The next day, Jun Hua arrived at the academy early. She quickly spotted her new friend, Fan Lanying standing beside a huge tree. There was still enough time before lesson, so Jun Hua headed towards her to pass some time.
"Good morning, Miss Fan Lanying."
Fan Lanying turned her head and smiled. "Good morning, Jun Hua. You're quite early today."
Jun Hua nodded. She stared at an item Fan Lanying was holding. If she was not mistaken, it was a wooden dagger used for training.
Fan Lanying noticed Jun Hua's gaze. "I always bring my wooden dagger. Don't worry, it is not sharp and you cannot hurt anyone with it."
Jun Hua knew that. The dagger's 'blades' were dulled with a few dents. It seemed that Fan Lanying often use that dagger for practice and training.
"You are using a dagger?"
Fan Lanying nodded, "Swords are heavy for me, so I choose a dagger. It's more convenient to bring and use. Oh, right have you ever trained with a sword?"
"Yes, I have."
Fan Lanying looked at Jun Hua's hand and held it up. Her action was too sudden, but for Jun Hua it was not. She allowed the girl to look at her hand. Although her hand was small, it was rough at one's touch, which makes it different from average nobles' hand. On the other hand, Fan Lanying hand was still smooth.
Fan Lanying took out a bottle. "Use this on your hand. It will make the skin smoother."
Jun Hua stared at the bottle. In truth, she had a bottle of similar medicine at home that she rarely use because it would be weird for Jun Min to have smooth hands. Since she was going to live as Jun Hua more often, maybe it was time to start taking care of her own appearance as well.
She held the bottle. "Thank you Fan Lanying."
"You're welcome," Fan Lanying grinned. "Let's go to class. If the teacher comes and we're not there, we will be punished."
It was still not the time for their lessons yet, but Jun Hua followed after Fan Lanying to their classroom. A few girls were already inside, talking with their group of friends. Jun Hua and Fan Lanying sat on one of the vacant seats and continued their chat.
To Jun Hua's surprise, she found their conversation quite interesting. It has been a long time since she had anyone she could talk to comfortably. Because of that, she kept on talking with Fan Lanying until the teacher arrived.
Xuan Pei was their teacher in painting. He instructed them how to hold the brush and all intricate details of painting before instructing them to make a landscape painting.
Jun Hua originally wanted to show her painting skills too, but decided against it. If people came to know that she was not a completely useless girl, they might put their guard up against her. It would be better to let them think of her as a useless lady, who only latched on her brother's brilliance.
Fan Lanying's painting was decent and the girl didn't have any intentions to improve it further. Eventually, both of them talked while working. Jun Hua ended up with a blank canvas while Fan Lanying managed to paint a good landscape.
"My, with that kind of ability, shouldn't you start at Year 1?" Lin San stared at the blank canvas in disdain. She had not expected that this girl couldn't even hold the brush correctly. What a really useless lady!
"Yeah, you better learn from the start," one of Lin San's minion chipped in.
Jun Hua stared blankly. She did not come to stir any trouble, and yet that girl came right to her doorsteps provoking her? Jun Hua racked her brain. If she didn't make that girl taste some defeat, then she will change her name!
Seeing Jun Hua didn't answer, Lin San sneered. What a timid girl!
On her side, Fan Lanying glared at Lin San. "If you want to help, you should have taught her instead of mocking her. What kind of a sister are you?"
Lin San glared back. She forgot that Fan Lanying was famous for her sharp and straightforward tongue. That girl was not afraid to stir up trouble which made the girls avoid her, in case they got involved.
Jun Hua knew that she was not their match in verbal arguments. Her hand swiftly picked up her brush and she lightly tossed it to a set of painting equipment near the girl's side. The water container splashed towards Lin San and drenched her clothes, leaving ink stains in her elegant skirt.
"AHHH! Who dared to splash water on me?" Lin San turned her head furiously. The inked water made her clothes wet and dirty, that traces of ink stained her dress. She was wearing one of her favorite dress, making her even more incensed.
The girls all became flustered. They didn't see anyone splashing that water, the container just swayed and suddenly fell. Because of Jun Hua's speed, they didn't see what she did and no one knew what actually happened.
Jun Hua curled her lips, but she kept her head looking down. On her side, Fan Lanying's mouth was opened in surprise. In the next second, she was laughing so hard.
"Wahahaha! What a wonderful view you show us there, Lin San! All of us could see your beautiful feet clearly!"
Lin San then looked down at her feet and her face turned red. She didn't care anymore about the girls beside her and stormed out of the room to go home. If boys saw her like this, they would certainly think that she was a disgrace.
It took Fan Lanying a few minutes to end her laughing fit.
"I bet she won't go to school for the next few days. She won't come and bother you for a while."
Jun Hua nodded. Even if Lin San was suspicious, she won't realize that it was her doing. After all, who would believe her if she said that Jun Hua sneakily attacked her?
After talking for a few more minutes, Jun Hua and Fan Lanying parted ways and went home.