The pitiful artist

"Little Jiao…" Wu Man whined, sounding just like some spoilt brat while tailing behind Xu Jiao who was climbing the steps to reach the second floor of grandma Sun's place.

"..."

"Xu Jiao, little Ji-"

"Stop it!" Her amusement finally won over the exasperation in her heart.

[This girl can be really bratty sometimes…] Xu Jiao thought without any real heat while removing the slightly worn-out, dark brown muffler. The weather was becoming increasingly drier and colder, heralding the slowly approaching winter.

[Ugh, I need to buy some lip balm… it's all chapped!]

"Come oooon! Can't you just tell me what you are writing ah?"

"Nope…"

"Why not? I promise not to laugh ah! Plus, I'm sure you must write really well… hey, where are you going? Hey!"

"Bathroom. Need to shower."

She expressionlessly shut the door on the grumpy face of Wu Man, but once inside, Xu Jiao couldn't keep the smile off her face. These recent days, she had found a new pastime that was quite enjoyable; teasing her roommate. The girl would wail and pester her and teasing her in return for all of her antics bought her no end of amusement.

By the time she came out of the shower, she could still see the other's accusatory glare and had to force down another round of laughter that threaten to rush to the front. Wu Man however most probably saw through her and huffed angrily, and Xu Jiao finally laughed out loud, unable to hold it in any longer,

"You're laughing! Aai, just tell me already, ok? I even showed you my work ne…"

"Hmm?"

"Ah, please, please, pleeeease…"

In the end, Xu Jiao had to tell her friend about her attempt at writing on Xuri and show her the book.

"Eh? The female boss is mighty… em, guide to becoming a business tyrant?"

Seeing Wu Man look at her quizzically, Xu Jiao nodded her head in a shy manner, but this time she wasn't faking it; she really was feeling a bit shy -for which she dunno the reason- and also a little bit anxious as well. This is the future book cover artist for her novel ah! If they didn't have a good impression of her work, would they even be willing to prepare a cover for her?

[Anyway, it's not like I can directly ask her to make a cover for it, right?] She thought, ignoring that pinprick of guilt she felt; she really doesn't have any other choice nor enough money for anything else.

"Hmm… Oh, this introduction sounds fun and interesting ne… Eh, little Jiao… this is your book cover? Why doesn't it even have an image ah?"

"I- I couldn't find a good image and not enough money to get one commissioned ne…" She smiled rather helplessly, which looked a little pitiful in the other girl's eyes. "Maybe, if I can get a contract and earn some money…" She then shook her head and laughed, which somehow appeared even more pitiful than the previous smile.

"What am I even saying? Like it's that easy to get a contact!"

Wu Man looked at the novel interface on her phone screen, her brows furrowing slightly. The cover page of the novel looked extremely miserable with its dull, grayish-blue background, and the heading and the author's name indicated using bold yet plain lettering; it was simply too abysmal for the artist in her to look at, especially considering the fact that it's a book cover.

[Won't it be difficult to get readers like this?]

Wu Man directed a glance at her friend who was tapping away at the keyboard -probably writing more- and felt pity in her heart; it really is not easy being an artist ah! She personally knew how difficult it can get, having first-hand experience of the difficulties of an artist's life.

[Should she make a cover for this book?]

Brow furrowing once again, she looked at her phone screen again. She knew clearly how important reputation is for an artist if they're just a beginner illustrator. If their work is not used by a company or magazine with some reputation, it'll be difficult for them to find well-paying and reputed jobs in the future.

For example, the current magazine for which she was working, and which is published locally in K city has quite a bit of reputation in this city's magazine and newspaper industry, though it's not that well-known; when she got this job, she had been quite happy because she knew that it would look good on her CV.

Wu Man shot another glance at Xu Jiao and then at her phone, the look in her eyes growing even more conflicted. Should she, as a still budding artist, create illustrations for another artist, whose work may or may not succeed? Would this have a negative effect on her in the future?

Don't look at this girl Wu Man and think that she's as naive as she looked on the outside. Of course, there's no denying that she's a bit trusting and naive and then some; but that doesn't mean that she's an idiot. She isn't someone who acts senselessly disregarding the overall picture, despite her slightly out-of-bounds appearance and cowardly tendencies.

[Doesn't matter… I'll first read her book and see if it's good.]

[Then I can decide whether to make a cover or not ne!]

No matter what, that helpless look on her roommate's face made Wu Man think back on those times when it had been really hard for her to make a living from her work. She really couldn't stand seeing another person going through that same thing, especially if that person is her friend.

All this time while Wu Man was busy debating with herself, Xu Jiao had been observing her from the corner of her eyes. This kid has such an expressive and open face that it's really easy to understand what is going on in her mind. From the earliest excitement regarding her book to the disbelief about the shabby cover and then to the subsequent pity, and the ensuing internal struggle and the final determination; she had been privy to all these emotions that played across the other's face.

Xu Jiao felt an uncharacteristic nervousness when Wu Man suddenly got up from where she was sitting and walked in her direction; would she refuse or would she accept?

"Little Jiao… I'll read your book slowly. I'm not that much of a fast reader, so it's better to read slowly in peace."

"Hmm… ok! Once you're done, tell me what you think of it."

Even after the other girl went to sleep, Xu Jiao sat awake at the table, looking to be deep in thought. She was actually feeling quite relieved at this moment, and not just because Wu Man directly didn't say whether she was making a cover for her book or not. It was also her guilt talking; if the other directly agreed, she'd have felt like she was taking advantage of a child or something similar.

[It's good this way.]

Xu Jiao smiled to herself and got up from the chair. Though Wu Man looked gullible and a bit silly, it appears that she's not as naive as she imagined. This somehow eased some of the worries in her mind that she didn't even know she was having.

[It's not good to be too trusting and too kind… Others tend to make use of such people until there's nothing left of them.]

***

It was the fourth lecture of her class on secretarial studies. These few times, Xu Jiao and Feng Xinyuan had slowly come to a tacit agreement about sitting together; whoever comes first will be saving a seat for the other person. Both of them were not talkative people but the silence between them didn't feel awkward in the slightest.

These past few days, Xu Jiao had come to appreciate this young girl more and more. Her style is fashionable but not showy or too eye-catching. It tended more toward elegance than towards the buoyant and cheerful youth fashion; which instead of making her look out of trend, somehow made her look like a peony blooming among a sea of gorgeous roses. The contrast was… quite fascinating.

Even though she had avoided contact with people as much as possible due to her social phobia in the last life -a mistake she intends to rectify this time around-, Xu Jiao still had some understanding of people with different social statuses. After interacting with Feng Xinyuan a few good times, she could tell without a doubt that she is a girl from a good family, just by looking at her bearing and actions.

[It'll be good to make a connection with her…]

[But, where have I heard her name before… I just can't remember ne.]

"Xu Jiao… Can I ask you something?" Roused from her musings by the other's polite voice in her ears, she looked up and smiled gently

"Yes?" she patiently asked after not hearing anything even after waiting for a minute or two; the other girl seemed to be dazing?

"Ah, I-I'm sorry… I just thought you looked a bit different today…" Feng Xinyuan trailed off awkwardly, while her face gradually turned red from embarrassment; Xu Jiao suddenly felt tickled seeing this.

[This girl can be quite cute too.]

"Really?"

Seeing the other nod her head self-consciously, she stifled a laugh but when she spoke, none of this amusement showed in her voice.

"So… what did you want to ask me earlier?"

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A/N:

20 chapters out... So happy!! ≥∇≤

If you have any thoughts on what I wrote so far, don't forget to leave a comment or two.