Blue Cocktail chapter 13

After the power outage incident, Cheng Shuo had expected that in the following days, Lu Huaiqian would show up in front of him for one reason or another. However, the actual situation was that Mr. Lu, along with his rental contract, seemingly vanished into thin air, leaving no trace.

Was he supposed to rush and remind him to collect the rent? That would inevitably be prolonged as much as possible.

Except for those items not frequently used, everything else had to be gradually moved from the dorm to his new apartment.

Cheng Shuo prioritized the time when the dorm was empty and then considered the times when Lin Han had classes. Once, when he returned to the dorm, he ran into Jiang Yan and He Lingqiu, who asked him why he was moving out. Cheng Shuo offered a credible-sounding reason, completely avoiding mentioning Lin Han.

After all, Cheng Shuo couldn’t bring himself to talk about his creepy roommate having a crush on him and stealing his underwear. He felt that if he said it, it would surely spread. The more people who knew, the more likely someone would mock him behind his back, and he didn’t want to become the subject of gossip.

So, he kept quiet.

Friday mornings were dedicated to major courses, oil painting and life drawing with models provided by the school.

Cheng Shuo was used to arriving late for his classes, and as expected, he only managed to get a seat in the back. The angle of viewing the model was tricky, making the difficulty of capturing the figure increase. However, Cheng Shuo didn’t mind; to him, drawing was drawing, regardless of where he was doing it, as long as he could get a few extra minutes of sleep in the morning.

Cheng Shuo was a fast drawer. When most of his classmates were still grappling with shapes and perspective during the first few sessions, he had already started establishing the light and shadow relationships on his canvas. When the other students finally reached the stage of applying colors, Cheng Shuo had already picked up his nylon brushes and palette knives to work on the details.

Color was also his strong suit; he mixed colors skillfully and applied them with bold flexibility. His paintings never ended up looking dirty.

In the morning, there were four sessions of classes with three breaks in between. When the bell rang at the end of each class, Cheng Shuo was the first to put down his brush. He knew that many students would use the breaks to catch up on their work, but he relied on his efficiency. He could rest during the breaks, and when the next class began, he could easily catch up without the stress.

No matter how careful he was, oil paint inevitably ended up in various places: his fingers, sleeves, cheeks, and even on his phone case after he touched it.

Seeing this, Cheng Shuo furrowed his brows. He didn’t feel like going to the restroom to wash his hands; after all, washing his hands now would mean getting them dirty again when he picked up his brushes later.

A few students behind him started gossiping about something, and their voices grew louder.

“I’ve never liked Song Wenyuan from the start. He parades around with the title of the school’s handsome guy and is all over the internet. In my opinion, we have plenty of guys at our school who are more handsome than him. Besides, I’ve seen his art, and honestly, it’s quite ordinary.”

Cheng Shuo suddenly remembered that Song Wenyuan had gained some online popularity due to an interview he had done on the street, and in the video, he appeared to be confident, articulate, and good-looking. Consequently, he had been crowned as the “Fu Art School’s Handsome Guy” by netizens.

Although Song Wenyuan himself hadn’t actively promoted his personal account, gained followers, or monetized his online presence during that period, the school had seized the opportunity and had him collaborate with their official media for various videos. The Fu Art School’s Handsome Guy frequently appeared in the public eye.

However, that had nothing to do with him now.

Cheng Shuo then took out a pair of Bluetooth earbuds from his jacket pocket, put them on, and hid the blue earbuds under his hair. They were discreet in appearance, and with music playing, he tried to drown out the conversation. Unfortunately, the melodious music couldn’t quite cover the discussion happening behind him, and snatches of their words pierced his ears.

“I saw some people bashing him on the forum, and they’ve got pictures to prove it.”

“Sleeping around every day? That’s a surefire way to catch something.”

“So disgusting.”

Catching certain keywords, Cheng Shuo suddenly paused. He really didn’t care about it, but the voices of the students were getting louder and harder to ignore.

Inexplicably, the discussion seemed to have now evolved into something more than just online bashing, and it was leaning toward slander.

Out of nowhere, a user with a pseudonymous account mentioned Song Wenyuan’s time as the student union president. They said that when he was the president, he often belittled fellow students with words, manipulated and embezzled the school’s allocated funds from art sales. They didn’t provide any evidence, and it seemed more like a rumor.

