Chapter 376 - Chapter 376: Chapter 376: What is the actual reason? (1/2)

Chapter 376: Chapter 376: What is the actual reason?

It was late at night, around ten o’clock. Shiling’s Mom tiptoed to Shiling’s room, pressing her ear against the door, listening to her daughter’s voice inside.

After listening for a while, she knew her daughter was using QQ video to ask someone about her drawing problem. As for whom she was consulting, Shiling’s Mom had asked her before. She said it was a “pretty sister” found by “Uncle Bald” to teach her.

Not only that, but Xiang Kun also sent Shiling a lot of online videos teaching children how to draw, all of which she could view and learn directly on the iPad.

Shiling’s Mom watched those videos and found them to be of high quality. Apart from not being able to provide hands-on instruction, the quality of the drawing teaching should not be worse than that of paid classes or hired teachers.

Recently, her daughter often chatted with people via QQ on her iPad. She knew it was with Xiang Kun, and a girl called “grilled chicken wing sister” by her daughter. From yesterday, she started to learn drawing from another girl called “pretty sister”.

She had secretly checked part of her daughter’s voice chat records. She admired the patience of Xiang Kun and “grilled chicken wing sister”. It was incredible how seriously they answered her daughter’s absurd and childish questions, engaged in such imaginative and irrelevant topic discussions, and even managed to steer her interest towards studying and scientific knowledge through these topics!

Shiling’s Mom felt that even normal kindergarten teachers, let alone she herself, would inevitably want to pull her daughter back to reality after humoring her descriptions of various kinds of magic and control for a while.

Shiling’s Mom heartily appreciated Xiang Kun and found it amazing that birds of a feather do indeed flock together – Xiang Kun’s friends were as patient as he was, treating Shiling so well.

Before long, Shiling finished her drawing study and video call, left her room to wash up and prepared to go to bed.

Shiling’s Mom then entered her daughter’s room and looked at her drawings.

Looking at the little duck with several pairs of wings and a cluster of eyes on its belly, Shiling’s Mom couldn’t help but chuckle. Luckily Xiang Kun’s friend was the one teaching and not a teacher from an outside art class, otherwise, they would probably be driven mad by this drawing.

She also checked the revised picture sent via the iPad and discovered, to her surprise, that it harmonized the multiple wings of the little duck and made the eyes on its belly even more realistic.

Clearly, rather than forcing Shiling to “correct” her drawing, the girl so-called “pretty sister” chose to guide according to Shiling’s unique “style”, presumably to avoid discouraging her enthusiasm.

Shiling’s Mom was touched and felt it necessary to add this “pretty sister” on QQ to thank her.

She again looked through Shiling’s thick stack of practice “drawings”. Most of them were simple animals drawn based on the videos sent by Xiang Kun and the sample pictures sent by “pretty sister”, although there were plenty of “modified” versions.

However, some drawings were much more complex and imaginative. These were obviously Shiling’s own “creations”.

Among these, the most frequently drawn was a giant with eight arms and eight eyes, clad in rudimentary armor, with each hand holding utensils such as forks, spatulas, and so on.

There was also a large cat with several pairs of wings, numerous pairs of eyes, and even a butt full of eyes.

From the cat’s orange fur, Shiling’s Mom guessed it was depicting “Custard Pie”, but she wasn’t sure what the eight-armed, eight-eyed human was meant to be. Judging from the various items in its hands, was it some sort of chef deity? Was it a “modified” version of Xiang Kun?

She didn’t connect this eight-armed eight-eyed figure with the shadow that someone had photographed in their community early in the morning, because the visual differences were simply too stark.

“Mom, why are you sneaking a peek at my drawings?” Shiling, who had just finished washing up, suddenly approached and looked up at the drawing in her mom’s hands.

Shiling’s Mom jumped with fright. However, she quickly regained her composure and said, “It’s natural for a mom to look at her daughter’s drawings. How can it be called sneaking a peek? Shiling, what is this you’ve drawn?”

