Chapter 8: Portrait
“Re-really?”
Mu Mu still couldn’t believe it. Once again, he carefully enunciated each word, “…You can really see me?”
After Fu Heqing gave him a definite answer, Mu Mu was so excited he couldn’t speak. He rushed forward and grabbed the painter’s wrist to express his feelings. After a moment, he asked, “So… I can float out now?”
“Yes.”
Mu Mu hesitated for a few seconds, then whoosh—he floated out of the little skeleton’s body, wobbling lightly in the air. He hovered right in front of Fu Heqing and asked eagerly, “Now? Can you see me now?”
The exquisite, beautiful face suddenly appeared before Fu Heqing. This was the first time he was this close, face-to-face with the boy. He instinctively held his breath.
No matter how many times he had seen him, those eyes were breathtaking—clear and pure, as if they could look straight into the soul.
“Mr. Painter!” Mu Mu waved his hand in front of Fu Heqing’s eyes, his big cat-like eyes full of expectation and a hint of uncertainty.
“I can see you.”
Fu Heqing instinctively wanted to grab the hand flailing in front of him, but it passed straight through—he caught nothing.
Empty.
“You can’t touch me.”
Seeing that the painter could really see him, Mu Mu’s excitement skyrocketed. He quickly floated behind the easel, peeking out with just his eyes, and said, “Where do you see me now?”
Fu Heqing tapped the top edge of the easel with his brush handle.
Mu Mu ducked slightly when the painter reached out. The brush handle landed on the frame as if it had landed on the boy’s head.
“Ah, you can’t reach me.” Mu Mu giggled, then floated behind the sunroom’s flower bed, poking his head out to watch the painter.
Fu Heqing’s gaze followed him closely. Even without a word, Mu Mu could feel that gaze as if it had substance, tracking his every movement, finally settling on him without the slightest deviation.
“Now? Where am I now?” Mu Mu asked, floating behind the rocking chair.
“And now?” he continued, hiding behind the sofa this time.
“And now?”
But no matter where he hid, Fu Heqing’s eyes followed him like a shadow, always arriving exactly where he was.
“Oh my gosh, you can really see me!” Mu Mu’s joy surged only after seeing it for himself and repeatedly confirming it.
“You’re really the first person who can see me! You can see me—why didn’t you say anything before?” Mu Mu hovered in the air, looking at the painter as he asked.
“You’re the only one.”
Fu Heqing smiled lightly, emphasizing it, then half-jokingly said, “As for why…
“Maybe it’s because of fear.”
Mu Mu widened his eyes. “Am I scary?”
“If I really am scary, then I’d better stick to the little skeleton’s body.” Mu Mu hurriedly slipped back into the skeleton’s body.
“You’re not scary. You’re beautiful.”
Fu Heqing praised him plainly. “The most beautiful, the most perfect face I’ve ever seen.”
Mu Mu froze for a moment, not even having time to feel proud, when Fu Heqing continued,
“But using the little skeleton’s body is also good—it avoids a lot of trouble.”
“Sometimes being too beautiful isn’t always a good thing.”
There was a coldness in Fu Heqing’s tone.
“W-why?” Mu Mu was a little intimidated by the painter’s mood.
“Having a treasure invites trouble.”
Fu Heqing glanced at the little skeleton and said lightly,
“No matter if it’s beauty, talent, wealth, or anything else—anything that everyone chases and fights over—eventually, it will…”
Mu Mu was listening intently, but halfway through, the painter chose to stop speaking. No matter how much Mu Mu pressed him, Fu Heqing remained silent.
Seeing that the painter’s mood was getting worse, Mu Mu quickly changed the topic.
“Mr. Painter, since you can see me, could you draw me again? This time, I want it in color—like a photograph.”
“Like a photograph?”
“Yes, yes, yes!” Mu Mu nodded eagerly.
“The camera on a phone is amazing… but it can’t capture a ghost.”
“I want a photo too.”
Mu Mu looked at the painter’s canvas, eyes wide with hope.
Fu Heqing agreed quickly. “Sure, but it might take some time.”
