Sweet slice-of-life love story: Wife, Let's love again
Chapter 105: If You Want to Thank Me, Help Me with This

Chapter 105: Chapter 105: If You Want to Thank Me, Help Me with This

Yu Le, feeling slighted, clutched his lunchbox and ate without acknowledging the pair of them.

Is having a girlfriend so great?

Is there really a charm in being single?

"Hey, by the way, how was your outing last week? If it was fun, I might take Yueyue there too," Sun Wen suddenly got curious, "I’ll take a couple days off, just when you can cover for me."

"It was pretty good," Qin Guanglin nodded, then laughed, "They have this ’Ascending to Heaven in Broad Daylight’ Cuihua there. If you burn twenty sticks of incense and pray, who knows, your love life might just get better."

"Pfft, love is built through communication, what’s the use of praying to that stuff?" Sun Wen stopped short, "This ’Broad Daylight’ thing, is it legit?"

"Oh, stop it, they also have a wishing tree, wishing plaques, just give it all a shot. If it works, that’s a big win, right?"

Qin Guanglin, with a straight face, repeated Teacher He’s words as if he had forgotten that last week he held the same attitude as Sun Wen.

"Girls like all that fancy stuff; it’s worth taking her for a stroll there," reasoned Sun Wen, feeling there was some sense to it, "As long as she’s happy, our relationship will naturally get better. I need to plan this, we’ll go after I get paid in a few days."

"Make it happen."

Qin Guanglin had originally planned to finish lunch and speak with the boss about taking on some serious work, but now there was no need for that. First, he would cover for Sun Wen for a few days and also have a chance to study Chen Rui’s painting techniques.

After lunch, just as he was preparing to return to his desk, he turned his head and saw Jiang Lingling sitting there.

"What are you looking at while sitting here?"

"Ah..." Jiang Lingling quickly stood up to give way, "Big Boss, so you were contemplating this just now."

In her hand was the rough sketch Qin Guanglin had casually drawn, "What an artist."

No wonder he applied for the position of lead illustrator right from the start; truly remarkable.

"Artist, my foot," Qin Guanglin took the rough sketch back and placed it on the table, "Go take your nap now."

"Oh."

Jiang Lingling returned to her own desk. After a moment, she turned her head and asked, "Big Boss, I haven’t thanked you yet. You refused me twice when I offered to buy you meals last week..."

"I said no thanks needed."

"It’s really embarrassing for me, how about I treat you to dinner tonight? I won’t be at ease if you don’t let me thank you."

"I’m busy tonight," Qin Guanglin arranged the unfinished drafts from the morning, "Finish these drawings for me, that can be your way of saying thanks."

It worked out he could go to Sun Wen’s place in the afternoon to work on coloring, getting familiar with his work.

"..."

Jiang Lingling opened her mouth to speak but said nothing, sullenly taking the stack of drafts from Qin Guanglin’s hands.

What kind of messed-up way to say thanks is this?

Has he lost his mind?

"If you can’t finish them, just put them back. Start with your third issue first," instructed Qin Guanglin, and then he lay on the table, ready to rest.

"I can finish them."

Jiang Lingling flipped through the drafts, glanced at Qin Guanglin, and decided not to take her nap, picking up a brush to start outlining.

Raindrops tapped against the window continuously; the summer heat had long been washed away, and even without the air conditioner, the indoors felt refreshingly cool; this environment was perfect for a nap. Qin Guanglin had a comfortable sleep and woke up after 2:00 p.m.

He looked up to see everyone getting ready for work. He got up, took a cup of water from the water dispenser and drank it, then sauntered over to Sun Wen’s place.

The small workshop had its perks; it was free and relaxed.

"I’ll take over, you go do something else," Qin Guanglin elbowed Sun Wen aside, picking up the airbrush to start.

"Be careful, you can’t rush this," Sun Wen cautioned, observing Qin Guanglin’s expansive movements.

"Don’t worry."

Qin Guanglin’s preparatory movements might have been a bit vigorous, but once he got started, he was extremely gentle, carefully beginning to spray from the simpler edges.

