Chapter 293
"You're just envious."
She slumped onto the sofa in a disheveled and undignified manner, murmuring softly, "Is it only a family like this that can forge such strength?"
"What nonsense are you spouting, Yi Qi Liao Yi?"
He glanced at her with disdain. "My talent is so great that even they feel speechless and inferior."
"... That's infuriating!"
After a few seconds of silence, she looked back with resentful and indignant eyes.
"..."
"..."
Some time passed.
"What about Umenomiya Isaya? Her attitude towards you and Ashiri doesn't seem quite right either?"
Remembering another young lady who lived in the apartment building, she continued, "..."
The other person was also a student in a special class of the Design Department, and every time she encountered them, they would avoid them like the plague, which even she could tell.
"That's a grudge from the previous generation. To put it simply, my mother was not well-liked in our traditional family because of her appearance, and she was kept in the attic as a child."
"My maternal grandfather considered her a disgrace to the family, and my maternal grandmother was seriously ill because of her. My uncle treated her fairly well, but my aunt was more influenced by my maternal grandfather and his family, so her attitude towards our side was also very complicated."
He explained it to her simply in a few words.
"And Miss Meigong is...?"
"Yes, my aunt's daughter."
"I see. I'm sorry for asking such a rude question."
She bowed sincerely in apology.
"It's alright, it's all in the past anyway, it has nothing to do with us, and I don't plan to have any further dealings with them."
"So..."
Esther felt slightly relieved, but quickly frowned again. "But aren't there just too many people in this apartment building and school who are connected to you, Rumin-san?"
You really did spot a blind spot.
"There's nothing we can do; that's how it is in large families."
"That's true, I might understand..."
She seemed to have thought of something, and wearily lowered her eyelids.
"..."
He put down the teacup he had almost finished drinking from, stood up, and looked down at her.
"Alright, enough of the small talk, let's get down to business, shall we?"
Without a doubt, Esther stood up with a "Hey!" and replied with a smile, "Yeah, you're right."
"Thank you so much, Teacher Talent!"
"Lead the way!"
"Receive!"
The two walked towards the studio, one after the other.
His purpose in coming here, besides chatting with her and relaxing, was also to become her teacher.
With such a convenient "tool" existing, as someone walking the path of a designer, one would certainly not not think of using his power.
Since they were all familiar friends living under the same roof, he had no reason to refuse.
In his spare time—especially late at night—he would take the time to come over and guide her design work, giving her extra help.
Fortunately, she's also a night owl, and she's more inspired at night, so she can't stop drawing once she starts. As a result, she often stays up very late, so time isn't a problem for her.
She was quite early today, which is why she was a little surprised.
Chapter 329: Exploring Twins and Design.
"How... how is it?"
Ten minutes after entering the studio, Esther stood to one side, her fingers intertwined, anxiously watching Sakurakoji Talent, who was sitting at her usual workstation, flipping through her latest design sketches, like a student waiting for a teacher's feedback.
"Only Shit."
Setting aside the stack of design drafts containing over a hundred sheets of paper, Sakurakoji Talent gave a brief evaluation.
"Waaah... Cai, Talent, your English is wrong, isn't it Holy Shit?"
Esther raised her finger, her expression stiff, in an attempt to salvage the situation.
Although they sound similar, "Holy Shit" originally means "holy excrement" and is a vulgar expression used to express surprise or unexpectedness; the two have very different meanings.
Do you think that's what I meant?
He gave her a nonchalant look, letting her figure it out herself.
"Waaaaah... Is it really that bad?"
She sat slumped on the ground in a duck-like position, her eyes blurry.
"What are you talking about? Don't you know the answer yourself?"
He tossed the stack of drafts one by one into the shredder next to him, destroying them on the spot.
"This thing, with its thick lines like poop, messy color scheme, and complete lack of fashion sense, makes me feel nauseous just looking at it."
"If someone else showed this to me, I might really have punched them."
Even if you want to pursue a new style, shouldn't you at least examine your work after you finish it? Is this something you can show to others?
"I won't ask why you recently abandoned your original light and natural style and started studying this kind of stuff, but if you feed me this kind of stone again, I'll put laxatives in your next snack."
He already knew the reason.
Wasn't it all to fulfill her childhood dream of forming a twin designer duo with her twin sister, Esthergrian Arnoz, and to create a new style for herself?
[Note: Grian means sun in Ireland, and Galha means moon. Esther has two older sisters besides her twin sister, making her the fourth child in her family. They are not only all beautiful, but also look very similar (a sister complex freak's delight?)]
However, Estelle Griananoz... just thinking about that woman's personality makes me angry.
If we were to draw an analogy, she possesses a self-awareness several times stronger than Ouka Mai (in reality, she's just an idiot), and can even utter shameless statements like "I was born to receive everyone's love."
