In a tourist city, everywhere you looked, there were hurried travelers.
They would stop now and then to take photos, capturing the beauty of the moment in a flash of light.
A couple sat in front of a picture frame while Ji Fan slowly sketched their portrait.
You could tell from the lines— delicate and detailed— that this was one of his side gigs.
“Thirty yuan, thank you,” Ji Fan said as he handed over the finished drawing.
His skill was exceptional, thanks to his upbringing in an artistic family.
Ji Fan’s father owned an art gallery and was a somewhat well-known painter — famous enough to be a household name locally, but completely unknown once you left town.
Whenever people needed a gift, his father’s work was always in demand around here.
“I’m so jealous of you!” his buddy Lin An sighed beside him, clearly envious. “We’re from Nanyun County, a tourist city. You get to practice your skills and earn money at the same time drawing portraits.”
“Meanwhile, I feel like I’m turning into a waste.”
“If I’d known earlier, I would’ve studied art too.”
Ji Fan just gave him a sideways glance and said while waiting for customers, “Everyone has their own strengths. I envy how you help manage your family’s porcelain factory during the holidays. All those workers listen to you.”
“It’s not that many, just a few dozen,” Lin An replied, bored.
Like father, like son — the saying fit these two perfectly.
Their parents didn’t force them to follow in their footsteps.
Ji Fan genuinely loved art, while Lin An had a simpler motive — he was just following tradition by working part-time during summer and winter breaks.
The difference was, he worked for his own family.
This year he’d be assigned to one task, next year another.
Over time, Lin An had become thoroughly familiar with every step of the factory’s production process.
After chatting awkwardly for a bit and still seeing no customers, Ji Fan finally put down his sketchpad and asked, “By the way, are you close with that Xia Hua? You two seem pretty friendly.”
“Uh…” Lin An looked away.
Because he remembered that keyboard at home, framed like a family heirloom.
And the questionable things he and she had done together.
He coughed a few times, then said righteously, “You’re overthinking it. There’s no way I’m close with her. We’ve only known each other for, what…?” Lin An counted on his fingers. “A week! That’s it!”
“What, Ji Fan, I think you’re the one who’s into her.”
“Should I help you out?” He gave a mischievous grin.
Lin An was being a total idiot now— if Xia Hua were here, she would’ve cursed him out for sure.
Are you out of your damn mind, turning me into a travel kid through some stupid last wish?
And now you wanna hook me up with your best friend?
Idiot. Hopeless.
That tiny brain of yours can’t handle a single romantic thought.
“Ahem, ahem…” Ji Fan coughed a few times and said seriously, “Cut it out. Don’t talk nonsense. I’m not interested in her. I was just surprised you have a female friend, that’s all.”
“Besides, what’s so great about Xia Hua?”
“Her name’s so old-fashioned.”
“Exactly,” they both seemed eager to distance themselves from the topic. Lin An chimed in, “Her name is really lame. Xia Hua? Summer flower? What’s next, winter with no summer bloom?”
“And her clothes are so tacky, right?”
“She’s a bit pudgy,” Ji Fan added.
“She probably has long hair and no brains,” Lin An threw in.
“Big chest, no brains— definitely,” Ji Fan followed up. Great, now they were going full comedy routine, not planning to stop anytime soon.
Just arriving, standing behind them, Xia Hua was absolutely pissed. Seriously? Got nothing better to do than talk crap about me?
Who knows what nerve Ji Fan hit — after learning Xia Hua worked part-time at the convenience store nearby, he set up his art stall here too.
Out of basic decency, Xia Hua brought them two bottles of water to check in.
And what did she get in return? These two clowns trashing her name.
Calling her name old-fashioned.
Her clothes tacky.
A small flywheel— wait, no— “a bit pudgy.”
Long hair, short on brains.
Big chest, no brains.
You two dumbass losers are definitely going to regret this.
Ton ton ton~~ She gulped down the bitter water, heart aching all the while.
She chugged down both bottles of water in one go. You two losers don’t even deserve the mineral water I brought.
Hic~~
“Ugh (凸艹皿艹 ), drank too much.”
“If I’d known, I would’ve bought juice instead. The more I think about it, the angrier I get…” Xia Hua tossed the two empty bottles into the trash.
Just like how she came quietly, she left quietly too.
She waved her sleeve, almost lashing out and taking their damn heads with her.
Is my fashion sense really that bad?
Am I really a little pudgy?
Xia Hua took a moment to reflect.
She could admit to those two shortcomings, but she was already working on them.
Figuring out how to match clothes— come on, a girl needs time to get the hang of that.
Pudgy… She weighed herself again just yesterday, and she’d lost over a third of a pound, okay?
And she absolutely refused to accept the “long hair, short brains” nonsense.
Her chest might be big, but her brain worked just fine, thank you very much.
With the strength of her incredible intellect, even the milk from her boobs could be used to boost your IQs.
“Ugh, screw them!” Xia Hua threw her hands up.
“I’ll just live my best life.”
“Oh right, speaking of which, that idiot Lin An… he’s kind of hopeless, but should I try to find him a girlfriend? Back then, he was so dense he went his whole life without ever being in a relationship. That’s just sad.”
“I should help set him up with someone.”
“This little matchmaker role—Xia Hua’s taking it on!”
Xia Hua declared confidently. Up to this point, she had never considered throwing herself into the lion’s den.
After all, she wasn’t even into girls, okay~~
Her kindness toward Lin An came more from her genuine affection for a close friend.
She didn’t know what this world was truly like, but she had her own principles. Brothers were brothers. The way he treated her before— she’d return that goodwill tenfold.
Repay with her body? Or repay with sex?
Yeah, no chance.
Because for Xia Hua, that was a matter of principle.
“And also…”
“Lin An’s health?”
“There’s still time to change that, right?” Xia Hua said wistfully.
There were still ten years before Lin An’s death. Could things be changed in those ten years? Xia Hua wasn’t sure.
But she knew she had to do something, because right now, Lin An’s body was perfectly healthy.
If the cause of illness was something developed later, then it could be prevented— stopped altogether.
After returning to the convenience store, she pulled out her phone to look up information related to the illness.
Instead, she saw a flood of missed calls and messages.
All from the school.
Look at that— they were panicking.
She casually deleted all the missed calls and texts.
“Causes and prevention of lung cancer.”
Xia Hua typed the words into her phone. She’d read about this topic countless times before.
But back then, she’d always been searching more hopeless terms like “how to treat lung cancer.” Just changing a few words now made all the difference— one filled with life and hope, the other with despair.
She didn’t want to face that despair again ……
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