Chapter 64
Chu Xihuan found it a little amusing, but she still gave Lin Zhao a kiss on the lips. Seeing her close her eyes in satisfaction, Chu Xihuan shook her head, feeling that Lin Zhao had an excessive fondness for this action.
Although she didn’t have to take up her post right away, it was not good to just stay at home and waste time all day, especially for the sore and weak Chu Xihuan. She didn’t dare to stay at home with Lin Zhao anymore, so she pulled her out to go sketching.
Lin Zhao couldn’t understand. It was so cold outside, with ice and snow everywhere. Why would they go out to sketch?
Was this the incomprehensible behavior of a cultured person?
No wonder there was a saying that you could read until you were stupid.
Lin Zhao muttered to herself in her heart, but she didn’t dare to say it out loud. In fact, she even had to help pack the things Chu Xihuan would be using and bring as many warm things as possible. In the end, Lin Zhao carried the things Chu Xihuan needed, while Chu Xihuan, wrapped in a white fox fur coat, stood beside her with a relaxed expression.
“You’re not cold, are you?” Lin Zhao asked, looking at Chu Xihuan beside her, still a little worried. After all, if she caught a cold at this time, it could be fatal.
“I’m not cold,” Chu Xihuan said with a sweet smile. Her hands were still in a fluffy hand warmer, and besides, it was already the end of winter, much warmer than before.
Seeing that Chu Xihuan’s cheeks and such were not red from the cold, Lin Zhao sighed in relief. She hired a horse-drawn carriage to take them out of the city. Chu Xihuan said that the scenery in the suburbs would be better.
Although she couldn’t quite understand the act of going out to sketch in the middle of winter, Lin Zhao was still very cooperative, especially since a single painting by Chu Xihuan could be worth several months of her salary. To be so amazing, there must be a reason she couldn’t imagine.
They took the horse-drawn carriage all the way to Chengxin Lake in the suburbs. At this moment, the lake was already frozen, and from the thickness of the ice, it was enough for children to play on. But Lin Zhao didn’t dare to let Chu Xihuan step on it.
“Let’s just stay here,” Chu Xihuan said with satisfaction.
This Chengxin Lake was surrounded by forests on all four sides. At this moment, every tree seemed to be covered in sugar frost, and the snow under the trees, because there were few people here at this time, presented a smooth and flowing beauty, like a corner forgotten by the world, where all the beautiful scenery quietly bloomed and then quietly withered.
Lin Zhao obediently set up the things Chu Xihuan needed. Fortunately, she had been a little prescient. Thinking that Xihuan might not have time to pay attention to her while she was sketching, she had also specially brought some other things. At this moment, she could just go and chisel a hole in the lake to go ice fishing.
Chu Xihuan quietly paid attention to Lin Zhao’s every move. Seeing her carefully chiseling the ice, she sighed in relief. Let Lin Zhao do whatever she wanted. As long as nothing happened, it would be best if she used up all her energy, so that she wouldn’t have to be tormented when they got back at night.
Chu Xihuan bit her lip. It wasn’t that she didn’t like to do that with Lin Zhao, but…
Lin Zhao’s energy was much better than hers!
As long as Lin Zhao’s energy was about the same as hers, she wouldn’t have to go to such lengths to exhaust her. She felt that she really needed to rest. How could she withstand such frequent torment from Lin Zhao?
Originally, Chu Xihuan had wanted to paint this scene, but as she had to pay attention to Lin Zhao’s situation from time to time, and after paying attention for a long time, a figure gradually appeared under her brush. As it was perfected bit by bit, Lin Zhao’s figure appeared on the paper.
When Chu Xihuan came back to her senses and looked at Lin Zhao on the drawing board, she was taken aback for a moment, and her ears slowly turned red. She started to perfect the surrounding scenery bit by bit.
The scene of Lin Zhao ice fishing in the snow was completely recorded by Chu Xihuan.
Speaking of which… this was actually the first time Chu Xihuan had painted Lin Zhao.
Chu Xihuan looked at the painting in a daze. She was good at painting, but before this, she had never had the thought of recording it. It was simply incomprehensible.
She carefully took the painting down and put it away. Chu Xihuan spread a new layer of paper. After painting for so long, Lin Zhao had finally caught a fish and was now excitedly holding it and coming over to show it to her.
Chu Xihuan looked at her red nose with some worry and cupped her face, rubbing it. “Are you cold?”
“I’m not cold!” Lin Zhao said excitedly. “Xihuan, look, a fish! We can have fish soup tonight!”
Because she had no bait, she was completely dry fishing. And in this situation, a fish had actually taken the hook. She was simply amazing!
“Mm, you’re very amazing. This fish doesn’t look small either,” Chu Xihuan said with a sweet smile, then told Lin Zhao to quickly put the fish down. Then, she took a handkerchief and helped her dry the water off her hands. Not caring that her hands might smell of fish from holding it earlier, she took her hand and put it in the hand warmer, so that her hand would not be so cold.
Lin Zhao smiled with pleasure, her eyes narrowed. She squatted next to Chu Xihuan, letting her warm her hand, her gaze constantly on her drawing board, confused. “Is Xihuan not satisfied with the painting?”
