Yu Mian wasn’t familiar with modern painting. She was more interested in and preferred traditional Chinese painting. However, the process of painting, whether it was modern or traditional, was actually of the same origin. She didn’t have much difficulty in learning it.

It’s just that although she inherited the memories of the other Yu Mian, she never went to school properly. It could be said that she hadn’t learn anything at all so there were no shortcuts for Yu Mian to take.

The other Yu Mian was very rebellious in high school. Generally, when teenagers enter puberty, there would always be some reason for ego consciousness awakening and they would have irreconcilable conflicts with their parents. The common actions include quarreling, not studying well, going against their parents, and so on.

The other Yu Mian was like this. Mother Yu wanted her to be a sweet and lovely daughter, so she acted in an unruly manner and never gave her family a good face. Father Yu told her to study well, so she caused trouble in school and got the lowest grades in every exam.

While Yu Mian was painting according to the textbook, she found that the memories in her mind pertaining it were very sparse. She also saw some scattered images. It turned out that the other Yu Mian hadn’t participated in the professional training for art students in high school.

The other Yu Mian didn’t get admitted in Shengming University, a well-known art school in the country, by herself, but because of Father Yu who donated money for her.

Holding the brush, Yu Mian painted strokes on the snow-white paper. The techniques and knowledge in the book were discarded by the other Yu Mian like worn-out shoes, but in Yu Mian’s eyes, they were no less than precious treasures.

In the past, she didn’t have the conditions to study the art she loved. Now that these things were all in front of her, Yu Mian naturally know how to choose. She wasn’t the other Yu Mian, who had parents who dearly cherished her, an advantageous family background, as well as the capital to be capricious.

Yu Mian was different. She was an orphan who needed financial support to be able to go to school. She learned how life works earlier than her peers.

Some people live with ease, while others have to fight tooth and nail to survive.

Yu Mian could be regarded as a person who has died once. This time, the accident changed her life. This new one seemed to make up for the first half of her life. Everything she regretfully lost was there. Every time Yu Mian thought of this, she would feel grateful countless times and cherish what she had even more.

After staring at the canvas for too long, Yu Mian raised her head and looked out the window. Roses were planted around the wall in the back garden, and the emerald green stems were dotted with colorful flowers. The sky that was still gloomy in the morning gradually cleared up, and thin sunlight poured down like golden sand, passing through the clear window glass and falling on the floor.

She rested her eyes for a moment, then lowered her head and looked at the book again.

Yu Mian had taught herself some traditional Chinese painting, but before that, she spent most of her time working part-time. Even with donations, the money was basically used for tuition. She still had to earn her daily living expenses by herself, and even though she said she learned by herself, she only used limited time to watch some video tutorials and the like.

However, painting wasn’t something that could be learned just by looking. The most important thing was to practice, lots of it.

Everything required corresponding efforts to achieve results. Yu Mian lacked basic knowledge of the system because she didn’t have the conditions to learn it, but she never slacked off in practice.

Since the death of her parents, she hadn’t been able to attend a traditional Chinese painting hobby class. However, she would watch online videos at home and practice by imitating them over and over again.

There were countless pieces of paper in her home, all of which were her paintings over the years.

Therefore, the professional knowledge in this book was like the rain after a long drought to her, it made up for her shortcomings, and she couldn’t bear to let it go once she looked at it.

Until a voice came to her ears, “Why did you stop?”

The sudden voice rang in her ears and Yu Mian wasn’t mentally prepared. She was so frightened that the book in her hand fell to the ground.

She hurriedly turned around and saw someone standing behind her. The man leaned down to pick up the textbook she had dropped.

“Sorry for scaring you.”

With clean fair fingers, he picked up the book and handed it to her. The man lowered his head, his amber pupils as clear as a lake in the sunlight.

Yu Mian was still shaken. A stranger suddenly appeared in the room where she was supposed to be alone. Anyone would be frightened to death. However, she quickly realized that her family has hired a tutor for her, who was supposed to be coming at this time, so she shook her head. “I-it’s fine……”

She reached out to take the book and asked in a small voice, “Are you my tutor?”

“Yes.” The man nodded slightly. “I’m Shen Shang. You can just call me teacher.”

Shen Shang was tall and standing up, so Yu Mian had to look up to see his face. She was a little surprised. Previously, Father Yu wanted her brother to find a student of the same age to teach her, but the person in front of her didn’t look like one.

He wore a white shirt and black slacks. His hair was a little long, almost shoulder-length, and he had thin eyebrows and a pair of very unique light brown eyes.

Yu Mian pursed her lips and asked the question in her mind, “Teacher, are you also a student at Shengming University?”

Shen Shang withdrew his gaze from the easel. “Didn’t your brother tell you? I’m a teacher at Shengming and also Yu Xing’s friend.”

Thinking of what his friend told him yesterday, Shen Shang glanced at Yu Mian again. Yu Xing called him last night and asked him to tutor his sister. At that time, Shen Shang thought he was joking.

