Chapter 816

It should be like this...

He nodded secretly, feeling this explanation makes a lot of sense.

However, it's good that she came.

Natsume Chikage just wanted to find an opportunity to ask what Midou Orihime's purpose was in asking him to learn painting before.

Since they met today, he can just probe.

Not long after.

Light and regular footsteps came from the corridor.

A stunning figure appeared in the halo of backlight.

Midou Orihime was still wearing that iconic red and black kimono today.

The exquisite fabric was embroidered with dark patterns, flowing slightly with her steps, gorgeous and restrained.

Her face was that kind of transcendent, near-perfect stunning beauty and exquisiteness.

Her skin was as fair as new snow, and her features seemed to be carved by the gods most carefully.

A waterfall of black long hair was combed into an elegant princess-cut hairstyle, with a few strands of hair hanging down softly on both sides of her cheeks.

And the most eye-catching thing was still those eyes.

Deep, demonic.

When stared at by her, one would unconsciously feel a sense of insignificance and chill of being stared at by the abyss.

Her temperament was cold and noble, as if she was born standing in the clouds, carrying a distant indifference to everything in the world.

This temperament was perfectly set off and strengthened by the red and black kimono she wore, making people dare not look directly, yet unable to help being attracted.

She walked in slowly, her steps silent.

And following closely behind her was the always expressionless, doll-like Konoe Hitomi.

And Furukawa Masahiro, who was half a step behind, with a respectful smile and bowing slightly.

Midou Orihime's gaze swept across the room first.

When it swept past Natsume Chikage, who stood up, those demonic eyes stayed for a few seconds.

Subsequently.

Her gaze finally fell on Furukawa Saio, who was sitting by the shogi board.

Her red lips parted slightly, her voice cold and flat, without any emotion:

"Saio."

"Play shogi."

Concise and to the point.

Furukawa Saio was already used to her senior sister's style, not only not feeling cold, but even more excited.

She nodded forcefully:

"Um um!"

"Senior Sister, Saio was guided by Big Brother today! I feel like I've become much stronger!"

"Senior Sister, you have to be careful!"

Natsume Chikage, seeing this, very consciously stood up from the cushion beside the shogi board and gave up the seat.

Midou Orihime showed no reaction to this.

She walked to the seat Natsume Chikage had just sat in extremely naturally, and sat down gracefully.

She didn't even care that this was the seat he had just sat in.

She stretched out her slender, fair fingers and began to tidy up the slightly scattered shogi pieces on the board.

Her movements were unhurried, carrying a rhythmic sense that was pleasing to the eye.

In the gaps of tidying up the pieces, her gaze finally turned to Natsume Chikage, who was standing on the side.

Still not looking up, just turning her head, asking in that flat, waveless tone:

"I heard from Hitomi..."

"Your painting now, is it already 'presentable'?"

Natsume Chikage faced this powerful Eldest Miss, his mentality stable.

He nodded:

"Um, practiced for a while."

"Should... be okay."

He gave a relatively conservative evaluation.

Midou Orihime heard this and didn't say anything else.

She still looked at the shogi board intently, as if thinking about the upcoming match with Saio.

But she clearly issued instructions, without turning her head:

"Drawing paper."

"Drawing pen."

Konoe Hitomi, who was standing behind her, nodded slightly.

She raised her hand and clapped twice gently.

The applause was exceptionally clear in the quiet corridor.

Almost the moment the applause fell.

Two men in black suits, with straight figures and expressionless faces, appeared quickly.

Each of them held a wooden tray and an easel that looked very exquisite.

In the tray was a thick stack of high-quality sketch paper, various models of sketch pencils, charcoal pencils, erasers, and pencil sharpeners, etc.

The two walked in lightly and placed the things respectfully in front of Natsume Chikage.

Then, without a word, they retreated silently again.

The whole process was fast, quiet, and efficient.

Natsume Chikage looked at the professional drawing tools that appeared suddenly, and was stunned for a moment.

He then remembered that he had indeed promised Midou Orihime before that after his painting level reached a certain level, he would paint for her.

And he had accepted that extremely generous "advance payment"—a ten-tsubo property under the Midou family's name.

He naturally understood the principle of taking money and eliminating disasters for others.

However, he wasn't quite sure what Midou Orihime specifically wanted him to paint.

He looked at Midou Orihime, who had refocused her attention on the shogi board, and asked:

"Orihime, what do you want me to paint?"

"Still life? Scenery? Or..."

After Midou Orihime's brief silence, her cold voice sounded again:

"Draw Hitomi."

Her tone was flat, as if talking about a trivial matter.

"..."

On Konoe Hitomi's beautiful face, which was always expressionless like a mask, a trace of extremely faint surprise flashed.

She widened her eyes slightly, looking at her Eldest Miss's back.

But soon, that trace of surprise dissipated without a trace.

She returned to her waveless appearance, her eyelids drooping, falling into silence.

Natsume Chikage heard this and didn't think too much about it.

He just felt that Midou Orihime might just want to test his current painting level most intuitively by painting the person closest to her?

After all, observing and depicting familiar people best reflects the painter's capturing ability and expressiveness.

This is very reasonable.

He didn't hesitate and began to observe the surrounding environment, looking for a suitable angle and atmosphere for painting.

His gaze cast towards the courtyard.

It is currently around three o'clock in the afternoon.

The afternoon sun in autumn has become gentle and mellow.

It shines down through the lush branches and leaves of the tall maple tree in the courtyard.

The light is filtered and broken by the layers of maple leaves, becoming as if it had been processed by a professional softbox.