^Art (美术) in Mandarin is literally translated as ‘beautiful craft’, hence the t.i.tle.
Originally posted on RBKTR Translations.
Author: Lan Qi Zuo Ren (藍旗左衽).
Translated by: Yujuan
The second day of school, 7:20 in the morning, Zephaniah Academy"s student dormitories.
A figure riding on a bicycle wandered past the dormitory entrance leisurely, knocking on the guardhouse window.
"Good morning hahaha!" An overly-cheerful face pressed against the window, waving his hand with all his might.
The sungla.s.ses-wearing administrator frowned, one hand propping up his head, another impatiently pulling the window open.
"Did you get kicked out again? What, are you going to live under the slide of the park this time?"
"Of course not!" Feng Ping Lan smiled, clarifying, "I forgot to take my notebooks while I was moving out, so I came back for it. Can you let me in?"
"I won"t be shocked if you forget to breathe one day." The administrator drank a mouthful of iced black tea, pausing for a moment, "How"s your new place?"
"It"s wonderful!" Feng Ping Lan replied without even thinking.
He had moved into the residence up the mountain yesterday, beginning a cohabitant life with those six demons. This was the first time he was living together with strangers, and it was completely different from when he had gone to stay as a guest on the weekend. He was full of antic.i.p.ation and excitement.
But, there was a huge generation gap that the six demons had with the human world, and it couldn"t be avoided that little unexpected incidents would happen while staying under the same roof.
For example, this morning.
"What are you doing!" A disgusted reprimand broke through the morning"s tranquility.
"Ah, sorry, I forgot to close the door!" The culprit, Feng Ping Lan, stood before the toilet bowl, laughing foolishly as he turned to look at Conglong who was standing at the front of the door, "I forgot that this wasn"t my house. Bad habits are quite hard to correct, hahaha!"
"Turn around! Don"t face me! You idiot!" Conglong frowned, slamming the door close and flung his head to the side before walking downstairs.
"Must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed." Feng Ping Lan shook his head, walking towards the sink to freshen up.
After changing into his uniform, he realized that not only his uniform had been washed, it had been ironed to perfection as well. His socks too. There was still a bit of warmth on the clothes, and it was very apparent that it had been ironed not long ago.
"Just how early does Dongya wake up…" Feng Ping Lan looked at the clothes he wore in the mirror, "Wow! Feels like I"m going on a date!"
He went down to the dining room, to see Simo and Conglong sitting at the table drinking their preferred breakfast. As he sat down, Dongya brought a plate of toast out just in time.
"Good morning. Did you sleep well?" Dongya asked gently, while placing the plate of toast before Feng Ping Lan.
"Very well! Thanks for ironing my clothes, but you don"t need to trouble yourself next time. You even have to wake up so early for it."
"It"s no trouble, I"m very willing to do it." Dongya replied with a light smile, "That"s right, Simo, I"ve already ironed the clothing that you dried on the balcony. You know, those complicated pieces of cloth with the garish designs."
The mug that Simo held paused in mid-air, her entire face blushing like scorching metal.
"…That… cannot be ironed… and…"
"What complicated and garish pieces of cloth?" Feng Ping Lan was curious.
"I mean this." Dongya pulled a piece of dark cloth from one of his ap.r.o.n pockets.
Looking at it carefully, it was a grandiose piece of dark purple G-string filled with lace.
Pu! Feng Ping Lan almost choked on his spit.
Taking out such a stimulating thing bright and early in the morning was just too heavy in tastes for a youthful boy such as himself!
"Cannot be ironed? No wonder the material and the shape became strange after I ironed it…" Dongya pulled at the exquisite women"s underwear, sighing ruefully, "The fabrics in the human world are much more complicated than in the demon world. Just cleaning them will really teach us a profound lesson."
Simo grabbed the underwear in Dongya"s hands and escaped from the dining room without turning back, rushing back to her room.
"It looks like she really loves that piece of cloth dearly, I will treat it more carefully next time." Dongya said regretfully.
"I think you probably shouldn"t touch her things." Conglong drank his milk. "Those pieces of cloth are pretty expensive. She spent about half of her allowance on those things."
"Since it"s such a precious cloth, won"t it be a waste if it"s not washed?"
"Did you know, Dongya," Conglong said with an air of someone that had discovered something big, "I went surfing a few websites yesterday, and guess what, that kind of cloth is even more expensive than newly-bought ones when it’s not washed!"
"Really? How mystical!" Dongya sighed, "What is it used for?"
"Who knows, maybe it"s one of the ingredients to boil soup."
