Chapter 15 The man's gaze was dark and unfathomable, fixed intently on Xin Mian.
After the two came out of the kitchen, Qin Shengtian noticed a drawing board in the living room.
"Mianmian, is this your drawing board?"
"You can draw!?"
She looked at Xinmian with surprise, "Did you paint the ornament you gave me yourself?"
Xin Mian smiled and nodded generously, "Yes, I drew it myself, and then found a shop online to DIY it."
"You're amazing!" Qin Shengtian praised sincerely, which made Xin Mian laugh out loud. "Are we... praising each other?"
Hahahaha.
Qin Shengtian was overjoyed. "I'm genuinely praising you, after all, my drawing skills are only at the stick figure level."
The fat orange cat tapped the tablet on the table with its paw, and the screen lit up, displaying an adorable children's illustration.
Qin Shengtian exclaimed, "With your skill level, you could totally make a living as an artist."
She's an amateur; all she can do is exclaim "Wow!" or "That's amazing!"
Xin Mian smiled, her dimples appearing, her smile sweet. "I usually draw children's picture books for publishing houses, and I take on some freelance work when I have free time."
“Look,” she said, opening the tablet to show Qin Shengtian some of her old drawings, “This was the first commercial order I ever received. Looking back now, my drawings weren’t very polished back then.”
She said that, but when she looked at her work, her eyes sparkled, as if a small, passionate flame had been ignited within them.
"This is the first time I've ever handled a children's picture book..."
"And this is a cartoon illustration of a restaurant's dishes that we've taken on."
For almost every piece of work, she could immediately recount the circumstances surrounding the order.
Those beautiful, clear black and white eyes held a love for each of her paintings.
Qin Shengtian was drawn to the light in her eyes and exclaimed again, "Mianmian, you're amazing!"
"We're both recent graduates, how come there's such a big difference between us..."
She looked up at the sky and sighed heavily, "I'm still confused about my future."
Xin Mian asked in confusion, "Don't you have a baker's certificate?"
"But it's just a hobby."
"Hobbies can also become your career."
Just like her.
Qin Shengtian was successfully awakened by her words; the confusion on her face vanished, and her eyes shone brightly.
“Actually,” she suddenly softened her tone and hugged Xinmian, “I really want to open my own bakery and cake shop.”
"But my parents disagree..."
"Why?"
"Running a shop is too hard, so they just want me to find a stable job, do my job well, and live a peaceful life."
Every industry has its hardships, but the risks involved in working for someone else and running your own business are completely different.
Qin Shengtian's parents own a restaurant, so they naturally know how hard it is to run a business.
They only have this one daughter, and all the money they've saved belongs to her. They just hope she can find a job that isn't too hard and live a less difficult life.
"...Then...why don't you try finding a job at a cake shop first?"
This way, at least a balance can be found between the parents' expectations and one's own dreams.
Moreover, it can also help you accumulate experience for opening your own store in the future.
Qin Sheng smiled, her former confusion seemingly beginning to dissipate. "That makes sense!"
"Mianmian, thank you!"
She hugged Xinmian tightly, resting her head on her shoulder.
Seeing this, the chubby orange cat jumped onto the sofa, stepped on Xinmian's arm, and tried to put its head on her shoulder.
Both the person and the cat clung to her, and Xinmian, surrounded by love that felt so heavy, laughed and fell backward.
After a while of laughing and joking, Qin Shengtian's tone became more serious, "And what about you?"
How long do you plan to stay on Wangshui Island?
"I signed a one-year contract with Grandma Chen."
Speaking of this, Xinmian remembered something, "Do you know where on Wangshui Island there are places where children can be taught to draw?"
Visiting Wangshui Island is more like a temporary stay than a tourist trip.
She makes a living by collaborating with publishers and taking on commercial projects, but she doesn't want to stay home all day staring at a digital screen.
Finding a part-time job is a reason to force myself to go out.
Qin Shengtian thought about it carefully, "The kindergarten on Wangshui Island, I guess."
“I heard from a relative that kindergartens are adding extracurricular classes at the start of the new semester, and there should be painting classes.”
These painting classes are usually only two or three times a week, with few sessions and flexible timing, which perfectly meets Xinmian's requirements.
"If you want to go, I'll ask a relative to keep an eye out for you."
This was not a difficult task for Qin Shengtian. She patted her chest and agreed with a smile.
"Thank you."
You're welcome, you're welcome.
The two chatted in the living room for a while. Qin Shengtian said she wanted to see Xinmian paint. Xinmian thought about it, set up the easel, and carried the fat orange cat back to its cat bowl.
"Draw a chubby orange."
Seeing that she had prepared everything, Qin Shengtian didn't dare to make a sound and sat quietly on one side of the sofa, watching.
Xinmian is very serious when she paints. She will unconsciously purse her lips tightly, her gaze will go back and forth between the paper and the fat orange, and the pen in her hand will fall on the paper with a rustling sound.
The living room was so quiet that only this one sound could be heard.
Even the chubby orange cat seemed to realize that Xinmian was drawing for it, and it became unusually well-behaved, sitting obediently in its litter box, not moving around much, only occasionally licking its paws.
