Elena had long known this guy's indifference to art, and she had never thought that she would fall in love with such a person without artistic talent.
If it were someone else speaking in this tone, she would definitely smile politely and never deal with him again.
But looking at the lazy but sunny smile of the boy driving the car, she found that she couldn't get angry. Instead, she wanted to laugh: "Don't you know that it's common to spend several months on a painting?"
Luke shrugged. "You were sketching me so fast. I only sat there for a few minutes and you… um."
Elena smiled and covered his mouth with her hand: "Swallow it back, keep it to yourself if you have anything to say."
Luke has no objection.
He didn't know that Elena's recent creations were not going well.
Originally, she wanted to draw a few scenes of Luke being with her, but when she started to draw, inspiration suddenly exploded, and she drew... a cloaked man wearing a smiley mask.
After drawing this strange "masterpiece", she was sure that she had never seen this person before, either in real life or in the work of others.
Even though the face and figure of this smiling man were concealed, she always felt a sense of familiarity.
Subconsciously, she felt that perhaps she had seen this smiling man in a dream.
Now that Luke asked about the painting, what could she say? Say that she originally wanted to paint him, but ended up "falling in love with someone else" and painting someone she didn't know
She's not stupid.
She should wait until she figured out this weird thing herself before telling Luke, and she should also hide the painting of the smiling man.
Having made up her mind, she stopped discussing painting with a certain art illiterate and asked, "Where are we going?"
Luke didn't notice anything.
When interacting with friends in daily life, he would try his best to avoid abusing spiritual communication so as not to turn his life into a police drama.
He just asked for the itinerary: "Walk around here and find a suitable place for a picnic?"
Of course Elena was happy to do so.
She has been having a hard time painting in college recently, and going out for an outing can help her relax.
In fact, driving around would be fine, as long as someone was willing to chat with her like that.
Next, the two walked and stopped.
The southern part of North Bergen is close to New York and has a relatively large population, but the northwest suburbs are largely empty, almost like the wilderness.
The weather here is much better than New York. It is cloudy today. In the suburbs without any high-rise buildings, the layers of white clouds spread across the sky above our heads, making people feel open-minded.
For people who have been in big cities for a long time, the scenery here is nice. For example, Elena was looking around with great interest.
But for Luke, who grew up in Texas, the scenery here is just mediocre.
That kind of open space is common in Texas, but it lacks the desolation and ruggedness of the Texas wilderness, nor does it have the flowing charm of cattle, sheep and galloping horses. At most, the air is slightly better than that in New York.
Therefore, during their trip, he took on the task of filming, and from time to time he acted as Elena's tripod to take photos.
His shooting tool is a titanium mobile phone, and its point-and-shoot operation is very suitable for a camera killer like Luke.
Elena brought a very professional digital camera with her and took pictures of her favorite scenery to leave materials for future creations.
The camera was of course a gift from Luke, under the guise of making a contribution to people and art.
Elena knew very well that this was someone's obvious hint and she hit him several times at the time, but she still accepted it.
Luke had taken a lot of art and photos under her personal guidance when he was sailing in Marseille, and the memory card was still in Luke's storage space.
It was almost noon when Luke found a place.
A few dozen meters away was a supermarket of several hundred square meters. The two spread out their mats on the grass opposite the supermarket and started their picnic.
The reason for choosing this place is that this supermarket is the one where Carol appeared. It is also the only supermarket within a few kilometers and has a small fast food restaurant attached.
For nearby residents who want to buy things or don’t want to cook, this is the most convenient choice.
Even though it is a supermarket, the area around it is not busy. Apart from customers coming to shop, there are rarely people walking around.
Luke and his friend's picnic was much more authentic than a picnic in a New York park.
The two of them ate slowly, chatting and laughing as they ate.
After eating, the two did not leave, but sat there to rest.
Luke was writing and drawing on his phone, marking the areas he had searched today.
Elena was checking the footage shot today, sorting and selecting it, and occasionally asking for his opinion, so she wasn't bored.
Suddenly, Luke raised his head and looked towards the supermarket not far away.
The vehicle's surveillance camera sent him a message, alerting him of the discovery.
I saw two young girls walking into the fast food restaurant, sitting down and starting to order food.
One of the girls was about 1.55 meters tall and looked very thin. If you didn't look carefully, you would think she was a child. Who else could she be but Carol
Luke thought about it, said something to Elena, and walked towards the fast food restaurant.
As I pushed the door open, the bell on the door of the fast food restaurant rang. The tinkling sound was not loud, but it was easy to distinguish.
The fat middle-aged waitress at the counter looked over and nodded to Luke with a smile.
This is not necessary, she just likes Luke, which is probably similar to the feeling of those mothers and sisters who are fans on the Internet when they see a handsome boy.
In the corner, Carol had her back to the door and didn't notice this side.
The girl opposite her was facing the door. When she heard the bell, she looked over with a wary look in her eyes. Then she looked away, thinking that Luke was just a handsome and sunny boy.
Luke walked over slowly and sat down under the girl's surprised look.
His movements didn't seem fast, but they were very natural and smooth. Before Carol could react, she felt someone sitting down next to her.
She turned her head quickly and was stunned: "You..."
Luke smiled: "Hello, Carol, long time no see."
Carol looked at him in disbelief: "Luke? Why are you here?"
Luke chuckled. "I'm having a picnic with my friends, just across the street. When I saw you just now, I thought I was dazzled."
Carol was still surprised: "Ah, what a coincidence."
She didn't notice that the girl opposite her was becoming more alert.
Luke had noticed it a long time ago, since he was a detective.
The girl's expression was like that of a criminal who was on the run, or an unlucky person who was being chased for debts. She was always on guard and ready to get angry at any moment.
He just smiled and held out his hand: "Hello, nice to meet you, you can call me Luke."
The girl was quite hesitant, but still stretched out her hand and shook his without telling him her name.
Carol then realized that something was wrong with the atmosphere, and quickly explained to the girl in a low voice: "Luke is my friend and has helped me a lot. And... he knows who I am."
The girl opposite was stunned for a moment, her vigilance lowered a little, but she still didn't say anything.