Eldritch Horror Theatre - Ch. 54: True Art Must Touch the Soul
Even with the sunglasses covering more than half her face, the woman still sported a delicate nose, red lips, and alluring long hair.
After receiving Qin Mingze's affirmative reply, the woman took off her sunglasses, revealing a bright and radiant face.
She looked Fu Qian up and down twice, finally nodded in satisfaction, and waved at him.
"Get in the car!"
The moment she said this, the grandpas' and grandmas' eyes practically bulged out.
Fu Qian didn't move an inch. He stared at Qin Mingze, expecting an explanation.
"Get in first, then we'll talk!"
The latter looked like he had lost the will to live.
For the sake of those two boxes of local specialties.
Fu Qian shot him a look and slid into the passenger door the woman had already pushed open.
It wasn't until the sports car drove far away that the elders at the gate finally came to their senses, instantly erupting into discussion.
They absolutely couldn't comprehend how the Fu family's kid, who was completely unemployed, actually had such a beautiful girl coming to look for him, and with such an attentive attitude.
"Start talking!"
Fu Qian led the two uninvited guests all the way into his home and gestured for them to sit on the sofa.
Young Master Qin no longer possessed his former domineering aura; his face was full of apologetic smiles.
"You aren't busy these two days, right?"
"Not busy."
Fu Qian shook his head.
"I'm resting for the next three days."
"Didn't you find a new part-time job?"
"Because the part-time job is quite exhausting, I work four days and rest three."
...
"Alright, here's the situation."
Young Master Qin pointed at the long-haired woman and let out a long sigh.
"I also found a part-time job for you."
Hmm?
Fu Qian glanced at the long-haired woman.
Although this girl had deliberately applied heavy makeup, she was definitely not old; at most, she was a year or two older than him. She might even still be in school.
At this moment, the girl was staring fixedly at him, clicking her tongue, her eyes carrying a somewhat wicked vibe.
"Let's talk privately for a second."
Young Master Qin rushed up, grabbed Fu Qian's arm, and dragged him to the side.
"Do me a favor..."
"Explain yourself clearly first."
"Uh... it's nothing big, I just need you to help out by being an art model."
"An art model?"
"Yes."
Young Master Qin looked like it was difficult to speak.
"Remember last time when I took a picture of your body and photoshopped my head onto it?"
Oh!
Fu Qian instantly understood.
"You got exposed?"
Mhm...
Qin Mingze nodded helplessly and pointed at the girl behind him.
"Being exposed is nothing; my thick skin can withstand the test.
What I didn't expect was that the person on the other end was actually this girl's roommate. When I was bragging to her, she recognized it...
This girl's name is Tan Ying. She's someone I grew up with in our circles, and now she's studying at the nearby fine arts academy.
She blackmailed me into finding the true owner of those muscles to model for her, otherwise, she'd make me the laughingstock of our entire circle."
Qin Mingze finally explained the situation clearly.
"All you need to do is very simple. Just be a model and let her paint you. I already confirmed it; at most, you only need to expose your upper body."
"You can add money for the lower half."
Unexpectedly, Tan Ying had sharp ears and immediately chipped in.
"Does a fine arts academy really struggle to find art models?"
Fu Qian looked at her, finding it a bit unbelievable.
"We have them, but they're all elderly grandmas."
Tan Ying sighed.
"Of course, I'm not saying grandmas are bad, but as an art practitioner, having finally discovered such a perfect human physique, there's no way I could let it slip by."
So that's how it is!
"Alright!"
Fu Qian frowned but agreed directly.
They hadn't expected him to be so straightforward. Now, not only was Young Master Qin overjoyed, but Tan Ying was also pleasantly surprised, covering her mouth and giggling.
"Thank you for your cooperation!"
Easy to say, easy to say.
While making polite conversation, Fu Qian spread his fingers, revealing the Lucid Dream ring, and chose to activate it.
The next moment, the galaxy on the ring swirled, and an invisible curtain expanded outwards.
So this is the dreamscape created by the ring?
Fu Qian looked around.
If he didn't explicitly know he was in a dream, he would have found it almost impossible to tell the difference.
He had absolutely zero interest in being a model, so he had to use some special methods.
Considering he couldn't just knock these two out and throw them out the door, he ultimately decided to try out this dream ring he had never used before; it would also be a good opportunity to test its effects.
Looking at it now, this dreamscape seemed to manifest entirely based on reality. The three of them were still sitting in the living room.
And from Tan Ying and Qin Mingze's appearance, they clearly hadn't realized they were already in a dream.
In that case, there was a high probability they would treat whatever happened here as reality after waking up.
Fu Qian observed his own state; he felt a sense of omnipotence, as if he could arbitrarily alter the logical rules of this dream.
Is it really this magical? Let's test it out on her first.
"Actually, I'm also half an art practitioner myself."
He approached Tan Ying first, beginning his mental violation.
"In my view, pure depiction doesn't fall under the category of true art."
Fu Qian began reciting the lines he had prepared.
"True art should unearth something on a much deeper level."
"Something on a deeper level?"
Tan Ying asked subconsciously. Under the influence of the dream, her thoughts had clearly slowed down.
"Yes, for example, the collision and tearing between flesh and spirit."
Fu Qian looked into her eyes, his tone unhurried.
Within this dream, Fu Qian realized his words had become exceptionally persuasive.
Meanwhile, the others were somewhat mentally hazy, completely losing their alertness and defenses.
"What do you mean?"
"Wait here for a moment, I'll be right back."
"Okay."
Tan Ying agreed almost automatically.
Fu Qian then went over to Qin Mingze.
"As the ancient saying goes, a man must take responsibility for his own actions. You caused this mess, right?"
"...Right."
"Then shouldn't you take the initiative to clean up the disaster you caused?"
"I should, but what do I do?"
"Simple. Wear this."
With a wave of Fu Qian's arm, a black pleated skirt appeared in his hand.
This dreamscape really was incredibly useful.
"Women's clothes... why do you have women's clothes here?"
Qin Mingze instinctively questioned.
"A client's."
Fu Qian spouted nonsense, completely unwilling to dwell on this question.
...
Alright!
Qin Mingze stayed silent for a moment, then quickly agreed.
He was indeed the one who caused this mess. Even though it was disgusting, a man had to shoulder the responsibility.
Qin Mingze didn't doubt for a second that this thought originated from his own heart, that it was his truest desire.
Five minutes later in the dream.
"What is this?"
Looking at the cross-dressing Qin Mingze appearing in front of her in a black skirt, Tan Ying, who had been waiting for a long time, sat frozen in stupidity.
"True art must touch the soul."
Fu Qian's tone was gentle.
"I believe that as an artist, you can perceive the ubiquitous sense of contradiction between this model's spirit and flesh."
...
Tan Ying was quickly persuaded.
She forced herself to face Qin Mingze, using an artistic gaze to scrutinize him. However, the hand holding her paintbrush trembled violently and simply refused to come down.
After a long time, she let out a long sigh and threw the brush away.
"I've realized my artistic cultivation is still lacking. I need to go back and polish it further."
"That truly is a pity. Are you certain you won't paint?"
Beside her, Fu Qian showed a look of deep regret.
"I am certain."
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