"Did the school beauty and Xiang Ran have any conflicts before?”
Qi Dong asked Zhao Ying, who looked as if she were stuck in a trance.
“No, it’s not really a conflict; it’s just a psychological effect on Xiang Ran.”
Zhao Ying vaguely explained. Qi Dong didn’t understand and wasn’t interested in asking more. After all, the two of them seemed to be fine now.
But she had something even trickier that she didn't know how to explain.
“Are you facing any difficulties with your painting?”
Qi Dong pointed at the half-finished canvas.
About an hour ago, it was at this stage.
Qi Dong wasn’t sure how long an oil painting actually took, but he could tell that Zhao Ying hadn’t touched the brush at all.
The paper had a nearly completed sketch.
It depicted a young man on a basketball court, wearing a jersey and taking a jump shot, his body upright, with well-defined muscles.
“No, I just want to revise the sketch a bit.”
“I thought you were about to add color when I saw you picking brushes.”
“That was the plan, but then I felt it wasn’t perfect enough.”
When Zhao Ying said this, her eyes were fixed on the young man in the painting, deeply focused.
“Cough, cough!”
How could Qi Dong not notice the change in the girl in front of him? He frowned and scrutinized the canvas again, as if trying to see through it, his expression revealing his feelings.
“Is this your assignment or something else?”
“Personal interest?”
Zhao Ying wrinkled her brow, trying to think of a word.
“Ha! Personal interest, huh?”
“Does that mean when you meet someone you like, you draw seventy or eighty pictures to express your feelings?”
“Haha!”
“Do you think we’re AI or printers? Seventy or eighty pictures? If we can manage seven or eight, that’d be impressive.”
Zhao Ying found this absurd, but then thought of Liu Shuyiao and corrected herself.
“I mean for ordinary people. Of course, some are so devoted they could even open their own studio.”
“Your department really has such rare girls?”
Qi Dong expressed disbelief.
“Yes, I know one!”
“Who? Do I know her? Does she like someone I know?”
Putting aside everything else, Qi Dong’s social circle was so wide that even stray cats wandering through the school could be called friends.
“Wow, when did you become so nosy about others’ affairs?”
Zhao Ying was too lazy to say more and gave him a shove.
“Fine, if I won’t pry into others’ lives, I’ll pry into yours!”
Qi Dong pulled his chair a bit closer.
“Who’s this guy? Do you like him?”
“Come on, tell me! I don’t know anyone in the basketball club, so I’ll help you find out.”
“Can’t have you wasting your feelings on someone unworthy…”
He said this as if he were serious, taking on the role of an expert:
“It just feels like your taste is lacking; his forearm muscles look underwhelming. He probably isn’t good at passing or dribbling.”
“And his rectus abdominis isn’t very prominent either, only six-pack abs, no obliques. That means his body control and stability must be lacking!”
“From my professional perspective, his core strength is too weak!”
“He should practice more…”
In the end, Qi Dong concluded that the guy in Zhao Ying's painting was worthless.
Zhao Ying pressed her lips together, listening to Qi Dong talk animatedly, nearly bursting out laughing a few times: “I’ve only lifted my shirt halfway, and you’ve noticed this much?”
“Of course!”
“Who doesn’t understand boys?”
“Haha~”
At this, Zhao Ying couldn’t hold back; she suddenly leaned close to Qi Dong’s face and stared at him blankly for two seconds.
“Maybe it’s my painting that’s the problem. I’ll observe a bit more next time.”
“After all, I feel like his physique should be better~”
What?
There’s a next time?
Qi Dong frowned, straightened Zhao Ying's shoulder, and created some distance between them.
“There’s a basketball practice on Wednesday afternoon. I’ll go with you, help you strategize.”
As he flipped through group messages on his phone, he spoke with a hint of arrogance.
“I want to see who this guy is!”
“No need. Shuyao will go with me; we’ve already made plans.”
Zhao Ying was intentionally teasing Qi Dong, so she flatly refused.
“I’m done here; the rain outside should be letting up.”
“Let’s go~”
Zhao Ying didn’t intend to continue the basketball topic and pulled Qi Dong out of the art studio.
Later, throughout their conversation, Zhao Ying never revealed who the boy was...
Once they arrived at the dorm.
Liu Shuyao saw Zhao Ying and asked, “Who did you go to the art studio with today?”
“Qi Dong.” Given their two accidental encounters, she figured the school beauty already knew, so she didn’t hide it.
“What’s going on between you two?”
“Nothing. You know how he is; he can talk to anyone in school. Seven days a week, he’s at gatherings, and can eat from the Computer Science Institute to the Astronomy Department.”
“That’s pretty unreliable~”
“Well, Qi Dong is just a bit enthusiastic. Is he popular? He’s quite charming~” Liu Shuyao had interacted with Qi Dong a few times before and had a good impression; he took care of people.
Zhao Ying didn’t say anything more, noticing the school beauty was engrossed in a book, neglecting everything else.
“UI design? Have you decided on your graduation direction? Isn’t it a bit early to decide?”
“No.”
“When I showed the first draft to Xiang Ran today, he said my design wasn’t good, and made me redo it.”
Liu Shuyiao didn’t even lift her head, busy taking notes.
“Speaking of Xiang Ran…”
“I heard you two are together?”
Zhao Ying raised her eyebrows, her tone playful.
“No, I embarrassed myself in front of him today when I went to submit my work and ended up crying~”
“What?”
“That happened?”
“Isn’t the story about you two quickly getting together, then being inseparable?”
Liu Shuyiao nodded, acknowledging that ideal script.
“The real story is that my UI design wasn’t reasonable. He criticized me a bit, and I ended up crying like a loser.”
“And when I left, I didn’t have an umbrella, so while waiting for a taxi outside, he came down and offered to take me home.”
“That’s it…”
Simple and straightforward, without even a hint of ambiguity.
“That’s all? How is that considered being together?”
“There wasn’t even any physical contact!”
Zhao Ying clearly found the real version disappointing.
“Physical contact?”
Liu Shuyiao poked her head with the pen, her big eyes filled with sincerity.
“Is being pushed away multiple times considered contact?”
Naturally, the person on the other side, eager for gossip, nearly rolled their eyes at her.
“He pushed you away; what do you think?”
“Isn’t the contact when he pushed me away?”
Liu Shuyiao wanted to defend her somewhat disappointing experience a bit; at least she couldn’t say there was no progress.
“Public knowledge~~~”
“His pushing away = rejection!”
After saying this, Zhao Ying made an “X” gesture.
Then she set a new standard for the school beauty.
“Once it turns into you pushing him away… that would count as intimate contact!”
“When would that be?”
The school beauty asked sincerely, only to hear a completely vague reply.
“Hmm…”
“Of course, it’s when you’re begging him~”
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