Leaving Jinsong Vocational College, Hua Jie felt somewhat down.
With the income from selling her paintings and badges, she bought a beginner’s watercolor book at the bookstore and found watercolor paper, pigments, and brushes at the mall.
After lunch, she headed straight to the cultural center.
Teacher Zhang taught the basics of watercolor painting, while Hua Jie sat at the back table copying the introductory exercises from the watercolor book.
As she painted, she also studied the techniques from the book: laying flat, gradients, mixing colors, layering, and so on.
Moreover, the logic and sequence of watercolor painting were different from gouache painting.
She needed to change her past habits and forget some of her knowledge of gouache painting in order to start anew.
The process was somewhat difficult, but as she began sketching on the watercolor paper, her mood became completely immersed, enjoying the pure joy as if playing a game.
Focused and undistracted, she relaxed both mentally and physically, experiencing pure pleasure.
She truly loved painting, more than traveling or hanging out at bars.
When a piece of watercolor paper was filled with various exercises, she lifted her head and realized it was almost time for class to end.
As she stood up to take a break, she walked around the studio, and her classmates couldn’t help but ask how her own painting was going. Hua Jie would earnestly point out the most basic and improvable issues in their paintings.
Her guidance was unanimously recognized by everyone, and Jing Nian even wanted to pull Hua Jie to sit beside him for guidance, but was gently refused by Hua Jie’s pat on the head.
Standing with his hands behind his back, Zhang Xiangyang watched this scene and couldn’t help feeling that Hua Jie was like a little teacher.
At the end of class, Zhang Xiangyang asked Hua Jie to stay behind.
“Here is your tuition fee for this month. The teacher returns it all to you,” Zhang Xiangyang handed the money to Hua Jie.
“I truly can’t teach you anything anymore, so I can’t take your money.
“However, you can still come to the studio in the future, for free, and you are very welcome. You can come for every class.”
Hua Jie looked down at the hundred yuan bills and coins in her hand, “Thank you, Teacher Zhang.”
“No need to be polite, go on,” Zhang Xiangyang patted Hua Jie’s head, with a gentle smile.
With the tuition fee of one hundred and eighty yuan, plus what she earned before, she had a total of 550 yuan in savings.
It could be called a huge sum.
It would be very easy to buy a bicycle now, but…
She also wanted to save some tuition for the watercolor teacher she would find in the future.
Let’s wait another half a month. If she still couldn’t find a teacher, then buy a bicycle.
On the bus ride home, when standing outside the courtyard gate, she heard her parents talking inside the yard.
Hua Jie stood at the door, quietly listening, not in a hurry to open it.
“Did Little Hua ride Binghong’s bicycle to and from school this week?” Hua’s father glanced at the twenty-eight-inch bicycle in the yard and asked his wife.
“Yeah.” Hua’s mother answered as she moved the coal blocks in the yard into the warehouse and replied.
“Sister sent hazelnuts, give some to the Bian family.”
“Oh, I picked mushrooms last week and just gave half to Sister Bian.”
“Send some more hazelnuts,” Hua’s father said. He would rather endure hardship and poverty his whole life than borrow money from others. He especially wouldn’t owe anyone any favors, preferring others to take advantage of him rather than taking advantage of others.
“Okay,” Hua’s mother replied, then put down the coal blocks to pack the hazelnuts.
Hua Jie stood outside the door, feeling a bit sour inexplicably.
“How much money do we have in savings at home?” Hua’s father suddenly spoke again.
“Just enough for this month’s living expenses,” Hua’s mother replied.
“…”
“But we’ve paid off the money we borrowed from the bank to buy the house.”
“Mm.”
“Do you want to buy a bicycle for our daughter?”
…” Hua’s father remained silent, tacitly agreeing.
“Next month, then.”
“Mm.”
Then, the sound of a lighter indicated that the father lit a cigarette.
After entering college in her previous life, Hua Jie wasn’t very close to her father because of his bad temper, lack of communication skills, and inability to express emotions. He was also particularly domineering, so she often argued with him and felt that he wasn’t good enough to her mother.
Standing outside the courtyard gate, lips pursed, she stared at the keyhole on the door, somewhat absent-minded.
When she heard the sound of the door opening in the alley, she snapped out of it and hurriedly took out her keys.
“Little Hua, back from painting class?” greeted an elder neighbor.
“Uncle,” Hua Jie politely responded.
The courtyard gate opened, and when her father heard her voice, he directly helped her open the door.
“Dad!” Hua Jie tilted her head back and greeted him with a particularly enthusiastic smile.
Her father reached out and patted her head, then stood at the door chatting with the elder neighbor in the alley for a few moments before returning to the courtyard to fix the doghouse.
He crouched in the corner of the yard, back facing his family, focusing on his work.
The smoke curled up, making his hair appear somewhat hazy.
Hua Jie put the drawing board back in the house and then went to the yard to help her mother move the coal.
Occasionally, she glanced back at her father’s figure, feeling a hint of sourness.
Her father’s temper was becoming more and more subdued. In his youth, he was a leader among his brothers, even a bully that no one dared to mess with at school, but in the face of life, childhood always came to an end.
The coal bought for winter was neatly stacked in the warehouse, and after the yard was cleaned, her father also finished fixing the doghouse.
He did it beautifully, as beautiful as the cricket cage made in summer or the birdcage made in autumn.
Huan Huan wagged his furry tail and crawled into the doghouse, scratching around inside, then plopped down inside, revealing his furry Pekingese head.
“Dad, you did a great job,” Hua Jie praised sincerely.
Her father, like a child, immediately showed happiness when praised, somewhat proud as he said, “After all, I used to be a carpenter.”
