Dumbstruck

If Master Kang asked her this in private, Xu Xi might say that her family was poor when she was young, and she loved to draw, so she secretly drew with charcoal sticks.

But in front of the whole class, she had no interest in bringing up the incident of the switched babies as gossip, so she simply avoided the topic and said, "Sir, didn't you tell us to be free to draw, and that drawing ourselves is what we're good at? My best way of drawing is using these charcoal sticks."

Before Master Kang could rebuke her, she continued, "There are many painting techniques, from the bold, freehand style that's like splashing ink to the meticulous, detailed style. Could you perhaps refrain from dismissing my charcoal drawing technique until I finish it and then we can discuss it further?"

Master Kang was originally invited to teach at the Capital Women's Academy. However, after staying there for a while, he found those noble ladies in the capital somewhat tiresome, so he accepted the invitation from the Beining County Women's Academy, thinking that the students there would be more innocent and natural, unlike the noble ladies at the Capital Women's Academy, who all wore masks.

But after walking around the classroom, he was utterly exasperated by the students' drawing skills. Was that even drawing? It was just scribbling. Even a five-year-old from a wealthy family could probably draw better. These students were simply impossible to teach.

That's why he roared when he saw Xu Xi like this. But hearing that Xu Xi could explain the difference between freehand and meticulous brushwork, it seemed he wasn't completely ignorant about painting. He finally suppressed his anger and nodded, saying, "Alright, I'll do as you say. If you don't paint well, I'll give you a stern lecture."

Xu Xi smiled and replied, "Okay."

Master Kang ignored her and went back to the stage to sit and drink tea, trying to vent his anger.

Xu Xue had never drawn before. Now, suddenly being asked to draw, she had no idea how to begin. Grabbing the pen, she randomly drew a crooked tree on the paper based on her imagination, and then dared not continue, fearing that Master Kang would glare at her. She simply stopped and watched Xu Xi draw with curiosity.

She had no idea that her cousin could draw with charcoal.

But as she looked, her eyes widened in surprise.

Good heavens, what did she see?

Xu Xue stared in disbelief at the portrait drawn by Xu Xi, then at the seated Master Kang.

Mu Qingqiang, who had glanced curiously at Xu Xi's canvas, was also stunned. She couldn't help but stand up, looking at Xu Xi's painting, then at Master Kang in the picture; looking at the painting, then at Master Kang. She repeated this over and over, looking as if she had seen a ghost.

He Yuqi, who was originally focused on drawing, looked over curiously when she saw Mu Qingqiang standing there like a chick pecking at rice. In the end, her expression was exactly the same as Mu Qingqiang's.

With the idea of "out of sight, out of mind," Master Kang sat sideways and drank a cup of tea, which calmed his mind.

Looking at the water clock on the platform, he raised his head and called out, "Time's almost up. Those who have finished, hand in your paintings for my review."

Before he could finish speaking, he saw Mu Qingqiang and He Yuqi, who were standing there taller than everyone else, staring at Xu Xi's drawing paper. His anger, which he had just suppressed, flared up again. He pointed at the two of them and said, "What's wrong with you two? What are you standing there for? Hurry up and draw! Don't come to me later saying you can't finish."

The whole class stared at the two of them.

Mu Qingqiang and He Yuqi blushed and quickly sat down, lowering their heads to pretend to be drawing seriously. But the two of them couldn't draw properly at all, their eyes constantly glancing at Xu Xi.

As class was about to end, Master Kang instructed his maid to prepare the paintings. Remembering the student who had boasted about using a new painting method, he walked downstairs with his hands behind his back, approached Xu Xi from behind, looked at her drawing, and asked, "Are you done...?"

Before he could finish speaking, his eyes widened as big as saucers.

"What... what is this you've drawn?" He looked as if he'd seen a ghost.

The person in this drawing looks incredibly lifelike; what kind of drawing technique is this? Also, this person is incredibly ugly, and strangely familiar. Who is this? So ugly, there's no reason not to remember them if you've seen them before!

A student, holding her painting and intending to ask Master Kang for some pointers, inadvertently saw Master Kang's face on Xu Xi's canvas and exclaimed in shock, "My God, you painted... Master Kang?" She looked at Master Kang, then at the painting, dumbfounded.

Master Kang inner thoughts are quite complex. "..."

People nearby immediately gathered around, completely surrounding Xu Xi.

Master Kang finally snapped out of his daze. Obsessed with his painting skills, he forgot that his student was referring to the ugly old man on the paper. He excitedly asked Xu Xi, "How did you do that? How did you paint it so realistically? How did you do it?"

Xu Xi wasn't slow at drawing. The art class gave them almost half an hour to draw. She could have easily finished painting Master Kang. But to achieve her goal, she deliberately slowed down, only carefully drawing Master Kang's face, and only sketching the outline of the neckline and chest of his clothes.

"It's drawn with charcoal." She stopped drawing and asked Master Kang, "Is it time yet?" She tried to glance at the water clock, but the surroundings were completely blocked out; how could she see it?

"No, how did you draw it?" Master Kang stared intently at the drawing on the paper, looking completely mesmerized. "It's so lifelike, it's absolutely lifelike!"

Seeing Master Kang staring at his own ugly face on the drawing paper with such an infatuated expression, the female students around him all wore expressions that were hard to describe.

"Master," Xu Xi didn't want to discuss painting techniques with Master Kang at this moment. She put the remaining charcoal sticks back into the box and rolled up the drawing paper. "I haven't finished painting yet, and the carriage at home is probably waiting outside. Can I take the painting home to finish it and give it to you tomorrow?"

Master Kang mentioned at the beginning of class that he teaches three other classes besides the Grade D class, and he has classes tomorrow. Students who can't finish their drawings today can take them home to work on and hand them in to him tomorrow.

Only when the painting was rolled up and out of sight did Kang Shilin come to his senses. He immediately reached for the scroll, saying, "You don't need to paint anymore. The face is finished. The clothes don't matter. You can take this and study it."

"No." Xu Xi quickly stuffed the painting into the desk drawer, even blocking the opening with her body. "I have OCD. If I'm going to paint, I have to finish it. Otherwise, I can't eat or sleep, and I feel terrible. Tomorrow, I'll bring it to you first thing tomorrow morning, okay?"

A fourteen-year-old girl being unreasonable is quite endearing, so even if Kang Shilin still wanted the painting, he couldn't force Xu Xi. He tried his best to maintain his image as a cool and aloof old scholar, and said with a serious face, "Then I'll send someone to pick it up first thing tomorrow morning."

"Thank you, Master." Xu Xi gave him a bright smile.

Goal achieved, give yourself a thumbs up.