Chapter 235: Chapter 235: Gifting a Painting

Imperial netizens who dug into Jiang Qin’s background all discovered that the more they learned about this female, the more there was to her.

Not only was her singing beautiful, but she could also act in television shows.

Not only could she act in television shows, but she also starred in movies.

And on top of that, her singing qualified her as a soothing master!

After listening to all her songs, the two brothers still hadn’t had their fill.

So they went ahead and watched *Mutual Affection* and *Kung Fu* from start to finish.

Finally, they started binging *The Legend of the Condor Heroes*, watching from the very first episode until they were completely caught up.

The show was currently out up to the end of episode 18.

There was no option for early access or buying the entire series, so they could only wait eagerly for three new episodes each day?

Zheng Yue felt like his world was ending.

On the verge of tears, he said, “Bro, you don’t think… once the Mecha competition ends and the networks between our sides are cut off, we won’t get to see the finale, do you?”

Zheng Wen also felt a surge of frustration. “That’s… very likely.”

“My world is ending!!”

“What’s wrong with these Federation people? Their shows actually leave you on a cliffhanger like this?”

Zheng Wen didn’t know either.

The brothers had only taken a short nap that afternoon. In order to binge the show, they pulled an all-nighter, staying up until noon the next day.

He suddenly thought of Jiang Qin and quickly opened his Light Computer, found the production team’s page, and entered Jiang Qin’s livestream.

At that moment, Jiang Qin and Jiang Qingfeng were sitting face-to-face in silence.

Just yesterday, their fanbases had started a war.

The Jiang Fans claimed that Yun Xie was better than Jiang Qingfeng, and that their Qin Bao wouldn’t even give the Empire’s top-tier male a second glance.

Meanwhile, Jiang Qingfeng’s fans felt their Young Marshal had been insulted. They mocked the Jiang Fans for their wishful thinking and accused them of trying to social climb by latching onto someone far above their station.

Their Young Marshal would sooner jump out of an airlock than fall for a C-level female.

The very next day, they were forced to eat their words.

As the top-ranked pair, Jiang Qingfeng and Long Hao had the right to choose their dates for the day.

After the chaotic pairings from the previous day, the production team had laid down a new rule: dates had to be with someone of the opposite sex!

This was a dating show, after all. What if they were mistaken for promoting same-sex unions and got canceled?

One had to remember, the most pressing issues in the Interstellar era were marriage and birth rates!

They were just a small show; they didn’t dare go against the policy of the entire Interstellar community.

…

Jiang Qingfeng and Long Hao, who had only wanted to seize the initiative so they wouldn’t be chosen by others, now found themselves in a dilemma.

In the end, Jiang Qingfeng acted faster and chose Jiang Qin.

After all, out of the five female guests, Jiang Qin was the only one who hadn’t chosen him.

With her, he wouldn’t have to worry about fending off any unwanted advances.

Long Hao, a step too slow, could only suppress his disgust and choose Kasha.

He was afraid that if he chose any of the other females, they would practically pounce on him. Since the quiet one was already taken, he could only pick the one who was all ambition and no nerve.

Still, the thought was nauseating. He decided he shouldn’t be the only one feeling disgusted—he was going to annoy Jiang Qingfeng for stealing his pick.

And that’s what led to the current scene.

Jiang Qin and Jiang Qingfeng sat on an observation deck, sharing an awkward silence.

Meanwhile, Long Hao had brought Kasha along and was trailing them, staring intently like some kind of perverted stalker.

Further away, a stone-faced Yun Xie was secretly protecting them alongside the staff.

The dating show had gone completely off the rails.

Silence. Awkwardness…

Jiang Qin simply turned to look at the scenery. As she watched, she found herself thinking that the view was truly beautiful.

Even though it was an artificial landscape—the flowers, the trees, even the clouds in the sky were fake.

But it was beautiful nonetheless.

So she took out her drawing board and began to paint, completely absorbed, putting Jiang Qingfeng, Long Hao, and everything else out of her mind.

Back in the villa, the director watched the livestream, worrying himself sick.

He was regretting it now. He shouldn’t have let them have a free-for-all date; he should have given them a mandatory task.

Then the guests wouldn’t have been sitting on an observation deck for a full two hours…

And the netizens had been watching for two hours as well.

If it weren’t for Long Hao’s constant fidgeting, they would have suspected the livestream had frozen.

Finally, Jiang Qin finished her painting.

’I should thank that agent who forced me to cultivate the persona of a multi-talented woman, skilled in the classical arts.’

’My painting skills weren’t at a master’s level, but my basic aesthetic sense was still on point.’

’I’d learned a bit of everything: oil painting, ink wash painting, and sketching.’

’It’s a good thing I died young. If I had lived any longer, I can’t imagine how many more things I would have learned.’

’A jack of all trades, master of none.’

’All specifically to maintain my public image and for the company’s promotional material.’

Jiang Qingfeng stared at the painting for a long time before speaking his first words since the date began. “The painting. Is it for sale?”

Surprised, Jiang Qin looked at his serious expression and smiled. “I can give it to you. Didn’t the director say we have to exchange gifts tonight?

“If you like this painting, I’ll give it to you once it’s dry.”

It seemed that only in this moment did Jiang Qingfeng’s calm, impassive eyes finally truly see the person in front of him.

Like everything else around her, she was in black and white.

The difference was, he could see her face clearly—or rather… half of her face.

A frail, beautiful female. She had an enchanting face, but her eyes were remarkably clear and pure.

The mole near the corner of her eye was quite prominent, involuntarily drawing one’s gaze to her eyes.

He committed those eyes and that mole to memory.

“What… do you like?”

Jiang Qin paused for a moment, understanding he wanted to give her a gift in return. She began to think hard about what she liked, preferably something of equal value to the painting.

She thought and thought, but still felt troubled.

’I don’t seem to have anything I particularly like, because I already have everything.’

Finally, she said with a hint of resignation, “I don’t think I’m lacking anything, nor is there anything I particularly want.

“Why don’t you just give me a paintbrush or some drawing paper in return?”

’So I’m basically a processing factory?’

’Turning blank paper into a painting?’

Long Hao, who was brazenly eavesdropping, found this rather novel.

’Can someone in this world truly be content with what they have?’

He didn’t believe this female from the Federation was unaware of the immense value an Imperial Young Marshal represented.

’Since she joined a dating show in the Empire, she was obviously here to find an Imperial male partner. Yet, she still hasn’t made a move.’

’Is she still weighing the pros and cons?’

’Perhaps this “content with what I have” act is just a strategy—playing hard to get?’

’After all, for a C-level female to hunt an SS-level male, she would certainly need a few tricks up her sleeve.’

’In any case, he wasn’t the prey, so he could just enjoy the show from the sidelines.’

Jiang Qin didn’t know what others thought of her, nor could she be bothered to guess the thoughts of strangers.

She truly wasn’t in need of any gifts.

And she didn’t want to accept an expensive gift from him. After all, she knew her painting ability was only at the level of someone who had taken art classes for a year.

Back on Earth, forget about selling it; she’d be embarrassed to even give it away for free, afraid people would laugh.

So she really didn’t think it had much value. It was just a casual painting she’d done to pass the time.

Once the painting was dry, she gave it directly to Jiang Qingfeng.

Jiang Qingfeng thanked her solemnly. “Thank you. My great-grandmother is very fond of this style of painting.”

It was just that nowadays, you could hardly find anyone who knew how to paint in this ancient style.

As for the return gift, he certainly wasn’t going to listen to Jiang Qin and just send some cheap art supplies.

Instead, he planned to carefully prepare a valuable gift in return, treating it as payment for the painting.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep