Lu Mingyu had always been willful and unrestrained. There were very few people in this world who could make him, the young master, feel aggrieved. He liked Jiang Yu’s artwork, so when he refreshed Weibo and saw the chaotic comments under her post, he couldn’t help but sneer.
“If you’re not satisfied with [A Fleeting Dream]’s artwork, then why don’t you just go and ask Ning Danzhu to illustrate for you…” he said.
Ning Danzhu, a thirty-five-year-old woman known as a genius painter, specialised in traditional Chinese painting and was quite famous in the art world. Lu Mingyu’s words were pure mockery – he was basically saying that the fans of The Ladle Chronicles were being way too ambitious.
The Lu family was wealthy and as the young master, Lu Mingyu was known for being extravagant and flamboyant. He was also incredibly handsome, attracting a number of fangirls online. Seeing his comment now, it was clear that he was firmly on [A Fleeting Dream]’s side, leaving many netizens confused.
How did [A Fleeting Dream] get involved with Lu Mingyu?
Only Lu Mingyu’s fans knew the backstory. At first, even their young master had ridiculed [A Fleeting Dream], but later, [A Fleeting Dream]’s talent proved him wrong, slapping him in the face with undeniable skill. Their artwork was truly exceptional and worth every penny.
[How picky can The Ladle Chronicles’ fans be to reject such a talented artist?]
[Their art is on a completely different level compared to the average illustrator. You all think you’re worthy of them? Honestly, they probably haven’t even read your book, yet here you are, acting all high and mighty.]
[Why don’t you try hiring Ning Danzhu then? See if she even acknowledges you. Poor [A Fleeting Dream], just minding their own business and suddenly getting dragged into this mess for no reason.]
Lu Mingyu’s fans were not the passive type. Many of them followed celebrities and were used to online drama. To them, [A Fleeting Dream] was their young master’s favourite artist. If their favourite artist was being attacked, what else could they do? Fight back, of course!
The Ladle Chronicles fans were no match for these netizens. In just a few words, they were thoroughly mocked. They were accused of being arrogant, bullying artists just because they had a large fanbase and acting as if they had the moral high ground. The tension was thick.
The The Ladle Chronicles fans were furious at the comments, but what could they do? The other side fought harder and they simply weren’t a match.
Lu Mingyu sat on the sports field, holding his phone with a disdainful smirk.
“Saying [A Fleeting Dream]’s art is bad? Isn’t that the same as saying I have bad taste?” he muttered, clearly displeased.
After all, he had the painting of a beauty by [A Fleeting Dream] hanging in his bedroom and he absolutely loved it.
His logic was simple – he liked [A Fleeting Dream]’s art and thought it was amazing. Yet, the The Ladle Chronicles fans were belittling it as worthless. That was basically saying he, Lu Mingyu, had terrible taste. And of course, he would never admit to having bad taste. So, obviously, it was the The Ladle Chronicles fans who had no taste.
“What’s the connection between [A Fleeting Dream] and Lu Mingyu?”
At this point, it wasn’t just The Ladle Chronicles fans wondering – Wen Mengyan was also growing suspicious. She was debating whether to continue using paid commenters to smear [A Fleeting Dream].
Now that the situation was calming down, stirring up more drama would only make it obvious that someone was targeting [A Fleeting Dream]. If [A Fleeting Dream] had connections with Lu Mingyu, then they definitely weren’t just some ordinary person. If Lu Mingyu found out she was behind the smear campaign…
The thought sent a chill down Wen Mengyan’s spine. For the first time, she felt a bit scared.
Just as she absentmindedly started biting her nails, her cousin called her.
“Mengyan, are you the one behind the smear campaign against [A Fleeting Dream]?” Editor He’s voice was sharp and accusing.
Wen Mengyan’s expression changed slightly. She laughed, feigning ignorance. “Cousin, what are you talking about? I don’t understand…”
But Editor He didn’t believe her at all. “Xia An’s preference for [A Fleeting Dream] wasn’t even made public yet. I told you about it and apart from you, I can’t think of anyone else who would have leaked this.”
Wen Mengyan fell silent. After a moment, she muttered resentfully, “I just couldn’t accept it. I was so close – just one step away from getting The Ladle Chronicles…”
He Editor sighed. “Even without [A Fleeting Dream], that opportunity wouldn’t necessarily have gone to you. Xia An is a stubborn author. If she’s not satisfied with the artist, she’d rather not go through with the manhua adaptation at all.”
Wen Mengyan was still unwilling to accept it. “So [A Fleeting Dream] is good enough for her?”
“Yes. She’s very satisfied. Didn’t you see her Weibo post? She was practically praising [A Fleeting Dream] to the skies. So give it up and stop stirring trouble. Because of this mess, I got scolded by Editor Zhou.”
Editor Zhou and Editor He held similar positions, but Editor Zhou had far more experience and also had Xia An under his wing. In every aspect, he outranked Editor He. Now that the situation was undeniably their fault, Editor He had no excuse and had to endure the reprimand.
“Mengyan, listen to me – if you don’t want me to lose my job, stop meddling in this. Don’t do anything else,” He Editor said seriously.
Even though Wen Mengyan was still upset, it was clear that she had no chance anymore. More importantly, she didn’t want to drag her cousin down with her. In the end, she could only nod.
“I understand. I won’t do anything else.”
