With worry, he quickly answered the call.
"Why are you calling, Uncle? Is Grandpa still not feeling well?"
"Nonsense, can't you think positive? Your grandpa's foot is fine now, completely healed from the swelling, and he's just finished eating and gone for a walk. I called for something else."
Zhou Ning breathed a sigh of relief. After all, he was closest to just a few people; it's best when nothing's wrong. But thinking about the match suggested by his aunt, Zhou Ning couldn't help but feel nervous.
"Oh, that's good, Uncle, what's up?"
Zhou Xianghua sighed.
"I heard you've had a case these past two days, so I waited until you were done before calling. I wanted to apologize on behalf of your aunt. No one expected Cheng Li to be like that. Xu Da said not to worry about giving her money, it's extortion, and we have evidence, so there's nothing to fear."
"Uncle, what are you talking about? Aunt is just worried about me. She's family, why would I be upset? After finishing up with the case, I'll visit this weekend."
"Don't interrupt me, I'm not done! It's been genuinely busy lately, with inspections every day. I'm tied up here, but we can't let this matchmaking get delayed because of this incident. After New Year's, you'll be twenty-seven by Chinese reckoning. With your parents gone, I..."
Zhou Ning took the phone away slightly and shook his head helplessly.
His uncle and aunt truly cared for him, but he wasn't in a rush to find a partner. Previously, when the system hadn't been fully loaded, he felt no pressure. Now it was different; he was being relentlessly trained by the system every night, leaving no time for such matters.
On the other end of the line, Zhou Xianghua seemed to have finished his nagging and added one last thing.
"Are you listening to me?"
"I'm listening, Uncle, don't worry, I'm not in a rush to find someone. It's important to meet someone who clicks, right? Do you want me to just find some random woman?"
Zhou Xianghua remained silent, and Zhou Ning quickly said,
"There's something I need help with, could Aunt find me a painting teacher?"
"Painting? Why are you thinking about learning to paint?"
Zhou Ning blinked. With his skills, he was at a kindergarten coloring level. Relying solely on the system's training made it honestly tough to keep up without a professional's guidance.
"I want to improve my professional skills, and one aspect involves painting, specifically portraits. Have you seen those skull paintings? I'm looking for a teacher with similar expertise. If you know anyone, could you help introduce one?"
Zhou Xianghua pondered briefly and suddenly made a slapping sound, as if hitting his thigh.
"Wait, I'll let you know tonight. I remember at your aunt's school, they recently hired a new art teacher. She graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts and has won awards in many places. She even has a studio at the Youth Palace."
Zhou Ning was startled. Are teachers really this competitive now?
Is a high degree necessary for a primary school art teacher?
"Uh... maybe find someone with a lower level. Having her teach me seems a bit overqualified."
"Don't worry about it, I'll handle it. By the way, no need to visit home if you're free this weekend. Your grandpa said he'll come to the city when it gets colder, and we'll all live in the same community. Your work is more important, so let's leave it at that. I'll update you once I've arranged everything."
Clap, the call ended.
Zhou Ning looked dumbfounded, wondering when his uncle had become so impatient. He felt like he might have overlooked something. Shaking his head, he decided not to dwell on it. His brain cells had been heavily depleted in the past couple of days. He packed his things and went home to sleep.
...
Saturday, October 30, 2010
The phone charging on the bedside table dinged.
Zhou Ning opened his eyes, pulled out of his training by the sound, took a deep breath, and sat up straight.
Damn, he used to just analyze cases, find causes of death given the conditions, and follow the established procedures. He could answer some questions with about a 60% accuracy, avoiding constant electric shock punishment.
Learning this facial reconstruction technique was something else. Starting with skulls or severely disfigured bodies, Zhou Ning had to match them with corresponding portraits from over a hundred photos, which was completely baffling. Relying on guesswork, he didn't get a single one right, getting shocked repeatedly. He felt like his entire body smelled scorched.
He grabbed the phone, grateful for the sound, otherwise not knowing how long the torment would last. As he looked at it, he saw it was a message from Uncle Zhou Xianghua.
Zhou Xianghua: The teacher's name is Xia Momo, phone number 1390542****, QQ: ******. I explained what you need to learn, and Mr. Xia is very interested. You're meeting at 10:00 this morning in the Shuxin Studio on the second floor of the Cultural Palace. Dress well and don't be late.
Remember, remember!
Zhou Ning replied with two words, Got it!
Then he climbed out of bed, quickly took a shower, and after getting cleaned up, he felt the scorched smell on him had slightly reduced. It was already nine o'clock. He quickly cooked a pack of noodles, devoured them, changed into a clean jacket, and headed straight out.
He left Yuhua Residential Community and headed directly to the Cultural Palace.
