Chapter 194 - The Artist Becomes a Chef

When her master was finished with his painting a little more than an hour later, Yujia had a few conversations with him about the usual topics. 

She then left his courtyard, preparing to head back to her own to practice some more. That was when she ran into her senior brother, Ye Yunhe. 

"Senior Brother!" she called out with a wave. 

Yunhe, who was a few steps ahead of her, turned around. With his hands full, carrying a scroll, he didn't have the ability to properly bow to her. Instead, he greeted her with a nod, saying, "I was just going to go look for you."

Yujia caught up to him in a couple of strides. "You were? What for?"

"Oh— this," he answered, tapping the scroll he carried, "I was going to ask you the other day to critique my work after you were done with what master wanted you for. But then that… Noble Bo threw me off and I forgot."

Her mind reflected back to Zhizhong and Yunhe's first encounter just yesterday. They seemed to have some sort of enmity when they first met, but during the time that she went to talk with her master, who summoned her, they seemed to have made up. 

"What did you paint?" Yujia asked while the two of them continued walking towards her courtyard. It seemed like a fairly large painting, considering that the scroll was as tall as half a person. 

"Remember how last time, I painted— well— Lingxin Pavilion… and you called it as worthless as a sheet of blank paper?"

An awkward laugh escaped Yujia. "About that… I may have been too harsh on Senior Brother." 

"No, you were honest," he replied, "Even Master agreed with you on that. I tried improving a lot since then, especially focusing on Spirit Resonance. If I'm going to be honest with you, I'm a bit scared to bring the painting to go find Master…"

"So you would like me to critique it first?" She finished his sentence for him. 

"Yes." Yunhe scratched the back of his neck. 

They arrived at the front of her courtyard. Yujia went to a stone table that was a recent addition to the courtyard. It was located in front of the plum tree, where she had previously placed a wooden table to give her a space to study the plum. Yunhe was the one who saw the wooden table outside, and how it was inconvenient to have to move it inside and outside all the time, especially since that was the same wooden table which she ate her meals at. That was when he ordered a stone table to permanently sit where it was at, and since then, Yujia had been painting and sketching on it. 

The table was all cluttered with art supplies, which Yujia pushed to the side to make room for the scroll. A few pencils fell off the edge of the table and rolled to the edge of the tree, making Yujia have to go pick those up as well. 

Seeing all this when Yunhe was right next to her, Yujia realized how disorganized and messy she was. She needed to have a better system of organization going on. 

For now, however, pushing aside all the supplies would have to suffice. 

Yunhe loosened a dark silk ribbon he tied around the scroll, rolling out on the table. The moment Yujia set her eyes on it, she realized that by all means, her senior brother had improved since the last time he showed her. 

With it still being spring, the lotus flowers had not bloomed yet, but the leaves had grown taller above the water. Instead of last time, where Yunhe tried to capture a scene of the pavilion close to evening, he settled with a morning time frame. 

The time of day changed the mood of the painting immediately. While back then, it was more sullen and dull despite the sunset, the scene of the early morning within the painting brought a refreshing element to the painting. Yujia could recall the mornings she spent in Lingxin Pavilion, the cool breeze that rustled through, and drops of dew still dotting the lotus leaves.

Yunhe refrained from using color, instead settling with soft shades of gray and white. This deliberate choice emphasized the delicate mood of the painting even more, differing with the darker shades he used before. It took away from any chaos that could rise from the contrast of shades and colors, adding a calm serenity to the painting. 

The energy that rose up from the painting… Surely, this must be Spirit Resonance?

Yujia gave these thoughts and encouragement to her Senor Brother. She didn't think she was all that qualified to give serious critique yet on too many elements, so she used her encouragement as a way to boost the confidence of Yunhe, until he was willing to go face their master and get critique from someone who had been painting in this style and time period for decades.

At the end, though, Yujia added a silly remark. "Master will probably say something along the lines of, 'Your painting is set in the morning! I don't like mornings! This is a bad painting!', don't you think?" she laughed. 

Yunhe grinned widely. "I hope not. But… I can oddly see him saying that."

"Don't worry though," she assured, "I think it's a definite improvement since the last time. Master will like it."

"Thank you, Junior Sister," he gratefully responded. 

"No problem." Her eyes suddenly lit up, remembering something, "Oh, Senior Brother!"

"Yes?"

"I have a question… say someone does a lot of favors for me. And I need to repay them in some way, but I'm not sure how… They already have everything that I could possibly give as a gift. I don't think that they lack anything, at all. What could I do?"

Yunhe's eyebrows raised slowly. "Is it a man?"

Yujia nodded.

"Then, you should devote your life to him and get married—"

"Senior Brother!" Yujia exclaimed with indignation, staring at Yunhe with pure horror.

She asked Yunhe this question since she felt like she owed Yu Zixu too much. He saved her life and helped her out on so many occasions, yet she was never capable of paying him back. This sort of inability added on a layer of guilt to her heart whenever she thought about it. 

But to devote her life to Zixu—

No! Just no!

"What?" Yunhe asked, his hands folded and a teasing smile on his lips, "Isn't that a natural answer to things? When a man helps out a woman a lot, perhaps giving her things or saving her life, it is natural for the girl to devote her life to him—"

"Well, for starters, I don't see him in a romantic manner!"

Yunhe blinked. "Oh." He cupped his chin with one hand, thinking for a moment. "Then, you should cook some good food for him, as a gift. Who doesn't like good food?"

At this, Yujia actually paused. 

Indeed— Zixu had all the money and precious treasures he could need. On the other hand, food was something people always needed and wanted. You couldn't live without it. And though Zixu may not be a foodie like her, he would appreciate eating something decent, right? At least, her gift would be sincere. 

Maybe it was time to become… Chef Yang?