Chapter 67: World Famous Painting
When Ruan Xi went back to sell her drawings, Tong Yao hesitated, not knowing whether to follow.
It was noon, and the winter sun was weak. Tong Yao walked around and saw that other stalls had cosplayers attracting attention, all of them expert salespeople. She thought, should I cosplay as some character to help the young girl sell her things?
After some careful thought, she decided against it.
A teacher should act like a teacher.
She bought two boxed lunches and walked towards the young girl’s stall. When the table came into view, she was stunned in surprise.
There were actually eight or nine people gathered in front of the young girl’s table, and a few of them were even about to take out their wallets.
She approached from behind without a sound and found that the young girl was actually drawing a manga. Apparently, the title of “beautiful girl manga artist” was extremely lethal to otaku. The live drawing had attracted a crowd of people who were curious about manga, and the crowd was growing. The young girl drew with peace of mind, occasionally looking up and giving the crowd a sweet smile, and sometimes she would answer some questions. She was so pretty and well-behaved that many otaku and otome generously opened their wallets—the one collecting the money and handing out the goods was the blond girl from next door. She had completely ignored her own stall and seemed to be enjoying it.
“Let’s put our stalls together,” Ruan Xi suddenly leaned over to the blond girl’s ear and whispered. “Let’s cooperate. You can be the cashier for a day, and I’ll pay you tonight.”
“Okay!” The blond girl had just come to have fun. As long as there were a lot of people, she was happy. “Then my pile of small keychains can be freebies.”
The crowd was actually not that large, but there were always people to replace those who left. And the people who left were often carrying bags, trying to search for Dream Walk on their phones.
Tong Yao suddenly found that some of her worries were unnecessary. The fledgling bird she had protected in the nest had actually grown its wings and was bravely trying to fly, albeit shakily. She had always thought that Ruan Ruan needed a lot of care, but the young girl who was used to hardship had always been very strong.
She took a few steps closer, reached out and tapped the young girl’s shoulder. The young girl turned her head and said in surprise, “Tong…”
“Shh, don’t call me teacher here,” Tong Yao put her finger to her lips and put the boxed lunch on the table. “Lunch.”
Ruan Xi was taken aback for a moment, her face flushing red. She stammered, “Okay, Yao Yao…”
“…” Tong Yao covered her face. “I didn’t tell you to call me by my name.”
She just didn’t want to expose her noble and great identity as a people’s teacher at an anime convention. What was this child’s train of thought?
She calmed herself down, handed one of the boxed lunches to the blond girl next to her, and said, “Thank you for your hard work. You eat too.”
“Huh?”
The sudden appearance of a great beauty made the blond girl a little embarrassed. Seeing their interaction, she knew she was the young girl’s acquaintance. She was indeed hungry, so she scratched her head. “Hehe… thanks.”
“Aren’t you eating, Tong… Yao Yao?” the young girl asked in a small voice, her face still red.
“I’m going to eat now,” Tong Yao rolled her eyes at the incorrigible young girl, turned around to buy a boxed lunch, and said, “I’m going back after I eat. I have something to do at school.”
“Huh?” The young girl was stunned and said in a voice only she could hear, “Goodbye, Yao Yao…”
Although she had left, Tong Yao had clearly attracted a wave of traffic to the stall. The young girl and the blond girl became even busier. The blond girl, in the midst of her busyness, asked the young girl, “Who is she to you?”
Ruan Xi’s movements paused. She pursed her lips slightly and lowered her head even more.
The current answer was far from what she was pursuing.
**
In the evening, the young girl closed her stall, said goodbye to the blond girl, and walked out with a large bag of remaining goods. She was tired after a long day, but her heart was incredibly full. She had received recognition from many people and had also earned her first sum of money through her own labor.
And that prize money, the young girl stubbornly believed, was because of Jiang Wu.
She dragged a snakeskin bag on the concrete road, looking a bit like a scavenger. There were cosplayers everywhere, still in their makeup, still beautiful. Ruan Xi actually envied these people who could live so freely and colorfully, at least on the surface.
Beep, beep.
The car in front suddenly honked.