*
Wen Mengyan stopped causing trouble and the small number of book fans who had been criticising Jiang Yu were quickly silenced by Lu Mingyu’s fans. Even the internet trolls quieted down, so when Jiang Yu checked Weibo again the next day, she found the platform peaceful as if nothing had happened.
She was unaware of Lu Mingyu’s involvement and assumed that the publishing company had acted swiftly to suppress the situation.
After the morning study session, there was a twenty-minute break. Jiang Yu noticed Xu Ruyi looking at her hesitantly. Since the start of the session, she had been making this expression, as if she had a lot to say.
Jiang Yu glanced at her and said, “If you have something to say, just say it.”
Hearing this, Xu Ruyi’s eyes lit up. She immediately handed over her phone and asked, “Jiang Yu, you’re [A Fleeting Dream], aren’t you?”
Jiang Yu looked down and saw that the screen displayed her own Weibo page.
“I’ve seen you draw this painting before and we just ate at Mu’s Steamed Buns two days ago…” Xu Ruyi had been following Spoon Chronicles closely and had witnessed the online drama yesterday. When she saw the artwork posted by the illustrator [A Fleeting Dream], she immediately felt that it looked familiar.
An artist’s style is unique and Jiang Yu’s style was easy to recognise. The more Xu Ruyi looked, the more certain she became.
Jiang Yu nodded. “Yes, that’s me.”
Xu Ruyi grew excited. “I knew it! The art style looked just like yours – it really is you!”
Then, as if realising something, she asked, “Wait… so you’re the artist that Xia An is really satisfied with? Does this mean you’re going to illustrate The Ladle Chronicles?”
Jiang Yu shook her head while flipping through her chemistry book. “The publisher did reach out to me, but I haven’t decided whether to collaborate with them. I’m not interested in manhua. It would take up too much of my time and it’s just not worth it.”
Although she said she hadn’t decided, Xu Ruyi could tell that Jiang Yu wasn’t very keen on the idea.
Xu Ruyi calmed down and said, “You do need to think it over carefully. Besides, it’s obvious someone was trying to slander you. The ones attacking you were probably among those illustrators mentioned in the comments… Honestly, most of the real book fans really like your artwork.”
Jiang Yu was a little surprised. “How do you know most of them like my art?”
Xu Ruyi answered confidently, “Because I’m a book fan and I love your artwork.”
Jiang Yu chuckled. “You’re my friend. Of course, you’d think everything I do is great.”
Xu Ruyi shook her head. “I’m in Xia An’s reader group. Everyone in there thinks your artwork is amazing and perfectly fits the story. They’re all complaining about which idiots started the drama. The real fans are actually really mad about it.”
Most of the book fans felt wronged. They genuinely liked [A Fleeting Dream]’s illustrations, so they couldn’t understand where these critics came from, blindly bashing the artwork and ruining the reputation of The Ladle Chronicles’ fanbase.
Jiang Yu was happy that people appreciated her work, but it didn’t change her decision – she had no interest in drawing manhua. She barely had enough time for everything else, let alone committing to a long-term manhua project.
Xu Ruyi hoped Jiang Yu would illustrate The Ladle Chronicles, but even though she was disappointed, she still respected Jiang Yu’s choice.
That afternoon, Jiang Yu went to the art studio. The studio was always quiet and when people spoke, they kept their voices low to avoid disturbing others.
At the edge of the room, Teacher Shen stood in front of an easel, drawing something. A group of students gathered around, occasionally letting out murmurs of admiration.
Seeing that Teacher Shen was busy, Jiang Yu didn’t disturb her and silently moved to her own space.
The display table had been cleared of its previous objects and now held a bouquet of red roses in a vase. The roses were fresh and vibrant, their colour rich and striking.
Their assignment was to paint a gouache still life of the roses, which would take quite some time.
“I heard these roses were from Teacher Shen’s boyfriend – eighty-one of them, symbolising everlasting love…” Two students who weren’t gathered around Teacher Shen were chatting quietly, gossiping as they took a break.
“Teacher Shen’s boyfriend is so romantic!” Another girl sighed in admiration, her voice full of longing.
Teenagers often dreamed of love and high school students were especially fascinated by romance, yearning for a love story of their own.
Hearing this, Jiang Yu couldn’t help but smile, her thoughts drifting.
In her past life, people had pursued her, but she had never accepted anyone. Her time had been entirely devoted to art – she hadn’t had the energy to think about relationships.
People in the arts were often romantic, but Jiang Yu didn’t feel like she had a romantic bone in her body.
As her mind wandered, her hands kept moving. She spread paper on her easel, picked out the colours she wanted from her paint box and started mixing them.
The smell of paint was comforting. Jiang Yu loved working with her palette and watching different pigments blend together.
After all, when different colours were combined in varying proportions, they could create endless shades. It was like holding the colours of the world in your hands.
The best feeling was when she mixed a colour that truly captivated her.
Jiang Yu glanced at the bouquet of roses on the display table. They had just been watered and droplets of moisture still clung to the petals, occasionally dripping down. The air was dry and clear and under the sunlight, tiny dust particles shimmered like golden specks floating in the air.
Her eyes flickered with a certain intensity, an eager emotion stirring within them. She couldn’t wait to pick up her brush and mix her paints.
In that moment, inspiration struck.
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