Chapter 16 A-16

Chapter 16 A-16

The country roads were rough.

After a morning of hiking mountain paths with his teachers and classmates to reach Antong Village, Yun Xiu felt like he could cosplay an eighty-year-old grandfather just by leaning on a walking stick.

However, the conditions in Antong Village were better than expected—there were private toilets, a luxury some classmates had only dreamed of, rather than communal pit latrines.

Their class had an odd number of students, and since Jiang Tinghan had arranged with the village chief in advance, Yun Xiu was able to enjoy a single room before his roommate arrived.

The lead teacher went over some precautions, and no sketching tasks were scheduled for the afternoon, leaving ample time for the students to settle in and rest.

The single room was a courtesy extended by his roommate, so Yun Xiu took the opportunity to thoroughly clean the room inside and out, hoping his roommate wouldn't be put off at first sight.

"Knock, knock."

A knock sounded at the door.

Yun Xiu opened it to find two male classmates standing there, their faces strangely flushed, as if the heat from the morning hike hadn't yet subsided.

Embracing the spirit of mutual aid, he offered them two bottles of mineral water, asking, "Would you like some water?"

"No, no, thank you, Classmate Yun!" The two boys waved their hands repeatedly. One of them, his face even redder, said, "We came to ask if you'd like to go down the mountain to buy some things? If not, could we borrow your handcart? We promise not to break it!"

Fine Arts students had to bring a lot of supplies for sketching. Half the space in their suitcases was already taken up by paints and brushes, leaving little room for anything else.

Yun Xiu was the only one who used a small handcart to pull his suitcase.

At first, some people mocked him for being overly cautious, but as they walked, Yun Xiu kept buying things along the way—including but not limited to bottled water, tissues, instant noodles, and a thermos.

Even without these purchases, the handcart's wheels were better suited for mountain paths than those of a suitcase.

Without a point of comparison, hardship was tolerable, but with Yun Xiu actively improving his own comfort, others began to feel their conditions were too arduous.

Most importantly, carrying things on the road was inconvenient, and they'd have to trouble the villagers to take them down the mountain, which meant paying for the trip!

Yun Xiu wasn't going to take responsibility for their oversight but agreed to lend the handcart.

The two boys thanked him profusely.

Other classmates, slower to react, secretly cursed them for being cunning.

The afternoon passed in a flurry of student activity.

As night deepened and the sky grew dim, every household lit up with orange-yellow electric lights.

A breeze blew outside the window, swaying the black rope from which a light bulb hung. A spider the size of a fingernail crawled down from the ceiling along the rope.

It spun a thread, hung upside down, and landed on the wooden table.

"Smack!"

Yun Xiu grimly slapped the spider dead with two layers of tissue paper, then sprayed disinfectant alcohol on the spot.

He remembered cleaning every corner thoroughly during the day, but there were always stragglers.

He hoped these little bugs would get the hint—either come out before Jiang Tinghan arrived so he could exterminate them all, or wait until after their sketching trip to show up.

As the last rays of the sunset disappeared, the woods grew shadowy, and birds and beasts returned to their nests.

From some corner of the village, the occasional barks of dogs and meows of cats could be heard.

Both the teachers and villagers had warned them not to go outside no matter what sounds they heard at night. If they needed to use the toilet, they were to remember to bring a flashlight—otherwise, they might step on a snake.

It felt like the beginning of a horror story.

Yun Xiu felt a chill down his spine and decided to use the toilet once before lying down to try to fall asleep. He would avoid drinking water after dark.

He slept straight through until morning.

"Knock, knock."

Yun Xiu was about to get up and brush his teeth when he heard the familiar knocking sound. Puzzled, he opened the door.

It was one of the boys who had borrowed the little handcart yesterday—a guy named Xu Dong.

As soon as Xu Dong faced Yun Xiu, he couldn’t help but blush, stammering as he spoke, "Yun Xiu, would you like to go have breakfast together later? We heard you didn’t go last night, and we were worried you might not know the way, so we thought we’d take you."

Last night, Yun Xiu hadn’t had much appetite and had just nibbled on two small buns before collapsing into bed.

The village paths were winding, and since he was staying alone, he was indeed worried about finding his way to meals.

Hearing this, his eyes lit up. "Yes! Just give me three minutes to wash up, okay?"

Xu Dong’s face turned even redder. "Sure, take your time. I’ll go back to grab something and come find you again in five minutes."

Yun Xiu watched his classmate’s retreating figure and praised, "Xu Dong, you’re such a good guy!"

Xu Dong waved over his shoulder, though the mountain path seemed a bit tricky—he nearly stumbled.

Yun Xiu withdrew his gaze with concern.

Breakfast was served at 6:30 a.m., and it was already 6:20. It would take some time to walk there. Although his classmate said it was okay to take longer, Yun Xiu couldn’t actually dawdle. He sped up brushing his teeth and washing his face.

To be fair, Antong Village’s environment really wasn't ideal.

The students were staying in tile-roofed houses. The walls, whether made of adobe or brick, were beige and would leave dust on your hand if touched. But the upside was that they were clean—there were no signs of smoke or fire inside, suggesting the houses were newly built after Antong Village partnered with Z University.

Each household had a water tap by the door, and not far away was a drainage ditch where one could squat to brush teeth after fetching water.

It was worth mentioning that the paths between houses were paved with gravel, not yellow mud, indicating the villagers had put effort into their construction.

But as for the houses, you get used to them after staying awhile.

Yun Xiu thought optimistically—before coming, he was afraid of bugs, but after arriving, hadn't he become a bug-slaying expert?

With these random thoughts running through his mind, Yun Xiu finished washing up, closed the door, and went to find Xu Dong.

