After dinner, Guo Jingyu led him back, coincidentally passing by a bustling night market.
Pointing toward the lively scene, Guo Jingyu said, “Next week, we’ll be heading over there to sketch people. Many art students from the fine arts institute practice there, and there are quite a few street artists selling their artwork in the evenings.”
Li Tongzhou was confused, “Selling art?”
Guo Jingyu chuckled, “Yes, painting portraits for people and earning some money.”
He decisively dragged Li Tongzhou along halfway. When they were buying books at the Books Building today, they happened to purchase a sketchbook. Guo Jingyu strolled over to where the students were clustered, borrowed a pencil and half an eraser from one of them, then found a well-lit spot on the roadside to set up their impromptu stall.
Unfazed by the thin-skinned nature of the students, Guo Jingyu called out to passersby, offering to sketch portraits for ten yuan each and specifically mentioning that he only drew couples.
His lively calls attracted the attention of couples out shopping, and a few were really attracted to approach and have their portraits sketched.
Guo Jingyu directed the couples to sit on the bench under the streetlamp, while he stood, sketching. The sketchbook was a bit flimsy, and after a quick survey, he suddenly said to Li Tongzhou, “Come over here, lend me your back for a moment!”
Li Tongzhou walked over, feeling a couple of pats on his back, and then the sketchbook was placed on him. The sound of the pen repeatedly brushing against the paper followed, delicate and continuous.
Seated on the bench, the young couple held hands, in good spirits. The girl, following Guo Jingyu’s instructions, leaned against her boyfriend’s shoulder while asking him, “Hey, fellow student, are you also a student from the fine arts institute?”
“Yes, I’m a prospective student from the class of ’06,” he replied.
The girl was amused. This year was 2005, and here this person was already planning to enroll next year. She praised, “You’re quite confident! Is this painting session over here also a teacher’s requirement? I’ve seen many students drawing all sorts of things. Why do you only draw couples?”
“Couples are great,” Guo Jingyu responded. “When you two hold hands, you look so happy and your smiles are sweet, it makes the artwork more beautiful. Honestly, I have a bit of selfishness. I want to share in your happiness.”
The girl laughed, “Oh, you’ve got a special someone, too?”
Guo Jingyu took advantage of the fact that he wasn’t under the watchful eye of school teachers, confidently declaring, “Yes, I do!”
While working on the painting, Guo Jingyu didn’t let his mouth rest. He used the entire time to sing the praises of his special someone. His compliments were so extravagant, as if describing a celestial being descending to earth. Li Tongzhou shifted slightly, but Guo Jingyu immediately pressed him down with a playful smile, saying, “Hey, what are you doing? Stay still. I’m almost done… Be a good boy, and I’ll treat you to some candy with the money I earn.”
Once the couple’s portrait was finished, it stood out from the ones drawn by the surrounding students. Guo Jingyu added some artistic touches, enhancing its beauty. This earned him the favor of the young couple, as who wouldn’t want to look splendid in front of their significant other? Realism or not, as long as it looked beautiful, that was all that mattered!
The girl stood there, handing her small wallet to her boyfriend. With a nod, the guy immediately came over to pay.
Li Tongzhou stood there, observing.
After the people took the portrait and left, Li Tongzhou was still looking. Guo Jingyu asked, “Come on, let’s celebrate. I’ll treat you to candied chestnuts.”
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.
Li Tongzhou followed him, and after a while, he suddenly whispered, “I checked online. Money should be entrusted to one person…”
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Li Tongzhou nodded, “Alright.”
While waiting in line to buy candied chestnuts, Guo Jingyu handed him the ten yuan from earlier. Li Tongzhou bought a bag and returned, holding it out for him to eat. Guo Jingyu peeled one, gave it to him first, and then took one for himself. They were soft, chewy, and sweet. A perfect treat for the slightly cool weather.
After strolling through the night market for a while, Guo Jingyu picked up a desk lamp to take back. With Li Tongzhou buying him so many study guides, and given his busy days, he needed to put in extra effort at night.
After finishing their stroll, they returned to the art studio together.
As soon as they entered, laughter greeted them. In the middle of the cheerful chatter were faint exclamations from female voices, the voices sounded familiar.
Guo Jingyu pushed open the door to the art studio. Because of the weekend, the evening curfew was a bit later, and many students had gone out for a stroll. Those remaining were mostly students from Chengnan First High. Their school had strict regulations. Every evening, class monitor Fan Jiali would personally take attendance and ask everyone’s signature.
In the sketching classroom downstairs, a group of students huddled around a bright lamp. It was crowded and they couldn’t immediately see what was going inside.
Guo Jingyu curiously asked, “What are you all up to?”
A nearby classmate noticed him and immediately replied, “Jingyu, you’re back? Perfect timing! They’re inviting a pen spirit. Want to join in?”
In the past couple of years, this has been quite a trend in horror movies. After hearing about it Guo Jingyu felt a shiver down his spine. While he used to be unafraid, things were different now. So, he immediately shook his head and said, “I don’t mess with this stuff. You all should quit while you’re ahead. Don’t touch these things. They’re really ominous.”
The classmate responded, “It’s not something just anyone can do. Our class has only one person who can do it. Everyone is lining up to ask him questions!”
Guo Jingyu asked, “What have you all been asking?”
The classmate rubbed his hands together, a bit excited, and said, “I want to ask which university I can get into!”
Guo Jingyu replied, “…”
Kids these days, their thoughts are really so innocent.
While marveling at the simplicity of their desires, Guo Jingyu politely declined their enthusiastic invitation. Glancing around, he asked, “Did you see Song Zhuoran?”
The other student replied, “Oh, the one here for the school newspaper interview? He’s been here all morning, and in the afternoon, he went out with our class monitor. Seems like they’re going around nearby to take photos and gather material. They haven’t come back yet.”
