Over the next few days, Xiao Yiheng noticed that the way other kids at the winter camp perceived him had shifted.
It used to be a slight rejection, but it turned into a keen interest.
Surrounded by such eyes, Xiao Yiheng imagined himself to be some mystical rare animal.
Amy was boastful and also had a big mouth. She divulged to Xiao Yiheng that everyone had obtained his information on the Internet.
Amy inquired: “You work hard at school and also paint. Do your days last forty-eight hours?”
Xiao Yiheng: “Of course not. I’m just smarter than the average person, so I can accomplish twice as much with half the effort.”
“…” Amy: “You really need a spanking.”
Xiao Yiheng mentioned the winter camp during his call with Li Cheng that evening.
Li Cheng burst out laughing: “I’m particularly interested in seeing your classmates’ reactions. They have to have been fantastic.”
After some consideration, Li Cheng realized that he had easily accepted Xiao Yiheng’s “omnipotence.” He hadn’t even considered how Xiao Yiheng could learn and paint at the same time. He seemed to have taken this subject for granted because he was so exceptional.
Xiao Yiheng inquired, “So, how about you? Is there anything intriguing going on on your end?”
Li Cheng: “There’s nothing interesting here, but there are some annoyances… I came across a white orangutan in the dining hall earlier!”
Li Cheng cursed the racist athlete for a long time. As he listened, Xiao Yiheng’s countenance got more solemn. He would have taught the bastard a harsh lesson on Li Cheng’s behalf if it hadn’t been for the enormous ocean that separated them.
“We recently saw that bastard while doing daily training in the pool. His chest hair was dangling down to his stomach when he removed his shirt. From a distance, I mistook the Australian athletes for wearing one-piece swimming costumes.” Li Cheng roasted, “But the bastard does have skills. I secretly watched his 100m time, and it was on par with mine!”
Xiao Yiheng taunted him: “Oh? Is Li-ge worried that he won’t be able to defeat him?”
“How is that possible!” The reverse psychology hit Li Cheng quite hard. “It’s fun to have a challenging problem. Besides, Laozi is such a capable person. Can’t I even compare with an orangutan, who can only paddle in the water?”
Xiao Yiheng burst out laughing.
They talked for a while. Xiao Yiheng informed Li Cheng that he had become an Internet celebrity on the short video website, with tens of millions of people watching Li Cheng’s arrival video.
Li Cheng was immensely proud of himself: “Of course, I’m aware of this. My little brothers have already informed me!”
Li Cheng didn’t have time to browse the short video website, but his little brothers did. They downloaded all of Li Cheng’s arrival footage , which were recorded from various viewpoints, and sent them to Li Cheng. Needless to say, some of the amazing uploaders had enhanced the short videos with soundtracks and filters. After viewing them, Li Cheng was smitten by his handsome and captivating self.
Li Cheng eagerly forwarded those short videos to Xiao Yiheng, believing he would appreciate them more. It would be great if he watched them three times a day so that he might dream about him at night.
Xiao Yiheng: “Even if I don’t look at them, I will still dream of you at night.”
Li Cheng was curious: “What do you dream of me?”
“In my dreams, you’re not wearing clothes—”
Li Cheng was embarrassed to death: “You, you, you!”
Xiao Yiheng: “—and act as my model.”
Li Cheng: “…” He flew into a rage out of humiliation, “Don’t pause when you speak! And being a model means being a model. Why do you wish to emphasize the phrase ‘not wearing clothes’?”
The alpha said innocently: “Oh! It’s because the models at the Academy of Fine Arts don’t wear clothes.”
Li Cheng was shocked: “None of them wear clothes?”
“The human body is very fine and delicate. If you don’t take off your clothes, how can you see the texture of your skin and muscles?” Xiao Yiheng’s tone was extremely serious, “This is art. ChengCheng, you must restrain your imagination.”
How could Li Cheng’s imagination not run wild? He was seething, making his cheeks flushed. The “little sun on earth” was so enraged that he had transformed into the “little vinegar jar on earth”.
Although Li Cheng had heard that those who studied painting had to draw naked models, the prospect of Xiao Yiheng staring at other people’s bodies for hours filled him with jealousy.