Feng Ping Lan coughed heavily, almost choking on his toast. He hurriedly changed the subject, "That"s right, where are Byriel and Morris?"
"Byriel hasn"t come back after going out last night, and Morris went out for a morning jog. He"s going straight to school after that." Dongya looked at Feng Ping Lan, "How is the toast? I don"t really know how to use the toaster yet, but thank you for your instructions last night."
"You don"t know how to use the toaster? But this toast is pretty warm and crispy!"
"I used my iron to toast it…" Dongya said embarra.s.sedly.
"That"s just too creative! Hahaha!" Feng Ping Lan laughed halfway, before realizing that something was amiss, "Wait, did you use the iron to toast my bread after ironing the panties?"
"Yes." Dongya confirmed as if it was expected, "Do not worry, I cleaned it after toasting the bread. There won"t be the smell of bread on the clothes the next time I iron them."
"There won"t be the smell of bread on the clothes, but there"ll be the smell of panties on the bread…"
Feng Ping Lan felt weird, but he didn"t know how to explain it, so he could only silently swallow the toast down.
After breakfast, the demons used their own powers to go to school. And he used his usual transportation of a second-hand woman"s bicycle to ride on the road.
He had thought that life would become even more interesting with an addition of six demons to accompany him, but to be honest, it wasn"t any different from his usual daily life.
He still had to go to school, and he still had to face the exams and homework in school.
He knew that peace was something good, but something deep within his heart couldn"t help but feel a tiny bit of disappointment towards this sort of lawful and secure school life…
"Are you fitting in?" The administrator"s words cut through Feng Ping Lan"s thoughts.
"What do you mean?"
"Everything that you"ve run into lately."
"Oh, there isn"t much problem with it!"
"Oh really? Good then." The administrator pressed the b.u.t.ton to the iron gate, and as Feng Ping Lan pa.s.sed through, he muttered inaudibly, "Because there are more things waiting for you to fit into…"
Feng Ping Lan stepped into the dorm. At seven, there weren"t many students that had left, people pa.s.sing through the walkways towards the dining hall and the school buildings.
He walked up the staircase, pa.s.sing through the corridor and arrived at the dorm room that he"d lived in for a week.
Entering the room, he suddenly felt rueful. A week earlier, he had thought that he"d be living here for three years, spending his high school days here. He never thought that his entire life would transform a week later.
Only a short eight days had pa.s.sed ever since he moved here, but many things had occurred that had flipped everything he knew of the world over on its head and even changed his future.
If he hadn"t gotten the date wrong, he would probably be in this room freshening himself and changing with Li Rui, preparing to go to cla.s.s with together.
Feng Ping Lan extended a hand to twist the k.n.o.b, then pushed the door open.
"Li Rui, did you see— Uhwah!"
An unfamiliar Asian boy entered his vision, his upper half bare and sitting in the center of the room, an elegant-looking female respectfully clothing him by the side.
Facing this impudent intruder, the boy knitted his eyebrows, looking at him with obvious contempt.
"Sorry! I thought that this was room 384, sorry for interrupting you guys!"
Why was there a female in the male dorms? Could she possibly be staying a night here! Goodness! Although there was a childcare cla.s.s in the school, this was no reason to create a child yourself!
Just as Feng Ping Lan prepared to retreat out of the room, his eyes caught a pile of love poem anthologies and magic goods which were Bai Li Rui"s. That guy had researched on a lot of tricks and gotten a lot of weird stage props to chase after girls.
Wait, he hadn"t gone into the wrong room?
Feng Ping Lan halted, glancing at the boy, "Um, are you Li Rui"s new roommate?"
The boy humphed, looking as if he didn"t want to admit it, "Yes."
"Oh oh, I"m Li Rui"s ex-roommate." Uh, it sounded like something an ex-girlfriend would proclaim. "I left something here, so I came back to get it. Did you see my notebooks?"
The boy glanced to the side indifferently. Feng Ping Lan"s notebooks were thrown into the corner like a pile of discarded goods.
"Oh! Luckily it"s still there!" Feng Ping Lan walked to the side, about to walk to where the books were.
The books were placed behind the boy, but he did not seem as if he was going to move aside. Both of his arms were crossed, sitting unceremoniously in his place, using an expression of arrogance and disdain to look at him.
Feng Ping Lan grabbed his head, his mouth cracking into a smile, and directly moved forwards with his waist bent. His entire body straddled over the boy"s legs, extending his hand to gather his books.
The boy"s eyebrows raised, a vein bursting on his forehead. The lady beside him revealed an astonished expression.
