I was criticized on a dating reality show, but I retaliated and became an internet sensation.

Gu Yan picked up his pen.

He moved quickly, almost without hesitation.

The pen tip landed on the drawing board with a crisp, clean swish.

Shu Zi sat opposite him, her gaze involuntarily falling on his profile, which was covered by an eye mask.

With a high, straight nose and a sharp, defined jawline, the eye patch concealed his eyes, which always held a hint of mystery, making the rest of his facial features even more distinct.

She suddenly remembered something from a long time ago.

It was on such a sunny afternoon that Gu Yan, holding a charcoal pencil, sketched her in his sketchbook, drawing her disheveled appearance with watermelon smeared all over her face as she ate it…

"alright."

Gu Yan put down his pen, his voice breaking her reverie.

The staff member glanced at the timer, somewhat bewildered: "Teacher Gu, it's only eight minutes... Are you sure you're ready?"

Gu Yan hummed in agreement, raised his hand, and removed his blindfold.

He didn't even bend down to check; he remained completely calm.

The staff held up the painting and displayed it side by side with Shuzi.

Shu Zi turned her head to look over—

The painting depicts a girl with her hair in a ponytail, sitting on a chair with her skirt slightly upturned, her hands obediently placed on her knees, and her chin slightly raised.

They even captured her "who am I competing with?" expression.

Although her facial features were somewhat crooked, you could recognize her at a glance.

【Gu Yan, are you telling me this was drawn blindfolded???】

Even with my eyesight of 5.2, I can't draw this shape!

[To draw like this while blindfolded? Is this even possible for a human?]

Did he secretly develop a third eye behind my back?

[Help! This is practically Shu Zi herself! That little expression is priceless!]

[The curve of their skirts is exactly the same! How did he do that?!]

Shu Zi was also stunned.

She turned to look at Gu Yan, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly agape: "You... how did you draw that?"

Gu Yan placed the blindfold on the table, his tone indifferent: "Based on intuition."

Shu Zi: "..."

Based on intuition?

It sounds like you've installed a GPS navigation system specifically to locate her!

If that old man found out, he'd probably beat his chest in despair and yell, "What a terrible loss of a promising talent! What a waste!"

[Just my gut feeling! Hahaha, Gu Yan, you know how to show off!]

[Gu Yan's Sensory Radar: Exclusively for Shuzi, precise positioning, automatic imaging.]

I could be obsessed with the phrase "going by feeling" forever.

[I suggest engraving it on my partner's marriage certificate (not really)]

As Gu Yan walked past her, he paused almost imperceptibly.

He turned slightly closer, so close that he could smell his crisp, clean scent. He lowered his voice, speaking in a whisper that only the two of them could hear, a faint hint of amusement at the end:

"You looked cuter when you were a kid, eating watermelon with your face all over your body than you are now."

After saying that, he straightened up and walked out of the studio as usual, as if nothing had happened.

Shu Zi froze on the spot, her ears turning bright red instantly.

The blush spread rapidly, burning from the tips of her ears to her cheeks and then to her neck, making her look like a shrimp thrown into boiling water.

He... actually remembered.

That painting was done by him many years ago. She thought it was ugly and refused to accept it, and later she couldn't find it anymore.

She opened her mouth, wanting to retort, wanting to say "You're not cute at all," but her mind went blank, and she could only watch helplessly as Gu Yan's figure disappeared at the door of the art studio.

[I told you! I absolutely told you! Gu Yan was definitely whispering when he got so close just now!]

[Shu Zi was completely blushing!!! From her ears to her neck!]

[The production team! The sound engineer! Deduct your pay! What use are you if you can't get sound at such a crucial moment?!]

[Is there anything I, a victim who bought a full-season VIP membership, can't hear?! Can't I pay more?!]

Group 5: Shu Zi × Gu Yan (Second painting).

Shu Zi stood at the door of the art studio and took a deep breath.

Gu Yan leaned against the wall beside him, his hands in his pockets, tilting his head and watching her with a leisurely air.

"nervous?"

Shu Zi turned her head and glared at him: "Who's nervous?"

Gu Yan looked at her without saying anything, but the smile in his eyes deepened.

"...What kind of look is that?"

Gu Yan's lips curled into a smile: "When you were a model, you sat like a primary school student and you weren't nervous at all. Now that you've picked up a pen, you're suddenly nervous?"

"...I hadn't drawn in so long! I was afraid I'd become rusty! I was afraid I'd embarrass myself by drawing badly! You understand!"

Gu Yan hummed in agreement, drawing out the sound with a hint of mockery: "So, you care about what the national audience thinks?"

Shu Zi: "..."

She was speechless, only able to glare at him fiercely: "Shut up, sit still, and go be your model!"

Gu Yan chuckled softly, shook his head, walked into the studio, and sat down on the model chair.

He didn't deliberately adopt a proper posture, but instead leaned back casually, his back slightly relaxed, his long legs naturally apart, one hand casually resting on his knee, and the other hand on the armrest, his posture lazy and relaxed.

