At 3 a.m., the landmines in front of the station

"Who waits for a reply like this..."

Su Che felt ashamed, as if not replying to the message immediately would make him an eternal sinner who would blaspheme the goddess in the next second.

But on second thought, it's understandable that Ari, as a top-tier Red, would have a slightly unnatural biological clock; it's a normal phenomenon.

He didn't dare to delay, immediately checked the three drafts, moved the project to the next step, and then sent her a praising emoji, leaving her a message:

"I have received the goddess's manuscript! It's a complete miracle! There's nothing that needs to be changed! Please proceed as normal!"

Also, don't put too much pressure on yourself; the deadline is flexible! This level of unpaid work is already incredibly kind to me... I'm overflowing with gratitude! Love you, my goddess!

After sending this message, he finally calmed down and began to seriously appreciate the goddess's work.

Actually, it's not entirely true that there are no points without doubt.

For example, in the line art, the clothes worn by the landmine-themed OC are completely original designs by the goddess, like Rojita.

Compared to the original version, Rojita appears more mature and sophisticated, losing some of her girlish charm and gaining more of a goddess-like aura.

OC seemed to have grown up overnight; the gentle and charming look in her eyes became subtle yet full of love and desire under the goddess's brush.

"As expected... different artists drew the same character in completely opposite styles..."

Hare's OC is like herself.

Who will the goddess's OC resemble?

Su Che couldn't help but wonder about this, and a certain association began to form in his mind.

He had not seen any of the photos of Ari circulating online.

She remains mysterious and always keeps her distance from clients, and recently she has even started refusing clients from male clients.

This resulted in her never adding any male singles on Fetion, and never having her box opened by anyone.

This closed creative state was broken when she decided to paint for herself for free. It seems that even today, the reasons for her decision are still not very clear to Su Che.

"Speaking of which, An Qing has recently picked up her paintbrush again in addition to practicing singing."

"It seems that besides drawing the 'Seven Colors' logo, she's also continuing her 'Thousand Days of Drawing' practice... Before this, her allocation of energy wasn't like this."

Su Che clearly remembered that after joining the band, she had spent significantly more time on vocals than on drawing.

Now the balance between the two has been restored to 50/50, and there's even a hint that drawing is becoming more important...

This is something that deserves serious consideration.

[Did you encounter something that required you to compete?]

Su Che was hesitant to say anything, and decided to continue to observe.

About three minutes later, the goddess's message list on the platform showed "read".

She replied, "Really? Wait a minute, teacher. Falling in love with an artist is a dangerous thing, you know. I really want to accept this sentiment without hesitation, but the platform doesn't seem to allow it..."

"How about you leave me your contact information for easy communication about the manuscript? That way, I can contact you before uploading it and get your feedback."

"?!"

Su Che was caught off guard by the scene.

I subconsciously took a screenshot of my Fetion QR code and sent it over.

On the platform, sending an account ID directly will be blocked by the system, and any string of numbers is considered a sensitive word; only QR codes are allowed.

After posting, he added, "Okay, okay, this is my private account."

Then, less than 30 seconds later, the contacts list at the bottom of Fetion lit up in red.

You have received a friend request: "Ari".

"!"

My fingers seemed to obey my commands, and I clicked "accept" without even realizing it.

As is customary, Su Che doesn't send any messages immediately after adding someone as a friend. Instead, he first checks their social media feed to get a sense of their situation before making any further contact.

This is a core point of attention mentioned in "The Great Method of Bad Water": "Don't be too hasty after adding friends. One slip of the tongue will cause your favorability to plummet."

Su Che understood that information such as friends and background details could provide a wealth of intelligence.

To build a good relationship, you should consider the other person's preferences and sensitive spots from the very first sentence.

Avoiding pitfalls and overstepping boundaries, discussing progress bit by bit each time.

Don't expect to become familiar with someone in a day, meet them in two days, arrange to meet them in a dark place in three days, and have your baby developing in your belly by the fourth day...

Su Che didn't have any special needs for the goddess; he simply felt that a goddess was a goddess, to be admired from afar, not to be touched.

It's good if the other party is willing to give something for free, but if you want to develop an offline relationship, it will only bring you a lot of pressure.

Anyway, let's take a look first.

He opened Ari's profile.

The background image at the top is a painting—Starry Sky and Flowers.

"She seems very satisfied with her recent work."

Su Che nodded, repeatedly examining the ultra-high-definition original wallpaper, and thought it was indeed beautiful and worth using as a background.

My personal profile reads: "Searching for lost items."

It was very difficult to understand; Su Che didn't understand what it meant.

"It seems like they're trying to find something important."

"So she lost something she cared about a lot. Hmm."

Scroll down to see the pinned post.

Many people like to pin a lot of things to the top, but Ari only pinned one.

"A promise must be kept for a lifetime."

The accompanying image is also an illustration.

It is a highly poisonous, red flower.

Blooming against a white background, it stands out abruptly, sharp, with sprawling branches and visible thorns.

"It seems... all the brightly colored flowers are highly poisonous..."

Su Che couldn't help but sigh.

Ari has managed to post all of her own artwork in her WeChat Moments; her skill level speaks for itself.

The phrase "purely original" represents so much.

"Wait, teacher, why aren't you saying anything? Are you peeking at me?"

"!"

"I'm so sorry I didn't take any selfies."

"........."

Su Che was taken aback by the sudden mind-reading ability and was racking his brains for a response.

But the opponent unleashed a second deadly strike—

"I'm not very good-looking in real life, and I'm afraid of disappointing people, so I never post photos of myself... I hope the teacher won't be disappointed in me?"

"No, no, no, you're overthinking it. I absolutely don't feel that way. Expanding my social circle is just expanding my social circle, really."

As soon as he sent the message, Su Che regretted it.

I feel I shouldn't have filled in the last two words, and I'm considering withdrawing it.

The book "The Art of Bad Water" emphasizes many times that "explaining is just covering up, and you especially cannot directly answer the other party's 'spotting techniques'."

When your thoughts are exposed, the best strategy is to ask a question in return, rather than letting the other person lead you by the nose with their questions.

I always fail to think of such advanced solutions at crucial moments.

It's obvious that their level of cultivation is inadequate.

Su Che was dissatisfied with himself.

If I had known she would add me, I would have prepared more.

He sat up and rubbed his face.

I decided to go to the bathroom to wash up immediately.

At this moment, Ari changed the subject, sending an angel with white wings emoji and saying gently:

"Don't be nervous, this is my personal account, and I've never added any other boys before. If you have any questions in the future, you can contact me here. I'm usually online at night, and maybe in the early morning or at dawn. But not in the morning."

"Okay, okay, I understand."

Su Che was once again certain that the goddess was not sleeping at all.

Of course, she might also not eat or drink much, sacrificing all her life energy to the god of painting; that must be it.

Otherwise, it would have been impossible to reach the current level.

"Okay, I'm going to rest now. Oh right, if you have anything bothering you, feel free to message me. I'll read the messages when I'm done. Goodnight."

Without giving him a chance to answer, Ari laid down a new net.

Su Che looked at the message, pondered it carefully, and analyzed it nervously.

This is probably a kind of "chat permission".

It means you can use Fetion to share things about your life with her, and you will get a 100% response.

This made him wonder if outsiders actually received the same treatment.

Why was I the one chosen?

The more I think about it, the more bizarre it seems.

What exactly did she see in me?

I don't understand, I don't understand at all.

I just subconsciously felt that something was fishy.