Chapter 92 P-Canvas

After the first day's itinerary ended, they took a bus back to the hotel. There were no sketching activities scheduled for the evening, so they were free to do as they pleased.

Xu Tunan had already scouted out an old street nearby and suggested they go out for a stroll.

They were in a remote ancient town with a distinct Jiangnan charm and a rich artistic atmosphere. People who came here were either sketching or painting, as well as the local residents.

Even during the peak May Day holiday, there weren't many people; they were all drawn to a few famous tourist attractions.

This ancient street is lively but not crowded, and it's peaceful and leisurely perfect for a stroll.

A group of young men and women entered a Suzhou-style noodle shop at the street corner. It was past lunchtime, so the window seats were available. Outside the window, red lanterns illuminated the white walls and gray tiles, boats shuttled back and forth, and the soft Suzhou dialect and storytelling could be faintly heard. Pedestrians were also taking a quiet stroll on the bluestone pavement.

While waiting for their meal, Chu Beiling painted this scene of the ancient tower and canal, while Xing Yu painted him.

Li Dong and Sheng Xia were glued to each other, scrolling through their phones and occasionally exchanging a few words about the hottest idols lately. Xu Tunan, feeling superfluous, stared at the chat interface for a long time with nothing to do, then put down his phone and sighed.

As Chu Beiling finished drawing, she heard a sigh and looked up. She assumed that Xu Tunan was sighing sadly because he was being ignored, so she put the sketchbook aside to dry and started talking to him.

"Have something to eat. Nothing can't be calmed down by a meal." He pushed the few side dishes that the restaurant had given him in front of Xu Tunan, trying to soothe his wounded heart.

Xu Tunan picked up a few diced radishes and put them in his mouth: "They're all pickled vegetables. Looks like I'm really bored."

"If it's so difficult, then I won't force you." Chu Beiling suppressed a laugh and pulled the plate back.

Xu Tunan patted him: "Let go, are you going so far as to not even let us eat pickled vegetables?"

Xing Yu paused slightly, lowered his eyes and continued finishing. Chu Beiling noticed him looking at her, leaned closer to look, and asked with a smile, "Am I prettier, or is Jing prettier?"

Xing Yu tapped his nose with his pen: "The scenery is all the same, but you are a limited edition."

Chu Beiling was overjoyed by the praise: "When you finish drawing, can I borrow your hand for a moment?"

Xing Yu: "What are you planning to do?"

Chu Beiling raised an eyebrow: "Guess."

Xing Yu's thoughts wandered for a moment before returning to the main point: "Using my hand as a canvas?!"

Chu Beiling snapped his fingers: "Bingo." He leaned closer and poked Xing Yu's sunken neck: "Will you lend it to me or not?"

Xing Yu lifted his eyelids slightly: "What goes around comes around, are you sure?"

At that time, Chu Beiling had not fully understood the meaning behind his words. Seeing that Xing Yu seemed to agree, she quickly nodded and replied, "Of course."

"Okay." Xing Yu nodded slightly.

"Love isn't going well..." Xu Tunan glanced at his four friends who were completely absorbed in their own worlds, tapped the table, and said resentfully, "And you guys have abandoned our friendship too."

He has no interest in drawing. He drew all day today, and whether he can even hold chopsticks tonight is another matter, but he doesn't want to draw anymore.

I don't know where they get their enthusiasm from all day long.

Chu Beiling smiled sheepishly as an apology, but quickly realized, "Who did you confess to and get rejected?"

Now everyone looked up at him.

Xu Tunan: "You'll be terrified if I told you."

Li Dong couldn't help but tease him: "Even if you like Xiaobaicai, I think it's normal, it won't scare you."

Xu Tunan retorted, "It's a Chinese cabbage, is that scary enough?"

Li Dong: "That cabbage family is so unlucky."

The two of them bickered, which was always boring and pointless, like chicks pecking at each other, but it was quite good at livening up the atmosphere. A few people leisurely watched the show while drinking tea and eating melon seeds.

Seeing that the two had calmed down, Chu Beiling asked, "So who exactly is it? Do we know them?"

Xu Tunan beckoned them closer: "I know them, we are..."

Chu Beiling and Li Dong leaned forward slightly, while Sheng Xia and Xing Yu also adopted an attitude of listening attentively.

