Chapter 44 Chapter 44 Fortunately, you are with me

Pei Shuyu was boneless. Without waiting for Ji Yan's answer, he leaned his body over as if he knew the place well and leaned on the latter's shoulder without a care in the world.

But because of Bian Mengfan, she did not act recklessly.

As for Qi Ying and Hua Yu, they were happy to watch their actions, and Pei Shuyu didn't mind doing some intimate things in front of them.

Anyway, the impact won't be too big.

Pei Shuyu rested her forehead on Ji Yan's shoulder, closed her eyes, and let her hands hang down. A few slender fingers were stained with some paint. In order not to stain Ji Yan's clothes, she did not hug her.

The pressure and fatigue from two months of training finally released a little while they were out sketching. Pei Shuyu's throat moved, "It's so uncomfortable."

Her voice was very soft, like a gust of wind passing by. Ji Yan just caught the last syllable when the head on his shoulder lifted up.

Pei Shuyu exhaled, her smile returning to normal, and she swung her arms a few times, "My hands are a little sore from painting."

Ji Yan frowned silently, clasped his palms together, pressed his thumb on Pei Shuyu's knuckles, and kneaded them gently and slowly.

She turned sideways to block Bian Mengfan's occasional glance.

Ji Yan asked, "Are you feeling better?"

Pei Shuyu raised her lips: "Better."

After strolling back and forth on the platform for a few times, Pei Shuyu hooked her eye on Ji Yan and, while the three painters were not paying attention to them, she slipped behind them.

Ji Yan shook her clasped little fingers, silently asking Pei Shuyu what she was going to do.

Pei Shuyu just shook his head, then pointed to the uphill path, and then pointed to the road on the other side of the pavilion.

Ji Yan tilted her head.

It was a rare moment for her to show a puzzled look, and Pei Shuyu couldn't help laughing.

This laugh immediately attracted the three people in front to look back.

Qi Ying was painting the reflections in the lake, with light-colored paint dangling from the tip of his brush.

She narrowed her eyes. “You better not be laughing at my painting.”

Hua Yu followed closely: "You'd better not be laughing at my painting."

Bian Mengfan didn't say anything, but just looked at Pei Shuyu in confusion.

Pei Shuyu raised her hands and begged for mercy: "No, I'm not laughing at you."

Qi Ying: "Really?"

Pei Shuyu: "Of course..." She paused intentionally, looking at the expressions of the three people, and added slowly, "Really."

She spread her hands helplessly: "Am I the kind of person who would laugh at others?"

Qi Ying and Hua Yu looked at each other and answered in unison: "You are."

Pei Shuyu: "Ji Yan, look at them, they are bullying me again."

Ji Yan: “…”

It was a deserted place, and Pei Shuyu didn't try to hold her voice back, her drawn-out sweet tone making one's scalp tingle.

Ji Yan: "She was just making hand gestures with me because she was afraid of disturbing you guys while you were painting. She couldn't help but laugh out loud. She didn't mean to laugh at you."

Qi Ying suddenly realized: "So that's how it is."

Pei Shuyu rolled her eyes: "Why, you can't believe what I say."

Hua Yu: "It's not that I can't believe it, but it's not as convincing as Ji Yan's words."

Pei Shuyu looked expectantly at Bian Mengfan, who had little contact with Ji Yan.

Bian Mengfan: "Well... a little bit."

Pei Shuyu was heartbroken. One or two of her friends stood by Ji Yan's side. She was happy in her heart, but her face showed a hurt expression. "Since that's the case, I won't stay here any longer. Goodbye."

After saying that, she pulled Ji Yan up the hill and said, "See you in the rivers and lakes."

Qi Ying commented sharply: "Pretentious."

Hua Yu: "Actually, I just don't want to paint anymore. I want to go out and play."

Bian Mengfan silently participated: "Then they put the blame for not painting on us."

As soon as the words fell, the three of them sighed in unison.

Ji Yan bent her lips, and Pei Shuyu, who was holding her breath, saw it.

The man immediately started to make a scene: "Ji Yan, you laughed at me." She pounded her chest in pain, in disbelief, "You helped them bully me."

The two of them went up the slope. Due to the height difference, the lush vegetation blocked their figures. There were a few people sitting scattered on the winding and wide road ahead.

There are tall trees on both sides of the road. The trees are the main body, and the road in the middle enhances the sense of space.

After walking around these people, Ji Yan said, "I didn't help them bully you."

Pei Shuyu: "You obviously have it."

Ji Yan smiled: "If you say yes, then yes."

Pei Shuyu widened her eyes. When did her Ji Yan become like this? She remembered that this kind of rogue-like temperament was something only she could display.

It's over, Ji Yan has learned bad things from her.

Pei Shuyu reflected briefly for two seconds.

Her expression was written all over her face. Ji Yan lowered her eyes, hiding the smile in them.

The deeper you go, the more people you meet and the better the scenery becomes.

There is lush green everywhere.

Pei Shuyu found a place to sit down. After two months of training, her mysophobia was cured.

"Wait a minute," she stopped Ji Yan from sitting down, took out a small packet of paper from her pocket, folded two sheets on the grass, and said, "Sit down."

Ji Yan's eyes dimmed slightly, and she pursed her lips and sat down: "Why don't you put on the mat?"