This car was very spacious. Ruan Xi found that many cosplayers had looked over, their eyes filled with envy and curiosity. The car window automatically rolled down, and the beauty in the driver’s seat called out to her, “Get in.”
The young girl’s eyes were filled with surprise. She ran over with her bag.
“Put your things in the back.” Tong Yao moved the seat next to her. “You sit in the front.”
“Mhm!”
Ruan Xi put the goods in the back, sat in the passenger seat, and stuck out her tongue.
“Thank you, Yao Yao, for picking me up.”
“You’re asking for it.” Tong Yao really did knock the young girl’s head. “Call me teacher, you hear me.”
“Oh,” the young girl said in pain, not daring to cross the line again. “Teacher Tong…”
“How was it later today?” Tong Yao asked, reversing the car and staring at the rearview mirror.
“There were a lot of people, all watching me draw manga,” Ruan Xi said, helping to watch the back. “After deducting the cost and rent… I earned almost two thousand, and I gave the blond sister 500.”
“Not bad,” Tong Yao smiled. “Opportunities to earn money like this are not many. I heard many people just earn enough for their travel expenses. You’re quite amazing.”
“Hehe.” The young girl, having been praised, lowered her head shyly.
“At the intersection ahead, fasten your seatbelt.” Tong Yao slowed down the car and reached for the seatbelt in the gap of the young girl’s seat. Her hand brushed past the young girl’s stomach. Ruan Xi’s face burned, and she didn’t say a word.
The phone rang.
Ruan Xi looked down. Tong Yao was focused on the road, the car driving very steadily. Then, she heard the young girl say, “Teacher Tong, someone is asking me if I need a designer bag.”
There was a red light ahead. Tong Yao slammed on the brakes, turned her head, her eyes practically burning with fire.
“Give me the phone.”
Ruan Xi smiled and handed the phone to Teacher Tong. Tong Yao looked at it. The other party’s information was unknown, and they wanted to meet the young girl. The price they offered was very tempting.
How dare they try to hook up with my… student.
She deftly replied with a “get lost,” then blocked them and returned the phone.
“Don’t pay attention to this kind of person,” she said through gritted teeth. “They’re all trying to lure you little girls. They only give you things with ulterior motives.”
“Mhm, I know,” Ruan Xi said in a small voice. “But Teacher Tong also gave me a lot of things.”
Tong Yao’s face darkened. “I’m an exception.”
The young girl let out a chuckle.
Teacher Tong probably couldn’t have imagined that the one with ulterior motives was the one receiving the things.
“You’re still young. You don’t know how many bad people there are in society,” Tong Yao said. “If you encounter anything, you must tell me immediately, like this, understand?”
“Mhm.”
“You’re so pretty, there are many temptations waiting for you to fall into their trap. Don’t be silly and go with others,” Tong Yao rambled on. “If you really have any needs… you can tell Teacher Tong.”
She suddenly choked, realizing that what she had said was inappropriate, but what’s done is done.
Fortunately, the young girl just let out a muffled laugh.
The car drove towards the school.
The scenery outside the window flew by. The car stereo was playing an old domestic song. The air conditioning was pleasant, and the blanket was warm. Ruan Xi turned to the side and looked at the person who was concentrating on driving, forgetting all her worries. At this moment, she thought, in the future, I also want to have my own car, to drive Teacher Tong to the places she wants to go.
That would be the most romantic thing.
**
On campus, Christmas was a foreign holiday with a not-insignificant presence.
Students exchanged greeting cards with their good friends, suppressed their feelings and wished their crushes well. The classrooms were decorated with small Christmas decorations, and the girls would spend a few yuan to buy a cheap Santa hat and a few fancy candy canes.
“No,” Labor Reform firmly rejected the students’ idea of holding a Christmas party. “What’s there to celebrate about a foreign holiday? The final exams are coming up, and you’re not thinking about reviewing properly?”
“But Class 6 is preparing to hold one,” someone muttered.
Labor Reform was even angrier. “You don’t compare with them in the good things, but you’re all worked up about this!”
No matter what, the Christmas party was out of the question.
Ruan Xi received a lot of greeting cards, from both boys and girls. She had almost forgotten that she was a marginal figure at the beginning of the school year. After one semester, she already had her own circle, had many close friends, something she couldn’t have imagined herself.