Feng Ping Lan grabbed his books, clumsily moving backwards to stand up. But he suddenly became unstable, his whole body falling onto the floor, and the books in his hand fell out and flew towards the boy.
Before the books could crash into the boy, the lady beside the boy held out a hand to grab the books in the air, perfectly collecting each book before speedily putting it on the table at the side.
"Sorry, sorry." Feng Ping Lan hurriedly stood up, taking his books, indicating his admiration towards the female, "Thanks! Are you part of the handball club? You"re so agile!"
The female did not answer, just staring at Feng Ping Lan in shock.
"I won"t bother you guys anymore." Feng Ping Lan hurriedly withdrew, "Oh, that"s right, although Li Rui"s a bit excessive when he talks, he"s actually quite sensitive and delicate on the inside… If you can, you probably shouldn"t do too much PDA in the room so that you don"t provoke him, or else he might become resentful. Hahaha."
With that, the door closed. He left.
After the door closed, the boy tsked disdainfully.
"That"s just how the common people are, ignorant, and vulgar." He stood up, letting the female put his shirt on, "How much does Father hate me, to send me to this place…"
"The clan head has his reasons for arranging this." The female answered respectfully.
"Possibly." The boy b.u.t.toned his shirt, "By the way, Tan Hua…" He glanced at the female, "Who gave you the permission to take the Concealment Spell off?"
"The spell is still present, Young Master Kaido. The only one able to see me is you, the person I am contracted to." The female helped the boy straighten his tie.
"But that guy could see you." Kaido was silent for a while, "Looks like he"s a student of the Shadow Academy. Do you have any recollection of him?"
"None. I did not see this person last night." Tan Hua spoke, "But, there is a slight demon aura on him. It was faint enough that I could not sense it."
Kaido laughed faintly, "He was probably affected by the lower-level demons." Someone as useless as that couldn"t possibly a Summoner.
"No. That was a demon aura that had been constrained, where n.o.body is able to know of that demons" ident.i.ty, even more so unable to trace. Also…" Tan Hua paused for a moment, "There is more than one demon aura."
Kaido frowned, "So, is his demon really strong?"
Probably a demon that had been pa.s.sed down. A powerful ancestor did not mean that their descendants would be talented as well. And vice versa.
"Yes."
"Stronger than you?"
"…There is a possibility." A hint of melancholy flashed across Tan Hua"s expression, but still respectfully replied to her master.
"He looks very weak." The boy tightened his tie, "Weaklings, have no right to wield powerful weapons."
Powerless heirs inherited vast family properties, and led themselves to destruction.
And he had decided to give that person a helping hand.
"Your meaning?"
The boy lifted the corners of his mouth, revealing a predatory smile.
As Feng Ping Lan hurried towards his cla.s.sroom, he found Conglong, Simo and Dongya already there. With their powers, as well as the favorable circ.u.mstances of going to an international school, the demons were under the guise of foreign students and abroad returnees to mix into the student crowds. They were eye-catching, but not special enough to attract attention.
Quetzal had decided to pretend to be a school doctor instead, taking up s.p.a.ce in the most unremarkable corner of the sickbay. He hid low-profile in the school compound, on one hand recuperating, on another hand undergoing an investigation on this foreign world.
On the second day of school, school life was still fresh and exciting towards the demons, so they all came to school and moved accordingly to the school"s schedule.
"Good morning." Feng Ping Lan sat in his place, asking Dongya, "Are the others not here yet?"
"Morris is already in the school compound, but who knows where he ran off to."
"I see…" He"d probably gone to observe the cats again.
Bai Li Rui was the same as usual, sitting at the back, undergoing the hara.s.sment of a so-called love declaration on Simo.
"Look, this is Dalton"s atomic map." Bai Li Rui placed the chemistry textbook in front of Simo, with a voice full of magnetism to say lowly, "Simo, this is you, the atomic nucleus; and this is me, I"m the electron. So, you definitely have an attractive hold over me – I will revolve around you with no regrets."
Simo lowered her head awkwardly. She had absolutely no idea what Bai Li Rui was talking about, but his tone and att.i.tude raised gooseb.u.mps on her skin.
Conglong turned around to cut him off, "Since you"re the electron, if I take a plastic stick and rub it on you, you"re bound to get attracted by my stick."
The students surrounding them overheard this, turning to look at Bai Li Rui with peculiar gazes.
Bai Li Rui"s expression became rigid, "What the h.e.l.l are you saying! Why don"t you pay more attention to your own words…"
"Li Rui, you got a new roommate?" Feng Ping Lan asked curiously.
