A simple oil painting was just a matter of minutes for Jiang Yu. But what should she paint? She looked around and decided on the apple on the display stand.
Ji Lan watched her fiddle with the palette and snorted coldly, thinking she was just putting on a show. “A simple oil painting? Don’t just casually smear a few strokes and claim you know how to paint. I won’t be fooled that easily.”
Jiang Yu couldn’t be bothered to respond. Once she finished mixing the colours, she started painting. She never hesitated when putting brush to canvas and within just a few strokes, the outline of an apple had already appeared vividly on the paper.
Ji Lan’s expression shifted. She bit her lip, still unwilling to believe that Jiang Yu could paint in oils – until a rich, red apple took shape on the canvas, its plump colour so vibrant and tempting that it made one’s mouth water.
Ji Lan: “…”
The other students in the studio began whispering among themselves.
“Wow, Jiang Yu really does know how to paint with oils. She’s amazing!”
“Maybe she just picked up a little. Didn’t Teacher Shen say she was a genius? It’s normal for her to learn fast.”
“Heh, let’s see how Ji Lan gets out of this one. She’s always acting high and mighty, thinking no one except Yu Bing can be better than her. Looks like she finally hit a wall!”
Ji Lan had always been proud and naturally, not everyone in the studio liked her. Now, some were eager to watch her embarrassment unfold.
Jiang Yu put her brush down. Painting such a simple apple had only taken her two or three minutes – it really wasn’t difficult at all. She turned to Ji Lan and said, “This should be enough proof that I can paint with oils. So, shouldn’t you apologise now?”
Ji Lan’s face turned pale. She bit her lip and the words “I’m sorry” rolled on her tongue but refused to come out.
Seeing her reluctance, Jiang Yu smiled nonchalantly. “Forget it – “
“I’m sorry!” Ji Lan suddenly blurted out, her eyes reddening. She glared at Jiang Yu and said, “I, Ji Lan, keep my word. It’s just an apology, isn’t it? I’m not the type to refuse to admit when I lose! But so what if you can paint in oils? Learning a bunch of things at once won’t make you a master. A random oil painting – what’s so impressive about that?”
Jiang Yu had no intention of arguing. She was just a girl – why bother fussing with her?
She reached out to tidy up her art supplies, carefully washing the palette and putting everything back in order. Then, she looked at her canvas and hesitated.
The studio wasn’t exactly a quiet place and her starry sky painting required a lot of time. Painting it here might be a bit disruptive.
After thinking for a moment, she simply decided to take the canvas home. She had only started painting on a whim, but now she realised that the studio wasn’t the ideal place for such a project.
Meanwhile, inside the studio, Yu Bing stood before her easel, holding a sketching pencil, but she hadn’t made a single stroke in a long time.
Ji Lan stormed over angrily. “That Jiang Yu – who knows when she learned oil painting? It’s infuriating! And she even made me apologise – ugh, disgusting!”
Yu Bing snapped out of her thoughts, glancing at Jiang Yu as she carried her canvas away. Then, she withdrew her gaze and casually resumed her work. “You made a bet with her. If you lost, you had to own up to it. Or are you the kind of person who can’t handle losing?”
“I never said I couldn’t handle losing! Didn’t I apologise in the end?” Ji Lan grumbled, feeling frustrated. “But how could she learn oil painting in just two weeks? Does she even realise that trying to master too much at once is a mistake? She might end up spreading herself too thin and achieving nothing in the end.”
Yu Bing sighed. “Why do you keep picking fights with her? She never did anything to you.”
Ji Lan felt a lump in her throat. “I just don’t like her. Teacher Shen used to favour you and me the most, but ever since she came, he likes her more. It’s not fair.”
Yu Bing put her pencil down. “Enough. Stop bothering her. We come to the studio to learn how to paint, not to pick fights. Pack up – we’re leaving.”
“…Fine,” Ji Lan muttered reluctantly.
–
By the time Jiang Yu left the studio, the sky was already darkening. The sun was setting in the west, leaving behind a streak of fiery red clouds. The golden light bathed everything in a warm glow, dyeing the entire world in shades of crimson.
Their school had evening self-study sessions, but since it was Saturday, there were no classes that night. Jiang Yu went home, set up her canvas on the easel in a place where it wouldn’t be exposed to direct light and then headed to the market to buy groceries for dinner.
Now that she had some money, she no longer skimped on food and clothing. She would occasionally cook a nice meal to reward herself.
At the market, a vendor was selling freshly caught fish. Jiang Yu didn’t really know if it was truly fresh, but she bought one anyway. There were also crabs and shrimp for sale, so she bought some of those as well.
She cleaned the crabs, tied them up with ginger slices and steamed them. When dipped in soy sauce, they were incredibly fresh and delicious. As for the fish, she had the vendor clean and gut it, then took it home to steam. Afterwards, she heated oil in a pan, added chilli, seasoning and fermented bean paste and poured the sizzling mixture over the steamed fish. The dish was simple, convenient and guaranteed to taste great.
