Painting with Light (2)

Xiao Jun's piercing shriek was thankfully muted by the thick wall of the studio room.

"Yueliiin, you really don't know who I am?! How can you?! Then, you have no memory that I still owe you ten dollars. So, I don't need to pay it now right?"

Aoning smacked him upside the head. "Even if she doesn't remember, I do! And you... you just kind of blurted it out. Who are you trying to fool?"

With an accusing look in Aoning's direction, Xiao Jun rubbed the back of his head.

"That hurts! I might get an amnesia like Yuelin too, you know. If I ever forget that you are my friend, I won't restrain myself to reveal your true self to Senior Cheng!"

Aoning's face went dark. "Out of many, other things... What kind of non-sense..."

Yuelin had to applaud Xiao Jun's audacity. During the short time she knew Aoning, her friend was nothing but a kindhearted, supporting person. However, when Aoning felt upset...

Xiao Jun must have sensed the danger.

He slowly took a step back, turned around, and actually ran.

"....."

"....."

Smart guy.

Although it made Aoning all the more mad.

"XIAO JUN! If you value your life, you better not let me catch you!" Aoning loudly remarked and sprinted to where Xiao Jun had gone.

The inevitable run and chase continued in another room inside the vacant studio, leaving Yuelin all alone in a 3 x 4 meter spot where the surrounding walls were filled with hundred of photographs.

There were no exact arrangements for the photograph's placement. Their sizes varied from small, medium, to big. The pictures were consisted of many objects and subjects from several different angle.

The sight of it overwhelmed Yuelin.

She felt like she was standing in the middle of a beautiful, lively chaos. The dim lightning only heightened the mystifying atmosphere.

Her gaze caught a white note that was half-buried among the sea of photographs.

The paper looked old. There were words written there in faded red ink.

Yuelin squinted her eyes to read the complicated cursive writing. "Pa..Paint..ting?"

A light voice interrupted her from behind.

"Painting with light."

Yuelin whirled her body to the source of the voice.

A tall young woman in simple yet graceful attire entered her view.

The young woman stood confidently in her black high heels. With thick shoulder-lenght hair and a dark coat that nicely drapped over her shoulder, the young woman reminded Yuelin of what this world often called 'runaway model.'

When she browsed through the channels from her room's television back in City K, she found a fashion TV show she might never forget because the male models in the show looked a lot handsome than her former liege.

Yuelin always thought the king she once served was the most good-looking man in the entire land.

Nonetheless, standing next to those male models, out of respect for her kingdom's ruler who was once her old friend, her liege's face would look plain in comparison, or even mediocre.

Yuelin wanted to bring her room's television to the dorm, but Yingjie-gege convinced her that she could also watch any show from her laptop.

The possibility never crossed anyone's mind that the said laptop might be secured with a password and not even Yingjie-gege, Little Liu, her parents, or Aoning could guess what it is correctly.

The said laptop was also currently lying uselessly in her dorm because Yingjie-gege believed she would eventually figure out the password and she should take her time to keep guessing.

The bad news was, still no TV.

But the good news was, the dorm had a recreational room which is equipped with a 42 inch flat screen and a great home-theater system.

"The words in that note you are trying to read.." The attractive woman's voice infiltrated Yuelin's thought. "...It is 'painting with light.' Meaning photography is about painting with light. Instead of pencil and drawing pen, the camera is like our brush. By controlling the camera's focus, the shutter speed, the light balance, and other functions, we try to find the best angle to capture the perfect moment."

Yuelin blinked, then turned back to stare at the note and the photographs. "I see..."

The woman walked closer and stopped beside Yuelin. From the short distance, Yuelin could notice a slight green in the woman's eyes. Natural or eye contacts? she pondered because the color was unusually radiant.

"I have never seen you before. But then, I rarely came to visit the studio in the past two months. You look familiar though. My name is Min Yujin, and you?" the woman called Min Yujin asked.

Judging from her figure, the woman looked a few years older than Yuelin. "Greetings, senior. My name is Han Yuelin. I'm from the Visual Arts Department. I'm actually here with my friends to see the studios. However, at the moment, they are a bit... busy."

"Visual Arts? My brother is also from that department. He is going to graduate this fall. You might know him. His name is Min Shijin. He often stays here with his friends. Have you heard of Hawkeye Visual?"

Isn't that the team name Xiao Jun mentioned? "Um, a little..."

Senior Yujin laughed. "I see, and the friends you are here with, do you mean Xiao Jun and the girl who run after him just now?"

Yuelin had the sudden urge to say no. "Senior saw them?"

