Guo Jingyu had just finished arranging his belongings in the studio when heard a commotion outside. Laughter and chatter grew louder as a group of students quickly barged in through the door.
There are mostly girls in the class, while the discipline was upheld by a young female teacher, appearing to be in her early twenties. Her hair cascaded down her shoulders and wore a pair of delicate golden-rimmed glasses. She looked gentle and spoke in a soft, measured tone. Spotting Guo Jingyu and his companions in the classroom, the teacher politely asked, “Are you new students in the art class?”
“Teacher, this is the new student, not me,” Song Zhuoran pointed to Guo Jingyu, offering an introduction before smiling. “I’m from the student council. The head asked me to come over and ask if the art studio here is sufficient. Our council is just next door, and we could potentially free up another classroom. Everything will revolve around this side to best meet the students’ learning requirements.”
The female teacher smiled and said, “Thank you so much. Two rooms are enough. Our class is small, with around forty students so two is enough for us.”
Song Zhuoran spoke politely and asked about various other things. Observing his classmates setting up easels, he even lent them a hand. He still walked with a slight limp, his foot injury not yet healed. After circling around Guo Jingyu a couple of times, Guo Jingyu started feeling restless. Class Monitor Song was moving back and forth in front of him and completely obstructed his view, making it impossible to engage in conversation with the teacher or anyone else.
Guo Jingyu stood up and said, “I’ll take care of it Monitor Song, you take a break.”
Song Zhuoran replied, “No, let me do it. You rest. How can I let you move things!”
Guo Jingyu insisted, “No, no, you’re still leaning on a crutch. Don’t aggravate your injury.”
A tinge of red crept up Song Zhuoran’s face as he scratched his head. “I’m much better now. I don’t need the crutch anymore. Just need to take it slow when walking, it’s nothing. That day was just an accident. Normally, my physical condition is pretty good.”
There weren’t many things to arrange, and Guo Jingyu was so familiar with the art studio that he quickly set everything up. In the process, he casually chatted with a few classmates from the same class, getting to know each other a bit. With only a handful of boys in the art class, the total number of students in both studios was just around ten. Guo Jingyu’s side had a bit more, about seven or eight students. These guys all occupied the back rows, and Guo Jingyu happened to be in their corner, so he didn’t need to move elsewhere.
Song Zhuoran circled around him twice, whispering, “Jingyu, is it okay for you to sit here?”
Guo Jingyu replied, “En.”
“Isn’t it too far back?” Song Zhuoran glanced at him and then at the still life in the front row. “How about I help you move closer, fix the position for you, so you don’t have to relocate yourself later.”
Guo Jingyu quickly stopped him and said, “Really, no need. In the classroom, we set up two or three arrangements of still life, and everyone gathers in a circle to draw. It’s not like we’re all drawing the same thing.” He looked at Song Zhuoran’s somewhat puzzled expression and couldn’t help but find it amusing. The more he looked, the more Song Zhuoran resembled the silly Golden Retriever next door. “I’m serious. If you don’t believe me, go ask others. I’m not lying to you.”
Taking it seriously, Song Zhuoran limped forward to ask, and who knows what silly things he said, causing the girls in the front to burst into laughter.
After spending some time in the art class, Song Zhuoran made a few turns, left and right, before finally leaving after a while.
The art class teacher’s last name was Jin.Teacher Jin went over the discipline with everyone, arranged the plaster statues, and then took the time to come over to Guo Jingyu’s side, spending the whole morning giving guidance to the new students.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Since Guo Jingyu had come to study art, he had no intention of hiding anything. Talents like his couldn’t be concealed, so he happily unleashed his artistic self.
