Happy times were always brief. After returning home, Yu Mian had to devote herself to studying again.

Shen Shang had very high demands on her. In addition to attending classes every day, he would also give Yu Mian a lot of homework and arranged extra classes on weekends. It was widely recognized as the most relaxing university life, but Yu Mian had a busy and fulfilling one.

The distance and the heavy academic workload allowed Yu Mian to gradually return to her original state, and her enthusiasm and excitement when facing Lin Jianshen also calmed down.

Yu Mian spent a whole day completing her homework about her trip.

She painted an alley in an ancient city. The overcast sky was low, as if a storm was about to come. The narrow alley was nested between raised eaves and green walls, looking tranquil and extending to an unknown distance.

There were wild grasses growing underneath the wall, yellow and thin, flexibly clinging to the stones.

Black tiles covered the eaves of the house, which have been weathered by time and carried an ancient and rustic atmosphere. There were several windows spaced apart on the wall, with wooden reddish-brown frames and carved patterns, opening towards the unknown alley, full of melancholy and loneliness.

The tone of this painting was dark, with cold tones of black, gray and dark blue throughout. One glance at it makes people subconsciously feel depressed and suffocated.

However, its highlight was the corner of the room exposed through a window in the center of the painting.

There was a clean table inside with only a flower pot placed on top.

It was small daisies in a small round white porcelain pot. It had tender green leaves surrounding a handful of brilliant yellow flowers in full bloom. The small flowers were crowded together, so bright and lovely.

The gloom and dimness of the whole painting were eliminated by such a pot of extremely gorgeous daisies.

Even against the gloomy background, this pot of flowers, which was originally ordinary and without any sense of existence, revealed its incomparable beauty and warmth. No matter who saw it, they would be attracted by it and unable to take their eyes away.

It’s like a ray of sunshine falling in the endless darkness, subtle but couldn’t be ignored, making people unconsciously want to follow and chase after it.

This one touch instantly changes the mood of the entire painting, as if to tell people that no matter how depressing or difficult life was, there were still some little bits of beauty that were easily overlooked, waiting for them to discover.

Shen Shang looked at this painting for a long time, and once again sighed in his heart that some people were really just special.

He watched Yu Mian grow and understood her talent and vibe better than anyone else.

In the field of art, the most indispensable thing was vibe. Unlike other professions where one could always gain something with hard work and diligence, learning art, especially fine art, without any personal characteristics, one could only be regarded as a painter, but not a truly esteemed artist.

It was precisely because he saw her potential that he was extremely invested in her and overly demanding.

With a piece of rough jade in hand, who doesn’t want to see it become a beautiful jade as soon as possible?

“We’re almost done with light and shadow so let’s move on to color.” Shen Shang shifted his eyes away from the canvas and told his pupil, “You have your own unique way of using color, but that’s not enough. You need to know how to mix the desired and ideal hues, which isn’t easy.”

Yu Mian listened attentively and nodded. “Okay, Teacher. I will study hard.”

She loves painting. Every time she paints, she immerses herself wholeheartedly into it. Whenever she finished a painting, her soul seemed to have been washed and all the negative emotions would dissipate, leaving behind only warm and beautiful emotions, making her whole person relaxed.

It seemed that all the bad emotions were discharged from the body along with the painting process, like a natural filter. Painting was both a hobby and an enjoyment for her.

Sometimes when Yu Mian was agitated or depressed and couldn’t calm down, she would choose to paint. While painting, she would reflect on herself and clear her mind. Over the years, it was precisely because of such a channel that she was unaffected by the external environment and was able to grow into a girl with no inner shadow.

She returned to school to continue her studies and time passed by peacefully like running water. It seemed no different from the past, but subtle changes were taking place.

Just like the trees on the roadside that were gradually becoming bare as the leaves fall off, leaving only thin and skinny branches. These small movements weren’t noticeable, but once one noticed them, one would be surprised at how quickly and quietly they withered.

Yu Mian and Deer began to communicate again. Their contact inexplicably increased and they would chat online from time to time.

There was also her idol and fiancé, Lin Jianshen. For some reason, he would occasionally send her messages, although the frequency wasn’t high. At first, Yu Mian felt as if she was facing a formidable enemy. She would always deliberate her words when replying for fear of saying the wrong thing. She was also afraid of disturbing and annoying him, so her tone was extremely polite.

Anyway, judging from the chat records between the two, there was no indication that they were engage.

After some time, Yu Mian gradually relaxed.

Lin Jianshen chatted with her on a daily basis, telling her to remember to keep warm whenever the temperature drops or to not forget to bring an umbrella as it might rain, and sharing some interesting things with her during filming.

Like a caring friend, these ordinary greetings were really hard to be vigilant about.

She was only able to see him online and not in person, but no matter how nervous Yu Mian was, it didn’t last too long. Over time, she got used to it, and the relationship between the two of them became unexpectedly harmonious.

Before making the promised cake every week, Yu Mian would ask him about his taste in advance, and Lin Jianshen would ‘order’ in cooperation. Knowing that she was busy with her studies, he would ask someone to pick it up once it was ready, instead of letting her personally send it.

