Chapter 21: Warm Sun

The sky was a luxurious blue. The sunlight wasn’t harsh, perhaps because all the light had fallen upon Jiang Bomu.

At this moment, every subtle movement and expression was worth remembering.

Gu Yu dashed back to her room to bring out her easel and canvas. Suddenly remembering she’d forgotten the paints, she ran back quickly to get them. When she returned, Jiang Bomu had already sat down on the sofa, leaning casually and languidly against the backrest, her chin resting on her hand. She looked at Gu Yu with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile, like a seductive spirit.

Jiang Bomu was no longer Jiang Bomu. Now, she was the Courtesan Belle, Bai Yu.

Gu Yu didn’t pick up her paintbrush but instead raised her phone and asked, “Can I take a few photos?”

She nodded gracefully, her red lips slightly parted, so mesmerizing that Gu Yu didn’t even hear what she said and had to ask her to repeat it.

“I said, do you want a photo together?”

Click—

Gu Yu looked at the photo on her phone with novelty. After living together for so many days, this was their first picture together. She had wanted to take one on the very first day; how had she forgotten?

Smiling broadly, she put away her phone and asked seriously, “Models get really bored while being painted. Do you want to move around a bit first, Sister? Or eat something?”

“No need. I’ll just pretend I’m playing a sculpture,” Jiang Bomu was always professional. She adjusted to a more comfortable position. “Is this alright?”

The beauty lay half-reclined on the sofa. Due to her posture and the high-waisted gown, her chest rose and fell continuously, pressing out a distinct valley.

Gu Yu swallowed and forced herself to look away casually, her gaze moving to her hand, stained with nail polish, propping up her forehead. She seemed to be resting with her eyes closed, but those eyes were so alluring, impossible to look away from.

Only four words floated in Gu Yu’s mind—Soft Jade, Warm Fragrance.

Her desire to go to the set intensified. What if someone snatched away such a stunningly beautiful Jiang Bomu?

Although it was only five short days, what if?

She didn’t want to gamble.

Sketching the outline with a pencil, Gu Yu mixed her paints and asked, feigning casualness, “Sister, would you like me to keep you company and chat?”

“Sure.”

She agreed so readily that Gu Yu was momentarily flustered, almost applying the color too heavily. She washed her brush and picked up color again, casually picking a topic.

They chatted aimlessly for a while, and time seemed to slip by unnoticed.

“How many years have you been studying painting?”

Jiang Bomu suddenly asked. Gu Yu was startled. She rarely asked about these things. But Gu Yu was happy to answer: “I’ve loved doodling since kindergarten. In second grade, my dad thought I had talent, so he sent me to art classes, and I’ve kept at it ever since.”

“Your father treated you very well, didn’t he?”

A slightly melancholy voice sounded. Gu Yu’s hand holding the brush tightened. How could she forget? Mentioning ‘father’ would remind her of her own father and a series of heartbreaking events.

Since that day, Jiang Bomu had seemed to be constantly suffering from insomnia, the dark circles under her eyes growing heavier. Today she wore makeup, concealing all the exhaustion, but once it was removed, it would still be that heartbreaking sight.

Gu Yu didn’t dare bring it up easily, so she could only pretend not to see.

She softly replied “Mm,” slowly raising her head to observe Jiang Bomu’s expression.

Jiang Bomu saw a pair of moist, glossy almond eyes, carrying a hint of panic and apology, like a startled fawn. It seemed that if she showed even a slight expression of sadness, the little deer would immediately flee deep into the forest.

She was amused by her own imagination, the corner of her lips curling up slightly. She explained, “Don’t misunderstand. I was just trying to grasp Bai Yu’s mindset. Did my tone just now sound like hers?”

In the script, the Courtesan Belle Bai Yu had a tragic background. To afford a wife for her elder brother, she was sold by her father to a brothel. The Madam, seeing she would undoubtedly grow into a devastating beauty, carefully cultivated her for two years, preparing to auction her on her coming-of-age night.

Bai Yu learned beforehand that she was to be given to an old, ugly man who took pleasure in tormenting women. Unwilling to suffer disgrace, she hung herself.

It was at this moment that the Qingqiu Princess Bai Yu possessed her body. Although uninterested in the mortal Courtesan Belle’s past affairs, she decided to avenge her. Yet she was occasionally disturbed by the Courtesan Belle residing in her mind, showing emotions belonging to the mortal when facing her father and brother.

