Chapter 1616 – Extra: Langya F5 Group (Part 2)
“Hey, how can you call that a distortion of facts? It’s called truth!”
Jiang Pengji chuckled, “I’ve never heard of such a thing before.”
As she spoke, she cast a glance at her overly familiar classmate, who was dressed in splendid satin garments, clearly a typical foolish son of a landlord, rich but dimwitted. If that weren’t the case, who would waste a fortune on bamboo paper to draw fire prevention pictures? Isn’t that just burning money?
With that kind of money spent on paper dolls, why not go find the real deal? Any charming lady in the brothels would be at your service, right?
Paper dolls are fake; real people can be seen, touched, and smelled.
Looking at the audience, this guy probably is just an obsessed otaku collecting figures, willing to spend lavishly on merchandise related to paper dolls instead of investing in actual people. Jiang Pengji’s judgment was spot on; that’s exactly who this guy was.
The overly friendly classmate said, “You’ve heard it now, haven’t you? You’re still young; when you’re older, you’ll understand.”
Jiang Pengji was speechless.
Though her current body was only thirteen, her mind was over forty.
Isn’t it ridiculous for a little kid to say something like that to her?
She glanced sideways at the other two.
Unlike the naive and overly friendly classmate beside her, the other two were clearly ordinary students from humble or even impoverished backgrounds.
You could tell from their attire, appearance, skin, calloused hands, and even the incense they used.
She was quite surprised.
Ever since she had crossed over to this world and seen the stark socio-economic divides, she had rarely encountered two classes mingling so well together.
The best-born among them was the overly friendly one, surnamed Jiang, named Mo, courtesy name Benzhi.
Then there was Ma Xiu, whose courtesy name was Jiqing, and the most ordinary one was Fang Zhi, courtesy name Bu Qu.
After getting to know them better, Jiang Pengji found out why these three got along so well.
Jiang Mo loved collecting pictures of beauties and fire prevention drawings, willing to spend a fortune on the ones he liked.
It was said that his parents had placed five or six stunning concubines in his room to correct his obsession with fantasy, but Jiang Mo refused to even look at them, getting lost in the allure of paper dolls instead, almost as if he were bewitched.
Ma Xiu’s family owned dozens of acres of good farmland and didn’t have to worry about food; he could occasionally help out Fang Zhi, who lived in the same house.
Fang Zhi was the lowest-born, but he had a remarkable talent for painting. His skills were nearly on par with Wei Ci, the best painter in the academy, each having their own style. Fang Zhi could accurately capture people’s unique traits, rendering them vividly in just a few strokes. He occasionally took on commissions for things like fire prevention drawings. Jiang Mo loved Fang Zhi’s fire prevention pictures, saying they were imbued with spirit, with attractive characters and perfect proportions, accompanied by a storyline—truly stunning works. So, Jiang Mo often commissioned Fang Zhi, who needed to gather inspiration and would ask his bedfellows to take him to the brothels for references… and before they knew it, the three had become thick as thieves!
Jiang Pengji: “…”
Oh, the bond of brotherhood…
Just days earlier, Jiang Mo had spent a large sum to acquire the best bamboo paper, handing it over to Fang Zhi for fire prevention drawings.
Fang Zhi had put a lot of effort into this commission and had just completed it. The moment Jiang Mo heard the news, he couldn’t sleep a wink and rushed to check the goods. The academy forbade possession of such fire prevention images, let alone the fact that Fang Zhi had made them quite risqué. The three met in secret at a remote spot to exchange this “contraband,” only to unexpectedly run into Jiang Pengji, who was carrying a drunken Lü Zheng on her way back.
“You see, you’ve seen it now; you can’t casually talk about this matter.”
Though Jiang Mo was obsessed with his paper dolls and came from a wealthy family, he was actually quite timid; to put it bluntly, he was a bit of a coward.
Jiang Pengji asked, “So what if I do?”
Fang Zhi’s face paled, and Jiang Mo said, “If you tell, we’ll all testify against you and drag you down with us. We’re all in this together now. Look at the powder and wine scent on you and Lü Shaoyin; it’s clear you just came back from the brothels. We can’t escape, and neither can you!”
With each having a “hold” on the other, they managed to keep their distance closer despite the sneaky circumstances.
Lü Zheng had entered the situation completely clueless, but Jiang Pengji found Jiang Mo and the others to be pretty amusing.
At this age, boys are all about bragging; they haven’t even had their first romance, and yet Jiang Mo claimed to have been through many battles. When they talked about racy topics, each would turn bashful under Jiang Pengji’s teasing. No real experience, no theories, and yet they tried to boast?
Old girl teaches them what high-level means.
“I know a method of painting that not only looks good but can also make the characters come alive.”
Jiang Mo raised an eyebrow, “Paintings can move?”
Fang Zhi also looked intrigued.
Jiang Pengji explained the basics of sequential art, and the trio shared knowing smiles, while the innocent Lü Zheng merely crossed his arms in indifference.
Hehehe—
Ma Xiu was a bit more earnest about his studies, but Jiang Pengji and Jiang Mo preferred to skip classes.
Whenever news of a stunning lady came to town, the two would rush over to take a look.
“You don’t even like real people. Why are you so eager?”
Jiang Mo replied, “Everyone has their flaws, but they also have strengths. If you could combine each person’s unique strengths, wouldn’t they be the perfect person?”
Jiang Pengji: “…”
In short, it’s still about your paper dolls, huh?
With enough inspiration, unexpected events could occur, such as a local bully trying to abduct a village girl.
Lü Zheng wanted to avoid trouble, but Jiang Pengji could not stand for the bully’s arrogance and couldn’t let a beautiful lady fall into such hands.
“What do you plan to do? That household isn’t anything special, but this is Langya County, not Hejian County. Liu Xi is far away in Chongzhou; how could he protect you?” Lü Zheng, who had known Jiang Pengji for a while, was aware of her explosive temper and found the situation troubling.
Jiang Pengji said, “Disguise myself as a woman, trade places. Just wait for the show tonight!”
Dressed in women’s clothes, she entered the bully’s residence and surprisingly bound the entire family to the beams, whipping them.
The whole scene left the four of them stunned.
Lü Zheng pulled out some sunflower seeds, and they lined up on a low wall to watch Jiang Pengji’s passionate performance.
Ma Xiu’s lips quirked as he said, “You even brought that…”
Lü Zheng huffed, “A gift from the teacher yesterday, freshly fried by the teacher’s wife. If you want to complain, then don’t eat it; I want to save some for later.”
The three wouldn’t refuse, grabbing a handful each, the sound of cracking seeds rising and falling in rhythm.
“Hey, you guys… I’m the one hurting my hands while you’re just enjoying the show.”
Jiang Mo chuckled, “You can’t say that; you’re using your hands while we’re using our mouths. Everyone’s working hard!”
Lü Zheng remarked, “Who knew you’d look pretty decent in women’s clothes?”
Before Jiang Pengji could retort, Jiang Mo chimed in, “Is Lan Ting even considered good-looking? If I dressed as a woman, I’d be way prettier than him. The way he’s dressed is so unconvincing; at least he could have stuffed something to pad his chest. Look at his stick-thin figure. I really don’t know how that local bully didn’t notice the oddity. The girl he had an eye on has all the right features…”
Jiang Pengji: “…”
Ma Xiu laughed, “If Lan Ting were a woman, his husband would probably be more into men.”
Fang Zhi added, “Not necessarily; perhaps it’s just a woman who likes to admire mirrors.”
Jiang Pengji scoffed.
Years later, Lü Zheng and the others would have their faces slapped by reality.
