usenovelgroup Chapter 59, The Foolish Crow Painter
Chapter 59, The Foolish Crow Painter
Yan Xi leaned listlessly against the car door, her arms crossed over her chest.
"Ugh."
The tunnel outside the car window blurred into a deep black shadow, rushing past in her sight. Her sullen face was clearly reflected in the glass, making her feel like the most melancholy person in the world.
Before she could finish feeling sad, she caught a glimpse of an annoying figure on the seat next to the armrest out of the corner of her eye.
What are you doing here?
His tone suddenly turned cold.
Du Lingyi slowly put down her phone, raised her eyelids and glanced at her: "To get to the company by subway, you have to transfer to Line 7 anyway. Stupid Huiya."
"Tsk."
Yan Xi grimaced and turned around, leaning against the metal armrest, with the back of her head facing Du Lingyi.
Surprisingly, Du Lingyi took the initiative to strike up a conversation: "Are you in a bad mood today?"
Yan Xi pressed her forehead against the car door glass, her tone unfriendly: "Yeah, I ran into some annoying people on the way."
Du Lingyi didn't reply, but just glanced at her indifferently, then looked down and swiped her phone again.
The expected verbal sparring didn't materialize, leaving Yan Xi feeling like she'd punched a pillow, her frustration growing. She couldn't help but steal a glance at Du Lingyi, who was simply engrossed in a comic book on her phone.
"What are you looking at?" she couldn't help but ask, her voice dry.
"The Loser from Heaven".
Du Lingyi raised her head and calmly introduced the story like an emotionless narrator: "It tells the story of a willful female protagonist who meets a gentle senior colleague who appears out of nowhere during the lowest point of her life. She is pampered and helped by him and gradually emerges from the shadows."
Yan Xi perked up: "And then?"
"She enjoyed her senior's affection but did not cherish it. In his disappointment and headache, the senior met his childhood sweetheart and the two lived happily ever after, while the female protagonist could only regret it."
Yan Xi's temples twitched twice, sensing that there was something more to her words.
However, Du Lingyi's serious gaze held no other meaning. After finishing her introduction, she lowered her head and immersed herself in the comic again.
"call."
Yan Xi quietly loosened her grip on the armrest, cleared her throat, and pretended to be nonchalant: "Is it pretty?"
"nice."
"What makes it appealing?"
"The protagonist's remorseful inner thoughts after being abandoned contrast sharply with the happy life of her senior and childhood sweetheart," Du Lingyi analyzed earnestly, like a gourmet. "And the protagonist's despairing expression when she's feeling like a loser is quite delicious."
As she spoke, she skillfully swiped her fingers across the screen a few times before handing the phone directly to Yan Xi.
In the center of the screen was a close-up of a character's head, conveying a sense of emptiness, despair, and helplessness. Looking at this face, Yan Xi inexplicably felt as if she were looking in a mirror.
Just like the two jokers in a deck of cards, the black-and-white cartoon character on the phone is the little joker, while she is the colorful big joker outside the screen.
"However, I don't like the ending of this manga."
Du Lingyi flipped her wrist and put the phone away. "In order to create a plot twist, the author forcibly portrayed Qingmei as a wicked woman who approached the senior with ulterior motives. Then, the senior and that willful female protagonist got back together."
Yan Xi's eyes widened, and she couldn't help but raise her voice in question, "Why? Isn't this a perfect ending?"
Du Lingyi glanced at her: "Because from beginning to end, she didn't grow or improve at all. She was just a spoiled fool from start to finish. She didn't cherish what she had, and only took without giving back... If there really was such a character in real life, she would probably just be thrown into a corner where no one cares, and she would hide and cry alone."
"..."
Yan Xi clenched her fists, her face turning red.
Ding.
A melodious female voice from the subway announcer rang out in the carriage, signaling the train's imminent arrival. Du Lingyi deftly put away her phone, averting her gaze from Yan Xi's flushed face, and followed the crowd out.
There were still two stops to the company. Yan Xi didn't understand why Du Lingyi was getting off the bus here early. After a brief hesitation, her body reacted before her brain, and she followed her without thinking.
The two walked out of the subway station one after the other.
Cross the sidewalk, turn into the alley, and follow the winding alley until you finally arrive at a narrower street.
The camphor trees overhead are lush and leafy, and sunlight filters through the gaps, casting dappled patterns on the ground, while a soft rustling sound fills the air.
