Embedded Files
Psst! We're moving!
He reached out and gently brushed the bangs covering her eyelashes to the side.
Shen Xi shook out the blanket and draped it over her, then quietly closed the door behind him as he left.
________________________________________
He woke her up fifteen minutes early.
Still groggy, Lin Zhan rubbed her eyes and stumbled to the bathroom to splash water on her face before finally regaining some clarity.
Shen Xi leaned against the doorframe. “What are you painting this afternoon?”
She grabbed a couple of tissues to dry her face. “Sketching. Portraits.”
After weeks of nonstop painting, calluses had formed on her hands.
Shen Xi walked her back to the studio, saying he’d pick her up again in the evening.
Zheng Yimian, also just waking up, asked, “What were you and Shen Xi up to?”
Lin Zhan thought for a moment, then answered matter-of-factly: “Shen Xi and I went to sleep together.”
“...”
Zheng Yimian pointed outside at the blazing sun. “Friend, it’s broad daylight.”
Lin Zhan: “So?”
“Stop daydreaming and get back to painting.”
“...”
________________________________________
The monotonous training sessions became a little more bearable with Shen Xi around.
Every evening after class, they’d roam the streets, hunting down hidden street snacks. On days they couldn’t find anything, Lin Zhan would settle for a cup of double-layer steamed milk.
The night breeze brushed against their faces, the city lights shimmering around them.
Though Shen Xi was strict and didn’t let her indulge in junk food too often, he always gave in when she really wanted something.
One evening, as Lin Zhan stepped out of the studio, she spotted an old man selling sugar paintings.
She walked over and watched as he scooped molten sugar from a pot, tapped the ladle against the counter, and swiftly drew a butterfly.
The wings were perfectly symmetrical, the patterns intricate.
As a child, she’d only marveled at the skill. Now, as an art student herself, she truly appreciated the difficulty.
Practice makes perfect. This kind of mastery couldn’t be achieved overnight.
The old man noticed her fascination. “Would you like to buy one, young lady?”
Lin Zhan pursed her lips. “Can I try drawing one myself?”
The old man chuckled. “This ladle is heavy, and the technique isn’t easy. I’m afraid you might give up halfway.”
Lin Zhan raised an eyebrow. “I’m an art student, and I’m pretty strong. Let me try? How will I know if I don’t?”
Shen Xi stood to the side, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
The old man relented. “Alright, give it a shot. But you have to buy it if you fail.”
Lin Zhan grinned. “Deal.”
She shot Shen Xi a triumphant look—just watch me—before stepping behind the counter to observe the old man’s demonstration.
“Like this. Scoop it up first, then pour from this small spout to outline the shape...”
“Got it?”
“Got it,” Lin Zhan said eagerly. “Let me try.”
She sat on the tiny stool, her expression turning serious.
Normally, she joked around more than anyone, but when it came to serious matters, she was more focused than most.
Shen Xi loved seeing her like this—completely absorbed.
The soft glow of the streetlights cast a hazy halo around her as she lowered her gaze, lips pressed into a firm line.
Her stray hairs fluttered lightly.
Lin Zhan lifted the ladle effortlessly. The old man laughed. “You really are strong.”
Tilting her head slightly, she carefully guided the stream of sugar to trace a pattern.
Accustomed to sketching outlines first, freehanding like this made her nervous. The symmetry was off.
The old man pressed a bamboo stick into the sugar, waiting for it to harden before lifting it.
“The shape’s a bit lopsided, but it’s edible. No problem.”
“Want to try again?”
As an art student, how could Lin Zhan accept defeat from something as simple as a sugar painting?
“Of course.”
Second try. Third try...
By the fourth, Shen Xi could vaguely make out what she was drawing.
But Lin Zhan, ever the perfectionist, kept going until there were no more flaws to fix.
The old man stroked his beard. “Not bad, young lady. You got the hang of it by the fourth try. As a reward, I’ll only charge you for the first three. This one’s on me.”
Lin Zhan shot Shen Xi a triumphant look.
The tiny teardrop mole under her eye twinkled like a miniature star.
Shen Xi averted his gaze unnaturally.
Lin Zhan picked up the final product, paid for the first three attempts, and then caught up with Shen Xi.
Holding up the sugar painting, she asked, “I made this for you. Like it?”
It was a lantern, with a tiny bulb inside.
“I couldn’t figure out how to draw an extinguished lamp, so I just made the filament into a weird heart shape.”
The streetlight illuminated the translucent sugar, along with the crystalline clarity of her thoughts.
She tucked the bamboo stick between her fingers and switched the items in her hands.
“This is jiaojiao tang—stirring candy. Ever heard of it?”
Shen Xi: “No.”
“You take two sticks and keep twisting them back and forth, like this...” Lin Zhan stared at him. “You’ve never even played with this? What kind of childhood did you have?”
Shen Xi pondered. “Mental abacus.”
“...”
After playing with it for a while, Lin Zhan handed it to him. “Here, you try. It’s really fun. Everyone in my class used to play with this during lunch breaks.”
The candy started off thick and sticky, threatening to drip if handled carelessly.
Shen Xi, a first-timer, fumbled awkwardly.