He pretended to be magnanimous and asked: “You draw men and women?”
How could Xiao Yiheng be unaware of what he was thinking? He deliberately said: “The one we painted yesterday was a female omega.”
Li Cheng: “!!!” Fuck! I knew it!
When Xiao Yiheng first invited him to be a model, he should not have been coy and should have stripped naked! It would have been better if he hadn’t worn a thread! After landing in the capital, Xiao Yiheng was staring at other naked omegas!
Li Cheng asked sourly: “How is your painting coming along? Are you particularly happy?”
Xiao Yiheng: “Not bad. The main issue is that the model’s skin is too loose. It folds together, making the painting extremely complicated.”
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.
“… Loose skin?”
“Tfjt,” Wljb Tltfcu jqqfjgfv rbifwc, yea atf rwlgx bc atf mbgcfg bo tlr wbeat yfagjsfv tlw, “Coafg jii, rtf’r jc fivfgis ijvs lc tfg rlzalfr. Ktlr lr atf olgra alwf P’nf fcmbecafgfv j wbvfi bo atlr juf.”
Ol Jtfcu: ” ……”
Ol Jtfcu olcjiis gfjmafv, sfiilcu lc jcufg. Lf gfjilhfv atja Wljb Tltfcu kjr qegqbrfoeiis vfmflnlcu tlw!
They talked on the phone about insignificant matters until the door behind Li Cheng was knocked. He hung up the phone after regretfully saying goodbye to Xiao Yiheng.
Li Cheng had hidden in the room’s toilet to phone Xiao Yiheng. He had been hiding in the toilet for more than 30 minutes, and the phone was hot. He hung up the phone and opened the toilet door.
Outside the door stood Chen Miao with a headband on his curly hair and a facial mask on his face, and he remarked curiously: “Li Cheng, you’ve finally decided to come out! I almost thought you were sucked away by the toilet!”
Li Cheng: “Go, go, go. I’m alive and kicking.”
Chen Miao: “Since you’re fine, come out as soon as possible, okay? The team doctor and coach will be over in a minute to do rounds.”
As Chen Miao predicted, within a few minutes, there came a loud knock on their door. When Li Cheng opened the door, he saw the team doctor and two coaches standing outside their room, holding measuring equipment for body temperature and blood pressure.
This competition was crucial. They were representing their country, thus they needed to be in top physical condition. Every night, the team doctor came over to make sure they were all right.
The team doctor took the tympanic thermometer and “beeped” in Chen Miao and Li Cheng’s ears. He looked at Li Cheng’s reading and frowned slightly.
“37.2°C… what’s going on? Li Cheng, you’ve had a low-grade fever for several days.” The team doctor frowned. “I assumed you had a low-grade fever as a result of acclimatization. I thought it would resolve itself without the need for medication, relying on your own immunity. However, you now have a consistent low fever. This is a serious problem.”
The team doctor pulled out the blood pressure measuring equipment. The results showed that Li Cheng’s blood pressure and heart rate were higher than the average for Chinese-ethnic athletes. Even though they were just slightly higher, it required attention at this critical time.
Li Cheng stated blankly: “But I don’t feel uncomfortable… I’m not dizzy, nor do I vomit or have diarrhea. I feel like I have limitless strength throughout my entire body, and I move as light as a feather.”
Coach Yu also informed the team doctor that Li Cheng had been in good shape throughout recent training, but he seemed to speak more than usual.
Li Cheng: “Eh? Is it? I’m a big talker.”
The team doctor reasoned: “Inexplicable excitement, higher body temperature, accelerated heartbeat… with these symptoms, you shouldn’t be sick.”
Excessive excitement was harmful to athletes. They must be uptight on the outside yet relaxed on the inside during tournaments. Their bodies must be primed, but their emotions must remain stable. They needed to keep their cool in order to accomplish better results.
The team doctor had a guess, but he didn’t say anything rashly out of prudence. He simply stated that he would draw a small amount of blood from Li Cheng and send it for testing. The findings would be available the next day.
“All right. Draw away.” Li Cheng stretched out his arm calmly. I’m in such a good state right now. How can I be sick?