But not only was he lacking in talent, he also made absolutely no effort. He was always waited on hand and foot since he was a child... no, it should be said that he would even take food from others when they didn't come to him. He was a complete good-for-nothing who was soaked in love.
The meaning of life is to dress yourself up beautifully and enjoy the feeling of being admired by everyone—what a perfect pretty face!
If it's for self-gratification, they won't care about grades, credits, or travel expenses paid by their family, or they might not even realize it—that's what a fool they are.
It's really frustrating to encounter a character who is completely opposite to him and whose attributes clash with his.
In his eyes, her life's value was only enough to be a *** (censored).
"Well..."
Esther muttered to herself, feeling a pang of sympathy, "That's so mean!"
"It's you who's going too far by showing me this kind of thing. Do you know how precious my time is?"
"I know, hehe..."
After making a pig-like grunt at the end of the sentence, she stood up and patted her skirt.
"And there it is again, that awful sow-like squeal..."
"Anyway, when it comes to Talent, I'm just like this~ like a piglet, acting like an idiot~ pfft~"
She spread her Hands without any shame, becoming even more brazen.
"How about you wear the pig-man costume from the play next time you meet me?"
He looked her up and down, his eyes flashing coldly.
"I'm sorry! I was wrong! I shouldn't have made that kind of joke!"
Esther quickly bowed and apologized.
After a few jokes, she sighed and asked, "Hey, Talent, do you think it's possible for one person to master two design styles?"
After being utterly devastated by reality, she asked with a melancholy expression.
"Maybe."
Contrary to her expectations, he gave her an answer that perfectly matched her hopes, instead of the lines she had anticipated, such as "idiot," "don't think of useless things," and "trying to run before you can walk."
"Real?!"
Her large eyes were filled with disbelief.
"Why are you so surprised? Isn't this the answer you wanted? Did you knowingly jump in because it was impossible?"
"Ah, because, but..."
"Alright, stop talking. Let me ask you a few questions first."
Sakurakoji Talent pointed at her with his index finger and said, "First, do you want to be a mediocre designer, or a top-notch world-class designer?"
"..."
The flame that had just ignited in Esther's heart was immediately extinguished by half as she pondered the meaning behind the question.
"You don't need to answer me, think about it yourself."
He held up a second finger. "Second, do you think you have a talent for schizophrenia, or a talent for acting?"
"..."
"Third, is the work you want to design an imitation or an original? Is it going to follow the trend or be groundbreaking?"
"..."
Seeing her lower her eyes and fall silent, he asked one last question.
"Finally, fourthly, are your talents sufficient to answer the first three questions?"
"..."
After asking the questions, he picked up a pen and paper from the workbench and began to doodle on the paper while casually and slowly analyzing the situation for her:
"Mastering two styles simultaneously isn't too difficult from an imitator's perspective; you just need to copy and learn from the masters' works. But even if you do it perfectly, there's a limit, and you won't be recognized for it."
"To become truly first-rate, you must integrate all your experiences, knowledge, and skills to forge a unique and natural flow."
"Even setting aside technical and aesthetic considerations, your work just now was too stiff, worse than what a beginner could do. It's obvious that you deliberately chose the opposite path from what you've been taking before."
"To make it seem natural, you either need acting skills like Yōkadō Sakuri, or you need to be somewhat schizophrenic, never seeing yourself as a complete whole, and being able to make your thoughts into multiple independent parts."
"Or perhaps, they possess unparalleled talent, so much so that even if they were automatically downgraded by changing categories, they could still enter the top tier... You should know what I'm trying to say."
"Your Talent (nine) phosphorus six thought seven barba? You can do it..."
Esther gave a weak smile. "You can reach the top in many different styles."
"But I can do it, and that's my ability. The difficulty for others to do the same thing—you probably already know that without me saying it."
He showed no arrogance or sarcasm; he was simply stating his own understanding.
"Even top designers like my mother have consistently adhered to their original styles (beliefs) without wavering. Their current works still clearly show that they evolved from their student-era creations."
You may have heard the saying, "Humans cannot imagine what they have not seen."
"The things a designer designs with all their might inherently contain that person's entire thoughts. To depict a different idea, you'd have to ensure that none of your previous works have fully expressed your thoughts."
"The methods mentioned above all mean the same thing: the completion level of a portion of your work that you select is comparable to someone else's entire piece."
"... So you're saying I have to take a portion of myself to compete with Miss Justin Miss Haruko's entire body?"
Aites looked up at the indoor light, her beautiful oval face revealing a sense of helplessness.
"Just thinking about it makes me despair."
Even if she gave her all now, she might not be able to match them, let alone even a part of it.
That's roughly the idea.
Two minutes later, Sakurakoji Talent stopped waving the colored marker he had been using since the beginning, capped it, and moved the two completed works in front of her.