Yu Bing was wearing a white down jacket, her lips pale. She looked thinner than the last time Jiang Yu had seen her and her presence felt even more cold and aloof.
Her complexion didn’t look good either. Jiang Yu frowned as she saw her and asked, “Yu Bing, you don’t look well. Are you feeling unwell?”
“I’m fine.” Yu Bing shook her head, her voice slightly hoarse. She looked at Jiang Yu and said, “You haven’t been to the studio for days.”
To be precise, Jiang Yu had barely gone to the studio this month. The things she had left there were already collecting dust.
Jiang Yu thought for a moment and said, “I probably won’t be going to the studio anymore. There’s nothing more for me to learn there.”
Yu Bing nodded. “Makes sense. With that old master guiding you, you really don’t need to stay in the studio anymore.”
She had clearly misunderstood Jiang Yu’s meaning, but Jiang Yu didn’t bother to explain.
“Teacher Shen said that you’re not planning to participate in this year’s Lan Hua Youth Art Competition?” Yu Bing asked.
Hearing this, Jiang Yu had a question of her own. She asked, “Teacher… Teacher Shen told me that if I don’t participate in the competition, you won’t either? Why?”
Yu Bing coughed twice, looking weak, but there was a fire in her eyes as she stared intently at Jiang Yu. “Why aren’t you competing? Or do you think this competition is meaningless to you? That no one is your match? So you don’t even care about it?”
Jiang Yu was stunned. “Why would you think that?”
Yu Bing took a deep breath, but the cold air made her cough violently again. Her eyes turned red from coughing, making her look both pitiful and dishevelled.
“What’s wrong with you?” Jiang Yu reached out to support her. The skin under her touch was burning hot, radiating an alarming heat. Jiang Yu was startled and quickly said, “You have a fever? I’m taking you to the infirmary!”
Yu Bing clutched Jiang Yu’s hand tightly and murmured, “So, you really don’t see the point in competing… Sometimes, the word ‘genius’ is truly despairing.”
Half-carrying, half-supporting Yu Bing, Jiang Yu rushed her to the school infirmary. By the time they arrived, Yu Bing’s consciousness was already fading. The school nurse took her temperature and immediately gasped.
“Almost 40 degrees Celsius! And you still came to school? You kids never take care of your health!”
The nurse quickly started applying physical cooling measures and immediately called for an ambulance.
The school infirmary could handle minor illnesses, but with a fever this high, she wasn’t taking any chances. It was best to send her to the hospital, if something serious happened, the responsibility would be too great.
Since Jiang Yu was the one who brought Yu Bing in, she had to go with her to the hospital. Not knowing Yu Bing’s family’s contact information, she called Teacher Shen, who, as a teacher, would surely have her parents’ number.
Ji Lan arrived at the hospital in no time. Her face was flushed, either from rushing or the cold weather. The moment she stepped in, she asked, “Is Yu Bing okay?”
Jiang Yu glanced at Yu Bing, who was receiving an IV and said, “She’s fine. Just a fever. Her temperature has come down now.”
Hearing this, Ji Lan let out a long sigh of relief, wiping the sweat off her forehead. “Thank goodness she’s okay.”
After checking on Yu Bing, she asked Jiang Yu about the doctor’s diagnosis and then stepped out to make a phone call.
The hospital required a quiet environment, but soon, Jiang Yu could hear Ji Lan’s furious voice from outside, even through the closed door.
“Yu Bing is sick and as her parents, you don’t care at all?”
“The doctor says she needs to be hospitalised. Aren’t you going to be with her?”
“Hello? Hello? Auntie?”
The call was cut off. Ji Lan stormed back into the room, her expression dark.
Seeing Jiang Yu, she couldn’t be bothered with her usual dislike for her and vented angrily, “What kind of awful parents are these? I told them Yu Bing was in the hospital and they said they were too busy with work to come and that I should take care of her instead! How could they be like this?”
Jiang Yu was a little surprised. She wasn’t close to Yu Bing and had no idea about her family situation. But from their few interactions, it was clear that Yu Bing’s family was well-off, yet she had never seen her parents.
Ji Lan slumped into a chair beside the bed, sighing heavily. After a while, she turned to glare at Jiang Yu. “It’s all your fault that Yu Bing ended up like this!”
Jiang Yu looked at her, utterly confused.
Seeing her expression, Ji Lan became even more frustrated. “If it weren’t for you, that master would have chosen Yu Bing as his student. Then she wouldn’t be in this state. Do you know her parents wanted her to quit painting and switch to piano instead? Ever since then, she’s been in a terrible mood.”
Jiang Yu sighed. “Even if I weren’t here, Master wouldn’t necessarily have chosen Yu Bing.”
In her past life, she hadn’t been taken as Master’s student, but Yu Bing hadn’t been chosen either. That meant that whether or not Jiang Yu was present, Yu Bing’s chances were always slim.