Hua Jie looked at her father, suddenly feeling that the father in her memory, who used to be somewhat intimidating to her, seemed to have changed.
Perhaps it was because she had grown up, so her perspective on things had changed, allowing her to see a more innocent side of her father.
In a moment of impulse, she almost blurted out about her secret savings to her parents. Fortunately, she immediately realized that in her parents’ eyes, she was still a child, lacking the rational ability to manage money.
If they found out she had money stashed away, they would surely confiscate it all.
She still had plans for that money, so she decided to endure.
The desire to show off to her parents, she would endure.
The desire to give her parents more money as filial piety, she would wait until she earned more money to fulfill it.
In the evening, Hua Jie continuously served her parents during dinner, and before bed, she even poured foot-washing water for her father.
This made the couple wonder as they went to sleep if their child had done something wrong. Otherwise, why would she suddenly be so attentive?
The next day, Hua Jie still went out with her drawing board as usual, heading to the studio to study watercolor on her own.
While Hua’s mother was tidying up at home, she noticed her daughter’s diary spread out on the table.
Lately, there was a trend among her female colleagues at work of peeking into their children’s diaries.
Some claimed to have discovered their daughters’ early romances, trying to cover up their snooping while secretly keeping an eye on their children to prevent them from going on dates.
Others said their children had crushes on someone else, which was particularly distressing. They felt both heartbroken for their children and embarrassed.
Thinking of the various dilemmas shared by her colleagues regarding their children, Hua’s mother frowned, feeling conflicted.
She really didn’t want to stoop to the level of snooping into her daughter’s diary, but she was curious about what her daughter, who had just entered adolescence, was thinking, whether she had any troubles, whether she might be led astray…
Standing in front of the desk, she hesitated for a while, but finally decided not to look.
So, she approached and simply wiped the table, making a concerted effort not to let her gaze wander to the open diary.
After finishing wiping the table and tidying up the surrounding area, Hua’s mother felt like she had exerted all her willpower.
As she left her daughter’s bedroom, she clicked her tongue.
Although she had tried her best not to look, she caught glimpses of some words out of the corner of her eye.
But…
There didn’t seem to be any boys’ names, nor any expressions like ‘like’ or ‘dislike’, ‘love’ or ‘hate’.
Furrowing her brows slightly, occasionally catching those few glances, all she saw was about making money…
It was all about money.
This… Hua’s mother suddenly felt a bit worried. Could her daughter’s mind and body be unhealthy?
Even though their family wasn’t wealthy, the atmosphere at home was still good, and their lives were getting better. As a mother, she had reasonably planned their expenses, ensuring her daughter got proper nutrition, paying attention to her clothing and shoes every season, and even giving her pocket money every month…
To have such a strong obsession with money at such a young age… was it not good?
Hua’s mother sighed as she wiped the floor.
Oh, it would be better if she were in puppy love.
…
…
The teenage girl who woke up early to go to art class didn’t know that her mother was worrying that she had become blinded by money. She sat quietly under the sunlight by the window in the studio, painting silently.
There was no pressure to ‘get into a good university’ or to ‘make a living by painting’, no competitive urge to ‘paint better than others’. She studied purely out of passion, picking up the brush because she enjoyed it.
Under the sunlight, her hair was a brownish-yellow, soft and lovely, like a child.
Hua Jie had indeed found a childlike focus— the kind of focus one has when deeply engrossed in play.
At the end of class, she examined her own painting.
It was somewhat messy, the colors too intense, she didn’t grasp the permeability of the paper well, and she didn’t control the amount of water on the brush properly. There were many areas that needed diligent practice, her experience was sparse, and she felt inexperienced.
Starting from scratch, it was inevitable to face setbacks, and she had to recognize that she wasn’t proficient in everything, and the painting skills she had accumulated so far didn’t come overnight.
Yes, she needed to adopt the mindset of an empty cup and regain the state of absorbing knowledge like a sponge.
While tidying up her drawing board and materials, Hua Jie’s mood remained cheerful. Even though many things didn’t go as smoothly as she had imagined, the fact that she could paint as she pleased was already enough to make her feel satisfied.
As Jing Nian walked past Hua Jie with his drawing board, he glanced back at her, pursed his lips without saying anything, took a few steps forward, then turned back to look at her again.
Hua Jie slung her drawing board behind her and asked him, “What’s up?”
Why did he look hesitant to speak now? He used to be so stubborn when they were desk mates before. Now he’s acting like a shy little wife.
“I’m planning to have lunch outside and do some sketching. Are you interested?” Jing Nian stood up straight, chest out, facing her squarely when he asked.
After all, things hadn’t been very pleasant between them before. He wanted her to come along for the sketching, so she could give him some pointers, but he was also worried that if he spoke to her and she ignored him, he would lose face.
Since she had spoken first, he felt relieved.
Hua Jie felt a flutter of excitement about sketching, but considering it was already mid-September, sitting still in one place to draw would definitely be chilly. She shook her head and said, “Let’s sketch together in spring. It’s too cold now. I’m heading home.”
“Oh, okay. See you on Monday,” Jing Nian suppressed his disappointment.
“Bye~” The girl raised her arm, fingers together like a beckoning cat, and walked away from him with light steps.
Jing Nian watched her retreating figure, feeling incredibly comfortable because of her natural demeanor.
Many girls are delicate and petty, but she’s quite straightforward. Even though they clashed before, she’s now completely able to let bygones be bygones and get along with him.
Jing Nian, like a carefree kid, completely forgot how annoyed he was by Hua Jie before, and instead felt touched by her lack of pettiness.
He even had the thought, ‘This classmate is pretty good, worth befriending,’ a thoroughly adolescent notion.