Sweet slice-of-life love story: Wife, Let's love again
Chapter 127 - 126: The Master of Emotions, that would be me

Chapter 127: Chapter 126: The Master of Emotions, that would be me

Monday.

Halfway through June, it’s midsummer.

As soon as the morning sun peeked out, the temperature shot up immediately, ready to scorch someone to death.

Qin Guanglin opened his eyes early and got out of bed, looked out the window, changed clothes, and left the house after washing up.

He bought two fried dough sticks and a cup of soy milk to take out and brought them to Teacher He’s place, sure enough, as he had expected, that woman was still sound asleep.

The quilt was messily rolled up to one side, and the nightgown had ridden up to her waist, with only the Doraemon plushie she’d snatched for sixty-some yuan tightly clutched to her face.

Fortunately, he was a gentleman...

Qin Guanglin sighed softly, tiptoed over to spread out the thin blanket, sneakily glanced once, then again... then covered her properly, gently kissed her hand, walked out of the bedroom, and carefully closed the door behind him.

He poured himself a glass of water on the sofa and drank it down. Glancing at his watch, he had some time to spare, so he picked up the kettle, filled it in the kitchen, and waited patiently for the water to boil after five minutes. After unplugging the kettle and making sure there was nothing else, he left the apartment and went downstairs to take the car to the company.

Life before having a girlfriend was one thing, and after getting a girlfriend, it was another.

When the girlfriend lived alone near him, it was yet another new way of life.

It was getting more and more wonderful...

Qin Guanglin walked into the company, beaming, and with a casual glance, saw Sun Wen, who was supposed to be on leave to hang out with his girlfriend, munching on a bun at his desk.

Not eating an egg pancake for a change... Qin Guanglin’s focus was somewhat off. After settling down, he greeted Sun Wen, "Weren’t you supposed to take a leave?"

"I love my job, decided not to take it," Sun Wen replied sluggishly, sipping on his soy milk, "Worried you couldn’t handle my tasks."

"Hey, did you guys have a fight?" Qin Guanglin could guess the gist by his demeanor, "What about this time?"

"Ah, forget it."

Sun Wen shook his head, neither denying nor wanting to elaborate, just continuing to nibble on his bun.

"Fine, if you need help, just say the word. I’m loaded with experience now," Qin Guanglin, having left Teacher He’s place, was feeling a bit high and mighty, reaching up to flick away nonexistent bangs: "The master of romance, that’s me."

Last night, he lay in bed for a long time, pondering over and over the words that He Fang had said to him on the bench, the more he thought about it, the more he felt she made sense.

So that’s what love is.

It’s so simple.

"You?" Sun Wen looked incredulous, "You and Xiao Yu are just six of one, half a dozen of the other, coming up with nothing but bad ideas."

"Three days is enough to see a change in a man; don’t be a doubter."

"Hmph."

"Boss, good morning." Jiang Lingling, the last to arrive at the company besides the boss, cheerfully greeted Qin Guanglin.

"Morning."

Qin Guanglin replied and looked up to see Sun Wen’s mischievous expression, puzzled, "What’s with that look?"

"Heh, the master of romance," Sun Wen teased with a raised eyebrow.

"Huh?"

"Never mind, I’ll just sit back and enjoy the show."

"What are you on about?" Qin Guanglin was somewhat baffled and simply set up his drawing board to start working.

The production of this comic was a solo endeavor: no editor, no assistant, let alone a storyboard artist or modeler—positions absent in the entire studio. It was a one-man show.

His debut work.

He had to do a good job of it.

"Boss, you’re so talented!" Jiang Lingling, having finished her breakfast, slid her chair over next to Qin Guanglin, admiring the semi-finished line art on his drawing board.

Sun Wen glanced up, snickered to himself, and then looked back down. Still the master of romance... we’ll see how you handle this.

Seeing Qin Guanglin fixated on his drawing board and not speaking, Jiang Lingling paused, opened her mouth without making a sound, and then just sat next to him watching.

"Hm? What did you just say?" It was only after a moment that Qin Guanglin belatedly responded.