… …
Li Cheng didn’t inform Xiao Yiheng about the blood test because he was afraid he would be concerned. However, Xiao Yiheng was so focused on the drawing board at the time that he didn’t notice Li Cheng’s cover-up.
Huaguo Academy of Fine Arts had planned hundreds of hours of copying and sketching for the pupils over the three-week winter camp.
Because outdoor sketching could only take place after the snowstorm, they had to create indoors for the time being.
All of the kids took different creative paths. Some were oil paintings, while others were traditional Chinese paintings including gouache and watercolor. But, regardless of the path, a solid foundation was required.
When Xiao Yiheng arrived at the studio early that morning with a drawing board on his back, the teacher declared that they would sketch a sculpture that day.
It was not David, who had been depicted thousands of times, but a work by a well-known master sculptor from the Huaguo Academy of Fine Arts.
This piece of art was titled “Hands,” and it depicted a pair of weather-beaten hands. The story of the famous painter Dürer and his brother in the 15th century served as artistic inspiration: Dürer and his brother both loved painting. Learning to paint, however, has been prohibitively expensive since antiquity. So Dürer and his brother decided to flip a coin. Finally, Dürer was given the opportunity to study, while his brother was forced to work in the mine to pay his brother’s tuition. Dürer later returned from school and rose to fame. He decided to sell his paintings in order to send his brother to learn painting. Unfortunately, his joints were swollen and his fingers were injured as a result of years of mine work. He simply couldn’t handle a paintbrush well enough to create delicate masterpieces…
The senior brother was inspired by this incident to create the sculpture “Hands,” which received numerous honors. A collector wanted to pay a lot of money for this piece, but their senior brother donated it to his alma mater’s internal exhibition hall. When the winter camp started, the teacher brought this work to the studio for everyone to draw.
The display counter had been put up previously. Students took their seats, set up their drawing boards, selected their pencils, and proceeded to observe and draw.
Xiao Yiheng paid close attention to the sculpture.
He was familiar with the context of this work, and he had also seen Dürer’s “Praying Hands“. The feelings expressed in both works of art were identical. Stone was used to create the sculpture. The hands were rough but beautiful. The knuckles were swollen, the nails were deformed, the fingertips were covered in calluses, and the back of the hand was covered in layers of scars, including blood scabs that had just healed. Both hands were raised skyward, as if grasping hope or touching an unattainable dream.
When light fell on this artwork, it cast a complicated pattern of light and shadow. The instructor strolled around the crowd, guiding everyone as they walked.
People around him quickly began to draw as well. Xiao Yiheng took longer than everyone else to get started sketching.
His drawing speed, on the other hand, was extremely fast. He rapidly drew the outline and then proceeded to add details.
Drawing can be done quickly or slowly. A sketch can be completed in three hours if the speed is rapid enough; if the sketch is meticulously crafted, it may take many weeks to finish. This time, the teacher instructed them to go as slowly as possible, to sketch, research, and explore at the slowest possible pace. So they sat in front of the sculpture for an entire day.
Amy awoke early the next morning, skipping breakfast and going to the studio to resume her painting. She was competing to be the “first to get up early.” When she arrived, she was surprised to see another figure in the studio.
Xiao Yiheng sat in front of the drafting board. When he noticed Amy approaching, he nodded and even said hello.
“When did you arrive this morning?” Amy looked at her watch and determined that in the future, she would strive to arrive sooner than Xiao Yiheng.
Xiao Yiheng replied: “I didn’t leave last night.”
Amy: “…” She was shocked, and upon closer inspection, she realized Xiao Yiheng had bloodshot eyes and slight dark circles. “Please! This is not the final assessment; it’s just daily training. Even if you want to get the final recommendation, you don’t need to work so hard right off the bat, right?”
Xiao Yiheng did not respond.
Neither she nor anyone else in the studio understood how important this winter camp was to Xiao Yiheng.
They both drew for a while as some pupils came in one by one. Daybreak was late in the northern winter, thus winter camp lessons started late as well. Even though it was about half past eight, only one-third of the students had arrived in class.
An unexpected figure appeared outside the classroom at this time—Dean Lin had come to meet them!
