I Became an All-round Artist

The next morning, Lin Yuan only had one class. After finishing it, he headed straight to the piano room. Realizing yesterday that his piano skills needed improvement, he was eager to practice.

However, upon arriving at the piano room, he was surprised to find it completely full.

That was unusual.

It was the first time he had seen all the rooms occupied. He had been here a few times before and never encountered this issue.

Left with no choice, Lin Yuan considered waiting, but it was unclear how long it would take for a room to free up. He decided to leave instead.

Just as he turned to go, he heard a voice behind him.

"Are you here to use the piano?"

Lin Yuan turned to see Gu Xi, the same girl who had apologized to him yesterday. His heart sank a little—Of course.

Normally, the piano rooms wouldn’t be full. But considering every time he encountered Gu Xi, something unlucky happened, this situation seemed to follow the same pattern.

“Never mind,” Lin Yuan replied, determined to avoid her, knowing that being around her only seemed to bring bad luck.

"You can use my piano room," Gu Xi said, her face full of anticipation.

This was her carefully thought-out plan. She had stayed up half the night to come up with it: fill all the available rooms with students so that she could naturally offer Lin Yuan her private room for practice.

"I’ve got something to do," Lin Yuan responded, walking even faster after hearing her offer.

Gu Xi stood there, stunned as he walked away. She wanted to stop him but didn’t dare to, feeling a wave of frustration—Have I offended him too deeply for this to be fixed?

"Gu Xi, are you okay?"

A girl in a white down jacket opened the door of one of the piano rooms and looked at Gu Xi with concern, glancing briefly at Lin Yuan’s retreating figure.

"I’m fine," Gu Xi forced a smile. "Thank you, class leader, for gathering so many students. It must have been hard to organize everyone to fill the rooms."

"You should be thanking me," the class leader replied seriously. "These students usually slack off and don’t use the piano rooms, even though they’re provided by the school for practice. But when they heard you’d be giving them guidance today, they all jumped at the chance. Organizing them was easy."

"Well, since they’re here, I’ll stick to my promise," Gu Xi said. "Let’s start with the first piano room on the left."

Her original plan had been to offer her room to Lin Yuan to make up for the first time they met when she kicked him out of it. She’d planned to teach the other students in the other rooms. But since Lin Yuan turned her down, she had to carry on with her commitment to her classmates.

Two hours later, after providing guidance to all the students in the piano rooms, Gu Xi felt like her voice was about to give out.

Teaching is exhausting.

She called her friend and invited her to the cafeteria to grab a bite to eat and vent about the day.

"You said you had a plan yesterday," her friend asked when they met. "Did it work?"

Gu Xi looked troubled. "It was a complete failure."

Her friend laughed, about to say something, when a nervous boy approached them. "Gu Xi, are you thirsty? I got drinks for you and your friend," he said, setting two bottles of orange juice on the table.

"Thank you," Gu Xi smiled.

The boy froze, momentarily dazed, then hurriedly said, "No problem," before running off, blushing.

"What was that?" her friend asked, surprised. "Since when are you okay with guys trying to win your favor? You used to hate that kind of thing. Even I find it a bit much."

"How’s that being a sycophant?" Gu Xi retorted, as if offended. "Being kind and friendly to each other is normal between classmates."

Her friend raised an eyebrow. "But you used to say that only manipulative girls give guys false hope. You believed in rejecting them firmly to stop them from having unrealistic expectations."

"You don’t understand," Gu Xi said. "Who would willingly act like a sycophant unless they truly liked someone? When you pour all your heart into someone, trying to win them over only to be rejected—it’s painful."

...

As Lin Yuan left the music building, his luck seemed to take a turn for the better. Jian Yi had texted him, offering to treat him to dinner.

"Second cafeteria," read the message.

When Lin Yuan arrived at the cafeteria, Xia Fan was already there. "You’ve been tight on living expenses this month. What’s the occasion for treating us?" she asked.

"Heh," Jian Yi grinned. "Last night, I spent the last bit of my money on a scratch-off lottery ticket and won 800 yuan!"

"No way!" Xia Fan was shocked. "I always thought those things were a scam."

Lin Yuan, a bit envious, asked, "Which shop did you buy it from?"

It seemed like he was tempted to try his luck as well.

Jian Yi gave Lin Yuan a smug look. "You better save your money. Luck like mine doesn’t come around to just anyone."

"That’s not necessarily true," Lin Yuan said, patting Jian Yi on the shoulder.

Jian Yi flinched. "What are you doing?"

Lin Yuan didn’t answer, instead feeling around Jian Yi’s arms and legs before announcing, "I’m going to the restroom. You guys go ahead and start eating."

With that, he dashed off, leaving Jian Yi and Xia Fan looking at each other in confusion.

Inside the restroom, Lin Yuan spoke to his system. "I think I still have a treasure chest left. Open it."

The system, ever efficient, responded immediately. "Congratulations, you have received: Professional-Level Drawing Skills."

"Drawing?" Lin Yuan froze.

Why drawing?

He didn’t get a novel or even a song that he could sell. Instead, the system gave him… drawing skills?

"Drawing is an art too," the system replied, sounding slightly offended. "And professional-level drawing skills are far more valuable than a novel or a song. You should learn to appreciate it."

Feeling somewhat deflated, Lin Yuan returned to the cafeteria. He now had extensive knowledge of drawing techniques in his mind, from sketching to watercolor painting.

"What’s up with you?" Jian Yi and Xia Fan asked.

Lin Yuan shook his head and started eating, trying to console himself.

Even though professional drawing skills aren’t immediately useful, they could come in handy in the long run. And who knows? Maybe I can make some extra cash by offering portrait sketches in a busy area.

After all, skills could be monetized.

I could even apply for a teaching position at a drawing class, he mused. Though my job at the composition department pays more, so that might not be worth it.

Lin Yuan found himself in a dilemma.

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