Putting Down the Brush

Aemeath leaned lazily on Lu Yan's shoulder, her long pink hair spreading across Lu Yan's loungewear like fine silk.

She looked at the lifelike painting on the computer screen and liked it more and more.

The woman in the painting not only looked dashing and heroic, but also had a unique, intimate charm due to the anti-exposure skirt piece that Lu Yan had forcibly added.

"Since Master Lu is so satisfied with this artistically enhanced work..." Aemeath thought for a moment, then pointed a slender, pale finger at the computer screen, "Then you can use this picture as your phone and computer wallpaper!"

Lu Yan was slightly taken aback.

Before he could answer, Aemeath had already quickly picked up her phone.

The screen lights up, displaying the system's default wallpaper.

With her other hand, she used the mouse to minimize the drawing window.

Sure enough, A-Yan's computer desktop was shockingly clean, with only the default Windows wallpaper and a few drawing apps and games.

Aemeath stared at the computer desktop, which was so clean it only had system icons, and chuckled softly.

"Is it because I came that all my pictures are gone?" She was saying something she had known for a long time but had never had the chance to bring up.

"When I first arrived in this world, I felt something was wrong with my body. So A-Yan, that's why your wallpaper has always been empty, right?"

Lu Yan listened quietly without interrupting.

He remembered the bewilderment he felt when he woke up that morning to find the folder completely empty except for Aemeath's disappearance, and the utter dejection he felt that entire morning.

At the time, he thought it was a strange loss. Now, he thinks it wasn't a disappearance, but a replacement.

All those paintings and screenshots were transformed into Aemeath was now leaning on his shoulder, warm, breathing, and smiling at him.

"We've suffered a huge loss," Lu Yan suddenly said, his voice very low.

Aemeath blinked, then asked blankly, "What do you mean?!"

"I used to have so many photos saved, from all sorts of angles and lighting, and of you in the most beautiful moments." He paused, turning his head to look at her. "Now, all that's left is the one sitting next to me."

Aemeath paused for a moment, then immediately realized that he was implying that she was worth many people.

"What do you mean there's only one left! Isn't one enough?!" She reached out to pinch his ear, but not too hard. "How many more Aemeath do you want who can cook for you, warm your bed, play games with you, and even support you?"

Lu Yan's ear was being pulled, but he couldn't suppress the urge to smile.

He raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, turned his head to look at Aemeath's sullen yet suppressed laughter, and the emotion in his eyes was almost overflowing.

"One is enough." He reached out and grasped the hand that was pulling at his ear, then gently pulled it down into his palm.

"This one already fills me up from morning till night; I'm afraid my heart can't handle another one."

Aemeath snorted, her feigned anger lasting less than three seconds before crumbling into a smile.

"Okay, let's get down to business." She showed Lu Yan her phone screen. "Set this picture as your phone wallpaper."

Lu Yan looked down at the picture of her on the screen.

"I'm telling you, I've wanted to say this to you for a while," Aemeath muttered as she operated the device, "The default wallpaper is on my phone, and it's still the default wallpaper on my computer."

"You're supposed to be an artist, how can you be so careless with your work?" Aemeath said with a look of disdain.

"That's because the wallpapers we used to have were cleared," Lu Yan said coolly, leaning back on the sofa.

Aemeath's fingers paused, she looked up and glared at him, her soft voice rising. "You dare bring that up again!"

"Let's not talk about it anymore." Lu Yan raised his hands in surrender.

Aemeath lowered her head in satisfaction and continued operating.

She cropped the painting to fit the phone screen, adjusted its position, and made sure her face was centered on the screen and not blocked by any icons.

"Okay." She pressed the confirmation button, flipped the phone over, and the screen lit up.

In the painting, Aemeath is dressed in a suit of warriors and poses with a peace sign, her halo swirling with icy blue light.

Aemeath looked at it with satisfaction for a while, then handed the phone back to Lu Yan.

"Look. That way, every time you open your phone, the first thing you'll see is me." Aemeath's tone was full of sweetness.

Lu Yan looked down at his phone, which now had a custom wallpaper. On the screen, a pink-haired girl with a specially designed skirt was flashing him a peace sign.

Off-screen, the real her is leaning lazily on his shoulder, like a contented cat.

At this heartwarming moment, Lu Yan's phone suddenly vibrated.

A green bubble notification popped up at the top of the screen: "Sister Lin".

Lu Yan's brow twitched slightly.

Aemeath was extremely close; with just a glance, she took in those two words.

Her fingers, which had been fiddling with the buttons on Lu Yan's pajamas, paused slightly, but she didn't react immediately. Instead, she subtly raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement flashing in her eyes.

Lu Yan didn't avoid Aemeath and opened the message directly.

In the chat interface, Sister Lin sent a long string of text, which was very formal and polite.

