Chapter 53.1 A figure suddenly appeared in the painting (1)

Ning Meng was slightly befuddled.

Qiu Keke kept very good relations with the people in school. That was how her source of information was established. In fact, it wouldn’t be an understatement to say that she had friends everywhere.

Moreover, her character was quite outspoken, never mincing her words. She often saw some girls coming over to their class to look for her, even bringing her something to eat.

So her personality didn’t even seem like the type that incited grudges.

While she was still deep in thought, Shi Qi had already reached his hand out underneath the table.

The space underneath it was quite big. He took out a painting which was framed and had nothing else on top of it.

If someone were to touch the surface, they’d be able to touch the oil painting directly.

It was an oil painting, but of nothing specific. It only seemed as if the colors were all stacked upon each other with nothing else drawn on it.

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Mbkp oyp vss hytwl.

Lkdt Yldt qlzv vbyv kv nswzed’v bsze y nydezl vs Fbk Ck’p eayokdt.

Tla xkde pvyavle vs awd ycwgg. Eyp vbyv tkaz plnalvzu kd zshl okvb Ckw Iljl, bldnl, zlyhkdt clbkde y rykdvkdt vbyv pbl eke yqvla lhlausdl oyp tsdl?

Fbl alynble swv y byde vs vswnb kv yde kv qlzv saekdyau, okvbswv vbl pzktbvlpv nbkzz.

Mbl zktbv sq bla rbsdl qzypble sd kv.

Fbk Ck vbld rwv kv cynj yde pyke okvb yd kdpkrke zssj, “Nlv’p ts bsxl.”

Lkdt Yldt bwxxle kd ynnsae clqsal kdiwkakdt, “Psd’v ol dlle vs nblnj oblvbla vblal’p psxlvbkdt oasdt okvb vbkp rykdvkdt?”

Fbk Ck zssjle yv bla yde alprsdele, “Nlv Ckw Iljl zssj qsa blaplzq.”

Ning Meng thought for a moment. Perhaps it was because her yin eyes had been opened for too long that her thoughts often strayed to scary places whereas this was, perhaps, very ordinary.

She then replied, “Alright. Let’s go home.”

Completely forgetting about the matter of the lights having suddenly gone out.

The two people walked out of the classroom and locked the doors, leaving the quiet and dark place.

The moonlight shone in the empty classroom.

Upon returning home, Ning Meng threw the matter to the back of her head and was scolded by Liang Fengmei thoroughly, “Didn’t I tell you to come home early in the morning? Didn’t you say you would only take a while?”

She complained while drinking her gruel, “A classmate came to fetch his books so I could only wait for him to leave.”

However, if she hadn’t gotten home late, she wouldn’t have seen what had happened later on.

Liang Fengmei sat on the other side, sewing clothes.

Ning Meng pondered for a moment before suddenly asking, “Mom, did you have a good time with Uncle Lin today?”

Hearing her words, Liang Fengmei nearly poked herself and glared at her, “What do you mean good time? We just went out to buy some stuff!”

Ning Meng nodded, “Ohhh, sureee. What stuff did you buy?”

She merely asked in curiosity since she heard the two having this conversation in the afternoon and was concerned about their progress.

Liang Fengmei rapped on her bowl, “It’s nearly 10:30pm. Quickly finish your meal, then take a bath and go to sleep. You still have to go to class tomorrow morning.”

Look at how she changed the subject. There’s definitely something fishy going on.

Ning Meng held her bowl and surveyed her home in secret, discovering two wrapped bags on the counter.

Those must be new clothes.

Looks like Uncle Lin knew how to woo someone. Hope he could just hurry it up since she only had a month or two left before she was to depart. By then, Liang Fengmei wouldn’t be able to hold herself.

If her beloved daughter got into an accident, Liang Fengmei’s tough exterior would just crack so it was best to have someone by her side, comforting her.

Thinking about this made Ning Meng feel quite distressed.

Ning Meng could only say she had done all she could. Originally, Ning Ning was supposed to pass away last year. By coming into her body, she had merely extended her life for another year.

She raised her head, gulping down the remaining contents of the bowl, “I finished.”

“Quickly go wash yourself up.” Liang Fengmei set the clothes down and tidied up the bowls and dishes, “Go to sleep once you’ve finished.”

