“Snap!”
After the lights were turned off, the room plunged into darkness, and the world became quiet.
Wang Ting closed her eyes, but her mind was filled with Hua Jie’s design drafts.
Those simple yet dynamic, and highly stylized chibi characters, those crisp and perfect lines…
But how do such simple strokes manage to convey such rich emotions and feelings?
A good design, it turns out, can stir emotions and evoke empathy.
And it could actually meet the seemingly absurd demands of the school’s Director of Studies.
After lying down for a while, Wang Ting suddenly sat up, turned on the light, and sat back at her desk to look through Hua Jie’s designs again, even getting an itch to sketch them out on paper.
She didn’t study design in school, but many of her friends were from the design academy, so she knew about design drafts.
She was sure that many design students could not create designs like these.
Moreover, without a specialized ruler for designing, how did Hua Jie manage to draw these varied and perfect curves by hand?
After sketching for a while, she put down her pen, feeling a mix of envy and bitterness.
She was actually envying a 15-year-old student…
She didn’t know how many times she had looked over the design drafts; she continued to marvel at these child-like sketches of characters, some studying, some attending a flag-raising ceremony, some long jumping, some giving speeches… all so adorable.
Because the expressions were so rich, each character seemed to have its own unique personality and story, and it was really interesting.
Is this what talent looks like?
Is this what flair is?
Wang Ting didn’t know that in ten or twenty years in the internet era, various illustration styles would prevail—Western, Chinese, cool, warm, among an endless array of styles saturating the market, with art specialties in higher education being much more detailed than now, and Hua Jie’s style would be one of the most popular in commercial illustrations.
She was moved by the sophistication of this style and method of painting, so engrossed that she didn’t want to sleep.
Moreover, her feelings were incredibly complex, saying it was a mix of love and hate was not an exaggeration at all.
Ahhh!
A 15-year-old kid.
She’s so jealous!
The next morning, with dark circles under her eyes, Wang Ting carefully wrapped Hua Jie’s drawings in newspaper and carried them to school.
After putting down her bag, she headed straight to the Director of Studies’ office.
The Director had just poured a cup of hot tea and was about to take his large tea mug to the school entrance to monitor ongoing disruptions, fights, and tardiness.
But he ended up trapped in his office by Wang Ting, unable to leave.
“Are they finished?” The Director couldn’t believe it and raised his eyebrows wide-eyed.
“Yes.” Wang Ting nodded vigorously.
“Stayed up all night without sleep?” The Director noticed Wang Ting’s dark circles.
“No.” Wang Ting shook her head earnestly.
“Then what happened here?” The Director pointed at his own eyes, indicating that she looked like a panda.
“It’s a student’s work, please take a look.” Wang Ting handed the drawings to the Director, holding them out as if presenting a precious imperial seal.
“A student?” The Director repeated, clinging to the keyword in her statement, “A senior?”
“A freshman.”
“A freshman?” he echoed.
“Freshman from class seven, Hua Jie.”
“…” The Director took the designs, and seeing that Wang Ting was not joking, he put on his glasses and sat up straight to unwrap the newspaper she had packed.
As he saw the drawings, his skeptical demeanor vanished.
“Ts-ts.” He nodded as he looked through them, impressed by the positive, well-rounded development.
“Hisss…” He couldn’t help but gasp. Interesting, indeed.
“What does ‘gray porcelain’ mean in this color scheme annotation?” the Director of Studies asked, humbling himself to inquire.
“I don’t know,” Wang Ting shook her head. “I’m not a design student either. The senior and junior art groups were too busy, so I had to lead the task. It just so happened that Hua Jie from Class 7 could do it, so she took it on. She designed these yesterday, and the color scheme was also completed by her alone.”
“Do we really have such talented students in our freshman year?” the Director of Studies, despite knowing nothing about art, recognized that the level was very high.
“I was also surprised. This child’s skills might even surpass many college graduates.” Wang Ting did not skimp on her praise; Hua Jie’s excellence was a point of pride for her freshman team.
“That high?” the Director of Studies revisited the design drafts. “What do you think about entering these in the provincial art competition?”
“There might be others out there, but she should be able to win an award,” Wang Ting confidently boasted.
“Good, good. Let’s proceed with this design then,” the Director of Studies decided definitively as he put down the drafts.
“But—” Wang Ting retrieved the drafts, looking somewhat troubled at the Director.
“What is it?” the Director put down his tea mug he had just picked up.
“Hua Jie is happy to give this design to the school and is willing to paint the campus walls to contribute to a beautiful campus environment, but she has a request that needs your approval,” Wang Ting paused, tapping on the drafts, and added:
“To get this design in an advertisement shop would cost hundreds, not to mention the painting. Hua Jie has the right to take back this design and not let the school use it.”
“Is she saying that if we don’t agree to her terms, she won’t let us use it?” the Director frowned.