Although she had been fishing earlier, she would also pay attention to Chu Xihuan’s situation. She had clearly seen her moving her brush all this time. Why was it now a blank sheet?
“I’m very satisfied,” Chu Xihuan said with a low laugh. “That one is already finished and put away. I’ll give it to you when we get back.”
“Give it to me?” Lin Zhao’s eyes immediately lit up. She didn’t have a painting by Xihuan yet!
“Mm, I’ll give it to you,” Chu Xihuan said seriously, looking into her eyes. She thought, she had found a reason to paint more in the future.
She wanted to use this method to record the people she cared about more and better.
Lin Zhao’s lips unconsciously curved up. She had already decided in her heart that after she got the painting from Xihuan, she would have it framed and hang it in the most conspicuous place in the house, preferably where she could see it every day.
But when she really saw the painting Chu Xihuan had given her, a hint of embarrassment appeared on Lin Zhao’s face.
Of course, she was very happy that she was in the painting, but this way, she obviously couldn’t hang the painting in such a conspicuous place as the main hall. Otherwise, wouldn’t it seem like she was very narcissistic? That would be too strange.
“What, you don’t like it?” Chu Xihuan looked at her expression, and the smile on her face slowly faded. Although this painting had not been painted with much time for detail, the overall effect was already very good. And since it was a sudden change of subject, it was already very good that she could paint it like this.
Besides, Chu Xihuan had already decided that she would paint more of Lin Zhao in the future. She wanted to record every period of Lin Zhao’s life.
“No! I like it very much!” Lin Zhao quickly replied, then looked at herself in the painting, a little embarrassed. “I was originally thinking of framing the painting you gave me and hanging it in the main hall. Now, I’m too embarrassed to hang it.”
Hearing Lin Zhao’s explanation, Chu Xihuan understood and let out a low laugh. “If you’re too embarrassed to hang it in the main hall, you can hang it in the bedroom.”
Lin Zhao was speechless.
She looked at Chu Xihuan with a resentful gaze, then as if she had thought of something, her eyes lit up. “Can Xihuan paint a picture of yourself? That way, I can hang it in the bedroom!”
This way, she could see the real Xihuan by her side every day, and also see the Xihuan in the painting always with her.
Chu Xihuan was speechless.
She was silent for a moment, then said with a laugh, “No, it would be very awkward for me to look at.”
That would be too strange.
Lin Zhao pouted in dissatisfaction. “But it’s very good!”
She thought it was not good to hang her own, but to hang Xihuan’s, she was overjoyed.
“If I say it’s not good, it’s not good!” Chu Xihuan came up and pinched her cheek, saying through gritted teeth. If she really hung it up, wouldn’t she feel like a ghost was staring at her?
Lin Zhao pouted and looked at her with a resentful expression. The gentle Xihuan of the past two days was starting to turn back into the fierce Xihuan of the past!
Chu Xihuan ignored her resentful gaze and instead said, “If you want to hang one in the main hall, I’ll give you a pure landscape painting later.”
Lin Zhao snorted, but she couldn’t resist the temptation of receiving another painting from Xihuan, so in the end, she nodded.
Chu Xihuan ruffled her face in satisfaction and signaled for the two of them to go and make dinner together.
The two of them were very used to their life together, and Lin Zhao also cherished this time. Basically, wherever Chu Xihuan went, she would stick to her, even more so than before.
Chu Xihuan naturally knew why Lin Zhao was acting so strangely.
When they went to sleep at night, as Lin Zhao hugged her, Chu Xihuan said softly, “Are you worried that when Chu Lin comes back, you won’t have time to spend with me?”
Lin Zhao paused for a moment, a little unsure of how to answer this question.
If she said she wasn’t worried, she wouldn’t believe it herself. But if she said she was worried, it would seem like she was being petty, even being jealous of a child.
“I’m sorry,” Chu Xihuan sighed softly and, in the dark, caressed Lin Zhao’s cheek. “I made the decision to adopt that child on my own, without discussing it with you.”
This also led to Lin Zhao having to suddenly face the fact that she had a child without any psychological preparation. No matter how you looked at it, this was something she had not done properly and had not considered thoroughly enough.
Lin Zhao was silent, then said in a low voice, “I-I don’t know what I should be feeling.”
She was definitely not used to suddenly having a child. The reason she could barely accept the child now was only because of Xihuan.
Chu Xihuan’s heart ached. She reached out and held Lin Zhao tightly. “I’m sorry. If you really can’t accept her, then just pretend she doesn’t exist, okay?” she said in a low voice.
Her arbitrary action had led to Lin Zhao now having to face the difficult problem of whether to accept the child or not.
Lin Zhao pouted. How could she pretend she didn’t exist? After all, the attention Xihuan gave to the child was not fake.
“I can accept her, but you have to compensate me,” Lin Zhao said in a muffled voice. “And you have to promise me that if I have a conflict with her, you have to always be on my side.”
Otherwise, Lin Zhao couldn’t imagine how wronged she would be.