This kind of hand painting was different from computer drawing; you can always undo mistakes with ctrl+z on a computer, but correcting errors by hand was much more complicated. If it was serious, the whole base drawing might be scrapped.

"Brother Wen, should this hair be a bit brighter?" asked Yu Le, holding the small draft he was responsible for, seeking advice from Sun Wen.

"It depends on the intensity of the light. If the background is dark and the light source is far away, then the hair shouldn’t be too bright. Sheesh, haven’t I told you this before?"

"Oh..."

Yu Le scratched his head, "Should I sign up for a training course?"

"That’s useless; you just need to practice more and think on it more. That’s better than any course."

Sun Wen dismissed his idea and nodded towards Qin Guanglin, "Those training course teachers might not even be as good as this kid. Wouldn’t it be better to treat him to a few meals and ask for his advice?"

"Is Brother Lin that impressive?" Yu Le couldn’t help but look at Qin Guanglin with envy.

"Don’t listen to his nonsense." Qin Guanglin didn’t even look up, "There’s no need for meals, just ask if you have any questions."

"Tsk, so modest," Sun Wen shook his head and said to Yu Le, "Just wait a sec."

He took out his phone and after a quick search, said, "Just randomly search for this kid’s artwork... Look, this one is his, and it’s still hanging here."

"Truly a master." Yu Le’s eyes nearly glowed, "Brother Lin, teach me more!"

"Alright, alright, just ask plenty," said Qin Guanglin indifferently, "How would I know what you don’t understand if you don’t ask?"

"Okay, thank you, Brother Lin. Shall I treat you to dinner tonight?"

"No, why does everyone want to treat me to dinner?"

Qin Guanglin waved his hand, "Get on with your drawing. Think more on it and practice more; that’s the best way."

This was what their teacher had told them in the first class at the university.

Hard work overcomes all shortcomings; it’s not just lip service. While talent is very important, given the effort most people put in, they are far from reaching a level where talent is the only thing that counts.

The difference between a master and a top artist is talent, but between a master and a novice, it’s just practice. Talent just saves a bit of paper.

"Okay!"

Seeing that he wasn’t refused, Yu Le happily continued with his work.

He had been a homebody since childhood, reading all kinds of comics. He originally wanted to attend an art college, but he always messed up during exams. After repeating a year, his academic performance still tanked, and luckily, he met Sun Wen who brought him into this line of work.

"Huh?" Chen Rui walked out of the office and glanced at the tall Sun Wen standing there and then saw Qin Guanglin with an airbrush, sitting at Sun Wen’s place.

"Boss," Sun Wen called out as Chen Rui approached.

Qin Guanglin looked up and saw the boss coming close, gesturing with the airbrush, "I’m just trying it out."

"No worries, continue, I’m just watching."

Chen Rui waved it off and stood aside to watch Qin Guanglin manipulate the airbrush.

In the small studio, there weren’t many rules; job-hopping was certainly forbidden if it delayed work, but if one could do a good job, he would prefer everyone to be versatile and skilled in all areas.

"Is it okay?" Qin Guanglin was somewhat uneasy. He was still an intern and was working on a key project. It made him feel somewhat guilty.

"Not bad, you can practice more," said Chen Rui as he carefully examined a few of the storyboards that had been completed, and patted his shoulder, "You have a talent for color, thinking of switching to this?"

"No," Qin Guanglin pondered for a moment, then raised his head to smile at Chen Rui, "I want to do it all."

From drawing the first line to coloring, that makes a complete work.

He liked completeness.

Chen Rui was taken aback before he understood and pointed at him with his finger, laughing, "Well, you’ve got ambition. Why didn’t you say so earlier?"

"A promotion ahead of time?" Qin Guanglin asked.

"Just wait," Chen Rui turned and walked back to the office.

After a moment, he came out with a thin booklet and placed it on the table, "Try producing this first to test your hand."

Qin Guanglin opened it, flipped through it, and responded, "No problem."

It was a short story, just suited for him to practice on.