What caught Su He's eye was a painting of a lady. The ancient woman in the painting wore flowing skirts, exuding an antique charm, yet her features bore the striking resemblance to Su He herself. Chen Yang had captured Su He's most captivating essence; anyone familiar with her would recognize the painting as depicting her.
Especially the woman's exquisite face, a lifelike representation of Su He herself—her delicate nose, the slightly upturned corners of her mouth, and her elegant, clear eyes—all leapt off the page.
Most remarkably, the entire painting exuded a fresh, natural, and pure aura, perfectly mirroring Su He's own temperament.
It was clearly a traditional Chinese painting, yet its realism made one involuntarily forget it was a painting, as if seeing a photograph of Su He in ancient attire. To be precise, even a photograph couldn't achieve this breathtaking realism.
Seeing the painting Chen Yang had poured all his emotions into, Su He couldn't help but blush with a shy joy.
Chen Yang leaned closer to Su He, glancing at the painting and then at her, feigning regret, and said:
"This is the most satisfying piece I've created in all these years, but unfortunately..."
Su He asked, puzzled:
"Chen Yang, is there some flaw in this painting? I think it's already excellent!"
A playful smile appeared on Chen Yang's face, and he continued:
"Unfortunately, no matter how hard I try, a painting is still just a painting. Compared to the real person, it's far inferior!"
Chen Yang was subtly praising himself! Su He suddenly understood, and became extremely shy, giving Chen Yang a charmingly coquettish glance, feigning reproach:
"You smooth talker!"
Chen Yang laughed heartily, picked up his brush, and signed his name on the painting of the lady. This calligraphy was vastly different from the previous "Dian Jiang Chun" piece; each character possessed an ancient and profound quality, a sense of understated elegance.
By now, Su He had seen two different styles of Chen Yang's calligraphy, each reaching an extremely high level, leaving her in awe.
Chen Yang seemed to sense Su He's thoughts and said calmly,
"Imitation is merely a minor path. To develop my own independent style, I still have a long way to go!"
Su He paused, carefully considering Chen Yang's words, and gradually, admiration appeared on her face. After a long while, she murmured,
"I really don't know how you're so clever. At such a young age, you've already achieved such a high level of skill in calligraphy and painting."
Countless people spend their entire lives in the stage of imitation; many so-called calligraphers and painters haven't escaped this stage. Yet Chen Yang said, "Imitation is merely a minor path," and Su He could clearly sense that Chen Yang's words came from the heart, not from intentional boasting.
Su He glanced at the painting of a lady on the table, her delight evident on her face. Chen Yang couldn't help but laugh and said,
"Little girl! This painting is for you!"
Although Su He and Chen Yang were the same age, Chen Yang's mental age was considerably older, so he often subconsciously treated Su He like a little sister, showering her with affection. Su He clearly didn't find anything wrong with this; on the contrary, she quite enjoyed it.
Su He's expression immediately lit up with surprise, but then she hesitated and asked,
"But aren't you going to use this painting to enter in a calligraphy and painting competition?"
Chen Yang chuckled:
"Silly girl! Do you think the organizing committee would confiscate your work? They'll take it back after the competition, won't they?"
Su He suddenly realized her mistake and felt her question was silly. She playfully stuck out her tongue and laughed sheepishly. After chatting for a while, the two paintings on the table had dried. Su He carefully rolled them up, placed them into two empty paper tubes, and then hugged them tightly to her chest. She smiled brightly at Chen Yang and said,
"Alright! All done!"
Looking at Su He's beautiful face, Chen Yang suddenly thought of Wei Xiaobao's catchphrase from *The Deer and the Cauldron*, and blurted out, almost without thinking, "All done! Let's kiss!"
As soon as he said it, Chen Yang regretted it. Su He was a very shy girl, and Chen Yang worried that his joke had gone too far and scared her.
Sure enough, Su He's face flushed bright red. Her beautiful eyes shone with a hazy light. She stole a glance at Chen Yang, then quickly lowered her head, even her neck blushing. Seeing Su He's shy, downcast expression, Chen Yang suddenly recalled Xu Zhimo's poem:
"Your gentle lowering of your head is most captivating,
Like a water lily,
Shyly trembling in the cool breeze."
These lines perfectly described Su He's current state. Chen Yang found that Su He was most alluring when she was shy; her delicate, bashful appearance always stirred feelings of affection and tenderness within him.
Feeling Chen Yang's unabashed gaze, Su He became even more embarrassed and annoyed, playfully pounding his broad chest with her fists, saying coquettishly,
"You big bad guy! You big bad guy!"
