Chapter 703

Unexpected painting learning speed! Talent barrier!

Noon.

Collection Club activity room.

Bright light at noon slanted in through the clean windows.

A breeze slipped in from the half-open window, gently brushing the beige linen curtains.

Natsume Chikage, Yukimura Suzune, Sister Xiyuan Si Xiyuanji Qilai, and Classmate Classmate Tengyuan Kui all chose not to leave the school.

Like many students in the school who participated in afternoon club activities, they chose to stay in the familiar space and enjoy the bentos they brought.

At this moment, the four were sitting around a long table, enjoying lunch quietly.

Classmate Classmate Tengyuan Kui always ate very quickly.

With an aura like "fighting," she swept away the rice, rolled omelet, and vegetables in the bento in three or two strokes, then picked up a tissue with satisfaction and carefully wiped the corners of her mouth.

She looked up at the round wall clock—the metal pointer had just passed twelve-twenty.

There were nearly five hours of blank space until the start of Natsume Chikage's and her own part-time job at five o'clock in the afternoon.

She felt that if such a long period of free time was stifled in the slightly empty club room, it would be a bit of a waste of this beautiful spring afternoon weather.

So, her eyes lit up, and she suggested energetically:

"Right! Anyway, today both Natsume-kun and I don't start work until after five o'clock; after I finish my daily exercise in the track and field club... how about we go for a walk together later? Going to the nearby commercial street for a stroll is also fine! Anyway, there is plenty of time!"

Sister Xiyuan Si Xiyuanji Qilai put down her chopsticks elegantly, interested light flashing in her amethyst-like eyes, and echoed happily:

"Mm-hmm, I think this idea is not bad. The afternoon sun is so good, and the wind is very gentle; going out for a walk and getting some air should be very comfortable."

Natsume Chikage swallowed the food in his mouth and thought for a moment.

Besides previewing lessons and the necessary painting practice, he really didn't have any other particularly urgent arrangements for the afternoon.

He nodded, his tone gentle:

"Mm, I have no problem."

Yukimura Suzune glanced at Natsume Chikage, her cold eyes flowing slightly, seemingly hesitating for a moment, before responding faintly with her unique voice that seemed to carry a chill:

"I... have no problem either."

Classmate Classmate Tengyuan Kui saw that everyone agreed, immediately clapped her hands happily, her smile bright:

"That's great! Then it's happily decided!"

Natsume Chikage suddenly remembered something that had been shelved for a while.

"Right, Fujiwara-san."

Classmate Classmate Tengyuan Kui was biting a straw, sipping the fruit and vegetable juice she brought, and blinked those large eyes that were always full of vitality:

"Mm? What's wrong, Natsume-kun?"

Natsume Chikage's gaze naturally fell on Classmate Classmate Tengyuan Kui's wrist—she was wearing a sports watch there.

"Didn't I say before that I wanted to collect this sports watch of yours?"

"Now I've won the fourth round of the shogi match and got some prize money, so I'm temporarily quite well-off. Since we're going out together later, why don't we just go to an electronics store or a sports goods specialty store and officially 'collect' your watch, and at the same time change you into a brand new one of the same model, how about it?"

Classmate Classmate Tengyuan Kui heard this, and a wave of excitement flushed over her healthy wheat-colored skin.

But immediately, she remembered Natsume Chikage's not-so-well-off, even impoverished family background, and a trace of clear worry immediately mixed into her joy:

"Natsume-kun... I really don't need this urgently. You can wait a bit longer, wait until you are more well-off and more stable before saying it."

Natsume Chikage seemed to have expected her reaction, shook his head with a smile, his tone gentle but carrying a kind of reassuring certainty:

"Don't worry, I've calculated it carefully."

"The prize money from the match, plus the estimated part-time income this month, even if I buy this watch for you, the remaining money is completely enough to support the living expenses of my sister and me for these two months, and there can even be a little small surplus."

