"I've got to get busy. You guys eat."

As Brother Nan was leaving, she even patted Zhou Li's head. As his crew-cut hair gradually grew longer, it wasn't as pleasant to the touch as before. "You should get your haircut again soon. It might get hot before long."

Zhou Li just silently ate his noodles, not saying a word.

Brother Nan was so unfair. When Zhou Li touched her hair, she would hit him, but she could touch his hair whenever she wanted.

Women!

After the meal, Zhou Li picked up a package on his way home.

A few days ago, he had bought a set of carving knives and a beginner's manual for hand carving online. Finding it quite good, he then purchased some wood suitable for beginners, like rosewood and basswood, planning to practice at home following video tutorials in the coming days.

He really couldn't be bothered to find a master in real life and was also afraid of being scolded for his clumsiness.

Since the pandemic was boring, he figured he might as well cultivate a hobby.

If it didn't work out, he'd just let it be. Only by truly trying can one know the joy of giving up.

The carving knives and wood were very heavy. Even Tuanzi considerately climbed down to walk on his own, not letting Zhou Li carry him. Once home, Zhou Li excitedly took out the wood and started practicing, following the video tutorial.

Beginners should ideally start by practicing with small items that have simple lines and contours.

Spoons, leaves, water cups, and lotus seed pods were all good choices. They didn't require much technique, so one could start carving them right away.

This could help foster a sense of accomplishment.

With more practice, one could move on to items with more complex lines, like roses, lotuses, and cartoon characters.

The tutorial started by using a leaf as an example.

Zhou Li had Huai Xu pick a leaf from outside for him. He then traced its outline, ignoring the serrated edges, drew it on paper first, transferred the drawing onto the wood, and then began to saw it out with a coping saw.

Then came the refining and sanding.

Once the leaf's outline was formed, he carved out the depressions and etched the veins.

It was a very patience-demanding process.

Fortunately, the video clearly explained the precautions: for instance, not to saw too close to the line, leaving some margin for error, and when refining, not to work on the petiole first, lest it break off.

The wood was soft, and the carving knife sharp. With just a light push, a SHUSH sound was heard as wood shavings fell away.

This process brought a wonderful sense of satisfaction.

Two demons, one large and one small, watched from the side. One found it incredibly fun, while the other thought the process was simply magical.

The piece of wood slowly transformed into a three-dimensional leaf with slight depressions, resembling a miniature dish. Even if it could only sit on a table as a decoration, it had an artistic flair.

"How is it?" Zhou Li asked. Because it was so simple, he had succeeded on his first try and felt a great sense of accomplishment.

"Let Lord Dumpling take a look!"

"That looks fun. Let me try it," Huai Xu said, having been itching to have a go for a while.

"It's quite fun."

Zhou Li handed the carved leaf to Tuanzi and then tried to get praise from Huai Xu. "How's my carving?"

Huai Xu commented frankly, "Mediocre."

...

By this time, Huai Xu had already picked up a pen and another piece of wood. His drawing skills were inherently better than Zhou Li's, something Zhou Li had experienced firsthand. Thus, Huai Xu didn't need paper; he directly drew the leaf's outline on the wood and then sawed closely along the line.

His hand was as steady as a machine, making no mistakes.

He moved quickly, his knife-work deft as a deity's. The continuous SHUSHING sound of carving filled the air, and amidst the flying wood shavings, the leaf's outline gradually emerged.

Just ten minutes later—

A leaf more exquisite, beautiful, and artistic than Zhou Li's appeared!

"Here!"

Huai Xu looked at Zhou Li.

Zhou Li didn't look. He looked out the window.

"Here!"

Huai Xu held the leaf up before his eyes. "See? Isn't my carving more beautiful than yours? You don't have an artistic bone in your body like I do."

Zhou Li averted his gaze, still determinedly refusing to look.

"Here!"

Huai Xu persistently continued to show it to him.

This old monster is toxic.

Compared to him, Lord Dumpling, who had lost interest in his carving after just two glances, was far more adorable.

Zhou Li silently took the carving knife back from him and decided to forget what had happened in the last ten minutes. He reopened the tutorial, planning to use the rest of the day to carve a few spoons. Spoons had a higher practical value.

"Go play your games. You're not allowed to use my carving knives anymore," Zhou Li said, afraid Huai Xu would dull them. "If you want to use them, buy your own."

"Tch!"

「March 20th, Vernal Equinox, Friday.」

It had been raining all day, but towards mid-afternoon, it cleared up, and sunshine even appeared. The air carried a hint of post-rain dampness and freshness.

