Chapter 78: Digital Dreams and Unexpected Encounters

It was Sunday afternoon.

After finishing lunch, with over two hours remaining until his two o’clock lesson, Zhong Tian cleared the dining table, intending to delve into how to achieve a thick, gouache-like texture using digital painting.

Originally, he had planned to bring his gouache set to demonstrate for Chu Lenghu.

However, once packed into its bag, the art supplies proved quite heavy and bulky, making the prospect of carrying them out feel both cumbersome and awkward.

Consequently, he opted to teach using digital painting instead.

He powered on his drawing tablet and computer, then, pen in hand, began to ponder the possibilities on the painting interface.

‘Recreating the gouache aesthetic with digital painting…’ Zhong Tian mused, ‘I don’t think it’s possible. At least, not for me.’

In the physical world, gouache allows for colors to be layered, building up a tangible thickness—a feat utterly impossible with digital art.

While simply replicating the texture of gouache would be straightforward, Zhong Tian felt such an endeavor would ultimately be meaningless.

Deciding to abandon the pursuit of perfectly mimicking gouache effects, Zhong Tian, adhering to his personal philosophy of “letting go of what cannot be achieved,” picked up his stylus.

He then began to research the optimal approach for digitally painting a starry sky.

If all else failed, he could always search for tutorials on Bilibili.

With that thought, Zhong Tian made his first stroke on the canvas.

****

Chu Lenghu made her first stroke.

She paused, observing her work, and concluded that the color of that stroke appeared somewhat muddy.

Adjusting the color wheel, she undid her last action and applied a new stroke.

This new stroke was pleasing in color, yet it still felt… not prominent enough, lacking a certain impact.

‘Why is that?’

She jotted the question down in her notebook, intending to ask Zhong Tian about it later.

This was a long-standing habit of Chu Lenghu’s: whenever she encountered a problem she couldn’t immediately resolve, she would record it, then systematically seek out solutions.

After finishing her notes, she checked the time, realizing it was already half past one in the afternoon.

Zhong Tian, she surmised, must already be on his way.

‘I should make a few preparations.’

****

Yu Yinlian awoke.

Merely seeing the sunlight streaming onto her balcony was enough for her to know she had once again slept until one or two in the afternoon.

‘I’m hungry…’

Patting her stomach, she sat down at her desk, contemplating opening a box of instant noodles.

Just as she was about to tear open the lid of the instant noodles, Yu Yinlian suddenly remembered it was Sunday.

The dormitories at Taisan High School had no electricity on weekends, meaning she couldn’t boil water.

‘I’ll have to go out and buy food…’

Yu Yinlian retrieved the few dozen yuan remaining under her pillow, left her dorm, and headed to the snack street near the school, searching for a fast-food restaurant that caught her eye.

‘Something cheap, perhaps…’

She settled on a wonton shop.

Just as she was about to step inside, her gaze fell upon a figure slowly approaching in the distance.

Long black hair, deep blue eyes, and an exquisitely handsome face…

“Zhong Tian!” In a flash, her delight pulled her back to reality, and she waved to him.

****

It was half past one in the afternoon, and Zhong Tian was walking towards Chu Lenghu’s house.

Having spent the entire morning painting without a nap, he felt a slight drowsiness creeping in; though his spirits were generally good, he still let out a few yawns.

As he walked along the snack street near the school, his eyes scanned the surrounding shops, wondering if he should buy a refreshing drink or a snack to perk himself up.

“Zhong Tian!”

Not far away, the figure of a young woman appeared before him, waving and calling his name.

‘That young woman…’

“Yu Yinlian.” The moment he saw her, a rush of information about the young woman before him flooded his mind. “Good morning.”

Yu Yinlian walked up to Zhong Tian, looking quite pleased. “Good morning! Are you out having fun?”

“Ah… no.” Zhong Tian had initially intended to explain his purpose for being out, but remembering Yu Yinlian could only remain in reality for ten minutes, he opted for brevity, omitting less crucial details. “Is there something you need?”

“Oh, there is something I wanted to discuss with you…” Yu Yinlian began. “Are you in a hurry? If so, I won’t keep you.”

“Not particularly. I have about ten minutes to chat.”

“Great, let’s go into this shop and talk,” Yu Yinlian suggested. “I was just about to buy lunch anyway.”

Yu Yinlian and Zhong Tian entered the shop.

Yu Yinlian asked the owner for a takeout order of wontons, then sat down with Zhong Tian at a table.