“There’s nothing to say,” Xu Tunan said. “You bunch of emotionless, boundary-bound, lifelong singles don’t understand what it feels like for me to like someone.”

'Emotionless, boundary-bound, lifelong singles': "..."

The group waited for him for a long time, only to hear this sentence. They couldn't tell whether he was teasing them or serious.

Four packs of tissues flew toward Xu Tunan's arms at once. He gathered them up and threw them back one by one, saying, "I misspoke. What's the rush?"

Li Dong pointed to the river below: "Tell me half the gossip, or you can either tell me the rest or jump in and apologize. You choose one."

While they were chatting, their crab roe noodles were served.

Xu Tunan rubbed his hands together and said, "Finally, I can have this bite."

'Emotionless, boundary-bound, lifelong singles': "..."

Seeing that Xu Tunan changed the subject and didn't seem to intend to say anything, the group decided to let it go for the time being, even if they wanted to kill him.

They are not gossipy people; if the other party doesn't want to talk about it, they won't ask no matter how curious they are.

However, this debt has been recorded.

After leaving the noodle shop, the group strolled leisurely to the dock where they boarded the covered boats. Many cultural and creative shops were concentrated in this area, and at the fork in the road, there was a stall selling portraits, where tourists sat in front of easels and had their heads drawn by the artists.

Xu Tunan said, "Look, this is where we'll end up."

“No,” Chu Beiling glanced at him, “My future career is as a plasterer, Master Chu, a professional plasterer.”

Li Dong: "That's great, it's a perfect match for your major."

Chu Beiling laughed and said, "That's right."

Xing Yu: "Count me in."

“Sure,” Chu Beiling tilted his head and winked playfully, “Master Chu will treat you to a life of luxury.”

They walked into the cultural and creative store chatting and laughing. In the corner of the store, they saw many refrigerator magnets. Chu Beiling picked one up and looked at the price: "It's a bit pricey."

He could buy two Baymaxes for that price.

In the height of summer, she opened the orange app and handed it to him; "Same as the one in the small commodities market, two for 9.9 yuan, you won't lose out."

The miserly young master Chu decisively sucked the refrigerator magnet back in and opened a certain orange-colored app.

Seeing Xing Yu put the refrigerator magnet back down in his palm, Chu Beiling tapped it: "I just placed an order. Anyway, it's a souvenir, so it doesn't matter where you buy it. The money saved can buy a half-Big White. Let's save where we can, paint is quite expensive."

Xing Yu lifted his eyelids slightly: "It's different."

Chu Beiling asked curiously, "How is it different?"

Xing Yu: "You've already touched this."

Chu Beiling was taken aback, then raised an eyebrow, deliberately teasing him out of genuine curiosity: "Young Master Xing paid for everything I touched tonight."

Xing Yu wasn't that extravagant, but he said, "If you want it, you can."

"..." Chu Beiling said, "Buy less, save some for my betrothal gifts."

Xing Yu: "That's a separate matter."

The two leaned against the shelf, and Chu Beiling poked Xing Yu's Adam's apple: "You're even more petty than this."

Xing Yu removed Chu Beiling's mischievous paws, scratched Chu Beiling's palm, and said calmly, "Smaller than a cell."

Chu Beiling: "..."

After visiting several shops and buying a lot of trinkets, we were almost done shopping. Another pier for the covered boats was near the hotel. After asking the boatman and confirming that it would stop there, we all decided to charter a covered boat.

Upon arriving at their destination and disembarking from the ship, Xing Yu said to them, "Wait a minute."

After saying that, he jogged over to an old woman selling jasmine flower bracelets. He said something to her, and the old woman cut out a long wire and started to re-weave the bracelet.

Chu Beiling walked over. On the small white table were some finished jasmine flower bracelets and sachets. Under the small lamp, the old woman was carefully weaving the bracelets and had even added a few roses.

He glanced at Xing Yu and said, "Isn't there something ready-made?"

Xing Yu: "Wait a minute."

Chu Beiling nodded obediently, looked down at the old woman weaving, and after a while, she realized that the old woman was not weaving a bracelet, but a flower wreath.

