Chapter 414: Black Seawater
Gu Xiaoyue went there alone. She did not care about the origin of the rain, or what happened in Hawaii, but what saddened her slightly was the fact that she could not keep Gu Chengyun company. In addition, she was also worried that Gu Chengyun might be recruited into the academy.
Xiao Lin felt a headache coming on too. He came back to Earth in the hopes of relaxing and having a vacation, but the trouble he encountered in the past two days seemed to be more than what he faced in Dawn Academy.
When Gu Xiaoyue mentioned his sister, Xiao Lin had a sudden realization. He finally discovered where the strange uneasiness in his subconscious originated from, and he rushed out without a second thought. He grabbed Gu Xiaoyue’s hand without so much as a word and ran all the way towards the fine arts academy.
Gu Xiaoyue was stunned for a while, and forcefully jerked her hand free. Xiao Lin laughed dryly. Taking advantage of Gu Xiaoyue’s confused expression, he wisely shifted the topic away and said with a serious face, “I’m going to look for Chengyun. There’s something I’m very concerned about.”
Xiao Lin then took Gu Xiaoyue’s hand and started running wildly again. He probably could not give any reasonable excuse as to why he had to hold hands while running. Gu Xiaoyue struggled a little at the beginning, but fortunately, she did not object after seeing the seriousness between Xiao Lin’s eyebrows.
After arriving at the fine arts academy, the number of students on the roadside gradually increased. It was inevitable that those who were single stared intently at the two of them holding hands. In any case, Gu Xiaoyue was more sensitive, and she quietly retracted her hand. Xiao Lin pursed his lips. Feeling somewhat regretful and slightly irritated, Xiao Lin cast an even fiercer look at the people around him, causing everyone to consciously avoid them...
Gu Chengyun had just finished class, but because it was not the weekend, there were many more students in the painting studio. Most of them were girls. Many were chatting with each other, and Xiao Lin observed quietly for some time from outside. There were many people around Gu Chengyun and she was obviously quite popular in the academy. She and her sister were polar opposites, and it stood to reason that such a lively, optimistic, and cheerful girl was worthy of others to know.
“Sister! Xiao Lin!” Gu Chengyun caught a glimpse of the two people outside the classroom and beckoned them gleefully. Last time, he cunningly omitted calling Xiao Lin ‘brother’ and explained her reason with conviction: if she addressed them as Brother Xiao Lin, and Sister Gu Xiaoyue, then the relationship between the two of them would arouse suspicion from others. Needless to say, her explanation left Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue speechless for quite some time.
Xiao Lin took the initiative to push her wheelchair and stopped at the corner of the corridor where there were few people. He smiled and asked, “Chengyun, where’s that unfinished painting? Have you completed it after that?”
Gu Xiaoyue’s lips squirmed, but she just sighed silently even though she looked like she wanted to say something. Gu Chengyun tilted her head in confusion and said, “It’s done, since my habit is to finish a painting that I started. It’s just...”
“Can you show me that painting?” Xiao Lin did not notice Gu Chengyun’s hesitation.
“I have many other paintings. You can see the others if you like, but forget about that one.”
“Why?”
“That painting is a bit weird. I put it away after it was done.” Gu Chengyun felt a little embarrassed.
Xiao Lin patiently persuaded. Gu Chengyun was very easy to talk to, and she also acknowledged Xiao Lin as her brother-in-law. After some persuasion, Gu Chengyun reluctantly agreed. Once the painting was brought out, Xiao Lin hurriedly opened it in the corridor.
Gu Chengyun drew a picture of the Hawaiian landscape. Most of the painting remained the same as before, but Xiao Lin noticed that at the very edge of the painting—that is, the area which used to be black—had since been filled with jet-black paint.
Gu Xiaoyue also leaned her head and looked at it carefully. She also noticed that the darkness was incompatible with the surrounding blue waters and had a serious effect on the beauty of the entire painting. Anyone with a discerning eye could see it, so it was impossible for Gu Chengyun to be unaware of it. Oddly enough, she still insisted on painting even though she could see the discordance, so it was unsurprising that she refused to take out the painting earlier.
“I draw pictures by imagination. You know that, Big Sis. I’m not the one who decides what I want to paint.”
“What is this black area?”
“Seawater.”
“Seawater? Black seawater!” Gu Xiaoyue had a look of suspicion.
Xiao Lin was still observing the painting. This area was indeed painted with black paint, but one closer inspection, one would notice that it was not simply a patch of jet-black paint. Within it, a slightly lighter layer can be vaguely distinguished. The layers were gray and black, and the two colors were alternated together. A professional painter might not find it that easy to distinguish.
Xiao Lin pointed to this area and asked, “What’s this here?”
Gu Chengyun closed her eyes and tried to remember her memory, but soon there was a trace of uneasiness between her eyebrows. She whispered, “I don’t know, all I remember is that it’s terrible. There seems to be something terrible hidden in the black water, but I really can’t remember what it was, and I don’t understand why I imagined that kind of picture, so I didn’t even dare to continue painting before Xiao Lin came.”
“Okay, okay, don’t worry!” Gu Xiaoyue took her sister’s shoulders lovingly. She comforted her and softly chastised, “It’s just a nightmare. It’s fine, next time if there’s ever a painting that you don’t want to draw again, just simply forget it, do you understand!”
Gu Xiaoyue glared at Xiao Lin again. Xiao Lin could not ask any more. Gu Chengyun’s mood fluctuated slightly. Gu Xiaoyue was still worried and wanted to stay there, so she hurried Xiao Lin back to the hotel. Before leaving however, she still asked Xiao Lin to return the painting.
Wang Yuelan said that Gu Chengyun was the person whom the head of admissions wanted to inspect, and there had to be something extraordinary about a person who was going to be inspected. As Mao Tianying said to him, most talented students would be visited by the admissions department unannounced, and it could even be said that talented students were the core goal of each enrollment.
If Gu Chengyun was also a talented person, could her talent be the ability to prophesy?
Xiao Lin remembered that she gave her a painting when he first met her. It was a painting depicting hail in New York. When he went to America a few days later, he saw the same familiar scene. Of course, he thought of it as a coincidence at the time and paid little attention to it, but the Hawaii incident reminded him that twice or thrice was no longer a coincidence.
Gu Xiaoyue might have realized it, or perhaps she did know about it but deliberately concealed it. Then, the head of admissions found out about it from somewhere and therefore sent his assistant Wang Yuelan to investigate.
That was the greatest possibility that Xiao Lin could think of right then.