The final segment of the awards ceremony naturally involved everyone gathering for a group photo.
The responsibility of photography fell to none other than our Best Cinematography winner, Senior Brother Ouyang, whose sketching skills rivaled that of a human printing press.
Everyone lined up in front of the counter, each holding a little golden statuette—after all, even Second Xu had won an award for "Best Atmosphere Contributor."
Oh...
Princess Little Jiang stood empty-handed.
Clutching the hem of her dress, she lingered at a distance, hugging her little woven basket, gazing at the scene with longing and envy.
She hadn’t gone to the Wind-Listening Pavilion with Brother Li.
So she hadn’t received an award.
Truthfully, she really wanted a little golden statuette—if anyone didn’t want theirs and threw it away, she could pick it up...
But judging by the gleam of those golden trophies, it seemed unlikely...
Clang—
A small golden statuette suddenly fell to the ground.
Jiang Chulong looked up in confusion.
Then she saw Li Mo staring at the sky, muttering in feigned bewilderment:
"Where’d my little golden statuette go?"
Jiang Chulong picked it up, about to say something, when Li Mo winked at her.
"Chulong deserves an award too."
"Wh-what for?"
"Do you often pick up trash?"
"Mm... yeah."
"Congratulations! You’ve set an exemplary model for local environmental hygiene! That absolutely deserves a reward!"
In truth, trash-picking was just Jiang Chulong’s personal hobby.
When she was pulled into the group, she was both delighted and a little embarrassed.
Everyone stood together.
"Smile, everyone."
Absentmindedly taking the little golden statuette from Ice Block’s hand, Li Mo instinctively called out.
In the memories from before his rebirth, his family used to take a few group photos every year.
Standing here with everyone now, it really did feel like those old family portraits.
Hmm...
Thinking of smiles, Li Mo glanced at the person beside him—the smile-challenged Ice Block.
Ah, it’s all coming back to me now.
That scalp-tingling sensation.
"What’s wrong?"
Jiang Chulong turned her head, her delicate frame suddenly shivering.
Sister Ice’s forced smile...
Was terrifying!
How to make Ice Block smile quickly? Perhaps the greatest challenge of this ceremony.
"I tried my best."
Ying Bing resumed her expressionless demeanor, which, oddly enough, made her seem gentler.
"Yeah, you really did..."
Li Mo wanted to say that smiling wasn’t something effort alone could fix.
Telling jokes like last time definitely wouldn’t work.
But.
He was a genius. A flash of inspiration struck him.
Li Mo’s gaze landed on the slender curve of the girl’s waist.
Every girl has a particularly sensitive spot—any guesses what it is?
3...
2...
1...
That’s right, the ticklish spot!
Li Mo seized the moment and launched a sneak attack!
Squish...
Huh.
Who knew Ice Block, despite her cold demeanor, would feel so soft and fragrant? Kinda nice, actually...
"If it’s not working, you don’t have to draw me..."
Ying Bing’s words cut off abruptly, swallowed by her own tightly pressed lips.
An electric tingle shot through her waist, spreading like a current through her body, making her fingers curl and her neck shrink slightly.
Looking down, she saw the boy gazing up at her with hopeful eyes.
"Did you smile?"
"......"
Ying Bing did not "hehe."
"!"
When he saw the icy reproach in those phoenix-like eyes, Young Li realized something.
Oh dear.
Not all of my brilliant ideas are actually brilliant...
RIP.
Sure enough, the next moment, the soft flesh near his waist was pinched and given a full 180-degree twist.
Because of his sneak attack.
Ice Block had also abandoned all notions of fair play.
"Ow ow ow... ahhh..."
Li Mo sucked in a sharp breath, clutching at her cold little hand in vain—the more he tried to pry it off, the tighter she twisted.
Qian Bufan couldn’t bear to watch: "...Tch."
Xue Jing laughed heartily: "Tsk tsk, heh..."
Shang Wu suddenly laughed in resignation: "Hah... damn you."
The older ones—including Ouyang and Shen Yunfei—fell into deep thought.
Because it suddenly occurred to them that if they appeared in this painting, they might... seem a little superfluous.
Jiang Chulong was a bit worried.
As for Second Xu... well, he just wore a look of profound wisdom.
Ignore him. He’s insane.
Ouyang, ever the quick one, swiftly put brush to paper.
And so, this moment was forever immortalized.
He even thoughtfully included himself in the painting.
......
Night fell.
On the rooftop of the tavern.
"Was I... really like this?"
Ying Bing seemed lost in thought.
In the painting, her usual icy gaze was gone, replaced by a faint glare as she mercilessly twisted the flesh at Li Mo’s waist.
The question was rhetorical.
Every detail in the painting—Elder Qian’s exasperation, Elder Xue’s amusement, Shang Wu’s scowl, Jiang Chulong’s timid posture, everyone leaning back in tactical retreat—
Had all just happened.
Especially him.
That ridiculous expression—clutching his waist, sucking in air through his teeth, his handsome face twisted in pain.
Unforgettable.
"Let it be..."
Ying Bing took a sip of tea, her lips quirking slightly.
Why overthink it?
Didn’t she fit perfectly into this scene?
"Though next time, I should tell him not to casually touch a woman’s..."
Recalling the sensation, Ying Bing felt goosebumps rise faintly on her neck.
Oddly enough, this time, there was no system interference.
So why did his touch send the same jolt through her as during their swordplay that day...
[Ding—]
Well, well, well. Speak of the devil.
The system notification popped up right on cue.
[Countdown to next ranking comparison: One day.]
[Punishment: Request the winner to caress over 80% of your body...]
Before.
Ying Bing hadn’t thought much of it.
But now, with the memory of that touch lingering stubbornly in her mind...
Some things were like that.
The harder you tried to forget, the more they took root.
.........
Meanwhile.
In the tavern’s courtyard, by the Dragon-Tiger Alchemy Furnace.
"Sigh..."
Li Mo sat with the painting on his lap, waiting for Senior Brother Xiaobao and Elder Xue.
Tonight, he planned to condense the last of his seven Mystic Pills.
Once done, he could attempt the Heaven-Overturning Technique.
"What’s wrong, Junior Brother Li?"
Passing by, Ouyang saw him sighing dejectedly.
He couldn’t understand it.
Someone like Junior Brother Li... actually had worries?
"I was just thinking—even geniuses have moments when their ideas backfire."
"What kind of ideas?"
Ouyang considered himself a genius too, and much older besides.
Surely he could offer guidance and save this lost lamb.
"Senior Brother Ouyang, do you understand what goes on in a woman’s mind?"
"You’ve drawn so many beauties—you must know a thing or two, right? ...Senior Brother Ouyang?"
Li Mo sighed.
But Senior Brother Ouyang had gone silent.
Turning, he found Senior Brother Ouyang staring at him with dead-fish eyes, radiating resentment thicker than a ghost’s grudge.
"Damn you."
"Eh??"
"Love is for fools. What’s so great about real women? The ladies in paintings are far sweeter."
"......"
Li Mo fell silent.
He wasn’t sure why Senior Brother Ouyang’s reaction was so intense.
But it seemed like he had inadvertently given birth to the first "two-dimensional" phenomenon in the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands...
Li Mo quickly changed the subject:
"By the way, Senior Brother Ouyang, why are you in the painting too?"
"Naturally, I wield the brush with qi."
"Huh?"
"Do you think wielding a sword with qi is normal?"
"Of course."
"Then what’s unreasonable about wielding a brush with qi and letting it paint on its own?"
"...Fair point."