Chapter 11: Sketching

Bai Chen can cook for himself, and since he arrived in the UK, he’s never eaten out, so he didn’t know that the food here wasn’t very good.

This made him remember that one of his fans with a UK IP often commented on his works, saying that British food wasn’t good. Many of the top comments were from that fan, who was lively and engaging, much like Zhu Yu’s personality.

The two of them walked side by side, with Zhu Yu talking the whole time.

Once Zhu Yu started talking, he couldn’t stop. Bai Chen just listened, finding it interesting to hear him talk nonstop. His lips curved into a smile the entire time without realizing it, until they finally parted ways when they reached the school.

In the afternoon, Zhu Yu’s class was going to the suburban park for a sketching session. The Western students in the class liked this course because their sketching method wasn’t the typical outdoor training style, it was just a simple excursion to gather scenery and colors. For them, it was like going on a field trip.

But Zhu Yu didn’t really like it.

Because it took an hour by bus to get back from the suburbs.

Every time he was on the way home, he was so hungry he felt like throwing up.

There weren’t any convenience stores or restaurants in the suburbs, and even white people’s food was hard to come by.

What a pity, Zhu Yu thought. Why do the British like to eat tasteless food so much?

“Yu, for this group assignment, we’ll keep the same groups as last class. Remember to find your group members,” the female class monitor handed Zhu Yu a list of groups.

It was strange. Zhu Yu was the only Chinese person in this class, but in other classes of the same major, there were many Chinese students. So, besides the professors, even the classmates took extra care of Zhu Yu.

“Okay, thank you,” Zhu Yu smiled at her.

Zhu Yu was too good-looking, with the typical appearance of a young aristocrat. The blonde, blue-eyed class monitor was so caught off guard by Zhu Yu’s cheerful smile that she immediately blushed, her fair skin turning a shade of red.

“No need to thank me,” the class monitor said as she walked away with the list.

Zhu Yu took the list and followed the rest of the group onto the school bus.

There were not only students from his class on the bus. Every time there was a sketching session, multiple classes and even students from other departments joined, so Zhu Yu didn’t recognize everyone on the bus.

Zhu Yu found a window seat and sat down. Just as he settled in and hadn’t fastened his seatbelt yet, someone sitting next to him bumped into him quite hard.

Zhu Yu was already annoyed about having to travel so far for sketching, and being bumped like this made him even more unwilling to show a pleasant expression.

He frowned and looked at the person next to him, only to see the person bowing to him repeatedly.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, are you alright?” The person was speaking Chinese. “I didn’t do it on purpose.”

Zhu Yu’s expression softened a little. When abroad, he always tried to be more tolerant with his fellow countrymen.

“Are you Chinese?” Zhu Yu replied in Chinese.

The person, still holding a sketchpad and apologizing with bows, froze when he heard Zhu Yu’s voice. He looked up at Zhu Yu with curiosity.

At the sight of his facial features, Zhu Yu confirmed it.

He was indeed Chinese.

“I’m Chinese. Are you mixed race?” The boy asked, sounding a bit confused.

Zhu Yu looked at him and asked, “Do I look like I’m mixed race?”

“Sorry, you look too good, you really look like a mixed-race person,” the boy immediately apologized.

After hearing this, Zhu Yu completely forgave him.

“Can I sit here?” He was referring to sitting next to Zhu Yu.

He cleared his throat twice and moved a little towards the window. “Ahem, sure.”

The boy smiled and thanked Zhu Yu before sitting down beside him.

“My name is Chen Ding, what’s your name?” The boy had black hair, slightly messy, and a very youthful vibe. He had single eyelids, a clean and fresh look, and appeared neat and tidy.

From the fact that he introduced himself first, it seemed that he was quite an outgoing person.

“My name is Zhu Yu.”

After introducing himself, Zhu Yu asked, “I haven’t seen you before. Are you in our department?”

“No, I’m in the Accounting Department next door.” Chen Ding grinned at Zhu Yu, revealing a row of neat white teeth.

