Chapter Thirty-Eight: Time to Come Clean—I'm a Grandmaster of Traditional Chinese Painting

Qin Nuanyu’s face turned deathly pale, like wax. Then, she clenched her fists, her silver teeth grinding in fury, her bright eyes ablaze.
“It must be her doing! That Chen Yi—she’s a streamer, for heaven’s sake. How can she be so shameless?”
“I’m going to find her.”
Blinded by rage, Qin Nuanyu spun around, intent on confronting Chen Yi.
But Yang Xiaofan grabbed her arm.
“What good would it do to confront her now? Do you think she’d admit anything?”
“Then what should we do? Are we supposed to just stand by and let her get away with it?”
“There’s nothing we can do. If you go to her now, everyone will think we’re just making a fuss, or worse, that we’re trying to frame her. In the end, we’ll only embarrass ourselves.”
Other classmates chimed in anxiously:
“Class president, this isn’t the time for quarrels. Our performance is about to begin. What should we do?”
Qin Nuanyu suddenly felt the world spinning around her.
Victory had seemed assured, and now, at the very threshold of success, someone had sabotaged everything. Anyone would find it unbearable.
Yang Xiaofan thought for a moment, then immediately ordered,
“Alright, all of you, go to the sports field and bring back a few buckets of sand.”
“Sand? What for?”
“Don’t ask. Just do as I say.”
“Well... alright then.”
The students hurried off to fetch sand. Qin Nuanyu, still puzzled, asked,
“Xiaofan, do you have an idea?”
“Of course. She’s just a petty schemer—she thinks she can outsmart me? Not a chance.”
...
A few minutes later, it was finally Yang Xiaofan’s turn to perform on stage.
“Next, from the sophomore Chinese department, Yang Xiaofan will perform the song ‘Heavenly Road.’ We hope you enjoy it.”
With the host’s introduction, Yang Xiaofan slowly walked onto the stage.
Instantly, approving murmurs rose from the crowd.
“Wow—he’s so handsome!”
“He’s even more handsome than the last performer.”
“I wonder if he has a girlfriend. I hope he doesn’t.”

“What are you thinking? With a boy this good-looking, how could he not have a girlfriend?”
...
Yang Xiaofan waved his hand, cleared his throat, and spoke in a hoarse voice:
“Here’s the thing: I was supposed to sing. But someone wasn’t playing fair—they gave me something I shouldn’t have drunk and ruined my voice. So I have to switch programs.”
The audience immediately began to murmur.
“What did he say? Someone ruined his voice? Who could be so vicious?”
“Come on, you believe everything he says? He probably stayed up late and strained his voice, now he’s just looking for sympathy.”
“Exactly. Society is so civilized and healthy—who would do such a thing?”
Backstage, Chen Yi, peeking out at Yang Xiaofan, curled her lip in smug satisfaction.
“Hmph! Idiot! You dare go up against me? It’s like courting death! Let’s see what trick you can pull now!”
...
Yang Xiaofan heard all this, but only let out a cold chuckle, offering no further explanation. He continued,
“As for who did it, there’s no need to say. I don’t have any evidence right now. But listen well: if you want to challenge me, you’re far from ready.”
“Now, I’ll begin a new performance—sand painting!”
He clapped his hands, and his classmates brought up buckets of sand, pouring them onto the stage and smoothing it out in front of him.
The audience whispered, baffled by his actions, but they could see the sandy surface on the giant screen overhead.
Yang Xiaofan began to draw.
With his first stroke, the crowd felt their spirits shaken.
Such bold and graceful movement.
One stroke formed a mountain peak, majestic and stretching seemingly for miles!
His formidable talent was laid bare for all to see.
With each stroke, a vast and magnificent landscape of ten thousand mountains gradually appeared before the audience.
“My God!”
“It’s beautiful!”
“Someone can actually paint with sand?”
“Does anyone notice his painting style is similar to that artist who painted on the school wall a few days ago?”
“Oh wow! Now that you mention it, it really does look alike! So the artist from the wall was him!”

The students erupted in excitement; Chen Yi was dumbstruck, her face pale and trembling as she muttered,
“No, no, this can’t be! I don’t believe it! I don’t believe it!”
Yang Xiaofan’s classmates cheered wildly.
Even Qin Nuanyu gazed up at him, lost in admiration.
He was too cool!
The strength Yang Xiaofan displayed was astonishing—this infinitely charming man was her boyfriend.
How could she not be thrilled?
Three minutes later, as Yang Xiaofan finished his sand painting, thunderous applause erupted throughout the venue; some even screamed.
“Do another! Do another!”
One began, then two, then three... Soon everyone was shouting.
So many voices joined in that the whole place became chaotic; it seemed the crowd would not rest until Yang Xiaofan performed again.
The host hurried onto the stage, whispering in Yang Xiaofan’s ear,
“Yang, could you perform a bit longer? Two classes have already withdrawn and given you their time.”
Yang Xiaofan nodded, happy to oblige.
Painting was as natural to him as breathing—there was no reason to refuse.
As he began another sand painting, the students calmed, eyes glued to the big screen, watching his artistry unfold.
Seeing this scene, even with just a wooden ear for a brain, Chen Yi realized who would be crowned the winner of this year’s gala.
It was undoubtedly Yang Xiaofan.
“Damn you! Damn you! Damn you! Yang Xiaofan, why do you insist on opposing me?”
Chen Yi wailed in rage, helpless to change the outcome.
There was nothing she could do—Yang Xiaofan’s skill was simply too overwhelming.
At that moment, the website responsible for streaming the Su Bei School Gala began to show abnormal data.
On the short video app, clips tagged ‘Su Bei Freshman Gala’ and ‘Master Painter’ were being frantically shared, dominating trending lists across all platforms and climbing steadily to the top.
Meanwhile, the livestream site’s popularity had soared past several million, nearly reaching the number one spot in the live broadcast rankings.
Even Qiandu’s trending search list was beginning to feature discussions about ‘Su Bei University Freshman Gala.’