Chapter 165: Drawing

Waaah—sorry, Sister Xi Lian! Snake Sister is chasing too close; we should split up and run, you find a place to hide first!

Before her words even finished, not giving Xi Lian a chance to react, Pa Duo was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on; she suddenly let go, her silhouette 'whoosh' turning into a gray‑yellow blur, vanishing into a shadow at the end of the corridor, leaving only a trace of panicked scent in the air and that off‑loading reminder.

Xi Lian was swayed by that momentum, staggering in place before steadying herself.

She gazed in the direction Pa Duo had vanished, her blue eyes full of helplessness, the corner of her mouth twitching involuntarily.

(It's not like I stole anything… what am I hiding for?)

She muttered quietly to herself.

But for some reason, Pa Duo's fiery temperament always made her momentarily think of another person trapped by Sunlight Creek—the 'Swift‑Foot Thief Star'—Miss Sai Fei Er.

Although their temperament and circumstances are completely different, that vibrant vitality and the occasional flash of liveliness are surprisingly similar.

Looking around, Xi Lian let out a soft sigh.

This place is different from the pure white or Golden Descendant regions of the System Space.

Towering stone columns, walls carved with intricate patterns she couldn't comprehend—everything was heavy, real, and utterly unfamiliar.

"Where… exactly is this?"

She murmured to herself, her pink hair swaying lightly as she turned her head in confusion.

No map, no guidance—only countless doors and forks that all looked the same.

She was like a droplet that had strayed into an ancient labyrinth, able only to go with the flow.

With a 'let's try' attitude, Xi Lian chose a corridor that looked a bit brighter and walked forward.

The interior of Le Tu was overly quiet; only her faint footsteps echoed, making her heartbeat sound especially clear.

She didn't know how long she had walked when, just as she began to wonder if she was going in circles, a half‑open door ahead caught her attention.

A soft, focused light seeped from the crack of the door.

Xi Lian stopped, hesitated a moment, then unable to curb her curiosity, she crept close to the crack and peered inside.

The room's interior resembled a giant's overturned palette, yet oddly retained a sense of order.

On the floor, the shelves, and even part of the walls lay completed or unfinished sketches, colors bold and unrestrained, the brushstrokes brimming with an indescribable spirituality.

In the center of the room, a petite figure with her back to the door sat amid a pile of paper.

She was a girl in a simple white dress, her sky‑blue short hair topped with a tiny black beret, her frame slender.

She was focused on the easel before her, her arm moving steadily, unaware of the peeking at the door.

Just as Xi Lian hesitated whether to disturb her, the girl's brush suddenly stopped.

She didn't turn her head, but the beret‑crowned head tilted slightly, as if sensing a strange 'ripple' in the air.

"Ah!"

Xi Lian let out a soft gasp, realizing she had been spotted.

She quickly stepped back half a step, a flush of embarrassment rising on her face, then took a deep breath and gently pushed the door open.

"Yes, sorry! I didn't mean to peek…"

Xi Lian clasped her hands nervously in front of her, voice soft and sincere: "My name is Xi Lian… I… I came here by accident, completely lost. May I ask… do you know how to get out?"

The girl sitting among the papers finally turned slowly.

It was an unusually calm face, her violet eyes clear as a frozen lake, reflecting Xi Lian's figure but showing little emotion.

Her gaze fell on Xi Lian, especially her pink short hair and blue eyes, lingering for a few seconds.

That gaze wasn't sharp, yet it had a strange penetrative quality, making Xi Lian feel like a painting under scrutiny, even the subtlest ripples of her inner emotions possibly exposed.

Silence spread through the studio, only the scent of paint drifting in the air.

Just as Xi Lian felt flustered under that intent gaze, her cheeks warming, about to speak again—

"I know."

The blue‑haired girl Ge Lei Xiu spoke, her voice flat as a windless water surface: "But drawing."

"Draw… drawing?"

Xi Lian blinked, not grasping the connection between the two.

Ge Lei Xiu didn't explain; she merely extended a slender finger, pointing to a clean little stool beside the easel, then to Xi Lian herself.

The meaning was simple and direct: sit down, be my model.

Xi Lian blinked.

Seeking a way out, she got the reply that she should be drawn? This development completely exceeded her expectations.

But looking at Ge Lei Xiu's pure violet eyes, devoid of any impurity, malice, or teasing, Xi Lian found it hard to refuse.

"Okay, okay."

She obediently nodded, carefully stepped around the sketches on the floor, sat on the little stool, her posture a bit stiff, "Do I… need to do anything?"

Ge Lei Xiu had already turned back to the easel, picking up her brush again.

"No need. Just stay like you are now; simply being present is enough."

Her voice remained flat, as if stating a natural law.

Thus began a long, peculiar spell of silence.

Ge Lei Xiu was completely immersed in her creative world.

The brush touching the canvas made a rustling sound, becoming the room's only melody.

She sometimes swept the brush quickly, sometimes paused for long stretches, her violet eyes moving between Xi Lian and the canvas, her gaze focused.

Xi Lian initially tried to keep a proper posture, but as time passed her body relaxed, while inside she felt an increasing subtle embarrassment.

Being observed in such wordless, thorough fashion made her feel somewhat uneasy.

She wanted to say something to break the silence, to ask the other's name or chat about other things here, but each time the words reached her lips, seeing Ge Lei Xiu's face utterly absorbed in artistic creation—the lips slightly pursed, the eyes unblinking—she swallowed them back.

Any sound at this moment felt like a desecration of that sacred concentration.

She could only turn her gaze elsewhere in the room, and the scattered sketches were filled with abstract lines, vortex‑like color blocks, indescribable geometric shapes; some resembled exploding stars, others the bizarre lights of the deep sea.

Each piece was brimming with powerful expressiveness, yet it refused to be interpreted by simple common sense.

Xi Lian didn't quite understand, but inexplicably sensed a huge emotion hidden within, filling her heart with the feeling "although I can't understand it, I'm greatly shocked."

Time lost its meaning.

It might have been half an hour, or perhaps longer.

Just as Xi Lian felt she was about to become a true statue, the rustling brushstroke sound finally stopped.

Ge Lei Xiu gently set down the brush, stared at the canvas quietly for a few seconds, then turned her head and said to Xi Lian, "All right."

Xi Lian, as if granted a great pardon and driven by intense curiosity, hurriedly stood up, moved her slightly numb legs and feet, and walked to the easel. "May I have a look?"

Ge Lei Xiu nodded and shifted aside a bit.