"You met that annoying b.a.s.t.a.r.d?" Bai Li Rui bore a look of loathing. "Not long after you moved your things out, that guy came in."
"Really." They were quite efficient.
"I heard that he"s a j.a.panese Chinese emigrant. He was staying in another room before this, but he didn"t get along with his roommate so he got arranged into my room." Bai Li Rui rolled his eyes, "He ignores me when I talk to him, and his att.i.tude is horrible. You know, the kind that’s opinionated and conceited. His luck with girls is probably just as bad."
"Isn"t he just like you? Just perfect." Conglong cut in.
"How is Li Rui opinionated and conceited?" Feng Ping Lan was outraged at the injustice of his friend, "He bows and bends the knee, wags his tail and begs for pity from the female s.e.x! He"s very modest!"
Bai Li Rui curled his lip, "…Thanks."
As the bell rang, Morris stepped into the room, looking a bit despondent. The kitten had probably run off again.
Not long after Morris sat down, Byriel arrived at the cla.s.sroom.
The bell finished ringing. A girl with a ponytail, donning a pair of gla.s.ses with a grave and serious look on her face walked to the front to record Morris and Byriel"s seat numbers, as the cla.s.s representative. She then returned to her seat.
But, the two latecomers did not mind it at all.
"Where did you go, Byriel?" Feng Ping Lan asked curiously.
"I wasn"t going to be late," Byriel smiled helplessly, "But I got held up by this weird old man at the entrance, so it took up my time."
"You mean the disciplinary head? What did you do?"
"I just hitchhiked to school on somebody"s car, that"s all." Byriel replied easily.
"You rode a sports car into the school compound, and even kissed a mature woman in a low-cut dress goodbye…" Morris rebuked. He was one of the eyewitnesses.
"d.a.m.n it! How can you do such an immoral thing in public!" Bai Li Rui lashed out, but his eyes were full of envy.
"It"s just an etiquette of a different culture. Just like how we shake hands." Byriel said calmly.
"No girl has ever used this kind of etiquette to shake hands with me before!" Bai Li Rui wrung his hands.
"Probably because your breath stinks." Conglong concluded calmly.
"Your breath stinks!"
"You came in late as well." Byriel glanced at Morris, "Did you go to the little road near the side door again? Why don"t you share with us what you did there? Hehehe…"
Morris" expression changed, "None of your business!"
"Then why can"t you share with everyone?" Byriel smiled.
"I know why he went there!" Bai Li Rui suddenly spoke.
Everyone froze, turning their gazes on to him. "You know?"
Bai Li Rui gave a knowing look.
"That"s the usual road the gymnastics team take during their morning runs, and some members wear their gymnast uniform on their jog. The subtle sweat of the girls as they bask in the dawn of sunset, the cleansing effect of that scenery in your soul. And behind the trees at that little road near the side door conceals a high concentration of girls, where you can soak your gaze in that beautiful scenery of perfection."
He closed his eyes, as if he was drunk on his recollections, giving Morris a sympathizing look, "I had thought that this scenery was only to be enjoyed by myself. I had never thought that I had a comrade-in-arms in this elegant scholar."
Byriel burst into laughter until his eyes turned upside-down, happily watching Morris" face turn ashen.
"Nonsense! Don"t compare me with you! b.a.s.t.a.r.d!"
"Shh." A reprimanding shush sounded from the back, only to see the cla.s.s rep walking to their places with an ugly expression. "Be quiet while self-study period is in session."
Bai Li Rui gave her an apologetic gesture that he thought was cool, and Morris turned his head unhappily.
Byriel replied with a frivolous smile, "Why be so serious?" A bewitching smile curling on his mouth, "The cla.s.s advisor isn"t even here yet, will it really matter if we converse for a bit?"
But the cla.s.s rep was immovable, sporting the same ugly look, "The patrolling teachers might come in any time. Also, please b.u.t.ton up your shirt. You"ll affect the whole cla.s.s if you get marked."
"Oh, that sounds quite serious." Byriel seemed to be following her words, but his careless behaviour showed that he didn"t care one bit.
The notch on the cla.s.s rep"s forehead seemed to deepen even further.
Dongya hurriedly gave a light smile to mediate, "We will take note of it."
The cla.s.s rep humphed and returned to her seat. But as she pa.s.sed by Feng Ping Lan she gave him a faintly discernible glare, the corners of her mouth pulling down a few notches, although she left immediately after.
"Who does that woman think she is? Why is she giving us orders?" Conglong complained quietly, extremely unhappy.
