Chapter 237 - 186: Warmth and an IQ Trade

Ni Bingyan returned to her RV, ladled out a bowl of congee from a thermos, and finished it in a few gulps. She then rinsed the bowl before finally getting into bed to sleep.

She slept until just past ten, when Wei Shuojie arrived with the staff from Starlight Publishing House.

Ni Bingyan always kept her word. No matter how difficult, she would do her best to fulfill the promise she made to her dad.

Although she still felt embarrassed, her dad was right—publishing a book was a good thing for her.

As long as she worked hard to ensure the book’s quality and set a reasonable price, readers would buy it voluntarily, so it wouldn’t create any negative impact.

With the two side slide-outs extended and the large table assembled, Ni Bingyan brought out the paintings she had prepared long ago.

After the finished paintings had dried, they were each backed with a thin sheet of Xuan paper of the same size, rolled into scrolls—not too tight, not too loose—and placed in plastic bags. At a glance, the storage bin, which stood half a person tall, was filled entirely with these bagged paper scrolls.

"This whole huge box... it’s all of them?"

The person from the publishing house couldn’t help but stare, wide-eyed.

The essays still needed to be reviewed, so the publishing house’s plan was to release the art book first.

Publishing an art book first required setting a theme, then selecting the paintings. Once selected, they would be scanned and typeset, and then the publication process could begin.

The power of an overachiever was truly immense. The people from the publishing house hadn’t expected such a massive workload today. Only two of them had come, and trying to get this all sorted out before she started filming in the afternoon seemed a bit difficult.

The thing was, Ni Bingyan’s work schedule was incredibly busy. If they couldn’t finalize things today, there was no telling when she would have free time again.

"Excuse me, I need to use the restroom."

The older one immediately feigned a bathroom break to go call for backup, while the younger one, sitting on the leather sofa, felt like he was on pins and needles under her gaze.

Ni Bingyan gave an awkward smile and was about to start sorting through the paintings herself. "A lot of these aren’t very good..."

Seeing that she was about to pull some out, the young man couldn’t stay seated. "Teacher Ni, please, just rest! We can handle all of this."

Ni Bingyan had no choice but to put the paintings she had just taken out back.

When the older staff member returned from his phone call, the two of them immediately began the selection process.

As one painting after another was unrolled, it wasn’t just the professionals from the publishing house who felt they were in for a visual treat; even the film crew members who had heard the commotion and come over exclaimed in amazement.

Ever since her art exhibition, Ni Bingyan had been filled with a passion for painting and calligraphy. Especially after getting Wangcai, she painted one or two pieces almost every day.

When time was tight, she would use varying shades of ink to paint bamboo, lotuses, fluffy chicks, or little fish swimming in the water...

When she had more time, she would meticulously mix colors to paint the peach blossoms of spring, the lotuses of summer...

There were even paintings of passing birds and startled, fleeing stray cats.

After getting Wangcai, she painted her dog every day. The puppy in the paintings was so lively it seemed ready to leap right off the paper!

Every piece was full of charm, infused with her unique, innocent appeal.

The two editors responsible for selecting the paintings picked and chose, but in the end, they simply sorted the artwork into categories on the table, planning to confer properly once their editor-in-chief arrived.

With so many paintings, publishing just a single volume would be a huge waste. It would be better to categorize them by theme and publish several volumes as a set.

As the two were unrolling scroll after scroll, they suddenly came across a painting of Bai Jing telling a joke.

Bai Jing was leaning against a car window, animatedly telling her a joke, while behind him, his two assistants rested their chins in their hands, their faces the very picture of despair.

The inscription was also hilarious: "Handsome, isn’t he? Traded his IQ for it."

In the signature area, there was not only Ni Bingyan’s name but also Bai Jing’s own signature, which read: "I think she might have a point."

His handwriting wasn’t as good as Ni Bingyan’s, but together, it all felt harmonious and fun!

’Holy crap! With this one painting, this whole book set will sell like crazy, won’t it?!’

The staff member’s breathing grew shallow!

But when Ni Bingyan saw that this piece had been discovered, her face fell, and she quickly reached out to grab it.

"Oh no, I’m really not good at painting people. I just drew this while fooling around with a colleague..."

"No, no, no, no, Teacher Ni, the most important thing about this painting isn’t the technique, it’s the charm, you know? Besides, your drawing isn’t bad at all. You really shouldn’t sell yourself so short!"

Never expecting a painting like this to exist, Wei Shuojie was already picturing all the ways this could get them on the trending topics. Seeing Ni Bingyan’s reaction, he immediately held out a hand, signaling for her to leave the painting where it was.

Ni Bingyan helplessly threw up her hands and shouted to the RV next door, "Bai Jing, they want to publish your embarrassing past! Are you okay with that?"

In response, Bai Jing, sporting a bedhead that looked like a bird’s nest, slid open a window and poked his head out from his bedroom.

"There’s such a great opportunity? Sister Liu! Sister Liu! Where’s my lawyer? Get him over here to draw up an authorization form, ASAP!!! My junior sister is about to carry me to stardom!"

Ni Bingyan was able to publish an art book because of her solid skills, something not easily imitated by others. Once this art book was released, to say nothing of anyone else, wouldn’t all the ’shipper’ fans buy a copy?

Seeing countless trending topics waving at him, and since he hadn’t *actually* traded his IQ for his good looks, why would he ever disagree?

After shouting for his own executive agent, he turned back and yelled to Ni Bingyan again:

"Junior Sister, Junior Sister! Quick, quick, quick, paint a few more of me! Make me look more handsome! I’ve never been in an art book before!"

Instantly, the whole place erupted in laughter!

Before long, three more people from the publishing house arrived, completely filling up the living area of Ni Bingyan’s otherwise spacious RV.

Working until one-thirty in the afternoon, the five of them didn’t even stop for lunch. They finally selected enough paintings for four volumes.

One volume of pure ink wash paintings, one of colored ink paintings, one "photo album" of Wangcai, and one volume of sketches from life on set.

When Bai Jing squeezed his way into the RV, he discovered that Ni Bingyan hadn’t just painted him; she had painted many other people too. There were people not only from their current set but also from *Soul Ferryman* and *Demon Suppression Tower*. Almost everyone she was on good terms with was there.

"No wonder you could make a whole volume out of this. You’re such a prolific painter!"

Ni Bingyan felt a little embarrassed.

"I just found it interesting and thought I’d paint them. When I retire, I can sit under the eaves, bask in the sun, and look at them. How happy that would be!"

Life isn’t lacking in interesting moments, only the eyes to see them.

"I never thought these could be published, either! I’m really not very good at drawing people."

This particular volume was likely going to be the main sales driver for the entire set, so the professionals from the publishing house, fearing she might refuse to publish it, would refute her every time she said something like that.

"Teacher Ni, while the proportions in your figure paintings might not be perfectly accurate, they are full of spirit and charm, which is incredibly rare. After all, this isn’t meant to be fine-line ’gongbi’ painting, is it?"

’In any case, whether it’s one volume or a whole set, it doesn’t make much difference to me.’

Having made up her mind, Ni Bingyan stopped struggling and let them choose as they saw fit.

Once the selections were made, she would have to call everyone depicted in the paintings one by one to explain the situation. Only after getting their consent would she allow the art book to be published.