It wasn't far, just a walk through the park, and he reached his destination. Zhou Ning was surprised to find that it had been renovated, with beautifully classic bracket designs.
Entering the Cultural Palace, he followed the signs directly to the Shuxin Studio on the second floor. The sound of piano music came from upstairs, likely many kids taking extracurricular lessons on the weekend.
He knocked on the door, and from inside the studio, came a pleasant voice.
"Come in."
Zhou Ning pushed open the door. A girl in a long dress stood in the studio, slightly tilting her head to look at Zhou Ning. Her long hair was loosely twisted into a bun with a paintbrush, with some strands hanging down.
The girl didn't wear makeup, but with her looks, she didn't need any.
Her beautiful eyes looked at Zhou Ning, a smile hanging at her lips, dimples appearing at her corners. Zhou Ning's heart trembled, so nervous that he didn't know what to say.
"You're Zhou Ning, right? Come on in."
Zhou Ning nodded, closed the door quickly. The girl walked over. The studio was large, with seven or eight kids around fifteen or sixteen, all engrossed in painting. On the table in the center were bottles, jars, and some fruit.
"I'm Xia Momo, just wait a little. I have five minutes left in the class. You can look around and get familiar with the environment."
Such considerate arrangement dispelled the awkwardness in Zhou Ning's heart instantly, and he quickly nodded with a smile.
He was startled, thinking he had to study with these professional art students, which would be really embarrassing. The stuff on the table, he had only seen people painting them on TV.
Zhou Ning dared not make a sound, walked behind a boy and saw his drawing board. Zhou Ning's face twitched involuntarily.
Seriously?
How could it be so lifelike, almost like a human printer.
Even the ones slightly worse nearby still had watercolor brushes flying up and down, continuously dancing on paper. Although he didn't know what details they were adjusting, Xia Momo nodded with a smile, seemingly pleased with their work.
At this moment, Xia Momo walked to the middle table and clapped her hands.
"Okay, that's the end of today's class. No being late tomorrow. You don't have many days left before your art exams. Make sure to use every weekend for practice."
These youngsters quickly packed up their things, shook their necks, put away their drawing boards, and left after greeting Xia Momo. Of course, they didn't forget to glance at Zhou Ning a few times with mysterious smiles, as if they'd discovered something incredible.
Xia Momo glanced at her watch, her face showing a hint of apology.
"I'm a little over time here. Made you wait longer, sorry!"
Zhou Ning waved his hand.
"Mr. Xia, you're too polite. Watching was quite nice."
Xia Momo gestured for Zhou Ning to sit opposite her. Zhou Ning sat on a small stool, his long legs curled up, feeling a bit like a teacher's home visit.
"I heard from Mr. Chen that you're a forensic doctor and want to learn drawing from me. I didn't know forensic doctors needed drawing skills?"
Xia Momo's eyes seemed to sparkle like stars, her brows making it hard for people to look away. Zhou Ning took a deep breath to calm himself down.
"I want to learn some techniques and knowledge on facial reconstruction, but this requires high skills in drawing and sculpture. I'm zero basics in that area, to be honest, Mr. Xia. My skill is at best kindergarten coloring level."
Xia Momo laughed, her dimples appearing again.
"Actually, having a foundation doesn't matter. Adult learning in art mainly relies on your determination. But what you mentioned about facial reconstruction interests me greatly. Is it like restoring features by adding muscles and skin to a skull?"
Zhou Ning nodded, thinking this girl was really smart.
"Yes, that's part of it. Of course, there's also sketching the suspect based on the victim's description."
Xia Momo's eyes widened.
"I've seen this in suspense movies. It's truly amazing because descriptions and comprehension are hard to unify, presenting great challenges to the artist."
"Yes, so I've made up my mind to have my aunt help me find a teacher to start learning from scratch."
Xia Momo stood up, walked to a cabinet, pulled out some plaster casts, and rearranged them on the table: a sphere, a cone, a cube.
She brought a pencil bag and an easel over to Zhou Ning.
"Since you're determined, let's start with the beginner lessons. Today we'll have the first class, the distinction between light and shadow."
Two hours of study passed, Zhou Ning felt his hand and wrist didn't even belong to him anymore.
However, looking at the patch of black he created on the easel, Zhou Ning's face flushed with embarrassment, sheepishly shaking his head at Xia Momo.
"My eyes learned it, but my hands didn't seem to obey me. I'm sorry, Mr. Xia."
Xia Momo looked at Zhou Ning's drawing, still smiling gently.
"Sketching tests perceptual ability most. Today we've just learned the fundamentals of pencil technique and the expression of light and shadow. As long as you practice diligently, you'll improve."
Zhou Ning exhaled, stood up. It was already twelve o'clock, after a slight hesitation, he turned back to Xia Momo.
"Mr. Xia, how about I treat you to lunch? We can chat about the timing for the next class."