Reborn as a comedic artist

The cafeteria fell into a deathly silence.

Several students preparing for the postgraduate entrance exam put down their study materials and turned to look at the scene.

It sounded as if sparks were crackling and exploding in the air.

Cheng Ming remained silent.

He simply looked at Gu Xiao quietly, his eyes showing no panic or guilt, but rather an indescribable sense of vicissitude and weariness.

half an hour.

Cheng Ming sighed softly.

This sigh, though not loud, seemed to carry immense force.

"Actually, I knew you would come, but I didn't expect it to be so soon..."

Cheng Ming's voice incorporates vocal techniques, giving his already deep and sexy voice a unique graininess that inexplicably softens the listener's heart.

Seemingly infected by Cheng Ming's emotions, Zhao Yufeng felt a strange sense of heartache welling up inside her.

Lin Yiyi's lips twitched slightly, and all the words she had prepared got stuck in her throat. Looking at Cheng Ming's dejected expression, her heart softened involuntarily.

Gu Xiao frowned and crossed her arms.

Although she maintained her offensive stance, Cheng Ming's completely unpredictable reaction caused her to miss her target with a powerful strike.

Gu Xiao took a deep breath, trying to regain the initiative: "Since you know what you've done, you know it was only a matter of time before we came knocking. Not sending a lawyer's letter is already showing us mercy...!"

These words were powerful and logically sound.

If it were an ordinary person, they would probably have panicked by now.

But his acting skills were not wasted; upon hearing Gu Xiao's accusation, Cheng Ming's body stiffened slightly.

He raised his head.

A thin layer of mist had appeared in those once deep eyes.

Cheng Ming's eyes reddened slightly, and his lips moved as if he wanted to explain something, but he swallowed it back.

He perfectly portrayed the character's reluctance to speak, his suppressed emotions, and his stubbornness in the face of misunderstanding.

"Actually... I didn't want to either..."

Cheng Ming gave a bitter laugh, his voice becoming hoarse.

"Those who know me know that I've always been a low-key and unassuming person for the past four years of university. I just wanted to focus on art and live a good life, but...!"

At this point, Cheng Ming's voice suddenly stopped, as if every word that followed was a painful memory he didn't want to revisit.

far away,

Wang Shuo, who had just retrieved his action camera and was setting up his position behind a pillar in the cafeteria, saw this scene through the lens and exclaimed "Holy crap!" to himself.

"Holy crap... is this really the Xiaoming I know...?"

Wang Shuo felt that after spending the last few years with Cheng Mingbai, he had gotten to know his brother all over again.

When did this guy develop such acting skills?

The three parts helplessness, three parts pain, and four parts resignation to fate revealed in those eyes were simply outrageous...

...........................

"That's fucking awesome!..."

Hiding behind a pillar, Wang Shuo sighed inwardly as he steadily zoomed in the camera, giving Cheng Ming a close-up.

In the lens.

Cheng Ming took a deep breath, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, as if he had made a resolute decision, like a warrior cutting off his own arm.

Those once affectionate peach blossom eyes were now filled with a sense of heartbreak.

"What you see is a scammer who will stop at nothing for traffic, but what you don't know is what that 150 yuan means to me...!"

Cheng Ming looked at Gu Xiao with eyes so clear that it was hard to look directly at him, and his voice trembled slightly.

Gu Xiao was stunned. Her hands, which had been crossed in a defensive posture, unconsciously loosened slightly.

One hundred and fifty yuan?

For these art students, it might just be a hot pot meal, or even not enough to buy a decent lipstick.

But look at Cheng Ming's expression right now!

These 150 yuan seemed to be the last straw that broke the camel's back, so heavy that it was hard to breathe.

"Ever since my dad started gambling, our once relatively well-off family has gone downhill, and my mom's health is also poor... she takes medication all year round..."

Cheng Ming's voice was eerily calm, devoid of hysterical cries, only a numbness born from the repeated crushing blows of life.

Every word was like a heavy hammer blow, striking the hearts of the three girls hard.

"My younger sister is still in junior high school, a time when she should be growing, but she doesn't even dare to order the cheapest meat dishes at the school cafeteria. She eats pickled vegetable buns every day..."

At this point, Cheng Ming lowered his head, looking at his pair of faded canvas shoes (actually, they had just been bleached yesterday), the rubber edges of the shoes were so white they were almost blinding—he gave a self-deprecating laugh.

