Chapter 13 P - Flowing Gold
Chu Beiling was surprised that Xing Yu had already gone to school without informing him. He remembered Xing Yu's casual "oh, I know" a couple of days ago.
Chu Beiling's face was more colorful than a 48-color paint box. His teeth were chattering. If Xing Yu were in front of him, he could pounce on him and bite him ten or eight times.
He was truly speechless. This person was definitely doing it on purpose. Xing Yu was simply a devil, his hell.
Grandma Chen asked, "What do you want to see him about?"
"It's alright, goodbye Grandma Chen." Chu Beiling instantly suppressed her displeasure, smiled and politely replied to Grandma Chen, just as she was about to leave when she was stopped by her.
Chu Beiling stopped and turned around: "What is it, Grandma Chen?"
Grandma Chen asked, "I heard from your mother that you and Xiaoyu go to the same school?"
Chu Beiling nodded: "Yes."
Grandma Chen took his hand: "Then could you please help me bring him something? He left too quickly at noon and didn't have time to give it to him."
Chu Beiling and Xing Yu had a long-standing feud, and Chu Beiling didn't want to have much contact with him in the first place. He was even going to act as Xing Yu's courier. Young Master Chu wouldn't stand for it. What did it have to do with him if Xing Yu forgot to take something?
But seeing Grandma Chen's expectant yet slightly pleading gaze, he just couldn't bring himself to refuse.
Chu Beiling thought:
Xing Yu is unworthy, but Grandma Chen is innocent. Well, we can't attack her indiscriminately.
Without much hesitation, Young Master Chu said, "Okay, give it to me, I'll take it to him."
"Okay, thank you." Grandma Chen smiled, her eyes crinkling with laughter. The wrinkles around her eyes gathered together, making her look gentle and kind, reminding him of Nobita's grandmother.
Chu Beiling stood at the door and watched as Grandma Chen walked heavily into the living room, grabbed a large bag of snacks, and solemnly handed it to him at the door.
Grandma Chen told him, "Remember to tell him to eat well at school. If he doesn't have time to eat, he can have some snacks to tide him over, but he shouldn't skip meals."
Chu Beiling was somewhat moved and envious, staring blankly at Grandma Chen's gentle and kind face.
Grandma Chen asked with a smile, "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing." Chu Beiling smiled and replied, freeing one hand to say goodbye to Grandma Chen, and walked downstairs with the snacks in her hand.
Uncle Zhao was already waiting downstairs. Seeing Chu Beiling's dejected appearance and not seeing Xing Yu, he asked in confusion, "What's wrong with you? Where's Xiao Yu? Hasn't he come down yet?"
"I went back to school by myself." Chu Beiling replied helplessly, then added, "Uncle Zhao, please don't tell Ms. Li about this."
Xing Yu ran away; he was genuinely afraid and disgusted by Ms. Li's endless nagging.
Uncle Zhao asked, "Did you and Xing Yu have another fight?"
Chu Beiling pursed her lips: "What do we have to argue about?" They disliked each other and couldn't stand each other.
As Chu Beiling got into the car with Xing Yu's snacks, the car had just left the gate when Uncle Zhao swerved to avoid a suddenly appearing electric scooter and braked sharply. Chu Beiling was almost thrown out, and most of the loosely tied snack bag spilled out.
Uncle Zhao parked the car and looked back at him: "Fanfan, are you alright?"
"It's nothing." Chu Beiling bent down and picked up the fallen cookies, bread, and candied fruit and put them back in the bag.
These snacks were the only ones he could eat at his grandmother's house in Qiandao Lake. They were all food offered to Buddha, and they were not just snacks, but also carried the beautiful blessings of peace and joy.
"Is anything broken?" Uncle Zhao in the front seat stared at the rearview mirror and called Chu Beiling several times.
"No." Chu Beiling stuffed the last sealed jar containing dried plum vegetables into the bag, noticing that the packaging looked like it was made by Grandma Chen herself.
Sitting up straight again and looking at the receding street scene outside the window, Chu Beiling felt a slight sting in her nose.
He now envies Xing Yu even more.
In the dormitory, some were tidying up, others were eating, and Chu Beiling searched the dormitory for a long time but couldn't find Xing Yu.