Zhou Li and Brother Nan emerged from Wanda Plaza after a stroll and walked slowly along the river, heading from the direction of the city government building.

Around four o'clock, they sat down on a bench by the river, each taking out their mobile phones. They had a physical education class that afternoon—an online one.

The assignment was for boys to do push-ups, girls to do squats, and for everyone to do burpees. They had to record videos and post them in the group chat for the teacher. Although they didn't have to spend time gathering on the sports field, to be honest, the amount of exercise was much greater than usual, revealing many people's poor physical fitness.

Zhou Li and Brother Nan did their exercises by the riverside, filmed each other, posted the videos in the group chat, and then watched the videos others had submitted.

"This person's form is terrible, hahaha..."

"Look at your cousin! She's about to collapse from exhaustion, haha!"

"Wow, this one..."

Brother Nan was watching a video of a well-endowed girl doing burpees. The girl might have already warmed up, as she was only wearing a light top. Brother Nan had just started watching with a grin when she suddenly realized something. She hurriedly closed the video and turned to look at Zhou Li seriously.

"What are you looking at?"

Zhou Li showed her his screen.

She leaned in for a closer look.

Because of their good looks, Zhou Li and Brother Nan were always the center of attention in the group chat. So, shortly after their video was posted, someone pointed out that their backgrounds were the same. Even the PE teacher sent an emoji.

Zhou Li's face felt a little hot as he sneakily observed Brother Nan's reaction.

Brother Nan casually patted his shoulder and said calmly, "Don't mind them. PE classes are supposed to be outdoors anyway, right? Isn't it perfectly normal for two classmates to do the class together?"

After a pause, she added, "I think they're just not used to it. Once we do every class together, they'll see it more often and get used to it!"

Zhou Li nodded, thinking she had a point.

The two of them got up and continued walking.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Yan City had been zero for a week. There were noticeably more people by the riverside now, and square dancing had resumed in many places. Walking together, the two of them continually attracted the attention of passersby.

"Staying at home is so boring. I really want school to start!" Brother Nan exclaimed, tilting her head back. "But once school starts, I'll want a holiday again~~"

"It really is boring." Zhou Li also wanted school to start.

"I've been learning to bake cakes from TikTok recently," Brother Nan said. "They turn out pretty good. I'll let you try some sometime."

"Oh."

"Oh right, how are our flowers doing?"

"Huai Xu said they're blooming beautifully."

"Hehehe..."

"What are you laughing about?"

"I saw online that so many people's flowers in their dorms have dried up and died, hahaha!" Brother Nan couldn't help laughing at the thought.

"You..." Zhou Li felt a headache coming on.

"Crawfish will be in season in a few days. We can go out to eat crawfish then," Brother Nan continued. "But let's get some lamb soup first. I saw that the lamb soup place near my house is still open. I don't know when it'll close, but it's really delicious."

"Oh."

Brother Nan had invited Zhou Li to that lamb soup place last year, but he had refused. It seemed he couldn't avoid it this time.

Suddenly, he noticed many passersby raising their phones and looking into the distance. Just as he was wondering what was happening, Brother Nan tapped his shoulder—

"Quick, look! A rainbow!"

"Huh?"

Zhou Li followed her pointed finger with his gaze.

A few dark clouds still lingered on the horizon, and the ground was damp. Sunlight pierced through gaps in the clouds, and a rainbow arched across the sky. Many people chose to capture this rare and beautiful moment.

But Brother Nan didn't take any photos. She simply turned her head to gaze at the rainbow, her hands tucked in her pockets, as she strolled leisurely forward.

CLICK!

Zhou Li, standing behind her, watched her image on his phone screen.

A basketball rolled to her feet. Some young men in the distance called out to her with grins, "Hey beautiful, can you get the ball for us?"

Brother Nan grinned, pulled one hand from her pocket, bent down, and deftly tapped the ball up. Then, with a single-handed throw, the basketball soared through the air in a high arc, like a rainbow, from well beyond the three-point line.

CLANG!

It went in!

The young men erupted with shouts of disbelief.

Brother Nan let out a hearty laugh, her smile more radiant than the post-rain rainbow. For a moment, Zhou Li felt that even such a restlessly dull time could be blandly interesting and tenderly slow.

That was until Brother Nan turned to him, her face full of pride, and asked, "Aren't I awesome?"

Zhou Li pursed his lips.

It seemed rainbows were fleeting after all.

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