Chapter 42

After Lu Weiguo and Shi Tingyu returned home, it was already late, so they quickly made a simple meal together.

Looking at the darkened sky, Shi Tingyu apologized, “Sorry for working late. I lost track of time when I started painting today.”

Lu Weiguo replied, “It’s okay. You’ve been busy lately. I can cook these days. If not, I can bring food from the cafeteria.”

Shi Tingyu had no objections to that.

Her current tasks were quite demanding.

Fortunately, it would all be over after this month.

After dinner, Shi Tingyu planned to wash her hair.

Lu Weiguo glanced at her hair and said, “I’ll help you wash it.”

Shi Tingyu paused in her hair-combing motion and looked at herself in the mirror. Some paint had splattered on the back of her head, which she hadn’t noticed. It would indeed be easier if someone helped.

So Shi Tingyu fetched a small stool and sat by the well.

Lu Weiguo lifted a kettle from the coal stove, filled with hot water mixed from the well, and brought it over.

Shi Tingyu bent over, gathered her hair in front, and dipped it into the basin of mixed water.

Using his fingers as a comb, Lu Weiguo smoothed her hair from the roots down.

The texture of her hair was incredibly soft and smooth, which he found delightful.

When Lu Weiguo reached for laundry detergent, Shi Tingyu quickly stopped him. “Don’t use laundry detergent. It damages hair.”

After hearing this, Lu Weiguo put down the detergent, thought for a moment, and turned to get soap. Shi Tingyu also declined that, “In the bathroom, there is pre-boiled soapberry water ready. Use that.”

Shi Tingyu remembered they didn’t have shampoo yet; the earliest hair cleanser seemed two years away. Nowadays, people used soapberry or lye-settled water to wash their hair, with some opting for soap for a more refined choice.

Shi Tingyu washed her hair frequently, so she had prepared soapberry water in advance to save time for every wash.

Lu Weiguo helped her straighten out her hair and then brought some soapberry water into the room.

Because Lu Weiguo was taller and Shi Tingyu was sitting, he had to bend over a little, which made him feel a bit cramped.

After helping Shi Tingyu wash her hair, he was sweating even more.

This era had its inconveniences due to outdated production technology, with many items not yet available compared to later periods, which affected daily life.

Seeing Lu Weiguo’s damp hair, Shi Tingyu suggested, “How about I wash your hair too, while there’s still hot water left in the kettle?”

Hope flashed in Lu Weiguo’s eyes momentarily, but he hesitated, “Wouldn’t that be too tiring for you?”

“It’s fine. It’s quick for me to wash,” she assured him.

Lu Weiguo, who wasn’t keen on struggling, relaxed upon hearing this.

Shi Tingyu wrapped her own hair in a towel, pulled Lu Weiguo closer, and asked him to bend over.

Lu Weiguo had very short hair, so washing it was quick. She didn’t have him sit down but rather stood to wash it while he bent over.

Shi Tingyu’s years of experience in washing and massaging hair came in handy now.

Before crossing over, she had taken great care of her hair, paying special attention to scalp massages during regular hair washes.

She wetted Lu Weiguo’s hair, applied soapberry water, and gently massaged his scalp with her fingertips, asking as she went, “Is this pressure okay for you?”

Lu Weiguo stiffened for a moment before responding, “Uh, it’s quite… comfortable.”

Of course, it was comfortable. His scalp felt tingling and numb. Normally, washing his hair himself gave him no special feeling, but it was different with someone else doing it.

He could only feel how tender her hands were.

When she massaged his scalp, it was unbelievably gentle and delicate.

Suddenly, he had the urge to grab her hand and rub it vigorously a few times.

By the time Lu Weiguo finished washing his hair, his face was flushed red.

Shi Tingyu asked in puzzlement, “Is it because you’ve been bending over for too long? Is your head congested?”

Lu Weiguo fell silent. Was there another, more romantic possibility between them?

…

They lived their days peacefully and warmly.

Every day, Shi Tingyu struggled with the wall.

The effect was quite obvious.

Where there had been nothing coherent before, patterns had now emerged.

More and more people came to watch the mural.

Even the young soldiers who had finished their training in the camp liked to come here to see.

Looking at the formed painting, the onlookers were deeply moved for a long time.

Especially the red flag—it seemed to fly out of the wall, detached.

That isn’t quite right. However, it appeared as if a real red flag was fluttering, even though it was clearly painted on the wall.

The children, who were depicted running forward, had a similar effect. Their feet seemed to leave the wall, as if stepping onto the ground outside the wall.

Shi Tingyu’s painting was continuous. The children grew up gradually from their naive selves at the school gate to sprinting individuals, finally growing into soldiers dressed in military uniforms.

The portrait of the soldier was the most shocking to the spectators.

The whole person seemed to break free from the wall. Behind the wall was damaged, and the soldier’s back faced the vast artillery fire.

The soldier in the painting had a face blurred with ash, with only the resolute and distinct jawline visible under the military cap.

He was in motion, his hands, legs, and waist showing a smooth and powerful dynamic.

A soldier incredulously reached out and touched the broken wall. It was only when he touched it that he realized this wasn’t a real break; it was also part of the painting.

At that moment, everyone gained a deeper appreciation for Shi Tingyu’s painting skills.

Just think, who could depict a perfectly intact wall as if it were damaged without causing any visual discordance?

If they hadn’t touched it, they wouldn’t have been able to tell.

Shi Tingyu had grown accustomed to being surrounded by spectators now.

The painting of the soldier was just completed today.

She was very satisfied with it.

Looking at that figure, her demeanor softened.

Now, only the chinese dragon, spanning the entire wall, remained to be completed.

When she first started, she wanted to use a dragon to traverse the entire wall. The first bucket of paint she splashed was the color of the dragon.

Changing brushes, Shi Tingyu began to meticulously depict the dragon.

At this moment, people were starting to look up to her.

From the random splashing of paint at the beginning to these nearly breakthrough paintings, it was like crossing into a divine realm.

When Lu Weiguo came over again, he found that his wife hadn’t finished painting yet.

“Why so late today?” Lu Weiguo came to Shi Tingyu’s side and carefully removed the clumps of paint that had stuck to her hair.

Since finishing late on the first day, Shi Tingyu hadn’t stayed out this late in a long time.

Setting down her paintbrush, Shi Tingyu took Lu Weiguo’s hand and led him to the soldier she had painted.

Except for the first visit, this was Lu Weiguo’s second time here.

He had heard the soldiers around discussing the mural painted by his wife.

In their mouths, his wife was hailed as a contemporary master painter.

Proud inwardly upon hearing this.

But he didn’t know exactly what the finished mural looked like.

Just now, he was so busy finding his wife that he had failed to get a close look at the mural on the wall. Looking at it now, his pupils couldn’t help but tremble.

However, when he saw the soldier standing amidst the raging fire behind him, he couldn’t shake the feeling of familiarity.

Shi Tingyu said, “This is based on your image.”