Dean Lin was getting on in years and had long since stopped mentoring pupils. His existence was more like that of a “symbol” of the Huaguo Academy of Fine Arts. Dean Lin’s visit to the studio was completely unexpected by the pupils.
Everyone was ecstatic and rushed up to greet Dean Lin. Dean Lin, despite his age, was in good health. He was dressed elegantly in a three-piece suit, gold-rimmed glasses, with a beautifully kept white beard.
Dean Lin entered the studio and examined the students’ drawings one by one, occasionally pausing at one of the paintings to briefly comment and point out the students’ inadequacies and issues. Amy was so pleased when he approached Amy’s artwork that her pink hair was going to become crimson. Dean Lin took a pencil and made two minor changes to her sketch. She appeared to be on her way to the heavens at the time, her attitude indicating that she was eager to frame the artwork and keep it as a family heirloom.
Dean Lin circled till he came to a halt in front of Xiao Yiheng.
The class became silent—it was rumored that Xiao Yiheng knew Dean Lin’s student and had a letter of recommendation from Dean Lin prior to attending the winter camp. Dean Lin didn’t come to the studio solely to see Xiao Yiheng, did he?
If Xiao Yiheng knew what people were thinking, he’d have no choice except to disprove the rumors: He did receive a letter of recommendation from Dean Lin, but he had never met Dean Lin from start to finish. Teacher Qiu Xian explained that Dean Lin just recognized his talent and provided him the opportunity to enroll in school. It was Xiao Yiheng’s decision whether or not to take advantage of the opportunity in the future. Dean Lin would not get involved too much. Dean Lin, after all, had seen far too many “talented teenagers” his age. However, not all geniuses could develop into talents. Furthermore, he had witnessed many first-year university students drop out.
Dean Lin came to a halt in front of Xiao Yiheng’s artwork, drawing the attention of the entire class. He looked quietly at the drawing board, his knowledgeable eyes studying every line in the sketch. Xiao Yiheng humbly stood to the side, waiting for his guidance.
Dean Lin spoke after a long time. But he asked an irrelevant question.
“Little classmate, what’s your name?” With a compassionate tone, he turned his head to look at the young alpha beside him.
Xiao Yiheng was surprised and responded, “Xiao Yiheng.”
“Xiao Yiheng?…” Dean Lin paused for a few seconds before recalling, “I remember. Are you Qiu Xian’s student?”
“Yes, Teacher Qiu is my mentor.”
Director Lin nodded and smiled kindly: “Pretty good. You should refer to her as senior apprentice sister in the future.”
Dean Lin raised his hand and patted Xiao Yihang’s shoulder, then smiled and walked away.
The studio blew up as soon as Dean Lin left.
There was a buzzing here, a buzzing there, mumbling voices melded into one, and the sentence left by Dean Lin was at the center of the discussion.
Dean Lin’s intention was clear—he was highly hopeful about Xiao Yiheng and thought he had a good chance of getting into the Academy of Fine Arts!
Dean Lin remained in front of Xiao Yiheng’s painting for a long time without commenting or assisting him in changing it. Was Xiao Yiheng’s painting truly flawless?
Amy couldn’t restrain the curiosity in her heart, so she rushed over to Xiao Yiheng: “I want to see your painting!…”
Her voice abruptly vanished before she had finished speaking.
She stood in front of the drawing board, staring at the work on the drawing paper, attempting to speak a thousand times, but the words remained lodged in her throat. She couldn’t say anything.
Amy could only think of one word to characterize Xiao Yiheng’s work: “restraint.”
Despite the fact that everyone was referring to the same sculpture, the sketches created by everyone were not identical. There will be a thousand Davids in the works of a thousand artists, just as there were a thousand Hamlets in the eyes of a thousand readers.
Sketching a still life drawing was the most fundamental of the basics, yet it also fit into the category of artistic production. There is no such thing as “absolute” objective reality. Painters have diverse personal experiences and psychological moods, therefore they will draw various “forms” despite seeing the same things.
