Chapter 72 - 72: He’s Dressed Like He’s 37
When they were at home at night, Lin Xiaowan recounted her experience animatedly to Huo Zheng and showed him her sketch.
Hong Minhua did not grade Lin Xiaowan’s work. She only explained things to her in detail and gave her homework.
Since Hong Minhua did not need Lin Xiaowan’s sketch, Lin Xiaowan asked if she could bring her sketch back.
Huo Zheng listened attentively as she spoke. After she carefully unrolled her sketch as though it was a treasure, he said, praising her sincerely, “It looks great. Your drawing is really good, little painter.”
Although his words were few, his expression and his tone were sincere.
Lin Xiaowan was very satisfied and did not quibble with him.
Since she did not have to attend class at Shengjing’s Academy of Fine Arts every day, she could still go for lessons at Unnamed Studio with Xiao Han.
Hong Minhua originally intended to let Lin Xiaowan follow so Lin Xiaowan would not trouble Xiao Han. Moreover, Xiao Han was going to participate in a competition and would soon be busy. It would be troublesome if he also had to teach Lin Xiaowan.
However, Xiao Han did not think much of it and even specially told Hong Minhua to let Lin Xiaowan continue learning at Unnamed.
Lin Xiaowan chatted with Huo Zheng every day about the smallest things so Huo Zheng was naturally aware of this matter as well. While she chatted with him, she worked on the homework that Hong Minhua gave her. She sat in front of an easel not far from the desk in the study while he sat at the desk to work.
After a while, Huo Zheng stopped working and said, “Actually, we can build a studio for you at home.”
Their house was large enough, and they had a few empty rooms. Apart from the bedroom, there were also guestrooms and the nanny’s room. They also had a home theatre and a gym. There was also a storage room where Lin Xiaowan kept the models she built and various toys.
Currently, they had two unused rooms. Of the two, one had large windows and a balcony, allowing sunlight to stream in. There was not much furniture in the room as well. All in all, it was suitable to be converted into a studio.
“That sounds like a good idea…” Lin Xiaowan replied after thinking about it for a moment.
“With that, you also don’t have to trouble others. You can tell the driver to send Teacher Hong here,” Huo Zheng said.
Lin Xiaowan followed Hong Minhua for classes twice a week, and they would usually use an empty studio in Shengjing’s Academy of Fine Arts. Apart from that, she also did not need to go to Unnamed. It was indeed more convenient to have a studio at home.
With a studio, she did not need to wake up early. She could sleep in until 9 AM. and after having breakfast with Huo Zheng, she would go to the studio while he went to work.
However, the disadvantage was that she could no longer eat and drink whatever she wanted for lunch. The chef was carefully selected by Huo Zheng, and he was very particular about nutrition.
Lin Xiaowan had just gone for a checkup two days ago. There was no serious problem with her health. She was just a little thin and slightly anemic. All in all, she was in quite good health after recuperating, which meant that she did not have to be too restrained when it came to her food.
Fortunately, most of the time she only needed to act coquettishly with Huo Zheng before he gave in and allowed her to eat whatever she wanted.
At this time, Lin Xiaowan nodded seriously and said, “I think your suggestion is very good. Then, how should we turn the room into a studio?”
“I’ll arrange it,” Huo Zheng said, standing up to get her a glass of water.
Lin Xiaowan did not think much of it. When he was around, he would always urge her to drink more water.
“What are you painting today?”
Lin Xiaowan showed him her painting.
Although she was not very good, and the colors looked messy, Huo Zheng still praised her very seriously. He had taken art classes when he was young as well, dabbling in many many things. Unlike Hong Minhua who would point out her mistakes and advise her, he would ignore the flaws of her work and only praised her. He did not use any fancy words and alternated between ‘good’, ‘it looks great, and ‘awesome’.
Lin Xiaowan decided to stop painting for now. After washing her brushes, she asked, “How long will it take to set up the studio? It won’t be so fast, right? In that case, I’ll go to Unnamed tomorrow.”
She looked at Huo Zheng and continued to ask, “Should I get a gift for Senior Brother Xiao Han? After all, I’ve troubled him for so long.”
Huo Zheng nodded as he helped her to clean up her art supplies.
“What should I get him?” Lin Xiaowan asked, “Art supplies? Lighter? However, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him smoking…”
Feeling a little jealous, Huo Zheng asked, “Why weren’t you this meticulous when getting gifts for me?”
Lin Xiaowan giggled. “Alright. When I buy him a gift, why don’t I get you a gift as well since it’s convenient.”
“Because it’s convenient?” Huo Zheng raised an eyebrow, and his gaze turned dangerous.
Lin Xiaowan quickly changed her words. “When I buy you a gift, I’ll conveniently buy him a gift as well?”
Huo Zheng replied reluctantly, “That sounds better.”
In the end, Lin Xiaowan bought a set of watercolors for Xiao Han. Thanks to the shop owner’s recommendation, she also bought a movable mannequin for herself.
As for Huo Zheng, Lin Xiaowan played it safe and bought him a pair of sneakers from Louis Vuitton. She also bought a pair of matching ones. She put quite a lot of thought into picking out the pair of shoes. It was simple, and it was black and white. In her opinion, it would be easy to match the shoes. After a moment, she even thought she could help him pick his clothes to match the shoes.
When Huo Zheng returned, she saw two pairs of matching sneakers at the entrance. One of them was clearly not in Lin Xiaowan’s size. He did not think too much of it and asked, “You bought him a pair of shoes?”
Lin Xiaowan rolled her eyes and said, “How would I know the size of his feet? Moreover, if I bought it for him, why would I display it at the entrance?” Realization dawned on Huo Zheng immediately. “Couple’s shoes?” “That’s right. What do you think of the shoes?” Lin Xiaowan asked, “Do you want to try them?”
Huo Zheng tried on the sneakers, which contrasted greatly with his black suit and tie. The sneakers were made of leather, and they were very comfortable. After trying them on, he said with a smile, “I usually wear sneakers when I work out.”
There were sneakers in the cabinet at the entrance of the gym at home, and he only wore them working out. It had been years since he had worn them out. Due to work, he was usually dressed rather formally. As time passed, he gradually got used to wearing suits and leather suits all the time. Even the designers would send him similar things every season.
Lin Xiaowan said, “How can you wear this to work out? By the way, the style and colors of your clothes in the wardrobe are too monotonous.”
She reached to pinch his cheek before she continued to say, “You’re only 27 years old, but you dress like you’re 37. Even your eldest brother looks younger than you.”
Huo Zheng was silent for a moment, trying to recall the times he was with Huo Cheng.
‘Is Brother dressed very young? I don’t think so, right? With his job, he’s dressed even more formally than me…’
After a moment, Huo Zheng’s thoughts drifted to Lin Xiaowan’s young and energetic senior brother, and he could help but feel displeased. He thought that if Lin Xiaowan liked it, he did not mind changing the way he dressed..