Chen Yang chuckled, letting Su He hit him; after all, she couldn't bring herself to hit him hard, the force was barely more than a massage. It was around 1 a.m. when Chen Yang smiled and took Su He's hand, saying,
"Beautiful lady, it's almost 1 a.m., shouldn't you go back to sleep? You know, lack of sleep is really bad for your skin!"
"Oh!" Su He glanced at her phone, realizing how quickly time had passed, and said understandingly, "Then hurry back, don't keep me from getting some rest!"
The two packed up and left the activity room.
In front of the girls' dormitory, Su He, under Chen Yang's protection, climbed over the iron gate again to enter the dormitory building. This time, Su He was much more comfortable than before, but Chen Yang naturally "lent a helping hand" during the process. As for whether he took the opportunity to grope her, only Chen Yang himself knew the answer. In any case, the blush on Su He's face never faded.
...
The next morning, Chen Yang had no classes, and as usual, he got up early to exercise at Field C. After a period of continuous, high-intensity training, Chen Yang's physical fitness is now vastly different from when he was first reborn. This remarkable improvement in such a short time is primarily due to the systematic training methods he has developed, including those from his family, his personal trainer, and the military's physical training system.
The seemingly simple yet extremely practical combat techniques taught to Chen Yang by Gong Jianjun, the chief instructor of the Central Security Bureau in his previous life, have also been mastered to a high level by Chen Yang. In fact, his mental focus remains at the original level; he simply needs to continuously strengthen his muscle memory to form conditioned reflexes.
Furthermore, the Tai Chi, Baguazhang, and Xingyiquan taught to Chen Yang by the martial arts masters of his previous life… he practices them diligently. These treasures passed down from his ancestors not only strengthen the body but also cultivate character, which Chen Yang naturally cannot abandon.
After working up a good sweat, Chen Yang felt refreshed. He jogged back to his dormitory, found some dry clothes, and went to the bathroom to shower.
"Chen Yang! Chen Yang!" Chen Yang was humming a song while washing his hair when Han Song's urgent voice suddenly rang in his ears.
Chen Yang reached out and turned off the water, wiped his face with a towel, and shouted:
"Taking a shower! Boss, what's up?"
"I've been looking for you for ages!" Han Song shouted through the bathroom door, still out of breath, "You... hurry up and come out! Liu Xinyao... is waiting for you downstairs, saying she needs to talk to you, but she doesn't have your phone number!"
Liu Xinyao? The image of that beautiful, icy-cold girl from the Liu family flashed through Chen Yang's mind. What could she possibly want from me?
Thinking this, Chen Yang used his fingers to push open the bathroom blinds and peered downstairs.
He saw Liu Xinyao pacing back and forth in the open space below the dormitory building, glancing up every now and then, a hint of impatience on her face.
Today, Liu Xinyao wore a long, military green turtleneck top with a rounded hem, highlighting her impressive bust. A decorative black belt draped casually around her waist, perfectly accentuating her slender figure. She wore a Korean-style headscarf, adding a touch of fashion and playfulness.
If it weren't for her usual icy expression, she would have been a charming and stylish beauty.
Students entering and leaving the dormitory couldn't help but turn their heads. The usually aloof "ice queen" was actually standing outside the boys' dormitory, seemingly waiting for someone. Everyone was incredibly surprised.
Naturally, the students were also curious about this amazing person who dared to make Liu Xinyao wait. Many people slowed their pace, wanting to see who Liu Xinyao was waiting for.
Chen Yang couldn't help but recall the only time he met Liu Xinyao in his past life, and a trace of sadness appeared on his face.
"Qingya, it's been so long. How are you?" Chen Yang's mind drifted to the image of his former fiancée, Xu Qingya, in her blue air force uniform, her smile captivating. He was momentarily lost in thought.
"Chen Yang, did you hear that?" Han Song's booming voice from outside the door abruptly pulled Chen Yang back to reality.
"Yes, I know, I'm coming down right away!"
Chen Yang quickly rinsed off the soap, changed his clothes, and pushed open the bathroom door. Just as he was about to step out, Han Song grabbed Chen Yang's hand and said mysteriously,
"Third brother, tell me honestly, how did you manage to hook up with that ice queen again? Aren't you afraid of Su, the school beauty..."
Han Song raised his eyebrows, a mischievous grin spreading across his face.
Chen Yang sighed helplessly, turned around, and put on a "charming" expression. He lightly tapped Han Song's chest with his delicate finger and said in a deliberately coquettish voice:
"I can't help it, boss, I'm just a fickle person... I still want to have an affair with you, what should I do?"
Han Song, both amused and exasperated, pushed Chen Yang towards the door, repeatedly saying:
"Get out! Get out! Get out! You almost made me throw up..."
"Ha! Ha! Ha!" Chen Yang laughed triumphantly and strode downstairs.