Chapter 35: Warm Body Temperature⊠part 1
She really couldn’t figure out what he wanted.
“Guide MÇ, I think you should close your legs and sit properly, rather than leaning on the bed like this.”
Wait, wasn’t that what he wanted? MÇ QiĆ« had only been guessing his thoughts. So, she let her legs dangle off the edge of the bed, her hands folded in her lap. Just then, the wind blew in from the window, lifting her hair and tickling her neck.
RĂłng LiĂĄng: “Just like that, don’t move.”
MÇ QiĆ« really didn’t dare to move a muscle. So it was that simple? What on earth had she been thinking just now? That was way too embarrassing, right?
The man held his brush and painted her on a clean, flawless sheet of white paper. MÇ QiĆ« held the pose, feeling okay for now. At least she wasn’t too tired, and the bed was soft, so sitting was quite comfortable. She should be able to last for an hour or so without any problems.
It turned out it wasn’t as scary as the touch starvation described on the StarNet, but MÇ QiĆ« still couldn’t let her guard down. She had just overcomplicated things in her mind. She stayed in RĂłng LiĂĄngâs room for about three hours, practically the whole morning.
However, her waist was getting a bit sore. Having to hold her body straight meant her lower back had nothing to lean on, leaving her entire spine suspended.
If she had to pose like this for three days, wouldn’t she have trouble even walking?
It seemed being a model for a painting wasn’t easy at all!
Apart from eating, MÇ QiĆ« persevered for the whole day. Before she went back to her room to sleep, RĂłng LiĂĄng told her, “Guide MÇ, you don’t need to come tomorrow.”
Was that it? She didn’t need to come anymore? MÇ QiĆ« asked, “Like painting my expressions or something, don’t you need those?”
RĂłng LiĂĄng: “I didn’t expect Guide MÇ to want to share a room with me so much. If you want to stay with me, I naturally don’t mind.”
MÇ QiĆ« didn’t mean that at all. She looked at him and asked, “So you really don’t need me?”
RĂłng LiĂĄng stood by the window. The sunset naturally lit him up, the dusky colors dyeing his cheeks and climbing his long lashes, outlining a perfect picture that gradually appeared in MÇ QiĆ«âs eyes.
He turned his head, his smile carrying a hint of wickedness and charm. MÇ QiĆ« was often captivated by such a smile. He said slowly, “When I paint, I always grasp the framework first, feeling the contours and contacting the tones. I don’t need to stare constantly. If I always emphasize complete likeness, a mechanized way of thinking is actually detrimental.”
MÇ QiĆ« hadn’t known about this theory. She nodded, pretending to understand. Actually, she felt that after staying in this room for a long time, she seemed to have been influenced by art…
Three days later, the painting was fully presented before MÇ QiĆ«âs eyes.
The lines drawn with colored paint were truly lifelike, exactly like her. It was like looking in a mirrorâwait, was she really this pretty?
RĂłng LiĂĄng appreciated his own work thoroughly and said, “This is the Guide MÇ QiĆ« in my heart.”
MÇ QiĆ« had originally thought he could only paint messy, uncoordinated pictures with dirty, thick lines. She hadn’t expected this almost realistic painting to be exceptionally beautiful. “Guide MÇ, are you satisfied?”
RĂłng LiĂĄng was waiting for her answer. MÇ QiĆ« carefully savored the person in the painting again. RĂłng LiĂĄngâs brushstrokes were delicate yet retained a beautiful artistic conception. MÇ QiĆ«: “I’m very satisfied.”
RĂłng LiĂĄng: “It’s not perfect enough.”
“It’s very perfect! The expression and movements are a complete 1:1 replica. Where could it be imperfect?”
MÇ QiĆ« thought that excessive pursuit of detail and perfection was actually unnecessary.
Only then did RĂłng LiĂĄng say to her, “Guide MÇ QiĆ«, you know, a painting is composed of its blood and temperature. Currently, in my eyes, it has only been filled with flesh and blood, but lacks a single trace of temperature.”
So a painting needed temperature too? She couldn’t quite understand his train of thought. For MÇ QiĆ«, if a work could make her like it at first glance, it was a good work, at least one that entered her heart.
So she asked if that was important. The man didn’t answer her, but it didn’t matter if he didn’t say anything; MÇ QiĆ« had a good mindset.
MÇ QiĆ« could finally take a comfortable nap. After confirming that he could leave with her the next day, she let go of all her worries.
She had set an alarm, but before it rang, Officer HĂš roared from the light-brain before MÇ QiĆ« could even speak: “What’s wrong with you? The guests have arrived, where are you now?”
No way. That meant Commander FĂč and Officer QiĆ« had already landed on the island. No way?? According to the general time estimate, it should be about five days later, which would have been just right for MÇ QiĆ«.
But thinking of FĂč RĂłngqÄ«ng, he usually planned the shortest route, so she had to hurry up.
HĂš YĂčnĂĄn: “MÇ QiĆ«, use your brain when arranging your time in the future. I don’t want you to be affected by such trivial matters again.”
Officer HĂš, he really knew everything.
MÇ QiĆ« had to find a way. It was already late, so could she also find a shortest route?
RĂłng LiĂĄng had an idea and said, “If we leave tomorrow, there’s a shortcut. We can arrive that same night.”
That was great! MÇ QiĆ« looked at him with expectant eyes. RĂłng LiĂĄng frowned and said, “The time can meet your requirements, Guide MÇ, but that place is very dangerous. I don’t know if Guide MÇ will take that risk with me?”