A plate of boiled shrimp, along with crab and fish – Jiang Yu also made a seaweed and egg drop soup. When all the dishes were set on the table, they looked so visually appealing that Jiang Yu couldn’t help but want to paint them. After finishing her meal, she eagerly pulled out her paper and brushes and immediately started painting impatiently.
Jiang Yu had an excellent memory – once she saw something, she could recall it vividly. The image of the dishes from earlier was still fresh in her mind.
A fish, a plate of shrimp, several crabs and a bowl of soup…
Painting a picture, while seemingly simple, required great attention to colour composition. By the time Jiang Yu finished, it was nearly midnight. She snapped a photo of her painting and posted it on her Weibo before rushing off to take a shower.
Meanwhile, her fans, who had been lurking on her Weibo, immediately started commenting.
Xiang Weiwei was one of Jiang Yu’s fans, but unlike others, she followed Jiang Yu specifically for her food paintings. Every dish Jiang Yu painted looked almost identical to the real thing – so realistic and enticing that it could easily trigger one’s appetite.
The moment her Weibo notification popped up, Xiang Weiwei clicked in. When she saw the latest painting, her mouth nearly watered. The artwork was so lifelike that it could be mistaken for an actual photograph.
Scrolling further, she saw yesterday’s breakfast painting – a steaming basket of soup dumplings. One dumpling sat on a plate, its delicate skin torn open, revealing rich broth spilling out onto the dish. The painting captured the savoury aroma so vividly that it felt as if one could almost smell it through the screen. As she scrolled further, more images of various dishes appeared. Jiang Yu painted everything and each piece was just as exquisite as the last.
[Oh my god, this looks so delicious!]
[This isn’t a painting – it’s magic!]
[Why would you post something like this in the middle of the night? Are you trying to starve us?]
Jiang Yu’s fans were practically drooling over the painting. Xiang Weiwei swallowed hard and instinctively opened her food delivery app, ordering a large batch of barbecue. For someone who rarely had much of an appetite, Jiang Yu’s food paintings were a miracle – they actually made her hungry. Thinking about how she had gained a whole pound recently, she couldn’t help but feel emotional. At 165 cm tall and only weighing 75 pounds, gaining even a little weight felt like a huge achievement.
New viewers stumbled upon the post and gasped. [This has to be a photo. There’s no way this is a painting!]
Immediately, this comment received countless likes.
[Right?! It looks just like a photo! But nope, this is actually a painting – our artist is just that amazing!]
[Your food paintings are incredible, but I also love your character illustrations. How should I put it… the artwork has such a lively, expressive quality to it.]
[Well, anyway, everything you paint is stunning. I’m your die-hard career fan!]
Her fans sincerely admired her talent – they were drawn in by her skills and stayed for them.
Jiang Yu’s paintings spoke for themselves. Anyone with eyes could see just how skilled she was and her fans’ love for her work was proof of their appreciation for true artistry.
Great works always find those who can appreciate them and Tang Yiyi was one of those people. She especially loved Jiang Yu’s food illustrations, so much so that she had set up special notifications for her posts just to make sure she wouldn’t miss an update.
Throughout history, there had always been many skilled artists, but only a few ever gained recognition. Some paintings were incredibly detailed, almost photographic in precision, yet they lacked emotional depth – they were too rigid, too mechanical. They captured the surface but lacked soul.
But Jiang Yu’s paintings were different. Her portraits radiated charm and emotion, her characters felt alive and her food paintings were so enticing that they almost seemed to carry the aroma of the dishes themselves. Just looking at them could make a person hungry.
Tang Yiyi found herself completely captivated. She wanted these paintings – she needed them.
As she scrolled through her phone, a bold idea formed in her mind. She had to invite this artist, [A Fleeting Dream] to illustrate her upcoming manhua adaptation.
Tang Yiyi, aside from being an avid art enthusiast, was also a renowned female web novel author known as Xia An. Her novels were immensely popular, with most of them having been adapted for various media formats.
Her current project was a manhua adaptation of her hit novel, The Ladle Chronicles.
As the title suggested, The Ladle Chronicles revolved around food. The protagonist had an almost supernatural talent for cooking – no matter how simple the ingredients, she could turn them into a gourmet masterpiece.
Tang Yiyi deeply cherished her work and since she wasn’t lacking in financial resources, she refused to settle for anything less than perfection when it came to adaptations.
Right now, the manhua adaptation of The Ladle Chronicles was facing a major problem – there wasn’t a suitable artist for it. Of course, the publishing company had provided several well-known illustrators, all with solid reputations. However, none of them felt quite right to Tang Yiyi.
“This is a food-centric story, so the focus must be on the food. These artists are skilled, but… something feels off,” she mused.
She couldn’t quite put her finger on it – it was just a gut feeling. But now, looking at Jiang Yu’s artwork, she finally understood.
“She’s the one. She’s the only one who can bring The Ladle Chronicles to life.”
Leave a Reply