Chapter 101: Oh, Pang Jiajia

The little monsters in the painting had become her little companions.

The blue monster was her.

She had also added a warm orange-colored monster to the picture.

That monster was Mama Lu.

Because the night before, when she saw Mama Lu, she looked like a warm orange.

Warm and comforting.

She also added a beam of light over the sea.

That beam of light pierced through the surface of the sea.

It landed on Mama Lu, who was wearing snowflake earrings.

It also shone down on the top of Mama Wu’s bright red head.

She really liked this painting. She was very satisfied with it.

Mama Lu hung it up in her office.

That way, she could see it every day.

Song Li was very happy.

Just like today—she was actually very happy.

The outside world really was quite fun.

Today, she saw so many interesting things.

When she got back, she could keep drawing again.

Like these beautiful flowers in front of her.

She wanted to paint them in space.

The toys Grandma Feng talked about might be things other people would like.

What she liked were her paintbrushes and the people she had come to know.

Because she liked these people, she was also trying to like this world.

“There’s also doll painting over there. Want to go try it?”

“We can paint a doll ourselves and give it to the director as a surprise gift.”

When Grandma Feng said that, Song Li was instantly intrigued.

“Okay!”

“Come on, let’s go pick a doll,” said Doctor Feng.

“Mm.” Song Li nodded, letting Doctor Feng take her hand and lead her to the doll-picking area.

In the end, the two of them picked out a cute doll holding a pen holder.

“Little Pear, you do the coloring. Just tell me what colors you need, and I’ll help you pick them out and rinse your brushes.”

“Okay.”

Song Li sat down and began painting the doll with full concentration.

Each doll came with a sample reference image.

But Song Li didn’t even look at it.

She had her own ideas and her own way of matching colors.

When the doll was finally finished, Song Li looked at the result of her own work and felt quite satisfied.

Doctor Feng clicked her tongue in amazement.

“Little Pear, you painted this doll really well. It looks even better than the sample picture.”

Song Li didn’t say anything. She just gave a shy smile.

When they went to pay, the shop owner wanted to spray something on the doll to preserve it.

During the process, the shop owner’s wife joked,

“Little girl, your doll looks amazing.”

“How about this? Leave the doll here, and I won’t charge you. I’ll even let you pick another one to paint. How’s that sound?”

Song Li shook her head.

Doctor Feng quickly spoke up, “Thanks for the kind offer!”

“But this doll our little one painted was specially picked out and painted to be given as a gift, so I’m afraid we can’t part with it.”

“No problem. Then can I take a picture of it?” asked the shop owner’s wife.

“Of course.”

After leaving the doll-painting stall with their mysterious gift, the two of them continued walking through the flower exhibition.

Before long, Song Li spotted an old man.

An old man sitting on a small stool, sketching chrysanthemums as he observed them.

Song Li was full of curiosity. She pointed at the old man and spoke softly.

“Grandma Feng, I want to go take a look.”

“Sure, let’s go take a look.”

The two of them walked over and quietly stood beside the old man to watch.

The old man was doing a pencil sketch of chrysanthemums.

He held an HB pencil in his hand.

The chrysanthemums on the paper were incredibly detailed.

Every single petal was drawn with precision.

As Song Li observed his strokes, she also searched for the exact flower he was drawing.

The old man stayed focused on his sketch.

From time to time, people would come over to watch, craning their necks to get a better look at his drawing.

Some even took photos of him.

But Song Li didn’t take any pictures, nor did she look around. She just kept watching.

Her level of focus matched the old man’s as he worked.

After watching for quite a while, Song Li tugged on Doctor Feng and walked to the side.

“Grandma Feng, I want to draw too.”

“Did you bring your sketchpad?”

“I did.” Song Li pulled out her small sketchpad and drawing tools from her little bag.

“Alright, then you draw. I’ll go find you a stool.”

“Thank you, Grandma Feng.”

Five minutes later, Doctor Feng returned carrying a stool.

When she came back with it, Song Li was already sitting cross-legged on her bag, holding her sketchpad in her lap and drawing.

The bag was spread out on the ground not far from the old man.

“Here, Little Pear, sit here~”

“Okay.”

“Grandma Feng, you can go have fun. I’ll just sit here and won’t run off.”

“It’s fine. I’m tired too. I’ll rest for a bit.”

Song Li gave a quiet “Mm” and went back to her drawing.

She transferred the starry sky from her imagination onto the paper.

Then, in the gaps between scattered planets, she planted chrysanthemums of all different colors.

While drawing the chrysanthemums, she mimicked the old man’s method—observing as she drew.

Unlike the old man’s pencil sketch, her painting was still boldly colorful and vibrant.

Full of whimsical, fantastical ideas.

But it also carried a childlike earnestness.

At some point, the old man who had finished his chrysanthemum sketch quietly stood up and silently sat behind her, watching.

…

Compared to Song Li’s quiet focus, Pang Jiajia—who had come along with Xu Ming—was also surprisingly patient.

She first went to watch the sugar painting¹ booth, where the big sister making sugar art used her hands to create beautiful phoenixes.

She made cute rabbits.

She made butterflies, Peppa Pig, and Bing Dwen Dwen².

For some reason, a wave of uncontrollable curiosity and excitement surged in Pang Jiajia’s heart.

When she got back, she was going to use the modeling clay she bought to sculpt all kinds of cute little animals like these.

After watching the sugar painting for a while and buying two pieces—one for each of them to taste—Pang Jiajia squatted down next to the old man weaving bamboo.

That old man was amazing.

The thin bamboo strips seemed to come alive in his hands.

In no time at all, he had turned the strips into a fun little cockroach.

A moment later, he made a tiny bamboo cage for holding a praying mantis³.

Then, he crafted an owl out of bamboo strips.

On top of that, hanging from the old man’s stall cart were all kinds of bamboo weaving⁴ crafts.

There were bamboo-woven bags, bamboo baskets, bamboo piglet tea canisters⁵, bamboo mini baskets, bamboo baby carriers, and so on and so on.

The finished bamboo crafts, combined with ropes and other decorative elements, gave off a fresh and fashionable vibe. They looked really nice.

“Little girl, like it?” Xu Ming asked.

“Mm, I like it. That grandpa is amazing.”

Hearing that, Xu Ming squatted down beside the old man and started chatting with him.

Xu Ming now was no longer the same Xu Ming as before.

After staying up late to binge-read more than a dozen CEO romance novels, his head was full of schemes to deal with stepmothers.

And through constant trial and error—sometimes failing, sometimes succeeding—he had come to a realization:

Turns out, battling a stepmom could be pretty fun too.

Especially watching his stepmom act all gentle and sweet in front of his Scumbag Dad, while secretly losing her mind behind his back. It was hilarious.

Old Feng was right after all. That house was something his Scumbag Dad had built.

Even if he didn’t like it, he couldn’t just run away and let the Scumbag Dad and that awful stepmother off easy.

He was going to stay right here at home, play mind games with the stepmother every day, and drive her absolutely mad.

Bleh bleh bleh.

Right now, even though he hadn’t completely won over the Scumbag Dad, he had at least managed to make the man see him in a different light.

At the very least, he now had some pocket money.

After Xu Ming finished chatting with the old man, he saw the old man waving at Pang Jiajia.

“Kid, are you interested in learning Bamboo Weaving?”

“Come here, I’ll teach you. Let’s see if you can pick it up.”

“(☆▽☆)!” Pang Jiajia immediately ran over and squatted down eagerly.

Translator’s Notes