The Versatile Master Artist

”What’s wrong? Your clothes don’t look dirty.”

At the entrance of the library,

Koizumi Katsuko looked at Gu Weijing puzzlingly as he took out a tissue and fiercely wiped the shoulder of his school uniform.

Gu Weijing gave a wry smile,

battling with the fact that he couldn’t tell her he had no clue what the hand patting his shoulder had touched beforehand.

”Wait a moment, your tie isn’t tied properly.”

Koizumi Katsuko called out to Gu Weijing, who was about to leave.

She walked a few steps forward and gently pulled at the loose tie on Gu Weijing’s school uniform shirt.

”Let me retie it for you.”

After unfolding it, she folded the silk cloth over his chest, her fingers nimble and pale, like she was tying an intricate knot.

Gu Weijing’s body was as tense and stiff as a tightly drawn bow.

He knew that in Japan and South Korea, it was perfectly normal for girls to tie ties, arrange clothes, or even kneel to tie shoelaces for a close male friend.

A few years ago, the top actor Song Joong-ki played a gender-reversal role in a campus idol drama where he kneeled down on one knee to tie a girl’s shoelaces, causing a heated national debate on social media about whether boys should tie shoelaces for girls.

But such situations were still rather rare in schools that admired gender equality, reminiscent of European style institutions.

He felt a bit embarrassed, a bit nervous, and couldn’t quite put his finger on the feeling.

The sound of silk rustling reached his ears, while the warm fragrance from Miss Shengzi filled his nose, causing his heartbeat to inexplicably quicken.

Gu Weijing noticed a faint blush spreading across Koizumi Katsuko’s neck and cheek.

Close physical contact naturally fosters a sense of intimacy,

for both boys and girls alike.

This phenomenon can even apply to interactions between parents and their children.

Biologically, this is termed as ”contact intimacy”, a natural physiological response.

This is why social dances became such significant matchmaking events in European history, and why pairs in figure skating often end up as married couples or lovers.

”Alright, let’s continue tomorrow.”

Koizumi Katsuko finished tying the tie: ”The principal has assigned Room B16 to us for individual use, and we have to spare some time each day to get the first draft of our thesis done as soon as possible.”

...

Time slipped away,

and soon, the first week of school was coming to an end.

The progress on the thesis exceeded expectations; Koizumi Katsuko turned out to be a fantastic partner to work with.

Not only did she have excellent English writing skills and a deep understanding of art history, but she also meticulously crafted an outline and a task schedule for writing.

Koizumi Katsuko broke the large thesis into several smaller points.

Every noon, Gu Weijing and the girl would go through the previous day’s work in the study room, read papers together, then discuss the next steps in their writing, completing their parts at home later.

Their communication was unexpectedly in sync.

With this pace,

they might finish the first draft of their thesis by the end of the month.

Koizumi Katsuko lived like a hermit on campus.

Apart from attending gym classes with other girls, she mainly commuted between the study room and the art studio.

As a result,

the public art studio became the only place for outsiders to see Koizumi Katsuko.

Whenever Koizumi Katsuko entered the studio,

the sizable public art studio at Fitz School would quickly fill up with people.

Even students from other departments and ordinary classes would slip into the studio, just to catch a glimpse of the acclaimed beautiful girl with a billion-dollar aura in art.

Initially, Koizumi Katsuko would politely converse a few words with those who approached her.

Eventually, overwhelmed by the attention, she started wearing a pink pair of Beats headphones while drawing, declining conversations in this subtle way.

Rumors circulated that the new transfer student was somewhat aloof.

But those who knew Shengzi knew she was just not very adept at handling such situations.

”Gu Weijing, please wait a moment, I’d like to talk to you.”

On Friday,

as Gu Weijing exited the library, he ran into Mrs. Sakai on the side.

”Mom? Is there something you need?”

While chatting and laughing with Gu Weijing, Miss Shengzi suddenly noticed her mother and showed a mix of surprise and doe-like nervousness on her face.

”Shengzi, go to the studio first, I’d like to have a private word with Xiaogu.”

Mrs. Sakai patted her daughter’s head, signaling Shengzi to attend to her business.

”Mom, Gu Weijing is a great person, the most exceptional peer I’ve met, and I feel honored to collaborate with him on this thesis.”

Koizumi Katsuko stood her ground, casting a worried glance at Gu Weijing.

She felt at ease and happy when she was with Gu Weijing.

Yet, she couldn’t quite pin down why,

but Koizumi Katsuko sensed her mother harbored a silent prejudice against Gu Weijing, seemingly never fond of their close relationship.

”It’s not about the thesis.”

Mrs. Sakai shook her head and said to her daughter, ”Shengzi, be good, this doesn’t concern you.”

A few minutes later,

Gu Weijing found himself in Mrs. Sakai’s office at the school.

The office the principal assigned to Mrs. Sakai was quite spacious, about fifty square meters, with sun-facing floor-to-ceiling windows and a large meeting couch.

”Would you like something to drink, Xiaogu?”

Mrs. Sakai invited Gu Weijing to sit on the couch and walked over to the coffee machine, pressing the button to brew coffee.