The next day after school, Jiang Xi began her attempt to earn money.

Maocheng had a well-known white pagoda located in their town. Around it was a long street filled with specialty snacks, built to circle the pagoda, allowing visitors to enjoy both food and the scenic lake view nearby as they strolled.

It was just before summer vacation, and tourists were gradually starting to arrive.

Jiang Xi walked through the snack street to get a feel for things and came up with an idea.

She could set up a stall and sell her paintings at a low price. If she had time, she could even draw quick sketch portraits of tourists posing with the white pagoda in the background. Those could be priced a bit higher.

This kind of idea wouldn’t make much money in the future, when street artists were everywhere in commercial areas. But right now, it was over ten years ago. Her idea was so new that there wasn’t anything similar on the entire street. So it was worth trying.

Jiang Xi was impressively quick to act. Once she settled on the plan, she went home that night and packed a few paintings, grabbed her drawing board and tools, and rode their family’s worn-out three-wheeled bike straight to the snack street.

She had ridden quite a distance when she noticed someone had been following her the whole time.

Turning back, she saw Jiang Xiaochan, out of breath from running.

Jiang Xi was puzzled. “Why aren’t you at home eating dinner? What are you following me for?”

Leaning on her knees and gasping, Jiang Xiaochan panted, “Where… where are you going?”

“Snack street,” Jiang Xi replied truthfully.

“I’m going too.” She climbed into the back of the three-wheeled bike.

Jiang Xi spoke sternly, “You can’t come. I’m not going out to play.”

“I know,” Jiang Xiaochan settled herself in the cart, “You’re going out to earn money for the family.”

So, she had run all this way just to help her.

Trying to hold back a smile, Jiang Xi stepped back on the pedals.

“Hey, Jiang Xiaochan, you’re so heavy. Get off and run.”

“I’m guarding your paintings in the back.”

“Don’t make excuses.”

The sisters bantered the whole way, bickering as they pedaled to the snack street.

Jiang Xiaochan was small, and weaved through the crowded street with ease. She even helped them find a good spot to set up their stall.

As it turned out, Jiang Xi’s money-making idea was a success.

Because it was novel and unseen before, tourists walking by kept stopping in front of their stall. Some looked at the paintings, some asked about the price, and some were curious about the “White Pagoda Commemorative Portrait” she was offering.

With more and more people asking, Jiang Xi realized she needed a sample portrait to show them. Otherwise, even if people were curious, no one would want to be the first to try.

Just as she was about to tell Jiang Xiaochan to sit still so she could draw her, she found that her sister had disappeared.

A moment later, Jiang Xiaochan returned with the model she had picked.

Lin Jia and Jiang Xi stared at each other in surprise.

Jiang Xiaochan led Lin Jia to sit on a stool, then turned excitedly to her sister and said, “Draw Lin Jia! He’s good-looking and perfect as a model. He’ll help attract more customers to our stall!”

“Well yeah…” Jiang Xi mumbled, “But we keep asking for his help. Lin Jia has his own things to do too.”

Jiang Xiaochan gave her an OK gesture. “Don’t worry. Put it on me. Lin Jia and I are close.”

Jiang Xi rolled her eyes. “How many years do you plan to milk this ‘friendship’ for?”

While the sisters were talking, Lin Jia had already settled down on the small stool.

The bustling street was behind him, with the lake’s water quietly flowing. He sat with his eyes lowered, still and calm amid the noise. The lights of the night market cast a cold blue glow on the side of his face, like he was inside an aquarium.

He was strikingly handsome.

Just like Jiang Xiaochan said, Lin Jia really was perfect for a model.

Jiang Xi quieted her thoughts and picked up her brush.

“Do I need to pose a certain way?” he asked.

“Let me think,” she said playfully, a mischievous look in her eyes. “How about you raise your hand and pose like you’re holding up the pagoda?”

“Like this?” Lin Jia stiffly lifted his arm.

“Pfft.” Jiang Xi couldn’t hold back her laughter.

“Are you laughing at me?” He raised his arm higher, looking even more ridiculous.

“Nope.” She hid behind the canvas, her shoulders shaking with laughter.

To calm herself down, Jiang Xi casually started a conversation.

“Don’t you need to take care of your grandpa?”

“No, I already gave him his medicine tonight. Everything’s fine at home.”

“Has your dad been causing any trouble lately?”