Grandma Chen said he went back to school at noon, so where is he?
As soon as the bag of snacks was placed on Xing Yu's desk, Xu Tunan, whose eyes were brighter than a thief's, rushed over like a bandit to snatch the food.
Chu Beiling slapped his hand away: "Don't touch it, this belongs to Xing Yu."
Xu Tunan leaned closer and put his arm around his shoulder: "You and Xing Yu don't get along, so why did you bring his snacks to school?"
"I brought it for him on behalf of someone else, not because of him." Chu Beiling then asked, "Where is Xing Yu?"
"I don't know. I haven't seen him since I came to school. He probably hasn't arrived yet." Xu Tunan asked in confusion, "Why do you look like you want to eat someone alive?"
Chu Beiling mechanically turned his head to look at Xu Tunan: "Hu Tutu, we're having Xing Yu's meat for dinner tonight. Do you want it pan-fried, stir-fried, or boiled?"
Xu Tunan quickly waved his hand: "No, no, no, I wouldn't dare."
“I think Xing Yu needs to be stir-fried. If he’s not put in the oil, he’ll most likely still struggle to his death and choke on people.” Chu Beiling slammed the sketchbook heavily on the table: “Terrible humans.”
Looking at Chu Beiling's devilish whisper, Xu Tunan thought to himself, "You look scarier now."
Chu Beiling was so angry that he didn't hear Xu Tunan's words at all. He picked up the picture book and prepared to leave.
Xu Tunan: "Hey, what are you doing? Calm down, don't go and fight with Xing Yu."
As soon as he finished speaking, Chu Beiling disappeared from the dormitory with his sketchbook and art supplies.
With nowhere to vent his pent-up anger, Chu Beiling decided to go to the lakeside at school to sketch, hoping to release his pent-up frustration and distract himself.
He paints when he's in a good mood, and he paints when he's in a bad mood; for him, it's the best medicine to cure everything.
As I passed the art building, the windows of the first-year art classroom on the first floor were wide open, indicating that someone was using it.
At this time, everyone is resting and organizing their things in the dormitory. Who would disregard their rest and squat alone in the scorching hot American teacher's room to be tortured?
Chu Beiling was a little curious and peeked into the American Academy.
Sunlight streamed obliquely into the room, half falling on the floor and half on Xing Yu. The curtains swayed in the breeze, creating dappled light and shadow that shifted, resulting in a hazy and dreamlike scene.
Xing Yu stood with both feet on the wooden easel bar, wearing black headphones, holding a palette in his left hand, and sketching on the paper with a wool brush in his right hand, his eyes switching back and forth between the still life and the drawing paper.
No matter how bright the sunlight was outside the window, he seemed completely oblivious to everything around him.
Chu Beiling: "You're really bold. You actually dare to openly draw with headphones on at school. Aren't you afraid of having your phone confiscated?"
In the art studio, they only take off their headphones when the teacher is explaining something; otherwise, they keep them close to their ears, listening to music from their phones or MP3 players. They need some sound while painting to quickly get into the zone and to prevent themselves from falling asleep while painting.
The school strictly prohibits bringing cell phones and MP3 players, and everyone restrains themselves and tries their best to hide their phones. There is absolutely no one as arrogant and audacious as Xing Yu.
Chu Beiling was lost in thought and completely unaware of her nemesis standing by the window.
Until the other side spoke—
"What is it?" Xing Yu looked down at him.
The dappled sunlight filtering through the branches divided them into light and shadow. Chu Beiling, standing in the shadows, slightly raised his eyes. In that instant, the sunlight fell directly on Xing Yu, filling his vision with gold.
Xing Yu was already a few centimeters taller than him, and standing in the flower bed, he was even taller. Chu Beiling didn't like being looked at like that, so he took a few steps back and stood on the flower bed at eye level with him.
"Grandma Chen asked me to bring you some snacks, which I left on your desk in your dorm room." Chu Beiling relayed Grandma Chen's message: "Grandma Chen told you to eat well, and if you don't have time to eat a proper meal, have some snacks to tide you over. Don't skip meals."
