Chapter 35 Chapter 36 The Great Art
The young man with acne never expected to be rejected so decisively, as if struck by lightning. When he heard Jima’s question, he instinctively replied, “Well… it’s okay.”
Jima asked, “How okay is okay?”
The young man clenched the jewelry box tightly, feeling somewhat resentful, and asked, “Xiao Qiao, are you really not going to give me a chance?”
“No, not at all.” Jima’s smile immediately disappeared without a trace.
“Why?”
Jima wanted to call him by his full name but, after thinking for a moment, realized she couldn’t remember it and continued, “I’m not obligated to tell you why.”
The young man lowered his head and stuffed the jewelry box into the patched pocket of his tight pants, saying, “Is it because I’m poor? Or is it because you already have a suitor?”
“No comment.” Jima replied coldly. She noticed a group of girls nearby, watching them like crows sensing the smell of a carcass.
The young man’s bravery disappeared in an instant, and he found it hard to say a few words.
Jima glanced sideways at the group of girls led by the red-haired girl; several of them avoided her gaze.
“Let’s go somewhere suitable for conversation.”
As Jima said this, she turned and walked away.
In the eyes of the girls, she wore a snow-white skirt, her back like a high-headed white swan, catching their eyes everywhere.
Master Ke shouted from inside the dance studio, “What are you all doing outside? Haven’t you had enough rest?”
The red-haired girl turned around and shouted, “Teacher, Xiao Qiao went out with another boy.”
“What’s it to you? If she wants to come, she’ll come; if she wants to leave, she’ll leave. Are you still going to class?”
The girls murmured quietly, complaining a bit, and they all surged into the classroom.
After descending the steps, Jima stopped by the wall. She had just finished dancing, her face flushed and wet, a thin layer of sweat on her neck. She casually swept away a lock of damp hair sticking to her cheek.
The young man felt as if he had been hit with a punch, his adrenaline rushing, his heart pounding. He couldn’t help but speculate if Jima was hinting at something.
She must be.
He found a reason. Women are often shy, and there had been outsiders present earlier; she must have been mortified. Otherwise, Xiao Qiao, who is so gentle and kind, would never say such cold words.
Jima frowned slightly as she waved away a foul, sour smell of desire in the air.
She had no idea what the young man was thinking; suddenly developing such a lot of desire for herself was really disgusting.
Jima said, “If you think I was joking earlier, remember, this area is shrouded in the ‘Zone of Honesty.’ Everything I just said was from the heart; I don’t want any messy things interfering with our transaction.”
The young man nodded.
“Alright, back to the main topic.” Jima said, “How about casting? Can you make some detailed models?”
“Very successfully; I studied hard.” The young man replied, “I can already make several slime jelly figurines, like the black dragon, emperor, and the hero George.”
“How’s the detail?”
“The detail is okay.” The young man said, “However, no matter how well the details are done, it’s useless. Because the slime jelly is very soft, the hero George’s sword fighter droops and bends.”
“Is it easily breakable?”
“The toughness is quite good; do you want me to bring you some more?”
“No need.” Jima began to enjoy the benefits of the “Zone of Honesty,” not having to worry about the other party lying. “By the way, can you make some complex human casts?”
“Human casts?”
Jima pointed to her own mouth and said, “Cast a person’s oral cavity.”
“This is very difficult; it’s wet and soft.” The young man said, “Xiao Qiao, can you tell me what use this has?”
Jima told a lie, saying:
“It’s well-known that regular sculptors carve the exterior of people and objects, so some sculptors pursue carving the inner aspects of people, like the oral cavity and intestines, etc. However, one cannot observe the inner aspects of a person, so traditional sculpting methods don’t work. With so many sculptors, it’s natural for someone pursuing art to seek new sculpting methods.”
The young man listened somewhat confused, not understanding why Jima had to string together such a long “reasoning sentence,” but he accepted it all and asked, “So, you’re exploring a whole new sculpting method?”
“I have a friend who is very wealthy and has power and strength.” Jima smiled at him and said, “I can assure you, your future is bright; you are expanding the boundaries of a great art.” Engaging in the dirty is also great art.
The young man felt a surge of excitement. He never expected that his hobby, which his mother looked down upon, could have such a lofty meaning and even earn big money. Instantly, his heart raced, and his eyes were drawn to Jima’s long legs under her skirt.
Perhaps by that time, Xiao Qiao wouldn’t reject the excellent version of himself.
The young man clenched his fists and said, “I will do my best; please wait for my good news.”
With that, he turned and left.
Jima watched his back and let out a light snort.
“The ‘Zone of Honesty’ is easier to fool than George.”
Saying this, Jima lightly hopped up the steps and walked back to the dance studio. She had a good habit of considering matters when her mind was idle.
All the way, she was contemplating the important task of “writing The Tale of the Fallen Elf Queen.”