“How did you from the Accounting Department end up sketching with us?” Zhu Yu asked curiously.

Chen Ding explained, “I’m very interested in your major, and I happened to have no classes this afternoon, so I came along to audit the class.”

Zhu Yu nodded, but he was still puzzled. “Then why didn’t you study art?”

Since Zhu Yu’s family supported whatever he chose to study unconditionally, he often made impulsive decisions. For Yu Lianhuan and the others, as long as Zhu Yu didn’t cause trouble, they were fine with whatever he did.

For example, when Zhu Yu wanted to quit high school and study painting, no one in his family opposed him.

So, he thought that since Chen Ding liked it, he should have chosen this major.

“Because doing art is too expensive,” Chen Ding immediately shrugged and explained.

Zhu Yu furrowed his brow. He felt a bit uncomfortable with what Chen Ding said, as if he was purposely waiting for Zhu Yu to ask him, so he could naturally respond with this answer.

But, since Zhu Yu was abroad and always tended to trust his fellow countrymen, he didn’t think much about it.

“Alright,” Zhu Yu said. When he came to the UK, his family had taken care of almost everything, and he seemed to never have looked into these costs.

The window of the bus opened a crack, the car drove smoothly on the road, and the cool breeze blew in, brushing against Zhu Yu’s light hair.

His long eyelashes fluttered along with it.

He had grown up in a large family like the Zhu Family, and money had given him a noble air. Even though his life wasn’t as lavish as before, his aura still remained.

He and Chen Ding chatted casually.

“By the way, do you know where there’s authentic and cheap Chinese food near our school?” Halfway through the conversation, Chen Ding mentioned that he had come here to study last year. Zhu Yu immediately asked about his most pressing concern.

Chen Ding thought for a moment and said, “The nearby ones are all quite expensive. You could cook for yourself.”

Zhu Yu sighed, “I don’t know how to cook.”

Chen Ding looked at him and said, “Well, actually, I don’t know where to find good Chinese food either. Chinese food here is generally expensive, and my pocket money isn’t enough for eating out.”

“So I cook for myself,” he added.

Zhu Yu replied, “Being able to cook for yourself is already impressive. I can never learn how to cook, otherwise I’d cook for myself every day!”

“Well, if you were really short on money, you’d probably force yourself to learn,” Chen Ding said.

Zhu Yu frowned slightly. He didn’t really like what Chen Ding said. How would Chen Ding know if he had tried?

Before he could express his discomfort, Chen Ding continued, “Because I’m studying abroad part-time, I have to earn my own tuition, accommodation, and living expenses, so I had to learn how to cook.”

“How much is the tuition?” Zhu Yu didn’t really have a clear concept of tuition and accommodation fees.

Chen Ding looked at him in surprise, saying, “220,000 a year. You didn’t know?”

Zhu Yu’s ears perked up at this, and there was a look of shock in his eyes. He mentally calculated, how much Braised Chicken could he have with 220,000?

He shook his head, “Since my family took care of my admission, I don’t really know. Is tuition really this expensive?!”

In the past, Zhu Yu probably wouldn’t have had much of a concept of money, but things were different now, and he could now understand how difficult it was to earn 220,000.

“Your family must be pretty well-off then, huh?” Chen Ding’s tone had a bit of a probing feel.

Zhu Yu didn’t respond to this. He patted Chen Ding on the shoulder and complimented him, “So you’re really impressive! You earn all your money yourself!”

Zhu Yu was close to being overwhelmed by just the cost of living, and here was someone who had to work part-time to pay for tuition and accommodation fees. He had to admit, he really admired him.

Chen Ding’s voice became pitiful and humble, “Because my mom is sick, my dad abandoned us, and my grandfather is very old…”

His tone was so sorrowful and humble that anyone listening would inevitably feel pity for him.

Sick mom, useless dad, old grandfather, poor family, broken self…

He probably wanted Zhu Yu to feel sorry for him.

