All the students bowed their heads, listening intently with a look of misery.
From the children’s pained and anxious expressions, the principal inexplicably felt a sense of pleasure.
The joy of tormenting kids, it seemed, was an unexpected perk of his job.
However, when he noticed a boy in the back row looking utterly bewildered throughout, he couldn’t help but furrow his brow.
Tormenting is one thing, but being utterly clueless is another.
The principal only glared at the boy for a second before his gaze suddenly fell on a girl sitting upright while answering the questions.
While everyone else strained their ears in frustration, her expression was relaxed, as if listening to these English conversations and texts was effortless.
Driven by curiosity, the principal wandered over to the girl.
He then saw the name on her paper: Hua Jie.
On closer inspection, indeed, she was the freshman who led the drills, a student of Teacher Shen Jiaru, and desk-mate of Shen Mo.
With his hands clasped behind his back, the principal bent slightly forward to scrutinize the girl’s answer sheet closely.
He noticed that almost instantly after the listening passages were played, Hua Jie had already finished writing her answers.
That is to say, she understood the English conversations and short essays clearly, without any confusion or hesitation.
Upon looking at the answers, they were all correct.
No wonder she is highly regarded by Shen Jiaru, she seems to be doing very well academically.
Then why did Liang Ping say earlier that this child was not doing well in her studies and needed close monitoring?
Thinking this, he looked up at Teacher Liang standing nervously by the podium.
Liang Ping met the principal’s gaze and hurriedly smiled.
The principal blinked and started walking out, hands behind his back, wondering if the girl had suddenly become enlightened after learning to paint with Shen Jiaru. Isn’t it said that painting can aid in intellectual development?
Or perhaps it was just an imbalance in subjects?
As he reached the podium, he looked back at Hua Jie and noticed that, aside from doing the listening questions, she had also answered two additional multiple-choice questions not related to the listening exercise.
“…” This was practically a blatant disregard for the English listening questions.
He seriously suspected that the listening questions for this exam were too easy, but as his gaze swept over the other students, he dismissed this thought.
“Is Hua Jie heavily biased towards English?” the principal asked Liang Ping in a low voice.
“…” Liang Ping looked at the principal, recalled the previous incident involving Bian Ying and Hua Jie, which had led the principal to call her late at night, and couldn’t help but take another long look at Hua Jie before softly replying:
“She scored 141.5 out of 150 on her math test.”
She had skipped her lunch break to grade the papers she collected during her monitoring duty.
Hua Jie’s scores had miraculously improved from failing at the beginning of the school year to this high score.
She remembered it quite clearly.
Because of this high score, she now looked at Hua Jie differently.
How could her score have improved by more than a hundred points so suddenly?
This score was only 0.5 points lower than the math class representative’s score, which was incredibly impressive!
What kind of genius could make such a leap in two months? Her jaw was practically dropping.
Thinking it over, it could only be because her desk-mate Shen Mo, who excelled in his studies, had a very positive influence on her.
He must have been helping her with various difficult math problems regularly, and the effect was truly remarkable.
After the exams, she plans to implement a peer-assistance program in her class, aiming to boost the grades of the bottom 10 students by the final exams.
“That’s very commendable,” the principal remarked appreciatively.
Considering the high standards of first-year math, achieving over 130 points is not an easy feat.
He looked at Hua Jie again, finding her more and more agreeable.
Not only is she academically proficient, but being taken as an apprentice by a renowned painter like Shen Jiaru shows she’s truly a good student.
“Very good, very good,” the principal nodded repeatedly as he walked out of the Classroom 1-7, looking back step by step.
However, Hua Jie was not concerned about whether the principal was watching or discussing her.
To stay alert for the English exam in the afternoon, she didn’t dare eat too much for lunch, fearing it would make her sleepy.
She also obediently took a nap after lunch to recharge.
Thus, her focus was extremely high at the moment, her eyes and mind fixed solely on the exam paper in front of her.
At least for now, the exam was her whole world.
But Liang Ping was somewhat uneasy. She leaned against the podium, her gaze on Hua Jie gradually becoming dreamy.
A grand scheme of top students helping those struggling was quietly brewing.
…
…
Finally, the mid-term exams for grades one and two concluded on Friday morning, and some students immediately started celebrating, shouting and singing loudly in the classrooms and hallways.
Others, feeling disappointed with their performance, were visibly gloomy.
Yet, they all breathed a sigh of relief now that the exams were over.
Duty students stayed behind to clean up, while others planned to play basketball, go skating at the gym, or hang out online.
Most of the girls went shopping together, even the usually well-behaved ones not wanting to go straight home.
Hua Jie, however, packed a 16-open size clipboard and blank scrap papers she had collected during the exam days into her backpack, said goodbye to Bian Hong, and headed straight for the bus station.
Worried about her bicycle being stolen, she parked it across from the bus station in a residential area, securing it with two heavy locks before walking back to the bus station across the street.
Even before entering the gate, she could feel the crowd bustling around her.
People of all sorts brushed past each other, coming and going.
Some were old, some young, with both men and women present. Some carried large bags, others slung small ones, some pulled suitcases, and some wore backpacks. There were various expressions and states among them.
As Hua Jie entered, she dove into the crowd like a hawk swooping into a chicken coop, her gaze eagerly scanning the people around her.
After finding a spot in the middle, she couldn’t wait to pull out her sketchpad, grab a pencil, pinch an eraser, and randomly picked an old man sitting down to start drawing.
