The Rebirth of the Lazy Nobles Woman
Chapter 19: Oil Paint Painting

Gu Xiqiao did not walk out of the school gate, but rather walked down the tree boulevard.

Since he was stopped by Wu Hongwen, he looked from his class point of view, seeing that the Gu family car had already left. Fortunately, it's Friday so classes end early, and it's not too late.

At the end of the boulevard is a small building where art students at First City High School learn to draw.

One of the doors to the classroom downstairs opened slightly, and a group of canvases were seen lying on the floor.

Gu Xiqiao stood by the door for a long time, and it was obvious that he was not excited for some reason. In the virtual space, the system spirit covered its mouth with a hand, not daring to disturb its current thoughts. Moments later, he opened the door and entered.

In the classroom, there was a young man in a white shirt sitting by the window with a picture canvas, and after hearing the voices he looked at the door, stunned to see Gu Xiqiao before frowning in disdain. “Why are you here?!”

Gu Xiqiao glanced at him and immediately ignored him, went to the seat furthest away from him and sat down. A piece of pure white cloth covered the canvas in front of him, and he grabbed and stroked gently, his lowered eyes hiding his emotions as a sense of nostalgia surfaced in his heart.

In his past life, the Gu family had injured his hand so that he would never be able to draw again, and his choice to burn along with the Gu family was also due to his great despair of not being able to take the brush again.

After that, even if his soul was trapped in the virtual space, he never took a brush to draw. The pain of losing his hand was still too fresh in his mind back then.

Seeing him ignore him, Zhong Yongsi felt even more angry at him.

He is quite famous in First City High School for being talented in Chinese painting and has earned countless medals and awards from the N City youth drawing contest. Even before graduating High School, he was already accepted into the Faculty of Arts University A.

Gu Xijin was known to be talented in oil painting and his studies, so she was known as the most beautiful and talented girl in school. Most importantly, he had a close relationship with Zhong Yongsi personally.

Personally, Zhong Yongsi disliked Gu Xiqiao who joined the Gu family out of nowhere. To him, he was unfilial for abandoning his adoptive mother and disrespecting his biological father and was greedy, vain, and jealous on top of that. He had always been an arrogant person who considered himself morally superior, so this was the type of person he hated the most.

“What, are you here to draw? But does a man like you know how to paint? ” Zhong Yongsi was about to leave, but his steps came to a halt as a thought flashed through his mind.

“Are you doing this because Ah Jin's work was nominated for the N City art exhibition? Do you have no shame? Art is not a child's game, you know! ” Zhong Yongsi suddenly burst into rage as he walked over to Gu Xiqiao, his gaze like a burning torch. He was a classic example of an artist with a strange temperament, and to him, Gu Xiqiao was contaminating this sublime art even by thinking of using it for the sake of fame.

For some reason, when he was three steps away from Gu Xiqiao, he could not take another step, as if he had hit an invisible wall.

He wanted to take his canvas and throw it away, but he could not move, and it filled his heart with unpleasant fear.

Gu Xiqiao raised his head and looked at Zhong Yongsi calmly. “Is that your business?”

Gu Xiqiao almost laughed out loud. Oil painting exhibition? If this fellow did not bring it up, he did not even remember that there was such a thing. Learning to paint because of Gu Xijin? Since when did he become a big deal ?!

 Therefore, he did not want to explain anything to Zhong Yongsi. After all, it would definitely be a useless attempt.

[Forced Mission activated: Achieve Master level mastery in Chinese painting.]

[Mission reward: 1000 points.]

[The system has detected that your talent in art is quite high, so this mission has been activated, please complete it perfectly! The penalty of failure is level three!]

[Dig! Forced Daily Missions activated: Practice painting for an hour every day.]

[Mission reward: 1 point]

Gu Xiqiao's hand stopped in midair, and a hint of confusion in his eyes. “... Are you sure you didn't make a mistake?”

[Er Qiao, Chinese painting is the spirit of Hua Xia, so you have to carry on this tradition and make it shine on the global stage! Your talent in oil painting is very high, so I'm sure you can also paint Chinese paintings well. Therefore, the mission that the system issued was always rational and scientific!]

“...” He feels that the system becomes increasingly unreliable as time goes on.

Therefore, he had no more complaints about the system's decision. The words of the system spirit slightly affected her, and it was true that although art had no boundaries, Chinese painting belonged to Hua Xia. With the help of the virtual room, he would never run out of time, and if he practiced every day he would be able to earn points as well, so he had no reason to refuse.

Right now, he had to focus on his own matters first.

He closed his eyes and took out a brush, imagining his adoptive mother's smile on his mind.

In his past, the painting was only half-finished, and it was one of his biggest regrets.

Meanwhile, Zhong Yongsi was standing in the distance as he looked at Gu Xiqiao's serious expression and movements as if he was a devout devotee. The moment he took out the brush, his entire aura changed in a split second.

He was stunned for a moment before he made an even more disgusted expression. “People like you only know how to tarnish art and oil painting!”

He really could not compare to Gu Xijin!

And so, he left, slamming the door behind him as he did and making the glass windows crackle from the pressure.

Meanwhile, Gu Xiqiao was still in his initial posture, unaffected in the slightest by Zhong Yongsi's outbreak. The artist always had a strange temper, and he was already used to it.

But he wanted to talk about art with her? He doesn't even have the qualifications to do so. Who knew where he was when his painting earned international acclaim in his past life?

As the sky began to darken, the spirit system reminded Gu Xiqiao that it was time to go home so that he was not disturbed by the Gu family. He didn't want to see this scene happen, so he spoke up.

“It's okay, I'm not even in a hurry, so don't rush.” Gu Xiqiao slowly stopped his movements on the canvas. There was only a faint silhouette there, even without the outline of the subject of his image. After all, he hadn't painted for a long time, so he didn't want to ruin the painting.

It is better to go into the virtual room and practice, do not rush.

He's lowering the canvas. The weekend was coming and there were no additional classes, only mock tests, so Gu Xiqiao decided to bring the canvas back home to work on it further.

“System, can you hide the canvas so that people from Gu Manor don't see it?”

[Uhm, you can consider raising my level, Beauty Qiao! Once I reach level one, you will be able to get an inventory of ten spaces that you can use to include as many Canvases as you like! I will be more useful too!]

“We can do it once we have points for it, don't rush.”

[…]

Finally, the system spirit reluctantly agreed to cast a misdirection spell as they returned to Gu Manor.

Gu Xiqiao took out a canvas from the school gate, and since it was late at night there were not many people on the streets anymore. It was late at night anyway, so he wasn't in a hurry. Looking around, he decided to return to Gu Manor through small roads and alleys in the residential area.

This road was deserted and no one passed by at all. Coupled with the dimness of street lamps and high walls, giving the impression of gloomy and creepy.

[Dig! The system has detected Red Danger Level personnel in front of you, will you avoid it?]