"Liu Yi Chen is the cla.s.s representative. She has the highest standing in the cla.s.s next to the cla.s.s advisor."
"She"s just a little bandit that"s what she is, what"s there to be arrogant about."
"She"s not just the cla.s.s rep, but also one of the few Spec Ad students. Her standing was originally at a higher level than us commoners anyway." Bai Li Rui glanced at Liu Yi Chen"s back, adding.
"Also, during the opening ceremony, she was the student representative for the freshmen. Incidentally, it was the one that got first place who was supposed to go up and represent us, but they switched her in instead. I heard that it"s because her relative"s one of the higher-ups of the school, so they interfered to put her in. She can definitely be arrogant, with that sort of support to back her up."
Feng Ping Lan heard this, saying awkwardly, "Ah, um… I don"t think first place got switched out because of that…"
Bai Li Rui glanced at Feng Ping Lan, "My information network is much faster than yours. It definitely won"t be wrong."
Feng Ping Lan hesitated for a moment, as if he wanted to say something, but he was cut off by Byriel.
"What"s a Spec Ad student?"
"Oh, it means Specially Advanced student. Anyone who scores 450 marks and above doesn"t need to pay their enrollment fees, and the school will even give you a scholarship." Feng Ping Lan explained.
"Sounds quite impressive."
"It"s actually nothing much…" Feng Ping Lan revealed a bashful smile.
"I"m not praising you." Conglong cast a sidelong glance at him.
"This type of girl has profound academic knowledge, but usually have an extremely slow uptake on romance. Although she has a serious and aloof facade on, she has an inner side that wants to be protected." Bai Li Rui proclaimed with fighting spirit, "I shall one day conquer that iceberg!"
"I hope that I will see it once in my lifetime, hehehe…" Byriel smiled faintly.
During cla.s.s, the demons listened to the lesson contentedly.
Human cla.s.ses were something new for them. That was knowledge that they hadn"t touched upon before. No matter whether it was humanities or sciences, it was abundant with interesting stuff for the demons.
The third and fourth periods was Art Cla.s.s, and was carried out in the art room.
The seating arrangement was different from the cla.s.sroom, which was scattered and did not have a fixed arrangement. Feng Ping Lan and the others randomly grabbed a few chairs and gathered in a corner.
The moment they had stepped into the room, the demons" attention had been attracted towards the various displays, their gazed set on the objects arranged on the walls and framework.
"What is this place?" Conglong exclaimed in admiration.
"A sacrificial hall?" Dongya spoke with deep veneration.
"No it isn"t! How did you get such a tragic idea?!"
"Because there are portraits of the deceased on the walls, and there are statues of the dead on the shelves." Dongya pointed towards the fake flowers and fruit models on the shelves, "And those are fresh flowers and offerings. This is a mourning hall no matter how much I look at it."
"It"s not!" Feng Ping Lan explained hurriedly, "This is a place for people to learn how to carve statues! Those models are references for them!"
"I see."
Simo tugged on Feng Ping Lan"s sleeve, secretively pointing at the wine bottle on the shelf. "Um, can I drink…"
"That"s just a model, that bottle should be empty."
"No, there is wine inside." Simo said with certainty, at the same time pursing her lips.
"Simo, did you already open it up to drink?"
Simo lowered her head in embarra.s.sment, "Just… a little… I just tasted a little bit…"
"Tsk, why wasn"t there milk in it?" Conglong spit in dissatisfaction, his attention caught by the sports car model at the same time, holding it up to scrutinize it carefully.
As for Bai Li Rui, he had gone to hara.s.s the Venus statue.
The bell rang. A woman with amber-coloured wavy hair walked in seductively, and all the males in the cla.s.s were instantly attracted by her. Bai Li Rui"s hand was paused in front of Venus" breast, forgetting to take it away.
"Good morning, students." The woman twirled her hair, revealing a bewitching smile, "I am your art teacher, Gemi Endor, as well as the advisor for the Art Club. A little self-advertis.e.m.e.nt here, we"re very welcome towards any student interested in joining the Art Club."
"Okay~" More than half the boys in the cla.s.s replied vigorously.
"The teacher is really pretty." Feng Ping Lan smiled stupidly.
"For her, I am willing to cross the barrier between teacher and student." Bai Li Rui spoke, "I"d be very willing to be her nude model, as well as her canvas. I can let her draw on my body."
"If she wants to draw you, she just needs to take that as reference." Conglong pointed at the statue of a little boy peeing. "There isn"t much difference between you two."
"Don"t look down on me!"