Hearing that the painter had agreed, Mu Mu didn’t care about the time at all. Even if it took a year, two years, or ten, he could wait.
After all, time meant almost nothing to a ghost.
To help the painter create a better “photograph” of him, Mu Mu spent the next two or three days wandering around in his spirit form.
He followed Fu Heqing, observing his progress in real time. Then, whenever the painter rested, he would occasionally ask, “Can you still see me now?”
Fu Heqing would “expel” the ghost back to the model area. “If I can’t see you, I won’t draw.”
Mu Mu would laugh at himself and float back into the model area, hovering in the air and posing in all sorts of ways while watching the painter work.
Fu Heqing’s skills were excellent; every stroke landed perfectly, requiring almost no correction. Even though the daily progress was sometimes slow, the final result would never lag behind.
“Wow, wow! It already looks so much like me! Can you finish it tomorrow?” Mu Mu hovered next to Fu Heqing, looking up at him as he spoke.
“Not yet.” Fu Heqing packed up his art supplies and gave a brief answer. Seeing that Mu Mu still didn’t return to the little skeleton’s body, he casually carried the skeleton out of the studio.
Mu Mu floated beside him, watching the little skeleton in Fu Heqing’s hands, and said with a sigh, “I haven’t moved this fast in so long.”
“Now I understand what you meant—the little skeleton’s legs really are too short.”
Mu Mu glanced at his own original legs to check.
They were still long.
Ghosts don’t touch the ground, but Mu Mu liked to move as humans do. To make it look like walking at a glance, he consciously adjusted the height at which he floated.
When he turned to share this with the painter, he suddenly realized he still had to look up to see him.
Not as exaggerated as the little skeleton, but he was still half a head shorter than Fu Heqing—not even at eye level.
Mu Mu thought for a moment, then silently floated a little higher before continuing,
“But my legs aren’t short.”
Fu Heqing watched him quietly and simply murmured, “Mm.”
Mu Mu didn’t know what that “Mm” meant. He floated a little higher again, so that Fu Heqing now had to tilt his head slightly just to look directly into those beautiful cat-like eyes.
Feeling Fu Heqing’s gaze, Mu Mu got a little self-conscious and quickly explained,
“I’m not floating this high on purpose.”
His big, round eyes were full of sincerity.
“All the netizens say that almost all shoes have hidden lifts, but I don’t have any shoes.”
As he spoke, Mu Mu lifted his bare feet—white as fine porcelain—and waved them in front of Fu Heqing to show that he was truly wearing nothing.
The feet were beautiful: pale, slightly pink, with delicate bones and a small, refined structure. Every inch of skin looked exquisitely soft, clearly showing that the owner of these legs had never walked on the ground.
Shoes would only be unnecessary and cumbersome—better suited for decorative adornments, held in the hand and admired.
Fu Heqing lowered his gaze for a moment, then looked away.
“So it’s fair, right?”
Mu Mu tried to convince him, eyes full of expectation. But Fu Heqing remained silent for a moment and then headed to the kitchen to prepare his dinner.
“Not a word? Not even a single comment?”
Mu Mu floated into the kitchen after him.
For several days, Mu Mu couldn’t stop thinking about this, until Fu Heqing finally finished the painting.
The background of the painting was the sunroom. The sunlight and flowers framed the boy at the center, whose radiant smile looked especially healing. In that moment, as the sun fell on his face, he seemed almost angelic.
Every detail in the painting was meticulously rendered. The colors were bold, the precision remarkable. At first glance, it truly looked like a photograph, just as Mu Mu had requested—but it was even more artistically beautiful than a photo.
“Wow!!!”
It was the first time Mu Mu had seen Fu Heqing’s technique up close.
In terms of composition, color tone, and light and shadow, this painting was a masterpiece even within Fu Heqing’s own collection. Even though Mu Mu was not an art professional, he could feel its impact instantly.
But the part of the painting that struck him most wasn’t the colors or the composition—it was the boy’s beauty, painstakingly recreated by Fu Heqing, that would stun anyone if the painting were ever displayed.
