Chapter 256: Chapter 255: Visual Overload! Mr. Gu Hard-Controlled by Happy Sheep!

“Gu An.”

Lin Wan Yi called out.

Her voice wasn’t loud.

Gu An didn’t respond.

His little bottom stuck out, stubbornly tackling the poor bed leg.

The screwdriver in his hand made a “ka-ka” sound.

He was very busy.

After dismantling this bed, he planned to study the not-so-pretty but still sturdy sewing machine.

In this house, there’s nothing that can’t be taken apart.

Except for mom.

“An An, look here.”

Lin Wan Yi called out again.

This time, she held up the drawing paper.

Gently shook it.

The paper rubbed against the air, making a light “whoosh” sound.

Accompanied by a sweet fragrance that tickled the nose.

It was the domineering scent unique to Spiritual Spring strawberries.

Gu An’s little nose twitched.

Inhale.

Inhale again.

So fragrant.

Even more fragrant than the candies dad brought home.

He finally stopped his actions, reluctantly turning his head to see what was tempting his nose.

Then.

He froze.

The screwdriver in his hand clattered to the floor.

Landing on his toe.

He didn’t even flinch.

Those eyes, much like Gu Yanshen’s, stared directly at the paper in Lin Wan Yi’s hand.

On the white paper.

A bunch of snow-white wool.

Two curvy horns.

A shiny golden bell hanging around its neck.

Two rosy blushes on its cheeks.

The most striking thing was the background.

The patch of grassy green that Lin Wan Yi casually painted.

Vibrant, lush green, as if to tear open a gash in this desolate winter.

This color was something Gu An had never seen before.

The brightest thing he’d seen in the compound was the red of the flag and the slogans.

But that red was solemn, heavy.

This one.

Was alive.

As if the little sheep would jump off the paper at any moment and hit him on the head with that golden bell.

“Is this… a sheep?”

Gu An clambered up.

Scrambling and tumbling over.

Darting to Lin Wan Yi like a little cannonball.

His two small, dark hands wanted to grab it but didn’t dare.

Instinctive awe for beautiful things.

“Yes, this is Happy Sheep.”

Lin Wan Yi laid the drawing flat on the coffee table.

“Happy… Happy…”

Gu An repeated the pronunciation.

Perfectly articulated.

Beside him, Gu Ning also stopped crying.

The little girl came over, drawn by the smell.

Drool glistening at the corner of her mouth.

“Ah! Ah!”

She pointed at the pink spot on the drawing, opening her mouth to bite.

It was mixed with strawberry juice.

Edible, indeed.

Lin Wan Yi reached out to stop her daughter’s little mouth and wiped the drool with a handkerchief.

“You can’t eat this, it’s for looking.”

Gu Ning wasn’t happy, pouting about to cry.

Lin Wan Yi picked up a pen.

Dipped it in some black paint.

Made from pot soot mixed with honey.

She sketched a few strokes in the corner of the paper.

Drew a black bomb.

Then dipped it in some red.

Drew a burst of explosive flames.

“Bang!”

Lin Wan Yi added sound effects with her mouth.

Gu An’s eyes lit up instantly.

Brighter than when he looked at the sheep.

That surge of excitement belonging to boys.

“Boom!”

He pointed at the bomb.

His little face flushed with excitement.

“Yes, a bomb.”

Lin Wan Yi held Gu Ning in her arms, one hand holding the pen, looking at her son who had entirely forgotten his plans for destruction.

She smiled.

The little rascal.

Can’t handle you?

“Want to know who threw the bomb?”

Lin Wan Yi sounded like a Big Bad Wolf enticing a child with candy.

Gu An nodded vigorously.

Nodding so hard, his head might fall off.

Lin Wan Yi switched to a new sheet of paper.

Tipped the pen with grey paint.

Made from charcoal with a bit of blueberry juice, giving it a textured grey.

She began drawing.

A scarred face.

A battered hat.

Two sharp teeth.

A fierce yet slightly comical expression.

Grey Wolf.

“This one’s called Grey Wolf.”

Lin Wan Yi explained to the two little country bumpkins who had never seen anything like it.

“He lives in Wolf Castle.”

“His daily mission is to catch sheep.”

“But he never catches any.”

“Because he has a wife named Red Wolf.”

Lin Wan Yi dipped the pen in some red.

Drew a she-wolf holding a frying pan.

“Red Wolf has a bad temper, often hitting his head with the pan.”

“Clonk!”

Lin Wan Yi gently tapped Gu An’s forehead with the pen handle.

Gu An didn’t dodge.

He was stunned.

This kind of story setting, for a child in the ’70s, was as shocking as seeing an alien.

No class struggle.

No remembering hardship to appreciate happiness.