“Not exactly, but there’s a certain risk,” Wang Ting admitted, finding herself in a difficult position.
“What’s her condition? Tell me,” the Director asked seriously.
An art teacher from the senior group who had been listening to their conversation leaned in:
“How good can it be that she even makes demands on the school?”
“Take a look!” Wang Ting passed over the drafts.
“The kids these days, they’re not simple at all, always wanting rewards and making demands, not like in our days when we—” the senior art teacher’s rant stopped abruptly. After viewing the four designs, she was so immersed that she forgot her previous comments, meticulously examining each one.
Any artist seeing such interesting and innovative techniques would find it hard to contain their excitement.
After a while, she even reached the point of not wanting to let go.
“Director, none of the three teachers in our school can come up with this design. It’s not that our drawings are bad, but mainly because it’s quite professional.”
“When it’s painted, the effect will definitely be good. I’ve seen the campus walls of No. 2 High School, with those ugly big-headed kids there spinning hula hoops, looking like ghost dolls.”
“When ours is up on the wall, and the leaders come to see and ask who painted it, the principal will say it was painted by a freshman. Imagine how impressive that is!”
“The freshmen in our school look better than those painstakingly crafted in other schools. Won’t the provincial leaders think our school’s overall strength is amazing?”
The senior art teacher of the third year shook the design draft in his hand, talking even more than Wang Ting, hitting all the right notes for the director.
“What conditions did this kid ask for?” The director couldn’t wait any longer. As soon as the conditions were laid out, they would start painting the wall immediately, without delay!
“She wants to be a freshman flag bearer,” Wang Ting said.
The director paused for a moment, then burst into laughter, “Kids will be kids, what conditions am I still thinking about.”
“So, you mean…” Wang Ting raised an eyebrow.
The director clapped his hands, “I was just thinking of selecting a kid with outstanding talents to be the flag bearer, to highlight the theme of the comprehensive development of our school’s overall strength. This is just perfect timing. How’s the kid’s image?”
“She’s quite obedient, tall and thin,” Wang Ting replied.
“Alright, then. You hurry and take her to paint the wall. If you encounter any difficulties, come to me. Strive to finish it as quickly as possible and do it well!” The director stood up, walked to the window, and looked out at the distant campus wall, already envisioning the effect after it’s painted.
Once the ice rink is done, add two more basketball hoops to the basketball court, and repaint the running track…
Anyway, in terms of school appearance, we’ll definitely surpass other schools by a mile!
Haha, hahaha, hahahahaha…
“Should I go talk to Hua Jie?” Wang Ting confirmed again as she prepared to leave.
“Go ahead. And make sure to sign her up for all the competitions later, even those newspaper submissions, and any provincial art exhibitions, okay?” The director’s enthusiasm was unprecedented.
“…Okay.”
After acknowledging, Wang Ting left with Hua Jie’s design draft, feeling a bit floaty and surreal.
Was it really going this smoothly?
She had been worried that the director wouldn’t understand art and communication would be difficult.
Indeed, art knows no boundaries, right?
Exiting the office, Wang Ting lightly tapped the design draft and suddenly felt her steps quickening.
Thinking about the art exhibitions and such that the director mentioned, she suddenly felt that with a student like Hua Jie, her future for the next three years might be very bright…
…
…
In Class 7 of the first year.
A classmate called out to Hua Jie, who was earnestly studying during morning self-study:
“Art teacher Wang Ting is looking for you.”
Hua Jie looked up and instinctively glanced at Shen Mo.
The two kids had been discussing the matter of becoming flag bearers. Now, as they exchanged glances, they felt a mixture of excitement and nervousness.
No one said a word, but they understood each other implicitly.
Hua Jie stood up, put down her pen, and left the classroom, heading straight for the office of the first-year group.
A few minutes later, she came out clutching her design draft, lips pressed together, feeling a mix of excitement and daze.
As soon as she stepped out of the office, she spotted Shen Mo walking from the other end of the corridor.
“?” Shen Mo walked briskly, hands in pockets, and stepped up to her, tilting his head and raising an eyebrow in inquiry.
“It worked out!” Hua Jie couldn’t help but shrug with a smile, her eyes crescent-shaped as she revealed her two rows of small white teeth.
Shen Mo pursed his lips and hmphed, “As I expected.”
“Why weren’t you in self-study? Where were you headed?” Hua Jie walked happily, occasionally glancing back in the direction he had come from, which seemed to be towards Class 1-2 of the first year. What was he doing over there?
“Oh, just had something to do,” he replied nonchalantly, seemingly unconcerned.
Hua Jie didn’t pay much attention and continued to feel excited while holding her design draft.
Wow!
Being a flag bearer!
She had never even thought about this in her two lifetimes. Things like flag bearers, grade representatives, outstanding class cadres, and flag bearers were all honors for good students that she felt had nothing to do with her.