Many People Care About You

"..."

An awkward silence ensued.

Murong Qing then realized how intimate their position was, and her pretty face quickly flushed red. She hurriedly loosened her teeth and gently pushed him away, saying, "Let me go."

Si Ming's face flushed slightly. Not wanting to argue any further, he quickly let go, got up from the ground, and brushed off the grass roots and dust sticking to his body.

Murong Qing asked suspiciously, "You didn't do this on purpose, did you?"

"No, you have to believe me. After what happened to you, how could I possibly think of taking advantage of you?"

In all honesty, Si Ming only wanted to use this method to restrain Murong Qing's movements. After all, their strengths were not much different, and he was not confident that he could capture her without harming either of them in a normal martial arts fight.

Moreover, although Murong Qing's body had begun to develop, in Si Ming's heart she was still a little girl and was never regarded as a woman.

He prefers mature, older women.

Hmm, a mature young lady is fine too, as long as she's not a minor.

If Yao Bilian's integrity score were converted to a positive number, it would roughly correspond to his good play zone.

"Now we can calm down and have a proper talk, right?"

Murong Qing paused for a moment, then slowly said, "There's nothing to talk about. I know that no one in this whole affair is wrong. The school, which wanted to enhance its reputation, is not wrong; the teacher, who was sincere in art, is not wrong; Hongdou, who was unaware of the situation, is not wrong either. Only I was the one who gave up on myself and vented my resentment on others for no reason... I need to apologize to Hongdou afterwards."

Si Ming sincerely praised, "You really are amazing."

Why do you say that?

"Many adults may not have your magnanimity. For ordinary people, the first thought when they make a mistake is to shirk responsibility. Making excuses is almost instinctive. If they really can't shirk responsibility, they will find reasons to reduce their own responsibility. All sorts of unavoidable or helpless situations will arise. If they can't even do this, then they will drag others down with them. This is only human nature."

Forced to live a life of hunching over by the prevailing social customs, he always felt ashamed when he saw a girl who always stood tall and faced all difficulties with a dignified demeanor. This feeling was only dispelled when he attained enlightenment.

Murong Qing smiled bitterly, "I'm not as great as you say. I was just blinded by praise from being a top student and a genius Painting School since I was little, and I thought I really was a genius. But today I saw the real deal and was brought back to reality. I just can't accept this fact."

Seeing that she was about to fall into despondency again, Si Ming suddenly asked an unrelated question, "How much time do you spend on painting on average each day?"

"Two to three hours, I guess."

Si Ming nodded. This was already quite remarkable. Murong Qing was the class monitor and often had to help the class teacher organize group activities. In addition, she also had to find time to practice martial arts. If you add the two and a half hours for painting, she basically had no time to play during the day. This was the limit for a normal student.

No one could do better than Murong Qing, at least not within the realm of normal people.

"Hongdou paints for at least twelve hours every day. She never goes out shopping on weekends, has no friends, and no other form of entertainment. Apart from basic survival, her life consists only of painting. With my appreciation of art, I can't judge who has better painting talent between you and Hongdou, but I think that even if we have to attribute everything to talent, we should at least put in the same amount of effort."

Murong Qing was taken aback. Only those who put in the same amount of effort have the right to attribute failure to talent, and she wholeheartedly agreed with this.

However, unlike Hongdou, she doesn't need to go to school or maintain interpersonal relationships, so it's impossible for her to spare twelve hours to paint.

"So, I don't even have the right to complain about my talent..." Murong Qing sighed, her expression growing increasingly dejected.

Uh, how did it have the opposite effect?

Si Ming wanted to slap himself. He didn't need to be a silver-tongued Divine Ability, but at least he should have learned to encourage his own people.

"Then, let me ask you a different question. If you could switch places with Hongdou, have the same talent as her, and like her, have no friends, no entertainment, no school, and spend half a day drawing, would you be willing?"

Murong Qing shook her head. "Of course I'm unwilling. My life isn't just about painting. Although I enjoy painting, I'm not at the point where I'm willing to give up everything for it."

"That's enough. In my opinion, Hongdou is more pitiful. Your life is more fulfilling, unless you think you have to be number one in the world in everything, and that two hours of your sweat should be better than twelve hours of someone else's sweat."

"I'm not that arrogant."

"Okay, then I'll ask you one last question: are you envious of Hongdou?"

Murong Qing was speechless. She admired Hongdou's talent, but not at all Hongdou life. However, Hongdou's achievements were undoubtedly closely linked to her extraordinary life.

Murong Qing admitted that she couldn't bring herself to say something so greedy as to want only Hongdou 'Hongdou achievements without asking for anything in return.

The answer is obvious: if she doesn't envy Hongdou at all, and even feels a little sorry for her, then what was the cause of her earlier agitation?

Murong Qing suddenly realized that she had done something completely meaningless, based entirely on her own misunderstanding.

"Oh, thank you so much. I feel much better now, although I'm still a little upset... I never thought I'd be the one getting advice from you."

"Hey, what do you mean by that? How much did you underestimate me before?!"

Unconsciously, the two became much closer. At least in the past, Murong Qing would never have joked with Si Ming.

After laughing for a while, Si Ming asked before leaving, "Would you like to come with me to Deep Blue Plateau after this semester ends?"

Chapter 91 Many people care about you

Murong Qing did not give an immediate answer, but she was indeed somewhat tempted by Si Ming's suggestion. Whether it was to hone her willpower or to relax as a vacation, going out for training was a good choice.

Although she had resolved her inner conflict with Si Ming's guidance, it would be an underestimation of her autonomy to say that she could be completely at peace with herself after just one conversation. The more independent and opinionated a person is, the less easily they are influenced by outsiders. If she hadn't been so flustered and disoriented just now, Si Ming's words might not have been able to move her.

In fact, Si Ming did not persuade people purely with words; he also used the methods of martial arts to communicate with people and provide physical guidance.

Finally, Murong Qing left with the words "I need to think about it" and went home.

The next morning, Murong Qing arrived at school early, intending to deal with her unfinished work, although she hadn't decided whether to throw it away or finish it before taking it home.

"Huh, the door's unlocked. Has someone come? What are they doing at school so early?"

Murong Qing felt she had gotten up early enough and couldn't imagine anyone getting up earlier than her; it seemed there wasn't anyone in the art room who was this proactive.

She carefully pushed the door open and went inside, only to find someone she hadn't expected.