Su Li had been complaining about her life to Zhao Youyue. Su Li had been going on and on about her bad luck and why her artworks featuring her favorite characters would always lead to the character's death later on. Was her touch really poisonous?
An innocent girl like Su Li is bound to be brainwashed. Recently, her Weibo had turned into a platform for the fans of "Beautiful April" to let out their anger. The fans claimed that every time the mangaka Su Li drew an illustration of Chu Luoxun, it would add more poison to Chu Luoxun. In the end, Chu Luoxun was unable to bear with the amount of poison she had been given and inevitably died.
Even the previous illustration of a happy Chu Luoxun was claimed to be a mere facade which reflected a Chu Luoxun that was reminiscing her old happy memories. When it all boils down to the source, everything would just be Su Li's fault.
A person's willing act of accepting blame after blame is not dangerous. The true danger arises when that person gets too used to accepting all the blame, and she would feel like she truly deserved it...
There are some things in this world that even science cannot explain. A good example of this involves the web novelist Ma Boyong, who is also known as Prince Ma. He was the creator of the 'Meteorite Escape'[1], and it is said that misfortune will inevitably dawn upon anyone who gets in touch with him. To avoid such misfortune, any time Prince Ma is mentioned, everyone around has to say the exact words of "Auspicious, apologies, may my family and home be safe and sound"[2]. If someone does not say it, then they are asking for trouble.
Now, Su Li was slowly trending as the Prince Ma of the manga world. Her mysterious powers were a little different though, as they are only conveyed through her drawings. Even though her drawings also carried some kind of misfortune, it only applied to any female protagonists that she draws!
Currently, the death count of female protagonists who died under the hands of Su Li is three. Three unquestionably popular, well-liked characters which were way more well-known than many other female protagonists. Three unbelievably charming female protagonists that a large number of otakus would claim as their waifus[3]!
All three of the otakus' waifus were similarly ill-fated. Naturally, as Su Li had illustrated all three of them, and she was the one who had given the otakus an idea of how the characters actually looked like, isn't there an obvious problem with her?
Every year, there would be various leaderboards in different aspects involving 2D characters. One specific leaderboard is for the 'Top 20 most ill-fated female protagonists', and this year, it would be no surprise if Chu Luoxun tops that leaderboard...
After all that has happened, Xu Jing and Yu Shengfan would be voted up into that leaderboard as well!
Thus, many internet users have been diligently compiling valid, logical and evidential points, with the aim of brainwashing Su Li ---- ----
The truth is in front of you, you just have to accept it. Accept that your touch and your drawings are filled with poison, and that you specialize in killing the waifus of the otakus. You are just a good-for-nothing waifu murderer, you are just a good-for-nothing waifu murderer, you are just a good-for-nothing waifu murderer!
Important things have to be said thrice!
That is right, you are all right, I am just a good-for-nothing waifu murderer... This has been the only thing on Su Li's mind lately.
Whether it came to drawing for the manga of "The Strongest King," or becoming the illustrator for "Beautiful April," Su Li had only taken up both of the jobs because Zhao Youyue had recommended it to her. Although Zhao Youyue was the reason behind Su Li's acceptance of both of the jobs, Su Li had completely forgotten about it.
Although Su Li ended up liking both of the works anyway, she had only accepted the jobs initially, because she wanted to please Lady Zhao...
Nobody would have ever thought that the person behind all of this was no more than a normal reader of the books. Someone who was not only purely a reader, but was also not in any way related to the author of the books ---- ---- Zhao Youyue.
Nobody could have possibly thought about it. There was no reason as to why the death of a well-known female protagonist would have anything to do with a normal reader like Zhao Youyue. She was clearly a victim of the author's trickeries as well!
Han Leng, the author of "Beautiful April" would not have thought about it as well. He had finally taken up the courage to explain himself. In an explanation made to all the fans, Han Leng had stated that he himself had no idea as to why he allowed Chu Luoxun to die. He had originally planned for her surgery to be successful, but the moment he started to write the story, a mysterious energy guided him to write otherwise!
Therefore, he had penned down the death of Chu Luoxun...
Han Leng had shared that he had felt sudden impulses to change the results of the surgery. However, as he subsequently experienced a writer's block, he decided that he should just leave the story as it is. Even if he changes the storyline and revives Chu Luoxun, he would not be able to bring back the initial touch and flow of the story.
