The Versatile Master Artist

The girl seemed to sense the gazes of others and suddenly paused in her steps right before reaching the entrance of the school building.

She turned her head and looked towards the football field, as if searching for something.

”Hey, miss, what’s your name?”

A bold boy shouted towards the girl.

The girl didn’t respond,

she stood in place for a few seconds.

Suddenly, she revealed an amazingly bright smile.

She seemed to have found her target, tilted her head slightly, made a phone call gesture by her ear, and then disappeared into the shadow of the school building under the lingering gazes.

...

A new, exquisitely beautiful girl, like a porcelain doll, had transferred to the school, and this explosive news was impossible to hide, akin to the cheerleader in school getting pregnant.

By noon,

the entire school was buzzing with new information about the transfer student.

”Ah, ah ah! This girl is so cute.”

Koukou said while scrolling through her phone and nibbling on a Mexican burrito.

Gu Weijing usually had lunch with Mona in the past.

But starting this semester,

Mona seemed intentionally distant from him.

Even after the opening ceremony, she didn’t want to talk to him, while Koukou, the little gossipmonger, seemed quite interested in their relationship, sometimes coming over.

”Do you think I can hook up with this girl?”

Koukou raised her phone.

Someone in the class group chat had stealthily taken a photo of the transfer student at some point.

The girl in the photo was staring at a replica oil painting in the corridor, her picturesque eyes focused and serious.

”No offense, but... she might not be a lesbian.”

Gu Weijing almost choked on his lunch and quickly took a sip of juice.

”Huh, stereotypes, you talk as if you really know her.”

Koukou suddenly exclaimed softly.

”Look at our class group, the counselor has posted a new announcement.”

Gu Weijing, hearing this, picked up his phone.

The class counselor had forwarded an announcement—

[13th grade high school students will begin the Advanced Arts Class next semester]

The Advanced Arts Class,

is the most important fixed course that Fitz’s 13th-grade students must take in their final semester.

Similar to pre-exam prep courses before college recruitment fairs, taught by the most experienced teachers on campus.

Courses will provide individual guidance for each student’s portfolio, confirm each student’s application goals, and estimate whether their painting skills can match their target schools.

The announcement stated that,

in addition to the foundational Advanced Class taught by Professor Walter of the sketch class, another Gifted & Talented Class would be opened.

[Fitz International Middle School is greatly honored to invite the wife of internationally renowned artist Professor Yakai Ichiro—Mrs. Adriana Cruz—to serve as the teacher. Those who perform well will receive an additional recommendation letter provided by Mrs. Sakai.]—as stated in the announcement.

Boom...

Upon seeing this news, the upper-grade students in the cafeteria exploded like water being thrown into a pot of hot oil.

The Gifted & Talented class, usually translated as the genius class, is similar to Dongxia’s honors class or experimental class, providing more advanced courses for the few is exceptional.

Many high schools abroad implement happy education, but the threshold of prestigious schools is not low.

The genius class came into being.

It only provides for a few exceptionally talented people, such as while other high schoolers are learning simple trigonometric functions, the genius class has already begun teaching college-level calculus.

This is a bonus when applying to colleges.

This time, the external teacher for the Art Genius class is actually the wife of the famous artist Professor Yakai Ichiro, which is quite unbelievable.

What is the concept of Yakai Ichiro?

Though not as great as Elder Cao, he is a national treasure artist in Japan.

He’s one of the top figures in the Asian art circle.

For 99% of art students, the status of Professor Yakai Ichiro is too ambitious even as an ideal.

The recommendation letter from such an artistic giant’s wife speaks volumes.

If one’s painting is truly outstanding and can be recommended by Mrs. Sakai to her husband...

This would be a cyan cloud ladder!

Countless students’ hearts began to burn.

Below was another message.

[Additionally, Professor Yakai Ichiro’s daughter Koizumi Katsuko will study at Fitz International High School for one semester as a transfer student. Please treat the new classmate kindly.]

