Chapter 890: Drawing in Class

The second period of the afternoon was math.

The teacher at the podium was drawing a complex function graph on the blackboard with chalk, and the rhythm of the chalk tip striking the board was even, like a sleep‑inducing metronome.

Hua, sitting in the third row by the window, sat with a straight back, a gray‑blue low ponytail hanging behind the shoulders, and ice‑blue eyes fixed intently on the formula on the blackboard that the teacher was dissecting step by step.

Her notebook was already neatly filled with half a page of notes, the handwriting upright and the line spacing even.

From beside her came the rustling sound of a pencil swiftly moving across paper.

Hua did not turn her head.

Classmate Ge Lei Xiu had been drawing since the start of this class, and she had noticed it long ago.

As Class Monitor, she had the responsibility to remind the new student to listen attentively in class, but seeing how focused the other was, she could not bring herself to interrupt directly.

Moreover, while the teacher turned to write on the board, she quietly tilted her head and glanced; Ge Lei Xiu's drawing was indeed excellent.

The lines were fluid, the handling of light and shadow delicate, unlike any classmate she had seen in art class before.

Hua silently labeled the new student as a "genius artist" in her mind, then turned back to continue copying notes.

The rustling sound continued.

Hua finished copying a line of formula and turned a page of notes.

The rustling was still audible.

Hua finished writing the solution steps for a sample problem, set the pen down and flexed her fingers.

The rustling grew louder—no, it grew nearer.

Ge Lei Xiu seemed to be tilting her drawing board toward her, as if adjusting the angle.

Hua finally could not hold back.

She turned her head slightly about fifteen degrees to the right, letting her gaze slip from her own notes onto Ge Lei Xiu's opened drawing board.

Then her pupils trembled.

On the drawing paper was a woman!

An extremely beautiful woman, gray‑brown hair spilling behind the shoulders, eyes half‑closed, lashes thick and dense, a smile at the corner of her mouth that was so gentle it bordered on indulgent.

That was nothing.

The problem was the clothing the woman in the drawing wore, if that could even be called clothing.

A two‑piece swimsuit of soft white and misty black, the neckline wide open, both shoulders fully exposed, the pale skin below rendered with fine pencil hatching that transitioned into a sheen.

A dark‑purple binding strap around the waist cinched the waistline sharply, while black‑and‑white straps wound around the right thigh clung to the skin; the edges of the straps, slightly indented into the soft curve of the flesh, were carefully highlighted by Ge Lei Xiu with the corner of an eraser.

At the bottom of the picture was an unfinished line of handwritten text, neat and rounded: "Sister Su's seaside vacation."

Hua's breathing stopped.

It stopped for about two full seconds.

Then the breath surged up from her lungs, made a silent turn in her throat, and she forced it back down.

Her cheeks changed at a visibly perceptible speed from normal skin tone to a pale pink.

This is—this—drawing this—in class—!

Hua's hand clenched tightly under the desk, her knuckles turning white.

She swiftly turned her head back, facing the blackboard again, but the function graph on the board had completely lost its meaning to her.

All that remained in her mind were the details of that swimsuit from the picture.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Then she opened her eyes, and while the teacher was writing on the board again, she tilted her upper body slightly toward Ge Lei Xiu and, in the softest possible voice, spoke.

"Ge Lei Xiu, classmate."

"Hmm?" Ge Lei Xiu did not look up; the pencil continued to rustle across the paper.

"During class—when class is in session, don't draw this."

Hua's voice broke on the words "this"; she quickly cleared her throat, lowered her volume further, and said, "Focus on listening to the lesson."

Ge Lei Xiu stopped the pencil.

She lifted her head, her violet eyes quietly meeting Hua's, then nodded earnestly.

"Alright." She turned the drawing board a page, revealing a brand‑new blank sheet.

Her movements were obedient, her expression obedient; her whole demeanor was that of a well‑behaved student who, after receiving a kind reminder from the Class Monitor, immediately corrected the mistake.

Hua exhaled.

She let her shoulders drop a half‑inch, and her fingers relaxed.

She picked up the pen again and continued copying notes.

It seemed that Ge Lei Xiu had only just transferred and was still adjusting to classroom discipline; fundamentally, she was a sensible good child.

It stayed quiet for about five minutes.

During those five minutes, the teacher solved a function problem on the board and posed a new one.

Hua finished copying notes, even raised her hand to answer a question, and everything returned to the normal class rhythm.

Then that rustling sound rose again.

Hua's finger holding the pen paused briefly in the air.

She inhaled deeply, told herself "maybe I'm drawing a landscape," and kept writing notes.

Ssshh.

She told herself "maybe I'm drawing the ginkgo tree I didn't finish earlier," and kept writing notes.

Ssshh ssshh ssshh.

The right eyelid of her right eye twitched.

Hua slowly set the pen down and tilted her upper body about twenty degrees to the right.

This time the angle was larger than before, and she could clearly see all the contents on Ge Lei Xiu's drawing board.

In the picture there was a young girl.

Gray‑blue long hair was tied into a low ponytail, ice‑blue eyes were clear and gentle, the face was delicate and pure—it was herself!

Hua herself. On the drawing paper. Wearing a swimsuit.

A swimsuit that used an extremely minimal amount of fabric.

The top was a light‑blue bikini, the strap tied a bow behind the neck, the fabric over the chest was only enough to cover a small half—no, the point was that the size drawn was completely wrong!

The figure's breasts were drawn unusually full, a rounded curve extending from beneath the neck down to the edge of the swimsuit fabric, forming two striking light‑and‑shadow boundaries in the center of the picture.

Ge Lei Xiu even used the side of a pencil to carefully shade, making the whole outline look more three‑dimensional, upright, even more—

Hua's mind exploded!

From the base of her neck upward, a wave of heat swept over her entire face with unstoppable force.

The stray hairs at the corners of her forehead were stuck to her skin by sweat, yet she felt nothing at all.

All her perception now focused on the sheet of paper before her, the version of herself in a swimsuit with breasts enlarged to an utterly unrealistic size, being detailed stroke by stroke by Ge Lei Xiu.

Ge Lei Xiu was drawing the swim trunks, a light‑blue low‑waist pair matching the swimsuit's color scheme, the hem following the curve of the waist and hips downward, then tapering at the narrowest point.

"Ge—"

Hua opened her mouth, but the sound got stuck in her throat.

She wanted to say "Ge Lei Xiu, please stop," wanted to say "How can you draw this in class," wanted to say "Why me," wanted to say "Why this size," too many things to say crowded in her throat, none could get out.

She abruptly turned her head and looked toward the podium.