Transmigrating Into A Sadistic Novel And Becoming A Master Of Painting Rosy Pictures - Chapter 21

Ignoring Hua Jiangrong’s presence, Bian Yingning bowed and apologized profusely to the teacher.

“Alright, alright, go. Pay attention in class next time. If you can’t do it, learn properly. A chef who throws the wok while tossing food—who are you trying to make laugh?” Teacher Jiang, perhaps too lazy to bother with her, waved his hand dismissively.

Bian Yingning didn’t mind the teacher’s attitude; seeing that he wasn’t angry, she quickly placed the milk tea on his desk: “Thank you, teacher. Have a pleasant afternoon!”

Then she waved to Hua Jiangrong: “Goodbye, Aunt. I’ll buy you milk tea sometime!”

Hua Jiangrong only returned a refined smile.

After Bian Yingning left, Teacher Jiang offered Hua Jiangrong the milk tea: “Aunt? You know her.”

Hua Jiangrong waved off Teacher Jiang’s offer. She wasn’t a young girl; she didn’t like these things anymore. Besides, she needed to maintain her figure; such things were like poison to her.

“She and Cancan are friends, so she calls me aunt.”

Teacher Jiang nodded, lost in thought, then slowly said, “Let’s go.”

Hua Jiangrong followed him: “I hope today goes smoothly.”

“It will.”

…

Bian Yingning called Hua Cancan as soon as she left the office building.

As soon as the call connected, the sound of a violin came from Hua Cancan’s side, seemingly from a high-end restaurant.

She whispered urgently: “What is it? Didn’t we agree not to have lunch together? Don’t interrupt my date!”

Bian Yingning: “…” Does she really need to be so blunt about finding a replacement after being rejected?

“I didn’t regret not having lunch with you; I just wanted to tell you a big secret!”

“What secret can’t wait? You’ll see me this afternoon; just hold on.”

Hua Cancan pretended to hang up.

Bian Yingning sighed, softly saying, “I wanted to tell you some gossip about your aunt.”

There was silence for a moment: “Tell me, I’m listening.”

Bian Yingning’s voice was low: “Forget it. Don’t want to interrupt your date; I’ll see you this afternoon. I’ll try to hold on.”

Is there a more considerate friend than me? No.

Hua Cancan: “?”

Then Bian Yingning hung up.

Little rascal, trying to outsmart her.

Almost immediately after hanging up, Hua Cancan called back.

Bian Yingning was surprised; she was so interested in the gossip about her aunt.

According to the original owner’s personality, she should have ignored the call.

Although Bian Yingning wasn’t the original owner, she thought she should do the same, so she put her phone on silent and put it in her pocket.

Just as Bian Yingning was about to find something to eat, she saw Ji Xiaoxue, looking complex, holding some documents in front of her.

It felt like it had been a long time since they last met.

She seemed even thinner, with dark circles under her eyes.

Bian Yingning felt sorry for the female lead. People passing by looked at them curiously.

Bian Yingning spoke first: “Have… you dealt with things?”

Ji Xiaoxue lowered her eyes.

Bian Yingning said again: “That card has no password and is anonymous; the limit is about two million. Use it if you need it urgently; don’t feel pressured; rest well.”

Ji Xiaoxue suddenly smiled: “You think you can just get rid of me with money?”

[Host, please note. The female lead’s blackening value is 35%; please lower it immediately!]

As soon as Ji Xiaoxue finished speaking, a large transparent panel appeared in front of Bian Yingning, with a glaring red exclamation mark, creating a sense of urgency.

[Please note. If the female lead’s blackening value reaches 100%, this world will collapse due to inconsistencies, and the host will not be able to return to the real world!]

Bian Yingning was startled; despite the summer heat, she felt a chill and broke out in a cold sweat.

Blackening?

How could this be? She was diligently completing her tasks!

Did she feel that… she was insulted by the money?

Blackening? What blackening? What should I do!

Even the system’s mechanical voice was anxious: “Hurry up and coax her; if the pure white female lead blackens, we’re both done for.”

Coax? How?

The situation was urgent; she didn’t have time to think. Bian Yingning stepped forward, her hands trembling.

“Why do you think that of me? Yes, my reputation wasn’t good before; you can think I’m bad, a terrible person, but you can’t doubt… my desire for you to be happy.

I just… feel sorry for you, understand? It’s not pity.

It’s not the kind of happiness where you’re a spice in my life, a superior looking down on you, grateful for my kindness. I’m not a pervert; this doesn’t give me pleasure.”

Bian Yingning explained desperately, trying to prevent Ji Xiaoxue from falling into despair.

“Then, why didn’t you…” Ji Xiaoxue couldn’t finish her sentence.

Saying it made her feel like a neglected child.

—Why didn’t you send me home that night?

