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

The room was quiet, with only the slight sound of the central air conditioning blowing.

After eating her fill and getting enough sleep, as soon as Shu Zi had some free time, her mind started replaying scenes from last night uncontrollably...

stop stop stop!

Stop! Stop! Stop!

Shu Zi shook her head violently, trying to banish those images from her mind.

I can't think about it anymore, or my ears will start to burn.

I need to find something productive to do to distract myself.

She walked around the room, her gaze falling on the charcoal pencils on the dressing table, and suddenly remembered that the old man had called her yesterday afternoon.

The old man, full of energy, first launched into a ten-minute tirade against those mindless netizens and marketing accounts who were attacking her. His classical vocabulary and innovative style of cursing left Shu Zi in awe.

After he had finished scolding her, he changed the subject and warned her not to be lazy when drawing, or she would be tested on her basic skills next time.

Tsk, this old man, even when he's not physically present, his intimidating power reaches far and wide.

Although she hasn't stopped sketching before bed, she hasn't actually done any serious drawing in a long time.

Recording variety shows, confronting haters, attending banquets... a whole host of things to do.

If she doesn't start writing soon, the old man will really grab her ear and nag her for "not doing her job" at the next group dinner, and then rightfully take away her snack allowance for the next year.

No! Absolutely not!

Shu Zi jolted awake and sat up straight instantly. Her snacks, her source of joy, absolutely could not be allowed to be ruined!

Here comes the power!

She swiftly pulled back the curtains, and the afternoon sunlight rushed in, so bright that she squinted.

Okay, it's decided, I'll go draw now!

There is an art studio on the third floor, which Gu Yan specially reserved for her when he renovated the house.

Facing south, it has a huge floor-to-ceiling window, providing excellent natural light.

The room was fully equipped with all the necessary tools, including paints, brushes, and canvases, all prepared to her liking. There were also people who came to update and clean the room from time to time.

She pushed open her bedroom door, her bare feet pattering on the soft, thick carpet in the hallway as she walked up to the third floor.

The studio door was ajar, and she reached out and pushed it open.

The room was bright and airy, with a faint, pleasant scent of turpentine and flaxseed oil mixed with the smell of paper. The aroma was calming and soothing.

The studio was quite large, with several large easels covered with dust cloths standing against the wall. In the middle was a worktable, which was filled with various paint tubes, palettes, palette knives, and brushes of all sizes.

There was a large cabinet against the wall, storing her sketches and spare materials. In the corner, there was a comfortable-looking single sofa and a small side table, probably for her to use when she was lazy.

Tsk, Gu Yan looks cold and aloof, but she's always been meticulous in preparing these things. Even the succulent on the windowsill that she used to carelessly toss there, half-dead, is now full of life.

Shu Zi strolled over to the worktable, poked the surface with her finger, then turned around and yanked off the white cloth covering the easel closest to the window.

Below was a perfectly stretched canvas, pure white, without a single word... no, not a single stroke had been touched.

Shu Zi crossed her arms, tilted her head, and stared blankly at the empty space for a while.

The sky outside the window is blue with white clouds, quite beautiful, but my mind is a mess. One moment I'm thinking of the elegant ladies and glamorous figures at last night's banquet, and the next I'm seeing Gu Yan's eyes, which are almost too calm when he looks at people...

What should I draw?

She casually pulled a charcoal pencil from the pencil holder, twirled it between her fingers, and glanced aimlessly around the studio. Finally, her gaze settled on the large storage cabinet.

She put down her pen, walked to the large storage cabinet, and opened one of the drawers, inside which was a neat stack of her old sketches.

She flipped through the pages with a rustling sound, her fingertips brushing over various fruits, cups, landscapes, and figures that she had scribbled at some unknown time.

Then, she stopped moving.

She pulled out a few sheets; the paper was somewhat worn, and the edges were fuzzy.

The above are some lines sketched with charcoal pencil, stroke by stroke, but surprisingly... they captured the essence of the subject.

It is Gu Yan.

One of the paintings depicts him as a teenager, leaning against a classroom window flipping through a book. The sunlight casts a golden outline on his profile, and his eyelashes are excessively long.

One photo shows him sitting in his study, facing a computer screen, his brows furrowed so deeply they could trap a fly.

There's another one, just a silhouette from behind, slender and upright, standing in the hazy twilight...

The drawing is... actually quite handsome.

Shu Zi stared at the old drafts, blinking several times. She had no recollection of when she had drawn them.

It might have been an incredibly boring afternoon, or perhaps he was engrossed in something and didn't have time to pay attention to her, when she casually grabbed a piece of paper and, as if possessed, sketched it.

Unbeknownst to her, her hands and eyes had secretly recorded so many bits and pieces about him.

Shu Zi, clutching the few old sheets of paper, returned to the easel.

She clipped the picture of "Young Gu Yan Reading by the Window" to the side of the canvas, not for any other purpose than to admire it.

Then, she raised her head and looked at the snow-white canvas in front of her again, her gaze slowly calming down and focusing.

The charcoal pencil tip landed lightly on the canvas, making a soft "shush" sound that was particularly clear in the quiet studio.

There is no specific image, only some flowing lines, gentle color blocks, and overlapping light and shadow.

As I drew, blurry outlines unconsciously appeared on my brush.

It is a profile of a man looking down and unbuttoning his cuffs.

The light cast a soft shadow beside his high, straight nose, and his lowered eyelashes concealed the usual calmness in his eyes, leaving only complete focus.

He was holding a shimmering metal cufflink between his fingertips, his knuckles clearly visible from the pressure, and the crisp fabric of the cuff was pinched into a slight wrinkle.

At the top of the screen, where the shadows and warm light of the stairs meet, a slender figure rests her hand on the stair railing, tilting her head slightly. Her expression is obscured, except for a slight upturn at the corner of her lips and her gaze quietly fixed on his profile, while he remains completely unaware.

The pen tip scratches and stops here.

Outside the window, the sun shines brightly, and time passes peacefully.

The studio was quiet, with only the soft sound of her own breathing.

Shu Zi stared at the person in the painting for a long time.

Then, she picked up her pencil again and, in the bottom right corner of the drawing, wrote the date and two letters in very small print:

"SZ→GY"

After finishing writing, she tossed the pen into the pen holder next to her, picked up her phone, and took a picture of the drawing.

Without much hesitation, she opened Gu Yan's chat window and sent the message without adding any text.