“Desk mate, yours,” Jiang Yiming said casually, placing the greeting card on her desk. “Merry Christmas.”
Ruan Xi put it away, handed over the greeting cards she had prepared for her friends, and smiled. “Merry Christmas.”
Seeing her smile, the boy quickly turned his head, afraid that his expression would betray him. After the girl left, he sighed. Xu Hao, who had been moved to the back after the seating change, poked him and said, “Aren’t you going to confess yet? The Christmas atmosphere is so good.”
“No rush… no rush…”
“There are several people in the class who like Ruan Xi. Are you really not in a hurry?”
“…Damn, of course I’m in a hurry,” Jiang Yiming’s face fell. “But… I can’t affect her studies. She’s improved so much…”
While the two boys were sighing, the young girl was handing out greeting cards everywhere. When she reached the office and saw that Teacher Tong was not there, she placed the greeting card on the desk, using a candy to hold it down. Labor Reform caught a glimpse of her and was about to tease her, but the young girl immediately took out another one.
“Teacher Li, this is for you. Merry Christmas.”
Labor Reform was grinning from ear to ear. “Oh my, I don’t celebrate you young people’s festivals…”
Seeing the students becoming more and more motivated and sensible, he was gratified from the bottom of his heart. He was different from other teachers. He had been with the original Class 7’s Ruan Xi since the first year of high school and knew how much this child had changed.
A few minutes later, Tong Yao came back from Class 4, holding a pile of greeting cards. When she saw the one on her desk, she wasn’t surprised—but this greeting card was a little special. Under the short blessing was a drawing, a Q-version of her, seemingly wearing a wedding dress, and next to her was a small figure. She recognized it as a Q-version of Ruan Ruan, wearing… a tuxedo?
Her face flushed, and she quickly hid the greeting card in her drawer.
This child is really…
And Ruan Xi, after leaving the office, went to Class 9. Yan Zhi, who was very popular with the boys, was called out by her from the crowd, and then the young girl solemnly handed over the greeting card.
“Merry Christmas, and… thank you for your help with the manga.”
Yan Zhi blinked, put the greeting card in her pocket, and gave an uncomfortable “mhm.” After a while, she said, “I’ll give you yours later.”
Ruan Xi smiled and returned to Class 7.
The gloomy days will always pass, and the happy days will come.
Yan Zhi kept her word. During the evening self-study session, she bought a greeting card from somewhere and gave it to Ruan Xi in the hallway.
“How are you and Teacher Tong?”
“…Okay,” Ruan Xi leaned against the railing, her eyes lowered. “But, the greeting card I gave her today might have been too bold.”
“You confessed?” Yan Zhi was surprised.
“No… but…” Ruan Xi didn’t know how to describe it.
Yan Zhi looked downstairs. The sky was already dark, and there were still people playing soccer below. She thought for a moment and said slowly, “I heard that Teacher Song is still pursuing Teacher Tong.”
The young girl didn’t speak, her hand gripping the railing, biting her lip.
“Look, that PE teacher is all muscles, so barbaric. How can Teacher Tong stand it?” Yan Zhi shrugged. “So you have to seize the opportunity.”
“I know!” Ruan Xi couldn’t help but say. “If Teacher Tong were with me, I would definitely… definitely… be very gentle to her.”
“In bed?”
“Mhm…” Ruan Xi blushed. “Everywhere. Teacher Tong is thin-skinned. In the future, if we… I would definitely… what’s wrong?”
She found that Yan Zhi’s expression was a little strange. She subconsciously turned back, and then, she found a familiar, graceful, and quickly fleeing back—still holding a greeting card in her hand.
“When did Teacher Tong get here?” The young girl’s legs went weak, and she asked with a tremble.
“…I don’t know. By the time I saw her, she had already turned around,” Yan Zhi shivered. “She probably came to give you a greeting card.”
Under the night sky, the young girl’s wail as she covered her face was her lost youth.
**
Author’s Note
PS: Years later.
Ruan Xi (coaxing): “Teacher Tong, relax.”
Tong Yao (panting): “Don’t… don’t call me teacher…”
