A solid thud left Zhezhi covering her face in mortification.
Ling An suddenly noticed that she had frozen in place.
Well, that was fair. Social embarrassment on this scale really was one of a kind.
A sigh came from beside him. It was Tide Sis, who was also holding her forehead helplessly.
Ling An suddenly remembered that Zhezhi had said she was a painter.
"Um, you said you were a painter. Could you paint a picture for me?" Ling An broke the silence.
"A-are... are you talking to me?" Zhezhi's voice came muffled from beneath her palms.
"Who else here is a painter besides you?" Ling An asked in confusion.
"Oh... oh, sure!" Zhezhi lowered the hands covering her face, revealing her watery eyes.
She had been this close to bursting into tears.
"May I ask what you have in mind?" she asked softly.
Ling An shook his head. "Nothing in particular. You just need to paint me..."
Ling An pointed at Tide Sis. "And this Rover. That's all."
"A portrait... of two people?" Zhezhi counted on her fingers, her eyes lighting up.
She hadn't expected a commission to come her way in the blink of an eye.
Ling An nodded and looked at Tide Sis.
Tide Sis seemed to understand what he meant, too, and picked up where he left off. "That's right. Paint a picture of just Ling An and me."
"No problem! I'm pretty good at painting cats... uh, um, people too!"
At that, Tide Sis's lips curved slightly. She smiled and shook her head. "No, you don't need to paint a cat. I'll discuss the details with you later."
Zhezhi was a little baffled, but she still nodded stiffly. "All right."
They exchanged contact details on their Terminals, then watched Zhezhi hurry away.
Only then did