Chapter 111 - Snow White halo

The streaming channel was bustling all of a sudden. Those who were commenting became much more active than earlier.

The ink painting channel master was a SGR (Second Generation Rich). That sudden knowledge made all the melon-eating public’s blood boil.

All of a sudden, there were all sorts of speculations.

Some of the audience even contributed some money under their excitement.

But, quickly, a different voice rose amidst all those.

[King of the Hill: Obviously the channel master is no SGR. This is all but a show.]

[King of the Hill: Would a truly wealthy person buy all available scented oil in the market? That’s not life. That’s not showing off one’s riches. That’s idiotic!]

As soon as he got done saying it, all the ones who commented earlier disagreed with him right away.

Everybody was hiding behind their alias online, nobody cared too much about what they say or do. There were plenty who would readily throw out nasty words.

[I think you are just envious of her.]

[Why don’t you show us the amount in your bank account first? So much bullsh*t. Who’s so wealthy here? You?]

[King of the Hill: I can’t be bothered to fight with you people. What a waste of my time. @ChannelMaster. It’s time to start painting already. I am leaving if you are not going to paint. You can tell from the quality of the video that the channel master is not a wealthy girl. But it made sense that you couldn’t tell. Because all of you are also commoners.]

What he had said was, obviously, the equivalent of adding fuel onto a fire.

Many of the others were enraged by him.

[Hey! King of the Dogs. You are resorting to ad hominem because you are losing your argument!]

[HAHA. Is King of the Hill trying to say that he’s the real SGR?]

[I’ll bet a pack of spicy snacks that this King of the Farts was just bullsh*tting us!]

[Hey, King of the Dogs, get back to being your “SGR”. Wasting your time, my ass! D*mn! Why do you have time to watch streaming videos then?]

The streaming channel turned into a big mess in no time.

Chen Kexin, who had been squatting in her own room and hadn't said a word so far, wasn’t sure if she should laugh or smile reading all the comments on her screen.

The man with the alias King of the Hill was actually correct. She knew the true identity of Gu Shishi as the “Ink Painting Guru”.

Gu Shishi… was, without a doubt, a truly wealthy girl!

According to Pingting, Gu Shishi had already moved into Young Master Huo Sishen’s house.

The two were shamelessly living together before they were wedded.

Huo Sishen might have split out from the Huo’s by himself, but he had inherited at least a quarter of the Huo’s assets.

Meaning, the place that Gu Shishi was currently staying as was the true definition of a mansion!

The only thing that Chen Kexin couldn’t figure out was what was the purpose of all the scented oil?

Naturally, she would never have guessed that those were originally purchased without restraint to help Huo Sishen fall asleep.

In the end, after he had tried a few of them without seeing any result, he had lost his patience and Gu Shishi was the one who benefited from it.

As for Gu Shishi, she had no idea that her helping Huo Sishen fall asleep last time led to Qin Ruhai thinking that a rose scent was helpful to Huo Sishen’s sleeping problem and had Siyi cleaned out a few scented oil shops.

***

Long story short, this beautiful misunderstanding let Gu Shishi, who’s life was now charged up to max, feel that everything that she looked at was glowing.

She felt that everything was so cute that she could die!

[Would you like to put on the Snow White halo?]

[Snow White’s “skin was white like snow, her lips were red like blood, and her hair was dark like ebony window frame’.]

[Effect of the Halo: Everyday before makeup is applied, you will have light-colored skin, attractive peach colored lips, and black hair that’s silky with no splits and no static. It will also reduce hair loss by 50%.]

“Tssssss…”

Gu Shishi was about to drool over this halo.

Apply!

She didn’t even need to think about it.

###

Chapter 112 - Must make the boss grow fonder of her!

When she was just a child, she had, many a times, bugged her master to tell her the story of Snow White.

She had longed to look like Snow White every time she heard the description about her.

What girl doesn’t want to grow up looking as pretty as Snow White?

As the time passed, Gu Shishi had learned that she tanned quite easily under the sun and once she was dark, it was difficult for the darkness to fade.