The bus station, a paradise for artists practicing quick sketches!
The old man, apparently a manual laborer, had notably large joints, which greatly helped the artist in capturing the skeletal features.
Once she had sketched the overall dynamics, capturing the human proportions and the relationship between muscles and bones, the old man remained unchanged in his posture, and she began to add details.
The old man’s weary posture, the creases in his clothes he paid no mind to while leaning, the facial creases of the working class, the traces left by years on his face, the wear on his shoes from long use, and more.
Even top painters cannot do without life drawing.
Famous painters like Van Gogh, Monet, and Picasso, all had plein air works among their bestsellers.
Even though many artists have memorized a vast array of landscapes and still life images and can recite various human poses and clothing by heart, these recreated contents still cannot replace the value of life drawing.
Many surprising details, vivid colors, and changes are unique charms of life drawing.
Just as there are thrilling novels and films, real life remains the most touching presence.
Hua Jie thoroughly enjoyed life drawing, not only because it enhanced her painting skills, observational abilities, and coordination between eye, brain, and hand but also because every randomly captured scene was filled with variables.
She loved these differences, the unexpected elements.
Surprises often lurk in the unknown.
After completing a full quick sketch, she added a few partial sketches on the blank spaces of the paper, capturing the old man’s changed postures—the hands in a different position, the two feet interacting differently, and a few bundles at his feet.
Once finished, she gently rubbed her fingers over the sketch to add shadows, instantly giving the quick sketch depth with its shadow relations.
The paper was completely filled, so she flipped it over and started to sketch a slightly plump woman.
Sitting amidst the bustling crowd, the girl quietly captured the weariness of passersby, the excitement of nearing home, and the boredom of waiting…
Thus, vivid scenes emerged on the paper: a man chatting animatedly with his companions, a pregnant woman napping against her partner, a young person with a blank stare, a child constantly munching on snacks…
The lean man’s facial muscles were clearly defined, while the round, young girl’s bone structure and muscles were more challenging to depict, and the round-faced child was the hardest to get right. Sketching the wrinkles on an elderly person’s face was particularly taxing.
Each drawing presented its unique challenges, requiring different focal points during the sketching process.
Hua Jie treated it like a video game, constantly changing levels, conquering one drawing after another, achieving success with each completion.
When all six sheets of paper were filled on both sides, she felt a great sense of release, as exhilarating as singing karaoke for an hour or having a satisfying meal.
The stress accumulated over several days of exams was fully released between pen and paper. She took a deep breath, put down her pen, and leaned back in her chair.
No matter how the exams went, they were finally over.
She hoped… hoped to be among the top 10.
She pursed her lips and took another deep breath.
Tomorrow would be her first lesson at Teacher Shen’s house. She had completed her replication paintings and the glass sphere sketches, which she felt good about, but she wasn’t sure if Teacher Shen would be satisfied.
The exam results and rankings wouldn’t be out until next week. She hoped not to disappoint Teacher Shen and to live up to her own relentless efforts over the past few days.
Looking up at the ceiling, she suddenly felt an indescribable weariness.
The tension she had been holding finally eased, and she realized just how exhausting it was to strive so hard in her studies and drawing.
It had only been 10 days of intense effort, yet there were over two years left until the college entrance exams. Could she really keep it up?
Tears threatened to appear.
Just as her emotions began to surface, the woman sitting next to her suddenly took an interest in her drawings, enthusiastically saying:
“Wow, young lady, you draw so well! Could you draw one for me?”
Hua Jie instantly put away her tears and professionally turned to assess the woman.
With distinct and sharp facial features, slightly thin, high cheekbones, and a prominent jaw—almost androgynous, she was of top model quality.
Paired with her challenging-to-draw long curly hair, she would be a nightmare for a test but an excellent subject for a sketch practice.
“Sure!” Hua Jie’s eyes lit up, and she agreed without hesitation.
The aunt immediately sat up straight and didn’t move.
She had been observing the girl for a while, noting that every sketch was exceptionally well-done, both lifelike and beautiful. She couldn’t quite explain it, but they were simply captivating and artistically appealing, making her envious.
“Can you give it to me as a gift when you’re done?” the aunt quickly asked during a brief pause in Hua Jie’s sketching.
“Of course.” Hua Jie nodded enthusiastically and continued her swift strokes.
The aunt instantly kept quiet, not daring to speak or move.
Once she started drawing, all her previous low spirits and emotions instantly vanished.
She was truly an emotionless drawing machine.
All she needed to do was her best; whether Teacher Shen would be satisfied, whether the results would be favorable…
No need to be obsessed!
Enjoy! Just enjoy the happiness of drawing freely in the moment!
Fifteen minutes later, the aunt, holding her own portrait sketch, happily lined up to board her bus.
Meanwhile, a crowd of elderly men and women gathered around Hua Jie to watch her draw.
The girl sketching at the bus station suddenly became a highlight of the day.
She added a touch of interest to many people’s mundane journeys.
“Your drawing is really good.”
“Yes, she’s so pretty and can draw so well. I wish she were my daughter.”
“Ah, this technique, this speed, watching this young lady draw is truly a pleasure.”
“I think it’s even better than the ones in books.”
“Hey! The bus is here, stop watching and grab your luggage, let’s go.”
“Ah, it’s a shame it’s not finished yet, tsk tsk…”