Chapter 56: Chapter Fifty-Five: Whale Song

Someone once said, to pick up girls, you must do what they like.

Su Qing knew Lu Si was a very artistic person who liked to collect paintings and had her room full of them.

So, after purchasing the cargo ship,

He then proceeded to download Jie Ke's Skilled Level Painting Skill, and with money opening the way, he smoothly visited several extremely famous painters.

Unfortunately, what disappointed him was that these painters' Painting Skill was also Skilled Level, just like Jie Ke's.

But the money had already been spent, returning empty-handed was impossible, so he simply downloaded them all.

Then Su Qing surprisingly discovered that after downloading skills of the same name, they would automatically stack together, increasing proficiency.

Thus, from the stacking of several painters' Painting Skills, he obtained a Mastery Level Painting Skill.

Although he couldn't compare to masters like Picasso, among painters he stood out, more than enough to paint a portrait.

"What?"

Lu Si was somewhat taken aback; she had already noticed Su Qing, after all, among the passengers outside first class, he was the only one with yellow skin, making it hard not to notice.

Moreover, before boarding, she had unintentionally made eye contact with Su Qing.

Just now, feeling irritable, she ignored it, never expecting Su Qing would suddenly walk over and offer to paint her a picture.

For a moment, she felt dazed.

"Beautiful miss, may I paint you a picture?"

Seeing Lu Si's dazed look, Su Qing repeated the question.

"Hug..."

Lu Si came to her senses and subconsciously wanted to refuse.

But the next second, she paused.

Although Lu Si had a comfortable material life, her spiritual life was extremely impoverished; her mother's upbringing was very strict, constantly binding her with upper-class society's doctrines and family responsibilities, and now her fiancé Ka Er also bound her everywhere with aristocratic etiquette.

At this time she was only eighteen, and a young woman's nature was completely suppressed.

Now that her mother and fiancé were not by her side, Lu Si suddenly conceived a bold idea: she did not want to follow any damn aristocratic etiquette.

Today, she wanted to take charge for herself.

A flash of determination crossed her eyes, Lu Si showed a confident smile and said, "Of course."

"Thank you very much! May I know your name, miss?"

Su Qing laughed as he picked up the sketchpad, casually leaning on the railing, his demeanor natural and unreserved.

"Lu Si, Lu Si·Dí wēi tè·Bù kè tè."

"Miss Lu Si, please lean here..."

"..."

After helping Lu Si settle her pose, Su Qing began to paint seriously.

With just a single stroke, he entered a wondrous state, his eyes seeing only the girl before him, his brush flowing as if guided by a deity.

Sometimes, to remember a person, you only need a moment.

Su Qing's focused face while painting left a deep imprint on Lu Si's soul.

Moments later, the painting was finished.

In the painting, Lu Si leans against the railing, gazing into the distance, her eyes full of longing for freedom.

Lu Si looked at the painting, her heart fluttered, and she opened her mouth to say something.

But then a voice came through: "Lu Si, hurry back!"

At the moment she heard the voice, Lu Si's feeling of freedom vanished, and her face grew tense.

Su Qing handed over the painting, smiling: "Miss Lu Si, this painting is for you; now you should go back, don't let your mother worry."

"Okay, thank you."

Lu Si took the painting, turned and headed toward the dining hall, but halfway she seemed to think of something, and hurried back, asking:

"I haven't even asked your name yet."

"My name is Su Qing."

Su Qing replied with a smile.

Lu Si nodded and said, "Mr. Su, see you next time," then hurried away again.

Watching her retreating back, Su Qing withdrew his gaze, picked up his brush, and began to paint the afterglow of the sunset.

I don't know whether it was the skill's influence or an artistic bacteria infecting his mind, but what was originally painting to pick up girls now made him somewhat like it.

Meanwhile, Lu Si carried the painting toward the dining hall.

Because the impression of herself in the painting just now was too profound, she couldn't help but open the painting scroll again.

But at this moment she surprisingly discovered that the painting was not one piece, but two.

Beneath the painting just made, there was another one.

Out of curiosity, Lu Si pulled out the lower painting and unfolded it to see that it depicted the bustling scene of the harbor dock, with people in the painting looking up at the large ship on the water, their eyes full of hope and infinite longing for life.

And among the crowd, there was a girl wearing a purple butterfly‑knot hat.

The girl also looked up at the large ship beside her, but her eyes held no joy at all, only deep despair and bewilderment about the future.

Looking at the painting, Lu Si felt as if she were looking in a mirror.

Suddenly, a breeze blew beside her.

A hand reached out and seized the painting scroll.

Then a man's voice sounded in her ear: "What is this?"

"Nothing!" Lu Si reacted instantly, snatched the painting scroll from the man's hand, and rolled it up so he couldn't see it.

"Whose painting is this again?" Ka Er's face showed displeasure; in his view buying these was simply wasting money, and those so‑called artists were all low‑life nobodies not worthy of his attention.

Lu Si didn't answer, merely the hands holding the picture involuntarily exerted more force.

Seeing this, Ka Er said nothing more, and regardless of whether Lu Si wanted to, he took her hand and returned to the restaurant.

Time flew by, and night fell quickly.

The banquet in first class commenced on schedule; Su Qing ignored the strange looks of the wealthy around him, quickly finished his meal in a corner of the restaurant, then left with his sketchpad.

At the central table of the restaurant, Lu Si sat beside it in a red‑floral dress, listening to the insincere chatter of her mother, Ka Er, and those around her, as if foreseeing her future life.

As expected, her life would remain utterly dull.

Each day was either a banquet or a ball, within a fixed circle, speaking insincere, contrary‑to‑heart words.

Thinking of her future, and then recalling the second painting Su Qing had given her, Lu Si felt increasingly oppressed and desperate.

At night.

She once again wept, distancing herself from the crowd, and ran straight to the stern, slowly climbing over the railing.

If this painful life could be seen to its end at a glance, she would rather jump off the giant ship and bury herself in the sea below.

And this entire scene was witnessed by Su Qing.

At the critical moment, Su Qing appeared on the railing, seized Lu Si's arm in one grasp, and pulled her up onto the railing to sit beside him.

"You..."

Lu Si instinctively struggled, then turned her head to see that the one holding her was Mr. Su Qing, who had drawn her picture earlier that day.

"Mr. Su Qing, how could you..."

Before she could finish, Su Qing raised his index finger to his lips and then whispered mysteriously, "Listen."

Lu Si was interrupted by Su Qing, which drained her courage to jump into the sea; gazing at the churning, dark waters below, her heart quivered and she hastily grabbed his arm, refusing to let go.

Next, she heard resonant calls coming from the depths of the sea.

The sound was deep, lingering, and soothing, faintly echoing in her ears like a gentle breeze—soft and distant, making one feel refreshed and delighted, as if the sea were whispering.

"How about that—feeling better now?"

"Much better, Mr. Su Qing, but can we go down now? This place… it's too high."