The houses weren’t connected. Xu Dong and his roommate were staying in a house about ten meters away. The door was open, and both were sitting in chairs in identical poses, legs crossed, playing on their phones.

They were indeed waiting for him.

Yun Xiu jogged to the doorway. "Sorry to keep you waiting!"

The two boys jumped to their feet.

"It’s fine. You got up so late, and you got here so quickly—that’s already fast enough."

"Waking up late isn’t your fault. The teacher sent the breakfast meeting time around midnight, and you were probably already asleep by then."

They were clearly the ones waiting for Yun Xiu, yet they ended up comforting him instead.

In truth, Yun Xiu's reputation had spread throughout the entire college since his freshman year—not a good one, but rather as "spoiled, arrogant, and dismissive of others."

As freshmen, they were curious about everything.

Yun Xiu didn't possess any captivating talent, but he did have striking looks, much like brightly colored plants in nature that attract swarms of insects.

It wouldn’t be entirely accurate to say the assessment fit him perfectly, nor would it be fair to say it didn't fit at all.

Since he didn't hide his family background, some people looking for shortcuts tried to take advantage, and after being burned once, he gave up on the idea of making friends at school.

It's somewhat ironic—he lacked the ability to filter friends, tarring everyone with the same brush, which led to the "dismissive of others" reputation.

After specializing in their majors and reassigning classes, classmates found that Yun Xiu wasn't as hard to get along with as the rumors suggested.

No one dislikes spending time with someone who is good-looking, especially when that person is sincere, friendly, gentle, and attractive.

Xu Dong and the other students felt that those spreading the rumors were utterly malicious.

Moreover, they had borrowed his handcart yesterday, so whether professionally, personally, emotionally, or logically, they should take extra care of Yun Xiu today.

Unaware of the context, Yun Xiu asked, "Should we get going, then?"

If waiting for him caused everyone to be late, he would never dare to let anyone wait for him again.

＊

The reason Antong Village became one of Z University's sketching bases needs no explanation—its scenery was breathtaking.

The first light of morning, birds chirping replaced the croaking of frogs and buzzing of insects, the golden sun rose over the layered mountains, breaking through the misty clouds, and the once dim mountain streams and forests were bathed in brilliant golden light.

Crimson, indigo, and gradient blues—teachers and students alike were immersed in the color changes, as described in "The sun ascends swiftly, outshining stars and the waning moon," their hands never stopping.

Yun Xiu had his easel set up in front of him, painting while struggling to stay awake, and the result was predictable.

"Your painting here..."

Suddenly, a familiar male voice sounded behind him, tinged with a hint of doubt.

Yun Xiu froze, then noticed Xu Dong diagonally in front frantically gesturing to him, but he had been too drowsy, his eyelids drooping, and hadn't noticed at all.

Turning to look at his painting, even he fell silent.

The lines were a jumbled mess, colors splashed here and there, completely incoherent.

Yun Xiu had no choice but to make an excuse: "Teacher, as you know, I've always been a big fan of Master Picasso."

The teacher seemed stunned too, hesitating to speak, then hesitating again before finally saying, "Very... unique style, haha."

His dry laughter echoed, but no one echoed it, afraid they might be next to have their work inspected.

The fifteen-day sketching trip included three days on the road; the remaining twelve were split equally between morning and evening sessions. There were no strict rules on how the paintings should turn out, but they at least had to be able to talk about their own work.

Not wanting to be embarrassed, Yun Xiu had made his claim, and if he didn't want to be laughed at when submitting his work, he had to skew his painting style toward Picasso's.

Well, he'd dug his own grave.

After this incident, Yun Xiu devoted all his attention to the morning scenery.

He didn't aim for excellence—just to capture a hint of Master Bi's style.

Three days flew by.

Because Yun Xiu worked hard to catch up, his progress was further along than the other students, and he submitted his work on the fourth day.

Jiang Tinghan had messaged him earlier, saying he would arrive today, so Yun Xiu asked the teacher for leave to pick him up.

But before he could even step out, the village chief brought over a tall, slender young man.

Yun Xiu stepped forward, greeted the village chief first, then said to his roommate, "Didn't you say you'd arrive in the morning? Why didn't you wait for me to come down and get you?"

Jiang Tinghan smiled faintly: "I did arrive in the morning."

At your door.

The village chief left after bringing him over, and Yun Xiu took Jiang Tinghan inside to help him unpack.

"You might not be used to the water here—I brought two cases of mineral water and a kettle. There are bugs in the room, but it's okay, I set up a mosquito net, so it'll keep mosquitoes out at night..."

Yun Xiu suddenly slapped his forehead and pointed to the bed: "There's only one bed per room. Since it gets cold in the mountains at night, we can squeeze together and it won't be too hot. If you mind, I can ask the village chief to assign you another room—I saw there are a few empty rooms."

"I don't mind," Jiang Tinghan said quickly, then emphasized seriously, "As long as it's you, it's fine with me."

There was no need to come to Antong Village to change perceptions; both of them knew exactly why Jiang Tinghan had come this time.

After a moment of eye contact, Yun Xiu felt his face grow warm. He blinked, hurriedly looked away, and said, "We can only move around within a small area during the day. It's pretty boring here, so be prepared."

Jiang Tinghan shook his head. "I'll do my homework while you paint. I'll follow your lead."

Yun Xiu murmured in agreement and pretended to busy himself with unpacking, still avoiding eye contact.

Come to think of it, Jiang Tinghan had been smiling a lot more lately. Even if it wasn't a particularly warm smile, it still felt like he was much easier to get along with than before.

Maybe after they returned, the relationship between the roommates might improve a bit?