Wen Tingxue's multiple attempts to wash the ink stains from the school uniform were unsuccessful.
More precisely, they weren't entirely gone.
"Tsk, what should I do?"
Wen Tingxue held the uniform, troubled.
Although Yu Wenli didn't get angry about it.
She still felt embarrassed for him to wear such a stained uniform around all day.
It looked so shabby.
It would surely lower his class.
Maybe...
Wen Tingxue tapped her chin, a sudden idea striking her.
Monday morning.
Fu Shilin, groggy from copying homework, heard a rustle beside her and instinctively greeted,
"Morning, deskmate."
Yu Wenli responded with a faint "mm" and then turned to speak to Wen Tingxue.
Fu Shilin hadn't finished her homework and wasn't paying attention, but a glance from the corner of her eye made her exclaim,
"Holy crap! Where did Iron Man come from!"
Wen Tingxue jumped, her eyes anxious, "Does... does it look good?"
Fu Shilin, jolted awake by her crush, blinked in confusion for a second, "Huh?"
Then, her eyes lit up, "You, you drew this?!"
Wen Tingxue nodded meekly, "Yeah, to fix it up."
After all, it was a school uniform he wore frequently.
So, after much thought, she decided to paint a picture on it to cover up the ink spots.
"Holy crap! You call this fixing it up?!"
Fu Shilin pointed at the lifelike Iron Man and corrected, "This is clearly adding splendor to an already beautiful design!"
"Adding what splendor?"
Lin Ling entered with her steamed buns, and as she passed Yu Wenli, her foot slipped.
"Whoa! God, did you stick a painting on yourself?!"
"Stick what? Your godlike deskmate drew it herself, stroke by stroke!"
Fu Shilin corrected her seriously.
Lin Ling: "..."
Lin Ling: "!!!"
"Deskmate!"
Lin Ling hugged Wen Tingxue, acting cute and spoiled, "Can you draw one for me too? I like angels~ I'll give you this Orleans chicken burger."
Wen Tingxue: "..."
Was it really that good?
Yu Wenli looked at her with a smile, as if to say: See, brother didn't lie to you.
This morning when she cautiously took out the school uniform, she was worried about getting scolded.
She kept saying things like 'I did my best' and 'I hope he's not angry'.
He had thought she had drawn something abstract, and had even prepared to order a new uniform.
But when he unfolded it – the artistry and coloring were superb.
Yet, the young girl was incredibly lacking in confidence, insisting he was just comforting her.
The restless morning self-study period passed, and Wen Tingxue didn't even have time to get up for water.
Song Jiamai had already snatched her water cup and run off, shouting from a distance:
"Little sister-in-law, I like Pikachu!"
Wen Tingxue: "..."
She hadn't agreed yet.
"Top student, how much to get your help?"
"Cute Tingxue~~ Can you draw a rose on my sleeve?"
"Sister Xue, help this child! My uniform is covered in pen marks, please draw a Bumblebee~"
Throughout the day, Wen Tingxue's desk was bustling with activity.
Yu Wenli couldn't even find a chance to interject, feeling exasperated.
Evening.
Although she had transferred classes, Wen Tingxue still ate in the cafeteria with Xie Jinyi during dinner.
"Sweetie, I saw the Iron Man you drew on God's uniform, it's so beautiful! Have you ever thought about becoming a painter?"
"A painter?"
Wen Tingxue recalled Lin Ling's suggestion, bit her chopsticks, and asked, "Do you think I can do it?"
"Of course you can!" Xie Jinyi slapped the table. "If you can't, who can? Your skill level, did you study it?"
"No," Wen Tingxue shook her head honestly. "I just drew it randomly myself."
Her grandmother and aunt didn't support her drawing.
They had even belittled her skills.
But she just loved to draw, and would study styles and colors from pictures whenever she had free time.
It was also a coincidence last night; she happened to have watercolors at home, which her mother had bought sometime ago.
After Fang Yi found them, she decided to give it a bold try.
It was a shot in the dark anyway.
She hadn't expected such good results.
"You can achieve this level by just drawing randomly?!"
Xie Jinyi was shocked. "If you had started learning when you were little, you would have been famous by now!"
Art is all about talent, and Wen Tingxue was clearly someone heaven spoon-fed.
Many art students praised her work.
Wen Tingxue smiled shyly, "Not really, it's just a small hobby."
She truly didn't think her drawing skills were that good.
After all, she hadn't formally studied.
