NOVPUBSome viewers said this.
As soon as these words were spoken,
Lanci’s smile froze.
And Talia seemed to emit a light laugh.
"I heard someone has a crush on me."
Talia tiptoed, whispered this into Lanci’s ear, and then looked forward again.
"Lanci?"
"Lanci?"
Talia gently called his name twice, but Lanci did not make a sound.
Just as Talia was about to press down on Lanci’s shoulder to continue whispering into his ear,
a reporter from Parieau Broadcasting Company seemed to spot the intimate pair and hurried over.
This push-pull, the coquettish attitude was exactly the mood of the artist and the grey-haired girl when they first met in the "Enigmatic Beauty" painting, wasn’t it?
It was like seeing their shadows in reality!
"May I ask how the two of you perceive this painting, or what do you think was the artist’s mood when creating this portrait of the Enigmatic Beauty?"
The reporter from Parieau Broadcasting Company raised the microphone and enthusiastically asked Lanci and Talia.
"He’s better at painting."
Talia looked up interestedly at Lanci beside her.
The reporter also aimed the microphone at Lanci.
"I, I don’t know,"
Lanci shook his head and gestured with his hand,
"I can’t paint."
He finally seemed to make up his mind and stated decisively.
...
Around the corner, two heads and a cat’s head peeked out.
It was only in an exhibition hall like this that they dared to get closer to Lanci and Talia, with so many things to hide behind.
When they heard Lanci say he couldn’t paint, they couldn’t hold back any longer.
"Lanci can’t paint?"
Aitio doubted if she had heard wrong.
"How can junior Lanci be so shy that he’d rather deny his painting skills than admit he has a crush on Tata?"
Rosalinda said, reveling in schadenfreude.
"Meow, Tenth Ancestor Laowu would probably be furious enough to come back to life if he heard this,"
Cat Boss shook its head and commented.
On the other side,
the reporter from Parieau Broadcasting Company hesitated but quickly caught on.
"So could you just talk about, in your opinion, what the painting depicts?"
The reporter lifted the microphone again and took out two red-colored prize tickets from their pocket,
"And by participating in our interactive segment, you’ll get these two fireworks tickets!"
Tonight at the Temple of Love festival, holding fireworks tickets meant you could join a raffle with various surprise activities and prizes!
Lanci wasn’t too interested in these tickets.
But he noticed that Talia seemed quite eager for them.
Because it looked like there were limited meal reward prizes in the raffle.
"The artist clearly depicted a story, a young man who by mistake thought the silhouette of a wandering girl was that of a poor old lady, then, upon glancing away and back again, realized she resembled a young beauty, and that’s when he couldn’t help but take a third look at her, but this time he just missed catching her appearance and only saw her enigmatic silhouette and eyes,"
Lanci said, as if forced into customer service.
"Although it differs from the experts’ opinions, the gentleman has provided an innovative interpretation, filled with imaginative and romantic hues,"
The reporter commented with a smile to the camera after listening,
"Thank you for your participation, and have fun today!"
He handed the tickets to Lanci.
Lanci accepted and thanked him, then folded them neatly and handed them to Talia.
"Thank you."
Talia pocketed them contentedly and led him away.
Not until they had moved some distance from the reporters of the temporary exhibition hall.
"Did you really take a third glance at me that day?"
Talia asked, not quite certain.
"Acting."
Lanci murmured to himself.
...
Talia believed Lanci was acting in front of the camera.
He side-stepped her question.
She couldn’t discern the truth, or how sincere he was with his previous words.
"So if the scene depicted in this painting isn’t what you actually saw..."
Talia muttered confusedly, as if asking a question only she could hear,
"How did you know what my pigeon looks like?"
The Dark Pigeon in the painting was exactly like hers.
"!"
Lanci immediately turned his head back.
"I was tipsy at the time, my memory is blurry, so I can’t give you a precise answer,"
Right away, Lanci’s hand gripped Talia’s shoulder, his eyes zeroing in on hers,
"All I remember is sitting in front of the canvas, and what I painted next were my thoughts and feelings, with you as the main character, using the film of my eyes to create the most beautiful portrayal of you."
He quickly explained, suppressing his emotions.
"Eh?"
For a moment, Talia’s cheeks felt warm.
His hand holding hers.
Grasping her shoulder.
The close-up view of his face and those sincere green eyes.
She felt a bit at a loss again.
No, no.
She mustn’t be swept away by him.
He was probably going to say something damnably charming next!
However,
her wavering demeanor seemed to make Lanci more nervous.
"How many times I actually looked at you, I have no answer, and I don’t want to understand it. If there’s one undeniable truth, it is that you are beautiful,"
Lanci insisted firmly.
"So that’s how it is."
Talia’s voice rose a notch.
She gently broke free from Lanci but instead took his hand, pulling him forward, walking ahead so he couldn’t see her expression.
For a moment, Talia almost became clumsy.
Realizing her own fluster was seen by Lanci.
No, everything was still going according to plan.
Talia shook her head vigorously.
My reaction just now must’ve seemed very much like a "girl in love," did it successfully disgust him?...
With the back of her left hand and sleeve covering her cheeks, she turned away, thinking to herself.
