Rebirth: The Time-locked Girl
Chapter 158 Civil and Military Officials Are All Her Teachers! Sister Lan’s Painting Skills [2 updates]

Chapter 158: 158 Civil and Military Officials Are All Her Teachers! Sister Lan’s Painting Skills [2 updates]

Bai Jingxue’s eyes shimmered with a sharp glint.

That could be the moment the An Family surpasses the Kang Family.

If the whole Harbor City knew that the Matriarch of Kang Family had another daughter, what face would she have left to live in this world?

This way, if he accomplishes a great merit, he would also be appreciated by the An Family.

After all, he is merely a son-in-law living off his wife, without any real power in his hands; An Jinxiu also forbids him from working in the company.

Moreover, since Lin Qin didn’t leave with him, and Lin Yue went inside, Bai Jingxue was also anxiously spinning in circles.

This was one of his few paths to self-rescue.

"Alright, I agree to your terms," Madam Lin pondered for a long time before finally consenting, "The hair is easy, but if I can’t get the blood, there’s nothing I can do."

"Then let’s start with the hair," Bai Jingxue said, "As for the blood, I will think of another way. You should go back first."

Madam Lin secured the envelope and returned to the Lin Family home, where she just so happened to encounter Ye Wanlan coming downstairs.

Feeling guilty as a thief, she quickly averted her gaze from Ye Wanlan and hurried upstairs.

Ye Wanlan withdrew her gaze, her expression indifferent.

"Ah Lan, I just spoke to Master Wu on the phone. He needs to confirm his schedule before he can give me a response," Lin Woyu said with a smile as she walked from the garden into the living room, "He is a senior member of the Yunjing Art Association, in charge of the local Chapter in Jiangcheng, and can bring you to compete."

Ye Wanlan nodded and smiled, "Thank you, Aunt."

"You don’t need to thank me. With your strength, I believe you can make it without my help," Lin Woyu said, "It’s only because you want to reassure your grandmother that I offered to assist."

"Aunt, you didn’t expose me in front of Grandma, you’re the best," Ye Wanlan said, "If it were Uncle, he definitely would have sold me out on the spot."

Lin Woyu laughed helplessly, "Your grandmother is as clear about it as if she’d seen it in a mirror, but aren’t you afraid your uncle will scold you for talking about him like that?"

"Not afraid," Ye Wanlan sat down and poured a cup of tea, "Uncle is easy to appease—just call him ’Uncle’ and it’s fine."

Lin Woyu: "..."

It seemed as if, when she was young and had misbehaved, blaming it on Lin Huaijin was enough, as long as she called him ’Brother’.

**

Meanwhile, at the Jiangcheng Art Association.

Sheng Yunyi overheard Master Wu’s phone call with Lin Woyu, and she casually asked, "Is Master Wu accepting new students again? I wonder from where such a promising student hails?"

"Not from anywhere special, just a daughter of the Lin Family who wants to be sent to me, hoping to participate in the international painting competition, specifically the youth division," Master Wu shook his head with a wry smile. "Her name is quite unique, Ye Wanlan. I don’t know how many years of painting training she’s had; I’ll have to test her skills later."

Sheng Yunyi’s hand paused, "Her?"

"Do you know her, Miss Yunyi?" Master Wu asked in surprise, "If you endorse her, then there is no need to scrutinize her painting skills."

After all, since graduating from Harbor City Art College and studying further in the Starman Federal Empire, Sheng Yunyi’s painting skills are considered among the most advanced of her peers.

"I do know her, but her painting skills?" Sheng Yunyi shook her head softly with a smile, speaking softly, "She can’t even recognize a painting from the Yongning Painting School. She once claimed that she had found one in a trash bin."

"Is that so?" Master Wu frowned, "Such disrespect for painting, and yet she desires to gain fame through it?"

Originally, he owed Lin Woyu a favor, and naturally, he would be inclined to help.

But if one doesn’t respect painting, how can they learn it?

Sheng Yunyi added, "Uncle Wu, you’re exaggerating. Her wanting to join the painting competition is a good thing, indicating she has finally begun to learn properly."

"Learn properly?" Master Wu sensed something off in those two words.

"She likes painting, so she wants to give it a try too," sighed Sheng Yunyi lightly, "But where can painting be mastered overnight?"

"Imitating others?" Master Wu’s brows furrowed even tighter.

He didn’t want to take Ye Wanlan under his wing, but Lin Woyu had already called him.

He decided it would be best to delegate Ye Wanlan to someone else.

The current president of the Jiangcheng Art Association and he were from the same master, his senior brother, who, although tolerant in nature, is even stricter than him in terms of painting.

"Miss Yunyi, please wait a moment; I will go find the chairman," said Master Wu as he stood up to visit the chairman’s office and explained the purpose of his visit.

"Alright, I happen to have a spot vacant this year," Chairman Tao nodded, "If they have time, they can come over today; there are only a few days left to register."

"Senior brother, you must not soften your heart and lead her to compete," Master Wu urged, "What if she tries to pass off someone else’s work as her own when she finds you? It’s imperative to have her paint on the spot."