His movements were naturally slow, and by the time he managed to pull some sugar up, the middle portion was already drooping.
Lin Zhan panicked, shoving the sugar painting into her mouth to free both hands and guide him.
“Don’t @#$%... can’t you go faster? %$#@...”
“Shen Xi, you @#$%...”
“You’re really pissing me off @&*@￥...”
Shen Xi laughed, deliberately teasing her. “What was that?”
Finally, she just grabbed his wrists and took over.
Her sugar-filled mouth still running.
“See? Am I amazin’ or what?”
They laughed and bickered until Shen Xi gave up, letting her take over completely.
By the end, the malt sugar had transformed.
Exhausted, Lin Zhan pulled the sugar painting from her mouth and glanced at Shen Xi, whose eyes crinkled with amusement.
She took a bite. “What? Something funny?”
Shen Xi watched her munching away, having completely forgotten her earlier declaration of ”I made this for you.”
He asked, “Wasn’t this for me?”
“I changed my mind. Women are fickle,” Lin Zhan said. “So don’t get too comfortable. Who knows what I’ll decide in the next few seconds?”
Shen Xi lowered his gaze without responding.
Lin Zhan continued, “So you’d better stay on your toes and keep me happy.”
To emphasize her point, she took two more defiant bites of the sugar painting.
Shen Xi murmured, “Noted.”
When he looked up, he noticed a tiny speck of sugar clinging to the corner of her lips.
Without thinking, he reached out and brushed it away, frowning. “How old are you? Still getting food on your face?”
The sudden intimacy left them both frozen.
His hand hovered awkwardly in the air, unsure whether to retreat or move forward.
Lin Zhan tilted her head slightly, her warm breath ghosting over his fingertips, sending a jolt through him.
His fingers still tingled from the brief contact—the slight roughness of the sugar, the softness of her skin.
Lin Zhan felt drunk under the night sky, intoxicated beyond reason.
________________________________________
Two weeks later, Sun Hong—ever the instigator—organized a weekend karaoke outing.
Lin Zhan and Zheng Yimian took a break from their studio to visit Sun Hong and Qi Lijie at theirs.
With those two around, the place was naturally livelier.
The moment Sun Hong spotted Lin Zhan carrying water, he jumped up. “Friends, behold! The one and only Lin Zhan! Autographs, five mao each. Line forms here.”
Lin Zhan set the water down and said to Qi Lijie, “Hit him for me.”
Someone in the studio whistled. “They got boyfriends? Sun Hong, hook me up!”
“Xu Zhiming, I see you’re not handsome, can’t paint, but damn, you dream big.”
Sun Hong launched into an exaggerated spiel about Lin Zhan’s achievements, as if he’d won all those awards himself.
While he rambled, Lin Zhan and Qi Lijie discussed more serious matters.
“Busy here? Lots of homework?”
“Ugh, yeah. But it’s not as strict as your studio. Half the kids here are rich second-gens who just game all day.”
“Have you two improved?”
“Sun Hong a bit. Last time, his sketches barely passed—though the hands looked like chicken claws. I nearly died laughing.”
After catching up, Qi Lijie asked, “You two taking the specialized exams?”
Zheng Yimian: “Of course. No choice.”
“Sun Hong and I aren’t. We’re focusing on academics. You guys should go for it—you’ve got the skills.”
Zheng Yimian nodded. “But the school I want doesn’t have a specialized exam.”
Lin Zhan: “You’ll ace the unified exam anyway. Better focus on academics after.”
Zheng Yimian was aiming for a top art academy in T City.
They chatted about future plans, feeling—for the first time in a while—a sense of clarity about where they were headed.
________________________________________
The next day at KTV, Sun Hong kicked things off with ”365 Blessings.”
As the intro played, he announced grandly, “This one’s for all of you! May everyone get into their dream school!”
Qi Lijie slumped into the couch, deadpan. “Starting with this? I feel like I’ve time-traveled to the ‘90s.”
“Three hundred sixty-five sunrises a year, I send you three hundred sixty-five blessings...”
At the emotional climax, Sun Hong switched to operatic vibrato.
Qi Lijie grabbed the mic and yelled, “Sun Hong!”
Sun Hong: “Yeah?”
Qi Lijie: ”Three hundred sixty-five sunrises a year, I send you three hundred sixty-five ‘get lost’s!”
The crowd roared. “HELL YEAH!”
Lin Zhan laughed along with everyone, whispering to Zheng Yimian, “Haven’t seen these two causing chaos in ages. Kinda missed it.”
She really did miss their school days.
Later, while the others played Truth or Dare, Lin Zhan and Zheng Yimian slipped away to pick songs.
Sun Hong had queued one earlier, so Lin Zhan took over.
At the table, a spinning bottle landed on Shen Xi.
The student council members exchanged uneasy glances.
No one dared ask him anything.
At school, Shen Xi was the unapproachable, stern figure who rarely socialized.
Even now, seated at the same table, everyone hesitated.
“I’ll ask!” Sun Hong snatched the opportunity. “Shen Xi, what’s your relationship with the girl singing over there?”
Google Sites
Report abuse