"Do you still want to hear the rest of the story about Third Brother?"
Xiao Xiao interrupted Zhang Bo and Zhuge Yun's back-and-forth.
Zhao Luzheng smiled gratefully at Xiao Xiao, then raised his eyebrows at Zhang Bo and Zhuge Yun. "Exactly."
"I haven't finished talking yet."
"If you don't want to listen, I'll tell Third Brother."
"Let's hear it!"
Zhuge Yun hurriedly voiced his support.
"Eldest Brother was the one who started it..."
"You—"
Noticing Xiao Xiao's gaze, Zhang Bo sheepishly shut his mouth.
"I never expected to recognize him at a glance."
Zhao Luzheng sounded a little wistful. "We weren't best friends in middle school."
"After graduation, we lost touch completely."
"But I still remembered him pretty well."
Zhuge Yun opened his mouth.
Then he kept quiet.
"He was really good at drawing."
"What left the deepest impression on me was how rapidly his skills improved over those three years of middle school."
"You could literally see the progress."
Zhao Luzheng emphasized.
"You could say that our classmates watched him, step by step..."
"How should I put it?"
"He went from what we jokingly called a 'soul painter' to someone who could genuinely say that drawing was his specialty."
"We all said he was a born artist."
"We all said our class was going to produce a great painter someday."
"He didn't become a painter."
Zhuge Yun finally couldn't hold back.
His certain tone made Zhao Luzheng pause in surprise.
"You already said it was a pity..."
Zhang Bo had also guessed how the story ended.
"And you just said he went to a teachers' college and was now trying to get a teaching position there."
Zhuge Yun added.
"...Yeah."
Zhao Luzheng smiled.
Having smart roommates was convenient.
He didn't need to spell everything