After Death, I Finally Met The Man Of My Dreams

Chapter 122: Things Were Great Until...

"Did mom say or do anything after I left?" Yichen asked his sister.

"No. It was really weird. She was super nice all day. Do you think it's going to be like that time?"

"You mean when she forced you to learn embroidery from Mrs Chen instead of letting you go to school with us?" Yichen asked.

"Yeah. And that time she broke the news that Auntie Fu died."

"You're right. Mom doesn't do anything without complaints or demands of her own. For her to be this cooperative and nice there must be a reason." Yichen said.

"Any ideas what it could be?"

"None. I can't even guess if it's something to do with you or me." Yichen said.

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see." Yijie said.

...

Mochou handed Yijie the comb he made earlier in the day for her. It was small and intricate. The way the little butterflies flew amongst the blossoms seemed alive.

"Did you really make this today?" Yijie asked with sparkles in her eyes.

"I did. Do you like it?" Mochou asked.

"I do. This type of thing is much cooler than embroidery." Yijie said. Her mother had forced her to learn embroidery but she never liked it. Without the interest she never practiced. Which meant the things she made were unimpressive.

"If it interests you I can teach you.." Mochou offered.

"I would love to learn. But there's no time. I need spend the day at our parent's place. I'm also leaving the day after tomorrow." Yijie said.

"I can teach you the basics tonight. Once you learn theM it's actually easy to do." Mochou said. Before Yijie could refuse Mochou went to go get the basswood that was soft and perfect for beginners.

"This is basswood. It's cheap, soft, and easy to use. You could even carve it with a regular knife if you don't have the correct tools." Mochou explained.

Yijie looked at the chunk of wood and couldn't even begin to imagine what she needed to do next. She looked up at Mochou waiting for the next step.

"Take some charcoal and sketch the design you want to make." Mochou said. He never did it himself anymore but it was how he first learned and he intended to teach Yijie in the same way.

"What should I sketch?" Yijie asked. She didn't even reach out to take the charcoal piece Mochou held.

"It could be anything. But given the length and how easy they are to make do you want to try making a hairpin?"

"I could never make something as beautiful as the butterfly one you made." Yijie said while touching the hairpin in her hair.

"We'll start simple. Just a straight hairpin with a small flower at the end." Mochou said. He then took the charcoal and drew a straight line. He made the line thicker on one end and thinner on the other. At the tip of the thicker part he drew a large circle.

"Using this tool cut away all of the excess wood outside the outlined area. When you do make sure to remember your making something 3D. And it's okay to shave away only a little at a time. With carving it's easy to take it off but impossible to put it back." Mochou advised. He then took the tool and showed Yijie how to use it.

"Make certain you always cut away from yourself. These tools are sharp and if you cut towards your other hand or body you could easily cut yourself." Mochou warned before giving the tool and piece of wood to Yijie.