At this moment, the rain poured down heavily, and thunder roared continuously,

yet Koizumi Katsuko felt as if she was reunited with an old friend, calm as ever.

"Shengzi, over here."

Gu Weijing carried a gas lamp and ran out from the gatehouse, waving to Koizumi Katsuko from under the eaves.

The girl turned her head, her face blooming with a smile, and ran over to Gu Weijing in small steps.

As she approached, Gu Weijing marveled at Koizumi Katsuko’s beauty tonight, looking exceptionally stunning.

She wasn’t wearing the conservative school uniform with shirts and dark blazers she usually wore, but opted for a red dress that highlighted her figure.

She wasn’t wearing long socks either, her full legs exposed bare.

Koizumi Katsuko seemed to have put on a rare touch of makeup.

Compared to Koukou, Miss Sakai’s makeup skills were slightly raw, accentuating the girl’s natural beauty.

Her cheeks were soft, and the dark eyeshadow enhanced the contours of her already beautiful features.

The gas lamp cast a warm glow over her.

This made Koizumi Katsuko look both pure and sexy, like she had grown from the girl next door to a more mature woman with added allure.

Because of the running,

Shengzi’s face was a little flushed, contrasting brilliantly with her pale, jade-like complexion.

"The weather is so nice today, Mr. Gu."

Koizumi Katsuko climbed the small steps of the gatehouse, gently tugged on Gu Weijing’s sleeve, and whispered in his ear, her tone tinged with a bit of exhilaration, like a little lark flying out of its golden cage for the first time.

"Nice weather?"

Gu Weijing looked at the sky, where the dark clouds seemed to cover the tops of the church’s spires, teasing with a smile.

Miss Sakai lowered her head, her cheeks turning even redder.

Just after she spoke,

Koizumi Katsuko felt really clumsy for uttering such an incomprehensible thing.

The call with Koshiba Tarou before heading out filled Koizumi Katsuko with a sense of relief and cheer.

She was very happy now, her eyes bright, with countless words to say.

Koizumi Katsuko wanted to say that today was perfect for copying oil paintings, that it was her first time sneaking out unnoticed from under the adults’ watchful eyes, that she was delighted to be painting alongside him, that the woman painter Lady Carol must have completed the piece, "Old Church on a Stormy Day," on such a day...

Seeing Gu Weijing’s face made all her thoughts converge at her lips, inexplicably turning into "The weather is so nice today."

She herself found it sounded rather silly.

"Uh..." Koizumi Katsuko wanted to explain.

"You’re right, the weather is indeed nice today." Gu Weijing suddenly chuckled, looking into Koizumi Katsuko’s eyes, then raising his head to gaze at the lightning that just flashed across the sky, repeating, "It truly is nice."

Koizumi Katsuko suddenly realized she didn’t need to explain anymore.

So the girl kept her lips pursed, only standing there with a smile.

"Mr. Gu, let’s get started."

Koizumi Katsuko entered Uncle Ah Lai’s gatehouse, saw two transparent acrylic color palettes placed on the window sill, and smiled understandingly again.

Inside the room, there was no original piece of "Old Church on a Stormy Day" displayed.

The orphanage lacked the conditions to store such precious artwork, but for Koizumi Katsuko and Gu Weijing, who had already replicated multiple originals, it didn’t matter much.

Lady Carol’s original piece was already imprinted in their minds.

Moreover, they didn’t need to overly rely on the original, because replicating at the site where Carol painted has the greatest advantage that the living painting exists right before their eyes.

Just by looking through the small window outside at the rainy night, it was a truly dynamic scene of the Old Church on a Stormy Day.

"Wait a moment, Jasmine?"

Gu Weijing called into the room.

The little girl in the blue dress held two small black tea bowls, running over from the stove room.

Jasmine placed a tea bowl beside Gu Weijing and gazed at Koizumi Katsuko with her bright eyes, filled with three parts longing and seven parts insecurity. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

In her limited life, the little girl had only seen dirty dolls in the orphanage and occasional volunteers who came here to help.

She had never seen such a noble, elegant, and beautiful older sister.

Jasmine had reached an age where she vaguely understood beauty.

Beauty carried an aura as compelling as heaven and earth.

Like the ugly duckling meeting the swan, even though Koizumi Katsuko was the gentle and graceful type, Jasmine felt even more insignificant, like a small black lump of coal, lowering her head due to insecurity.

"The bowls have been heated..."

Seeing Koizumi Katsuko’s gaze fall on the orphanage’s chipped rim tea bowl, Jasmine embarrassingly lowered her head, rubbed her right hand against her dress, and hesitantly handed the tea bowl to her.

"It’s clean, Sister, not dirty..."

"Thank you."

Koizumi Katsuko smiled softly at the little girl and took the tea bowl, placing it by the window.

"Sister, you’re so beautiful, I wish to be even a third as pretty as you are someday." Seeing that Koizumi Katsuko was not aloof and unreachable, Jasmine’s courage grew a bit, speaking with envy.

"You have very beautiful eyes yourself, which I admire."

Koizumi Katsuko patted Jasmine’s hair, gently encouraging.

Jasmine’s face suddenly flushed red, and shyly she wanted to run off but was pulled back by Gu Weijing.

"Jasmine, remember what I told you before, the second window from the left. If you can’t reach it, ask Uncle Ah Lai for help."

Gu Weijing handed a rain umbrella, whispering a few words beside Jasmine.

The little girl nodded, took the umbrella, and disappeared into the night.

A few minutes later,

the flickering light of a candle slowly illuminated inside the church.

In the rainy night, the flickering candlelight brought a solemn, religious ceremony aura, like the scene painted by Lady Carol back then.

"Let’s start."

Gu Weijing began mixing turpentine and linseed oil in a 1:1 ratio to dilute the paint.

The rain showed no signs of stopping or diminishing, the gas lamp’s light gave off a warm glow that illuminated the small gatehouse used as a studio.

The young man and woman stood closely together, their arms occasionally brushing, bringing with them each other’s warmth, yet neither spoke.

Both enjoyed the mutual quiet, focused on their memory as they painted.

Gu Weijing gently blended a bit of ivory black and Winsor purple with a palette knife on the acrylic board, holding it before his forehead.

He found he didn’t need to place the transparent palette over the canvas background to catch the hues.

The real world outside the window was like a vivid canvas, Gu Weijing could try to compare and blend the colors across the small plastic sheet.

It was because of this,

Gu Weijing gradually felt confused, his once smooth brushwork also hesitated slightly.

Impressionism is an aesthetics of capturing light,

eternally pursuing capturing and solidifying the fleeting colors of light.

Such light usually refers to sunlight. So, for a time, Impressionism was even called the "Sunlight School."

Lady Carol went the opposite direction, using psychedelic and brilliant brushwork to depict a stormy scene.

Yet through all changes the core remains unchanged,

the soul of this painting remains light, the integration of candlelight and flowing lightning across the sky akin to auroras sealed in amber.

When replicating the original, Gu Weijing didn’t feel much.

But now,

he clearly sensed something missing.

Gu Weijing lightly tapped his fingertip on the acrylic palette, contemplating and hesitating, as if making some decision.

An indescribable sixth sense urged him that if he wished to earn the system reward, the Intermediate Treasure Chest, painting this way alone—was not enough.

Gu Weijing reopened the virtual panel, searching for the charity wealth exchange panel.

[Experience Exchange Panel:]

[Current Assignable Free Experience Points: 3105]