After Marrying the Aloof Beauty, I Totally Fell for Her - Chapter 17
Chapter 17: Shameless
Unable to sleep, An Ning opened the school forum and discovered that even after a week, that post still hadn’t dropped off the trending list.
#Plot twist: the beauty from the Sports Academy actually got into her girlfriend’s car#
The post, written from the perspective of a badminton team member, vividly recounted everything that happened during the exhibition match and even included a photo of Mu Yan wiping sweat from An Ning’s face—even though it was just their backs.
This must’ve been written by Tiantian, right?
No matter how many times she looked at the photo, An Ning always felt a sense of unreality.
Whether it was the act of Mu Yan wiping her sweat, or the gentle look in her eyes while doing it—it was something An Ning couldn’t have imagined even in her dreams.
But her memory told her clearly that it had really happened.
She scrolled down to the comments.
Comment 1: Apologizing for what I said before. Wishing you two a lifetime of happiness!
Comment 2: Even though it’s just a shot from the back, I can feel they’re both beauties. I’m dying from the shipping!
Comment 3: You’re totally right! I was actually there in person. They were both so good-looking, the whole scene was so romantic, the only thing missing was replacing the athlete’s march in the stadium with a love ballad.
Comment 4: That older girl is literally my dream woman. Didn’t expect my first love-at-first-sight experience would be toward someone else’s girlfriend. No wonder the fortune teller told me I had no luck in romance.
Comment 5: Oh, cut it out. Nine out of ten people who see her would fall for her. You sure it’s love at first sight? Sounds more like you’re just thirsty for her face.
Comment 6: I am thirsty for her face. I’ve got normal taste—I deserve praise!
Most of the following comments were from people who had been at the badminton match and were seated close to the court. Nine out of ten were gushing about Mu Yan’s looks.
The more An Ning read, the better her mood got. Then she remembered the two scenic tickets she had tucked away between her books and started feeling conflicted again.
They were October passes to the Yunkong Mountain Scenic Area, and they’d expire in a week.
She had originally thought of buying two more tickets to go with her roommates, but under Chen Ying’s persuasion, the other two flat-out refused.
Huang Lu had even lectured her seriously: “She’s older than you, so she’s probably more reserved. We’re still young—who needs pride? Just go ask her out!”
Still, hiking… didn’t really seem like Mu Teacher’s thing…
An Ning wasn’t sure if she was just making excuses again. If the prize had been tickets to an art exhibit, she definitely would’ve invited Mu Yan.
She thought about Mu Teacher’s fragile-looking frame. Even if she did invite her, Mu Yan probably wouldn’t come, right?
But then…
She remembered how Mu Yan’s eyes had turned red while looking at her.
“Are you really that scared of me?”
She had promised not to act like that anymore.
Even if she got rejected—it’s not like she’d lose a piece of flesh.
Gripping the phone with the determination of someone burning their bridges, An Ning opened the chat with the cactus avatar.
WobuSuan (I’m not sour):
Mu Teacher, the prize from the last exhibition match was two tickets to Yunkong Mountain, just outside the city. I wanted to ask if you’re free next weekend to go hiking together?
It’s okay if you’re not—I just wanted to ask.
After hitting send, An Ning quickly turned off her phone, shoved it under her pillow, closed her eyes, and buried herself under the covers to calm her suddenly frenzied nerves.
Meanwhile, not long before that, Mu Yan had just put her pen down and slid her chair back, examining the painting in front of her.
Orange flames blazed across the entire canvas. The soft strokes and layered coloring made the fire seem almost alive. If one looked closely, the overlapping outlines of the flames faintly formed the shape of a girl in mid-jump.
Just looking at it filled you with a sense of vitality and raw emotion.
It was clear the artist had poured genuine love into her subject.
This was a piece that matched Mr. Tieshu’s (Iron Tree’s) standard.
She exhaled softly, her stiff back finally relaxing a bit.
No matter how much the outside world praised her as gifted and brilliant, she always knew her own creative process was anything but smooth.
The so-called “demon works” required the artist’s emotions to feed them during creation.
And she had always lacked emotion since childhood, which kept her stuck at the threshold of being a true “creator.” Her skills had improved, but she still hadn’t found that key to unlock it all.
Until… in the depths of pain, she found that key.
She had relied on that feeling ever since—sometimes even deliberately inducing pain to reach it.
But pain, when prolonged, leads to numbness. Eventually, even that emotion had been worn away by time.
She had thought she’d never be able to create a “demon work” again.
Yet while watching An Ning’s match, that feeling came back.
Her heart, stuffed full of emotion, felt like it might burst. The moment she picked up her brush, those emotions surged through her fingertips onto the canvas.
Both keys came from An Ning. The only difference was that—
The first key was born from pain.
The second key came from…
Shamelessness.
Mu Yan stared at the painting for a while, then turned her face away, took out her phone, snapped a photo, and sent it to Yuan Zi.
MY: New work.
Tuanzi: shock.jpg That fast??
MY: Cut the crap. Just look at the painting.
Twenty minutes later—
Tuanzi: You never disappoint, boss! You’re my god—my only god!
MY: Blocked.
Tuanzi: No no no! I was just about to explain. How do I put this… the painting feels like your style but also doesn’t?
MY: ?
Tuanzi: I mean, anyone who’s handled your original works knows: sure, your technique is top-tier, but the real standout is always the emotion conveyed. Honestly, I used to be scared to look at your pieces for too long—they were so emotionally heavy it made me depressed. But this one’s totally different. Aside from the more obvious changes in linework and color blending, the overall mood is way more positive. If it weren’t for that same immersive emotional pull, I’d seriously think your account got hacked.
Mu Yan read the long message and gave a slight twitch of the lips.
Was it that obvious?
MY: Come by the day after tomorrow to pick this up and give it to Liu Wei. Also tell him I’m skipping this year’s Art Federation meeting as usual.
Tuanzi: Got it. Still, I’m honestly surprised you finished it so quickly. And wasn’t this not the piece you were originally working on?
MY: Yeah. Just got lucky this time.
Tuanzi: Huh?
Mu Yan didn’t plan to keep chatting. She was about to turn off her phone when a message popped up at the top.
After reading it, she immediately replied:
“I’ll pick you up at the East Gate at 8 a.m. on Sunday.”
Then she switched back to the chat with Yuan Zi.
MY: What do I need to prepare for a hike?
Tuanzi: What?
MY: How much is your car?
Tuanzi: 500,000. Why?
MY: Get me a similar one. Bring it over the day after tomorrow.
Tuanzi: Are you sure you haven’t been hacked???
Back under the covers, An Ning still heard the faint buzz of her phone vibrating under the pillow.
After hesitating a moment, she pulled it out.
She didn’t even need to open the chat—just seeing Mu Yan’s reply on the lock screen made her heart leap.
She rolled over in a flash.
Bang!
“Ow!”
Smashed her knee.