Eventually, she even had some dark spots.

That’s when she realized that Snow White was not scientific at all.

Dark hair meant your body has a lot of melanin; which also meant that light-colored skin was not possible.

Never mind that Asians naturally have yellowish skin. There was simply no way to be white like Snow White.

What Gu Shishi hadn’t expected was that her childhood dream had finally come true. Just like that!!

Her mouth cracked open. She smiled so much that all her teeth were bared!

Even though in hindsight the way that Snow White was described – “red like blood and black like a window frame”… sounded more like they were describing some sort of a monster. But who cares as long as the effect was good?

Gu Shishi twirled in the same spot happily.

She quickly put on the halo, and it took her a second flat to dash in front of the mirror on her dresser.

She had just taken a tub bath and did not apply any makeup afterward, just some simple skincare products.

For most, once they have removed their makeup, their skin would inevitably look dull, that included Gu Shishi even with the effect of the Summer Time Cool Skin Pill.

And, the original owner’s body was average at best. Her lips have always been a lighter color.

She had always needed to apply some lipstick before she left the house in order to look livelier.

But no… she closed her eyes for a little bit and took a deep breath before she looked into the mirror.

In just one second, her mouth dropped open in disbelief.

So bright!

She blinked and couldn't help but reach out her hand and touched the person in the mirror.

That very moment, she remembered a super expensive skincare product – little light bulb!

All of her skin now looked like they were being shined on by spotlights, white and glistening!

And not the kind of a pale white color at that. It was the kind that was full of moisture with a glow of health!

Her lips were red like cherry blossoms.

Naturally, it was the cherry pink color that looked like it was dyed with fog.

Unlike lipsticks, this was very different than the thick, greasy effect that was striking to the eyes. This soft pink color was not gaudy. It has the natural youthfulness and softness of a young girl, and also a low-key kind of elegance and tenderness.

“Amazing.”

Gu Shishi touched her own lips, and her eyes turned into starry eyes.

She noticed that even the lines in her lips have become milder.

What an amazing halo!

She then looked at her free-falling long hair and squinted a little.

The original owner’s hair was already very dark colored.

That change wasn’t very noticeable. But… hair loss will be minimized!

Gu Shishi pinched the end of her hair and couldn’t stop chuckling.

Anyone who has long hair would know that when one plays too much on the cellphone or stays up too many nights, they’d lose hair by the bundles.

Every time she’d wash her hair… a bunch of hair would fall off!

The longer the hair, the scarier the sight!

When it came to cleaning the room, that sight was simply heartbroken.

Once hair had fallen onto the floor, you couldn’t sweep them off; vacuuming was a hassle; even mopping wasn’t foolproof…

All in all, anywhere she has been, there would be hair… on her bed, her pillow, the couch, bedroom, living room…

Her master used to complain a lot about that.

“Fantastic!”

For the first time ever, Gu Shishi felt that the frugal system was incredibly cute!

Hmm. Now she really needed to keep on leveling up.

She couldn’t wait to lock the remaining 14 grey boxes!

[Next Halo to Unlock: Tactile-improving pill.]

[Requirement: Level 3]

That skill….

Gu Shishi blinked.

“Okay. Work harder!”

Must make the boss grow fonder of her!

###

Chapter 113 - A black hand fan for the boss

She quickly returned to her drawing table and couldn’t wait to complete this next piece of work that was intended for the boss.

“I apologize to keep you all waiting~”

“I am going to resume now. You all have guessed for a while but none of you guessed correctly.”

Gu Shishi calmed herself from her earlier excited state and picked up the wooden sticks on the table.

“What I am going to make today is a hand fan.”

This new gift for the boss would be perfect as a return for all the scented oil that he had gifted her.

Gifting should be back and forth. That way, more would come in the future.

Having said that, Gu Shishi happily sat down in front of her table.

[Eh? Channel Master is making a hand fan today? Is the objective to draw the mount of the fan herself?]

[A black hand fan? The paper is all black~]

[This already feels amazing. But, Channel Master, tell us first if you are a Second Generation Rich?!]

