Ice is not averse to deception

When Liu Ruo and the others rushed to Yanji, Sun Bing had already started construction.

After learning about Zhang Defa's experiences, Sun Bing clearly understood the theme his work wanted to express. The hardships of childhood, the displacement in middle age, and the arduous journey of old age—although the one-third of the work already completed depicts a child with shackles around his ankles, Sun Bing could easily see the child's eyes filled with longing and yearning for the future, especially the delicately carved buds beside the child, which are a symbol of life.

Zhang Defa's diary contains very little description of his childhood, but Sun Bing has noticed that wild grass, a plant with tenacious vitality, appears frequently in Zhang Defa's childhood records.

Through the human predicament of the colossus and the abstract expression of thought, Zhang Defa subtly conveyed the themes he wanted to express using these highly representative objects.

Sun Bing had already considered all the details, but now he still had one problem to solve: what concrete things to use to express Zhang Defa's life during his middle age.

In fact, Sun Bing had already confirmed that this item was a hand-woven pendant that Cuiying had given him, which Zhang Defa often mentioned in his diary.

The problem is, Sun Bing searched almost the entire studio thoroughly but still couldn't find the pendant.

Thinking of this, Sun Bing immediately called Wu Dayong and asked if Zhang De had left him anything before his death.

Upon hearing this question, Wu Dayong was so startled he almost jumped out of bed.

"Why are you suddenly asking this?" Wu Dayong tensed up instantly, thinking that Sun Bing knew about Zhang Defa's inheritance.

Just as Wu Dayong was about to explain to Sun Bing that he had only just learned about the inheritance, Sun Bing's answer finally put his mind at ease.

"I've already designed the piece, but I'm missing one thing: the pendant that Cuiying gave to her godfather. I've never seen it before, and I need to know what it looks like to complete this piece."

Then she told Wu Dayong all about her design ideas. Hearing this, Wu Dayong let out a long sigh, his tone becoming impatient: "Brother Bing, can't we stop being so rigid? Since we haven't seen the pendant before, can't we find something else to replace it? The artwork is inanimate, but the person is alive!"

In Sun Bing's eyes, Wu Dayong was already a successful person, so Sun Bing had never refuted Wu Dayong's judgments or decisions. But this time, Sun Bing chose to stick to her opinion.

"No, nothing can replace that pendant. I have to find it, otherwise I won't be able to finish this piece."

Sun Bing's tone left no room for negotiation, and Wu Dayong looked helpless: "Are all you artists this stubborn?"

Sun Bing didn't see this as a criticism and calmly replied, "If you can't do it well, then you'd better not do it at all."

With only six days left until the agreed date, Wu Dayong had no intention of lying in the hospital and slacking off. He immediately pulled out the IV, paid the bill, and left the hospital.

Things couldn't be delayed, but Sun Bing couldn't persuade them either. The most important issue right now was time. Even if the work only took three to five days to complete according to Sun Bing's prediction, there wasn't a minute to waste.

Seeing Wu Dayong suddenly appear, Sun Bing was a little puzzled: "Why aren't you in the hospital recuperating? What are you doing back here?"

Wu Dayong's expression turned completely unfriendly: "I'd like to focus on recovering, but you'd better let me!"

After grumbling for a moment, Wu Dayong still came up with a solution: "How about this, you start working on the other parts first, and I'll take care of the pendant. This way, it won't waste time and you'll be satisfied, is that alright?"

Sun Bing was still somewhat hesitant, because from the perspective of the ice sculpting process, skipping the intermediate stages and completing the subsequent content first would cause some problems with the layout and size of the work.

However, Sun Bing could also understand Wu Dayong's eagerness to fulfill Zhang Defa's last wish, so he reluctantly agreed.

  

Having completed his assigned tasks, Wu Dayong turned and left.

Sun Bing then took out a ruler and marker and began to plan on the unfinished space.

The basic shape of the work is already clear in my mind; all that remains is to plan the size of each part and the layout of various shapes.

As for that extraordinary pendant, Sun Bing had already allocated enough space in the plan. Once he saw the complete pendant, he could finish carving it.

Having made a plan, Sun Bing picked up the carving knife next to him and started carving.

Although he still felt a lingering fear and worry, Sun Bing had no other choice but to complete the work in his best condition, as this was the only way to comfort his godfather's spirit in heaven.

To avoid being disturbed, Sun Bing simply locked the studio door and then immersed herself in her work.

Wu Dayong wasn't idle either. He knew that the pendant was of great significance to Zhang Defa, and only Zhang Defa's closest relatives could have seen it.

Fortunately, Wu Dayong had found a contact list in a drawer in the studio. Although he didn't know who it was, he figured it must be someone Zhang Defa considered important, otherwise he wouldn't have recorded their contact information separately.

The first call went through, and after chatting for a while, I realized the other person was Zhang Defa's former neighbor, and had never seen the pendant before.

When the second call went through, Wu Dayong was completely baffled.

"Hello, I'm Zhang Defa's godson. I'd like to ask you some questions about Zhang Defa. Is that convenient for you?"

"Zhang Defa? What Zhang Defa? I don't know him."

Judging from the other person's voice, he was probably in his forties, and seemed completely unaware of Zhang Defa.

"Don't you recognize him? Zhang Defa, a very famous ice sculptor from Yanji. Are you sure you don't know him?"

……

After chatting for a while, the misunderstanding was finally cleared up. It turned out that the phone number belonged to the other party's father, and because he was bedridden, his son had been using it.

When Wu Dayong handed the phone back to the old man, the old man's first words left him speechless with shock.

"You are a descendant of Dezi? Then he should have mentioned a man named Song Quanyou to you. I am Song Quanyou."

Wu Dayong was indeed a little confused and didn't know how to answer the old man's question.

"I am Cuiying's father."

Cuiying's father?

Wu Dayong instantly realized that if Song Quanyou hadn't opposed Zhang Defa and Cuiying's marriage back then, Cuiying wouldn't have committed suicide, and Zhang Defa's life wouldn't have been so tragic.

Suddenly, a strange urge for revenge welled up inside her. Just as she was about to speak, the old man suddenly said, "Everything that happened before was my fault. I'm getting my just desserts; I killed my daughter with my own hands. I'm so sorry, Dezi. How is he now?"

It turns out that Song Quanyou had no idea about Zhang Defa's death. But that's not the most crucial point. The most crucial point is that during his conversation with Song Quanyou, Wu Dayong was certain that Song Quanyou was unaware that Zhang Defa had never married and even mistook Wu Dayong for Zhang Defa's son.

Wu Dayong originally wanted to tell Song Quanyou the truth as a form of revenge against the instigator.

But Wu Dayong changed his mind before he could say it.

He not only admitted that he was Zhang Defa's son, but also told Song Quanyou that Zhang Defa passed away peacefully without any regrets.

The bad news was that when Wu Dayong mentioned the pendant that Cuiying had given to Zhang Defa, Song Quanyou had absolutely no recollection of it.

That makes sense, since Song Quanyou was strongly against the two of them being together at that time, and Cuiying obviously wouldn't tell her father.

After hanging up the phone, Wu Dayong couldn't help but praise himself for his kind heart, but he had no choice but to continue his busy work.

From Song Quanyou's tone, Wu Dayong could tell that Song Quanyou had no idea about Zhang Defa's death, but at the same time, Wu Dayong could also sense the deep regret in Song Quanyou's heart.

In those days, a father preventing his daughter from associating with children from a troubled family might have been considered a long-term perspective. Children could choose their own path, but parents couldn't simply stand by and watch.

Song Quanyou must have considered Zhang Defa's identity for a long time.

He didn't want his daughter to have a hard life, so he forcefully prevented her from getting together with Zhang Defa. Although the final result proved Song Quanyou wrong, Wu Dayong could still feel the good intentions behind Song Quanyou's difficult decision as a father.

After making phone calls all afternoon, Wu Dayong got nowhere.

Around 5 p.m., Wu Dayong realized he hadn't eaten yet and was about to grab a bite at a roadside stall when he picked up his phone and saw Zheng Jie in his contacts.

"Hey, how could someone like me eat at a roadside stall? Isn't this a ready-made feast?"

Knowing that Zheng Jie was a lawyer and certainly wasn't short of money, Wu Dayong immediately started reading about fraud psychology and then decided to have Zheng Jie take him out for a nice meal.

After making a phone call to Zheng Jie, Wu Dayong arrived at Zheng Jie's house half an hour later, empty-handed.