“He’s hiding because of his debts. He doesn’t dare to come back.”

It seemed that in the past two years, Lin Jia had been living a much more comfortable life. Jiang Xi was truly happy for him.

“It’s almost the end of the semester. We’re about to take the high school entrance exam. Coming out tonight—won’t it affect your studies?”

“My studies are fine.”

She stopped sketching and tilted her head to look at him. “You’re good at studying?”

“Yeah, I’m ranked first in the whole school.”

Lin Jia wasn’t showing off. He was just stating a fact.

The last time she traveled through time, Jiang Xi had heard from Meng Xuemei that Lin Jia had “good grades,” but she hadn’t expected them to be this good.

Jiang Xi was doing a quick sketch, and she was experienced.

At this point, the figure’s outline on the canvas was already taking shape.

An elderly couple passing by became interested in her drawing.

“Young lady, this portrait—can you only draw one person?” the older woman asked.

Jiang Xi responded warmly, “I can draw two people, and the price is the same for both.”

The old woman smiled. “Great. Then you keep drawing. I’ll look around and come back later.”

Standing to the side, Jiang Xiaochan saw all this.

After the elderly couple left, a new idea popped into her head. She looked at Jiang Xi, who was drawing, and said something shocking.

“I think the picture looks a bit plain with just Lin Jia in it. Jiang Daxi, how about I sit on his lap, and you draw the two of us together?”

That immediately reminded Jiang Xi of the intimate photo she’d seen of Jiang Xiaochan and Lin Jia.

She frowned and was about to speak, but Lin Jia stopped it first.

“That’s not appropriate.”

“Why not?” Jiang Xiaochan spoke in a sweet, childish voice with a little pout. “What’s wrong with being a bit close to me? Don’t you like me?”

Lin Jia’s tone sank as he clearly said,

“I like you like a younger sister. I see you as a little sister.”

Jiang Xiaochan wasn’t angry. She pouted and fired back,

“Tch. As your little sister, I like my sister more than I like you.”

Unexpectedly promoted to the top of Jiang Xiaochan’s “favorites list,” Jiang Xi was quite surprised.

She was about to tease her sister when the embarrassed Jiang Xiaochan quickly turned away to attract customers elsewhere, not lingering around them anymore.

Jiang Xi then neatly completed the last stroke of the portrait.

“All done. You don’t have to hold up the pagoda anymore, Heavenly King Lin.”

She lifted the canvas to show him.

In the portrait, Lin Jia was playfully holding a white pagoda. His eyes sparkled, and his smile was bright.

“It looks really good.” He sincerely praised it.

“Mm…”

She hung the painting in the most prominent spot on the stand and casually said,

“I heard there’s going to be a fireworks show on the snack street soon.”

He asked, “What day?”

Jiang Xi kept her head down, tidying her things as if she were busy. “Just happens to be the day our exams end.”

“Want to go watch it together?”

“Sure!” She’d been waiting for him to say that. She immediately agreed.

She answered a bit too quickly. He hadn’t even finished speaking. Feeling a little embarrassed, Jiang Xi tucked a strand of hair behind her ear to cover it up.

In front of the white pagoda, their little art stand was very simple. But more than the paintings, it was this good-looking teenage boy and girl that caught the attention of passersby.

A man in a shirt stared in their direction without blinking, watching them for a full half hour.

Once the boy at the stall left, the man finally moved.

He took a step forward, pretending to casually pass by, lingering at the stall and browsing. On the surface, he was looking at the artwork, but his eyes never left Jiang Xi’s face.

Seeing that he had been standing there for a while without saying anything, Jiang Xi took the initiative to speak to him.

“Is there a piece you like?”

“Yes.”

The man adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and gave her a gentle smile.

He pointed at the portrait Jiang Xi had just finished. “I want something like this. But first, I have to ask—did you draw all these portraits and paintings yourself?”

Jiang Xi nodded firmly. “Yes.”

“I don’t think so.”

He still wore that vague, gentle smile as he leaned in and spoke softly to her.

“The styles are different. It’s obvious they weren’t drawn by the same person.”

Jiang Xi was stunned.

Perhaps realizing he had come off a bit rude, the man took a step back.

“Don’t be scared. I’m not here to cause trouble. I just wanted to get to know you.”

He extended a hand and introduced himself with a friendly expression.

“Can we be friends? My name is Qi Shu, or you can call me Uncle Qi.”