Guo Jingyu was surprised, “Fan Jiali went out with him?”
“Yeah, two guys and a girl went with them. Our class’s Youth League secretary and public comittee joined in too.”
Guo Jingyu smiled. This was indeed Song Zhuoran’s usual style.
He didn’t stay for long. Soon, he took Li Tongzhou upstairs.
The study atmosphere was stronger upstairs. Some students were still painting into the night. Taking advantage of the sparse crowd, Guo Jingyu set up his own still life composition and started drawing with watercolors.
Guo Jingyu was popular to everyone. As soon as he entered, a few classmates greeted him with a shout of “Little Teacher.” One student who had just bought food asked if he wanted to join them.
Guo Jingyu smiled and waved them off, “You go ahead. I just ate.”
This was Li Tongzhou’s first time at the art studio training location. As they walked, he occasionally asked Guo Jingyu questions in a hushed voice.
Guo Jingyu explained to him on the side, “It’s just like taking humanities courses in school. Those progressing slowly copy from books, while those faster can directly draw still life or people… See that skull on the shelf? Of course, it’s fake. How could they use a real one for us? Hahaha!” After laughing, he leaned in close to Li Tongzhou and whispered, “But just like those studying medicine, we do have to observe the human body. I heard that in the previous batch, a few girls with timid hearts ended up crying. They got quite scared.”
Li Tongzhou’s focus was different. He asked, “Where do you go to observe?”
“To the medical school. It’s similar to when they have classes with the medical students. To draw well, you have to actually witness it. The texture of the muscles, the position of the bones, and so on.”
Li Tongzhou was quite rational. After chatting with him for a bit, he became more interested in their study methods.
Guo Jingyu couldn’t scare him, so after teasing him for a bit, he stopped.
The art studio upstairs was spacious, with fewer people at the moment. Only half the lights were on, casting a lonely look over the still life platform. Rows of easels were scattered around, of varying heights. In the corridor, there were also folded buckets and opened paintboxes.
Guo Jingyu originally just wanted to bring him here for a casual look. Considering it was the weekend and most students were probably out having fun, the place hadn’t been cleaned yet. There were half-finished paintings in the easels. Someone with a bit of cleanliness obsession like Li Tongzhou probably wouldn’t last long in this environment.
But Li Tongzhou just asked which one belonged to Guo Jingyu, walked over to take a look, and then began to bend down to tidy up the paintbox.
Guo Jingyu tried to stop him, saying, “You’ve been busy for several days. You don’t have to tidy up for me. I can do it tomorrow…”
Li Tongzhou insisted, “The paint will dry by tomorrow. I’ll help you.”
He patiently cleaned every color in the paintbox. Any paintbrushes accidentally mixed in were carefully removed with a palette knife. He wiped down the box and the palette with tissues, leaving everything clean and tidy, as if it had just been filled with fresh paint.
Guo Jingyu joined in to tidy up, simultaneously arranging the easels. Suddenly, he laughed, “Hey, doesn’t this feel like when we clean the classrooms back at school?”
Li Tongzhou replied, “Not really.”
“What doesn’t feel the same?”
“You always sneak away on Fridays when we’re cleaning, playing basketball with He Xiangyang and the others.”
“…True.”
After Li Tongzhou finished tidying up, he said to Guo Jingyu, “Every time He Xiangyang and the others play basketball now, they say they miss you. Last time, they even mentioned that the number of people watching the school team’s games in the gym has decreased a lot because you’re not around.”
Guo Jingyu wasn’t at all concerned about those mischievous kids. He cupped his hand around his mouth like a makeshift microphone and whispered to Li Tongzhou, “Do you want me to go back?”
Li Tongzhou held his hand, solemnly accepting the interview. “I’d love to, but my circumstances are a bit better. I can come see you, but they can’t,” he said as he imitated Guo Jingyu. “I’m better than all of them.”
After packing up his paintbox and tidying the studio, he looked at Guo Jingyu. “It’s getting late, and there’s no more bus.”
Guo Jingyu said, “This is a collective dormitory area, young master. Please, think it through. The conditions here aren’t as good as the hotel you’re used to.”
Li Tongzhou again said, “It’s past ten, and the subway has stopped.”
Guo Jingyu glanced down. Really, this guy was quite punctual. Late into the night, he had accurately calculated that he’d be staying over at Guo Jingyu’s place.
The dormitory was too cramped, and Guo Jingyu couldn’t bear to let Li Tongzhou suffer. Besides, his single bed couldn’t accommodate both of them. After informing the dormitory supervisor, Guo Jingyu took Li Tongzhou to a nearby small inn.
Probably because it’s near the university town, the small inns were fully booked on weekends, leaving only one room with a large bed.
Guo Jingyusaid with a forced smile, “Let’s go with this one.”
Staying here with Li Tongzhou, when they settled down to sleep after freshening up, as expected, the soundproofing of the walls was not great. A burst of embarrassing and heated noises reached their ears.
Guo Jingyu was already exhausted from rock climbing and exploring the night market earlier in the day. Despite this, he forced himself to stay lively, responding energetically to the person next door.
Li Tongzhou lay still beside him.
Guo Jingyu lightly kicked him with his foot. “Hey, stop pretending to be asleep. I heard it all. even your breathing hasn’t changed.”
Li Tongzhou, with his eyes closed, said, “I’m about to fall asleep.”
Guo Jingyu chuckled, “You can sleep through all this noise? Come over here a bit, let’s chat for a while!”
Li Tongzhou moved a bit closer and whispered, “What do you want to talk about?”
K: That’s right, what do you want to talk abt GJY?? hehehehe
He’s imitating porn noises 💀 truly a teenage boy