In Mei Fang’s previous life, he often faced the challenges of finding a skilled artist due to the frequent art requests from the development team, so he knew how difficult it was to find a talented artist. He enthusiastically discussed with Guo Yun about her future of pursuing an artistic path.
Designing characters they loved, creating scenes they enjoyed, and crafting their own character designs for a game, including anime and visual novels like Clannad—Guo Yun already had some knowledge in this area, but hearing it from Mei Fang made her feel different.
It was a feeling of finally being recognized.
And the one who recognized her was Mei Fang.
Guo Yun, who was suffering from social anxiety, scratched her head and showed a very embarrassed smile.
Just as Mei Fang was enthusiastically promoting the benefits of learning arts to Guo Yun, Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi appeared at the classroom door, looking for him.
“Ah Fang! Why haven’t you come back to class yet? You’re almost late——”
While Xia Yuan was scolding Mei Fang, she couldn’t help but be attracted by the blackboard drawing that Guo Yun had created.
“This is amazing... I’ve never seen a blackboard drawing like this before!”
“Ahhh...”
Lin Youxi also made a rare exclamation, “This is the ‘On the Hillside Path Where the Cherry Blossoms Flutter’ scene, the famous scene where Tomoya and Nagisa first meet...”
Xia Yuan ran to Mei Fang and asked, “Ah Fang, Ah Fang, did your classmate draw these?”
“Yes, it’s all drawn by Guo Yun. I was also surprised by her.”
Guo Yun was already familiar with Lin Youxi, not to mention Xia Yuan, as Yue Xinyi had mentioned Mei Fang’s close relationship with another childhood friend in the neighboring class. Lin Youxi’s aura had already made her unable to lift her head, and seeing Xia Yuan up close made her feel amazed and inferior, so she quickly moved away.
“I’ve always loved drawing these since I was a child... I am just doodling to practice my skills... This one doesn’t match Yue Xinyi’s design, so I’ll erase it now.”
“Why? There’s no need to erase it.”
Lin Youxi shook her head. “Let’s go with your design for this edition of the blackboard newspaper.”
“B-But there’s not much space left for writing.”
“I don’t think we need much text. Just find a gap and add the theme of spring.”
In the classroom with only four people, Xia Yuan casually hugged Mei Fang’s neck, making Guo Yun blush as she watched.
“Right, Ah Fang! Since Guo Yun is so good at drawing, you won’t need to spend money to outsource artists for the games you’re going to make in the future. It would be great to have Guo Yun help you with the drawings, right?”
Mei Fang almost fainted when he heard Xia Yuan exposing his true intentions.
Ahhh! Yuan Yuan, why are you jumping the gun like this?!
“Mei Fang... Are you making a game?” Gou Yun asked.
Lin Youxi also chimed in, “We made one before, and now we are working on a website. Speaking of which... the website’s icons and mascots are still using temporary resources. If Guo Yun can do digital painting, she might be able to help us.”
A-And a website too!?
Mei Fang forcefully pulled Xia Yuan’s hand away, knocked her on the head, and then scolded Lin Youxi in a low voice, “Didn’t we agree not to tell anyone in our class about these things? It’ll be troublesome if the teacher finds out!”
“But...” Xia Yuan cried, covering her head, “Why doesn’t Ah Fang scold Youxi too instead of bullying me alone?”
“I... I won’t tell! What I saw and heard today... I won’t tell even if I die!” Guo Yun swallowed hard, “I won’t say anything!”
“Haha... it’s not that exaggerated.”
Mei Fang smiled slightly, “We are indeed making games and websites. Because we didn’t know anyone good at drawing, we had to buy art resources from other artists. But when I saw your talent, I couldn’t help but think it would be a pity if you didn’t pursue drawing in the future...”
“Um, I... I will talk to my family about it.” Guo Yun lowered her head, speaking softly and hesitantly.
“That’s good then. We can all make games together. Mei Fang can handle the planning, Youxi can write the code, Guo Yun can do the art, and I can compose music. This way, we can make even more amazing games.”
“She hasn’t agreed yet but you’re already thinking too far ahead. Besides, it’s the second semester of our second year now, and studying is the most important.”
“If you don’t mind... if you don’t mind me.” Guo Yun lifted her head and sincerely said, “I can give it a try! I also want... want to give it a try.”
Everyone is so hopeful for me...
Guo Yun felt very happy to be needed as if there were little flowers blooming behind her.
It’s all written on her face...
“See, see! I told you, she likes it too!”
“Alright, alright... It’s getting late, let’s go back to class.”
Mei Fang and the others returned to the classroom to continue their class and shared with Yue Xinyi the extraordinary scene they witnessed in Class 9’s classroom.
At first, Yue Xinyi insisted that her design was so great that it shouldn’t be completely changed. But after their class ended, when she saw the blackboard drawing Guo Yun was working on, Yue Xinyi was also stunned, eventually falling into a state of self-deprecation.
Maybe there’s no one at the security office right now, and they went to find help somewhere else?
But in the end, it’s because I’m too fat. Otherwise, everyone would have gone home already.