After all, Yu Xing and his sister didn’t have a good relationship, and as his good friend, he was aware of that fact. Shen Shang also had a certain understanding of Yu Mian’s bad temper that was widely circulated.

Shen Shang was originally not going to accept it, but to his surprise, Yu Xing actually softened his tone and asked him. Shen Shang was a person who wasn’t interested in anything. Suddenly seeing such a big change in his friend, he couldn’t help but feel a little curious and agreed to meet her.

Upon meeting her today, Shen Shang noticed a difference. He had seen Yu Mian before on a banquet from afar and had also heard about her deeds.

Previously, she had this hostile aura around her and one could feel the gloominess as one gets closer to her. But now, that aura was gone, her whole person seemed to have changed, becoming soft and peaceful.

Her hair was tied into low pigtails hanging on her shoulders, probably for the convenience of painting. She no longer wore those weird hip-hop clothes but a loose light green pullover sweater. Her fair and small face looked fresh and charming.

The most amazing thing was her eyes.

Shen Shang discovered early on that Yu Mian had a pair of beautiful eyes, though she never seemed to realize it. She put on heavy makeup and thick eyeshadow and eyeliner to cover most of her eyes. But what harmed its beauty the most was the perennially cold, dark, and fierce look in her eyes.

Now, all those emotions were gone, like dew evaporating in the light golden sunlight, turning into a warm, soft, clear glow.

Shen Shang met her gaze. He turned his face away from those eyes and looked at the canvas in front of Yu Mian.

“I think your painting is good, why do you need a tutor?”

Yu Mian was stunned. “Is it good? But I don’t know a lot of basic knowledge…… I just opened this book today.” She raised the textbook in her hand with a hint of embarrassment in her tone.

Shen Shang nodded. “En, I also discovered that your painting style is very unique, but you’re unfamiliar with the application of some basic skills. For example, here, your angle isn’t so good, and here, the harmony between light and darkness is a bit off……”

Yu Mian was still a little awkward at first, but when Shen Shang directly gave her a lecture, the discomfort of trying to get along with a stranger quickly dissipated.

The minor flaws in the painting were picked out one by one. Shen Shang casually turned his head and caught a glimpse of the girl’s face listening attentively. Her dark eyes were like tiny mirrors, reflecting the skylight outside the window, bright and radiant.

There was a slight pause in his words, then Shen Shang’s tone changed as he said, “Your painting does have a lot of small issues, but I still think it’s a good one. Do you know why?”

Yu Mian made a landscape painting, taking the scene from the back garden of the Yu family’s house.

Her studio was on the second floor and there’s a tall magnolia tree in the back garden, with lush branches and leaves that block out the sky and the sun. A branch just stretched out the window of the studio. The magnolia tree in autumn had stopped blooming, but there was a small bird’s nest among its branches. The fine twigs and dead leaves formed a small round nest. At this time, the nest was empty except for a few gray feathers.

Birds were generally afraid of people but the windows of the Yu family were made of one way glasses, which was why there’s a bird nesting right beside it.

In Yu Mian’s painting, there’s a gray bird, as fat as a ball, squatting among the branches and looking at the blue sky in the distance.

This was a scene she had seen earlier, but the bird was now gone.

“Why?”

“Before I came here, I thought I was going to teach a student who can’t even hold a paintbrush.” Shen Shang said straightforwardly. “To my surprise, although you have a weak foundation, your painting is very detailed and realistic, and it also has your own style. Everyone’s paintings are different and carry the painter’s personal color. Yours have a strong personal color.”

Yu Mian murmured doubtfully, “My style?”

In order to guide her, Shen Shang had been bowing down to speak. After speaking, he stood up straight and said, “Now isn’t the time to talk about that. Your foundation is a bit weak. I’ll explain the basics to you first and talk about the rest later.”

At this moment, Shen Shang had forgotten that before he came, he had decided that he would only come and have a look around and definitely not be Yu Mian’s tutor.

Yu Mian knew nothing about it. After hearing what he said, she nodded obediently and said, “Okay, teacher.”

Shen Shang’s explanation was informative, plus she also learned that he was his brother’s friend and a teacher at Shengming. Yu Mian had long since approved of him.

Shen Shang took a stool from the side and sat next to Yu Mian. Then he unbuttoned the cuffs of his shirt, rolled up the sleeves on both sides to his elbows, and picked up a paintbrush in one hand.

“With any technique, practice makes perfect. Continue painting and I will correct your brushwork.”

“Okay.” Hearing so, Yu Mian picked up the textbook and started painting with a brush. If there was anything she didn’t understand, she would ask Shen Shang.

The sunlight outside the window slowly became slanted and the clouds on the horizon were dyed red by the setting sun. The orange light cast the shadows of the two people on the floor, dragging out long shadows.

“Here…… It should be painted like this……”

Shen Shang demonstrated once and the girl copied it, but there were still deviations. The man leaned forward slightly, held the end of her paintbrush with his long fingers, and gently traced the lines with the tip.