Then, the topic took an even more bizarre twist, suddenly delving into Song Wenyuan’s romantic history. They claimed he was gay, had a previous boyfriend, and that he wasn’t faithful in his relationships. It sounded like a far-fetched conspiracy theory.

The general anger that followed felt like a long-brewing grudge, where the truth of the rumors became secondary, and people’s main focus was to collectively attack.

It seemed that people who became internet sensations were expected to endure such situations. It was as if they had become used to it.

Cheng Shuo read through the comments from the first to the last, not missing a single sub-thread, and fell into a long silence.

Suddenly, the bell rang to signal the start of class, like a warning bell ringing in his ears, waking him up as if from a dream. He realized that he had wasted precious time on people who weren’t worth it.

In a hurry, he exited the forum page and carelessly tossed his phone into his bag. He picked up his brush and began coloring, his muscle memory taking over.

He decided that he didn’t want to pay attention to anything related to Song Wenyuan anymore. Even though Song Wenyuan, in his high school years, had accompanied Cheng Shuo through each dazed night of his last year of high school, Cheng Shuo’s infatuation had become a habit.

Only now did he realize it was an unhealthy habit.

Minutes before the end of the class, Cheng Shuo packed up his art supplies. He was always the last one to enter the studio and the first to leave. His movements were swift, akin to the freedom of the wind.

Cheng Shuo habitually took two steps in one, his steps so light it seemed like he might take flight.

Suddenly, his phone rang. He abruptly stopped, and due to the momentum, he stumbled a few steps forward before stabilizing himself.

Puzzled, he pulled out his phone, wondering who would be calling him.

It was Song Wenyuan.

Seeing the highly familiar name on the screen, Cheng Shuo felt a jolt as the emotions welled up in his eyes. The phone’s ringtone gradually faded out from his ears.

Yes, he had Song Wenyuan’s contact details. In his freshman year, he was once a part of the school’s student council, and each council member needed to have the president’s phone number.

Vaguely recalling the time he saved the number, he had daydreamed that one day Song Wenyuan would remember him and call him.

The dream had come true, but it was too late, too absurd. Life seemed to be constantly playing tricks on him.

Suddenly, the phone rang again.

Startled, Cheng Shuo realized he had missed the call, and the system had automatically redialed Song Wenyuan’s number.

His eyelashes fluttered, and he finally pressed the answer button. “Hello?”

“Cheng Shuo.”

This was possibly the first time in his college life that he had heard his name from Song Wenyuan.

“I bumped into you at the bar, and you looked familiar. I thought about it for a while after I got back, and I finally remembered. I’ve seen you before in the studio, back when I was in my second year of high school.”

To be remembered by someone who had been forgotten.

“I accidentally spilled a drink on you at the bar. I’m really sorry.”

Song Wenyuan’s tone held a kind of long-lost tenderness, as if time had reversed back to high school.

“I never expected that you would also be accepted into the Fu Art School and join the student council. I was the council president for a while, so I think we have quite a bit of fate.”

It wasn’t fate. He had joined the student council to legitimately obtain Song Wenyuan’s contact details.

Cheng Shuo swallowed and ultimately responded with just one word, “Hmm.”

“Since we were schoolmates in high school, could we meet when you’re free?”

“I’d really like to see you again.”

At that moment, his subconscious urged him to agree. But in that instant, he remembered Song Wenyuan’s flippant expression when he spilled the drink on him.

Life was indeed playing tricks on him.

Cheng Shuo tightly pressed his lips into a line. After a few seconds, he seemed to have finally made up his mind. “Sorry, I—”

“Do you remember teacher Chu from the studio?”

Song Wenyuan immediately interrupted Cheng Shuo. “She also wants to see you. Among the students she brought, only you and I got accepted into the Fu Art School.”

“This Saturday, she’s leaving Huafeng City. She wants to meet us before leaving. She was, after all, our mentor. So I hope you can come.”

So that was it.

After thinking for a long time, Cheng Shuo finally relaxed and said, “Okay.”

“Can we meet at nine in the morning on Saturday?”

“Where?”

“At a café.”