"The topic today is portrait-sketching. You"ll be put into groups later, and group members will sketch each other. You can sketch the same person, but you can"t draw yourself." Gemi continued her warning, "It"s just the beginning of school and n.o.body really knows each other. I hope that everyone will warm up to each other in this period, so the group selection will be through drawing lots."
A succession of complaints came from below. The demons also gave distressed expressions after hearing this.
Gemi smiled, holding up the bag she"d prepared beforehand, "The lots are in here, please pa.s.s it onto each other. Gather into your groups after you"ve drawn your lot, you can start after everyone"s done!" With that, she handed the bag to one of the students below.
"Troublesome." Conglong frowned, "I don"t want to waste my time making friendships with insignificant humans."
"Is it too late to get out?" Morris glanced towards the entrance of the room.
"Don"t be like this, it"s only been two periods!" Feng Ping Lan frantically urged him to stay.
"Besides, it"ll be no problem if we draw the same group." Byriel hooked the air with his long fingers, a light golden fog rising up to drift towards the bag, "It"s just a small matter, hehehe."
At this time the bag was handed to one of the twins, and Feng Ping Lan realized, that as the golden mist entered the bag, he knitted his eyebrows and glanced towards where they were situated, catching Feng Ping Lan"s gaze just in time.
Feng Ping Lan subconsciously panicked, feeling like he had been caught doing something wrong.
Had they been discovered?
But, a normal person couldn"t possibly see it…
The twin did not say anything, handing the bag indifferently to another person, and Feng Ping Lan released a sigh of relief.
The bag arrived to the corner, and the six people drew from it before pa.s.sing it back.
Conglong opened the lot, in which a number 1 was written on it.
Feng Ping Lan looked at Conglong"s paper, and hurriedly opened his to check.
Byriel smiled, "You don"t need to check, we"re all in the same group—"
"I"m in Group 3." Feng Ping Lan spoke.
Byriel froze, "I didn"t realize that you were so stupid that you couldn"t even recognize a number…"
"I"m in Group 1." Dongya opened his paper.
"Group 1…" Simo said quietly.
Byriel"s expression changed abruptly. "How can this be?" He opened his paper, which held the number 2.
"I"m in Group 3." Morris threw a stone at him in satisfaction, "I didn"t think that you were so useless that you could cast such a basic spell wrongly."
"Shut up." Byriel stared at his lot, ensnared in silence, "It shouldn"t be wrong…"
Could it be that his power still hadn"t recovered? No, impossible… He had been able to cast a complicated gliding spell last night, so there was no way he could slip on such a simple spell.
Unless someone had interfered.
Byriel"s expression became cold.
…There was another demon here?
Royal soldiers?
He guardedly gave the room a once-over, but there wasn"t anyone suspicious here.
He couldn"t help but laugh mockingly at himself.
If it was really an enemy, they wouldn"t just deliberately block his attempt at messing with the results.
Then, what was it?
A playful smile crossed his lips.
Interesting… He"d observe for now. Hehehe…
Gemi urged from the teacher"s podium, "Move quickly after you"re finished with drawing your lots."
Although the demons were incredibly reluctant, they could only cooperate.
Feng Ping Lan and Morris walked towards the right of the teacher"s podium, where the students with the same group number had already gathered.
One of them was one half of the twins, where his prudent expression and way of conversing divulged that this was the older one, Igor Mihelich. Another was the phoenix-eyed chubster, Zong Yu. The last member was the beautiful girl that kept on combing her hair as she looked at her mirror, Su Li Wan.
Su Li Wan looked at Feng Ping Lan, waving lightly at him.
"I"m not very good at drawing, so please don"t get mad if I draw too badly, hahaha." Feng Ping Lan smiled as he sat down.
Morris sat beside Feng Ping Lan, arms crossed with an att.i.tude that screamed that he was rejecting their very existence itself.
Zong Yu had a head of hair that grew down to his shoulders, the uncut and disarrayed hair drooping in front of him to cover half his face. He placed his writing tablet in his lap, body shrunk back and muttering in a low voice that n.o.body could hear clearly. He sneered lightly by himself at random times, a strange evil aura permeating out of him.
There weren"t many emotions on Igor"s face, silent and prudent, his Eastern-European lineage giving him his staunch yet refined facial features, as well as his clear and transparent ash-gray eyes.
The atmosphere in the group was very awkward and rigid, but Feng Ping Lan had never understood how to read the atmosphere, even more so hating this kind of overly-polite silence.
"The teacher told us to familiarize with each other, so let"s introduce ourselves! I"m Feng Ping Lan! My interests are mountain-climbing and picnicking! I love crabs the most! My expertise is giving ma.s.sages!" As he said this, both of his hands grabbed the air twice, "You know where to find me if you have any shoulder aches! Alright, Morris it"s your turn!"