Chairman Tao thought for a moment and then nodded slowly, "You have a point."

After all, the final stage of the competition would be a live painting session, and if she were to be exposed then, the shame would not only be hers but also all of Shenzhou’s.

But the finals are a long way off. For many years, no one under the age of twenty-five from Shenzhou has made it to the finals.

The best-performing contestant still regretfully stopped at the top four.

"Thank you, senior brother, I’ll have them come over now," Master Wu said as he contacted Lin Woyu to respond.

Thirty minutes later, Lin Woyu personally brought Ye Wanlan over.

Seeing her actually sitting in a wheelchair, Master Wu was startled, "Mrs. Lin, what happened to you?"

"I had a car accident a while back, and thanks to King Yama not wanting to take me yet, I was lucky to survive," Lin Woyu coughed twice and didn’t reveal to the outside that Ye Wanlan knew medical techniques.

This kind of major event, it’s safest if only one’s own people know about it.

Lin Woyu said, "Master Wu, this is my niece; please take care of her."

Master Wu glanced at Ye Wanlan and frowned again.

So beautiful that she could easily accomplish many things with just her face, it’s likely she doesn’t have the heart to devote herself to painting.

But he still asked conscientiously, "What type of painting have you studied?"

Ye Wanlan replied indifferently, "Traditional Chinese painting."

"Good," Master Wu nodded slightly, "Our traditional Chinese painting has extremely high artistic value. How many years have you studied?"

Ye Wanlan’s eyelashes drooped as she slowly said, "Thirteen years."

She wasn’t lying. In her previous life, when she was three years old and the palace unrest had settled, her wandering days with He Jia outside ended. After being brought back to the palace, she studied under Han Yunsheng.

At that time, Han Yunsheng wasn’t an Imperial Tutor yet, but he already had high repute and was heavily utilized by Ning Zhaozong.

Except for the last year of her life, she spent the first thirteen years painting.

In this life, she did not give up on painting either and had further refined her skills within the cycle of time.

Truly speaking, she had been studying for over a thousand years.

But if she said that out loud, not even Wen Chaosheng, this "Ghostbuster Bro," would believe her.

Time and space are acknowledged by humanity as the two most elusive domains, precisely because they are so beyond control.

"Thirteen years?" Sheng Yunyi couldn’t help but step out from behind Master Wu and laugh, "You say you’ve studied for thirteen years?"

Thirteen years ago, Ye Wanlan was still in the orphanage. Where could she have studied?

Studying art requires an extremely rich family background; without money, it’s fundamentally impossible to cultivate an artist. Can Ye Wanlan even come up with such a lie?

Lin Woyu’s gaze turned icy, "How many years Ah Lan has studied is none of your business."

"No business of mine," Sheng Yunyi’s voice was soft, "I was just curious, please don’t be angry, Mrs. Lin."

"Aunt, please don’t get angry, it’s bad for the liver and lungs," Ye Wanlan pressed Lin Woyu’s shoulder and didn’t bother with Sheng Yunyi, instead looking to Master Wu, "Any other questions?"

Master Wu repressed his anger and asked, "What style of painting do you specialize in?"

Ye Wanlan answered any question she was asked, "Landscape, flowers and birds, figures, I have a little understanding of each."

"Ah?" Before Master Wu could speak, Sheng Yunyi expressed her surprise, "But you can’t even recognize a painting from the Yongning Painting School, oh sorry, I spoke out of turn again, I have things to attend to, so I’ll leave first. You continue."

She rose gracefully, her face full of smiles.

Ye Wanlan remained unmoved, unaffected by anything, and merely chuckled, "So fond of talking, are you? Would you taste the saltiness if a swill cart passed you by?"

"..."

A moment of silence filled the room.

Sheng Yunyi’s smile froze on her face, and she turned her head with disbelief, "What did you say?"

"Please, don’t yell at me," Ye Wanlan slightly tilted her head, "I was frightened by beasts as a child and am somewhat scared of them."

"You...!" Sheng Yunyi’s face turned green with humiliation.

It seemed every sentence was clean, yet the curses were extremely harsh.

She had never been publicly humiliated in such a manner.

Ye Wanlan still looked towards Master Wu, waiting for his next round of questions.

"We need to paint on the spot to prove one’s skill," Master Wu said flatly, "Otherwise, this world is full of those who pretend and seek fame, how can we judge the real from the fake?"

Lin Woyu sensed something was amiss.

Master Wu’s attitude seemed too distant and disdainful.

Was it possible that it was not as he said on the phone, that he was too busy in the coming months to take Ye Wanlan, but rather that someone had spoken ill of her in his presence?

Chairman Tao, however, had a gentle expression, "Sit, choose what you’re best at."

Ink and brush were delivered to Ye Wanlan, the rice paper laid out.

"Senior brother, I have other matters, so I will leave first," Master Wu stood up, "The rest is now in your care."

His time was precious and he certainly didn’t have the time to watch Ye Wanlan paint like a primary school student.