He didn’t like to be disturbed while drawing; when he would go into his studio at home, he typically wouldn’t even bring his phone, only occasionally doing so after getting to know Teacher He.

"...I was saying that you really paint well."

"The more you study and practice, the more you can do it too," Guanglin turned his head to glance at her, seeing her sitting idle by his side, he asked in puzzlement, "Is there something you need?"

"No, just watching and learning," Jiang Lingling revealed a sweet smile and looked earnestly toward the canvas.

What is this painting... why does it look so chaotic?

"This requires a very solid foundation to understand."

"Uh..." Jiang Lingling’s face stiffened, "Alright, you big shots are just awesome."

If I can’t understand it, then I don’t need to look, what’s the big deal... She put some force into her feet and slid the chair back to her own seat.

Guanglin didn’t pay her any mind and changed his grip on the brush to continue shading; how well the shadows were rendered was directly related to the three-dimensionality of the characters. She, the amateur, simply couldn’t understand.

Dabbing and drawing, suddenly it was noon. Chen Rui came out once and stood behind Guanglin somewhat astonished; it was quite obvious that Guanglin was imitating his own style, and moreover, he was doing quite well.

Without making a sound to disturb him, he quietly watched for a while before turning back to his office to continue his own work. Guanglin, focused on his shading, didn’t notice until Jiang Lingling slid over on her chair to remind him.

"He watched me for quite a while?" Guanglin asked casually.

"Yeah, he stood there for a good long while."

"Oh."

"Big shot..." Jiang Lingling looked around, then lowered her voice to ask, "Is this the company’s new series? Why are you doing it alone?"

Usually, series work is a collaborative effort, with some doing line work, others finishing drafts, some coloring, and some doing post-production work, but she only saw Guanglin engrossed in his work, taking all these steps on by himself.

"I don’t know," Guanglin shook his head honestly.

"You don’t know?" Jiang Lingling was surprised, "Then why are you working on this..."

"He gave it to me, so I just did it."

"Uh... okay."

Jiang Lingling was somewhat speechless, "Big shot, you’re really nonchalant."

"Working, isn’t just about getting the job done well?" Guanglin was indifferent. Series or no series, only by mastering the technique could it truly become his own.

It’s with skill that one can confidently negotiate their pay.

"It’s time for lunch." He looked at his watch, put the brush aside, and pulled out his mobile phone, "Nonchalant or not, just focus on doing the work well."

Guanglin hadn’t touched his phone all morning and, unsurprisingly, had accumulated several messages from He Fang.

"Breakfast was already eaten, it was delicious."

"Thank you, Classmate Qin, there’s a reward waiting for you after work."

"What about the promised beans? The reward is gone now."

It seemed like yesterday he had promised Teacher He to win some beans for her that evening, and she wanted to see them first thing in the morning.

Then he forgot because of the run...

"Today I will definitely win them for you," Guanglin assured solemnly.

"Today’s winnings will also include interest, and there’s no reward," He Fang’s message came back quickly.

"Where are we going to eat? Let’s go together?" Jiang Lingling stood up and looked towards Sun Wen’s direction, remembering that they often went out together as a trio.

"Hmm..." Guanglin stopped his chat with Teacher He, hesitated for a second; it seemed like she always wanted to invite him to lunch, right?

That was not good.

"Not convenient again?" Jiang Lingling deliberately asked, noticing Guanglin’s expression.

"It’s not about convenience," Guanglin laughed, seeming reluctant to refuse.

He turned his head to glance over, and Sun Wen was standing up, coming their way, and continued, "We usually eat together as a group, and you, being a girl..."

"That’s no issue," Jiang Lingling waved to Sun Wen, "Brother Wen, take me with you for lunch."

"Sure, let’s go together," Sun Wen came over with Yu Le, "Let’s go."

"Let’s go," Guanglin said no more, chatting with Teacher He while walking out with them.

He had initially wanted to give Sun Wen some advice over lunch. Now that was unnecessary since an additional person made it awkward to talk about private matters.

Better to hurry and win those beans for Teacher He.