The book had already been written to 150,000 words and corrected. Today, she was going to give the first version to Mr. Dongdong so he could contact someone for publication. She didn’t know if people in this world would like this type of adult literature, but no matter what, it must be strongly promoted. She had to find someone to draw a cover to attract readers. She wondered if the money would be enough; she only had 579 gold coins left…
As Jima contemplated, she walked into the dance studio, automatically heading to her position.
“Thud!”
A heavy sound came from beside her, interrupting her thoughts.
She instinctively moved a bit away from the source of the sound and looked over, only to find the chubby girl had once again fallen to the floor.
That scared her.
Jima turned her head and continued practicing her dance, gently lifting her heel and standing on her toes, perfectly maintaining her balance.
Immersed in her own world, Jima completely failed to notice the chubby girl struggling to support herself on the ground, lifting her head to stare directly at Jima, who was dancing on one foot.
“Are you okay, Chubby?”
“Get up quickly, or the teacher will scold you again.”
Scattered voices came from all around, but no one stopped their dance to help her.
Whether it was an illusion or something else.
Chubby felt that her pitiful self was no longer worthy of compassion. Just a moment ago, her friends had gathered around, showing concern.
Chubby stood up, touched her red nose, which hurt a little. She rubbed it hard, and some wet stuff came out from her nasal cavity.
At that moment, the nearby red-haired girl exclaimed, “Chubby, what happened to your nose? It’s bleeding.”
The leader of the girls spoke up, and many girls turned to look, stopping their dance to come over and ask with concern:
“Are you okay?”
“Is it alright?”
“Do you need to see a doctor?”
“Why don’t you go take a break…”
Concerned voices constantly entered Chubby’s ears, making her eyes a bit misty as she said, “I’m fine, thank you, everyone.”
At that moment, Master Ke raised his voice and asked, “What’s going on with you again?”
The red-haired girl, hands on her hips, said, “Chubby nearly flattened her nose; she needs to rest.”
Before long, two girls on either side helped Chubby walk towards the rest area, coincidentally passing by Jima.
Jima was dancing, just as she flipped her head, her enviable long black hair flowing in the air.
Chubby felt her self-esteem was kicked down, and she lowered her head.
When they reached the rest area, Chubby sat down in a chair. The red-haired girl didn’t leave but bent down to ask, “Chubby, why did you suddenly lower your head when passing that jerk?”
The red-haired girl was very angry, her gaze sharp.
Chubby easily felt that she was expecting her to say it was true.
But Chubby couldn’t lie and didn’t dare accuse Jima. She was both slender and beautiful, and Chubby felt a sense of awe toward her.
The red-haired girl asked, “Just now, I saw that jerk turn around to look at you; was she laughing at you?”
Chubby said, “Um…”
Chubby meant to deny it, but for some unexplainable reason, she couldn’t say it out loud. She recalled the few concerned voices that had come when she hadn’t had a nosebleed; it must be because she was too scared to denounce Xiao Qiao.
If she didn’t give them face and opposed them, then perhaps no one would care about her anymore.
Chubby nodded.
The red-haired girl’s eyes sparkled with anger as she said, “I knew it; she’s a heartless jerk.”
Saying this, the red-haired girl strode back.
Chubby was extremely afraid; she dreaded that the red-haired girl would run over and argue with Xiao Qiao. This would expose her lie.
Fortunately, the red-haired girl only shot a glare at Jima before walking back to the group of girls.
Half an hour later, school was over.
Girls from all directions surrounded Chubby with concerned sentiments. It was as if she suddenly had ten more mothers, each one asking after her well-being and joining in condemning a certain black-haired, lustful, evil jerk.
Chubby felt much better, and a great sense of happiness overwhelmed her.
At this time, Jima had already packed her things and set off for the nearby bathhouse.
The girls watched Jima’s profile outside the window, and the condemnation became even more intense.
The red-haired girl glowered at Jima and, lowering her voice, accused, “When she walked past you, you fell down. She even tried to cover it up with her dancing; didn’t she secretly kick you?”
For some reason, the pitiful Chubby nodded.
“So wicked.”
“How disgusting.”
“She actually bullies our Chubby.”
Seeing that someone cared, Chubby felt any sense of guilt vanish without a trace.
Perhaps Xiao Qiao really did kick her little leg; she just didn’t notice… It’s not that I dance poorly; it’s that she’s so bad.
The red-haired girl lowered her voice and said, “We need to give that jerk a lesson; does everyone agree?”
“Make her suffer!”
“Unless she kneels down and apologizes to Chubby.”
They immediately began discussing a great and righteous revenge plan against Jima, including secretly taking the bottles from her locker, stuffing stones into her dance shoes, and posting notices revealing Xiao Qiao’s debauched true nature, etc.
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Previously, Jima should have been called Xiao Qiao. I got so muddled while rushing to finish the writing yesterday that I forgot, and I’m just waiting for the editor to correct it.
