Chapter 163
After class in the afternoon, I received my handmade ceramic mug.
A drawing of two children was on the light blue mug. The tall one was a boy of about ten years old, and the short one was a girl with two braids. He was holding her hand while she was talking to him with her head tilted up. He showed a gentle and indulgent smile.
That was my clearest memory of Colin when I was about five.
I cleaned the mug, put it on the table, and admired it. I even took out my phone and took a few photos as I waited for Colin to receive his gift.
After that, I could post the photos on WhatsApp Status to show off.
The coursework here wasn’t as much as it was at Lincoln University. Our tutor often took us to places with unique scenery or historical heritage. He would also let us read classics and poems and conduct research based on our different perspectives. Our creations contributed to our academic scores.
On Friday morning, 17 of us followed our tutor to visit the tomb of a princess. It was more than 30 miles away from Jinovy.
It was called a princess‘ tomb, but it looked more like a large garden. There
were few buildings there that had Medieval characteristics. As for the tomb
itself, it wasn’t very ornamental.
The tutor told us the legendary and poignant life of the princess eloquently and emotionally. She loved a young man but couldn’t be with him. Despite her depression, the imperial power forced her to marry someone she didn’t
love.
Later on, she finally thought of resisting. However, she ultimately jumped off a building to end her life. After she died, the young man she had been thinking about all her life returned with achievements. As he had returned, victorious in war, the king’s reward for him was her freedom.
It was a pity that they were not meant to be. They were separated by death at the moment closest to happiness, not getting a chance to live their lives
together. What a sad ending.
Seeing that the princess in red clothes had lost her breath, the young man was heartbroken. However, there were still dozens of people in his family, so he dared not follow in her steps.
The king was a ruthless man as well. As the princess was of noble birth, the king ordered his men to take her body away without leaving her belongings to the young man.
He could only use the purse she had given him many years ago to build a monument for her. After resigning from his position, he spent his days guarding her tomb and never married.
When everyone heard the story, their first reaction was to sigh and feel pity for that couple. Some accused the king of being cruel. Two female
classmates even burst into tears.
It was such a tragic story, but the topic was about hope. The tutor wanted us to break away from our inherent rational thinking and give the princess an ending on our own.
This way of painting was quite new. We discussed it together for a long time.
The tutor also said that we should hand in the assignment in half a month. The first–ranked painting would be exhibited at Jinovy’s triennial art
exhibition.
The paintings in Jinovy’s art exhibition were all done by famous painters from all over the world. Newbies like us could only look up to them. Now that we had an opportunity to participate in it, we were excited.
It was already 3:00 pm when the visit came to an end. The sky was a little
cloudy.
We got into the minibus. Halfway through the journey back, Matthew called
+15 BONUS
me, saying that he was nearby for business. He asked me to get down from
the bus and wait for him.
I happened to see a factory area at the front, and a few vendors were selling fruit. I got off the bus here and waited for him.