inspire-indiana Chapter 21 Shen Xi's Dream
Chapter 21 Shen Xi's Dream
The art supplies have all arrived.
Shen Xi carefully unpacked the package and neatly placed the paints, brushes, markers, special drawing paper, brush washer, paperweight, and so on.
A special area was set up in the living room, with a large table, live streaming equipment, a reflector, and so on.
Shen Xi had never actually done a live stream before. Although she had watched Su Su's live stream for a while these past few days, she was still a little worried.
She carefully laid everything out and placed it one by one in the corner.
There was nothing around the custom-made drawing table; even the carpet had been dragged away.
Just kidding, if you were to draw on a table, there wouldn't be a clean spot within two meters of the table.
In her first live stream, she wanted to teach the basics of traditional Chinese painting. She originally planned to use animation to attract viewers and create a good first live stream effect.
But yesterday she discovered that the live streaming room was providing traffic support for the inheritance of traditional Chinese painting. Shen Xi used to study traditional Chinese painting, but later, due to life's pressures, she switched to studying animation.
Before the broadcast, Shen Xi had to draw a few pictures to prepare, so she forced herself to calm down.
As I was drawing, a pile of scraps of paper appeared around the corner.
Shen Xi grabbed a handful of her hair in frustration, loosening her once neat bun and causing a few strands to fall down.
Shen Xi stared at the painting on the rice paper, feeling that something was not satisfactory. She had a problem with her painting; she was obsessive-compulsive. If she was not satisfied with the painting, she would tear it off, crumple it up, throw it away, and start painting again, just like now.
Fortunately, after comparing the two versions, Shen Xi finally realized that there was probably a problem with the design.
She relaxed, and after an afternoon, she finally finished painting a picture of plum blossoms, orchids, and bamboo.
Alright, mission accomplished.
Shen Xi took her phone off the live streaming stand, pressed the pause button, and will slowly edit it into an instructional video after she rests in the evening.
She carefully avoided the still-wet painting; it was her first painting in this unfamiliar world, and she had to record it.
After finishing all that, Shen Xi felt a sore back and aching waist. She rubbed her shoulders, stretched, and joked to herself, "Getting old!"
She sat down on the sofa, holding her phone, ready to order takeout.
During her stay, she discovered that it wasn't that there were no food delivery options nearby, but rather that customers had to call to place orders and then have the food delivered to their homes. Each business had dedicated staff to answer the phone and take down the orders.
Shen Xi thought this lifestyle was really good.
She added the contact information of many restaurants and street vendors from the bottom.
I'll pick my generals and soldiers, and whoever I choose will be my favorite tonight!
Shen Xi struggles with this question every day: What should I eat today?
However, no matter who is ultimately chosen, Shen Xi will most likely not eat this.
Don't ask, the answer is she thinks she's just being pathetic!
Okay, since my sister ordered fried rice, she's decided to have congee with preserved egg and lean pork and a pancake today.
She quickly called the merchant, and then Ge You lay down on the sofa.
Soon, the takeout arrived. Shen Xi paid for it face-to-face and prepared to enjoy her dinner.
Suddenly, she felt that this scene was somewhat familiar, as if it had happened somewhere before. This feeling was not good, and Shen Xi shuddered.
Sure enough, Shen Xi had a dream that very night.
In my dream, she turned into a dark-skinned girl with short hair, a typical tomboy.
The boy was still skinny, his thin figure picking up trash bottles everywhere. He quickly picked up any discarded cardboard boxes nearby and put them into the snakeskin bag he was dragging.
Soon, a little boy, a head shorter than her, ran over from a distance. Of course, she couldn't tell if he was a boy or a girl, but the child was very delicate and beautiful. Even though he was wearing a tattered old shirt, it couldn't hide his exquisite features.
The little boy ran up to her and followed her like a little tail, but she ignored him and silently folded the cardboard in her hands.
The little boy was not discouraged and followed suit, rummaging through the pile of trash.
She frowned and said in a hoarse voice, "Go back and stop causing trouble."
The little boy handed her the discarded bottle he had just shoveled out, his big, round eyes looking at her expectantly.
She slapped the phone away and looked at him coldly: "Get back here, we don't need you here."
After saying that, she ignored the boy's sad look, picked up the bottle, skillfully stomped on it, and threw it into the snakeskin bag.
The little boy, his lips chapped, still followed closely behind the half-grown 'teenager'.
Finally, all the scrap in this area was collected.
She shouldered the dirty bag and went straight back to the dilapidated building, which resembled a ruin.
The surrounding walls had all collapsed, and as she walked in, she found a small house that hadn't been completely demolished amidst the ruins.
She lives here.
The little boy followed her home.
She pulled a brick from under the dilapidated bed frame, underneath which was a stack of crumpled banknotes.
She counted a few bills and tossed them to the little boy, saying, "Go to the street to buy food, and hurry up."
The little boy wiped the dust off his hands, took the banknote, and asked, "Brother, what do you want to eat?"
She emptied the bottles from the bag and, taking a moment to answer him, said, "This little bit of money can buy you anything, anything you want to eat."
Indeed, the little boy looked at the money in his hand; this money represented a small portion of his and his brother's family fortune.
The little boy ran very fast and bought a... pancake from the street after haggling over the price.
The vendors in the neighborhood all knew him. Seeing that he was a little beggar who was both good-looking and pitiful, they were all willing to give him a little extra.
The little boy was also very sweet-talking, greeting everyone with "Brother, business is really good today!" and "Sister, you're so pretty!"
The vendors were all grinning from ear to ear.
The little boy didn't waste any time; after buying it, he hurriedly ran back with his short legs.
When she got home, she was still counting the number of bottles on the ground.
The little boy quickly held up the pancake in his hand like a treasure to show her: "Brother, Uncle Shan gave me half an extra pancake today, and Grandma Li also gave me two apples that she hadn't sold yet."
She didn't answer, coldly picked up the pancake, cut it in half, and threw the other half back to the little boy.
The little boy quickly switched the larger half of the pancake to her hand, grinning with his white teeth, "Brother works hard every day to support the family, he should eat the bigger one."
She turned away without answering.
After finishing the pancake, the little boy licked his lips, seemingly wanting more.
He watched as his older brother, who had already finished eating, began writing on the white wall with a pencil shorter than his thumb.
The little boy didn't go over to disturb him. He went into the room, found the water bottle that had emptied out, ran to the public toilet outside, filled it halfway with water, and then wobbled back inside.
She saw it, but didn't even lift her eyelids, continuing to write.
When the little boy returned after finishing his work, he stood a few meters away from her and could vaguely make out the crooked words on the wall.
—Shen Xi.
She finally learned to write her own name.