"So, it really doesn't matter, no need to have a burden."

Classmate Classmate Tengyuan Kui looked at the frank and confident smile on his face, and the sincerity in his clear eyes that couldn't be doubted, and her concerns were mostly dispelled.

She secretly thought: In case Natsume-kun really encounters any temporary difficulties later, she can always find a way to help him—after all, he works in her family's coffee shop, whether it's adjusting shifts, advancing salary, or providing help in other more natural ways, there's always a way.

Thinking of this, she no longer declined, and a smile as bright as the summer sun bloomed on her face again:

"Mm! Then... then thank you, Natsume-kun!"

Yukimura Suzune and Sister Xiyuan Si Xiyuanji Qilai, sitting on the side, fell into a brief silence simultaneously.

Although they had long known that the club had an agreement of "mutual collection," and also knew that Natsume Chikage had mentioned this matter, hearing them so specifically and naturally put the plan into action still couldn't help but cause a trace of subtle and strange emotions to sweep through their hearts.

Like a small stone thrown into a calm lake, the ripples were subtle but impossible to ignore.

Sister Xiyuan Si Xiyuanji Qilai blinked her purple eyes, seemingly remembering some key point, and asked:

"Right, Fujiwara-san."

"Since Natsume-kun plans to collect your sports watch... what about you? You seem to have never publicly said what you want to collect of Natsume-kun's, right?"

Classmate Classmate Tengyuan Kui was reminded by her, and only then did she remember this crucial other half of the "agreement," and scratched the back of her head somewhat embarrassedly:

"Ah... as for this, I really haven't thought about it carefully."

"I thought... exchanging sports watches with Natsume-kun would count as completing our 'mutual collection'!"

Natsume Chikage heard this and couldn't help but shake his head with a smile, patiently explaining:

"Of course that doesn't count. The watch is just an item belonging to you that I unilaterally want to collect."

He looked at Classmate Classmate Tengyuan Kui revealing a "so that's how it is" realization and a bit of distress, and added considerately:

"If you can't think of it for a while, or don't have anything particularly want to collect, it doesn't matter. Anyway, there's plenty of time, think about it slowly later, and say it when you've thought it through."

Classmate Classmate Tengyuan Kui immediately breathed a sigh of relief, her smile becoming bright and relaxed again:

"Mm-hmm! Then it's decided! Wait for me to carefully dig out what 'treasure' on Natsume-kun is worth my collection!"

Natsume Chikage began to calculate silently in his heart.

After buying the new sports watch of the same model for Classmate Classmate Tengyuan Kui later, he should also go to the art supply store and buy a set of better quality painting brushes.

He was always thinking about that special equipment of Kaga Reisa's named "The Painting Brush That Is About to Come Out."

If he could find a suitable opportunity to successfully "exchange" for that brush, it would undoubtedly be a timely help for him who urgently needed to improve his painting level.

Only by painting well could he satisfy Mitou Orihime's harsh requirements and exchange for that spacious room on the floor below that had already been tidied up and was ten tsubo (about thirty-three square meters) large.

If he could exchange for that room, he and his sister wouldn't have to squeeze into this narrow space of three mats where even turning around required caution.

He could add a small washing machine, so his sister wouldn't have to work hard to hand-wash so many clothes in the bathroom every day.

Maybe the room was even connected to a small balcony, so they wouldn't have to hang wet clothes indoors, affecting the air and mood.

Maybe there could even be a bathtub, ending the days of only being able to stand in the narrow shower area to rinse, allowing them both to take a hot bath to relieve fatigue.

In short.

More space meant more possibilities to improve life, meaning he could let his sister live more easily and happily.

This was one of the goals he was striving for now, and it must be achieved!

After a while.

Classmate Classmate Tengyuan Kui stood up energetically with a "whoosh," waved at the three, and announced excitedly:

"Aoi is back—! Training finished, state perfect! Let's go shopping now! Waiting for me!" ===== CHAPTER 704 =====