”Miss Sakai, the transfer student is actually the daughter of Professor Yakai Ichiro!”

”Koizumi Katsuko, I’ve heard of her name before; Japanese media call her a once-in-a-century art prodigy.”

”How is this possible! It turns out to be Koizumi Katsuko, she’s even more beautiful than in the photos.”

Upon seeing the message on their phones, many people found it incredible.

While Fitz International High School’s teaching standard is indeed excellent, this is only true concerning the local Yangon.

As the daughter of Professor Yakai Ichiro,

any art school in the world would open its doors for her. Why would she come to the remote town of Yangon?

”Professor Yakai Ichiro, is he that famous?”

In the canteen, there were not only painting students in the arts specialization but also some ordinary class students, who, upon hearing this professor’s name, were somewhat unfamiliar.

”Is he that famous? Do you know how much Professor Sakai’s paintings are worth?”

”How much are they worth?”

Many people were curious.

”According to Forbes’ list of bestselling art pieces, the total price of all the artworks currently auctioned and sold by Professor Yakai Ichiro exceeds 20 billion yen, approximately 1.49 billion US dollars, ranking ninth in Japan and seventeenth in Asia.”

Someone found relatively authoritative art appraisal valuations online.

The cafeteria fell into a brief silence.

Although artistic value cannot be completely equated with the transaction price of artworks,

how much a piece of art can sell for is undoubtedly a major indicator of an artist’s level in the eyes of ordinary people.

The students of Fitz International Middle School count themselves among the local affluent class, wealthy class notwithstanding.

The term ”billion dollars” is, for ordinary rich second-generation children, too distant.

This is equivalent to the GDP sum of several months for some poor states or provinces in Myanmar, or working for 20,000 years according to Myanmar’s average wage without eating or drinking.

With the announcement, the fevered discussion about the new transfer student suddenly turned silent for a time.

If originally, the hormone-driven boys were enthusiastically discussing the new transfer student,

and some girls jealously thought the other just had a pretty face,

now, with the exposure of her family background,

Koizumi Katsuko’s name suddenly seemed distant and heavy.

Like someone from another world.

”Wow...so beautiful and such a good family background. This is too enviable, no way! I’ve got to find a way to snag her.”

Koukou bit down hard on her burrito, licking her lips like a lioness in heat.

Gu Weijing’s phone vibrated.

He lit up the screen to find a new message.

”I’ll be waiting for you in the library’s B16 study room at noon—Koizumi Katsuko”

...

On the fourth floor of the library.

Gu Weijing had just stepped out of the elevator when he saw a blush-inducing scene.

A pair of students in school uniforms were making out passionately in the corridor.

Upon hearing the elevator sound,

the two lovestruck individuals glanced over, then continued to kiss without concern.

During their kiss, the boy pushed open the door to the study room behind them, and as the door closed with a bang, the two figures immediately vanished from the entrance of the private study room.

The private study rooms on the fourth floor of the campus library had always been a sacred venue for lovers’ rendezvous.

The school doesn’t prohibit romance between students, nor even kissing, but only limits it to kissing.

If things get out of hand on campus and caught by discipline teachers,

deduction of credits, detention, or even expulsion may be possible.

In general, meeting spots for couples in high schools are either gardens or sports fields, but the library at Fitz Middle School is certainly a better option compared to the aforementioned spots.

The hefty annual campus construction fee isn’t just for show.

The Fitz Middle School campus library is grandiose, its collection abundant, and its scale surpasses many second-tier universities in Myanmar. The fourth and fifth floors of the library have over thirty independent study discussion rooms.

They range from two-person rooms and four-person rooms to even small auditoriums.

These discussion rooms were originally meant for debate teams, drama clubs, or other club activity discussion group assignments.

However, gradually, besides their normal function, they also developed into private secret places for lover rendezvous.

Typically, when boyfriends and girlfriends can’t resist wanting to be affectionate, they’d head to the reading room and implicitly understand each other.

Thus the scene that Gu Weijing initially saw.