Chapter 1223 - Competing with Xia Ruya in Painting (1/2)

Xia Ruya initially did not plan to compete with anyone during the gala, but Lin Yingxin’s performance was too disappointing. She was afraid that Lin Yingxin would make a snide remark and end up ruining her plan. Thus, she decided to take Wen Xinya on herself.

Of course, she also did not expect that Du Ruoxin would say, “Even if she’s Old Mr. Mo’s granddaughter, it doesn’t mean that she’d be proficient in all the four arts.” Du Ruoxin’s words were obviously directed at her.

She discovered that there were plenty of heiresses at the gala who were casting peculiar glances at her and comparing her to Wen Xinya. Under such circumstances, her plan to steal the limelight would fail if she could not gain the upper hand in this round. Even if Lin Yingxin defeated Wen Xinya and Wen Xinya fell into her trap, everyone would see Xia Ruya as talentless.

Of course, she only initiated a competition in painting because she knew that painting was Wen Xinya’s weakness. When she first found out about that, she deliberately hired a painting expert to teach her, despite the fact that she was not interested in painting at all. However, she discovered that she had a flair for painting and managed to make remarkable progress after putting in the effort.

Most importantly, she knew that the jimsonweed had already begun working its effects on Wen Xinya’s central nervous system and that the adrenaline rush was already over for Wen Xinya. At this point, she was already slipping into slight lethargy that was most prominent in her brain. However, she would not notice it at first because the effects were mild.

Although the effects were mild, setups and planning were important when it came to painting. The brain would control the energy needed for one to wield the paintbrush and create a masterpiece. Hence, the slight change in one’s thought process and mental state would greatly affect the outcome.

She was rather confident of winning this round.

“Since Miss Xia is so sincere, I definitely can’t turn you down,” Wen Xinya said with raised brows, surprised that Xia Ruya was good at painting. It seems she had belittled Xia Ruya yet again.

She could turn down anyone except Xia Ruya, not only because of the complicated feud between them but also because she had never thought of backing away from Xia Ruya.

Reason being, Xia Ruya was the kind to take advantage of one’s kindness and push her limits.

Xia Ruya stood up and exclaimed, “Miss Wen, please!”

Wen Xinya rose from her seat and said, “Please!”

The two of them proceeded to move onto the porch.

At this moment, Lin Yingxin finally recovered from the shock and realized that she had overreacted. She could not help but berate herself for losing control of her emotions. She wondered, I’m never the type to act rashly, but why do I find it so hard to control my emotions whenever I see Wen Xinya enjoying glory?

She rubbed her throbbing forehead and tried to stop herself from getting too frustrated.

The personnel of Boya Pavilion prepared the easels, colorful paint, and brushes, after which the two of them began working on their pieces.

The host said, “You shall have the time of one joss stick. Ladies, you have to complete your paintings before the joss stick is burnt. The one who fails to complete her piece on time will be declared the loser.”

Wen Xinya looked at the incense burner, on which there was a lit joss stick that would last for another thirty minutes or so. She was really pressed for time.

Xia Ruya glanced at Wen Xinya before looking down and continuing to work on her masterpiece.

Wen Xinya knew that Xia Ruya would never do anything that she was not confident of. Since she had the gall to challenge Wen Xinya to painting, it meant that she was extremely confident in it.