“Well, it’s about that matter we discussed earlier—earning money online…” Yu Yinlian met Zhong Tian’s gaze. “I’ve come up with a way to circumvent my ability, but it will require a bit of your help…”

“Go on,” he prompted.

“I plan to write novels and have you, Zhong Tian, publish them on my behalf.

That way, people online will be able to read them… For the contract, I’d need you to provide your personal information, and once there’s income, we’ll split the monthly royalties equally.” She paused. “What do you think of this arrangement?”

“Hmm…” Zhong Tian considered for a moment before replying, “I think that could work.

However, there’s no need to split the royalties; I’ll transfer the entire amount to you.”

“No… no, that won’t do,” Yu Yinlian quickly refused, shaking her head. “I appreciate your kindness in helping me, but I wouldn’t feel right about it… We still have to split it equally.”

“I wouldn’t feel right about it either,” Zhong Tian countered.

Zhong Tian smiled, shaking his head. “You need the money more than I do.”

“But…”

“How about a nine-to-one split?” Zhong Tian suggested. “You take ninety percent, and I’ll take ten.”

Yu Yinlian gnawed lightly on her knuckle, silently pondering the offer for a moment before finally sighing and conceding, “Alright…”

“Wontons for takeout are ready!”

Hearing the wonton shop owner’s call, Yu Yinlian rose to pay and collect her order.

“Well, I won’t keep you any longer… I’ll head back now.”

“Alright.”

Zhong Tian nodded, stood to bid Yu Yinlian farewell, and once again set off on his way to Chu Lenghu’s house.

‘…Wait.’

‘How did I end up in a wonton shop just now?’

‘Am I so disoriented from skipping my nap? No way…’

Puzzled, he entered a convenience store and bought a can of coffee.

****

*Ding-dong—*

Chu Lenghu had just finished slicing an apple and arranging it on a plate when the doorbell chimed.

She wiped her hands with a tissue and went to open the door.

“Teacher Zhong Tian.”

“Lenghu.”

After exchanging pleasantries, Zhong Tian entered and, guided by Chu Lenghu, took a seat on the living room sofa.

Chu Lenghu brought the sliced apples to the living room table. “Please have some apple first, Teacher.”

“Thank you.”

Zhong Tian accepted without ceremony, spearing a piece of apple with a toothpick.

The apple, having been refrigerated, was both icy and crisp, offering a delightful texture.

“By the way, Teacher, my parents will be home later this afternoon, and we’re planning to go out for dinner.

Do you have time to join us?”

“Hmm… I think I’ll pass. As an outsider, I wouldn’t want to intrude on your family dinner.”

Zhong Tian had always been terrible at dealing with his friends’ parents, and the thought of sharing a meal with them… that was nothing short of torture.

“Ahem, let’s just start the lesson, shall we?”

“Of course.”

Seeing Zhong Tian’s reluctance, Chu Lenghu didn’t press the issue.

Carrying the apples, she led him into the room and turned on the computer.

“Teacher, I just tried to paint a starry sky, but it feels like it lacks light,” Chu Lenghu explained, opening the starry sky she had previously drawn. “How can I fix this?”

“Hmm, the problem lies in the stars’ colors not being bright or pure enough, and the background night sky not being deep enough, resulting in weak contrast…” Zhong Tian immediately identified the issues in Chu Lenghu’s painting based on his own conclusions. “Making these changes should improve it significantly…”

As he spoke, he took the stylus and began making adjustments.

As always, Zhong Tian painted with swift precision.

With just a few strokes, the visual effect of the painting was magically enhanced.

“Once painted this way, not only does the sense of light emerge, but the overall completeness of the picture is also significantly elevated.”

“Yes, I’ve always felt the picture looked somewhat unfinished…”

“Right… speaking of pictorial completeness, let me elaborate a little,” Zhong Tian said, twirling his digital pen.

“Pictorial completeness is an extremely important aspect of painting.

The simplest way to enhance it is by adding more intuitive points, lines, and planes.

In landscape painting, the arrangement of these elements should be well-considered during composition.”

“That’s why I first adjusted the layout of the stars: drawing them more compactly here to form a plane, scattering them elsewhere as individual points, and using the hills beneath the starry sky as lines.”

“Beyond points, lines, and planes, enhancing contrast is another simple method to increase completeness,” Zhong Tian continued.

“Therefore, I intensified the brightness contrast between the night and the stars, which not only heightened the sense of light but also made the entire scene feel more complete.”

Chu Lenghu nodded, taking notes.

“Now, why don’t you try drawing it yourself?”

Zhong Tian opened a new canvas and handed the stylus to Chu Lenghu.

“Alright.”