Rao Can initially didn't want to agree so readily, but when she met Wen Shangqi's eyes.
She didn't know why, but she nodded obediently, then got up and ran into the house.
After Rao Can left, Wen Shangqi searched among the fruit saplings and finally confirmed it was the waxberry tree sapling.
Rao Can quickly brought paper and a pen. She stood beside Wen Shangqi and began to draw.
Before the apocalypse, she was an art student, so drawing was a piece of cake for her.
As Wen Shangqi saw Rao Can start to sketch, he also began to exert his power to accelerate the growth of the waxberry tree.
Rao Beichen brought breakfast to the table. As he came out to call people, he saw Wen Shangqi and Rao Can standing side by side, with a distance between them.
In front of Wen Shangqi, a waxberry tree shot up from the ground, growing vigorously, with green waxberries hanging from its branches.
Those green waxberries began to change color at a visible speed, from a light red, slowly deepening, until they finally turned into wine-red waxberries the size of ping-pong balls.
Wen Shangqi's acceleration of the waxberry tree's growth perfectly matched Rao Can's drawing speed.
By the time the waxberry tree was laden with fruit, Rao Can's portrait of Su Ling was also completed.
"Here, for you." Rao Can tucked the pen into her bun, handed the painting to Wen Shangqi, and then looked at the waxberry tree.
At this sight, she was utterly stunned by the scene before her.
"Amazing!" Things she couldn't do, this powerful figure accomplished effortlessly, without a drop of sweat. This was probably the disparity among humans.
Rao Beichen, standing at a distance, observed their interaction and felt a twinge of bitterness, but he still spoke at the appropriate time, "Breakfast is ready."
After saying this, Rao Beichen turned and went back into the house.
Wen Shangqi acted as if he hadn't heard Rao Beichen's voice. As for Rao Can, she was entirely focused on the waxberry tree. She spread out her clothes and placed the picked waxberries on them, unbothered by the juice staining her clothes red.
Wen Shangqi took Su Ling's portrait. The girl in the painting had short hair, an oval face, peach blossom eyes, and a small, delicate nose.
This face was exactly the same as the one in his dreams.
If there was any difference, it was probably that Su Ling in his dreams had waist-length, thick, black hair, while the Su Ling in this painting had short hair that only reached her ears.
And her eyes, which seemed to see through the vicissitudes of life, were distant and aloof, unforgettable at a glance.
After storing the portrait in his storage space, Wen Shangqi looked at Rao Can, who was happily picking waxberries. He reached out, plucked a branch full of waxberries, and then turned to walk into the house.
Rao Can watched the broken waxberry branch with great heartache, daring not to speak out in anger.
Wen Shangqi brought the waxberries back into the house, sat at the dining table, and dumped the waxberries on the table.
Rao Beichen scooped some congee and looked at him, "What deal did you make again?"
"I had her draw a self-portrait of Su Ling," Wen Shangqi said, scooping himself some congee, not hiding anything from Rao Beichen.
"Oh?" Rao Beichen added pickled vegetables to his porridge, his interest piqued, "Why suddenly—"
"I dreamed of Su Ling," Wen Shangqi said directly and frankly, "To verify."
Rao Beichen took a mouthful of porridge, picked up a corn dumpling with his chopsticks, put it in his mouth, chewed and swallowed before asking Wen Shangqi, "Is it the same person?"
"Yes, and no," Wen Shangqi picked up a crab roe bun and ate it dipped in vinegar.
Seeing Rao Can enter, Rao Beichen quickly freed a hand to scoop congee for her, then peeled a salted duck egg and placed the peeled egg on a plate.
Wen Shangqi observed Rao Beichen's meticulous care with his own eyes but said nothing.
He could learn from it, perhaps it would be useful later.
After preparing Rao Can's breakfast, Rao Beichen looked at Wen Shangqi, "What do you say?"