Qin Shengtian picked up her phone from the table, intending to take a picture of Xinmian, when she caught a glimpse of the tall figure standing at the top of the stairs.
She almost shouted it out, but Chi Yu silenced her with a look.
The man stood there for an unknown amount of time, leaning lazily against the wall, one hand in his pocket, his dark and deep gaze fixed on Xin Mian.
Such a direct gaze startled Qin Shengtian, who was also an observer, and she found it somewhat unbelievable.
By the time she wanted to take a closer look to confirm, Chi Yu had already turned and gone upstairs.
The stairwell was empty, and Qin Shengtian began to doubt whether everything she had just experienced was a figment of her imagination.
But before she could even ponder it, Xin Mian had already put down her pen and said, "Alright."
"So fast?"
Xin Mian smiled, "It's just a few simple strokes, a rough draft, I guess."
Upon hearing her speak, the chubby orange cat cleverly jumped out of the litter box, slowly strolled to the easel, and stared intently at the cat on the canvas that resembled itself somewhat.
Xinmian hugged it tightly and pointed it out to it, "Fat Orange, this is your portrait."
[Meow~]
[The drawing is not bad, barely worthy of this cat.]
The chubby orange cat raised its tail and swept it back and forth, brushing against Xinmian's hand as if rewarding her.
For an afternoon, Xin Mian doodled and drew, while Qin Shengtian would watch her draw, make her lychee iced tea with lychees, and then hug and pet the fat orange cat.
As the sun set, Qin Shengtian's phone rang in her bag; it was a call from her parents.
"Oh, I forgot to tell my parents I won't be home for dinner tonight..."
Qin Shengtian was annoyed.
Since she had come to see Xinmian, she was planning to have dinner with her, but she forgot to tell her parents.
The elderly couple has already finished cooking and are waiting for her at home.
Xin Mian smiled, "Go back and eat, don't keep your uncle and aunt waiting."
“...Okay,” Qin Shengtian thought for a moment, “You haven’t been to the beach on Wangshui Island yet, have you? There seems to be a beach market in a few days, let’s go together and invite Brother Yu and the others.”
Xin Mian nodded in agreement, "But it might take a few days. I need to finish drawing the manuscript the publisher wants first."
Qin Shengtian gave her an "OK" sign. "I'll add you to the group. We'll talk in the group later."
"good."
After seeing Qin Shengtian off, Xin Mian put away her painting tools, bent down and squatted in front of Fatty Orange's little nest, "When I'm done painting, I'll ask Grandma Chen to find a frame to hang it up for you, okay?"
[Meow~]
[It's a deal, we agreed.]
The chubby orange cat gently patted her knee with its chubby paws, like stamping a document.
Xin Mian smiled, her eyes crinkling, "Okay, I'll definitely keep my word."
After making an agreement with Fat Orange, she sat back on the sofa, thinking about how to solve dinner, when she suddenly heard a noise coming from the direction of the stairs.
Xin Mian's vigilance was immediately aroused. The moment she looked up, she saw Chi Yu looking languid, with droopy eyebrows, making a phone call as he went downstairs to the kitchen to get a drink of water.
His casual attire accentuated his already excellent leg proportions.
Her eyes widened. "...Chi Yu, you're home?"
Why haven't I seen him come downstairs all afternoon...?
After finishing the call, Chi Yu leaned against the kitchen wall with a water glass in hand, casually glancing up, "Go to sleep."
Xinmian: ? ? ?
They got back before midnight last night, right? He actually needed to spend the whole day catching up on sleep.
The sun is almost setting now.
Chi Yu's gaze fell on the drawing paper next to her, as if seeing it for the first time, and asked, "Did you draw this?"
"Hmm," Xin Mian nodded, thought for a moment, and asked, "Is it a chubby orange? Does it look like one?"
Chi Yu curled his lips, his tone indifferent, "They're cut from the same mold."
The chubby orange cat had already run out of its cat bed, raising its head and circling around Chi Yu's feet, its tail occasionally brushing against his ankles, its bright cat eyes staring at him.
Chi Yu: ......
He actually saw provocation and smugness in the eyes of a cat.
[Meow~]
[Hey human, I have my own cat portrait, do you?]
Chi Yu was almost laughing in exasperation. Just as he was about to pick up the fat orange cat and give it a good scolding, Xin Mian's phone screen on the table lit up.
It was a WeChat voice message from Chen Xiulian.
[Mianmian, are you still home? Grandma has already arranged with Ayu to take you out for dinner.]
Xin Mian recalled the phone call Chi Yu received when he went downstairs, and she seemed to have heard words like "dinner" and "noodles" mentioned.
noodle...
Is this Uncle Chen's noodle shop?
She wasn't particularly interested in going out to eat alone with Chi Yu, but going to Uncle Chen's noodle shop was a different story.
Xin Mian immediately replied to Chen Xiulian, "Okay, thank you, Grandma Chen."
Upon hearing her reply, Chi Yu raised an eyebrow and looked at her with a half-smile.
A note from the author:
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After picking lychees and wampee all night, I definitely need to spend the whole day catching up on sleep. [smiling emoji]
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