In his view, Liu Guoying was growing increasingly appreciative of Chiang Xiao, only he still felt it wasn’t his turn to be a teacher yet. He was afraid of delaying the student’s progress.
After all, learning to paint was no easy task.
For Liu Guoying, if he truly wanted to take on an apprentice, he would want to provide them with sufficiently good learning conditions and opportunities.
Now he didn’t even have a good environment for painting, let alone afford high-quality colors, brushes, and paper, not to mention the resources to take her to learn and broaden her horizons, he didn’t have the ability to help her organize exhibitions, so what right did he have to take on an apprentice?
He glared at Chiang Xiao and said, "Not considering it."
Chiang Xiao expressed her disappointment, "It’s okay, I will keep trying hard."
Liu Guoying couldn’t help but feel both amused and frustrated.
He simply couldn’t understand why Chiang Xiao was so convinced that he would be a good teacher and insisted on acknowledging him as her master.
"Speaking of Yu Hang and Xi Minghui, their family backgrounds are not ordinary, however," Fu Mingfeng didn’t see Chiang Xiao as just a student anymore, but as a friend beyond years, which is why he would tell her these things. Of course, since Yu Hang and Xi Minghui were currently in Liu Guoying’s class, these words were mainly meant for him to hear. "It seems something has happened in the Yu and Xi families, which is why they were sent away, hoping that the troubles at home wouldn’t affect them."
"Political?" Liu Guoying’s expression became solemn.
Fu Mingfeng said, "Yu Family is in politics, Xi Family does business."
Such a union of political and business interests, if something goes wrong, is most likely to reach a point where pulling one hair could affect the whole body.
"Normally, having your son under your own watch is the most reassuring, but now they have sent them away, it seems that the Yu and Xi families’ issues are not minor."
Listening to their discussion, Chiang Xiao began to see Yu Hang and Xi Minghui in a new light.
She felt that with their level of intelligence, if something happened at home, they would be aware of it, and moreover, being abruptly transferred to a school in the neighboring province, they must sense that something was amiss.
Yet, from their actions and demeanors, she could not tell at all that the two were worried about or attached to their families, and furthermore, they did not tone down their profile. Instead, they continued to be prominent figures at school, sweating on the sports field every day, and their exam results were consistently impressive.
These two, if not struck by some catastrophic blow, were sure to become extraordinary figures in the future.
It was just a pity that in her previous life, she was solely focused on painting and did not pay attention to any well-known individuals except those she saw unintentionally; she knew nothing else and had never heard of Yu Hang and Xi Minghui, had no idea what they would become in the future, and was unaware of what had happened to the Yu and Xi families.
The next day after school, Yu Hang poked Chiang Xiao’s shoulder and, when she glared at him, he said to her, "Don’t be mad just yet. Want to go for some ice cream together?"
Chiang Xiao was about to refuse when Yu Hang lowered his voice and said, "I heard you can paint? I need your help, please, as a favor for being desk mates."
Thinking of Fu Mingfeng’s words, Chiang Xiao reflected for a moment and then agreed.
Since Yu Hang brought up the matter of painting, she guessed that he needed help with something related to painting. This she found interesting.
Xi Minghui also came along.
It was early autumn, yet the weather was still very hot.
Yu Hang and Xi Minghui walked on either side of Chiang Xiao, the sunshine slanting through the street corner and coating them all in a layer of gold.
In a nearby street, two new ice cream shops had recently opened, attracting young people and students.