Chapter 38: There's Something Wrong with the Prostitute (Part 2)

For the nth time, Shen Tang wanted to jump up and perform brain surgery on Qi Shan, but considering the last vestiges of friendship between them, she forced herself to hold back. Suppressing her anger, she said, "Hmph, why are you so angry? I drew so well..."

Qi Shan: "..."

He can now confirm it for sure.

Young Master Shen's aesthetic sense is different from that of normal people.

The two stared at each other, neither willing to back down first. Finally, Qi Shan rubbed his temples, looking away from Shen Tang's confident and self-righteous gaze. He'd seen confident people before, but never one like this.

Why is someone with such poor drawing skills so confident?

Knowing that communication barriers would affect efficiency, Qi Shan could only choose a roundabout approach. He pointed at Shen Tang's masterpiece on the table, his tone deep, and asked a crucial question: "No matter how well you paint, if that courtesan can't appreciate it, how will you get that payment?"

Startled awake by those words, Shen Tang was speechless.

Yes, the client has to be satisfied.

She looked at Qi Shan with a questioning gaze, asking for confirmation: "How can you be so sure that he has the same aesthetic sense as you... and doesn't appreciate it?"

Shen Tang swallowed back the words "abnormal aesthetic sense".

It wasn't that she was afraid of Qi Shan or didn't dare to confront him; she only withdrew her comments because of the client's (reward).

Qi Shan took a deep breath and said in a sarcastic tone with a forced smile, "Most worldly people have similar eyes when it comes to appreciating beauty."

The way Shen Xiaolangjun looked in his eyes was truly heretical.

Unexpectedly, Shen Tang ignored the "profound meaning" in Qi Shan's words, nodded thoughtfully, looked regretful, and sighed deeply: "The higher the melody, the fewer the harmonizers. This is probably what 'a true friend is hard to find' means."

After saying that, he shook his head with genuine emotion.

Qi Shan, almost speechless inside, thought: "..."

Shen Tang looked at the two paintings on the table with a headache, pinching her brow: "In this case... how do we explain it to the client, no, to Guan'er? I can't paint this kind of picture."

Qi Shan asked, "Did you sign a contract with the shopkeeper?"

If there's no contract, you can just quit. At most, you'll suffer some reputational damage, and it'll be harder to get this kind of work in the future. But since Young Master Shen doesn't make a living by copying and drawing for others, so even if he suffers some damage, it's still better than forcing himself to do it.

To everyone's surprise, Shen Tang said, "The contract has already been signed."

She has already received the deposit.

Shen Tang took out her small purse and poured out more than twenty pieces of silver that had been cut into pieces. Qi Shan's gaze towards her became increasingly complicated—who gave her the courage to accept a job and collect a deposit without the painting skills? This is it, she's doomed. Let's see how young master Shen will clean up this mess.

"What should we do now?"

Although Shen Tang still believed that her painting skills were excellent—after all, it was her livelihood, and Qi Shan could not easily dismiss it with a few words—she was also worried about one thing: no matter how well she thought she painted, it wouldn't matter if the client was unwilling to accept it.

She hesitated and said, "Why don't we test him? Perhaps he is one of the few 'soulmates' outside the mundane world who can appreciate beauty!"

Qi Shan: "..."

A kindred spirit beyond worldly concerns?

Hehehe, daydreaming is faster.

"If all else fails..."

Just as Shen Tang was about to say, "If all else fails, we should still give it a try. If there are thugs beating people, it's not certain who will end up beating whom," Qi Shan chimed in at the same time, "If all else fails, I'll draw up a report for you to finish. We should keep a low profile in Xiaocheng and avoid causing trouble if possible."

“…Alright, it’s the same whether you make money or I do this job. But we still need to let the shopkeeper know that the painter has changed. We can’t take advantage of you.” Shen Tang had no objection to this and readily agreed. “I’ll tell you about that courtesan’s appearance and demeanor.”

Qi Shan: "..."

God knows how many years it's been since he did this job; even during the most difficult times, he only did it a few times.

While inwardly criticizing, he carefully listened to Shen Tang's description, not missing a single detail, and at the same time, he constructed a framework in his mind.

Thank goodness, young master Shen's painting skills are captivating, but his language skills are also quite good; his ideas are clear and concise, and his observations are meticulous.

Just by listening to her description, one can vividly picture the appearance, demeanor, characteristics, and temperament of that courtesan, and have a clear understanding of him.

only--

Qi Shan keenly noticed a detail.

"You said that courtesan wasn't initially satisfied with you?"

Shen Tang corrected seriously: "At first they were not satisfied, but wasn't it because my appearance was too deceptive? They probably thought I was too young and my painting skills were not as good as other older painters, but later they discovered my extraordinary talent and gave me the work, didn't they?"

Qi Shan: "He discovered that you have literary talent."

Having literary talent makes one "extraordinary," while confirming that Young Master Shen has painting skills makes him "extraordinary" are two completely different concepts.

Besides, does Young Master Shen even have any painting skills?

Shen Tang waved his hand: "It's all the same, it's all the same."

Qi Shan shook his head: "How could a young man of the age of dancing elephants recognize your monogram as a literary monogram at first glance? That's not right. To hand over such an important task just because you have a literary monogram without even verifying your painting skills is even more suspicious."

Literary skills and artistic techniques are not equivalent.

Shen Tang had no doubts.

"So what? He's a celebrity at Yuehua Tower, a future top courtesan, and he comes into contact with all sorts of people. It's not surprising that one of his patrons has literary talent. You wouldn't be suggesting that the courtesan also has literary talent, which is why he recognized me, would you?"

Having spent some time in this world, I also know that even possessing the lowest grade of literary talent still puts one above ordinary people.

Unless one is crippled or suffers another devastating catastrophe, it is unlikely to fall into such a predicament under normal circumstances.

That courtesan didn't seem like that kind of person.

Qi Shan couldn't figure out what the problem was for a moment, so she asked, "You said his condition was to use the pens, ink, and paper he provided?"

Shen Tang said, "Yes."

He rubbed his temples and asked Shen Tang to describe Guan'er again. The two descriptions were identical, but he still couldn't find the source of his doubts.

Shen Tang crossed her arms and looked at him with a furrowed brow and deep thought, quite puzzled: "Yuanliang, what exactly are you worried about?"

Qi Shan: "It's not that I'm worried, it's that I don't like the unknown."

Or rather, he disliked the feeling of being in the thick of things but unaware of the bigger picture. He had a gut feeling that there was something wrong with that courtesan, and this unresolved feeling would linger in his mind, causing him considerable distress.

In Shen Tang's understanding, it was an obsessive-compulsive disorder attack.

Seeing how serious he was, Shen Tang said, "If he really has a problem, the clues might be in the pen, ink and paper that he specifically emphasized."

A single word awakened me from my dream.

Qi Shan suddenly thought of something, and pulled out a piece of paper from the stack of papers, either heating it over a candle flame or splashing water on it, waiting for it to appear.

Shen Tang just watched him "go crazy".

After a long pause, he added, "Perhaps it's related to the power of words?"

Yuanliang, the world is different now.

This is a world that doesn't believe in science.

Scientific methods such as roasting with fire and splashing with water are not popular.

I still have 500 words left to revise QAQ, I was looking up information too late.

(End of this chapter)