Lin Yi wandered around the recruitment fair for a long time, but she couldn’t find the Myriad Phenomena Club booth
That wasn’t entirely accurate—she just hadn’t spotted Jian Shuye.
After all, the Myriad Phenomena Club officially only had Jian Shuye as a member; Lin Yi wasn’t counted.
She had just picked up a Club Application Form from the Student Council Office at the entrance of the recruitment fair.
She figured Jian Shuye wouldn’t have prepared one, so she’d fill it out herself and hand it over once she found the booth.
But she simply couldn’t spot Jian Shuye anywhere.
That woman was way too easy to find, after all.
For one thing, with looks like hers, if she stood at the recruitment fair, she’d draw at least the level of attention a meteor crashing would.
Then she must still be in the club room.
Lin Yi had no choice but to fill a thermos mug with warm water from the gymnasium, convert it into Clear Mind Black Tea, and then jog toward the Club Building.
“Huff… huff.”
Thanks to her recent training, Lin Yi could handle even a long run now.
She no longer gasped for breath after just a few steps like before.
The aftereffects of her long-term vegetarianism had basically disappeared.
She passed the Vocal Music Department’s live ensemble, the Drama Department’s outdoor play, and the Martial Arts Department’s sparring match, finally arriving at the Club Building.
Members of the Gardening Club were moving potted plants around.
Lin Yi wondered if she might run into Jian Shuye here, so she asked,
“Um, excuse me, have you seen a really pretty girl somewhere around here?”
The Gardening Club members exchanged glances, then pointed at Lin Yi.
“You’re the pretty girl.”
Lin Yi quickly shook her head.
“Ah, no, I mean not me. Someone a little taller than me, wearing a school uniform and loafers, with sleek black hair, really beautiful, but she looks super arrogant and makes you want to punch her.”
“Huh? Violence isn’t okay, classmate.”
“Just a metaphor.”
They shook their heads.
“Haven’t seen her. We just got here ourselves. Maybe try looking inside the building?”
“Alright, thanks!”
Lin Yi went upstairs and happened to run into members of the Handicraft Department hauling out hats.
Su Kui saw Lin Yi running past and wanted to say hi, but Lin Yi didn’t even turn her head as she dashed upward.
“So busy… Well, better not bother Lin Yi.”
When she reached the Myriad Phenomena Club room, Lin Yi found the door open.
She breathed a sigh of relief, steadied her heart rate and breathing, and pushed the classroom door open.
She didn’t know how to describe the scene before her.
This place no longer looked like an ordinary club classroom.
It was more like a studio forgotten by time.
Oil painting canvases of various sizes leaned against walls, rested on tables, or lay sprawled across the floor.
Unfinished paint still glistened with wet luster, while dry ones showed thick textures.
The canvases depicted all kinds of landscapes and figures—bold and unrestrained colors, reds clashing with blues, golds and grays layered upon each other.
Chaotic but full of life.
On the floor, half-squeezed paint tubes lay scattered, with dried clumps of pigment clinging to their metal nozzles.
The faint scent of turpentine mingled with the smell of linseed oil, gently floating in the air.
A few crumpled floral cloths had been used as rags to wipe brushes, stained with uneven traces of paint, like a wrinkled palette.
Brushes of varying lengths lay strewn everywhere, their bristles still carrying colors that hadn’t been properly cleaned.
Some leaned against paint buckets, others had rolled into the gaps between canvases—total chaos.
And Jian Shuye stood in the middle of that motley mess.
Her loafers had long been kicked off and tossed aside.
Wearing black knee-high socks, she sat on a chair, staring intently at an unfinished painting.
Her fingers absentmindedly held a fine brush, twirling it between her fingertips, yet she hadn’t made a single stroke.
It was as if she were in conversation with the painting, searching for something within the colors.
Her gaze was focused to the point of obsession.
Sunlight slowly crept over the back of Jian Shuye’s hand, over the scattered art tools, inching toward midday.
But her eyes saw only the canvas, the colors, and the as-yet unformed interplay of light and shadow.
Lin Yi walked up beside Jian Shuye.
Before she could speak, Jian Shuye’s slightly cold voice cut through.
“You’re late.”
Lin Yi was shocked.