Fu Heqing looked at Mu Mu, who had his mouth open and could only manage a “wow,” and slightly lifted the corner of his mouth. He deliberately asked,
“Pretty?”
“Pretty, pretty!” Mu Mu replied immediately, afraid that even a second’s delay would be seen as disrespect to the great artist.
“Really, really beautiful!”
He spoke and gestured at the same time, his eyes practically glued to the painting.
But when Fu Heqing tried to take the painting down to hand it to Mu Mu, the little ghost suddenly hesitated.
He picked up his tablet and snapped a photo of the painting, then looked at Fu Heqing and asked abruptly,
“Mr. Painter… will you have an exhibition?”
Fu Heqing immediately guessed Mu Mu’s thought, nodded, and answered truthfully, “Yes.”
Mu Mu’s eyes lit up.
“When will it be?”
Before Fu Heqing could answer, Mu Mu continued, “Mr. Painter, I don’t want this painting anymore. Can you use it for your exhibition?”
“Why?”
Fu Heqing’s smile gradually faded when he heard Mu Mu’s words, but his gaze remained serious as he looked at him.
“Because this painting is just too good. I don’t know why, but I feel like you, Mr. Painter, should display it.”
Mu Mu blinked, speaking with complete sincerity, “I’ve been here for so long, and it feels like the only time I’ve ever seen that look of satisfaction in your eyes is in this painting. And this painting makes me feel warm inside—it’s super magical!”
Fu Heqing was momentarily stunned, as if he hadn’t expected Mu Mu to have observed so carefully.
“No need.”
Fu Heqing refused outright. “I don’t plan on holding an exhibition anytime soon. This painting was meant for you in the first place.”
Mu Mu was about to say something more when the painter’s next sentence abruptly cut him off.
“If you don’t want it, I’ll tear it up.”
Seeing that Fu Heqing wasn’t joking, Mu Mu thought for a moment. “Alright then, I’ll take it.”
“But I don’t have anywhere to put it, so it’ll have to stay in your studio.”
As he spoke, there was a hint of smugness on Mu Mu’s face. He glanced at Fu Heqing, deliberately raising his voice a little, as if on purpose. “And it has to be in the very center—so I can admire it whenever I want!”
That little scheme was so obvious it might as well have been clattering out loud. Fu Heqing felt a bit helpless and decided to let him have his way.
In the end, the little skeleton insisted it be hung on the wall, but couldn’t do it himself, so he resorted to acting cute and coaxing the only tall human in the house to lend a helping hand.
Just as Fu Heqing, following Mu Mu’s instructions, finished framing the painting and hanging it up, his phone buzzed with a message—from the only friend in his contacts who could reach him.
[AAA Boss Li: Brother Fu, that partner from two years ago reached out again. They’re asking if you have any new works and whether you’re planning an exhibition.]
Fu Heqing looked at the message on his phone, then lifted his gaze to the boy on the wall, and typed back:
[No.]
Mu Mu was admiring the painting when he suddenly noticed the painter beside him had taken out his phone and seemed to be chatting with someone. His mood immediately soured.
[Hey, brother, you’ve been stuck at a bottleneck for four years. You said you were taking time to recuperate, but anyone who didn’t know might think you’ve retired from painting. Plus, you didn’t touch a brush the last couple of years because of your family matters… That’s six years total…]
[Why don’t you come back and personally drain all the company your parents left behind?]
The sender immediately deleted the message after sending it.
[Sorry, brother, I didn’t think when using voice input.]
But Fu Heqing had still seen it.
Mu Mu watched as the painter’s mood plummeted. He had never seen Fu Heqing like this before.
“Are… you arguing with someone?”
Mu Mu asked cautiously.
“Do you want me to handle it?”
Mu Mu volunteered eagerly. “I’m really good at scolding people!”
Fu Heqing looked at the little skeleton on the table beside him, who was truly ready to “help family over reason” and leap at the chance to become an internet troll. Oddly enough, just seeing Mu Mu like that calmed him.
“No need.”
Fu Heqing’s gaze rested on the palm-sized skeleton toy on the table in front of him.
“Don’t get it dirty.”