Having figured out the weaving method, young Master Chu was eager to try. He asked, "Grandma, can I try weaving one?"

The old woman smiled and said, "Sure." Then she put down the flower wreath and handed Chu Beiling a piece of wire.

By the time he finished making his bracelet, the old lady had also finished making her rose and jasmine wreath.

Chu Beiling tied the newly braided jasmine bracelet to Xing Yu's wrist, saying, "Flowers for a beautiful woman."

“You’re right, flowers go well with beautiful women, and I am not you.” Xing Yu took the flower wreath from the old woman and placed it on Chu Beiling’s head.

Fresh jasmine, glistening with dew, exuded a sweet floral fragrance, mixed with the faint lemon scent on Xing Yu's body. It was clean, pure, and a very refreshing herbal aroma, but Chu Beiling was so overwhelmed by the scent that she felt like she couldn't breathe.

Xing Yu let go of Chu Beiling's hand, paid the money, and smiled as he looked at the dazed Chu Beiling. He then took Chu Beiling's wrist and led him toward the intersection, before letting go of his hand again in a crowded area.

As soon as the grip on his hand loosened, Chu Beiling came to her senses and tried to pull him back, only to realize there were many people around. She then reluctantly withdrew her hand, which had been hanging in mid-air.

Li Dong laughed and said, "Now you really look like the Little Prince."

Chu Beiling glanced at her disdainfully: "Don't call me that, it doesn't sound imposing at all."

Li Dong teased him intentionally: "Then I'll take it off, I'll take off your 1.8-meter-tall top."

Chu Beiling stopped touching the flower wreath, and Xing Yu also looked over. He instantly blushed and began to stammer, "I...I...how could I...you brat, what are you saying? Are you looking for a beating?!"

Sheng Xia covered her mouth and chuckled beside Li Dong.

Desperate straight man Xu Tunan looked completely bewildered: "What do you mean?"

Li Dong: "It means praise."

"Really?" Xu Tunan looked at Chu Beiling's multicolored face with suspicion, already certain that Li Dong was lying to him.

Chu Beiling couldn't find the words to retort, so she stomped her foot in frustration and ran away.

Xing Yu glanced helplessly at Li Dong and chased after him.

Boys at this age are most restless. They just got together today and were in the same room. That brat Li Dong probably figured something out, which is why she joked so recklessly.

Young Master Chu's mind was a mess, and he was somewhat delirious.

He leaned against the door of the room, trying to regulate his breathing.

Roll call was immediately taken, and the others returned one after another. Ren, who lived across the hall, saw him leaning against the door, breathing heavily, and went up to ask him with concern.

"Little Prince Fanfan, are you alright?"

Chu Beiling shook her head: "It's nothing. I'm just a little tired from running here. I'll rest for a bit and I'll be fine."

He nodded casually: "Why don't you go inside and rest?"

Chu Beiling: "The magnetic card is in Xing Yu's hands."

He casually moved a stool out of the room and placed it in front of him: "I'll go in first. Call us if you need anything."

Chu Beiling waved his hand to indicate that he was fine and asked her to move the stool back.

Nod and do as instructed.

After waiting for a while, Xing Yu, who had caught up, stepped forward. Chu Beiling came to his senses, but because he was too guilty, his reaction was much slower.

Xing Yu: "I'll open the door."

Chu Beiling moved aside.

The magnetic card clicked briefly as it was attached to the door lock. Xing Yu grasped the doorknob and opened the door. Chu Beiling followed him into the room, feeling as if time had slowed down considerably.

The floral and lemon scents enveloped Chu Beiling, and she recalled Xing Yu's direct and intense gaze from just now.

During the period of inner turmoil he was going through, he did some research and inevitably learned about men and men... Chu Beiling had also seen countless human sculptures, explicit, subtle, double figures. He hadn't felt much for them before, but now—

The thought of spending the next few days in the same space as Xing Yu was daunting.

My whole body felt hot.

Chu Beiling pursed her lips, quickly walked past Xing Yu, and rummaged through the box to find her pajamas: "I'm going to take a shower first."

He wasn't any better than Chu Beiling, Xing Yu took a shallow breath and said calmly, "Go."

Chu Beiling, clutching her pajamas, hurriedly fled into the bathroom and locked the door.