But Zhu Yu was shocked, “Then why did you come here to study? Wouldn’t it be cheaper to go to university in China?”

“Isn’t it hard?” Zhu Yu asked.

He didn’t mean anything else, he just didn’t understand, and his tone wasn’t malicious. But this misunderstanding and lack of malice made the other person feel embarrassed.

Chen Ding’s eyes, hidden behind his single eyelids, flashed with an odd light. He coughed twice, avoiding Zhu Yu’s puzzled gaze.

But Zhu Yu kept staring at him, seemingly waiting for his answer.

Fortunately, the bus suddenly braked sharply, breaking the tension. Both of them were forced to lurch forward, and Zhu Yu quickly grabbed the handrail beside him to avoid hitting his head on the seat in front of him.

The whole car was filled with screams, and Zhu Yu really wanted to curse.

He wanted to say, “Can you even drive? If you can’t drive, just get out and carry the car instead.”

But some enthusiastic British people in the car had already grabbed the mic.

“Yu! Get ready to get off, our group is meeting first,” shouted a British guy sitting in the front row, looking back at Zhu Yu.

That was Ben, the group leader from last time. Since they were using the same group list, he was still the leader this time.

“Okay, I’m getting off now!” Zhu Yu responded, slinging his backpack on, and Chen Ding also got up to make way for him.

“Goodbye, Chen Ding.” Zhu Yu carried his backpack on one shoulder, holding his sketchpad in one hand, and got off the bus with the others.

Chen Ding watched Zhu Yu’s backpack closely, it had a prominent logo. The market price of this backpack was over 20,000, and Zhu Yu was using it to carry his drawing tools.

Chen Ding quickly grabbed his backpack and caught up with Zhu Yu.

“Zhu Yu, wait for me!” Chen Ding jogged to Zhu Yu’s side.

Zhu Yu turned to look at him and asked, “What’s up?”

“Can we add each other on WeChat?” Chen Ding pulled out his phone and explained, “I really like this major, and you’re the first Chinese art major I’ve met. I want to get to know you.”

“If I encounter something I don’t understand, I’d like to… ask you for advice,” Chen Ding added, his face turning a little red as he scratched his head in embarrassment.

Seeing that Zhu Yu was hesitating, Chen Ding quickly added, “Because you seem really capable, and I feel like asking you is no different than asking the professors. Plus, we’re both Chinese, so it’ll be much more convenient to communicate.”

This explanation convinced Zhu Yu, and he nodded, “Okay, you can scan my QR code.”

Zhu Yu pulled out his WeChat QR code.

After adding each other on WeChat, Zhu Yu flipped through his Moments in front of Chen Ding. He saw that Chen Ding posted many pictures of tea plantations, with the pinned post showing tea prices and such. Zhu Yu didn’t know much about tea, so he skimmed through it and then curiously asked:

“Does your family sell tea?”

“Yes, my grandfather sells tea at home to supplement the family income,” Chen Ding replied.

Zhu Yu put his phone back in his pocket and asked, “So, do you know how to make tea?”

“This… I don’t know,” Chen Ding replied, not understanding why Zhu Yu asked that.

Zhu Yu immediately put his hands on his waist, looking proud as he said, “My senior knows how!”

“He makes the best tea!” Zhu Yu’s expression was… well, proud, as if he was talking about his own skills.

A drop of unknown sweat slid down Chen Ding’s face. He laughed awkwardly and said, “Ah, haha, your senior seems pretty impressive.”

“Yes, and he’s really good at cooking. The food he makes is also really delicious!” Zhu Yu said proudly.

Because he was talking to Chen Ding, Zhu Yu had fallen behind the group by quite a bit. Ben, who was at the front of the group, shouted at him, “Yu! Hurry up!”

“I’m coming!” This time, it was really time to say goodbye. Zhu Yu waved to Chen Ding and then, with long strides, caught up with the group.

Chen Ding watched his back and took out his phone to send a voice message, “I’ve definitely hooked a big one. Do you know how much the backpack he’s carrying costs?”