Morning at the Starry Art Academy was serene. Glistening dewdrops slid down the tips of the grass, creating ripples on the lake's surface. Amidst the crisp chirping of birds, a man held his paintbrush up before his eyes, measuring proportions in his mind. On the drawing board, a watercolor-style painting appeared vibrant and soft.
The academy’s back garden was vast. Looking out, the lush green lawn resembled a golf course or an expansive prairie that stretched beyond the horizon, with only the faint silhouettes of tall trees visible in the distance.
Along the corridor, various climbing plants clung to the wooden pillars, growing upward from the base to cover the top of the crossbeams. When the wind blew, the delicate leaves rustled softly. Morning light filtered through the vertical gaps, dappling the students passing below.
"Good morning, Professor Vantel."
Hearing his name, the man looked up. A female student stood there wearing a checkered school uniform. Her badge was adorned with a maple leaf pattern, and her brownish-gray vest was neatly buttoned. Below her gray-lined skirt were round-toed short boots, making her look quite energetic.
"Is this your newest work? Are you capturing the scenery of the academy's back garden? Oh, it really is beautiful. I've seen many paintings of the East Lake District, but this is the first time I've seen this spot."
The student held her books, her hair tied in long braids on either side of her head. Her face was sprinkled with freckles, and her eyes were bright and cheerful.
"Yes, good morning," Vantel nodded.
"At the release event for Impression: Sunset two days ago, I couldn't get a spot in line. I've always admired you and I love your work. If it's possible..."
"Mm."
The man stood up, cutting off the student's excited words. He waved his hand, packed up his drawing board and paint buckets, and walked away without looking back, leaving the girl dazed in place.
She didn't understand what she had said wrong to provoke such a reaction from the professor.
"Let's go, A-Xi. Everyone knows Professor Vantel has a strange temperament. He never takes the initiative to communicate with anyone outside of his professional classes," someone beside her said.
"I know..." the girl said, feeling a bit dejected.
"Oh, that's not entirely true. He only talks to his prize pupil, that amazing student council president, Lancelot~" the person beside her said, intentionally drawing out the tone.
"Don't think of masters as being too holy. In the end, they still have to make a living and suck up to the powerful. It's only human nature. Who doesn't know that Student Council President Lancelot is the second young master of the Withered-Flower family?"
"Don't say things like that in front of me." The girl glared at the person beside her, then hugged her books and ran ahead on her own.
The other person shrugged, looking indifferent.
The students' first morning class was about to begin. Logically, the students still in the dormitories should have been rushing frantically toward the teaching buildings. However, in one particular girls' dormitory...
A purple-haired girl was leisurely spraying a bottle of skincare essence onto her face. She tilted her head back to ensure the liquid wouldn't run off, waiting for it to be completely absorbed by her skin before prettily patting her face.
One had to know that a bottle of this Dailan skincare essence could sell for nearly five hundred inspiration. The production process required strict oversight by professionals in the high-tier water element domain. For ordinary people like them, losing even a single drop was heartbreaking.
"Lefflan, hurry up! We're going to be late!" someone beside her urged.
"Oh, what's the rush? Did you forget? The first class is Madam Vandoni's opera specialty class. She's very nice and never takes attendance. If we're late, we just won't go."
"This is the essence Senior Lancelot gave me. It would be a waste if it dripped off~"
"Lancelot! When did you hook up with him? Doesn't he have a girlfriend? And she's that sword saint..."
"Men, it's perfectly normal for them to stray. One day they're talking to you about the starry sky, philosophy, and deep topics, and the next day they're asking to see your legs. Although Lancelot isn't that low-class."
The purple-haired girl spoke with total indifference. She took out a bottle of jelly mask, unscrewed the lid, and used her slender fingertips to scoop a layer off the dark, mud-like surface, spreading it evenly over her face.
"You little vixen," a girl in the corner said in a pinched voice while scrolling through her curtain. "If that girl finds out, she'll definitely skin you alive."
The purple-haired girl chuckled and closed the lid. "So what? At least I keep these things out in the open. Not like some people who mess around outside school every day while acting all high and mighty. Turns out she's some underground idol. Tsk, tsk, who knows how many men she's hooked up with behind everyone's backs."
"Exactly. Isn't her mother just like that? She used any means necessary to cling to a man from the Winter family. Who knows what that woman did behind the scenes to make that family member so devoted?"
"Oh, don't say that. She supposedly never accepted help from the Winter family and has nothing to do with her mother. She grew up in an orphanage since she was a child~"
"I think she's just like her mother..."
Just then, the dormitory door was suddenly pushed open, hitting the pure white frame with a loud bang.
The room fell silent instantly; even the sound of a pin dropping would have been audible.
The girls who had been talking just now stopped, their eyes wide with surprise as they looked at the blue-haired girl standing at the door.
Lefflan squeezed out an awkward expression. "Sevia, why did you come back so suddenly? You didn't give us any heads-up."
The blue-haired girl walked into the room without a word, ignoring the startled gazes and the question. She went straight to her bed and began packing her things.
"Sevia, someone's talking to you!" one girl raised her voice.
Tang Xin spread her clothes out on the bed and folded them neatly. Only then did she let out a long breath, stood up, and walked over to Lefflan, looking her calmly in the eyes.
For some reason, Lefflan felt as if the blue-haired girl had returned as a completely different person. The gaze made her skin crawl, and a mysterious sense of unease welled up in her heart.
"First, my name isn't Sevia," Tang Xin said.
"Second, you can continue your conversation. There's no need to wag your tongues behind someone's back. If you're dissatisfied with me, you can say it to my face."
"Tang Xin, you've changed..." Lefflan managed to say.
"And you, Lefflan, are still the same as ever. You haven't changed at all," Tang Xin said with a fake smile.
Lefflan's words were stuck in her throat.
In her memory, the blue-haired girl had always been a quiet, invisible person. Even when they ordered her around, she never showed dissatisfaction, let alone adopted such a forceful attitude.
For a moment, Lefflan couldn't adapt to Tang Xin's transformation. Under the girl's piercing gaze, she actually shrunk into the corner, looking as if she were the one being bullied.
Just as she felt she was being too pathetic and tried to straighten up to say something, Tang Xin had already finished packing. Carrying her suitcase, she quickened her pace and departed under all their watchful eyes.
Rate on N.U.