The sculpture they sketched was called “Hands,” and it was inspired by a narrative about fate playing tricks on people. Naturally, if you know the story ahead of time, you will have different interpretations. As a result, when they began drawing, they unconsciously replaced their subjective perception for it.
Amy, for example, wanted to fight for justice for the painter’s brother and believed that he had sacrificed himself to help his younger brother accomplish his goal. As a result, when she drew, each stroke was extremely harsh, and she inadvertently aggravated the deformation of the hand joints. Her background was darkly painted, and her “Hands” appeared to stretch out from the darkness. The entire image expressed anger and was full of resentment at fate’s injustice.
And the majority of the pupils in the studio did the same thing.
The sentiments represented in Xiao Yiheng’s picture, on the other hand, were the polar opposite. His artwork was restrained, rational, introspective, and serene. When confronted with the trickery of fate, he accepted but did not capitulate.
Those hands were endowed with incredible strength. Amy, standing in front of the artwork, seemed to see a pair of hands piercing through hundreds of years of time, stretching out from beneath the black mine, carrying a hopeful light.
Basic brushwork and sketching skills are crucial in artistic creation, but “expression” is far more important.
Drawing abilities can be honed, but improving “expression” is a far more difficult task. Some people progressively learn to express with age and experience; others are born knowing how to express… and the latter are collectively referred to as “genius.”
No wonder. Amy reflected, No wonder Dean Lin saw Xiao Yiheng’s painting and concluded that he could study in the Academy of Fine Arts…
Amy muttered: “Xiao Yiheng, the Qiu Xian you mentioned just now is a student of Dean Lin and your teacher?”
“Yes.” Xiao Yiheng explained, “Teacher Qiu introduced me to it.”
Amy: “But how come I’ve never heard of Dean Lin having such an exceptional student?” A painter who can instruct someone like Xiao Yiheng must be a disciplined and skilled artist.
Xiao Yiheng responded, saying, “Teacher Qiu is not well-known in the community. She is now an art teacher in Huacheng No. 1 High School.”
“… Are you kidding me???” Amy was completely unconvinced. According to her, Xiao Yiheng’s teacher, Qiu Xian, must be a famous painter in the circle. How could she be an ordinary high school art teacher?
Xiao Yiheng: “I’m not joking. I hadn’t touched painting until I was in high school.”
Amy: “…”
Damn! When she was just learning to walk, she picked up a paintbrush under the supervision of her parents. Her painting studies lasted nearly as long as she did! But, after all was said and done, this chap Xiao Yiheng had only been studying painting for three years??
My! In the end, what kind of monster did she have as a classmate?
… …
The opposite side of the ocean.
The day of the Games was approaching, and there were an increasing number of players from various countries in the dormitory area. In comparison to the beginning, the environment in the team had steadily gotten more serious.
Coach Yu summoned Li Cheng to her dormitory after his training.
The team doctor sat at a table in the coach’s dormitory, a stack of reports in front of him.
Li Cheng was intimidated by the scene and glanced at the contents of the report. There were a few brightly colored letters and a bunch of zigzag lines. He couldn’t understand such things, but when he saw how serious the coach and the team doctor were, he concluded this was surely not good news.
“Coach Yu, what, what’s the matter?” Li Cheng swallowed his spit and straightened up. “If something is wrong, just say so. I can handle it.”
Coach Yu: “Li Cheng, the blood sample taken from you yesterday was analyzed. We now have a diagnosis.”
Li Cheng became even more upset upon hearing this: “I… Could it be that I am seriously ill?”
Was it an incurable disease? He hadn’t yet turned eighteen, he’d just fallen in love, he hadn’t won the world championship, and he still had a sister and a duck to look after!!
“It’s worse than being sick.” The team doctor stated solemnly, “Li Cheng, I have uncovered the explanation for your recent low-grade fever and excitable mood—since you are about to reach adulthood, your estrus period is ahead of schedule.”
Li Cheng : “……”
Li Cheng: “???”
Li Cheng: “!!!”
What a joke! Were his pheromones at odds with the five elements that governed his life? His estrus arrived ahead of time during the last provincial tournament. Xiao Yiheng was the one who bit him and gave him a temporary mark to suppress the hormones at the time.
