Aenwyn decided that if she had to draw an old man, so be it. After all, it was their assignment, and someone had to sacrifice for art.
Ludovic looked at her, grabbing his collar with a slight anger on her face, and his heart skipped a beat.
He let out a quiet laugh, gently pushed her hand away, and the white robe slipped slightly along the contour of his body.
Aenwyn saw him undressing and returned to her spot.
His figure was pretty good. Actually, he only took off his top, but this was good enough.
She could sketch the rest with a different technique, it did not have to be detailed.
A handsome man, with a calm and elegant aura, half-dressed, long hair falling over his shoulders, pale and strong skin. Aenwyn felt like she was guided by some divine force, her brush flew across the paper.
No matter how steady Ludovic usually was, he was still a man. With half his clothes off, and the person he liked looking at him while drawing, her eyes glancing up at him from time to time.
His breathing started to grow uneven, and a heat rose in his body.
"Don't move," Aenwyn said. She was almost done.
Ludovic stared at her face. "Why do I have to take off my clothes?"
Hearing that, Aenwyn finally complained, "I want to know too. Why did you all give such a topic?"
"We're not even allowed to draw the teacher fully dressed. It has to be half or undressed."
Ludovic realized something was wrong. "What was your assigned topic?"
"I already turned it in," Aenwyn said while finishing the last touches.
In her drawing, he looked graceful and disoriented, clothes half-fallen, black hair messy, cheeks lightly flushed. His usually refined face carried a faint trace of seduction.
"You…" Ludovic placed his hand on the painting, his voice hoarse. "This won't do. You can't hand this in."
Aenwyn glanced at him. It really was drawn too beautifully, beyond gender, purely aesthetic. She did not expect it to come out this well.
"Then should I change it a bit?" She was pleased, but she could not let others fantasize about him because of this painting.
"Your topic was switched," Ludovic said.
"It was switched?!"
Aenwyn felt like she had been struck by lightning.
Then, what had she just done?
Forced someone to take their clothes off? And she even helped undress him herself. Such a gentle and refined man. Aenwyn covered her face.
She thought he agreed to it willingly, but he had actually been forced.
Aenwyn licked her dry lips. "Young Master Ludovic… I, I… thought…"
Ludovic walked over and gently patted her head. "It's alright."
He looked at the time. Less than half an incense stick left. "I'll go out and explain it for you."
There was not enough time to redraw a full piece.
Aenwyn quickly calculated the time and said, "No need. You just get dressed and wait for me. I'll be fast."
Since the topic was not as strange as she thought, it should just be a regular portrait based on what the examiner had said.
Time to rush the drawing. That often happened during school.
No sketching allowed, only ink painting. As long as the artistic mood was right, with good use of white space, the time was more than enough.
For a while, only the sound of the brush on paper could be heard. Ludovic was mesmerized watching her like this.
Clang. The gong sounded just before the deadline.
Aenwyn wiped the sweat from her face, cheeks slightly red, and opened the door to turn in her work.
Ludovic came out after a while. He had adjusted his clothing, but it still looked slightly disheveled.
Indigo looked at the two of them coming out like that. His eyes were deep as ink, and he was a little angry.
By now, Ragnar no longer found this amusing. Once Ludovic went in, he grew anxious.
Why did this young master Ludovic join in the chaos?
If the painting turned out to be revealing, not just Hart would be in trouble. If Ragnar was found out, he would be skinned alive.
He was restless and uneasy.
Young Master Zhou came over. "What sneaky thing did you do behind my back?"
The man behind Ragnar tried to speak, but seeing Young Master Zhou's expression, he shut up and stepped back.
"Nothing," Ragnar lied.
Young Master Zhou said coldly, "Even daring to lie to me?"
Ragnar could not resist under that cold stare and confessed everything. Young Master Zhou squinted dangerously, then kicked him.
"Reckless fool. You even dared to scheme against Ludovic."
Ragnar shouted in defense, "How was I supposed to know this Ludovic would really go up there?"
He never expected Aenwyn to actually make him take off his clothes instead of imagining it.
Young Master Zhou rushed to stop them but was too late. He had just reached the audience area.
When Aenwyn's scroll was revealed, the crowd gasped.
It was stunning, transcending reality with its pure elegance, like a celestial being.
"This is the winner," Manager Ye said loudly, delighted. The skill and artistic mood far surpassed the others.
Mister Curtis looked at the man in the painting with jealousy. If he had known it would turn out this well, he would have gone himself. How could Ludovic get this chance?
With this painting shown, the fame of Ludovic's divine appearance would surely spread across Dongling again.
Young Master Zhou's eyes turned red with rage as he looked at the scroll.
So harsh to him, but so gentle to Ludovic. Even the chibi comic he had earlier now seemed meaningless.
"Congratulations, Brother Hart," Scholar Li said, ashamed. Looking at her painting, it felt like they were on different levels. She truly deserved to win.
Winning or not, what mattered was the prize money. Aenwyn was happy. After the award ceremony, she skipped off to find Indigo but was stopped.
"Young Master Hart, our master requests your presence," Manager Ye said as he approached.
The mysterious owner of Hua Book Pavilion? She looked at the luxurious curtain that had not been opened all day.
Manager Ye pulled aside the curtain and gestured her inside. "Please."
So mysterious, Aenwyn thought.
She stepped in alone, and was surprised as soon as she looked up.
The master of Hua Book Pavilion was truly weak, unlike Indigo's disguise. He was genuinely frail.
A delicate young man leaned on a soft couch, long lashes trembling slightly, his skin pale.
