Wednesday afternoon, the weather was unreasonably sunny.
The sunlight was golden honey, pouring down from above, turning the plane tree leaves on campus translucent and casting a patchwork of dancing light spots on the ground.
It was the first outdoor landscape sketching class of the semester, and the location was set on the small hill by the lake on the east side of the school.
The view was wide open, with the shimmering lake light and the scattered red walls of the school buildings in the distance. It was indeed a good spot.
Yan Yu brought her lightweight drawing board and a few paintbrushes, wheeled her chair, and followed her classmates, slowly moving to the edge of the designated slope.
The manual wheelchair moved with some difficulty on the slightly uneven grass slope. Beads of sweat soon formed on her forehead, and her breathing quickened, but her face remained expressionless. She found a corner in the shade of a tree and stopped the wheelchair.
Not far away, on the flat ground by the lakeside, a small group had already gathered, with Jiang Muyun at the center.
The sunlight fell on her, making passersby steal more than a few glances. Around her were three or four female students who usually loved to join in the fun, forming a small aura centered on her.
“Muyun, your choice of composition angle is really good. The layout looks so comfortable!”
“Right, right! The sense of light and shadow, it’s so layered. You can tell you’ve had systematic training abroad. It’s different.”
“It’s way better than Yan Yu’s. You’re the best painter in our class!”
Hearing these compliments, Jiang Muyun put down her charcoal pencil, wiped her forehead with the back of her hand where there was no actual sweat, and modestly said, “Oh, stop it. Don’t praise me. I just got back, and I’m still rusty. Besides…”
She changed the subject, her gaze casually drifting to the quiet, slender figure in the shade of the tree in the distance, and she hypocritically added, “Yan Yu… she’s been painting for so long. She has a solid foundation. I still have a lot to learn from her.”
“Her?” A round-faced female student curled her lips, lowering her voice. “She was just criticized by the teacher last time, and…”
She didn’t finish, but the girls exchanged knowing glances and giggled behind their hands.
Jiang Muyun gently shushed them, casting a playful look, but the smile at the corners of her mouth deepened.
She picked up her charcoal pencil again, sketching nimbly on the paper with elegant confidence, enjoying the admiring or envious gazes around her.
‘It seems,’ she thought, ‘I’ve more or less established my popularity and reputation in the class.’
To completely steal Yan Yu’s position in this class, the next step was to get close to another high-popularity, somewhat special person in the class…
Her gaze landed on a white-haired female student sitting alone on a large rock by the lake, sketching from life.
Bai Yan’er, the school belle of the college, the most sought-after presence among the opposite sex.
Today, Bai Yan’er wore a simple white T-shirt, her long hair casually flowing, her silhouette reflected in the lake light like a painting.
She seemed completely absorbed in her own world, oblivious to the noise around her. Her brush moved rapidly across her sketchbook, pausing occasionally to squint into the distance, her expression focused.
After finishing a quick sketch of the small scene in front of her and chatting with those nearby for a while, Jiang Muyun picked up her sketchbook and walked lightly toward Bai Yan’er.
“Bai Yan’er,” she said, stopping two steps away, her voice soft, “Are you drawing here too? This angle is really nice. The ripple effect on the lake surface is well captured.”
Bai Yan’er’s brush paused. She didn’t look up, only responding with a faint “Hmm.”
Jiang Muyun’s smile didn’t waver. Instead, she leaned in closer, her gaze landing on Bai Yan’er’s drawing paper. She extended a slender finger, pointing vaguely at a clump of reeds by the lakeside on the canvas. “Here… I think you could strengthen the contrast of light and shadow a bit more. Darkening the shadow area a little might add more depth. And the perspective on that small pavilion in the distance seems slightly…”
Her tone was gentle, with a hint of guidance and suggestion, as if it were just a friendly exchange between classmates.
Bai Yan’er finally stopped.
She slowly turned her head to look at Jiang Muyun.
Her almost perfect face was expressionless, her eyes clear but carrying a cold detachment.
“Jiang Muyun,” Bai Yan’er spoke, her voice as clean and cold as she was, “What you just said about the dark area treatment applies to still life sketching in front lighting. But right now, it’s side-backlighting, with strong reflections from the lake surface. If I deepened the shadows as you suggested, it would break the unity of the overall light feel, making the reeds stand out and look disconnected from the environment.”
Her speech was steady and clear. She returned her gaze to her drawing, lightly smudging the shadowed part of the reeds with her fingertip. The charcoal powder spread naturally, adding more layers and richness.
“As for that pavilion,” she continued, still not looking at Jiang Muyun, “it’s in two-point perspective. I deliberately adjusted the visuals to push it back, emphasizing the openness of the lake. If I corrected it to standard perspective, the composition would look stiff and lose its spatial atmosphere.”
She finished, picked up the kneaded eraser beside her, and lightly erased an extra line at the edge of the pavilion. The motion was crisp and clean.
Then, she finally looked up again at Jiang Muyun, who was frozen in place, her face alternating between red and white. Bai Yan’er’s voice was calm and flat. “Thanks for the suggestion, but since you’ve just returned from abroad, you might not be familiar with some of the domestic sketching habits and preferred expression techniques. I suggest… you observe more before speaking.”
The air around them seemed to still for a moment.
The female students nearby who had been surrounding Jiang Muyun looked awkward, wanting to approach but not daring to.
Jiang Muyun’s smile had completely faltered, cycling through shades of green and white.
Her fingers gripping the sketchbook tightened, the knuckles turning white.
She opened her mouth as if to argue, but meeting Bai Yan’er’s overly direct eyes, all the polished, flattering words she had prepared got stuck in her throat.
She hadn’t expected Bai Yan’er to be so blunt, nor that she would be so professionally sharp and ruthless.
Those lightly spoken words cut deeper than any harsh insult, making her feel like her earlier “advice” was nothing but shallow showing off.
“…Is, is that so?” Jiang Muyun forced a smile, her voice dry, “Maybe… maybe I was wrong. Bai Yan’er, you’re right. I still need to… learn more.”
She finished hurriedly, unable to maintain her composure. With a quick nod to Bai Yan’er, she turned and walked away swiftly, her retreat almost like a flight.
Back with her small group, facing the inquiring looks of her companions, she only forced a smile and shook her head, saying nothing more. But her fingers gripping the charcoal pencil kept trembling with effort.
In the shade of the tree, Yan Yu had taken in the entire scene by the lake.
She slowly steadied her breathing, which had quickened from moving her position, lowered her eyes, and looked at her blank drawing paper.
The charcoal pencil spun between her fingers, then fell, leaving the first steady line on the rough surface.
She noticed that, while speaking, Bai Yan’er’s gaze had been quietly flicking toward her direction.