Chapter 25
Wang Jiazhi had a talent for painting and even studied oil painting for half a year, but her father forbade her to continue after her mother passed away.
Oil painting is expensive, as both the paint and the canvas are a significant expense. Her father also forbade her from painting. Later, when she went to school, she had no place to stay and could not afford the expenses.
She had wanted to join a club for a long time, but unlike the poetry club, which didn't require membership fees, this club had to sell materials and pay a monthly fee. Although it wasn't much, it was still an expense.
The society's oil paint canvases are shared, so it's still affordable if divided among individuals.
Wang Jiazhi had recently fallen in love with a magazine cover featuring a large, densely packed white gladiolus with a faint crimson center, nestled in a transparent glass vase. It resembled a graceful beauty. She'd been thinking about painting a picture of it, and then she got this news.
She placed the magazine next to her pillow the day before and went there happily early the next morning.
Although it was raining, she was wearing a blue cheongsam, holding a blue umbrella, and walking happily on the road with pink rose petals under her feet.
Wang Jiazhi moved the easel and chose a location by the window where she could hear the sound of rain.
She had just finished painting, tucked her magazine aside, and was about to begin when she saw the misty rain outside the window. The pink roses were shrouded in the mist, like another ethereal world, so ethereal that it seemed unreal.
After being stunned for a while, she put away the magazine and started drawing.
She painted all day and forgot to go out for lunch. When everyone else left and she was left alone, it was already dark outside and the rain was still falling.
She sat quietly beside him, waiting for over an hour until the paint dried, then carefully covered the painting with the canvas. She was still worried after packing it up, wanting to take it back to the dorm. But she knew it would get wet in the rain, so she laughed it off.
When she reached the door, she looked at the covered easel in the window, turned off the light, closed the door and left.
The lights on the road came on, and she walked on the road covered with fallen flowers with an umbrella. Her mood was a little different from that in the morning.
It was only when she returned to the dormitory that she realized she hadn't eaten or drunk anything for the whole day.
She drank a glass of water and packed up for bed. She was hungry, but didn't feel like eating.
The club only held activities every Sunday, which meant she couldn't paint again for a week. She thought about how the room wouldn't be open for a week, and how the painting would sit quietly by the window for a week. It was a painful yet joyful feeling.
The next time, Wang Jiazhi went there early again. Seeing the easel by the window covered with a cloth and lying still, she went over and brushed off the fine dust.
When everyone saw Wang Jiazhi coming, she just focused on painting and forgot to eat and sleep, and had no time to talk to anyone.
Everyone gathered around and looked curiously at what she was drawing.
Wang Jiazhi just smiled and said, "I want to illustrate a plot from a novel."
After painting until dark, she touched the flower stand and said, "I'll come to see you in a week."
There is a sense of pleasure in revenge.
Once people have something to look forward to, they feel happy and fulfilled. Wang Jiazhi thought that she would probably be able to finish it by the weekend.
That day she was concentrating on painting, but today it seemed like there were new people there, and everyone was surrounding her and greeting her.
"Where is Wang Jiazhi?"
"ah?"
Wang Jiazhi turned around in surprise, it was Jin Qiaochu.
Jin Qiaochu walked up to her with a smile and saw that she had her hair tied up, was wearing a blue cheongsam, and an apron covered with oil paint.
Jin Qiaochu smiled and extended his hand, saying, "I've always wanted to meet you, but our last meeting was too rushed. I heard you were also in the club, and I happened to be joining it, so I came to see you specially."
Wang Jiazhi wanted to shake hands, but her hands were covered in paint, so she wiped them on her apron. Jin Qiaochu took her hand and said with a smile, "I've read all your articles. I'm really impressed."
"No, that's too much of an honor. How can I accept it?"
The two chatted for a few minutes before Jin Qiaochu went over to draw.
Wang Jiazhi continued to sit down and paint, and in the meantime she heard people surrounding Jin Qiaochuchu praising her beautiful painting.
She looked over and the painting looked like a landscape of falling leaves in autumn.
I had thought I could finish it today, but the closer I got to the end, the more trouble I felt. Wang Jiazhi planned to finish it next time, fearing that if she rushed it too much, all her efforts would be wasted.
On the way back, Jin Qiaochu invited her to walk with him, and the two chatted casually. The others obviously felt that it was an honor for her to be so respected by a lady like Jin Qiaochu.
Jin Qiaochu and Wang Jiazhi did not live in the same dormitory. On her way back, she passed by her dormitory first. When she reached the door, Wang Jiazhi said to her, "See you another day."
Jin Qiaochu smiled and said, "We'll talk about this another day. I went to the poetry club, and they all asked why you didn't come. It would be great if you were willing to come."
Wang Jiazhi smiled and said, "I'd like to go again if I have the chance."
Jin Qiaochu whispered, "Kuang Yumin is not going anymore, you come."
Wang Jiazhi smiled slightly and said, "Okay. I'll definitely go next time."
As they were talking, Huang Lei came over and looked very surprised to see the two of them together.
As if he didn't know Wang Jiazhi, he said to Jin Qiaochu, "I've been waiting for you for a long time. I have two opera tickets. Would you be so kind as to go with me?"
Jin Qiaochu smiled and said, "I'm so sorry, I just happened to have something to do that day."
Wang Jiazhi gestured to Jin Qiaochu and walked away.
Huang Lei is still pursuing Jin Qiaochu.
I met a girl from the same class on the way and whispered to her, "I heard that he wrote many love letters to Jin Qiaochu and pursued her very hard."
Wang Jiazhi laughed and said, "The girl Huang Lei pursued before seemed to have a similar family background."
The girl laughed and said, "It's true that men pay more attention to family background. But Jin Qiaochu's family background is so much higher than his, there's no way he'd be willing to do that. From ancient times to the present, we've only heard of poor scholars pursuing the daughters of prime ministers. It's rare for a man from a wealthy family to fall in love with a poor girl."
Wang Jiazhi said: "Men are more calculating than women."
Wang Jiazhi recalled her parents' experiences. Her father's marriage to her mother was a bit of a step up. Before her death, her mother repeatedly urged her father to treat her well. At that time, her father had also solemnly promised to take good care of her.
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