MÇ QiĆ« thought for a while and asked him, “I want to know if I can bear that risk.”
“The only way to reach the island is through the Star Marsh. It’s a small river with deep silt underneath. You have to think it over.”
MÇ QiĆ«âs eyes lit up. “Can we take a fiber-optic boat there? If we take a fiber-optic boat, we might arrive faster.”
Later events would show her how naive her thought was. Fiber-optic boats were specifically for sea travel, and they couldn’t pass through there at all.
MÇ QiĆ« finally faced reality, the light in her eyes dimming slightly. RĂłng LiĂĄng: “It has to be a wooden boat.”
In her opinion, as long as there was a boat, it was fine. She had to pass through the Star Marsh no matter what. RĂłng LiĂĄng added faintly, “The biggest danger there is the man-eating plants.”
That was the most he said. MÇ QiĆ« felt this world was truly magical! There were actually man-eating plants? Fake, right?
But MÇ QiĆ«âs subsequent search confirmed it. The Star Marsh was notoriously overrun with man-eating plants, far beyond her imagination. Only by taking this route could they shorten the arrival time, but such a dangerous place…
At first, MÇ QiĆ« hesitated. But she had even been to the Field Zone and the Confinement Tower; what was she afraid of? She even thought, if a man-eating flower lunged at her, she could just cut off its stem with a knife.
It shouldn’t be too difficult. MÇ QiĆ« had now learned to welcome challenges. MÇ QiĆ« went downstairs and hovered outside the kitchen. Mama ZhÄng saw she seemed to be looking for something, so MÇ QiĆ« said directly, “I want to know, are there any of those cupcakes left from last time? I want to bring some to eat on the way.”
“There are only 3 left. I froze them in the refrigerator. Miss MÇ, you take them all.”
So she wrapped all the cakes with cling film from the kitchen. This way, even if they were stuffed in the backpack, they wouldn’t spoil easily.
The next day, MÇ QiĆ« confirmed the general time, and she and RĂłng LiĂĄng set off. RĂłng LiĂĄng brought very few things, basically just a suitcase containing some daily necessities, very simple.
Arriving at the Star Marsh, MÇ QiĆ« found there were no boats here, not a single riding tool. Where was the wooden boat? Not even a shadow of a boat was visible.
At this moment, RĂłng LiĂĄng suddenly took out a heavy object from his suitcase and said it was the wooden boat. While MÇ QiĆ« was still confused, RĂłng LiĂĄng said he made the wooden boat himself, very sturdy and durable. Now he was unfolding it from its folded state.
MÇ QiĆ« watched in amazement as the wooden boat was actually propped up. It felt like he was performing magic. A flat wooden boat model could hold the two of them. So MÇ QiĆ« successfully sat on the wooden boat.
The wooden boat had pedals to control its movement and direction. Following his instructions, MÇ QiĆ« put her feet on the pedals. The boat RĂłng LiĂĄng made by hand could actually move so easily!
In shock, MÇ QiĆ« followed his instructions step by step. She found the small river exceptionally clear, basically allowing her to see the small fish underneath, but at the very bottom was the silt piled up by mud and sand.
It seemed that now, MÇ QiĆ« could only experience the fun of boating and admire the beautiful scenery; there was no danger.
But gradually, they rowed to a relatively open place. The flower bushes on all sides grew to about six or seven meters high. These flowers indeed didn’t look very real, just like those painted in oil paintings. Layers of petals seemed like paint constantly rendering on pink and red petals. Moreover, MÇ QiĆ« saw that she didn’t recognize the species of these flowers and plants; she had never seen them before. Every flower had its petals unfolded…
Were they really man-eating flowers?
When the wind blew, they swayed along with it, but nothing could be seen from this.
Until MÇ QiĆ« stared at a flower for a long time. The flower seemed personified, swaying its posture slightly. Of course, MÇ QiĆ« was scared, on the verge of collapse…
RĂłng LiĂĄng: “Guide MÇ, during the passage, it’s best to hold your breath as long as possible, do your best.”
MÇ QiĆ« didn’t know what he meant by saying this to her. Later he whispered, “They can more or less smell the living creatures passing through here.”
So scary?
Although MÇ QiĆ« had prepared herself psychologically long ago, she was still scared to breathe. She didn’t want to be eaten by a flower just like that…
MÇ QiĆ« comforted herself internally. They were just petals, not that sharp, right? Could they wrap her up?
But he had reminded her that man-eating flowers had teeth. When they officially passed through, MÇ QiĆ« held her breath directly, striving not to put herself in danger. At this moment, as the wooden boat passed through the center of the river, suddenly at least two flowers began to stretch their waists, lowering their heads towards them one after another. No way?
MÇ QiĆ« rubbed her eyes. This wasn’t a scene from her fantasy. But just a glimpse just now, sensually, she had already seen that inside the pink flower was a pointed mouth with three rows of teeth, upper and lower.
Once swallowed by it, it would turn her body into a kind of juice, and then she would disappear completely in its digestive tract.
Every tooth of the flower seemed like a sheet metal tool, creaking and calling to her!
MÇ QiĆ« sped up her pedaling. However, the manually operated wooden boat was a bit strenuous. Her feet didn’t dare stop at all. She didn’t look up again, but the flower started shaking its head left and right, aiming at MÇ QiĆ«âs face, diving straight down at her!!
MÇ QiĆ« had no time to dodge. She hadn’t even taken out her self-defense knife. In moments of crisis, MÇ QiĆ« had rehearsed it several times in her mind, but practical operation was hard to keep up with; it required certain skills.
Splurt!!
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