36

 Art Studio.

Liu Shuyao's sketch was already taking shape on the drawing board, with a few light strokes outlining the overall composition and confirming the key elements.

The entire page was based on soft sunlight, casting warm light and shadows on the figures and stalls, depicting a bustling scene in the early morning.

She had already positioned the breakfast stall and the hurried morning crowd, with characters scattered throughout.

Two grandmothers stood chatting with bags of fresh vegetables from the morning market, while a busy office worker glanced at her phone anxiously, and a mother rode by on an electric bike, sending her child to school...

Next came the basic outlines, key details of the characters, and background elements. For Liu Shuyao, these weren't particularly challenging; she had solid foundational skills and a keen sense of color control, making it hard to spot any flaws at first glance.

However, the expression on Teacher Wang’s face, standing behind her, was far from pleased.

"The concept is good, and the distribution of characters is fine, but..."

Upon hearing this, Liu Shuyao stopped her work and quietly waited for Teacher Wang to continue.

"Your portraits always seem to be drawn with technique alone, lacking any emotional depth—very stiff. I’ve mentioned this issue to you before. I thought you found a solution after seeing your drawing of a young boy, but now it’s back to this."

Teacher Wang's words carried a tone of disappointment.

"You need to revisit the feelings you had when you created that piece!"

"Although you can pile up techniques to complete a work now, as you advance to higher levels, it will become your weakness, because you can't avoid this issue forever."

"I understand, teacher."

Liu Shuyao's voice was low, and it was clear she felt a bit down.

"Take some time to feel out this emotional expression; don’t limit yourself to the knowledge in books. Your work shouldn't be so rigid."

After finishing, Teacher Wang left to check on other students’ works, occasionally giving comments.

Liu Shuyao looked at her unfinished piece, her thick eyelashes drooping slightly, tightly gripping her paintbrush, feeling gloomy.

She had always known about this problem. Perhaps it stemmed from the coldness of her family dynamics when she was young, and because she stubbornly chose to study art against her family's wishes, the low pressure at home almost suffocated her.

This led to her being slow to handle interpersonal relationships and struggling to express emotions.

So when she met Xiang Ran, Liu Shuyao felt she had used up all her luck to have him.

Or maybe it wasn’t that she couldn’t draw; it was just that she could only draw her boyfriend.

Thinking about her boyfriend, Liu Shuyao felt a bit more alive and grabbed her phone, wondering what he was up to...

【So wronged.jpg】

【o(╥﹏╥)o crying~~~】

Meanwhile, the players on the basketball court had begun warming up.

Xiang Ran was surrounded by cheers from several girls.

Following Fatty's gaze, he recalled the campus heartthrob from the finance department—Zheng Fuxin!

"I heard from Zhao Xiaogang that this finance heartthrob is quite skilled and good-looking, generous with his shots, and he has a group of admirers following him."

"But it seems he only has eyes for the school flower. I heard he’s been pursuing her for a while, so they should be getting together soon."

"But why haven’t I seen him around lately? The school flower hasn’t mentioned him either."

Fatty muttered.

Xiang Ran showed little expression, having seen this guy a few times.

The first time was in the hospital, where he was presenting flowers to the school flower; the second time was at Beibei Tower, still with flowers in hand.

...

Thinking of this, he glanced down at the player warming up, initially just casually looking, but now he regarded him with a bit more scrutiny.

Just then, his phone vibrated twice— a message from the school flower.

Seeing the content, he instinctively replied:

【What’s up?】

【I got criticized by the teacher today~ I have no inspiration for my drawing~ o(╥﹏╥)o】

Xiang Ran remembered Zhao Ying’s reminder to message the school flower. It wasn’t a big deal; if Liu Shuyao wanted to come, she could, but as he listened to the excited cheers around him, for some reason, his actions hesitated.

After a moment, he replied:

【I heard your assignment is related to group portraits. I’m at the basketball court watching a game. Do you want to come see?】

Xiang Ran almost immediately received a response.

【Ah ah ah? Are you and Yingying watching the same basketball game?】

【Hmm.】

【Then I want to go too. I’ll be there soon~】

After replying, Xiang Ran felt a bit nervous holding his phone, then stood up.

Fatty watched his movement and stopped him.

“What are you doing? The game’s about to start!”

“Picking someone up.”

Xiang Ran casually tossed out the line and left, leaving Fatty confused and full of questions.

“He said he’s picking someone up? Who? Isn’t everyone he knows already here?”

Li Meixun’s gaze was fixed on the player number 180, not even answering Fatty's question.

Xiang Ran didn’t wait long at the door before seeing the school flower appear around the corner, jogging toward him. She wore little sneakers, denim shorts, and a simple T-shirt tucked into her pants, perfectly accentuating her figure.

The simple outfit exuded a vibe of the dream girl every boy wishes for.

Perhaps because she was in a hurry, her cheeks were flushed, slightly out of breath, with her eyes bright and cheerful, and her casually tied ponytail swayed as she ran.

Her voice was sweet and endearing:

“Why did you come out to pick me up~”

Seeing Liu Shuyao running toward him, slightly breathless, Xiang Ran felt his heart skip a beat, a bit shy to meet her gaze. Was this what it felt like to be smitten?

“There are a lot of people inside. I was worried you wouldn’t find me.”

Xiang Ran replied, feeling somewhat guilty.

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Hearing her boyfriend's words, the last bit of negativity Liu Shuyao felt vanished.

Xiang Ran’s eyes sparkled a bit more as he looked at the school flower, her fluttering eyelashes brushing against his heart.

It felt a bit ticklish and a bit tempting~

Taking a deep breath, Xiang Ran led Liu Shuyao quickly to their seats.

Fatty had been wondering who Xiang Ran was picking up, curious if it was some potential girlfriend, only to see the school flower enter.

Uh...

Fine...

If she’s not a girlfriend, then she’s not~

Fatty was also happy to see the school flower; after all, he believed their ability to get along now was thanks to his efforts in matchmaking.

As expected of the school flower, as soon as Liu Shuyao stepped in, she felt the gaze of everyone converging on her.

“Wow! Wow!”

“The art major Liu Shuyao is here!”

“It’s really her~”

“Isn’t the school flower usually not into these events?”

“Maybe she’s here to cheer for Zheng Fuxin.”

“Wasn’t the campus heartthrob pursuing the school flower?”

“Perfect couple~”

“......”

The snippets of conversation inevitably reached Liu Shuyao's ears.

Her face flushed bright red.

What on earth are they talking about?

Rumors!

It’s all just rumors!

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