You feel sorry for me, but you only tell me that. You sent your friend home; she’s in your circle. What good is your sympathy? All I get is sympathy.

She knew she was being demanding but couldn’t control herself. She knew she should stop but couldn’t.

Thinking of that night, when Bian Yingning said she treated her like a junior, then sent her classmate home, she felt furious with jealousy.

Jealousy kept her awake at night.

“Why didn’t I..?” Bian Yingning waited for her to finish.

But Ji Xiaoxue remained silent.

Bian Yingning looked around, leaning closer, wanting to whisper.

Ji Xiaoxue stepped back, her eyes wary.

Bian Yingning felt hurt; they had been close, but now she couldn’t even get near.

“I just want to tell you something.” She stopped; Bian Yingning didn’t approach, biting her lip, looking slightly hurt.

Ji Xiaoxue looked at her coldly.

“Speak.”

Bian Yingning was called Bian Yingning because she dared to advance when others retreated.

She stepped forward again, as if she wouldn’t speak unless she said it directly.

Ji Xiaoxue’s knuckles were white as she clutched the documents, forcing herself not to retreat.

She was so petty, so petty that she wanted even this friendship to be more, much more, ideally exclusive.

She hadn’t always been like this.

“What I said to Hua Cancan on the day of the draw wasn’t true,” her hot breath grazed her earlobe; Ji Xiaoxue felt her heart being scraped by a sharp, hot knife.

“Did you see us then?” Bian Yingning asked.

Ji Xiaoxue remained silent.

Bian Yingning thought she didn’t want to speak, unaware that Ji Xiaoxue was biting her lip hard.

Bian Yingning continued: “I don’t know if you saw this, but she pinned me against the wall and asked why I was so close to you, what my intentions were.”

“You might not know, but Hua Cancan is the most formidable in our circle; almost everyone is afraid of her. I was terrified.”

Sorry, my treasure, for the sake of the world, you have to take the fall.

…

At the high-end restaurant, Hua Cancan angrily threw her phone away after Bian Yingning didn’t answer her call.

Suddenly, she sneezed; the person opposite her immediately asked the violinist to stop and wanted to lower the air conditioning.

“It’s nothing,” Hua Cancan rubbed her nose, “My friend is probably talking about me again.”

Damn it, Bian Yingning, the epitome of pettiness, hung up on her after only half the conversation.

…

“What could I do? I had to say that, but I didn’t expect you to hear it,” Bian Yingning said sadly, stepping back to give them space.

“When you questioned me at the bar that night, I was so panicked. I didn’t expect you to see me so embarrassed and insincere.”

She smiled bitterly: “But it doesn’t matter; someone like me doesn’t deserve to be your friend. As long as you’re happy.”

“I… I’ll go first.” Bian Yingning, unable to bear the exposure of her wounds, fled.

Ji Xiaoxue stood there, stunned.

The summer gardenias in the campus wafted their fragrance on the breeze; in the distance, students laughed and chatted; nearby, basketballs bounced on the court.

Do I believe it?, Ji Xiaoxue asked herself.

What difference does it make? Even if she truly treated her as a toy, she had to admit, she won.

Perhaps she should accept that her kindness wasn’t exclusive.

But a voice in her heart said, I want to possess her exclusively.

…

[Blackening value 30%]

[Blackening value 20%]

…

[Congratulations, host. The female lead’s blackening value has decreased to 9%]

“9%?” Bian Yingning frowned: “Why not zero?”

The system pondered: “Perhaps your ability to paint a rosy picture isn’t strong enough.”

“Paint a rosy picture?”

[Congratulations, host, on unlocking a new skill! Strive to be an ordinary, amazing painter of rosy pictures!]

[Painting a rosy picture: Using the most beautiful and moving words (including sweet nothings) to convince the other party—being immersed in the mundane world because you’re here, the beauty of the world existing because of you.]

Bian Yingning didn’t understand most of what the system said.

“Can you speak normally?”

“Sorry, host, this system doesn’t have a physical body yet.”

“…I’m asking what this new skill is!” Communication barriers are appearing so quickly.

[Painting a rosy picture is a skill that can be improved, divided into four levels: beginner, intermediate, master, and genius. With each level up, your linguistic charm will greatly increase.]

“What’s the use?”

“As a master painter of rosy pictures, you can use your words to make others fall for you… in short, it’s using minimal time and words to gain trust.”

Bian Yingning felt something was wrong: “Soo it’s just sweet talk with no action?”

“Host, you don’t need to describe it that way. You’re just kind-hearted.”

“…”

“You can get extra points for each successful rosy picture.”

“Painting a rosy picture? Isn’t it easy?”

…

The talent show finals were grand, held in the school’s 1000-person auditorium, one of the largest events at the university.

It was highly publicized, live-streamed online.

The guests included school officials, a well-known singer, and a dance artist. Surprisingly, Hua Jiangrong was also present.