Xing Yu paused, his brows furrowing slightly, adding a touch of fierceness and displeasure to his already sharp features: "Thank you, but next time... you don't have to be so kind."
"I'm really fed up," Chu Beiling laughed in exasperation. He licked his lips, raised his chin, and looked at Xing Yu: "What's wrong with you? If it weren't for Grandma Chen's request, do you think I would have willingly carried such heavy things to school for you? You're not only ungrateful, but you're also being sarcastic!"
In the shadows, Chu Beiling's amber eyes were filled with a faint mist, giving him an angry and aggrieved look.
Xing Yu realized that his previous statement might not have expressed what he meant, and he planned to explain to Chu Beiling why he said that.
I had just organized my thoughts, but hadn't even had a chance to speak yet—
Chu Beiling had already jumped off the flower bed and was walking towards the lake.
"You keep calling me 'Third Brother' and 'Fourth Brother' all day long, you're insane! I don't owe you anything, you damn bastard, how can someone be so ungrateful?!"
Young Master Chu was in an even worse mood. He kicked a pebble in frustration and walked around the lake several times before finally finding a relatively satisfactory spot. He sat down on the grass by the lake and prepared to start sketching.
Young Master Chu took several deep breaths to quickly get into the zone. As soon as he started painting, he would immediately enter a state of flow, not thinking about or caring about anything, and nothing around him could affect him.
Even Xing Yu, who disliked each other, was completely absorbed in the images on screen.
Sketching, color theory, and quick sketching are the basic exercises that art students must do. In addition, Chu Beiling will also take time to sketch from life, which helps him focus and forget all his unhappiness.
When sketching, Chu Beiling likes scenes that tell a story; she can't help but record them whenever she sees them, she simply can't resist.
Xing Yu is one of them.
His face, everything about him, just by standing there, exudes a sense of mystery and a captivating, intriguing quality that compels one to delve deeper.
Upon seeing him, Chu Beiling felt an itch to draw him, but Xing Yu nipped her in the bud before she could even begin.
Chu Beiling still remembered the contents of the painting that Xing Yu had torn up:
Last autumn, the plane trees on Beishan Street turned yellow, and Chu Beiling and Li Dong decided to go sketching nearby and chase the sunset.
The sycamore trees, red maples, pavilions and towers, and the blue lake water complement each other, creating a beautiful autumn scene throughout the city. Chu Beiling only saw Xing Yu, who was sitting alone on a bench at the street corner, bending over and using fallen leaves to scatter swarms of ants.
Chu Beiling couldn't resist including Xing Yu, who was stroking ants, as the centerpiece of the autumn scenery of the city in her album.
"As the sun sets and melts into gold, the WE1314 bus travels from north to south on an endless road. The warm evening sun shines through the gaps in the plane trees, scattering its light across the bustling Beishan Street. As far as the eye can see, everything is bathed in a soft orange-yellow hue. Xing Yu stands amidst the interplay of color and light, bright and dazzling."
Chu Beiling deliberately blurred the autumn colors of Beishan Street, making them merely a backdrop for Xing Yu.
He is the sole protagonist of the autumn scenery that fills the city.
The autumn scenery of Hangzhou did not exist for him, but it was captured because of him.
Chu Beiling squatted to the side, finished drawing, and just signed: "Beishan Rongjin, November 27, 2011, Beishan Street."
Xing Yu, who was stroking ants, walked over, took the sketchbook that was still wet, glanced at him, and without saying a word or paying attention to his explanations and persuasion, tore the "North Mountain Melting Gold" picture out of the sketchbook, tore it into pieces, and stuffed it into his pocket.
This is utterly incomprehensible.
If Li Dong hadn't held him back, Chu Beiling would have almost gotten into a fight with Xing Yu on the endlessly romantic Beishan Street.
Staring intently at the painting for a long time, Chu Beiling didn't make a single stroke. He suddenly felt that while the scenery by the lake on campus was beautiful, it lacked a sense of story. It wasn't as story-driven as Xing Yu, who was painting still life in the art classroom.
Chu Beiling suddenly felt bored, so she took the sketchbook and walked back to the art building, intending to go to the art education department to paint apples and ceramic jars.
The doors and windows of the American church were tightly shut, and Xing Yu was not inside.
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