"The wind by the lake is strong, it’s very cold."
"What if you catch a cold because of the wind?"
Xu Nian’an had been urging Gu Mingcheng.
Gu Mingcheng’s attention was entirely focused on his creation, treating Xu Nian’an’s words as if they were the wind passing by his ears.
When changing brushes, Gu Mingcheng sometimes held the brush in his mouth, which looked a bit comical.
"Eldest brother, stop urging him," Xu Nianhua reminded, smiling at Gu Mingcheng’s concentration and said, "Maybe he will finish it soon."
"Yeah right, I feel like it’s already painted very well, but he keeps painting and painting!" Xu Nian’an said with full resentment, putting the black scarf from around his neck on hers, adding, "You, when I told you to wear a scarf when you left the house, you didn’t. If you catch a cold, mom will surely scold me to death."
"It’s fine, my clothes are very thick." Xu Nianhua tugged at her clothing, feeling the warmth of the scarf, attempting to give it back, but Xu Nian’an tied it securely, ordering, "Don’t take it off."
Gu Mingcheng looked at the painting before him with satisfaction. The girl in red leaning on the balustrade, turning around with a smile, was devastatingly beautiful.
He admired the painting, his eyes filled with amazement and pride.
This was the best painting he had done so far; looking at it, it seemed as if the girl in red was about to step out of the picture.
Gu Mingcheng was so engrossed in the painting of Xu Nianhua that it seemed as though he could hear the throbbing of his own heart: thump, thump, thump.
"How is the painting?" Seeing that he had stopped, Xu Nianhua approached to see what she had been turned into.
In the distance, mountains layered upon each other, the sunlight was bright and cheery. Closer, there was a small boat passing over the surface of the lake, and her leaning on the balustrade gave Xu Nianhua the illusion, was that really her?
"Huh, I’ve captured one-fifth of my little sister’s beauty."
Xu Nian’an took another look at Gu Mingcheng, thinking the foolish youngster really had some skill.
"Eldest brother," Xu Nianhua tugged at his sleeve softly, her own eldest brother was a bit too narcissistic, she herself almost didn’t recognize the person in the painting.
"Little sister, let’s frame this painting and hang it in your room," Xu Nian’an said disdainfully, but he still approved of the painting, it was especially pretty.
Gu Mingcheng suddenly spoke, hanging his head and scratching it, he said, "This painting still has a little left unfinished, is it okay if I give it to you later?"
"Hey, silly boy, what do you mean by this?" Xu Nian’an looked at Gu Mingcheng dissatisfiedly, as he had spoken clearly the day before, just helping with a painting, the painting would belong to her, and he merely wanted to practice his brushwork.
Why was it that after finishing it, he seemed to be reneging on his word?
Xu Nian’an reached out as if to take the painting.
Gu Mingcheng hurriedly explained, "I’m not saying I won’t give it to you, it’s just that the painting lacks a final touch."
"Alright, then you can mail it to my school later." Xu Nianhua left the school’s address.
"Oh, you’re attending university in Ningbei?" Gu Mingcheng said with surprise, carefully storing the address, "Rest assured, I will definitely mail the painting to you."
Xu Nianhua nodded, having been in the cold wind all morning, and even though the sun felt warm, she felt a bit chilly now.
As Gu Mingcheng packed up his things, he said, "It’s noon, let me treat you to lunch."
"No need," Xu Nian’an kept a distance between them, saying, "Just remember to send the painting."
As he said this, Xu Nian’an grabbed his sister and prepared to leave. He paused for a moment, pulled out a red packet from his pocket, and handed it to Gu Mingcheng, "Thank you for painting my little sister, this is for the postage."