Reaching the corner of the second floor of the club building, Uesugi Sakura took out his phone and sent a line to Hanamaru Hanabi.
"Is your orientation session over today?"
Turning left, he passed by the "Shogi Club," "Publicity Department," and "History Research Department."
Uesugi Sakura did not see the sign for the Painting Department, so he had to retrace his steps and walk right.
The message was quickly marked as read.
"It's already over, but today's painting isn't finished yet. Are you at the door, Uesugi-kun?"
Passing the stairwell again, Uesugi Sakura looked up and saw the sign for the Painting Department not far ahead.
"Yes."
"Please wait a moment, Uesugi-kun, I'll come to open the door."
As Uesugi Sakura continued to walk forward, he occasionally glanced through the windows into the club rooms, where energetic students were passionately pursuing their hobbies.
Even though he had been studying here for a year, this was his first time visiting the school's club building, so he didn't know where Hanabi's painting room was located.
Under the white sign for the painting room, Hanamaru Hanabi opened the door and peeked out like a little rabbit looking around. She quickly spotted Uesugi Sakura walking over and cheerfully called out to him:
"Uesugi-kun."
The sweet smile on her cute face appeared very clear, giving a warm feeling.
"I hope I'm not disturbing you; I can just wait at the door if you'd like."
Standing in front of her, Uesugi Sakura glanced inside the painting room and noticed others were also sizing him up.
"No, not at all,"
Hanamaru Hanabi looked up at Uesugi Sakura's face; he was a bit taller than her.
"Please come in, Uesugi-kun. Today's task is almost finished, you can sit next to me and wait for a moment."
Entering the painting room, Uesugi Sakura, following behind Hanabi, noticed many students looking at him, both male and female, some curious and some surprised.
Ignoring their gazes, Uesugi Sakura followed Hanabi to a spot by the window, through which he could see the trees below and the rows of sakura trees by the distant sports field.
The painting room looked somewhat cluttered, with many easels and some spilled paint on the floor, though it didn't seem very old and must have been recent.
On the walls hung various colorful paintings and landscapes.
However, with Uesugi Sakura's drawing skills unable to even sketch a square properly, he entirely couldn't make out what these paintings were, only feeling a sense of clarity.
In one corner of the painting room was a row of wooden shelves piled with various-sized white sheets of paper, and on top were some potted succulents as decoration.
"Uesugi-kun, here's a stool."
"Okay."
Uesugi Sakura accepted the stool Hanabi handed him and sat behind her, while Ayaka Rie leaned over and asked:
"Hey, Uesugi, your Kyudo Club ended so early?"
"The Kyudo Club only had an orientation meeting today."
Uesugi Sakura glanced at Hanamaru Hanabi's painting movements and noticed many water stains on her painting, with translucent tape around the edges of the white paper.
"I heard that there are many rules over there, what do you think?" Ayaka Rie continued to inquire.
"Yes, there are quite a lot."
Uesugi Sakura replied casually, focusing on observing Hanabi's painting technique, noting how she gently sprinkled with a large brush on the damp painting, leaving many ocher-colored droplets.
These droplets quickly absorbed into the painting, spreading slightly outward with the water stains, giving it an ethereal transparency.
"Hey! Are you listening to me seriously!" Seeing Uesugi Sakura's indifferent attitude, Ayaka Rie was a bit annoyed.
"Of course, I am, but I'm observing Hanabi's painting technique; it's the first time I've seen it, and I'm somewhat curious."
"Oh,"
Hanamaru Hanabi also heard the voice behind her and turned her head to look at him,
"Uesugi-kun, do you want to learn watercolor painting?"
"No, not really, just observing out of curiosity."
Hanabi quickly turned back again, picking up a brush and dipping it lightly in water.
In the middle of the painting, a few strokes of cobalt blue, a few strokes of magenta, and the grass green below vaguely resembled the sky amidst the chaotic colors.
Ayaka Rie: "Hehe, it's not easy for others to ask Hanabi to teach them."
After saying that, she turned back to focus on her work.
As Hanabi deepened the colors of the painting, Uesugi Sakura realized that the blob in the middle wasn't the sky.
The overlapping blue, purple, and pale red appeared messy yet orderly, with some blank spaces in the middle.
A strange feeling.
That's the only way Uesugi Sakura could describe it, as he couldn't discern what it was even after a long look.
"Hanabi, what are you painting here?"
"A sakura tree."
Hanamaru Hanabi replied softly, adding a touch of cobalt blue to the upper right corner of the painting with her brush,
"This is the sky. I'm painting it now because the colors in the middle have dried. Painting over them now is called 'layering,' preventing colors from merging and making the outlines look sharper and clearer."
Upon hearing Hanabi's explanation, Uesugi Sakura re-examined the painting and noticed that the blue overlapped with the surrounding magenta but didn't interfere with each other, each color block distinctly identifiable.
Hanabi continuously detailed the painting, bringing out the blue sky, the white horizon, the red hut on the green field below, and the distant mountain peaks one by one.
"Phew~"
Hanamaru Hanabi set down her brush and picked a smaller brush from the water bucket, mixing black and ocher on the palette.
"Next, I'll paint the trunk of the sakura tree."
This sentence seemed directed at Uesugi Sakura, but also as if she was cheering herself on. Regardless, she quickly applied thick brown strokes under the chaotic colors once she picked up the brush.
The commanding brown fully covered the previous colors and continuously revealed the character of the thick trunk.
"Next are the branches."
Instead of dragging the colors of the trunk directly, Hanamaru Hanabi intermittently inserted the brown strokes between the chaotic colors after dipping in the paint, connecting the previously messy colors perfectly.
The sturdy, curved trunk, the swaying pink sakura, and the blue sky peeking through the gaps, complemented by harmonious blank spaces.
At this moment, a three-dimensional effect imposing throughout the space emerged from the painting.
A vivid scene of a swaying sakura tree under the blue sky on a green-field path appeared, capturing the heart as gently as a bird soaring with the wind.
It made one inevitably marvel at the existence of "beauty."
"Amazing," Uesugi Sakura praised.
"No... not really..." Hanamaru Hanabi paused, "I still have much to learn. This 'Sakura Scenery' is a study of Grandpa Shibazaki's work; it's not yet excellent."
"Hehe,"
Ayaka Rie, painting nearby, leaned over upon hearing the conversation, throwing a strange smile at Uesugi Sakura,
"What do you think, Uesugi, do you want to learn now? And Hanabi only finished half of that; it's not complete. If you beg me, I might consider convincing Hanabi to teach you."
After saying this, Ayaka Rie raised her head confidently.