When Will My Childhood Sweetheart Marry Me?-Chapter 48 - 0: Good Stuff

At Pei Yan’s doorstep, he didn’t even plan to return her backpack to her and instead went straight to inserting the key and entering, "Come in for a bit, I have something for you."

Jiang Shuyao was really curious about what could be so important that he mentioned it twice.

Oh well, since someone was in a bad mood today, she might as well indulge him.

She followed Pei Yan inside and just stood at the entrance, thinking she’d leave as soon as he brought out whatever it was.

After waiting for a while, she saw him come out of the bedroom with a cylindrical tube in hand.

"Open it and have a look," said Pei Yan, passing the tube to her.

Jiang Shuyao didn’t rush to do as told and instead quietly focused her gaze on the lacquered cylinder in her hands.

About 8 centimeters in diameter and 64 centimeters high, its fine porcelain glaze marked with cloud patterns, it was typically used by master painters to store their privately signed works.

A thought arose, and as the scroll slowly unfurled, her slightly bent fingers grew tense.

Two years ago, a painting named "Xici" made waves in the art world, becoming the pinnacle of adoration for countless painters. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

An eight-feet long ink wash landscape painting, with deep scenes of mountains shrouded in mists and clouds.

It was the late masterpiece of Master Zong Nan, and the elegant cursive characters inscribed by his good friend Yuan Ruomei on the lower left of the painting made it legendary. Since its surprise appearance in the auction market two years prior, both masters imprinted their private seals on it, and since then it vanished without a trace.

But now, the painting was genuinely in her own hands.

The shock in Jiang Shuyao’s heart was indescribable as she stared blankly at Pei Yan, trying to keep her voice light as she asked, "What did you do this weekend?"

She could almost be a hundred percent certain that the origin of this painting had to do with his two-day absence over the weekend.

Pei Yan glanced casually at the painting, not understanding what was so captivating about it that drove so many people to compete for it, but if she liked it, then that was all that mattered.

He lifted his chin as a sign for her to put the painting away and said lazily with a smile, "From now on, it’s yours."

"..."

Deflated, Jiang Shuyao asked again, "Don’t avoid the main issue, answer my earlier question."

The girl was too stubborn, showing signs she wouldn’t back down and would press him for answers tonight.

Impatiently waving his hand, Pei Yan shooed her out, "Take the painting and go back to eat. I need to shower, I’ll text you later."

In front of him, she was always powerless. It didn’t take much of a struggle before she was easily pushed out the door.

Before she could say another word, the door was abruptly slammed shut without any courtesy.

Jiang Shuyao’s eyes widened slightly, and after calling out twice with no response, she clenched her hold on the precious "Xici" and after much contemplation, she slowly turned and went home.

It was almost nine when she finished eating. After tidying up the dishes, she opened WeChat and sent a message to Pei Yan.

[Have you eaten? If not, come over.]

Minutes passed with no response from him.

She persisted and sent another message.

[You little brat, my aunt made too much food, I can’t finish it alone and don’t want it to go to waste.]

She added: [There’s your favorite dish too.]

This time, the little brat actually replied instantly.

[Then tell me, what dishes do I love?]

[...]

Jiang Shuyao closed her eyes, contemplating for a moment before typing in the chat box.

[Those that my mom makes, you love them all.]

She had to wrack her brains to trick him into coming over.

Jiang Shuyao felt she must look quite ugly right now, since people usually look unattractive when they say things that go against their heart and do things they don’t want to.

Actually, Pei Yan had already left his home long ago, accompanying Jiang Shuyao to Yasong Residence just to give her the painting.

Starting this week, extending practice for two hours each night wasn’t just talk. When they couldn’t enter the school grounds, they found a basketball club that was open at night.

As Pei Yan dribbled the ball, he replied to WeChat, causing envy among the three guys watching.

"Looks like the only time we can score on Brother Yan is when he’s distracted like this."

"You’re wrong."

Huh?

Xu Kanfeng and Chen Jin turned their heads to look at He Qingzhou, whose face was covered in sweat.

With just a few words, they suddenly heard a whoosh above them, as Pei Yan, with a casual one-handed throw, sent the basketball soaring in a long arc, directly hitting the hoop.

...Well, that’s just great.

The three of them collapsed on the ground, feeling utterly defeated.