Yu Mian sometimes wondered why Lin Jianshen was doing so?

She thought a lot, but still didn’t dare to think whether he liked her even for a little bit. She could only speculate that perhaps he had changed his view of her and now regarded her as a junior who needed care? Or perhaps it’s because of his sense of responsibility?

Yu Mian didn’t think for too long. She would just let go of things she couldn’t understand and wouldn’t split hairs.

The words ‘go with the flow’ and ‘let nature take its course’ were perfect for her.

Anyway, it’s not such a bad thing, right?

Her bond with her family was becoming increasingly strong and her school life was getting back on track. Yu Mian had changed from being a truant who couldn’t keep up with the curriculum to a top student who was often praised by teachers in class.

The students in class gradually realized that Yu Mian was probably a big boss.

There was also speculation that the reason why she used to skipped classes in the past was because she was too talented which led to her fearlessness. After all, geniuses had capital to be willful.

These rumors spread on campus, and under her dazzling family background, people added a genius halo to Yu Mian.

Yu Mian was naturally unaware of this, but she could sense the change in the attitudes of the people around her. They used to avoid her, but then some people began to approach her, and now basically everyone she meet would greet her with a smile on their faces.

While walking on the road, there were almost no people who dared to stop her and ask for her contact information. After news about her fiancé spread, it had to be said that this solved a big problem for Yu Mian.

She had a soft temper and had a hard time refusing. However, when it came to this kind of thing, she had to be firm, and every time she rejected someone, she felt exhausted as if she had fought a battle.

Fortunately, things were much quieter now. Even Wen Quyi, whom she had a series of ‘accidental encounters’ before, had stopped doing so. Sometimes when they met by chance, he would stare at her with inexplicable gloomy eyes, like a vicious wolf. Originally, Yu Mian wanted to remain friends with him, but she was frightened and gave up the idea.

The bell rang signalling the end of classes. Yu Mian packed up her tools and textbooks, then carried her bag and walked out of the classroom with light steps.

“Yu Mian, do you want to go shopping together this afternoon?”

“No, thank you, my brother is coming to pick me up.”

Facing the invitation from her classmates, the young woman had a gentle smile on her face, but she still shook her head firmly to express her refusal.

Others weren’t surprised when they saw this.

Yu Mian now speaks softly, often had a smile on her face, and seemed to be easy to talk to, but in fact she wasn’t close to anyone. Although she appeared soft and good-tempered on the outside, she had her own line of defense on the inside.

It had been almost a month since she started diligently attending classes, but she hadn’t made any friends. She only comes to class every day and leaves at the end of the lessons, never participating in other activities or staying at school.

Some people thought that perhaps because she’d been deceived by a friend before, she became too cautious and was afraid to trust others again.

Tang Yao’s scandal had been exposed and anyone who had been to the campus forum had seen it. She pretended to be friends with Yu Mian but secretly took advantage of her. She used Yu Mian’s money to buy luxury goods, instigated Yu Mian to chase after a star, lose weight, and go on a hunger strike, and also used Yu Mian as a springboard to meet people in high society.

Despite being an ordinary girl from a small family, she packaged herself as an unattainable baifumei and acted big.

Yu Mian recognized her true nature and wanted to break off relations with her, but she slandered Yu Mian as a ‘white-eyed wolf’.

Losing Yu Mian’s golden thigh, Tang Yao lost her financial resources. In order to maintain her ‘persona’ at the school, she agreed to be kept by a rich man and became his mistress.

It’s a pity that there’s no secret that wouldn’t be revealed in the world. The rich man’s daughter was also studying at Shengming. She discovered her father’s affair and found out Tang Yao’s identity. She first posted rumors on the school forum to warn her, but seeing that Tang Yao didn’t restrain herself, she directly blocked her on campus and caused trouble.

Tang Yao’s image plummeted and the persona of a rich lady that she had worked so hard to create completely collapsed. Yu Mian, who had been used and slandered by her, suddenly became a pitiful victim, attracting sympathy from everyone.

The public even found a perfect reason for her previous absenteeism, thinking that she was misled by Tang Yao. After breaking off relationship with Tang Yao, didn’t Yu Mian became a good student everyone praised?

The facts were before their eyes, and everyone believed what they see more.

At this time, the ‘pitiful’ Yu Mian was walking on campus with her head lowered, holding her phone and chatting happily with someone.

【Shenshen: I happen to find a set of Pokemon action figures. I don’t really like them but how about you? Do you want to have them?】

【Shenshen: [Picture]】

【Yu Mian: Aww! So cute! I super love that series!!!】

【Yu Mian: They’re so difficult to buy! The original version is almost out of production, where did you find them?!】

【Shenshen: I found them in an old store when I was out filming. It’s good if you like them. [Touch head.jpg]】

After finally recovering from the excitement, Yu Mian looked at the screen full of her exclamation marks and the little emoji he had sent. She held her slightly red face, thinking how he’s really treating her like a child.

On the other hand, the man who used his identity as Deer to fully understand his fiancée’s preferences, suppressed the raised corners of his mouth, the smile in his deep black eyes were about to overflow.

Using a sockpuppet seemed to be alright.