Looking at his relaxed yet handsome appearance under the light, Shu Zi's heart skipped a beat, much to her dismay.

[Gu Yan's sitting posture... hiss, is this something I can see without paying?]

[Shuzi, you're stunned! Your eyes are practically glued to the screen! Admit it, you've been overwhelmed by her beauty!]

Shu Zi closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and put on the blindfold.

In an instant, the world was plunged into a soft darkness.

She picked up a paintbrush.

The moment her fingertips touched the pen, her aura changed abruptly.

The earlier stubbornness and unease vanished, replaced by a calm, almost devout focus.

His back was straight, and his hand holding the pen was as steady as a rock.

The pen tip fell, without hesitation or trial and error.

The lines spread across the paper like flowing water, smooth, confident, and with a sense of calm and composure.

First, sketch the outline.

Shoulder line, neck line, sharp jawline... she measured each line with such precision, as if she had measured it with her own eyes.

She couldn't see him, but she knew he was there.

She knew the angle at which he was leaning back in his chair, the casually bent right leg, the position of his hands, and even the slight lift of his chin and the gaze that was inevitably directed in her direction.

She doesn't need to "see".

She's drawn it too many times.

As a child, in the backyard of the old house, sunlight filtered through the grapevines, and she secretly drew his profile as he did his homework. Later, in the art studio, she practiced drawing from his photos over and over again. And then, on countless nights or mornings, his image would unconsciously flow from the tip of her pen and fall into the corner of her sketchbook.

Every bone and every line of his was deeply etched into her memory, and she could reproduce it perfectly even with her eyes closed.

The comments gradually quieted down.

Shu Zi... seems like a different person.

[That pen grip, that decisive stroke—that's definitely not from a beginner!]

[Wow, he's got such a powerful aura, how come he's so handsome...]

The pen tip moves swiftly across the paper, moving from outlines to details.

The slightly open collar of the shirt, the natural folds formed by the rolled-up cuffs, the long, slender fingers resting on the knees…

When she got to the eyes, her brush paused almost imperceptibly.

She remembered his eyes.

When he looks at others, he is always distant, with a faint sense of coldness, but when he looks at her, it's different.

It's not fiery or flamboyant, but it always seems to be hiding something, heavy and unsettling.

The final stroke was made.

She raised her hand and took off her blindfold.

As light returned, she immediately looked down at her painting.

In the painting, Gu Yan sits languidly in a chair, his gaze distant, a faint, almost imperceptible smile playing on his lips. The light and shadow are handled perfectly, the lines are clean and crisp, and the expression is captured with precision.

Anyone with even a slight understanding of painting can immediately tell that this is a level that no amateur could achieve.

The staff stepped forward, lifted the drawing board, and placed it next to Gu Yan on the model chair.

A brief, impenetrable silence fell over the studio.

It wasn't embarrassing, it was shocking.

In the monitoring room, Jiang Yunyou's mouth was agape, wide enough to fit an egg: "This...this was drawn blindfolded???"

Su Yanhuan was also stunned, murmuring, "Sister Zizi... is she really that good at drawing? She's been hiding her talent for a long time..."

After a one-second pause, the comments section exploded with a nuclear-level frenzy:

【？？？？？？？？】

What am I seeing? Is this a drawing of Gu Yan by Shu Zi while she's blindfolded???

[I couldn't draw it this well even if I copied it from a photo with my eyes open! The lines! The proportions! The expression!]

[Shu Zi, you were acting just now, weren't you? Right?!]

This is definitely not just "a little bit"! This is professional level!

[Sister! How many more surprises do you have that I don't know about?! (Pulls out a small notebook)]

Gu Yan looked at the painting, and the smile on his face disappeared.

He stared at it for a long time, his gaze sweeping over every line in the painting.

Then, he raised his eyes and looked at Shuzi, who was standing next to the easel.

His gaze was deep and heavy, like a silent sea with unseen undercurrents surging beneath, threatening to suck her in completely.

Shu Zi felt uncomfortable under his gaze, and instinctively looked away, stubbornly saying:

"...What are you looking at? Haven't you ever seen a beautiful woman painting before?"

Gu Yan didn't speak.

He walked up to the painting, stretched out his finger, and gently touched the edge of the paper.

Then he turned around and said something that caught everyone off guard:

"I'll take this painting."

It wasn't "given to me," it was "accepted."

The tone is not a request, but a statement.

Shu Zi was taken aback for a moment, then subconsciously retorted, "...I haven't even said whether I'll give it to you or not."

Gu Yan stared at her, his gaze intense and unwavering: "So, are you going to give it to me or not?"

Shu Zi's heart skipped a beat when he looked at her, and that little bit of smugness resurfaced; she raised her chin slightly.

"Alright, since you have such good taste, and my drawing is pretty good, you can have it."

The smile in Gu Yan's eyes finally spread, clear and bright.

"Yes," he said, looking at her and enunciating each word clearly, "give it to me."