The Versatile Master Artist

In the field of arts,

the most brutal reality is that the improvement ordinary people achieve through countless trainings is possibly an innate ability for true geniuses.

For Menzel, Durer, or Holbein,

they probably never felt that handling a pen to draw lines needed any specialized training during their painting careers.

They could casually pick up a pen and draw, surpassing most people in the world, like eating or drinking without needing any teaching?

Gu Weijing’s talent can actually only be considered above average among ordinary people.

Without systematic help, his original sketching technique was inferior to Yakai Gangchang who was even younger than him.

Therefore, even though his overall sketching line level has reached that of a professional painter,

the exercise method tailored for students to hone their pen details still had a very positive effect on Gu Weijing.

The more he drew, the more skillful he became, the happier he felt, nearly ecstatic.

Koukou next to him was almost dumbfounded.

She lightly bit the end of her pencil, feeling like she was watching a magic show.

Everyone was given their assignments at the same time.

While she was just sharpening her pencil, she glanced over at Gu Weijing and found that he had already finished filling in one small square.

It was absurdly fast.

She turned her head to look at the clock hanging in front of the podium.

How long had passed? A minute and a half, or two minutes?

Wasn’t it said that in the history of Fitz School, only four students could draw within five minutes, and not a single one made it within four?

This guy next to her, is he even human!

Koukou bit the end of her pencil hard, with countless thoughts flashing through her mind.

Watching Gu Weijing’s use of the pencil, it was clearly an ordinary sketching pencil, used in a regular posture. In this boy’s hand, everything was different.

As if it wasn’t a pencil, but a magic wand.

A few strokes and a small grid was filled with gray.

Koukou was barely absorbed when the second small grid was nearly finished.

She watched clearly, every stroke from him was precise and rhythmic, the lines meticulously arranged as if drawn with a ruler, flawlessly accurate.

”Maybe this exercise isn’t as difficult as Professor Watter said?”

Unconvinced, Koukou bowed her head and began sketching within the grid with a pencil, trying to draw with the same rhythm as Gu Weijing.

seconds later,

Koukou looked at her grid filled with uneven, abstract pencil strokes that looked like they had been chewed by a dog, then turned to look at Gu Weijing’s paper.

Plop...

She despairingly snapped off the pencil lead, her cheeks puffed up like a pufferfish in frustration.

”Unfair, unfair, unfair! We’re all classmates, but the gap is just too wide.” Koukou murmured in her heart.

She gazed at Gu Weijing, her eyes filled with a bright spark.

More than twenty minutes later.

Gu Weijing stopped his pencil, stretching his fingers, and felt like gaining experience points through these disciplined exercises was akin to leveling up in a game.

After finishing fifteen small grids in one go, he still felt unsatisfied.

Just as he hesitated whether to go home and draw more grids for practice, a sheet of paper was pushed in front of him.

”Hey, Master, help me out?” Koukou tilted her head and said.

Koukou fundamentally belonged to the type that had interest in something for just three minutes and was never one of the top students in the class.

The exquisite details of the Detective Cat illustration shown by Professor Watter had sparked her enthusiasm, yet after just a few strokes, she was defeated by the sense of frustration again.

After trying to salvage her recent blunder, Koukou completely lost interest in such tedious exercises.

”But...this kind of practice is best done by oneself for better results.”

Gu Weijing hesitated for a moment and reminded her.

Now that he was in fine form, he didn’t mind doing the little girl’s homework.

Yet, despite the tedium, this exercise remained highly beneficial for students who were still refining their basics.

”Do I look like the type to care about a portfolio? If it wasn’t for my old man insisting that girls should have some artistic skills, I wouldn’t even be studying art.”

Koukou supported her chin with both hands, displaying a face full of rebellion and criticism against her traditional parents: ”At that time, I might as well milk a degree from a school affiliated with the Myanmar Government abroad, or just attend university in Yangon.”

Also belonging to the favored girls in school.

The discord between Koukou and Mona wasn’t simply due to the natural antipathy between pretty girls. More so, it was their inherently different personalities.

Compared to Mona from a family running a small jewelry store, who was serious and persistent in everything she did, Koukou, hailing from a prominent local family, clearly had more of a spoiled princess temper.

She faced zero pressure from life or society, studying whatever she liked freely, acting more willfully.

She became wildly enthusiastic about stuff she liked, only to abandon it a couple of days later.

Koukou not only studied art, but she also had a background in dance. In her spare time, she had learned fencing, played chess, attended cooking classes, sung vocal music... Anyway, her resume featured a long list of various unusual skills, most of which had ended without conclusion.

”Help me out, pretty please!”

Seeing Gu Weijing’s hesitation, Koukou pleaded pitifully: ”If I had to finish it myself, who knows how long it would take, and there’s cheerleading practice tonight too.”

”I’m the captain, if I’m late, hmph, some petty girls would definitely make snarky remarks.” Koukou’s eyes were fierce.

Compared to art, Koukou actually preferred dance. If it wasn’t for her old man’s stubborn belief that–”Girls shouldn’t entertain people solely with their looks.”

Miss Koukou might have taken dance classes back in the day.

In this regard, Koukou’s constant criticism of her old-school, traditionalist father, an inspector in Yangon, was not entirely unfounded.

”Alright then.”

Gu Weijing accepted Koukou’s sketch paper and took out a pencil sharpener to sharpen his pencil again.

”Use mine, use mine!”

Koukou noticeably perked up, handing over a pencil and cheerfully said: ”Thank you, from now on, my classwork’s in your hands, Master.”

The public art classroom had a fairly sparse seating arrangement, so their low-volume conversation went unheard by others.

With her classwork outsourced, Koukou felt much happier.

She lightly hummed a tune from some unknown English song, rummaging through her small carrying bag until she pulled out a glass jar.

The glass jar wasn’t large, just about the size of a water bottle.

It contained half a jar of small bear-shaped cookies with a surface texture and color similar to waffles, looking adorable.

”I’m not letting you do my homework for nothing; here, enjoy some cookies! Look, I made them myself.”

Koukou wiped the graphite dust off her hands with a tissue, using her thumb and forefinger to pick out a cookie from the glass jar.

”You keep drawing, I’m in a hurry, open wide.”

Before Gu Weijing could react, the girl beside him, like feeding a stray cat on the street, popped a cookie into his mouth.

Gu Weijing’s pencil paused for a moment.

He knew Koukou was always quite bold, displaying closeness with both males and females with ease.

In the open-minded campus atmosphere of international high school, this was far from outrageous.

However, when those pink-manicured tips passed close to his nose, he felt his muscles momentarily stiffen.

The next second,

Gu Weijing no longer felt awkward.

Because a choky sensation came from his mouth straight into his windpipe, his whole body felt like being hit by a boxer’s heavy punch from the front.

His mind drew a blank, filled only with the spicy taste of some pungent seasoning overwhelming his mouth.

Gu Weijing started coughing violently.

”Hey, even though I haven’t taken a cooking class in a long time, your reaction is really over the top. Is it that bad?”

Watching Gu Weijing’s frantic search for water, Koukou grumbled discontentedly.

She tossed a cookie into her own mouth.

After a few chews, the girl’s expression changed too. With a grimace, she spat out the contents into a tissue beside her.

”Sorry, sorry, I must have put the pepper wrongly. Damn, I mixed up the recipe measurements.” Koukou apologized repeatedly, handing over a bottle of mineral water.

Damn it,

Gu Weijing felt he really shouldn’t have trusted Koukou’s half-baked cooking skills.