As she had already set up her cellphone earlier, Gu Shishi did not look at the screen again and was oblivious to all the ruckus inside her channel.

All the craziness and aggressiveness within the channel earlier was now calmed by her gentle and calm voice.

All the audience members who were yelling at King of the Hill earlier had now turned their attention to Gu Shishi instead.

Gu Shishi played around with the wooden sticks for a little bit and was able to smell a faint scent of wood.

As she did not look at the screen, she wouldn’t be able to reply to the inquiries as well.

“I bought both the ribs and the mount of the fan online. I plan to hand paint the mount before I assemble them together. If you are interested in it, you can try to DIY as well.”

Having said that, she picked a brush with soft hair from her rack, added some water into the ink stone, and mixed in some gold powder.

The water and the gold powder quickly blended together and the tip of the brush was quickly turned into a bright gold color.

The fan ribs that she had chosen were made out of Rhapis excelsa, each rib had been cut very thin. The paper for the mount was pure black, mainly to match the boss’s taste.

He usually wore mostly black clothes, with the exception of grey or brown to go with his black.

Gu Shishi figured she’d make a black fan just to be on the safe side.

[Black background with gold paint? Kinda gaudy?]

[Man, that color combination. Why do I feel a thick sense of a parvenu? A little on the rich side, won’t you say?]

The text screen has gotten even livelier.

She brainstormed a little for what kind of a drawing that she wanted before she picked up her pen and dipped and soaked it in the gold ink.

While she took a deep breath, she switched to her beginning-level Living in Painting skill.

A second later, she closed her eyes and had entered the world of the painting.

She could hear the rustling sound of leaves and feel the fierce wind roughing up her hair.

That very moment, in her brain, she unwittingly recalled the man who sat in the study like an island all by itself.

The silhouette in the dark was so cold and lonely that just that one glance made it difficult for her to breath…

And right now, it seemed as though her body had followed that dark silhouette. Surrounded by the bone-chilling coldness, she floated into the dark and bottomless pit.

There was no way out, nor was there even a hint of light!

When she was just about to struggle in pain, she could detect a very light scent of bamboo…

The bamboo scent was so light and mixed in with the smell of the earth, made the endless darkness that had enveloped her dissipated in a heartbeat.

She reached out her hand in the dark and suddenly touched leaves that were sharp like blades.

The pain from her finger being cut made her shudder!

She squinted, looked, and saw a bamboo plant some distance from her that grew all the way up into the sky!

After the wind and rain storm, there seemed to be a hint of light at the end of the dark sky. Piercing through the thick cloud, the light shed on the wavering leaves and coated it a dazzling gold color…

Gu Shishi was enlightened all of a sudden.

###

Chapter 114 - Ignore the others and just do what you need to do

When she wanted to look closely with her eyes wide opened, she had already returned to her nice and sunny room.

She had the fan mount on her left and the pen in her right.

There were no bamboos in front of her.

The skill… was so realistic!

Gu Shishi smiled wryly.

She stood still for a few seconds before she breathed in and out to calm her emotions.

She looked down, took a deep breath, and started with her painting.

Her pen, made with goats’ hair smeared the gold color onto the black paper…

The gold paint on the paper seemed to have overlapped with the gold color that she had just seen earlier.

Without any hesitation, her pen moved nonstop on the paper. She painted the entire picture almost in one go without ever stopping to even think about it.

All the viewers in the streaming channel were stunned.

[OMG. It was so pleasant watching the channel master paint!]

[She didn’t even need to draft it first. Look at the speed that she was painting it. Did she have the complete picture in her mind from the get go?]

[I am schooled. This must be what they called “Bamboo in Chest”.]*

* (T/N: A saying that meant someone had everything all planned out ahead of time. Used as a pun here.)

And that was exactly what Gu Shishi was painting!

With the lifting and dropping of her wrist, sets and sets of flourished and lush leaves overlapping with each other started waving in the wind.