“When did you send me a message asking me to come? Did I jump into some parallel universe or something?”
Without turning her head, Jian Shuye said,
“Tea.”
“Tea? I brought it.”
“You were late delivering the tea.”
Jian Shuye tossed aside the brush.
“If you consider the delivery of the tea as your arrival, and you still arrived later than me, then you failed.”
Just send a message saying you wanted to wait for me together—wouldn’t that be simpler?
Why do you have to be so roundabout?
Making your subordinates guess what’s on your mind.
Ultimate torture.
But Lin Yi had agreed and then forgotten about it.
She was in the wrong first, so she could only bow and say,
“Sumimasen.”
Jian Shuye had been about to say something more, but when she saw the thermos mug in Lin Yi’s hand, she swallowed those words.
Lin Yi quickly offered it with both hands.
“Please, enjoy.”
It was like rain after a long drought.
After Jian Shuye drank the Clear Mind Black Tea, her eyes became much clearer, and the furrow between her brows smoothed out.
“All of these… did you paint them all in the last few days, Minister?”
“How is that possible?”
Jian Shuye set down the teacup.
“Most of them are old works. I brought them here for reference.”
Seeing that she was in a better mood, Lin Yi quickly asked,
“So, about the recruitment fair today… Miss Jian Shuye, Minister, as you can see, I’ve brought the club application form…”
“Move things.”
“Huh?”
Jian Shuye stood up, tapped her feet twice, and slipped on her loafers.
“Move the dried canvases to the recruitment fair.”
Lin Yi glanced around the classroom full of paintings, stunned.
“All of these? Just me?”
“Of course not.”
Jian Shuye screwed the cap back on the thermos.
“I called some people to help. Start moving, and I’ll join you.”
Lin Yi hesitated.
“What’s wrong?”
“Well, maybe I’m overthinking things, but I’ll ask anyway. The people you called for help—aren’t they from the Art Department?”
Jian Shuye turned back, a touch of coldness in her eyes.
“Did you go to the Art Department?”
“No, absolutely not!”
Lin Yi raised both hands.
“I just happened to pass by, then happened to get surrounded by them, then happened to run into the Head of the Art Department, and finally happened to find out about this.”
Jian Shuye glanced out the window and replied,
“So what?”
Lin Yi scratched her cheek with a finger.
“Well, things aren’t looking good. The Head of the Art Department said she won’t send anyone to help.”
From outside the window came the sound of chants.
Members of the Track and Field Team were shouting their slogans as they ran past the Club Building.
Girls from the Vocal Music Department were packing up their instruments, chatting about the great coordination they’d had during the ensemble.
And the Gardening Club members carefully loaded potted plants onto handcarts, preparing to transport them to the recruitment fair for exhibition.
Only Lin Yi and Jian Shuye were left in the classroom, staring at each other.
“You’re saying they’re not coming?”
Jian Shuye put down the thermos.
“They’re… not coming?”
“Yeah, if you don’t believe me, I’ll go check again?”
“No need.”
Jian Shuye took out her phone, stared at it for three seconds, then put it away.
She pressed her lips together and started gnawing at her thumbnail.
This was the first time Lin Yi had seen Jian Shuye bite her fingers.
She’d never noticed that habit before.
Jian Shuye circled the canvases twice, then crouched down and lifted one up.
Lin Yi didn’t dare slack off.
She quickly followed suit and lifted another canvas.
No easel, no cart, no helpers.
Jian Shuye walked ahead in silence, and Lin Yi didn’t dare ask a single question, simply following behind.
Lin Yi turned the painting around to hold it so she could see its content.
The painting seemed to depict a young girl, carrying a violin case as she arrived in a city.
It was just a single scene, but Lin Yi could sense how precise the color palette was under Jian Shuye’s brush.
Warm tones softly enveloped the girl, softening the coldness of the unfamiliar environment, while cool tones spread across the city background, highlighting the sense of distance between the person and the scenery.
A breathtaking masterpiece where mood and technique merged seamlessly.
Every stroke brimmed with talent—a rare piece of art.
Lin Yi froze.
She suddenly realized the classroom was filled with paintings like this, probably over a dozen.
‘Could it be that Jian Shuye, that idiot, actually used her self-imposed seclusion to turn the manga into paintings like this?’
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