Although filming hadn’t started yet, she was already immersed in the role. The moment she put on these clothes, she had already become the character in the play.

Gu Yu nodded with a touch of admiration. Jiang Bomu was truly a born actress, her tone and expression controlled with incredible nuance.

Still… what if Jiang Bomu really was talking about herself?

There was no way to verify it.

Two hours passed quickly. The oil painting was one-third complete. Gu Yu stretched and asked, “Tired? Want to take a break?”

Jiang Bomu glanced at her and said calmly, “A sculpture does not get tired.”

Gu Yu: “…A sculpture also doesn’t talk.”

The dedicated actress nodded thoughtfully and said, “From now on, I won’t speak.”

“Don’t!” Gu Yu cried out urgently. “I just remembered there’s a movie where a sculpture can talk.”

The sculpture silently inquired with her eyes which movie that was.

Gu Yu pretended to rack her brains, secretly using her phone behind the easel to search “which movie has a talking sculpture”. Finding the result, she said confidently, “Night at the Museum!”

“Haven’t seen it,” the beautiful sculpture finally opened her golden mouth. “Watch it with me when you have time.”

Gu Yu was certainly happy to do that. However, just in case Baidu was wrong, she secretly checked again to confirm the movie actually existed, finally letting out a huge sigh of relief.

Jiang Bomu watched all of this, smiling indulgently.

Still, she decided to tease Gu Yu a little and asked, puzzled, “Are you playing with your phone?”

Even behind the easel, Gu Yu immediately hid her hands behind her back, like a high schooler caught with a phone, looking up in panic. A second later, she feigned calm: “No, I’m just mixing paint.”

Jiang Bomu still didn’t expose her, watching her with amusement.

Twenty years old, not yet out of school and into society, her whole being shining with light. What was that popular saying online recently?

Oh, ‘A college student’s eyes reveal clear, pure foolishness.’

Very vivid.

But in Jiang Bomu’s view, that wasn’t foolishness. It was a youthful time she could never find again.

But Gu Yu was in her prime. She had parents and a grandmother who loved her, good friends, and someone she liked.

Jiang Bomu lowered her eyes. At twenty, she had only achieved one of those things.

The light that leaked through her fingers was enough to make her grateful to the heavens.

Later, her five fingers clenched shut, the only light extinguished. Then, a whole sun appeared.

Hanging high above, visible with a single lift of the head.

Someone dwelling in cold solitude… how could they not want to draw near the warm sun?

Jiang Bomu calmly watched Gu Yu, who was earnestly painting, but an irrepressible ripple stirred in her heart.

“Sister, want something to eat?”

Gu Yu checked the time before putting away her phone. It was past one o’clock; she was a bit hungry.

Jiang Bomu was indifferent. “You order takeout.”

“What will you have?”

“A diet meal.”

Gu Yu was puzzled. “Didn’t you say you could eat normally now?”

“That slice of cake yesterday had quite a few calories,” Jiang Bomu raised an eyebrow at her. “Did you forget?”

Gu Yu coughed lightly, ordered her a beef salad, and got herself a burger combo.

Half an hour later, both orders arrived. Gu Yu had only been somewhat hungry before, but smelling the aroma, she was instantly ravenous. Yet the sculpture beauty still maintained her original pose, ethereally transcending the mundane.

Perhaps this was the difference between mortals and fairies.

Gu Yu sighed in admiration, took a huge bite of her burger, then a sip of iced coke, so satisfied she could cry.

Halfway through eating, seeing that Jiang Bomu remained unmoved, a plan formed in her mind: “Sister, since it’s inconvenient for you to move, how about I feed you later?”

Polishing off her lunch in a few quick bites, Gu Yu brought the diet meal over, sat on the carpet, picked up a fork with a piece of beef, and brought it to her lips.

Red lips parted slightly, pearly teeth faintly visible, taking the beef precisely, chewing slowly. A feast for the eyes.

It wasn’t her first time feeding Jiang Bomu, but she still stared, entranced by the scene, until Jiang Bomu reminded her, and she hurriedly offered the second bite.

“I seem to have forgotten to ask you. Does my Courtesan look good?”

More than just good. It was exactly like the script described, a beauty capable of toppling kingdoms. Gu Yu could already foresee that in a few days, on-set photos would dominate the hot search, and the stills on the broadcast day would sweep across the entire internet.

Her heart surged, but Gu Yu held back and commented, “Objectively speaking, prettier than all the courtesans in every other drama.”

Jiang Bomu: “…That’s already subjective.”