Chapter 249: Tell me what’s bothering you
Ryle arched a brow,’’She does too,’’ his chin pointed at Ivy.
Daisy could feel he was deflecting on purpose, ’’Ivy is interested in every new thing she comes across.’’
’’You know me too well, Daisy. I will care,’’ Ivy clutched her chest, seemingly touched by her words but her eyes never once left the painting.
When Ryle did not say anything to that, Daisy knew she had hit the roadblock again. Sighing, she glanced at the second painting with the both of them.
This painting was similar to the previous one. The backgrounds were also similar but it was nighttime, there was a floating moon in the lotus pond and the ambiance was serene.
The man was sitting on the ground, leaning back on the tree, half of his face obscured by darkness, only leaving his silhouette visible. His stature also seemed to have changed, he looked broader than before, no longer like a boy but a man. By his side sat a woman, her head leaning on his shoulder and hands resting on her knees. The upper half of her face was enshrouded in the shade of the tree under the moonlight but the happiness around her was evident in the way her red lips had tilted up slightly.
’’There must be some time gap between both these paintings,’’ Ivy remarked and when Daisy and Ryle looked at her, she continued, ’’The man’s figure has changed. It seems like the same person and at the same, it doesn’t. Moreover, look closely in the girl’s hair,’’ she lightly traced her fingers from across the glass, pointing in a particular direction.
’’A hairpin,’’ Ryle remarked.
Daisy nodded, ’’It’s the same hairpin we saw upstairs.’’
’’Then these paintings are not just the person’s imagination but probably, it is their story. So comparing it with the first painting we saw, this lady seemed to have grown closer to Caleb. In the first painting, she was admiring him from afar but now they are sitting together and watching moon.’’
’’There is something written there...’’ Ryle pointed his finger at the bottom of the painting.
Daisy glanced at him, the corner of her lips tugging up. Just like her, Angel was also bored in Ryle’s arms but the little girl was not kicking any fuss, perhaps having sensed his excitement.
’’If I explain it to you, what will I get?" Daisy asked, stunning Ryle and Ivy both with the somewhat ’childish’ question that Daisy Chen would never have asked.
Before Ryle could answer, Ivy spoke up first, looking somewhat bewildered, ’’What do you want?"
’’He can give me what I want. In return, I will translate it for you both since you seem interested in these,’’ Daisy shrugged calmly.
’’Who says I am interested in these things?" Ryle frowned and tilted his head to the side rather aloofly.
’’I don’t know about you guys but I am very much interested in these masterpieces here please,’’ Ivy showed a palm at them, shaking her head, ’’How often do you come across a secretive underground room which hides such spectacular love confessions from a lady? Moreover, I don’t think you will ever get denied for anything if you ask for it,’’ she teased, her chin pointedly motioning towards Ryle.
Daisy glanced at Ryle, but the man did not look at her, his expressions incomprehensible. Sighing, she moved to the next painting.
They covered all the paintings on the wall that reflected the journey of the couple, with famous ancient poetries penned at the bottom of the paintings. The paintings depicted the journey of the couple, from the first time they held hands to their times spent together. It was beautiful.
In the second last painting, the man was standing in front of the lotus lake just as he had done in the first painting. Except, he was not as young as he was there. The woman stood at a distance, only the corner of her red dress and her left hand visible. In her hand, she held the hairpin that she had worn in all the paintings.
It happened to be the very same hairpin that they had seen in the room upstairs.
But the hairpin was slightly damaged. Three tiny crystals had fallen off from the petal of the magnolia, lying idly on the woman’s extended fingertip.
Under the curious gazes of the other two people, Daisy read and translated the lines inked at the bottom of the painting.
’I watch the moon decline
If I could take your heart and give you mine
Then you might know how deep my longing is.’
’’Why does it sound so sad? As if...’’
’’As if they are parting,’’ Daisy completed Ivy’s words before she explained, ’’It’s a sad classic,’’ one of the classical chinese poems that she had come across when she was in school.
’’Then, why is the hairpin broken? And why is she holding three crystals?"
To Ivy’s question, Daisy had no answers this time. She could translate the words of the painter but the thoughts, she had no way to translate it.
’’The last one...’’ Daisy turned to the last painting but the words in her mouth came to an abrupt halt when she turned to the side.
Ryle had turned to the last painting at some point and his hand was outstretched towards the glass case that held the painting, his fingers slightly shaking.
Daisy’s mouth opened, closed, but no words came out.
It took her a moment to reach out to him, ’’What’s wrong?" It was only then did she notice the disturbance in his face.
His eyes contained numerous expressions, from confusion to grief, from reminiscence to rumination.
’’Ryle, what’s wrong?"
Ryle snapped out of his reverie and held Angel closer to him. The distress in his eyes disappeared as if it had been there.
Just as he was about to say something, Daisy tightened her hold on his fingers, ’’I don’t want excuses. Don’t tell me it is nothing and don’t shrug me off.’’
He looked at her, his eyes slightly narrowed.
Daisy stared back at him with an unwavering gaze, ’’You can be angry all you want and you can ignore me as you wish. I will patiently try to coax you. But I won’t be patient if you lie to me about what is bothering you.’’
