Yingqu Liuzi was pampered by her wealthy daddy.

After returning to London, Shen Yu'an began preparing for her graduation exhibition.

The exhibition is scheduled for May, and he must complete at least six new works within those months. The department has given each graduate an independent exhibition booth, with the theme to be chosen by themselves and no restrictions on style.

Shen Yu'an sat in his studio, staring blankly at the empty canvas for two days. He had many images in his mind, but he couldn't grasp a main thread to connect them.

When Xize came in at night, he saw that the man was still sitting there, so he went over and squatted down next to him.

"What are you thinking about?"

"I don't know what to draw," Shen Yu'an said, placing his paintbrush on his lap. "I haven't decided on a theme yet."

Xize glanced at the sketchbook lying open beside him, filled with many scattered drafts. He flipped through a couple of pages, closed it, and put it back.

"You've already thought it through. You're just unsure whether you should draw it."

Shen Yu'an looked up at him. After saying that, Xize stood up and said that the milk was on the table downstairs. He then closed the door and went out.

Shen Yu'an sat for a while, then reopened his sketchbook. Looking at the drafts, he suddenly realized that Xize was right.

He actually always knew what he wanted to draw, but he was too embarrassed to show these drawings to everyone.

He picked up his paintbrush and began laying down the base color for the first painting.

From that day on, Shen Yu'an spent every day in his studio.

He would draw in the morning and draw in the afternoon, sometimes losing track of time. When Xize came to call him for dinner, he wouldn't listen, so he stopped calling him and just brought the food to the table, replacing the cold milk with hot milk.

"Have you eaten?" Shen Yu'an asked him, biting the pen handle.

"have eaten."

"real?"

Xize glanced at him: "Why would I lie to you?"

Shen Yu'an lowered his head and continued drawing, then looked up after a couple of strokes: "Could you sit down and keep me company for a while?"

Xize had already reached the door, but upon hearing this, he stopped, turned around, pulled out the chair by the window, and sat down.

He took out his phone to check his emails, while Shen Yu'an drew next to him, occasionally glancing at him before turning back to continue drawing.

After a while, Shen Yu'an spoke up: "Daddy, do you think the colors in this painting are too dark?"

Xize stood up, walked over, and stood behind him for a few seconds.

The scene depicts a street on a rainy night, with streetlights casting a warm yellow glow. Raindrops shimmer in the light, forming thin, luminous lines, while a blurry, dark shadow looms in a corner.

"It's not dark. Is that a car in that shadow?"

"Yeah, it's the rear of your car."

Xize glanced at him, offered no comment on the painting, and simply said, "Keep painting."

Shen Yu'an smiled and turned back to continue coloring.

Later, Nishizawa moved his laptop directly to the art studio.

While Shen Yu'an was painting, he would be holding a video conference next to her, keeping his voice very low so as not to disturb her.

Once, while Shen Yu'an was drawing, he heard Xize talking on the phone. He didn't quite understand what he was saying, but he heard Xize say to the person on the other end of the line, "Cancel all the evening plans this week, but we can make appointments during the day."

After Xize hung up the phone, Shen Yu'an asked him, "You canceled all your meetings tonight?"

"Hmm." Xize looked down at the documents without looking up.

"Then aren't you even busier during the day?"

"I'm busy during the day, but not so busy at night."

Shen Yu'an looked at him, thought for a while, then stood up and walked over, hugging his neck from behind and resting her chin on his shoulder.

"Aren't you bored sitting here with me every day?"

Xize tilted his head slightly, his lips brushing against his forehead. "Not boring."

Shen Yu'an buried her face in his neck for a while, then let go and went back to drawing.

The days of setting up the exhibition were the busiest.

After the six paintings were completed, they needed to be framed and transported to the exhibition hall, and then the hanging positions and lighting angles needed to be determined. Shen Yu'an couldn't handle it all by himself, so Xize went with him.

The exhibition hall was quite large, with the graduates' booths divided into small cubicles.

Shen Yu'an's booth was located at the back, with three walls and unopened picture frames and tools piled on the floor.

Xize took off his coat and put it aside, rolled up his sleeves to his elbows, and began to help Shen Yu'an remove the protective film from the picture frame.

He wasn't fast, but he was very steady, handing over each item as soon as he finished disassembling it.

"Should this painting be hung on the left or in the middle?" Shen Yu'an asked, gesturing as he took the frame.

