A Short Love Story
Upon graduating from the Academy of Fine Arts, Qi Xiaoru and her boyfriend, Yang Zishuo, moved to Shanghai. After settling in, they immediately began hustling, carrying their art portfolios from gallery to gallery, determined to make their mark on the city and carve out a space of their own. However, after over ten days of effort, they hadn’t sold a single painting, and their living expenses were quickly dwindling. This left them both incredibly anxious.
One day, Yang Zishuo returned to their rented apartment with a well-dressed middle-aged man. As soon as he walked in, he called out loudly, “Xiaoru, look who I’ve brought!” Qi Xiaoru hurriedly rushed out of the narrow kitchen. Yang Zishuo introduced the man, “Xiaoru, this is Mr. Wang Youzhi, the manager of ‘Baishi Art Gallery.’ Quick, get our paintings out and show them to Mr. Wang.” Upon hearing this, Xiaoru quickly brought out all of her artworks.
Wang Youzhi flipped through the paintings without showing any expression. After a long while, he finally smiled and said, “Since you’re newcomers, let me give you some advice. If you want to sell your paintings, you need to participate in art exhibitions, and you must win awards.
Otherwise, no one will buy your work.” Suddenly, he looked Qi Xiaoru up and down and said regretfully, “You have a nice figure and an artistic aura. If you’re willing to work as a nude model at our company, not only will I organize a personal exhibition for you, but I’ll also pay you 800 yuan per hour!”
Hearing the words “nude model,” Qi Xiaoru’s face immediately turned bright red. She whispered angrily, “I want to be a painter, not a model! You’d better find someone else!” Wang Youzhi didn’t get angry. Instead, he laughed and said, “Nude modeling has a long history in our country. There’s no need to be so shocked… If you’re not interested, that’s fine. But if you ever run into difficulties in the future, you can find me at the address on this newspaper.”
Qi Xiaoru angrily threw the newspaper he handed her to the ground, unable to hold back her tears. Yang Zishuo, wiping her tears away, comforted her, saying, “I would rather starve than let you become a model! But he does have a point. If we can participate in an exhibition and win an award, we won’t have to worry about selling paintings in the future.
Let’s keep his address; it might come in handy later!” As he bent down to pick up the newspaper, a piece of news caught his eye. It turned out that Baishi Art Gallery was hosting a “Modern Women” nude painting competition. After reading it, Yang Zishuo excitedly said to Qi Xiaoru, “I have an idea!”
With teary eyes, Qi Xiaoru asked suspiciously, “You’re not thinking of having me model for you, are you?” Yang Zishuo quickly explained, “Every artist paints a portrait of their lover at some point, and I’ve always wanted to do that. Do you remember your nickname in college? Back then, you loved red peonies so much and were so beautifully unique that I always called you ‘Red Peony.’ If I paint you, the work will certainly be called ‘Red Peony.’ If we enter this nude painting competition, we might win an award, and I can fulfill my dream. It’s a win-win! Plus, you’re my girlfriend—why shouldn’t you model for me?”
Qi Xiaoru’s mind was a whirlwind of confusion. While it’s true that in the eyes of an artist, a “nude model” symbolizes beauty and purity, the thought of exposing her body, completely uncovered, under the spotlight was something she found difficult to accept.
Yang Zishuo pleaded earnestly, “For our future, and for my dream, please agree just this once!” Seeing the hopeful look in Yang Zishuo’s eyes, Qi Xiaoru softened. She walked into the bedroom and slowly removed her clothes. Standing in front of the mirror, she looked at her body over and over again. It was the first time she had ever admired herself so closely. She realized she was even more beautiful than the women she usually copied from oil paintings… But if she really did this, what would her relatives, friends, and classmates think when they saw her on the painting?
As Qi Xiaoru struggled with her thoughts, there was an urgent knock on the door. She couldn’t even remember how she opened it. All she knew was that her hair had fallen down, covering her face completely. She felt her face burning, her heart pounding like a rabbit thumping inside her chest…
After half a month of careful work, Yang Zishuo finally completed a youthful and vibrant oil painting titled Red Peony. As soon as it was displayed at Baishi Art Gallery, it immediately attracted attention from all sides. Wang Youzhi told Yang Zishuo that Red Peony had a strong chance of winning the grand prize in the competition. He also planned to invite Qi Xiaoru to attend the award ceremony the following afternoon as the “Peony Ambassador.” Additionally, Baishi Art Gallery would soon host a personal exhibition for the two of them. When Yang Zishuo heard this, he was overjoyed and hurried to share the good news with Qi Xiaoru. However, instead of excitement, she simply asked him to come home quickly.
Recently, Qi Xiaoru had been receiving strange phone calls, with people asking how her health was. At first, she thought it was just a case of wrong numbers and didn’t pay much attention. However, when the same type of calls kept coming, she started to get suspicious.