He turned around and was completely stunned.

He hadn't noticed at all during the day that the bathroom door was frosted glass.

It's frosted glass.

It's made of glass.

With the lights on, everything inside and outside was laid bare—he could clearly see Xing Yu's blurry silhouette frozen in time.

It has obviously been discovered as well.

A message popped up in the class group chat, where there were no teachers present. The sports committee member posted: "Damn it, this hotel bathroom is made of glass."

Math class representative: [I mean, this is so embarrassing, speechless/jpg]

Xu Tunan: [No, the white walls, are you made of glass?]

Wang Qi: [Neither are we.]

The deputy squad leader said, "We're made of glass, right? Are the double rooms made of glass?"

After checking the accounts, the group discovered that only the bathroom door in the double room had a glass door; the others did not.

Wang Gou: [This is too much! @FloorEater, can I borrow your bathroom?]

Xu Tunan asked Ke Jincheng to confirm that he didn't mind, then replied: "Okay, come over here."

Students in the double rooms all asked their close friends to use the bathroom.

Chu Beiling lowered his eyes and looked for a while before starting to select his troops.

Go find Xu Tunan and borrow the bathroom!

Why don't you go ask Xu Tunan to borrow the bathroom!

Go find Xu Tunan and borrow the bathroom!

...

Then he remembered that Xing Yu would see everything he was doing inside, so he decided to go all the way and stripped himself naked before stepping into the shower.

Frosted glass doesn't allow you to see all the light.

Who's afraid of who?

The sound of water filled the air, and Xing Yu looked up. The bathroom glass reflected Chu Beiling's body outline: broad shoulders, narrow waist, and long, straight legs, as well as... moving on the glass as he applied shower gel.

Xing Yu took a deep breath, turned around and went to the refrigerator on the bar, pulled out a bottle of mineral water, unscrewed it, and gulped down the whole bottle in one go.

The icy water slid down my throat into my stomach, but the dryness did not lessen at all; on the contrary, it grew stronger with the sound of water coming from the bathroom.

Xing Yu lifted his leg and walked into the room, but after taking two steps, he turned back and leaned against the wardrobe by the door, waiting for Chu Beiling to finish.

After an unknown amount of time, the bathroom door opened and Chu Beiling came out wearing a blue pajamas.

"You've been standing here the whole time?" There was a blind spot in the bathroom, and he only saw Xing Yu at the beginning; he wasn't sure about the rest.

Xing Yu glanced at the deserted bathroom behind him: "I guess so."

After a moment of silence, Chu Beiling said, "Go wash up."

Xing Yu took the clothes into the bathroom. Chu Beiling shifted her position, but ultimately felt too embarrassed to stay by the bed. Instead, she leaned against the door like Xing Yu, waiting for him to finish.

The phone rang, and Xu Tunan asked him, "Do you and Xing Yu need to use our bathroom?"

Chu Beiling: [No need.]

[Question mark] Xu Tunan said: [You've resolved your conflict? Even if it's resolved, it shouldn't be this awkward...]

Chu Beiling: [Waiting in the entryway.]

Then she replied: "We didn't have any conflict to begin with."

Xu Tunan values ​​their friendship and hopes that the five of them can stay together and, ideally, stay together forever.

Hearing this, his mood brightened considerably, and he said, "Then I'm relieved."

When Xing Yu came out, Chu Beiling put away his phone and went to greet him, his heart pounding. He desperately needed to find something to distract himself, otherwise he wouldn't be able to get through the night.

Chu Beiling said in a hoarse voice, "It's still early, let's not... um, let's go to sleep. How about we draw a picture?"

Xing Yu raised an eyebrow: "Use my hands as a canvas?"

Chu Beiling paused for a moment, then continued, "Yes—" He added, "You just promised me."

Xing Yu glanced at him and suddenly asked, "Did you just wash it with cold water?"

Oh no, I was in such a rush to leave that I forgot to adjust myself. Now that I've been caught, there's no point in denying it.

Meeting his deep, unfathomable gaze, Chu Beiling nodded guiltily, "It's a bit hot, and it's almost summer. Washing with cold water, well, it's not a problem, is it?"

Xing Yu suddenly said, "I can help in another way, do you want?"

Chu Beiling's breath hitched.