Morris frowned, muttering, "I have nothing much to say."
"Aiyo, why are you being so shy? I"ll help you say it then. Morris" interests are exercising and keeping fit, the things that he loves the most are little—"
Morris glared at him, a threatening aura seeping out of his eyes.
Feng Ping Lan immediately changed his sentence, "—He loves my ma.s.sages the most. Man, he loves these hands of mine to death, hahahahaha!"
"You shut up!" Morris roared.
Su Li Wan smiled courteously, like a well-bred young lady; Zong Yu shrunk behind his tablet, letting out a mosquito-sounding sn.i.g.g.e.r; Igor did not have any reaction, just listening attentively.
"What about you? You"re Igor, right? What are your interests? Anything you like? Any expertise?"
"Yes." Igor was silent for a moment, "…I don"t have anything I particularly like. I just learned the saxophone for a few years."
"That"s amazing! By the way, I can play the harmonica! We can get into a band next time hahaha!" Feng Ping Lan clapped his hands, turning to the only female in the group, "Then what about Li Wan?"
"I like woven silk fabrics. My interests are…" Su Li Wan revealed an abstruse smile, "Braiding."
"Just too virtuous!" Feng Ping Lan glanced towards the large figure that had seemed to have melded into the shadows in the dark corner, "Zong Yu, it"s your turn!"
The head covered in black hair slowly lifted, "…My interests are disa.s.sembling and dismembering things, xixixi…" He let out a whole round of ear-piercing laughter, "I like samples of live specimen…"
His gloomy expression and weird laughter emitted an uncomfortable aura. Morris couldn"t help but frown, an annoyed and disgusted expression exposed on his face.
Feng Ping Lan clapped his hands, "Alright! Then I"ll ask you for help whenever I go for barbeque or crab!"
Zong Yu paused for a moment, collecting his smile and turning a doubtful gaze upon Feng Ping Lan.
"Alright! Ice breaking is over! Let"s start drawing each other!" After sweeping a gaze on the other four members of the group, he stopped on Zong Yu, giving a brilliant smile, raising his hand as if he was in an answering game, "I want to draw Student Zong Yu!"
Zong Yu knitted his eyebrows, his gloomy expression looking demonic, "Why did you pick me?"
Morris was curious as well, "Why did you pick him out of all people?"
"Because his plumpy figure looks really nice to draw." Feng Ping Lan said confidently, not at all afraid that his words would anger the person, "Ah, could Morris possibly be jealous? Do you really want me to sketch you that badly?"
"As if!"
"Then Morris should draw Li Wan. Li Wan is very pretty, you have to draw nicely!"
Su Li Wan nodded at Morris with a smile, indicating her goodwill.
"…I didn"t even want to partic.i.p.ate in this senseless activity…"
"Is it because you can"t draw? Don"t worry don"t worry, the teacher said that we don"t need to draw the full body, we can just draw a part of it. It"s fine if you just draw the model"s best features!" Feng Ping Lan picked up the pencil on the desk, handing it to Morris. "Just give it a try. This chance is pretty hard to come by, isn"t it?"
Morris frowned, reluctantly taking the pencil.
He had never drawn something before. If he hadn"t made a contract with Feng Ping Lan through a freak combination of factors, pretended to be a student and snuck into the school, he probably would pick up a pencil to draw until the day he became old and gray.
Morris looked at his own hand, the hand that had only ever touched weapons and strangled his enemies" throats.
The pencil was held in that solid hand, looking particularly delicate.
He gripped the pencil, and tried out leaving a little mark on the paper. A novel feeling arose upon him. Then he drew a second, and a third line on it.
It seemed… a little interesting…
On the other side, Byriel, Bai Li Rui and Liu Yi Chen were in the same group. As Liu Yi Chen saw her group members, she let out a distinct tsk, looking very unwilling.
"The thread of fate has tied the both of us together, Cla.s.s Rep." Bai Li Rui took up his pen and putting on an act by comparing it with Liu Yi Chen, "I have already finished drawing. Your beautiful figure will be forever drawn on my soul, unable to be erased."
"Because he has already helped you omit your clothes out, hehehe." Byriel tapped his foot, saying leisurely.
Facing both of their words, Liu Yi Chen frowned, "Don"t talk nonsense during cla.s.s." With that, she sat in her seat and took her pencil, starting on her easel.
Byriel smiled lightly, "Are you always this uptight?"
