calligraphy were exceptional, even to the point where Ling Hongzhou, her mentor, had to admit that Ye Qingya’s level had surpassed her own.

He Wanying was also good at small script calligraphy, and using calligraphy and painting to foster relationships was Ling Hongzhou’s forte. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to connect with so many important figures. She obviously didn’t regard Xu Chunliang highly.

Ye Qingya asked Xu Chunliang to write a piece and give it to He Wanying.

Xu Chunliang understood Ye Qingya’s thoughtful intentions. She was creating an opportunity for him to establish connections with the family of the new secretary. Xu Chunliang was actually not enthusiastic about such interactions. One reason was that his rank wasn’t high enough, and Secretary Zhou’s recent changes made him see through many things. Associating with that level wasn’t necessarily a good thing. Especially for someone like him who relied on his abilities to earn a living, he could shine anywhere.

However, since Ye Qingya had asked, Xu Chunliang felt it was difficult to refuse and asked He Wanying for a topic.

He Wanying thought for a moment and said, "How about writing Wang Mian’s ’Ink Plum’?"

Xu Chunliang couldn’t help recalling when Mei Ruxue left Hu Shan Town, He Shouren had painted a ’Ink Plum Painting’ for her. That time, it was themed around painting; today, it was calligraphy. It was still ’Ink Plum,’ yet Mei Ruxue was no longer around. With this thought, he inevitably felt a bit melancholic.

He picked up a long-stemmed wolf brush and wrote in thin gold script: The tree by our ink wash pond, blooms of light ink traces. I don’t seek praises for colors; I leave only pure aura in the universe.

Actually, when He Wanying proposed the topic, everyone understood that by using ’Ink Plum,’ she was telling everyone that her husband serves in office with a clean heart and integrity.

Xu Chunliang chose the thin gold script because it demonstrates more character, and also because his connection with Ye Qingya started with this script style.