Sister Lin: "Little Lu, sorry to bother you. The art director and the client were very satisfied with the three character designs you delivered for the last project. After an internal meeting, everyone agreed that your art style best fits the tone of this project."

Sister Lin: "So I wanted to ask about your recent schedule. I'd like to add a few more summer swimsuit photos of those characters."

Sister Lin: "Don't worry about the price. We can increase it by another 30% on top of the original price. Do you have time to schedule it right now?"

"Oh dear, a big customer has arrived." A light sigh reached Lu Yan's ears.

Aemeath rested her chin on Lu Yan's shoulder, her warm breath brushing against his neck, her tone carrying three parts teasing and seven parts languidness.

Sister Lin's message was very formal, businesslike, without any inappropriate small talk, just a dry discussion about work.

This shows that yesterday's post on WeChat Moments did indeed play a decisive role.

Sister Lin is a mature woman. After seeing Lu Yan's complete lack of reservations, she chose the most dignified way to leave, severing the last trace of personal connection between them and returning to a purely professional business relationship.

"A 30% premium, A-Yan." Aemeath stretched out her finger and kept drawing circles on Lu Yan's chest. "You can earn this much just by drawing a few swimsuit pictures? Your hands are really valuable. So, want to take it?"

Although she asked that question aloud, there was no trace of jealousy in her tone.

She could clearly sense that there was no longer any womanly probing in Sister Lin's message; only business needs remained, which made her very satisfied.

Lu Yan lowered his eyes and looked at the four character names on the screen.

Those were the four characters he drew under Aemeath.

In the absence of Aemeath, his life was like that of a machine.

Aside from eating and sleeping, I sit in front of the computer, drawing lines and coloring day after day. When I'm not working, I play games, repeating the same routine day after day.

But things are different now.

Lu Yan gently grasped the small Aemeath that was playing tricks on his chest and wrapped it in his palm.

He turned to look at Aemeath, who was so close to him, gazing into her golden eyes and feeling the warmth emanating from her body.

He suddenly realized that he could no longer be the same as before.

"I'm not answering." Lu Yan's voice was calm.

Aemeath was slightly taken aback, seemingly not expecting him to refuse so decisively.

Lu Yan freed one hand and started rapidly tapping on his phone screen.

Aemeath peeked over and saw Lu Yan type a very polite, yet definitively closed-door reply in the chat box, "Sister Lin, I'm sorry. Thank you for the art director and the client's approval, but I can't accept this additional order."

"My personal schedule has been quite full lately, so I plan to take a break from writing for a while and will not be accepting any new commercial articles."

"Regarding the derivative artwork and further development of these three characters, you'll probably need to contact other artists. Best of luck with the project."

After typing this line, Lu Yan pressed the send button without any hesitation.

Aemeath stared at the words on the screen, especially the words "retiring from writing," her eyes widened slightly.

"A-Yan, you... you said you're going to stop writing?" Aemeath suddenly lifted her head from his shoulder, her eyes full of surprise.

What does "retiring from drawing" mean? Does it mean you'll never draw again?

"But you clearly love drawing so much! Your eyes were shining when you were drawing me just now!"

Just then, my phone vibrated, and Sister Lin's reply quickly popped up.

Sister Lin: "Okay, I understand. Personal time is indeed more important. Have a good rest. We'll hand over the follow-up work to other artists. We'll collaborate again in the future if there's an opportunity."

Clean and efficient, without any unnecessary delays. This purely work-related conversation has now come to a complete end.

Lu Yan casually tossed his phone onto the computer desk. He cupped Aemeath's face, which was slightly open in surprise.

"Silly girl, what are you thinking?" Lu Yan gently stroked her delicate cheek. "When I said 'stopping drawing,' I didn't mean I would never draw again, but rather that I would stop drawing those manuscripts."

"Why?" Aemeath still somewhat puzzled.

Lu Yan sighed, his gaze drifting through the living room's floor-to-ceiling windows to the bright spring sunshine outside.

"Aemeath, do you know? Before, I was just doing this to have something to do. I had no expectations in my life. Sitting in that studio was like locking myself in a box without windows."

Lu Yan's gaze returned to Aemeath's face, his eyes becoming incredibly focused. "But now, you've come."

Lu Yan's forehead pressed against hers, their breaths mingling in close proximity.

"You broke my box. After you came into my life, I suddenly realized that everything before was meaningless."

My eyes can only hold you now. All I want to do now is paint pictures of you and spend more time with you.

"Since A-Yan has even stopped writing for me, and isn't even willing to make money anymore."

Aemeath cupped Lu Yan's cheeks, "From now on, let me take care of A-Yan."

Looking at Aemeath's expression, Lu Yan could no longer hide the smile in his eyes.

He nodded, agreeing with her, "Okay~ From now on, I'll be entirely dependent on Aemeath for support."