But he and Xiao Yiheng were now separated by tens of thousands of kilometers. He couldn’t possibly let Xiao Yiheng abandon the winter camp and fly to Australia for him.
The team doctor said slowly: “There are now various options available to us. The first and best option is for the alpha that temporarily marked you to fly over and mark you again. If both marks are created by the same alpha, the pheromones will combine properly, which will benefit you.”
Li Cheng immediately rejected: “This won’t work.”
This was a pivotal period for Xiao Yiheng. He refused to delay him under any circumstances.
Team doctor: “The second option is to find an alpha in the team to assist you by marking you temporarily. Coach Yu stated that you and Zhou Jian are quite close at ordinary times. It’s better to…”
Li Cheng burst out in goosebumps as he heard this solution. Everything was a hideous mess. His name was Li Cheng, not Li Gouquanke. He didn’t want to get involved with Zhou Jian. “Forget it. Let’s talk about the third method.”
“The third option is that I give you a short-acting inhibitor right away, but—”
“That’s it!” As soon as Li Cheng heard there was such a simple method, he instantly rolled up his sleeves and declared, “I believe in science and medicine, so I choose this one!”
Coach Yu promptly inquired: “Li Cheng, don’t you want to know about the side effects of inhibitors?”
The author has something to say:
Regarding “the same sculpture expresses a radically different feeling”, you can search for Liu Xiaodong’s “David” and Yu Hong’s “David”. Both are very famous painters. They are also husband and wife who graduated from Yangmei.
Yu Hong’s “David” was created in four weeks during her freshman year at Yangmei and is known as “China’s First David”.
You should have a more intuitive feeling after looking at these two paintings.
Oh oh! Things are happening
hoo boy. Zhou Jian keeps coming up and Xiao Yiheng is so far away!
but really, like the doctor said, only Yiheng’s mark would allow the pheromones to combine properly and not make Li Cheng sick.
both other options would make ChengCheng sick which is really bad! especially now! Coach do something!
yes (┬┬﹏┬┬)
Ahh, hopefully the side effects aren’t too bad and won’t affect a match or Xiao Yiheng will somehow manage to appear to help ><
Thanks for the chapter! 🙂
Sigh… Where are the portkey’s when you need them?!?
I hope Zhou Jian was actually listening behind the door kekekeke
Thanks for the chapter 😄
or Anywhere Door, I beg you Doraemon? QAQ
It’s been a longggg time since I read a HP reference. People look at me blankly when I make one🤷🏻♀️
Muggles
Thanks for the chapter ♥️♥️
On the one hand, I want Yiheng to fly over and Zhou Jian to get out of the picture! On the other, I want him to cherish this opportunity and work hard.
This is bad! Tysm for the chapter ❤
wonder what our chengcheng would do.
thanks for the chapter
idk but for me reading description of art is definitely no better than reading mathematical logic in narration… eventhough my math is truly suck (barely-pass score in university lecture QAQ). I tried to look up the David paint that author recommended, and looking at it half an hour I can’t point more than the different light and position view, unable to grasp the different feeling that shown behind them…
Chenhcheng should at least tell Yiheng baout the estrus and also let him devide right? Who wants your omega marked temporarily by another alpha? No one.
+1
estrus: oh chengcheng gonna have a competition? lemme come early
its liek your period deciding to come at the most unconventional time ψ(._. )>
thank you for the chapter 🧡
+1 it isss
Chengcheng can get through this!! Jiayou???
Thanks for the chapter € ^ *^)/// ~~ ♡♡♡♡♡
Thanks for the chapter!
its… only a 15 hour flight from Beijing to Sydney… they can do it if Xiao Yiheng gets leave from the camp for a few days…
thanks for the chapter <3
ChengCheng needs his man, thank you for the chapter, I love this story ❤️
Thanknyou for this chapter!!
You need to share this info with Yiheng. Even if you don’t want him to fly to you because jt would disrupt his studies, Yiheng would still want to know about your health. Communication is important in a relationship.
Thanks for the chapter <3
Fuuuuuuuuuuuu-
I love how XYH’s work/sketch was a reflection of him. Like how he handled his situation, with the parents and his dreams.💃