Just wolves catching sheep, sheep running, and wolves getting hit.

Simple.

Rough.

Joyful.

“More…more.”

Gu An grabbed Lin Wan Yi’s sleeve.

Pointing to the blank piece of paper.

Wanting more drawings.

Wanting more stories to hear.

Bed legs?

What bed legs?

Are they as interesting as Grey Wolf?

Are they the magical tool that would blow Happy Sheep away?

Lin Wan Yi didn’t stop.

She drew Lazy Sheep, Beauty Sheep, Fierce Sheep in one breath.

A riot of colors.

Filling the entire coffee table.

The atmosphere in the room changed.

No longer was it that tense feeling ready to burst into tears at any moment.

Instead, it was full of vibrant colors and energy.

Each drawing was like a colorful window.

Turning this dull and dusty apartment building into a fairy tale world.

“Mom…tell us.”

Gu An hugged the pile of paper to his chest.

Like a miser.

Afraid it would be blown away by the wind.

He pointed at Lazy Sheep with its poop-shaped hairstyle, demanding a story.

Lin Wan Yi cleared her throat.

Just about to speak.

There came the sound of keys turning at the door.

“Click.”

The lock opened.

A gust of cold wind accompanied by snowflakes came in.

Gu Yanshen pushed open the door and entered.

He carried the lingering cold with him.

A layer of white frost capped his eyebrows.

He was carrying two aluminum lunch boxes.

Dinner brought back from the cafeteria.

“Smells so good.”

Gu Yanshen sniffed.

It wasn’t the smell of food.

But a strange, fruity, sweet scent.

Could his wife have made something delicious again?

He changed his shoes.

Placed the lunch boxes on the cabinet by the door.

Unbuttoning his collar as he walked in.

“Wife, those two kiddos weren’t causing trouble today…”

He didn’t finish the sentence.

He paused.

As if someone had suddenly pressed the pause button.

Gu Yanshen stood in the middle of the living room.

The eyes that had seen life and death, that could remain unfazed by bullets and bombs.

Now.

Staring straight ahead.

Reflecting not his two mischievous kids.

But the wall.

At some point, Lin Wan Yi had taped the finished drawings to that white wall.

The warm yellow light shone on them.

Reds were vibrant.

Yellows were bright.

Greens were vivid.

Purples were enchanting.

Those colors, like some kind of life-filled virus, fiercely invading Gu Yanshen’s barren visual senses.

In this era.

Such highly saturated colors were almost non-existent.

Even the most exquisite illustrated magazines from the Xinhua Bookstore carried some dullness and a grainy feel from the ink.

But these on the wall.

Were so bright.

Bright enough to be dazzling.

Bright enough to quicken one’s heart.

The wolf with a scar was holding a frying pan, as if ready to leap out of the picture at him.

The sheep with a poop hairstyle was sneering, mocking his stupor.

Gu Yanshen’s Adam’s apple bobbed.

He took two steps forward.

His leather boots made no sound on the carpet.

He stretched out a hand.

The rough fingertip wanting to touch the paper.

But stopped a few centimeters away.

Dared not touch.

Afraid of ruining these colors that seemed to have descended from the heavens.

“This…”

Gu Yanshen turned his head.

Looking at Lin Wan Yi, who sat cross-legged on the carpet, paintbrush in hand.

His voice slightly hoarse.

“Did you draw these?”

Lin Wan Yi looked up.

Her face still had a bit of black soot, like a mischievous little cat.

She was holding the last newly drawn picture.

It was “Slow Sheep.”

The old village chief with grass growing on his head.

“You’re back?”

Lin Wan Yi smiled and handed over the paper.

“For Mr. Gu to admire.”

“This is our family’s new member.”

Gu Yanshen mechanically accepted the picture.

Cool to the touch.

Carrying a hint of blueberry fragrance.

He looked at the dawdling old sheep.

Then looked at Gu Ning, who was hugging Gu An’s leg, pointing at the pictures on the wall, shouting and gesturing.

And at Gu An, who usually wasn’t interested in anything but causing trouble, but now behaved obediently like a quail, staring at the drawings.

Gu Yanshen let out a long breath.

The white mist swiftly dissipating in the warm room.

“It’s beautiful.”

He struggled for a while.

Finally uttering these three words.

Lacking cultural embellishment in expression.

But genuinely shaken to the core.

“Compared to those paintings from the art troupe…”

Gu Yanshen paused, seemingly searching for the right word.

Finally, he pointed at the Grey Wolf on the wall.

“Much more dynamic.”

He took off his military coat.

Walked to the wall.

Looking at the colorful spread.

Suddenly, it felt like this previously dull home of only black, white, and gray.

Had come to life.

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