Kfjmtfg Alc rja atfgf jcv kjr bglulcjiis qijcclcu ab vfwbcragjaf tbk ab rtjgqfc j qfcmli obg tlw. Qtlif rtf qjalfcais ajeuta tlw, rtjgqfclcu jkjs, Xeb Alcuse tjv jigfjvs qlmxfv eq tlr qfc jcv rajgafv vgjklcu atf qijrafg rajaef. Aera jr rtf rjlv, “Ujs jaafcalbc ab byrfgnlcu atf wjrr bo atf reypfma,” atf cfk raevfca tjv jigfjvs rxfamtfv bea atf obgw klat j ofk ragbxfr. Vtf mbcalcefv, “Coafg rtjqlcu, obmer bc byrfgnlcu atf iluta jcv rtjvbk bo atf reypfma. Obbx ja atf fzqgfrrlbc bc atlr qijrafg ojmf bo Zjrjl, jcv atf mtjcufr bo jcuifr. Ktf gfijalbcrtlq yfakffc iluta jcv rtjvbk…”
It was the first time Teacher Jin realized that her words couldn’t keep up with the speed at which the students were drawing. Almost as soon as she thought of saying something, the new student had already accomplished it, leaving her pleasantly surprised. She glanced down at the name tag on his student ID and smiled, “Guo Jingyu, have you studied art before?”
Guo Jingyu brushed on the colors with a sidelong stroke and nodded, “I’ve learned a bit.”
“Your technique is quite professional. Where did you study? Which art school’s teacher guided you?”
“I learned from our neighbor, who’s an artist.”
“Did you study under their guidance?”
“…Well, I was quite inspired, mainly because I have some talent myself.”
Guo Jingyu couldn’t find any other excuse. After all, at this point, he hadn’t even entered the art school yet. Back in the day, he honed his painting skills under Mr. Zhong from the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Mr. Zhong specialized in oil painting and favored him greatly. Later, when he started managing an art gallery, Mr. Zhong came to visit him once, mumbling a few words of encouragement and even gave him a few of his own paintings to support his credibility.
Guo Jingyu could be considered an old master’s closed-door student. Any senior brother mentioned casually was a noteworthy figure in the circle. Now sitting in the art studio, competing with a group of high school students felt like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. It was almost unfair, and Guo Jingyu felt a bit awkward about potentially overwhelming them.
He had long surpassed the level of mere exams. Back then, he even accompanied Mr. Zhong to grade exam papers, although they were not reviewing national high school exams, the standard was higher.
Unable to use other reasons, he casually brought up Grandma Fan that Guo’s mother had been nagging about. It seemed like the kids in Grandma Fan’s family also studied art, so he casually used that response.
Teacher Jin looked at him, her eyes gleaming as if she had just picked up a precious gem!
If any other student claimed to have talent, it would likely be mere boasting. However, when it came to Guo Jingyu, Teacher Jin felt he was seriously underestimating himself. This wasn’t just talent. He was practically a little genius!
Teacher Jin continued to watch him complete his drawing, holding her breath as if afraid to disturb him. For over an hour, not a single word escaped her lips.
While other students would take several hours, or even a whole day, to complete what this newcomer effortlessly did, he seemed to do it in one go. He would glance, lower the head, and he could reproduce it as if from memory, quickly finishing the drawing.
Teacher Jin’s heart was practically leaping out of her chest. She was a specialized teacher specially hired by Chengnan Yi Zong. She had only taught for two years, and although the previous batch had some students admitted to college, they were all in comprehensive universities. She herself had graduated from a normal university. This time, it seemed she might just produce a student admitted to an art school!
Guo Jingyu was quite polite. After finishing his drawing, he pushed it over for the teacher’s critique.
Teacher Jin examined it from different angles, nodding in approval, and she smiled so much her eyes almost disappeared. “Jingyu, your drawing is excellent. The plaster statue part looks flawless. you’re definitely keeping up with everyone. Tomorrow, we’ll be working on color. Make sure to prepare some paints and tools. Oh, I’ll have the class monitor come over and brief you—” She stood up, scanned the front, and called out, “Fan Jiali, come here for a moment!”
A girl with a high ponytail walked over, looking fresh and holding a pencil. “Teacher, did you call for me?”
Teacher Jin said, “Explain to the new student what tools he needs. If it’s convenient, take him to the art supply store to get them. I’ll excuse you from one class in advance. Tomorrow, we’ll have a watercolor class, so don’t let it delay too much.”
Fan Jiali crisply agreed, then curiously glanced at Guo Jingyu’s drawing, blinked, and looked back at him.