What do you think?

"I originally wanted to hang it in the middle, but the lighting was better on the left."

"Then hang it on the left." Xize handed over another picture frame. "You painted it; it should stay wherever you want it to."

Shen Yu'an took the picture frame, glanced at him, and then turned to hang the painting.

When they hung the fourth picture, Shen Yu'an squatted down to adjust the verticality of the frame, while Xize helped him hold the other corner.

"Move one centimeter to the left," Shen Yu'an said. Xize did as instructed. Shen Yu'an stepped back a few paces to look, then returned: "A tiny bit to the right. Just a tiny bit."

Xize shifted again: "This one?"

"Yes, it's not moving."

The two continued hanging up the next painting. A student from the next booth passed by, peeked in, and greeted Shen Yu'an: "You paint well! These styles are different from your previous ones."

Shen Yu'an said thank you, and that he was still making adjustments.

The classmate saw Xize standing on the ladder tightening a light bulb, glanced at him, and asked Shen Yu'an, "Is this the guy you asked to help?" Shen Yu'an replied, "He's my boyfriend." The classmate nodded, didn't ask any more questions, and left.

Xize climbed down the ladder, walked to Shen Yu'an's side, and followed his gaze to the paintings.

The six paintings are lined up in a row, each depicting a moment that belongs to them.

A car parked on the roadside on a rainy night. Two shadows leaning together in front of the fireplace... and another painting shows a man dozing in a study, light streaming in from the window and falling on his hair.

Xize stood in front of that painting for a long time.

Shen Yu'an, standing to the side a little embarrassed, touched the back of his neck: "This one was painted the fastest, finished in two days."

Why is it the fastest?

"Because... I often see you asleep," Shen Yu'an said. "You're easier to draw when you're asleep than when you're awake."

Xize turned to look at him: "Is it difficult to draw when I'm awake?"

"You move around a lot when you're awake. You don't move when you're asleep."

Xize's lips curved into a slight smile, his gaze returning to the painting. After a moment, he said, "Give this one to me when the exhibition is over."

"These are exhibit works, not for sale."

"Give it to me after the exhibition; I'll put it in my study."

"Isn't that portrait already hanging in the study?"

"Hang it in rotation."

Shen Yu'an looked at his profile and wanted to say that his study was full of his paintings, but he swallowed the words back.

He smiled and said, "Okay, I'll keep it for you."

As dawn approached, the setup was finally complete. All six paintings were hung, and the angle of each lamp was adjusted to the perfect position.

Shen Yu'an stood in the center of the exhibition hall and did a final check. Only after confirming that there were no problems did he let out a long sigh of relief.

He turned around and saw Xize standing against the wall not far away, pulling down his sleeves.

Xize's hair was a bit messier than when he left in the morning, and the collar of his shirt wasn't as neat as usual. He looked like he had been busy all night and hadn't slept.

Shen Yu'an walked over and stood in front of him.

Are you tired?

"Not tired."

"You've got dark circles under your eyes."

"You're not much better off."

Shen Yu'an chuckled and reached out to straighten his shirt collar.

Xize looked down at him, his grey-blue eyes appearing lighter under the exhibition hall lights. Shen Yu'an's fingers paused for a moment when they touched the back of his neck, then withdrew.

Xize reached out and grasped his withdrawn hand, without letting go.

"Let's go back to sleep," Caesar said.

Shen Yu'an nodded and was led by him towards the exit of the exhibition hall. When they reached the door, Shen Yu'an looked back.

Six paintings hung quietly on the wall, with soft light falling on each one.

The entire booth looked clean and intact; every stroke was drawn by him, and every scene was remembered by him.

"Daddy."

"Um?"

"Take a look back."

Xize stopped, turned around, and followed his gaze. The paintings looked quite nice under the light.

"What's wrong?" Xize asked.

"I just wanted to show you," Shen Yu'an smiled. "Those paintings are all because of you."

Xize looked at him for two seconds, then reached out and pulled him back, bending down to touch his forehead.

"Then I deserve a lot of credit."

"Big." Shen Yu'an leaned against him as they walked towards the door. "Huge."

The two walked out of the exhibition hall. Early-arriving students were already walking around in the corridor; a new day had just begun.

It was dawn outside; it was a May morning in London, and the sunlight streamed in through the window at the end of the corridor, falling onto the floor.

Shen Yu'an held his hand, her steps very light.