I Became an All-round Artist

Since the system launched the pay-to-win (P2W) feature, Lin Yuan hadn't received any new tasks for a while, let alone any novel-related rewards. At the moment, though, he was working on a painting mission. The goal? To reach 1,000 points in painting reputation. However, that would likely take about a month to accomplish. After all, he was only active in the campus art club, so the growth in his painting reputation was fairly steady but not spectacular.

With that in mind, Lin Yuan had two options if he wanted to start writing another long-form novel.

The first option: wait until the painting task was complete, get the reward chest, and hope to unlock a new novel.

The second option: directly commission a novel from the system.

The first option was filled with uncertainty. What if he didn’t unlock a novel? Based on previous chest openings, the odds of getting a song seemed much higher.

The second option, though, was simpler. By paying, he’d at least have the freedom to choose the genre.

But Lin Yuan wasn’t in a hurry to decide. After all, he had just wrapped up Prince of Tennis, and his alternate persona, Chu Kuang, deserved a break too.

In the meantime, Lin Yuan enjoyed his life on campus. He attended classes diligently, ate three meals a day with Jian Yi and Xia Fan, and spent his free time at the art club, teaching others how to paint.

Lin Yuan appreciated this routine. It seemed monotonous on the surface, but in reality, it was full of small, enjoyable variations. Occasionally, there were extracurricular activities that served as fun breaks from the norm, like the basketball game Jian Yi had mentioned last month.

Much like the blackboard competition from last semester, Qin Yi University frequently held events like this. The enthusiasm from all departments was always high, mainly because the school offered irresistible rewards.

This was typical of Blue Star. In such an art-focused society, a strong campus record could significantly boost one’s resume. Who wouldn’t want to polish their CV before graduation?

Well, Lin Yuan didn’t.

His job was already stable, and his company leaders valued him highly. He figured he wouldn’t face much risk of unemployment after graduation.

So, the basketball tournament didn’t concern him.

Besides, even if Lin Yuan wanted to join, he wasn’t physically fit enough. His body was so weak that half a game might leave him flat on his back, needing to be carried to the hospital.

Still, the composition department took the tournament seriously. They selected top basketball players from each class to form a team and even organized for the entire department to head to the stadium to cheer them on.

Unfortunately, after just two days of cheering, the composition department was eliminated.

The players walked off the court, dejected, as a guy behind Lin Yuan muttered, "Talk about bad luck, drawing the dance department in the second round."

Last year, the dance department had won the championship in the freshman basketball tournament, so no one wanted to face them early. Yet, the composition department had done just that.

Lin Yuan didn’t feel too bad about it.

He certainly had a sense of class pride—after all, that was why he’d helped with the blackboard competition. But in this case, basketball wasn’t exactly their strength.

Even though the composition department was out of the running and most students lost interest, Lin Yuan still followed the remaining games.

Not because he liked basketball, but because he wanted to cheer for Jian Yi.

Especially in the afternoon’s final match!

Jian Yi’s performance arts department was facing off against the dance department for the championship.

The performance arts team had been dominating, knocking out several strong teams along the way, including Xia Fan’s vocal department.

When they were eating lunch, Xia Fan pouted at Jian Yi, “I can’t believe you crushed my vocal department!”

Jian Yi just smiled, “But I’m also your friend.”

Xia Fan turned to Lin Yuan, “Your composition department got knocked out by the dance team, right?”

Lin Yuan nodded.

Jian Yi perked up at that, slapping his chest confidently. “The dance team plays dirty. I’ll avenge your composition department this afternoon.”

“You mean avenge yourself,” Xia Fan rolled her eyes. “Didn’t you say the dance team knocked out your performance arts department last year? You’ve been gunning for them ever since.”

Jian Yi stayed silent.

Indeed, he had set his sights on beating the dance department, and he had been eagerly preparing for the rematch.

As the tournament progressed, the games became more intense. The remaining teams were all strong, and the upcoming performance arts vs. dance department championship drew a massive crowd of basketball enthusiasts from across campus.

By the afternoon, Lin Yuan and Xia Fan had already secured front-row seats in the stadium, ready to cheer on their friend.

“Popcorn… soda… sunflower seeds…” Xia Fan casually laid out her snacks.

At that moment, Lin Yuan felt more like he was in a movie theater than at a basketball game.

Half an hour later, the stadium was packed, with students from every department filling the stands. The atmosphere was buzzing with excitement.

“There’s Jian Yi!” Xia Fan said, taking a sip of soda and letting out a satisfied burp.

Lin Yuan, munching on popcorn, nodded in acknowledgment.

After a few introductory remarks from the announcer, the game began.

Neither Lin Yuan nor Xia Fan understood basketball, so they remained focused on their snacks. Occasionally, they’d glance at the court to check the score or see how Jian Yi was doing.

“This could go either way,” Xia Fan said, leaning back after eating too much.

Lin Yuan nodded, still cracking sunflower seeds.

Whenever the crowd clapped, they instinctively joined in, only to awkwardly lower their hands once they realized it was the dance team who had scored.

“Halftime!” the announcer shouted.

As the players took a break, Lin Yuan asked, “Should we bring Jian Yi some water?”

Xia Fan shook her head, “His department already prepared a case of water.”

Lin Yuan nodded and continued snacking.

Suddenly, Xia Fan stood up. “They’re fighting!”

Lin Yuan thought the second half had started, but when he looked up, he realized Xia Fan had rolled up her sleeves and was charging onto the court. “Who dares to mess with my friend? I’ll show them!”

Startled, Lin Yuan quickly got up and followed her.

“Wasn’t that our art department’s star just now?” Drawing student Zhong Yu, sitting nearby, blinked in surprise. As Lin Yuan’s self-proclaimed top disciple, he couldn’t possibly mistake his mentor.

“Yeah,” his friends nodded dumbfounded, “that was definitely him.”

On the court, Jian Yi was caught in a shoving match. Seeing Lin Yuan and Xia Fan rushing over, he shouted, “Xia Fan, get Lin Yuan to safety!”

“Right, right…” Xia Fan finally realized that Lin Yuan wasn’t in the best shape for a brawl. She quickly grabbed his arm and started retreating. But amidst the chaos, one of the dance department’s main players shoved Lin Yuan hard, nearly knocking him to the ground.

“And what do you think you’re doing here?” snarled Xu Chang, glaring at Lin Yuan. He recognized him as Jian Yi’s friend but had never interacted with him before.

But as he stared at Lin Yuan, Xu Chang suddenly sensed something was off.

The atmosphere had changed.

He glanced around the stadium, and his face paled.

The entire court was now surrounded by a massive crowd, all glaring menacingly at him and his team.

They were completely trapped.

Xu Chang swallowed hard, his throat dry as he stammered out a trembling laugh, “N-no need to take this so seriously…”

His teammates looked at him, bewildered. Their expressions seemed to ask, “What on earth did you do to get us into this mess?”

Xu Chang was just as clueless.

Who am I… where am I… what just happened?

All I did was give Lin Yuan a little push, so why does it feel like the whole world is coming after me?

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