Guo Jingyu could actually buy the materials himself, but given Teacher Jin’s current focus on him, she arranged for Fan Jiali to accompany him with the excuse of excusing them from one class in advance. As they walked out the studio, Guo Jingyu said, “Class Monitor, I can handle buying those things myself. You go ahead and do your own thing. There’s no need to accompany me.”
Fan Jiali didn’t insist and nodded, “Sure.”
With that, she turned around and went back to the studio for class.
Having wrapped up one class, Guo Jingyu didn’t want to waste a single minute. He quickly ran back to the academic building for his regular classes.
The final class was a self-study session. Guo Jingyu sneaked into the classroom through the back door, careful not to make a sound. Li Tongzhou was leaning against his hand, facing the window, fully engrossed in his book. Guo Jingyu tiptoed to his desk, settled into the chair, and softly cleared his throat.
Li Tongzhou snapped out of his concentration, turning to look at him in surprise. He then lowered his voice, “Why are you back?”
Guo Jingyu held the book and spoke righteously, “I came back to study.”
Li Tongzhou chuckled and reached out to hold his hand, but Guo Jingyu evaded it twice, whispering, “Hey, what are you doing?”
Li Tongzhou placed his earphones in the palm of Guo Jingyu’s hand, saying, “Listen to this.”
Guo Jingyu smiled, glancing at the earphones and then at Li Tongzhou, who was looking forward to it. He nudged him with his shoulder, “Are you silly? Who listens like this so blatantly?”
“How else should I listen?”
“Thread the headphone wire through your sleeve. Watch this,” Guo Jingyu placed the earphone wire inside his shirt sleeve and then, imitating Li Tongzhou’s posture of leaning against one hand, he raised his face. In a quick motion, the earphones “whooshed” back into the school uniform sleeve. “See? This is the best strategy to listening in class…”
“Jingyu.” Li Tongzhou suddenly reached out to take it back.
“Don’t grab it, I haven’t listened yet!”
Guo Jingyu had just put the earphones in to have a quick listen when he saw Li Tongzhou leaning over him to look behind.
Suddenly, Guo Jingyu felt uneasy.
When Guo Jingyu turned around, he indeed saw half of their class teacher’s face at the back door, glued to it, glaring at them intently.
Class 7’s homeroom teacher had just returned from a meeting, intending to check on the class discipline. Standing at the back door, without looking at anything else, he spotted Guo Jingyu fiddling with the headphone wire. He went inside, tapped on the desk, and seriously said, “Take it out yourself.”
Guo Jingyu handed him the earphones, wearing an innocent expression.
The homeroom teacher said, “Why only earphones? Are you carrying a personal audio player with you?”
Meanwhile, Li Tongzhou stood up as well, producing an MP3 player and handing it over.
The homeroom teacher held the last glimmer of hope and listened for himself, attempting to find out if the top student in their class was using it for English listening related to studies, or even English songs. As he pressed the play button, the song that resonated from within was, “Your tear-streaked face, constantly haunting my mind.” The homeroom teacher was on the verge of tears himself, suppressing his sorrow as he said, “Both of you, go outside and stand for ten minutes as punishment.”
It was Li Tongzhou’s first time being punished to stand outside. As he left, he grabbed a book, standing in the corridor with a calm expression, as if he were just stepping outside for some fresh air.
Guo Jingyu asked him, “Why did you suddenly listen to a song by Ren Xianqi?”
Li Tongzhou thought for a while before saying, “I don’t know.”
Guo Jingyu smiled, “You don’t know, but you’re still listening?”
“I want to find some for you, save them so you can listen while you draw,” Li Tongzhou said, “That way, you won’t get bored.”
This was something Guo Jingyu had casually mentioned before. When Li Tongzhou gave him the earphones, he had praised him a bit, not expecting that Li Tongzhou would take it to heart. Guo Jingyu lowered his head, chuckled, and whispered, “Hey, Li Tongzhou, after school, accompany me to buy paint. Tonight, I’ll come to your place and make dumplings for you. How about that?”
“Sure.”
K: Find a man that is like LTZ >>
Um the chapter appears blank like the last one to me 🙁
Same here 😭
All corrected 😍 But hey, is this Song Zhuoran a stalker or sth? He’s really obsessed to the point it’s unhealthy