On the paper, the golden leaves looked to be dancing madly in the wind. Each of them looked like a little boat in the tidal wave being tossed up into the air. Yet the branches drawn by the light ink were strong and holding on firmly to the ground.

Just a few simple strokes and the sturdiness of the Phyllostachys heterocycle (a type of bamboo) was created!

The mount for the fan was not big.

Yet, the bamboos depicted in this very limited area were indomitable, majestic, and grew straight into the sky.

[That was incredible! Why do I think that channel master’s painting is better than that of my art school instructor’s?]

[Wait. The channel master is very young, right? No way she could be over 30!]

[Bamboo painting was used as foundation practice for those learning ink painting. But being able to paint to this level… I personally think this is simply amazing!]

[King of the Hill: Channel Master, name a price. I am buying it!]

[King of the Dogs are here to show off his wealth again. Psst. Shoo. Channel Master already said this is a gift. If she was to sell it, I’d be the one who’s buying it!]

[Crowdfunding to buy this work. Don’t let King of the Hill get his hand on it no matter what!]

The squabbling within the streaming channel started all over again.

King of the Hill, as though oblivious to all that was going on, gifted three skyscrapers.

[King of the Hill: Fine. This one is a gift. Then I will pre-order the next one!]

Everybody started attacking him and cussing him out, but Gu Shishi was completely unaffected by it all.

By now, the ink on the goats’ hair was already half dried.

Gu Shishi didn’t dip for more ink but hooked her pen and drew two to three large rocks.

When her pen was completely out of ink, she then dragged it over the pointy ends of the rocks…

The entire painting was a mixture of full [ink] pen, dried [ink] pen, and thirsty [ink] pen. There were no pauses. It was freestyle and full of passion…

And, unlike the usual black and white ink painting, Gu Shishi painted with gold today and made the painting seem grandeur as it could be. Even the bamboos in the blustery wind was coated with an indescribable feel of luxuriousness.

And the most impressive part of all? The tip of her pen had never once stopped.

In the mountains afar, she sketched out an ancient building in detail. Sitting inside of it, there was a chic and willful man with a crown made out of gold and silk drinking leisurely.

This was a painting of a Literati appreciating the rain and enjoying the bamboo in the mountains!

The number of viewers in the streaming channel shot up to over 20,000!

Other than King of the Hill, other viewers started gifting her as well.

A whole bunch of “666”*, “such amazing skill”, “I would like to have it” shot up on the screen like rockets.

(T/N: 666 – Chinese internet slang when someone was an expert/skillful in something.)

Gu Shishi, finishing the painting, finally let out a deep breath, but she wasn’t done yet.

She quickly switched to a pen with stiffer hair and wrote down two small lines in regular script.

“His strength was his business; the breeze stroked the hills.” (figurative meaning: Ignore the others and just do what you need to do.)

She only put her pen down carefully after she was done with the caption.

She signed her name on the bottom – Ink Painting Guru.

###

Chapter 115 - A superb bamboo painting

“Once it’s dried. I will write some more words on the back of it.”

[Oh. You are going to write on the back as well? Sheesh, Channel Master is so professional.]

[Channel Master’s hand writing is so pretty too!]

“Okay. I am going to stop right here today. Thank you all for your support. I will see you next time!”

Gu Shishi took a look at the time. It had been almost an hour. She quickly thanked everyone for their donations and turned off the streaming.

It’d take a bit of time for the ink to dry. She couldn’t just sit there and wait.

She didn’t have other talents and couldn’t chat or sing like other pretty girls who streamed.

She couldn’t very well just sit there awkwardly the entire time.

[Oh, wait! Channel Master! Don’t go yet. You still haven’t told us if you are a Second Generation Rich!]

[Exactly! Chat with us!]

Everybody’s howling wasn’t able to keep her.

The screen went blank, and everybody left reluctantly.

Shortly after she had shut off her streaming, Gu Shishi received a few more private messages from King of the Hill, stating his intention of wanting to buy her paintings.

Gu Shishi read the texts and merely responded with “maybe next time” and provided him with her new Wechat account.

After all, he, too, was a potential customer.