The auditorium was packed; it looked like a celebrity concert.

Fortunately, outsiders weren’t allowed in; otherwise, the roof would have been blown off.

Hua Jiangrong entered discreetly; the organizers didn’t announce her presence; the publicity only mentioned the singer and artist judges.

But when Hua Jiangrong appeared, she was immediately recognized, and online posts appeared.

• • #Actress Hua Jiangrong makes a low-key appearance at the Haida University talent show

People speculated that the competition, while popular and well-sponsored, wouldn’t attract Hua Jiangrong.

Those who knew her knew it was likely because of Hua Cancan.

Seeing the crowd, Bian Yingning, though not participating, felt nervous for the students.

Ordinary students had never seen this scale.

Even the host’s voice trembled during the introduction.

The audience was even more excited during the announcements.

Singers, actors, artists, and CEOs—everyone’s here.

Bian Yingning, an unremarkable milk tea-consuming machine, brought in four more cups of milk tea.

She intended to give one to Hua Cancan, one to Ji Xiaoxue, and one to Shang Qinghui. However, Hua Cancan brought a makeup artist, so Bian Yingning gave her a cup as well.

This left her with only one cup, and she had already drunk hers.

After some deliberation between Shang Qinghui and Ji Xiaoxue, Bian Yingning chose to go to Shang Qinghui’s makeup room.

Yes, the top five finalists each had their own makeup room.

She’ll buy one for the female lead next time; the task is more important now.

“Knock knock knock.” Bian Yingning knocked on the makeup room with Shang Qinghui’s name on it.

“Come in.” A clear, calm female voice.

Bian Yingning pushed the door open.

The makeup room was bright; the vanity mirror had a built-in light ring, looking very high-end.

Warm-toned pendant lights illuminated the room.

A white, elegant dance dress hung neatly on a nearby rack, exuding an aura of elegance.

Perhaps due to the excitement outside, Bian Yingning’s heart beat faster.

Shang Qinghui sat in front of the mirror, still in casual clothes, applying makeup. She was alone in the room.

She saw Bian Yingning through the mirror.

Bian Yingning wore a loose graffiti shirt, brick-colored leather mini skirt, and black boots—a bit sexy, a bit edgy.

Shang Qinghui glanced at her.

Because of the head injury Bian Yingning sustained saving her during the summer, she had shaved a part of her hair; it was unclear if it had grown back. She had cut her hair short and seemed to be wearing a wig.

Probably today too.

Two strands of her hair framed her face; her bangs were straight, giving her a somewhat morbidly beautiful look.

Her eyes were slightly upturned, like a fox… spirit.

“What do you want?” Shang Qinghui was unfriendly.

“Hey, why so cold? I’m here to cheer you up with milk tea,” Bian Yingning ignored Shang Qinghui’s cold attitude.

She pulled up a chair and sat beside her, placing the milk tea in front of her.

“Why are you alone? Aren’t your friends here to keep you company?” Shouldn’t a group of girls be surrounding her, taking pictures?

“None of your business.” Shang Qinghui patted the brush and applied loose powder.

“How is it not my business? Your business is my business; I can’t bear to see you alone.” Bian Yingning knew the power of being thick-skinned.

Shang Qinghui rolled her eyes.

Undeniably, beautiful people have an advantage; even rolling her eyes looked pretty.

“Are you confident about the competition?” Bian Yingning subtly changed the subject.

“You’re not participating; why do you care?”

“Am I worried you’ll cry if you don’t get a good ranking?”

“You had Hua Cancan participate to defeat me?”

She knew Hua Cancan never participated in such events.

Bian Yingning smiled shyly: “Would you mind being defeated? Second place is pretty good; you don’t have to win, right?”

Shang Qinghui: “?” How could she say such nonsense?

“Are you crazy? Take your stuff and get out.” Shang Qinghui realized Bian Yingning was trying to get to her.

“Don’t be like that; I’m serious. Don’t focus so much on first place.”

In the original story, she was unhappy about not winning first place and took it out on the female lead.

“Is first place important to you?” Shang Qinghui’s eyes, accentuated by false eyelashes, looked at her.

Bian Yingning: “…” What does it mean that first place is important to her? She was trying to tell her not to focus on it; it has nothing to do with her.

But…

“If I say first place is important to me, would you be comforted if you didn’t win?” Bian Yingning, changing her tone, asked seriously.

Meeting Bian Yingning’s serious gaze, Shang Qinghui stared at her, then smiled disdainfully and looked away.

“What are you thinking? First place will be mine; if it’s important to you, I’ll try even harder to win.”

She threw down the brush and stood up.

“Get out before I change my mind; don’t bother me.”

Bian Yingning stood up, looking down at Shang Qinghui’s delicate face, her voice hoarse: “If you can’t give up on first place, then fight for it with all your might.”