“Alright. You should get some rest too.”

Ning Meng returned to her room and saw the paper doll still running around on the ground, its little arms holding a pen.

She had painted on its green dress, turning it into a polka-dotted design which made the paper doll look even more adorable.

Seeing her return, the paper doll threw the pen away and ran towards her.

Ning Meng picked her up and placed her on the table, saying, “Don’t run around and quickly go to sleep. It’s already very late.”

The paper doll understood her words and held the belly of her fingers, rubbing against it while obediently nodding its head.

Ning Meng’s heart was about to melt and she touched its face.

The paper doll became even more happy, running in circles on the table before laying in a meticulously prepared box, even covering itself with a small piece of cloth.

It obediently went to sleep just as instructed.

The cloth was something Ning Meng had cut out for her from a piece of dress. Liang Fengmei had even given her a bout of scolding because of it.

She looked at the paper doll for a while before heading off to the bathroom.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*  *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*  *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

The next day, she arrived at the classroom just when the bell had rung.

Qiu Keke sat in her seat unscathed, the painting from yesterday placed on top of her desk.

Fortunately, the teacher was not feeling well so he merely sat behind the podium, looking at his class. As such, Qiu Keke was able to get away with occasionally taking a look at the painting.

Ning Meng couldn’t help but quietly tap on her table. Using a book as cover, she asked, “Keke, whose painting is that?”

Qiu Keke shook her head, replying in a soft voice, “I’m not sure. I only saw it once I arrived. There also wasn’t any inscriptions on it.”

She arrived at the classroom early in the morning and immediately spotted this painting in the drawer of her desk.

Without having seen the contents, she assumed that a talented boy was secretly in love with her, placing this on her desk. When she took it out for a look, it evidently looked like it was done with no effort at all.

As such, she was certain that it wasn’t painted by an admirer.

The language teacher suddenly stood up by the podium.

Seeing this, Ning Meng’s heart thumped and she quickly turned her head back to her book, deciding to discuss yesterday’s events once class had concluded.

She turned to the side and saw that Shi Qi also wasn’t studying, instead, he was reading a book.

In any case, she didn’t understand the topic at hand, neither did she flip through the book at all.  She didn’t know where this textbook filled with ancient characters originated from.

When the bell signalling the end of class rang, the teacher promptly left the classroom.

Qiu Keke took the painting out and placed it on the desk. The colors on the painting intermixed with one another, forming a weird color.

It formed the shape of a ball, looking no different to a scribble made by that of a child.

Ning Meng turned to her and said, “Last night, when I was carrying out my duties, I saw a girl put it in your desk. She had long hair and was slightly taller than me. I couldn’t see her face but she acted sneakily.”

Qiu Keke asked flabbergasted, “Long hair?”

Most of her good friends had middle-length or short-length hair. She didn’t recognize anyone with long hair so this girl was definitely not in her circle of friends.

Ning Meng once again described the events that had transpired the night starting from when she had taken the trash out.

Qiu Keke felt as if she was narrating a ghost story and interrupted her, “…Stop right there. I don’t think I can sleep tonight. Perhaps, she gave it to me in hopes of making me feel better, or as gratitude for when I helped her somehow.

She had never offended anyone before, much less towards girls.

Unless the girl’s personality was really horrible, she wouldn’t go out of her way to interact with them. She also rarely spoke ill in front of them, much less offend them.

The painting didn’t have anything on it. Qiu Keke packed up her bags and said, “Nevermind. Let’s not talk about this anymore. I’ll take this home for a look. That person doesn’t look like she has the best of skills.”

She had learnt a bit on how to draw before, telling all the deficiencies the painting had to Ning Ning, certain that someone was trying to provoke her.

Ning Meng was also convinced by her words that nothing was wrong.

However, as a precaution, she still obediently inquired the system, “Is there something wrong with the painting?”

The system answered, “At the moment, there doesn’t seem to be one.”

She then followed up, “Then, could a problem potentially arise in the future?”

The system was uncertain, “I’m not too sure. Looking at it presently, the painting doesn’t seem to have anything special. If I had to point something out, it just looks like the paint that was used isn’t your average paint.”

Ning Meng thought back to the painting where all the colors were jumbled up together and didn’t seem to recall anything that stood out, “What’s so special about the paint?”