After school studio
Since the collaboration at the art festival, the studio seems to have become their tacit "secret base".
Now, this place has added a layer of meaning that belongs only to them.
After school, they would come to the studio one after another as before.
It's still quiet here, and the smell of turpentine and paint in the air is soothing.
That collaborative painting, “Autumn Whispers,” has been taken away, received honors at an arts festival, and now hangs in the school’s gallery.
The drawing board was replaced with the portrait that Jiang Yile had mentioned before, which he wanted to draw for Gu Nanxiao.
But today, Jiang Yile did not start painting immediately.
She looked at Gu Nanxiao, who was standing by the window, his silhouette outlined golden by the afterglow of the setting sun, and suddenly an idea popped up in her mind.
"Gu Nanxiao," she put down her paintbrush and walked over to him, "Today... let's not paint a portrait. How about we paint something else?"
He turned his head, a question in his eyes.
Jiang Yile took out a new, smaller piece of drawing paper from the easel, fixed it on the drawing board, and then handed him a charcoal pencil.
Her eyes sparkled, a hint of cunning and anticipation in them: "You draw me, I draw you. No looking at each other's paper. After we finish, we swap. How about that?"
The proposal was bold and had a childish, playful quality that was inconsistent with his usually calm personality.
Gu Nanxiao was obviously stunned. He looked at the charcoal pencil handed to him and hesitated for a moment.
"I...can't draw well."
He whispered, with a rare, unsure evasion in his tone.
He seemed reluctant to write in front of her, as if that would touch upon some past that he did not want to face.
"It's okay," Jiang Yile said with a bright and encouraging smile, "It's just a casual drawing, not a test. I want to see how you see me." She paused, her voice softening, "Besides, the motorcycle in your sketchbook is really well drawn."
Her persistence and trust, like warm running water, slowly melted the ice in his heart.
He looked into her clear, expectant eyes, and finally took the charcoal pencil, applying a little pressure with his fingertips.
So, the two of them each occupied a corner of the studio, turned their backs to each other, and began this silent "competition."
The only sounds in the studio were the scraping of charcoal across paper and the gentle breathing of each other.
Jiang Yile painted very seriously. She tried hard to capture all the subtle expressions of his in her memory - the slightly furrowed brows when he was thinking, the focused eyes when he was reading, and... the imperceptible tenderness when he occasionally looked at her.
She drew very carefully, wanting to capture every bit of his beauty on paper.
On Gu Nanxiao's side, there was some stagnation at first, but soon, the rustling sound began to sound regularly.
He seemed to have let go of some burden, and his brushstrokes gradually became smoother from being awkward.
Time passes in silence.
When Jiang Yile put down the last stroke and breathed a sigh of satisfaction, Gu Nanxiao also stopped almost at the same time.
The two turned around, holding their respective drawing papers, and walked towards each other.
Jiang Yile couldn't wait to see herself in his painting, but when she saw the drawing paper, she was stunned for a moment, and her heart seemed to skip a beat.
On the drawing paper, there are no clumsy or simple lines as might be expected.
He uses a very realistic sketching technique with a personal style.
In the painting, she sits in front of an easel, her head slightly tilted, a gentle smile on her lips, her eyes bright and focused, as if she is looking at something that brings her joy.
The light and shadow are handled very well, depicting the soft lines of her cheeks and the slightly curled ends of her hair vividly.
What shocked her even more was that he caught an expression that she herself had never noticed—a peaceful and soft state of being immersed in a certain happiness.
He draws... so well.
It was so good that it exceeded her expectations, so good that she could clearly feel the meticulous observation and... indescribable emotions he had put into painting her.
"you……"
Jiang Yile raised his head and looked at him in surprise, not knowing what to say for a moment.
Gu Nanxiao seemed a little embarrassed, turned his head slightly, and his ears turned red.
He didn't explain why he had such skilled painting skills, but just asked in a low voice: "What about yours?"
Jiang Yile finally came to his senses and quickly handed over his drawing, feeling a little uneasy.
Compared to his, my own drawings...seem a bit too "childish".
Gu Nanxiao took the drawing paper and looked down.
In the painting, he is standing by the window, with the sunlight falling on him. He lowers his head slightly and looks out the window. His profile is quiet, but there seems to be a very faint upward curve at the corner of his mouth.
She used softer lines that were more like comics to highlight his handsome features and deep eyes, which she made look particularly gentle.
He looked for a long time, so long that Jiang Yile began to feel uneasy.
"I...I can't draw as well as you..."
She muttered softly, a little annoyed.
At this time, Gu Nanxiao slowly raised his head and looked at her.
His eyes were deep, filled with complex emotions, including surprise, touch, and a kind of... tenderness that was almost cherishing.
"Very beautiful." He said, his voice a little hoarse, but with unquestionable seriousness, "Better than me in person..."
This sentence is exactly the same as what I said in the coffee shop.
Jiang Yile was stunned at first, then he remembered what he had blurted out at that time, "You are just good-looking", and his cheeks turned red instantly.
The atmosphere in the studio suddenly became ambiguous.
He looked at her blushing cheeks and sparkling eyes. There seemed to be stars shining in her quiet eyes.
He took a step closer to her.
The distance between the two of them was instantly shortened, so close that they could feel each other's breath.
The smell of turpentine mixed with his clean and refreshing scent wrapped her tightly.
Jiang Yile's heartbeat was so fast that it almost jumped out of her chest. She subconsciously held her breath and watched him slowly lower his head.
His target was her lips.
Just like that passionate kiss under the banyan tree on that rainy night.
However, just as his lips were about to touch her plump lips, there was a sudden noise of footsteps approaching from outside the studio door, as well as the sound of several boys laughing!
The two of them jumped away quickly like frightened rabbits, each taking a step back and keeping a safe distance.
Gu Nanxiao quickly turned over the drawing paper in his hand and placed it on the table next to him. His movements were so fast that they were almost as fast as the wind.
Jiang Yile also turned around hurriedly, pretending to organize his paintbrushes, his heart still pounding.
The door of the studio was pushed open, and several junior students from the art club came in noisily. When they saw them, they were stunned for a moment, greeted them, and then began to pack their things.
The beautiful moment just now, when the air seemed to be frozen, was completely broken.
Gu Nanxiao and Jiang Yile looked at each other and saw the same nervousness, shyness, and a hint of helplessness at being disturbed in each other's eyes.
"Let's go."
Gu Nanxiao picked up the two people's schoolbags, and his voice returned to its usual cold and clear tone, but if you listened carefully, you could still detect a subtle tension.
"Um."
Jiang Yile nodded, followed him and walked out of the studio.
The setting sun stretched their shadows very long and intertwined them, like two children who secretly shared a secret and had a tacit understanding.
Although the kiss was interrupted, the sweetness and throbbing that surged in each other's hearts were like vines, entwining tighter and deeper.
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