Shiling thought for a while, considering that it wouldn’t violate her “confidentiality agreement” with Uncle Bald, before saying, “It’s a ‘Barbie Warrior’.”

“Oh, is the ‘Barbie Warrior’ the Great Demon King? The opposite of a ‘Barbie Doll’? If you defeat it, will it drop a lot of delicious food?” Shiling’s mom teased.

“No, it’s a friend, a helper, just like the ‘Custard Pie’!” Liu Shiling earnestly said.

“Is that so?” Shiling’s Mom nodded and added, “I should still enroll you in a painting class. You can learn the basics from the instructor there, and then let the ‘beautiful sisters’ guide you. It’s not good to bother them too much by monopolizing their time.” After realizing her daughter really wanted to learn to paint, she was determined to spend money on a interest class, even though they were currently facing some economic issues.

Liu Shiling shook her head: “No need, Mom. Uncle Bald said he would help arrange a study plan for me. I just need to follow his plan.”

“Is that so…” Shiling’s Mom didn’t say much else. She knew that in her daughter’s eyes, Xiang Kun’s words carried a lot of weight. She also believed that the plan Xiang Kun would make must be good.

After tucking her daughter into bed and saying goodnight, Shiling’s Mom looked at “Custard Pie” snoozing on the corner sofa cushion. She attempted to pick it up to stroke it while watching TV in the living room; however, “Custard Pie” wriggled out of her arms and escaped.

Shiling’s Mom didn’t get angry; she knew “Custard Pie’s” style too well. Aside from her daughter, it was very difficult for others to hold or stroke it.

She depended on her daughter’s popularity to make “Custard Pie” behave obediently in “specific moments.”

Shiling’s Mom took out a piece of salmon jerky from the living room and squatted in front of “Custard Pie” with jerky in her right hand and reaching out with her left hand to the cat.

“Custard Pie” glanced at the jerky and obediently snuggled into Shiling’s Mom’s bosom, letting her hold it. The so-called “specific moments” were when she had something tasty to offer.

However, when other people came to the house, like Xiao Mei and her mother, even if they brought tasty treats, “Custard Pie” would completely ignore them.

Xiao Mei’s mom didn’t find this surprising at all. Back when “Custard Pie” was a stray, many people “coveted” this beautiful cat and tried to “lure” it home with food, but it never cared.

Until it voluntarily ran to Liu Shiling’s house, everyone thought it was a cat that was afraid of humans.

Earlier, when Xiang Kun, Tang Baona, Yang Zhen’er, and Little Fatty Girl were having their painting teaching session via video call, Mr. Feng was also video-calling his daughter and son-in-law.

“Dad, you’ve met that friend Nana introduced, right?” The person asking was Tang Baona’s mother.

She and her husband had heard from their eldest daughter a while ago that their youngest daughter was set up by Wang Han’s husband, who introduced his university roommate to her for a blind date in July.

Both of them naturally questioned their eldest daughter privately about it, but Baoting initially said there was no chance, later claimed the progression seemed fine, but never specified how it was going.

Though they were both very laissez-faire about their daughters’ marriages, and respected their daughters’ choices, now that they knew there was a potential suitor, and that it seems to be going well, they naturally couldn’t help but be interested and concerned.

Especially Mrs. Tang, since their eldest daughter was already engaged; her life was practically settled. Naturally, she couldn’t help but start thinking about her youngest daughter’s love life.

However, the parents knew their daughter’s personality well and never directly questioned her, choosing to inquire secretly through Baoting instead.

Knowing that her father was going to have dinner with Xiang Kun today, Mrs. Tang also wanted to go. However, with persuasion from Mr. Tang and Baoting, she didn’t. After knowing that the children had already left, she couldn’t help but video call her father to see what he thought of Xiang Kun.

Mr. Feng chuckled, “He’s quite a good boy; he’s tall, spiritual, and a sturdy lad. Other than being bald, there’s really nothing to pick at, haha.”

“What about his character? How is his personality?” Mrs. Tang further questioned.