"You call this a small hobby?! Let me tell you, many online artists aren't as good as you. If you don't believe me, look yourself."
Xie Jinyi casually flipped through some online artists with a decent following for Wen Tingxue to see.
Wen Tingxue analyzed their strengths very seriously and finally concluded:
"They are just better at drawing than me."
"..."
Xie Jinyi sighed helplessly, "Sweetie, you can't compare your weaknesses to their strengths.
Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. I don't deny that they draw well.
But the spirit in your drawings is something they can't replicate.
Many art students I know say your style is very lively and catches the eye."
"Really?"
The girl paused in her eating, stars appearing in her eyes.
Xie Jinyi nodded seriously, "Really! However, I can't really find any art-related jobs at the moment.
I only have a modeling part-time job available. Do you want to try it out? The pay is also quite good."
Wen Tingxue thought it was better than nothing, so she nodded.
"Okay, when?"
"Next week," Xie Jinyi said. "I'll go with you then. By the way, have you considered what I told you?"
She put down her chopsticks and looked at her expectantly.
Wen Tingxue couldn't resist and covered her face, "Please let me off the hook, I really can't dance."
"Aiya~ There's still over a month until the art festival. I promise you'll dance well. Just do it with me~ Xuexue~ Sweetie~ Please~"
Xie Jinyi used a combination of pouting, acting cute, and physical attacks—tickling.
During evening self-study, the results of the physics weekly exam came out.
Wen Tingxue poked Yu Wenli's back.
When he turned his head, the young girl immediately held up her exam paper showing 105 points.
Her meaning was clear: Movie time~
Yu Wenli smiled, "Got it."
Tong Jiayi found that smile particularly dazzling and irritably shielded herself with a book.
Out of sight, out of mind.
The English teacher rushed in, and Wen Di immediately clapped his hands loudly, saying:
"Everyone, lift your heads. The class advisor has something to say."
The English teacher smiled gratefully and quickly explained the purpose of her visit.
"Next month is the annual art festival. Students who want to sign up can start preparing now."
"Jiayi? Jiayi!" The English teacher walked towards Tong Jiayi.
"Ah?"
Tong Jiayi put down her book and stood up as if waking from a dream, a moment of confusion on her face.
The English teacher, thinking something was wrong, saw Tong Jiayi shake her head, "It's nothing, I was just a little distracted."
"Oh," the English teacher nodded without suspicion.
Then she leaned in and instructed, "You're still in charge of the art festival sign-ups, Jiayi. Encourage all the classmates to participate..."
After the teacher finished speaking, something flashed across Tong Jiayi's eyes, and she nodded, "Okay."
After school.
Wen Tingxue and Yu Wenli were discussing which day to go to the movies as they walked downstairs when Tong Jiayi suddenly caught up.
"I have something to say to you."
She stood on the steps below, looking up directly at Yu Wenli.
Yu Wenli frowned, and the word of refusal was about to leave his lips when Tong Jiayi spoke first.
"You promised me, three conditions."
Three conditions?
Wen Tingxue instinctively looked at Yu Wenli.
Yu Wenli was silent for a moment, then nodded, "Go ahead."
A hint of triumph flickered in Tong Jiayi's eyes, and she then looked up softly.
"Let's go somewhere else, it's not convenient here."
She glanced pointedly at Wen Tingxue.
For the readers who said the male lead isn't strong, here's a unified explanation.
Firstly, because it's a campus novel.
The male and female leads have not been given very powerful or impressive backgrounds.
[The family backgrounds of both male and female leads belong to the middle class, meaning an annual income of around ten million. The Yu family's income is higher than the Wen family's.]
Secondly, both male and female leads are growth characters.
They will become stronger later, but not invincible. After all, there's always someone stronger.
Finally, regardless of the male lead's strength, he will not let the female lead suffer. He will have his own ways to protect her.
Lastly, here's an introduction to the established powers.
Currently the strongest is the Fu family in the capital, a top-tier noble family.
Next are the Lin family in the capital and the Chi family in Jiangcheng.
Finally, the Mu family in Jiangcheng and the Yu family (compared to the above three families, they are only considered emerging powers.)
[One last lengthy note, noble families have accumulated power over many years. Chi Ye controls grey industries. The male lead is only eighteen, so it's normal he can't compare yet. Otherwise, it wouldn't be a campus novel but a modern romance novel (facepalm). But, the male lead will become strong later, very strong.]
[Thank you all for your support~ If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comment section. I'll answer them when I see them!]