He did not look like a man, more like a woman.
When he saw her, he smiled faintly. That plain face, with that smile, was as dazzling as pear blossoms blooming all at once.
"Please sit," Mister Henricus said as he sat up. "Ahem, I am feeling a little unwell, please excuse me."
After coughing, his face turned slightly red.
"No, no, you lie down." Seeing how weak he looked, Aenwyn didn't dare take any responsibility.
"I wonder why you asked me to come?" Aenwyn asked.
"I saw you yesterday at Hua Study."
He paused, then looked at her. "Are you interested in working with us?"
Was this a commission?
Aenwyn had only drawn some illustrations for companies back when she was a student. Now that she was in a new place, she had to adapt. As long as they paid, she would draw.
"What kind of drawings?"
"Erotic albums sell the best right now," he said.
Aenwyn almost choked on her saliva. Although she was good at portraits, erotic paintings? As an artist, she felt it crossed a line.
In modern times, it would be like falling low enough to draw explicit comics.
Not right, not right.
"Hua…" Uh, what should she call him? Young Master Hua?
"Just call me Mister Henricus."
Aenwyn didn't feel that calling someone from an ancient multinational clan by name was odd. He looked way too delicate.
She wondered how he usually negotiated business.
"Mister Henricus, actually I can draw other things too," she said.
"For each book sold, a sixty-forty split," he said.
Sixty-forty per book??? Aenwyn was surprised. She knew that any erotic book sold by Hua Study was shockingly expensive.
It was not a one-time buyout but a revenue share. This offer was very generous.
Thinking about how hard it was to live in the capital, she nodded in agreement.
What puzzled her was why a leader in cultural business was so keen on selling erotic art.
With that thought, she asked.
The man on the couch gave a soft smile. "I'm just a businessman."
Fair enough. Who could say no to money? Her doubts disappeared.
Now that the deal was settled, Aenwyn was ready to leave. She had been busy all morning and was tired. She was also on her period today.
"Then I'll take my leave?"
"Go ahead. I'll have Shopkeeper Ye follow up with you," Mister Henricus waved.
Aenwyn got up and prepared to go, unaware of the fresh bloodstain on the back of her skirt.
Mister Henricus squinted at the red mark on her backside, then suddenly sat up as if coming alive.
"Wait."
What now? She hated hearing "wait" these days. It kept popping up.
Mister Henricus got up from the couch. Only then did Aenwyn realize he wasn't very tall and looked extremely frail.
Under her confused gaze, he picked up a cloak next to the couch.
"The wind's picking up. Put this on." He came over and personally draped the cloak around her.
Aenwyn felt awkward and tried to step aside.
The way he tied the cloak for her was especially gentle and close, with a hidden trace of joy. "There, that's good."
"Do you want to go to the female courtesan competition tonight?" he asked suddenly.
Aenwyn paused. She honestly didn't want to go. But what puzzled her was why a man would ask her that.
Wasn't the final round of a courtesan contest every man's dream?
"I saw that you looked unwell, so I thought maybe you needed rest."
As he spoke, like he couldn't hold it in anymore, he coughed again, the sound hoarse and strained.
"Slow down, don't push yourself." Aenwyn pitied him and patted his back.
For a man, he was just too skinny.
"If you don't want to go, I can make arrangements," he said, holding her arm and looking at her. They were quite close, almost breathing the same air.
He stared into her eyes, as if ready to grant her any wish if she even hinted at reluctance.
Aenwyn gave an awkward laugh and looked down.
"No need. I've actually been looking forward to the courtesan contest."
The air went quiet for a moment.
"Looks like I was overthinking it," he said, gently pushing her away.
He showed no emotion, yet Aenwyn somehow felt he was disappointed.
When she looked up again, Mister Henricus had returned to his distant demeanor. He seemed gentle, but now felt unreachable.
He pulled a small bell beside the couch.
A servant entered. "Young Master Hart, the master is going to rest. Please come with me."
After she left, the thin figure leaned weakly against the couch, silent and lifeless.
Much later, from behind the curtains, a graceful woman walked over.
She knelt beside the couch and gently massaged Mister Henricus's forehead with her slender fingers. "Master, your coughing was worse again today."
"Lindra, do you think there are women in this world without a cinnabar mole?"
"Master, you are weak. Please don't dwell on such things. Even Monk Ji can be wrong. There are no women without a cinnabar mole."
"The last one died of old age ten years ago. You saw with your own eyes how Elder Lao buried her."
"That's true," he sighed self-mockingly.
But he leaned toward Servant Lindra's ear and whispered, "Send someone to test that Hart."
Aenwyn always felt Mister Henricus was strange.
As she stepped out, she ran into Indigo. He looked her over. "Where did that cloak come from?"
"Mister Henricus gave it to me."
"Take it off," he said.
"No, I'm cold." Why was he acting up now?
Indigo, relying on his height, grabbed her shoulder and dragged her along. "Go change."
"No."
"I'm mad now," the young man muttered.
Aenwyn laughed. "Go ahead and be mad. I'm not scared."
"What were you doing in that private room with that Mister Gongzi?" Indigo asked suddenly. His eyes seemed to flash with jealousy.
Oh, jealous now? Aenwyn immediately understood.
But thinking about what had just happened, she also felt guilty. She had been pulling at someone's clothes.
"Nothing happened."
"Really?" Indigo pressed her.
Feeling guilty, she shook her head firmly. "Nothing, I was just drawing." She raised her fingers. "I swear."
"Better be nothing." He flicked her forehead. "If I find out otherwise, I'll break..."