Ji Lan frowned and muttered, “How do you know that? Before you joined the studio, Teacher Shen’s favourite student was Yu Bing… Ugh, what’s the point in saying all this now? Who knows if Yu Bing will ever get to paint again.”
Jiang Yu felt a bit conflicted upon hearing this. She hadn’t expected Yu Bing’s family to be so unsupportive. Yu Bing was a talented artist, Teacher Shen had mentioned her potential multiple times. It would be a great pity if she had to give up painting now.
In the afternoon, Yu Bing finally woke up. The hospital room smelled of disinfectant. It was a double-patient ward and the family of the other patient was chatting noisily. Jiang Yu helped her sit up and poured her a cup of warm water.
“Did you bring me to the hospital?” Yu Bing looked around, then fixed her gaze on Jiang Yu and said, “Thank you.”
She looked a little weak, but her expression remained calm.
Jiang Yu sat beside her. The two of them were not very familiar with each other, so for a moment, they were at a loss for words.
“This morning, you mentioned something…” Jiang Yu looked at her and said, “I will participate in the competition.”
Yu Bing smiled bitterly and said, “I was too emotional this morning. Whether you participate or not has nothing to do with me. I really meddled too much. Just pretend I never said that I wouldn’t compete if you didn’t.”
Jiang Yu replied, “It’s not because of you. Do I seem like someone who changes their decisions based on others? This competition is a good opportunity for me as well. Besides, if I win an award, it will earn me bonus points for the college entrance exam.”
“College entrance exam bonus points… With your grades, do you even need them?” Yu Bing questioned.
Jiang Yu smiled and said, “Points are never too many.”
As she spoke, she picked up an apple, peeled it and handed it to Yu Bing. “Ji Lan went to buy you dinner. She’s been gone for a while, so she should be back soon.”
Just as she said this, Ji Lan burst into the room, carrying large bags. Even though it was winter outside with snow on the ground, she was sweating and steaming.
“Oh! Yu Bing, you’re awake?” Her eyes lit up at the sight of her friend.
Jiang Yu helped raise the bedside table and Ji Lan placed the food on it. “I bought you some porridge. Don’t complain about the taste, you’re still recovering, so you can only eat light food.”
Besides food, she also bought some toiletries, which explained why she had taken longer than expected.
Seeing that she wasn’t needed anymore, Jiang Yu excused herself and left.
Yu Bing looked at Ji Lan and, for once, smiled. “Ji Lan, thank you.”
Hearing this, Ji Lan felt a little embarrassed. “Why are you saying that? When I was sick before, didn’t you take care of me too?”
Thinking about it, the two of them were quite similar, they both had unreliable parents.
After returning from the hospital, Jiang Yu took a shower and glanced at Shen Zhiwei’s painting of the Liangshan heroes. She thought about getting a personal seal, after finishing a painting, she could just stamp it, which would be very convenient.
Then, she called Shen Zhiwei and told her that the Liangshan painting was finished, asking whether she wanted to pick it up herself or if Jiang Yu should bring it to B City in a few days.
“You’re coming to B City?” Shen Zhiwei was delighted and immediately caught on to that detail.
Jiang Yu nodded. “There’s an art exhibition in B City. I plan to go check it out.”
Hearing this, Shen Zhiwei’s eyes sparkled and she said excitedly, “That’s perfect! If you come to B City, I can host you. This place is my turf, after all. Just bring the painting when you come, it won’t make much difference waiting a few more days.”
Jiang Yu nodded but didn’t mention that one of her paintings would also be exhibited.
In her past life, she had participated in many exhibitions, so she felt calm about it, so calm that even Teacher Shen and the others found it odd.
Back when Teacher Shen learned that his painting would be displayed at an exhibition, he was so excited that he couldn’t sleep all night. But Jiang Yu? When she received the news, she simply thanked them calmly and… continued painting as usual!
There was no sign of excitement at all!
“I’m really happy about it,” Jiang Yu said with a smile.
Teacher Shen glanced at her. “You don’t look excited at all.”
Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you say before that you could feel my relaxed emotions in my cherry painting? This is exactly how I feel right now.”
Teacher Shen sighed, holding his forehead. “Alright, alright, I’ll believe your nonsense!”
But compared to her past life, there was no doubt that Jiang Yu had taken far fewer detours this time. She couldn’t help but reflect on how having a good mentor was indeed beneficial. Just the title of being Master Cui Guosheng’s student was enough to raise the value of her paintings significantly.
If this exhibition went well and her work gained attention, she would start gaining some recognition in the art world, at just seventeen years old.
To this, Teacher Shen remarked, “You don’t get it, fame must come early! The younger, the better!”
Jiang Yu: “…”
“By the way, have you decided what to paint for the competition?” Teacher Shen asked again.
Jiang Yu nodded. “I have an idea. I’m still refining it, but I’ll start drawing soon.”
She already had the composition in mind; all that was left was to put it on paper.
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