The Versatile Master Artist

”Mmm, mmm, mmm, darling, I spent half an hour on the rowing machine before bed and ran three kilometers on the elliptical. I went to bed on time around nine, and I only woke up because of your call.”

It seemed like Uncle Sakai had just checked into a room with his mistress when he got caught by his wife.

He looked at the tray of roasted meat, gulped, and nervously concocted a lie.

He wasn’t very adept with electronic software and had no clue about the power of Apple’s location sharing, known as the ”housewife’s spy software.”

But over the years, he always found his wife’s surprise calls coming at the most unpredictable times.

Over in Yangon, Mrs. Sakai had already returned to the hotel, coldly chuckling to herself.

However, she didn’t expose her husband’s lies, just spoke gently, ”Mmm, my Byron is the best. I believe that when Shengzi and I return to Tokyo in the summer, you’ll definitely surprise us by weighing less than 220 pounds, right?”

Yakai Ichiro gulped with difficulty.

Mrs. Sakai always appeared superior and overbearing to outsiders.

But she had been nothing but gentle to her husband since they got married.

Sometimes, Uncle Sakai would rather have his wife yell at him on the phone instead of encouraging him in this tone filled with expectations.

This took all the joy out of eating meat for Uncle Sakai, making him feel like an unfaithful husband.

Whenever she sweetly called him ”my Byron,” it always made his heart race wildly, sending waves through his body fat.

Back then,

When he was studying abroad in Spain, a beautiful millionaire’s daughter told him he had eyes as sorrowful and emotional as Byron’s.

Before Yakai Ichiro got his first contract from OFA, his career wasn’t going smoothly.

Critics often lambasted his work for lacking distinction, calling him a second Ingres, and the market response was quite lukewarm.

That junior girl always spoke in an expectant tone beside him, ”My Byron is the best, don’t listen to those dogshit critics’ foolish words, you’re not the second Ingres, you’re the first great artist Yakai Ichiro.”

Even now, the great artist Yakai Ichiro felt very moved whenever he recalled this past.

However, he always felt that his so-called ”eyes as sorrowful and emotional as Byron” were actually because he was often hungry back then.

Yet his eyes still turned red.

Many artists in his circle had very chaotic personal lives.

Because there were too many beautiful models around, and they were too easy to get.

Getting married and divorced seemed as common as holidays, getting itchy if they didn’t happen irregularly each year.

There were countless couples holding adult parties or openly declaring they were in ”open relationships.”

A marriage that lasted four or five years was considered exemplary, but Uncle Sakai had a very good relationship with his wife, having never wronged her even once.

Pretty women were everywhere, but there was only one junior girl who cared naggingly.

”220 pounds? The doctor said I have a body type that’s easy to gain weight, making weight loss difficult...” Uncle Sakai tried to struggle a bit more.

”I believe in you, you can do it.”

”How about 225 pounds?”

”220 pounds, and your blood lipids can’t exceed the normal range. I’ve also been working out to keep in shape. Shengzi and Gang Chang have grown up, and I’m thinking that when I get back, we could work harder and try for another child, what do you think?”

”Okay.”

Uncle Sakai gritted his teeth, pondering whether he should go for a private liposuction surgery.

”You’ve never disappointed me.”

”Darling, calling me so late, is there anything else you wanted to discuss?” Uncle Sakai, seeing that his wife was finally satisfied, quickly changed the subject to prevent her from adding another demand like getting rid of a fatty liver.

”Hmph, I want to talk to you about our daughter.”

”Shengzi?”

”Yes, she’s not with me right now,” said Mrs. Sakai.

”So late, what happened to her, what’s going on!” Uncle Sakai suddenly stood up from the bar counter, looking a bit nervous.

”Your daughter has grown up, she’s gone to paint with our little artist Gu Weijing, maybe they’re enjoying a romantic moment right now.”

Mrs. Sakai teased in her tone.

”Oh, that’s good.”

Hearing his daughter was fine, Yakai Ichiro visibly relaxed, sat back in his chair, and took a sip of his sake.

”How is that just ’oh, good’?”

Mrs. Sakai raised her voice in annoyance, ”Shengzi went out to see a boy at this time, and your response is just ’oh, good’? Is that how a father should react?”

Yakai Ichiro genuinely liked Gu Weijing a lot,

talented, hardworking, and calm.

He himself came from an ordinary family, so he didn’t care much about matching backgrounds, figuring he could just leave enough wealth for his daughter and son-in-law to live comfortably.

As long as the personality and character were good, nothing else mattered much.

Yakai Ichiro even found the whole situation quite amusing.

Women really were strange creatures.

Her attitude towards dating and motherhood was so different. His wife had chosen him when he was penniless, but when it came to their precious daughter dating a poor guy, her eyes seemed to scrutinize every detail.

Of course,

Uncle Sakai didn’t have the courage to point out his wife’s double standards.

He immediately complied, changing his tone to follow his wife’s, ”What a scoundrel! Shengzi is such an obedient child, and he’s leading her astray. Next time we meet, I must set that little punk straight—”

Uncle Sakai cursed a couple of times.

He was slightly worried his wife might actually interfere in the relationship, and tentatively tried to persuade her, ”—But, darling. The kids have grown up, and we should give Shengzi some personal space. Gu Weijing is actually a good kid too, we shouldn’t handle this too harshly, don’t you think?”

There was a long pause on the other end of the phone.

Uncle Sakai’s heart sank slowly.

People in the arts were very sensitive to emotions. Love was often a double-edged sword, and if not handled well, it could hurt two kids.

”Pfft...”

Suddenly, Mrs. Sakai chuckled on the other end, her tone playful as she asked, ”Ichiro, are you so sure I want to be the bad guy?”

”Hmm? Of course not. I just thought you really wanted to matchmake Shengzi with someone from the Komatsu family.”

Uncle Sakai realized the situation might not be what he had imagined.

”Yes. I did think that, because being a leisurely, elegant lady of a gallery owner, she’d never have to suffer.”

Mrs. Sakai said calmly, ”As a mother, of course, I want to give Shengzi better options. But unfortunately, our daughter Shengzi has her heart set on that Young Gu, what can I do? I’m not selling my daughter. The Komatsu family didn’t pull their weight, so how can I force Shengzi to marry him?”

”If I can’t manage it, I won’t. Ultimately, it’s her choice, not mine. If she suffers, it’s her own doing.”

”That’s true.”

Uncle Sakai nodded continuously, patting his belly with a resounding slap.

”You and President Xiaosong, there won’t be any issues, will there?” Mrs. Sakai asked.

”President Xiaosong, huh, there won’t be any problems.”

Yakai Ichiro shook his head, ”Even if I haven’t signed with Xiaosong Gallery, even if I did, things would remain unchanged, maybe just a bit awkward. Multi-million-dollar deals won’t change because of kids.”

”Besides, President Xiaosong may have clout, but he can’t intimidate me that easily.” Yakai Ichiro shook his head dismissively.

In the art world, people feared offending the old guard.

The big names could suppress newcomers with just a word.

But to an artist of Yakai Ichiro’s level, he himself was part of the old guard, not keen on antagonizing President Xiaosong but also not afraid of him.

”That’s for the best, I think so too.” Mrs. Sakai felt clearly reassured, and her tone held a hint of pleasure, as if she were about to share an interesting discovery with her husband, ”Let me tell you a secret. Perhaps our daughter inherited my good eye for people.”