"None of your business." Liu Yi Chen moved her easel away, replying without even turning her head.
"That"s right. Byriel has too many female friends, you"ll have to wait in line to talk to him. As for me, I"ll always be your most faithful and most gentle—"
"Yi Chen, Yi Chen, help me draw."
Bai Li Rui"s words were cut off by a childish voice.
Only to see a gray-eyed male with flaxen hair who was one of the twins carrying the drawing board and pulling a chair to sit beside Liu Yi Chen. "I can"t draw, and this pencil is the type that"ll dirty my hands. I hate it."
Liu Yi Chen sighed, "Is this your group, Ivan?"
"It wasn"t at first, but now it is." Ivan showed her the paper with the number 2 written on it, pleased with himself. It seemed that he"d exchanged it with another student.
"Hey, it"s rude to interrupt someone." Bai Li Rui said, "You disturbed the conversation between Cla.s.s Rep and I."
"Is that so? I thought you were talking to yourself." Ivan gave an innocent smile, "And doesn"t every girl ignore your existence?"
"You—"
"Yi Chen, help me!" Ivan ignored Bai Li Rui, turning his head to continue grabbing Liu Yi Chen"s hand, "Please, you"re the best! Doesn"t matter if it"s day school or night school, the homework won"t be able to defeat you—"
"Pay attention to your own words." Liu Yi Chen reprimanded, "You have to complete your own homework…"
"Please, I"m so tired. I helped a lot last night, so it"s your turn to help me." Ivan cast a glance at Byriel, "There are some people who I thought was important, but turned out unimportant in the end. You made me actually antic.i.p.ate for a bit…"
Byriel smiled while glancing at Ivan. "Are you talking about me? Hehehe…"
Ivan did not answer, and continued acting like a spoiled child. "Please~ Ivan is tired. Yi Chen, help me?"
Liu Yi Chen sighed, clenching her teeth in compromise, "Wait for me to finish sketching…"
Byriel stared at Ivan, observing without batting an eyelid.
He minded the words that Ivan had said earlier. While he didn"t have any idea what it was about, he felt as if those words weren"t blurted out randomly, as if it was hinting at something.
It seemed like something he needed to know, yet did not know of.
"This b.a.s.t.a.r.d is a fiendish character…" Bai Li Rui"s voice sounded beside him.
Byriel knitted his eyebrows, thinking that Bai Li Rui had sensed something unusual, speaking with a slight bit of astonishment, "Oh? Whence did you notice it?"
"Just too brilliant." Bai Li Rui muttered with an air of self-deprecation, "Acting childish and naive, using a childish tone and babyish voice to lower your own outer mental age, evoking a girl"s motherly instincts, creating a chance to capture the intimacy with the opposite s.e.x. This move, brilliant."
Byriel burst into laughter. "So? What do you plan to do." It was hard to change his inherent nature…
"I want to learn it." Bai Li Rui put down his pencil, pulling his chair towards the other side of Liu Yi Chen.
"What do you want?" Liu Yi Chen frowned.
"Yi Chen Yi Chen! Li Rui, likes, Yi Chen." Bai Li Rui fisted both of his hands, putting them on both sides of his face, calling out with an incredibly childish voice, "Yi Chen, Li Rui wants a hug, googoo—"
Thump! Liu Yi Chen"s drawing board showered down to smash onto Bai Li Rui"s head.
Bai Li Rui moved backwards, almost falling onto the ground, but luckily Byriel supported him.
As the drawing board fell down, Bai Li Rui saw that Liu Yi Chen and Ivan had moved to another corner, far away from them. Ivan made faces at Bai Li Rui and Byriel, looking very pleased with himself.
"Ah, looks like I was too hasty." Bai Li Rui wiped his face, "I shouldn"t try out a technique that I"m not familiar with yet."
Byriel patted Bai Li Rui"s shoulder, "Good luck, I"m starting to respect you somewhat…"
Simo, Dongya and Conglong were grouped with another male student.
"I don"t want to draw people, I want to draw that car." Conglong spoke.
"But the teacher told us to draw portraits of each other…" The male student spoke awkwardly.
"Troublesome." Conglong muttered, getting a sudden idea, "Ah, I know!" And then, he lowered his head to move his pencil.
Simo silently took up the pencil, drawing a rough sketch on the paper.
After Dongya"s sleeve became dirtied, his entire being started getting jittery, wanting to wash the dirt off. By the time he had thoroughly cleansed his clothes and returned to the cla.s.sroom, it was almost time for cla.s.s to end. He could only frantically draw a few lines on the paper, resulting in a sketch of a stick-figure.