Pei Shuyu didn't care: "Anyway, these clothes will be thrown away after the provincial unified exam, so it's a waste to use them as padding."

She had been wearing only dark clothes for the past two months, and the fabric was covered with patches of indelible paint.

She called these clothes "special clothes for painting."

It's not just her, most of the people in the art school have similar ideas.

At this stage of painting, few art students can keep wearing clean clothes every day to paint.

Pei Shuyu grabbed the paint that had gotten on his trouser leg at some point and pulled it out. The dried paint fell off, raising a layer of dust particles.

Ji Yan recalled that when Pei Shuyu had just started working in the studio, she couldn't stand getting stained with paint or charcoal dust, and would often immediately use hand soap or facial cleanser to wash off her stains after finishing a painting.

Now I can fiddle with these things as if they were nothing.

Feeling distressed, Ji Yan covered Pei Shuyu's hand and asked softly, "Pei Shuyu, are you still happy?"

Pei Shuyu's words "It hurts so much" echoed faintly in my ears.

Pei Shuyu was stunned for a moment, then realized what Ji Yan was talking about. She said, "I'm happy. After all, I really like painting." She looked up at the sky, her vision half occupied by leaves. "But I'm really tired."

After mechanically painting repetitive things and forming muscle memory, I can accurately find the color I want without even looking at the paint box and without any expression.

This is not what Pei Shuyu wanted to draw, but it is part of the provincial unified examination.

She placed her hands on the ground, her eyes blinking unfocusedly. "It's okay. My senior said that once I get to college, I'll be able to freely draw whatever I want."

She turned her head and said, "Last time, my senior sent me the entrance exam results for the Art Academy of University A, which included portraits of people in color."

She used her eyes to outline Ji Yan's face and features. "I've never painted a color portrait before. It sounds interesting."

It should be much more interesting than sketching a portrait.

Ji Yan peeled the lollipop beside her and stuffed it into Pei Shuyu's mouth: "Hold on for a few more months."

Sweetness spread in her mouth. Pei Shuyu pinched the stick of the lollipop and said, "Yeah, good."

After sitting for a while, Ji Yan asked, "Your teacher said we need to hand in two landscape paintings today. Are you in time?"

Pei Shuyu's painting of the lake seemed almost finished, but some objects were still a little lacking.

Pei Shuyu said, "It's still in time."

She stood up with one hand, reached out to pull Ji Yan up, then patted the dust off her pants and continued walking forward.

At the end of the avenue are several small paths. It was Pei Shuyu's first time here, so he didn't dare to run around for fear of snakes, insects, and other creatures.

She has always been afraid of this.

Picking a populated area, Pei Shuyu said, "It's a bit slippery, be careful."

Ji Yan: "Yeah, you too."

After walking along the small path, there is another big road.

There are more people here, and densely packed easels are placed one after another.

Pei Shuyu was shocked: "No wonder I didn't meet many people, everyone is gathered here."

Suddenly, a stick fell.

Pei Shuyu's head sank, his eyes moved up, and a teaching stick appeared in his pupils.

The sketching teacher was pleased with her reaction: "Where have you been? I haven't seen you since."

Pei Shuyu said "ah" and described the place where he was sketching.

Sketching teacher: "You don't even need to take two more steps." She changed the subject and said, "Are you drawing? Have you taken any photos?"

Pei Shuyu: "No."

Sketching teacher: "Are you done?"

Pei Shuyu lied with his eyes wide open: "I've finished drawing one."

The sketching teacher asked Ji Yan, "Has she finished drawing one?"

Pei Shuyu: "..."

No, what do you mean? I don’t believe her words. How come Ji Yan’s words are so credible?

Pei Shuyu was not convinced.

Ji Yan said, "Teacher, she has finished drawing one."

Listen, even though he believed Ji Yan's words so much, the other party was still telling lies seriously. What's the difference between him and her?

Pei Shuyu moved half a step towards Ji Yan without leaving any trace, and pinched Ji Yan's wrist lightly.

Ji Yan raised her eyebrows.

The sketching teacher left, and Pei Shuyu said angrily, "Tsk, don't some people even draft their lies?"

Ji Yan: "Then I'll go tell the teacher now that I remembered it wrongly. Your painting is not finished yet."

As she said this, she pretended to go and call the sketching teacher.

Pei Shuyu was so frightened that he immediately stopped her from raising her arm and smiled apologetically: "I was wrong."

She has always been fast at sliding on her knees.

If she endures for a while, everything will remain calm. Her broad mind is more than enough to endure all this.

Pei Shuyu's brain was working rapidly.

Ji Yan: "Well, I forgive you."

Pei Shuyu: "...Ji Yan, you've become a bad person."

Ji Yan: "Yeah, I understand."

Pei Shuyu was amused by her: "What's your reaction?"

She opened her arms, and the sunlight shone through the gaps between the leaves, casting specks of light on her dark clothes.

Pei Shuyu took a deep breath and said, "I know why the art school arranged for us to come out to sketch."

Ji Yan: "Why?"

Pei Shuyu said seriously, "I'm afraid we'll go crazy in the studio."

During this time of year and the month leading up to the provincial unified examination, the most people collapse. If we don't take them out to get close to nature, they will probably be driven mentally unstable due to the pressure.

Pei Shuyu held Ji Yan's hand. "Luckily, you're here with me," she joked. "Otherwise, I'd probably have a mental breakdown too."