Yang Zishuo rushed home in a whirlwind of excitement. As soon as he entered, he said, “Xiaoru, I really need to thank you! The organizers said that Red Peony might win a grand prize! If it does, not only will we win a 100,000-yuan cash prize, but we’ll also get to hold a solo exhibition! Oh, by the way, a famous painter just asked you to model for him—5,000 yuan for one painting! I’m still thinking about how to respond.”
To his surprise, Qi Xiaoru remained unusually cold. Concerned, Yang Zishuo asked cautiously, “What’s wrong, Xiaoru?”
Just then, her phone rang again. After hearing just one sentence, she angrily turned it off. Yang Zishuo quickly asked, “Who was it?”
With frustration, Qi Xiaoru replied, “Someone as annoying as you! Listen to me, Yang Zishuo. You’ve already achieved your goal! If you try to manipulate me any further, don’t blame me for what I do! Do you really want to force me down a path of no return, like the Red Peony in Lin Yutang’s writing?”
Yang Zishuo laughed and said, “What are you talking about? Xiaoru, winning the award is just as much your achievement as it is mine! The organizers want you to attend the award ceremony tomorrow afternoon, and they’ve even prepared several outfits for you…”
Qi Xiaoru cut him off impatiently, “Why don’t you go receive the award yourself? Why do I need to go? Can’t you see I’m busy? From now on, don’t ever mention the exhibition in front of me. I absolutely will not attend that award ceremony!”
Yang Zishuo pleaded desperately, “Xiaoru, can’t you help me just this once? If you don’t attend the ceremony, the organizers might withdraw the award! All our hard work will have been for nothing! Please, Xiaoru, I’m begging you…” He nearly fell to his knees.
With no other option, Qi Xiaoru sighed and shook her head, “Fine, fine! I’ll go with you, but this is the last time!”
The award ceremony was held in the grand setting of the city museum. After the third and second prizes were handed out, the stage lights suddenly dimmed. As soft music began to play, the lights slowly brightened, revealing Qi Xiaoru walking gracefully down a carpet that shimmered like water, against a backdrop of blue skies and white clouds. She slowly removed a peony-adorned garment, leaving her in only a slip covered in red peony patterns as she danced lightly on stage. At the same time, close-up images of Red Peony appeared on the large screen.
The entire venue buzzed with excitement. Suddenly, someone in the crowd shouted, “Take it off! Why aren’t you taking it all off?” The audience became rowdy, with many clamoring for “Red Peony” to strip completely. Frightened, Qi Xiaoru fled the stage without even stopping to grab her clothes.
With the help of the police, she managed to push through the crowd and was escorted to the police station. At first, Qi Xiaoru thought the officers were there to protect her, but when they started asking if she had been performing a striptease, she realized they were actually interrogating her. “That wasn’t a striptease—it was an artistic performance,” she protested, tears streaming down her face in a mix of shame and anger. One officer pointed to a computer screen and asked, “Then how do you explain this?”
Qi Xiaoru glanced at the screen and immediately burst into sobs. “You’ve got the wrong person! I’m not involved in that! Call my boyfriend Yang Zishuo—he can vouch for me!”
It turned out that someone had posted her photo on an adult website—a large nude photo with a bold title: “A Nude Model’s Dying Wish: To Offer Her Body to Those Who Love Her!” Her name and phone number were listed clearly. Only then did Qi Xiaoru understand why she had been receiving all those strange calls.
The police tried to contact Yang Zishuo, but he was nowhere to be found.
The two incidents—the “striptease” and the “online indecency”—caught the attention of the police, who immediately launched an investigation. However, their only lead was the email address left by the poster. To defend her reputation, Qi Xiaoru actively cooperated with the police in tracking down the person behind the post.
One day, Qi Xiaoru logged into her QQ account, and a user named “City of Desire” inexplicably messaged her, saying, “If anyone calls you, make sure to say you’re terminally ill. Remember this—otherwise, the consequences will be dire!” Clearly, “City of Desire” was highly suspicious.
The police instructed Qi Xiaoru to use the alias “Little Fish” and pose as a female college student while chatting with “City of Desire.” Before long, “Little Fish” gained his trust, and their conversations became increasingly frequent. When she cautiously asked for his contact information, he provided the exact same email address as the one used by the original poster!
With the IP address in hand, the police traced “City of Desire” to the Green Internet Café. Taking Qi Xiaoru with them, the police quietly entered the café. One officer pointed to a young man at seat 102 and asked Qi Xiaoru, “Do you recognize him? That’s our suspect.” Following the officer’s gaze, Qi Xiaoru nearly exploded with anger—it was her boyfriend, Yang Zishuo! She stormed over and slapped him hard across the face, demanding furiously, “Why would you do this to me?”
Looking helplessly at Qi Xiaoru, Yang Zishuo replied, “If I didn’t stir up some controversy, would so many people be interested in Red Peony? If I didn’t claim you were terminally ill, would Red Peony have won the prize? If I hadn’t done this, would they be willing to hold a solo exhibition for us?”
Qi Xiaoru’s tears flowed uncontrollably. She wasn’t sure if they were for herself or for Yang Zishuo.
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