The part where Chu Luoxun's spirit appeared in the imaginary dimension of the male protagonist and they performed for the last time together, was Han Leng's best depiction about music, to date! Anything that he writes after this would never be able to be better than that. Even if he tries, his effort is bound to go to waste.
Han Leng had also shared that he was his own victim, and he had cried the moment he penned down the death of Chu Luoxun. He went on to say that his heart is aching uncontrollably, to the point where he is now unable to feel anything anymore. To him, Chu Luoxun's various emotions are as dead as she is, and she no longer existed in his world.
Han Leng also felt that everything is his fault. He got possessed! Overexcited!
Thus, Han Leng had also told all the fans not to worry, as he is not someone who likes to push the blame on others. If he dares to do something, he will accept the consequences. He admitted that he was wrong and therefore, he shall keep his promise and cross-dress as an apology!
Some fans have said that they still find it hard to believe that Leng Zi is a male. Han Leng had asked the fans to be patient, because everything will eventually come to light on the day he sells his signed books.
Just like that, the frustrated fans could do nothing more but wait patiently for his cross-dress pictures.
Considering how Han Leng had apologized so sincerely, as well as how he showed that he would accept the consequences of his actions like a real man, a lot of fans have cooled down and stopped harassing him. Since tragedies are actually common in juvenile novels, it was not really a big deal. At least in "Beautiful April" the male and female protagonists did end up together happily... It was still a story that brought happiness to many throughout its course.
After all that, everyone's attention has been diverted towards the innocent Su Li once again. Su Li had been complaining about how all the fans were acting so unfairly. She was just an illustrator, why would the fans blame her for Chu Luoxun's death?
With fans being fans, none of them were actually capable of thinking rationally when their favorite character dies. To make it worse, a lot of otakus were also pleased with the misfortune that has dawned upon Su Li. They find it very interesting that Su Li has now been shaped into a mangaka with a poisonous touch, and they were even more excited to see who is next female protagonist to die under her hands...
The public had successfully brainwashed Su Li!
Zhao Youyue was of course very patient in comforting Su Li, and has even promised to bring Su Li to a new western restaurant she recently found for a treat. According to Zhao Youyue, the food is delicious, so Su Li would feel a lot better once she tries it. Also, as there is a piano in the restaurant, Zhao Youyue will play a song just for Su Li.
Su Li was obviously very touched, and truly appreciated Zhao Youyue's efforts. In this cold, cold world, where society is just so unbelievably cruel, only Lady Zhao's love... No, only Lady Zhao's thoughtfulness and care for others can warm people's hearts!
As for Zhao Youyue's piano performance, although Su Li was not expecting anything at all, she will still clap loudly with all her might once the performance is over. To her surprise, Zhao Youyue could actually play the piano pretty well. To be able to play both the violin and the piano so well, it is no wonder that she is a precious daughter.
Tomorrow, Zhao Youyue would have to go back to school for class placements. The whole class will probably have a meal together, to commemorate the good times of being classmates for a year.
Today, Zhao Youyue unexpectedly received a call from Old Qiu. "Zhao Youyue, weren't you the gold medalist of the regional violin competition? Since everyone will be going their separate ways after tomorrow, you could play a short song for the whole class to commemorate the day, as they say, the music remains even though everyone leaves."
Zhao Youyue felt like telling Old Qiu that for a violin performance, setting was key. She wanted to suggest playing the guitar instead, because it would fit the setting more, and would make the atmosphere more cheerful.
However, now that Zhao Youyue had obtained the Chu Luoxun iconic character card, she has nothing to worry about. Even in a bad setting, the beauty of her music would still shine through, and her performance will still be perfect! Do not forget that, Chu Luoxun's best instrument was none other than the violin!
Zhao Youyue could not wait to see how Han Leng will react once he hears her music...
Tomorrow, she is not only Zhao Youyue, but also Chu Luoxun!
Translation note :
[1] "Meteorite Escape" is a horrifying event where a large meteorite had suddenly dropped from the sky and killed everyone in existence (in the book). It originated from a book by Ma Boyong.
[2] "Auspicious, apologies, may my family and home be safe and sound" is something that must be said if Ma Boyong is mentioned in order to avoid misfortune. "Auspicious" is Ma Boyong's favorite term.
[3] "waifu" is a fandom slang, and refers to a fictional character that an anime fan considers a wife. It is commonly used by otakus.