"I don't want to lie, really."

He raised his hand, seemingly trying to hide the disheveled look on his face:

"But I have no choice. Photography is my only talent, and it's also the only way I can quickly monetize it."

To scrape together my sister's allowance for next week, and to buy medicine for my mom... I had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure, going further and further down the path of creating bizarre and abstract content...

Cheng Ming suddenly raised his head, and tears finally rolled down his cheeks "unintentionally" onto the greasy table in the cafeteria.

He bowed deeply to Lin Yiyi, his back bent like a taut bow, and remained standing for a long time.

"I'm sorry, at that moment, life weighed me down, and I lost my dignity. If you want to scold me, scold me. Don't blame that fat guy; he was just trying to help me..."

...................

A gambling father, a sick mother, a young sister, and a helpless man!

This tearful performance, coupled with Cheng Ming's heartbreaking face,

Even the most skilled masseuses from foot massage parlors would probably feel inferior and give way.

Lin Yiyi's fingers, which had been tightly gripping her phone, had now completely loosened.

She looked at the tall boy in front of her.

Just minutes ago, he was a despicable liar, an abstract devil who turned her ugly photos into grotesque videos.

But now?

What kind of despair is that?

The gambling father gambled away the family fortune, the seriously ill mother lay groaning in bed, and the young sister pitifully gnawed on a steamed bun...

Lin Yiyi is an extremely sentimental person, and her ability to fill in the blanks is exceptional.

A picture instantly flashed into her mind.

On a stormy night, Cheng Ming carried dozens of kilograms of photography equipment, being chased and insulted on the street, all to earn a few dozen yuan to cover his sister's food expenses.

And what about yourself?

For a mere 150 yuan, they actually came to my door to demand an explanation and even asked me to return the money?

"Waaah..."

An uncontrollable sob escaped from beneath the mask.

Lin Yiyi completely broke down.

She took a sudden step forward, wanting to help Cheng Ming, but then felt that her hands were too clean and unworthy to touch this "broken" soul.

Why didn't you say so sooner...?

Lin Yiyi cried uncontrollably, her tears soaking her mask, her voice filled with regret:

"I even insulted you... I wanted to settle scores with you... I'm not even human... Waaah, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry..."

She cried and wanted to slap herself twice.

How can you be so harsh on such a handsome young man who is in dire straits?

That's absolutely outrageous!

........................................

Zhao Yufeng, who was standing to the side, had already burst into tears.

This female knight-errant from the land of Yan and Zhao could not bear to see such human suffering.

She frantically pulled tissues from her bag, blowing her nose so loudly it was deafening, while muttering to herself with red eyes:

"That's so tragic... so touching... you've had such a tough time."

...Waaaaah...

I remembered my deceased second uncle; he looked at me like that when he passed away…!

Although the logic is a bit flawed, the emotion is absolutely spot on.

Zhao Yufeng looked at Cheng Ming's slightly thin figure—(actually, it was thin muscle with low body fat percentage).

I felt as if my chest was stuffed with a wad of wet cotton, a tightness that made me feel suffocated.

Even Gu Xiao, who had always been the most steadfast and rational, had no choice but to turn her gun around at this moment.

Her hands, which had been clasped in front of her chest, had somehow fallen to her sides.

The eyes behind the sunglasses were fixed on Cheng Ming.

Reason was frantically sounding alarms in her mind:

This plot is way too melodramatic!

This logic is too smooth!

This character is a bit too perfect!

What a coincidence!

A gambling father, a sick mother, a younger sister in school, and a broken man...!

This is practically a collection of all the elements from the melodramas of recent years.

But emotion completely kicked reason to the winds.

Seeing such a handsome face weeping and repenting before you, seeing those eyes filled with brokenness and sorrow...

Who the hell can still be hard-hearted?

Appearance is justice.

In this world where looks matter, sometimes things are just so unreasonable and brutal.

Gu Xiao opened her mouth, but her originally sharp words now seemed pale and powerless.

All the prepared "legal weapons" and "moral judgments" turned into a helpless sigh at this moment.

"you……"

Gu Xiao's voice softened, carrying a hint of heartache she herself didn't realize:

"Since that's the case, you can't resort to crooked methods... If you have any difficulties, you can tell me. We're all classmates..."

..........................................