Volume 2 Chapter 45: Do You Have Some Obsession with Eggs?
“Do you need me to teach you hand by hand?”
After Gao Liang made this suggestion, Lin Lin’s eyes suddenly drifted away.
Her face turned red. She looked to the side and stuttered shyly, “N-no… no need, right? I-I-I… I think I can understand just by listening.”
“Oh? Really?” Gao Liang blinked, sounding a little doubtful.
It wasn’t that he looked down on Lin Lin. In fact, Gao Liang trusted her quite a lot.
After all, during the last tutoring session, she had already shown that she had good learning ability.
But…
Academic subjects are academic subjects, and art is art.
The way you learn them is very different. Gao Liang couldn’t be sure whether she truly understood.
Also, looking at Lin Lin’s current expression… how should he put it? She looked clearly guilty at first glance.
It was like her face was full of “nervous and shy” feelings.
She understood the theory, sure.
“All right then,” Gao Liang said. “Lin Lin, based on what I just taught you, draw a simple object.”
Gao Liang gave her a small test. However, Lin Lin didn’t really want to accept it. Mm…
Listening to theory was fine, but actually drawing? She hadn’t touched a drawing board much lately.
Still, under Gao Liang’s serious gaze—
cough cough, the girl nodded nervously.
“Okay, okay! I—I’ll draw, all right? I’ll draw!”
Under the pressure from her rival, she nervously raised the pencil and gently placed it on the paper. Her arm was shaking slightly.
There was no choice, Gao Liang was watching very closely!
This…
For a moment, Lin Lin didn’t even know how to start. She froze for a while, her mind completely blank. Gao Liang reminded her at the right time.
“Just draw something simple. I mainly want to see how well you understand angles.”
“Oh… o-okay…”
She nodded awkwardly, then began drawing with a serious expression.
The first stroke, draw a straight line!
“Screee—”
The pencil made an awkward sound on the paper. Just like the badly crooked line she drew, it made Gao Liang’s expectations drop instantly.
Gao Liang rubbed his forehead but didn’t say anything. Clearly, he didn’t want to interrupt Lin Lin’s creative process.
But…
This silence actually put even more pressure on Lin Lin!
It was like being in an exam, when the invigilator has nothing to do and comes to stand right next to you, watching every answer you write.
Watching is one thing, but then they shake their head, sigh, and walk away without saying a word!
That feeling…
Rival, I’m begging you, at least say something!
Aaah—
Lin Lin panicked. The hand holding the pencil shook even more. Suddenly, Gao Liang placed a hand on her shoulder and gently encouraged her:
“Don’t be nervous. Just draw.”
“Mm…”
She felt a little shy, but his encouragement clearly helped. Lin Lin slowly calmed down, took a few breaths, and remembered what Gao Liang had taught her earlier.
Just draw an object. Just draw an object…
Yeah.
Thinking this, the girl made another stroke—
…And it was crooked again!
Lin Lin quickly erased everything she had drawn before. Then, in a rush, she started again from the beginning.
This time, however, the girl seemed to understand something. She worked carefully and step by step. First, she planned the drawing in her head. Then she slowly drew guide lines and made all the preparations, putting all her focus into drawing this small, simple object.
Before long, even Gao Liang couldn’t help but nod.
Not bad. This was much better than “drawing birds that looked like clouds.”
It seemed the crash course really did help!
Finally, after finishing the last outline, the girl wiped her sweat and turned around. She looked at Gao Liang proudly, as if asking for praise.
Gao Liang clapped his hands. “Clap clap clap—”
“Nice. It took a bit longer, but you really remembered the theory the teacher and I explained, and you used it. This egg you drew… is pretty good!”
“Hehehe~” The girl stuck out her tongue happily. “Of course! My memory isn’t just talk! Well? This egg looks very real, right?”
She waved her arms and stepped aside to show the drawing, pointing at it from top to bottom. “Look at the color! Look at the shading! Perfect!”
“Mmm~” Gao Liang nodded like a proud father, clearly satisfied. Then he said, “All right then, Lin Lin. Since that’s the case, please draw another object. Let’s take another look.”
“…Huh?”
The girl blinked. Then she turned her head away a bit guiltily and stood in front of the drawing board like she was being punished. “Cough cough… didn’t I already finish drawing?”
“It’s better if you draw something like clothing details. Buttons, brooches, things like that.”
“Oh… okay…”
She nodded awkwardly, picked up the pencil, but didn’t move for a long time.
“Lin Lin?”
Gao Liang was confused. Why couldn’t she start again?
“Ahahaha…”
With no choice, and with her rival staring at her, she finally moved her pencil again.
And then…
Gao Liang watched helplessly as Lin Lin drew another oval.
“Huh? Lin Lin, you’re not going to draw another egg, are you?”
Gao Liang quickly stopped her. Lin Lin turned her head, looking very wronged after her hand was caught.
“No need to draw that. I mean, draw something more complex. Or… or maybe draw a portrait? I’ll check your problems and point them out. That’s also the main type of drawing in art competitions.”
Gao Liang shook his head. He didn’t want to waste time on repeating the same thing.
But…
If Lin Lin could draw people, she would have done it already!
“Waaah… then… um… I—I’ll just draw eggs again, haha!”
She stubbornly insisted, then continued, “Well, you know, Gao Liang, Leonardo da Vinci only became a great artist after drawing more than ten thousand eggs! If I draw ten thousand eggs too, then during the art competition I’ll draw a ‘Ten-Thousand-Egg Painting.’ The judges will be amazed and I’ll definitely win!”
“…This…”
There were so many things wrong with that idea that Gao Liang didn’t even know where to start.
First of all—
“Is there a chance, just a chance, that da Vinci didn’t only draw ten thousand eggs?”
“Th-then… twenty thousand?”
“No! You little dummy! Of course he also drew many other things! And during a competition, drawing a… what was it… ah yes, a ‘Ten-Thousand-Egg Painting’? How did you even think of that?!”
Gao Liang was speechless. Lin Lin held her head and whimpered, “Stop scolding me, stop scolding me… I—I’m just not very good at drawing those things!”
“You still have to draw! Quickly, do a portrait sketch. It doesn’t matter how it looks. The key is to find the problems!”
“Mm…”
Lin Lin’s dream of the “Ten-Thousand-Egg Painting” was shattered.
In the end, she had no choice but to follow the big bad boss Gao Liang’s plan and started drawing a portrait while staring at Gao Liang’s face…