"It was my first time seeing Xiao Jun run so fast he passed by me and didn't even say hi. The girl stopped for a bit to greet me and continued chasing after him. I wanted to surprise everyone with my visit but turned out no one is here."

"Ah, about that..." Yuelin remembered what Xiao Jun told her and Aoning about the big project his team received. "Xiao Jun said the others are now celebrating at the Korean barbeque restaurant across the university's west gate. They just got a project from the.. Golden-something company."

Those pair of green eyes lightened up. "Oh? They actually landed that project for the Golden Oracle Annual Celebration?"

"If I didn't hear it wrong, then yes."

"That's amazing! How come no one didn't tell me yet? Never mind, I know where the restaurant is. Do you want to join me, Yuelin?"

Quickly, Yuelin made a gesture to refuse. "No, no. I can't possibly intrude in such private occasion. Besides, I'd like to wait for my friends first."

"Are you sure?" Senior Yujin didn't look convinced.

Nodding, Yuelin said resolutely. "Yes, Senior. I truly appreciate the offer though."

Senior Yujin waved her hands. "Alright, I will be going then. Nice to meet you, Yuelin."

"Likewise, Senior Yujin."

Phew.. Somehow, chatting with the stunning, confident senior Min Yujin made Yuelin more nervous than having tea with the royal consorts from the palace. Not that their conversation weren't pleasant.

Senior Yujin was very friendly and charming. It was just that.. being near woman with such strong presence...

The feeling kinda triggered some distateful memory from her past. Yuelin released a long breath to calm herself.

Less than five minutes later, Aoning returned alone to Yuelin's side and complained.

"That brat is as slippery as an eel. He threatened to badmouth me in front of Senior Chen because I teased him a bit!"

The two of them were indeed like oil and water, Yuelin remembered this phrase little Rui told her when they watched a certain cartoon featuring a dark gray cat and a brown mouse.[1]

"You won't believe who I happened to meet at the door! It was Senior Min Yujin! I should have asked for a handshake at least."

The beautiful senior earlier?

On the receiving end of someone else's blank look, Aoning explained. "Senior Yujin was one of the beauty miss in our faculty before she graduated last year. Since entering the Fashion Department, Senior Yujin already established her own fashion brand called Eugene's Touch. It is very exclusive! I recently heard she went abroad to attend an international fashion show and displayed some of her works there. Our Senior Yujin is very cool right!"

Whoa, the senior she had exchanged a name with was not only beautiful, but also a very talented woman. It shouldn't come as a surprise honestly, with such an aura she felt during their brief meeting.

"I saw Senior Yujin going in when I was on my way out. Did you catch a glimpse of her, Yuelin?"

"I did, she has been very nice."

Aoning's eyes widened. "You talked to her? How lucky! If it weren't for Xiao Jun... That little rascal!"

Dear Aoning, you had been cursing the same person many times in less than thirty minutes. It was quite a personality shock even for Yuelin.

"Let's just leave. I don't care whether there is someone or no one here. Let him be scolded by the seniors for deserting the studio without locking it back. The studio should be safe enough with all those CCTVs."

Is it really okay to do that? Yuelin wondered briefly before glancing one last time at the wall of photographs and heading out to follow Aoning's footsteps.

[1] The mentioned cartoon is referring to the 'Tom & Jerry' cartoon.

* * *

~ Bonus Material ~

Yuelin and Aoning, as they walk side by side in the dorm hallway on their way to the department building...

Yuelin: (sigh)

Aoning: "What's up?"

Yuelin: "Do you have a TV in your room?"

Aoning: "Why would I need a TV when there is internet?"

Yuelin: (sigh again)

Aoning: (scratching her head) "Do you feel like watching TV that much? Is there anything interesting going on in the TV? New show? Drama?"

Yuelin: (eyes lighten up) "Yes! There are so many interesting shows! They are all very fascinating!"

Aoning: "You can stream it on your laptop online."

Yuelin: (back to looking dejected)

Aoning: (feeling a bit speechless at Yuelin's new dedication to watch TV)

Aoning: "You know, there is a recreational room in the second floor..."

Yuelin: "Hmm...?"

Aoning: "It has a big TV. Likely much bigger than your home's TV screen. It has better speakers too."

Yuelin: (suddenly feeling hopeful) "I can watch shows?"

Aoning: (nods) "You can even record the show if you want. Moreover, the room is pretty much deserted during holiday."

Yuelin: (thinking over)

Yuelin: "Aoning, let's go to the recreational room after this!"

Aoning: (I knew it)

Aoning: "Okay..."