Rebirth: He Decides to Lie Flat-Chapter 61 - 058 Ancient Jade City
Chapter 61: Chapter 058 Ancient Jade City
Chapter 61 -058 Ancient Jade City
Teacher Fang and Xu Yan were both on the 2 pm train, and after leaving the gallery, they found a small restaurant near Beicheng University’s entrance planning to grab a bite before heading to the train station.
But Teacher Fang actually didn’t have an appetite at all.
“This Deng Tao, she’s too much. What did Song Jiawen ever do to her? Why is she always so hostile to others?”
Xu Yan was also indignant, even though she hadn’t seen the painting Song Jiawen submitted for the competition, it didn’t prevent her from taking her side. With Song Jiawen’s painting skills, she simply didn’t need to plagiarize.
Seeing that someone like her could get through the selection and into the finals, it only made sense for Song Jiawen to participate in the contest and win awards as a matter of course.
Would someone of that skill level need to plagiarize?
Crazy!
Whether Deng Tao was crazy or not wasn’t Teacher Fang’s concern; she was still thinking about that painting.
Although she had rebutted Deng Tao with great conviction just now, in reality, she had her doubts—too similar, the two paintings were just too similar…
Meanwhile, on the other side, after Teacher Fang and her companion had left, Deng’s father also took Deng Tao away from the gallery.
Once in the car, he couldn’t help but reprimand her, “Teacher Fang is still your teacher after all; your attitude towards her just now was inappropriate.”
Deng Tao pursed her lips and looked out of the window, remaining silent.
Deng’s father sighed, “Xiao Tao, have you considered this? If Song Jiawen’s painting was plagiarized, wouldn’t Teacher Fang be slapping herself in the face by sending it here?”
This point was obvious and didn’t make sense.
Deng Tao understood the logic but just… couldn’t let it go!
“It’s just too similar, practically identical.”
Deng’s father felt helpless, “Xiao Tao, whether they are identical or not, isn’t Teacher Fang in a better position to judge than you? If she says it’s a coincidence, then you should just accept it as a coincidence. Alright, let’s not think about this anymore. You have more than two months until the college entrance exam, and you need to focus on that. Understand? Don’t forget what your main priority is right now.”
The last sentence was slightly stern with his tone, for Deng’s father had no other option—his daughter had always had a smooth path in life, excelling at extracurriculars like dance and painting while also maintaining top grades in her class.
At family gatherings, she was always the one praised as a model of excellence.
One could say that among her peers, there were almost none who could surpass her total package of looks, talents, and grades—until recently, when Song Jiawen transferred to their school.
Deng’s father, who had spent many years in the business world, knew that there were always people better than oneself. He had been advising her in this way recently and thought she had taken his words to heart, but now…
“Don’t worry, it won’t affect my studies. I know what you care about, I definitely won’t let you down,” she said with a huff.
Hearing these petulant words, Deng’s father suddenly found himself at a loss for words—all his lengthy speeches and logic got stuck in his throat, unable to utter a single syllable.
Kids these days are really… too difficult to manage!
…..
Meanwhile, in the canteen of Yunzhou First Middle School.
“After the college entrance exams, should we go on a trip together?”
The topic was brought up by Wang Xiaole, whose family’s financial situation was actually quite good, and her parents were always generous when it came to money. She stayed at the school dormitory merely because it made studying more convenient without the need to commute and waste time.
Just like Zhu Jin.
“My mom said she’s going to get me braces after the exams. I don’t know how many days that will take.”
Zhu Jin spoke and flashed her clearly protruding teeth, nearly causing Xiao Qi and Yu Hang sitting opposite her to spit out their food.
“Can’t you be a bit more subtle?”
Zhu Jin often faced teasing because of her buck teeth, but she was very resilient mentally. She didn’t let it make her feel inferior; instead, she frequently made herself the butt of jokes.
Song Jiawen quite liked her personality, emphasizing, “You’re going to look great with your teeth done.”
Zhu Jin’s facial features weren’t bad. Without the protruding teeth, she’d look very attractive.
“I don’t need to be super beautiful, to be half as pretty as you, Jia Wen, would be enough for me.”
Xiao Qi couldn’t help but burst into laughter upon hearing this. Just as he was about to speak, Zhu Jin threw him a glare that said, “Shut your mouth.”
Xiao Qi shut his mouth.
Jiang Yan turned his head to look at Zhu Zhen, “So after the exam, are you planning to get your acne treated?”
Zhu Zhen: ….
Actually, the acne on his face had cleared up a lot recently, with only some remaining on his chin and the left side of his cheek. The rest were just scars.
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Although both he and Zhu Jin shared the surname Zhu, they weren’t related at all, and his family definitely didn’t have the spare cash to treat something like this.
Besides, his acne was due to hormonal imbalance. As long as he paid attention to his diet, it would clear up after a while.
Treat what?
Not wanting to talk about his acne, Zhu Zhen changed the subject and asked Song Jiawen, “You got the train tickets, right? We’re leaving at 6:30 in the morning tomorrow.”
They were heading to North City for a physics competition. They’d go tomorrow, return the day after the competition, right on time for the citywide mock exam the day after that.
It was a particularly tight schedule.
Song Jiawen glanced up at him, thinking to herself, didn’t you personally deliver the tickets to me? Why ask if I’ve got them?
She had been talking with Zhu Jin and hadn’t heard Jiang Yan’s comment about treating acne.
Wang Xiaole felt the topic had sidetracked and desperately tried to steer it back, “So Zhu Jin is undecided. What about you guys? Are you going, Jia Wen?”
Seeking her out for a trip that meant spending money with no return was a mistake. Song Jiawen didn’t hesitate to shake her head, “Nope, no money!”
It was a straightforward refusal.
She had already decided. After the exams, she’d first return to Jianghai Town to take graduation photos with classmates from Jianghai Middle School, then visit her aunts, uncles, and grandmother for a few days before coming back. Afterward, she planned to paint and help out at the Shanshui Gallery.
Huang Kai had said that if she came over to help, she’d be paid.
Even though she had a few thousand yuan on her, it was nowhere near enough to cover her college tuition and expenses for the second half of the year. To become financially independent as soon as possible, she needed to spend time earning more money.
And traveling would undoubtedly stand in the way of making money. She simply couldn’t afford the luxury of spare time.
“None of you are going either? I want to visit Jade City. It’s the oldest historic town in our country. Aren’t you guys curious, don’t you want to see it?”
Jade City?
Jiang Yan looked up at Wang Xiaole, feeling like he was overlooking something important.
Upon hearing those two words, Song Jiawen, holding her chopsticks, also paused, sensing something fleeting through her mind, too quickly to grasp.
“Jade City, huh? I’ve wanted to visit for a while now. How about this, Wang Xiaole, wait for me a few days after the exams, and as soon as I’m done with my braces, I’ll go with you,” Zhu Jin said, her interest clearly piqued. After all, it was the only ancient city in the country that was still relatively intact. She’d heard that the statue of the highly-educated third son of General Yu, who founded the city, Yu Long, stood beside the city tower.
He was her idol, and Zhu Jin wanted to pay her respects!
Moreover, although the Yu Family donated most of their estate to the state, it was said they kept a residence for themselves. The Yu family’s ancestral hall was turned into a semi-open museum where visitors could come to pay homage.
Apparently, tablets with the names of all the ancestors of the Yu Family who had made significant contributions to the country were in the hall.
This, too, was something Zhu Jin wished to pay homage to.