Yan Xi's mind was filled with Du Lingyi's comments on the comics, her thoughts were in a jumble, and she almost bumped into a tree while walking.
Just then, Du Lingyi, who had been walking ahead, stopped.
Yan Xi quickly stopped and peeked out. She saw Du Lingyi talking quietly with a woman she had just met.
At this moment, Du Lingyi, who had been walking ahead, stopped and spoke quietly with the woman she had just met.
The woman wore a wide-brimmed veiled hat, and her floral dress and high heels were a simple combination, yet they appeared ethereal and otherworldly thanks to her own气质 (qi zhi - inherent quality/temperament).
Yan Xi narrowed her eyes and stared at the woman for several moments before suddenly realizing that it was the woman who had made outrageous remarks at the temporary hearing in her trial.
What was her name again?
It seems to be... Judge Dingguang.
His blood suddenly turned cold, and all the chaotic thoughts in his mind vanished instantly, replaced by alertness and hostility.
However, it was clear that neither Dingguang nor Du Lingyi paid any attention to her.
"...Here's the information you requested. Investigations aren't the specialty of the Kaleidoscope Prison. We don't know much about 'Ink Cat Abode,' we only gathered some clues previously to investigate the escaped marked individuals. Their ability to hide in Yin City for so long must be related to some magical girls. All the relevant possibilities are in the intelligence; just repeat it when you hand it over to him."
"Yes, teacher."
"How have you been lately?"
"Sorry, there's still no progress..."
"I'm not blaming you, Rose, I'm just asking how you feel."
"It's strange. It's different from the idol trainees I imagined."
"Have you made any friends?"
"no."
Yan Xi hid behind a tree, holding his breath and concentrating.
She knew perfectly well that this was self-deception, but hiding felt like a bodily instinct, beyond her control.
I don't know how long I stood stiffly behind the tree, until Du Lingyi came out from beside the tree trunk: "The teacher has already left."
"call."
Upon hearing this, Yan Xi felt as if he had been granted a pardon.
He immediately became wary again, glaring at the other person defensively: "So you really are a spy sent to the company by [Kaleidoscope Prison]? What conspiracy were you talking about just now?"
Du Lingyi didn't even glance at her, brushing past her without a second thought: "Idiot Huiya."
"Wait...wait a minute!"
They turned back along the same route they came from, still one in front of the other.
"I'm going to report you to the company!"
"You're noisy."
"I knew you had no good intentions coming to the company. It's a shame the producer trusted you so much and agreed to let you join." Yan Xi continued her tirade, "Liar, traitor, farmer and snake, big bad wolf and little red hood."
"..."
Du Lingyi finally stopped, her brows furrowing slightly for a moment, and turned around: "What's the matter with following me? You idiot, Huiya."
The accusations came to an abrupt end.
"Just..." Yan Xi subconsciously pointed with two fingers, "Just browsing around."
Du Lingyi ignored her and turned around to continue walking forward.
Actually, I have a friend.
"Um."
"Her experience is very similar to... the female protagonist of that comic book you just mentioned."
"Um."
Yan Xi, lacking confidence, said, "I want to ask you on her behalf: if you were the female protagonist of a comic book, what would you do?"
Du Lingyi glanced at her sideways: "Idiot Huiya, do you think we're close enough to talk about this kind of thing?"
"Just chatting to kill time... And I saved you last time, so can you stop calling me an idiot?"
"I'm not interested in your troubles, you foolish crow."
"It's not mine! It's my friend! My friend!"
"..."
Yan Xi stubbornly persisted, continuing to follow at a distance, but she froze as soon as she reached the next corner.
Because there was someone there who was completely unexpected.
"Oh? It's rare to see the two of you together."
"The...producer!?"
The idiot stared wide-eyed.
On the roadside ahead, Cheng Chen was leaning relaxed against the door of the Qimingxing X7. Through the half-lowered window, Zhong Ai could be seen sitting quietly in the passenger seat.
Without hesitation, Du Lingyi quickly stepped forward and handed him the information she had obtained from Dingguang. At the same time, she lowered her voice and repeated her teacher's instructions word for word.
Cheng Chen took the document, quickly scanned its contents, and nodded to her: "I understand."
"The producer? What's going on?"
Yan Xi was still standing there dumbfounded, two steps away, her eyes darting back and forth between Cheng Chen, Du Lingyi, and Zhong Ai in the car.
Cheng Chen glanced at her, then at Du Lingyi and Zhong Ai, and sighed.
"Fine, let's go together."
……