I’ve become a burden to everyone, so there’s nothing to blame for leaving me here.
Should I try to climb over again?
Guo Yun gritted her teeth and decided to try climbing over the railing once more. However, just as she lifted her leg to start climbing, she was startled by a voice coming from the other side of the railing.
“Hey, hey, you don’t need to do that anymore!”
Guo Yun saw that it was Mei Fang, and she was so scared that she almost slipped at the staircase.
“I-i-i-it’s not that I don’t trust you all... it’s just...”
“I know, I know. It’s because you’ve been waiting for too long!”
Mei Fang handed Guo Yun a bottle of energy drink, “You must be thirsty after waiting for so long. Please have this.”
“T-Thank you... I’ll pay you later.”
“It’s my treat! No need to pay.”
Guo Yun lowered her head as if she had been scolded and didn’t dare to insist. Mei Fang took the opportunity to talk about what happened after they left——
They found the security office locked, and the administrative office was empty. After a lot of effort, they finally found a public phone booth, but the phone card was broken. They finally found a teacher at the school gate after a long search, and only then were they able to contact the security guard who was sleeping at the security office.
“They are already on their way with the keys. I was worried you would be scared waiting for too long, so I came here first.”
“...”
Guo Yun squatted in the corner, hugging her knees. After listening to Mei Fang, her voice choked up, “I always thought that as an ugly and fat girl like me, I would never be cared for by any boy...”
“What are you saying!? We are classmates, and we won’t make fun of you for that,” Mei Fang said earnestly.
“From childhood to now, both boys and girls would call me a fat pig, so I always played alone and gradually developed a liking for anime and drawing...”
Guo Yun continued to mutter, “But I never dared to show my drawings to others. I was afraid they would make fun of me... My mom always scolds me for eating too much. She says since I’m so determined to learn drawing, why can’t I even eat less...”
As Guo Yun spoke, she suddenly laughed to herself.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry... for talking about such uninteresting topics. You don’t have to mind, just pretend you didn’t hear it...”
“Guo Yun, listen to me. Although this may sound cliché, everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses, and there’s no need to dwell on your shortcomings and flaws all the time. Moreover, mocking someone’s appearance or body, I think, is very rude behavior.”
“But honestly, don’t you find me very annoying? Like, seeing me makes you feel disgusted... Because sometimes, even I feel disgusted when I look at myself. Actually, I’ve thought about losing weight, but I think that even if I lose weight, I’ll just be a slightly less ugly duckling. So, I didn’t have the motivation to make the effort... Well, haha, it’s all my own fault, I couldn’t persevere.”
“No, no, no, you’re just too self-conscious... You’re not as bad as you think! I think being chubby is cute. And you’re so good at drawing, and your personality is great. I find you easier to get along with than many girls your age. It’s just that you tend to be a bit too eager to please others, and that can be detrimental to yourself. You should really pay attention to that in the future.”
Mei Fang smiled slightly at Guo Yun, who had raised her head. “In the end, in life, what matters most is that you live happily. In my opinion, whether you want to lose weight or learn to draw, never sacrifice your own happiness just to please others. As long as it’s something you genuinely want and won’t regret, whatever decision you make, everyone will understand.”
Mei Fang then continued to preach a bunch of philosophies to Guo Yun, and his throat became a bit dry. He took a sip of water, but upon seeing Guo Yun’s silence, he suddenly felt a little panicked.
“Did I go overboard with those grand ideas just now? I-If that’s the case, you can just pretend you didn’t hear anything.”
“Ahahaha——”
Guo Yun was completely amused by Mei Fang’s words and couldn’t help but burst into laughter, wiping away her tears.
“Huh... were my words that funny?”
Guo Yun shook her head with a smile and then gazed at Mei Fang, “I didn’t expect that you, Mei Fang, would also worry about whether you said something inappropriate.”
“So, you see, the two of us aren’t that different after all, right?”
“There’s still a difference,” Guo Yun said with a smile. “Look, you have two beautiful childhood friends who adore you so much. You’re like a male protagonist who stepped out of an anime.”
“Oh, well... if you insist. Hmm...But regarding those two, it’s just friendship, you know. Friendship. Middle school students shouldn’t be in a romantic relationship.” Mei Fang said.
“As for pursuing arts, I’ll seriously talk to my mom about it,” Guo Yun seemed determined, “And I’m also interested in your studio. I’m willing to do any kind of drawing. I want to be with you all... together, to witness some good things, if... if it’s possible.”
“Hahaha, of course you can! We’d be very happy to have you.”
“Oh, by the way, I’m neither a supporter of Yuan Party nor Xi Party, I’m neutral!”
Guo Yun scratched her head, “So, you don’t have to worry about me suddenly, suddenly doing something like Yue Xinyi——”
“Hahaha, you don’t have to say it, I understand, I understand!”
Mei Fang didn’t expect that one day he would have such a happy conversation with the chubby girl Guo Yun, who always kept her head down in his past life. But at that time, Mei Fang wasn’t into anime yet, so it was normal that they didn’t have any interaction.
But, if you really think about it, fate is indeed a wonderful thing...