Transmigrated Into the Stand-In of the Tragic Novel’s Heroine - Chapter 52

The main steps for the little clay figures are sculpting and coloring. After getting the hang of it, Xie Qingtang tried to sculpt a small figure and immediately wanted to share it with Chang Yishao. She originally wanted to sculpt a “Little Chang,” but she didn’t have the skill, so she could only follow the old master and learn from the simple to the easy.

Inevitably, some clay was smeared on her cuffs after this day.

“Teacher Chang, why didn’t you reply to me?” The message she sent was like a stone sinking into the sea, without the slightest response. Xie Qingtang didn’t think Chang Yishao’s mood had changed; she just frowned, deliberately putting on a look of distress, and asked, “Is it so ugly? So ugly you can’t even speak?”

The production of ceramics also starts with a hand-sculpting process, but the experience is very different from sculpting clay figures. The masters here make clay figures with the steps of “one head, two body, three hands,” and of course, they wouldn’t just mash the whole thing into a ball like she did. The lump of clay was for her to practice and get a feel for it. Was it really ugly beyond belief? Probably not?

Chang Yishao was stunned, not expecting Xie Qingtang to ask about this. When she received the picture of the clay figure, her emotions fluctuated intensely. After calming down, she re-immersed herself in work and had forgotten about the “reply.” She couldn’t tell Xie Qingtang about her change of heart, so the topic abruptly shifted, and she said, “I’ll go with you tomorrow.”

“Okay,” Xie Qingtang agreed without thinking. The clay sculpting area was quite lively, with people of all ages gathered, but there were few people her age.

The promotion on the Maya platform has made Tang Xi’s live stream well-known, and the previously edited first part of The Artisan’s Heart has captured the interest of many enthusiasts. Audiences come and go in the live stream, and those who ultimately stay are not just “Tang Xi’s” die-hard fans, but more so craft enthusiasts. It would naturally be best to watch the live stream in its entirety, but their anticipation for the edited episodes never diminished. Comments would occasionally pop up on the screen—though this was mostly ineffective, and it was better to scream on the streamer’s Weibo.

—After seeing this episode, I immediately bought some plasticine. —If you’re going to buy something, buy clay. What is plasticine for a hero? —Finally, a segment I can do too. —Didn’t everyone notice the new beautiful young lady? Mom, I want to go and become her apprentice!

In front of Xie Qingtang and Chang Yishao was a model of a ceramic boat. The old master’s teaching method was also very simple: let them watch, and then practice continuously. The little boat looked simple, but when the individual pieces on the boat were broken down, it was quite difficult to truly replicate this clay boat. When kneading, one must pay attention to the form, proportion, and structure, and when sculpting, one must skillfully use tools to pat, scrape, and press to carve out the details. One misstep can ruin the sculpted work.

Looking at the general shape of the ceramic boat she had sculpted in her hands, Xie Qingtang looked left and right, but didn’t know where to start. She would stare at Chang Yishao for a moment, then turn her gaze to the old master—although they weren’t working on the same piece, the techniques were similar and could be learned.

Children were fooling around in the courtyard. After sculpting their figures, they also mimicked the adults, picking up the spatulas and presses to pat—the result, of course, was a terrible mess, which was immediately pressed into an unrecognizable lump of mud. Xie Qingtang turned around after hearing the commotion, her eyelids twitching. She looked down at the little boat in her hands—would her result be the same as the children’s? She was a little uncertain.

“I’ll sculpt it,” Chang Yishao said at this moment. She had been quietly observing Xie Qingtang’s movements, and the basic shape of the small boat in her own hands had also been formed.

Xie Qingtang first eyed Chang Yishao suspiciously, and then handed her small boat over. Chang Yishao had spent some time with Old Man Qi, so the possibility of her having encountered clay sculpting was not small. Sure enough, once Chang Yishao took it, she didn’t seem as helpless as Xie Qingtang. Her movements were sometimes swift, sometimes light, gradually carving out the details of the ceramic boat. Although it was still a bit short of the model, it was far superior to what Xie Qingtang had done.

“Teacher Chang, have you studied this?” Xie Qingtang leaned closer to Chang Yishao and asked in a low voice.

Chang Yishao nodded gently. Just as Xie Qingtang guessed, she had learned it at Old Man Qi’s place.

Xie Qingtang made an “oh” sound and said no more. She scrutinized Chang Yishao, and a scene suddenly appeared in her mind: a snow doll and a mud doll.

Qi Yu had said that Chang Yishao had a wide range of interests, and it seemed that was not an exaggeration.

The brief introduction for the streamer “Tang Xi” remained unchanged, and Xie Qingtang simply forgot to modify it. While she was focused on streaming content related to handicrafts, aside from a few who really liked Xie Qingtang’s songs, few people associated her with the word “singer.” Coupled with the “plagiarism scandal” caused by He Yanjin earlier, the four words “Little He Yanjin” were hardly mentioned.

He Yanjin did not want to see any information about Xie Qingtang online, but the more she resisted, the more the push notifications seemed to work against her. Xie Qingtang was like an invisible hand, tightly gripping her neck. When netizens jokingly called the streamer “Tang Xi” the “Little He Yanjin,” He Yanjin was unhappy, and now, as Xie Qingtang’s fame began to rise on her own merit, He Yanjin hated her even more, gritting her teeth as if her glory had been snatched away by Xie Qingtang.

The web drama she was in, despite a huge investment of money, essentially made no splash. The overwhelming public announcements seemed to proclaim her “top-tier status” to the world, but in fact, she was still relatively unknown—no, perhaps not completely unknown. Her “bad reputation” was still widely spread, and whenever her name appeared, sarcasm was sure to follow. After a while and many times, even He Yanjin began to feel shame and regret.

Why did she do this? What did she gain from doing this? She had a moment of confusion, but when she thought of Chang Yishao and Xie Qingtang, the hatred spread again—if that person hadn’t intervened, Chang Yishao would still belong to her. He Yanjin repeated this thought over and over to herself, afraid that she might forget it one day.

Zhou Yunmeng did not watch Xie Qingtang’s live stream, but that didn’t stop her from intercepting useful information and sending it to He Yanjin.

Even not in person, she could imagine He Yanjin’s face full of jealousy and hatred.

Chang Yishao appeared in the live stream’s camera, holding the mud that He Yanjin had thought was dirty and humiliating.

She saw Xie Qingtang jokingly bring up the Wo Nong Ci (I, You Poem), and when it came to the lines, “Take a lump of mud, knead a you, sculpt an I. Smash the two of us together, blend with water; knead another you, sculpt another I. In my mud is you, in your mud is me,” Chang Yishao smiled while gazing at Xie Qingtang, her eyes filled with affection.

He Yanjin felt a sudden intense chill. It was as if at this moment, she finally forced herself to face the truth—Chang Yishao already had someone else by her side. That person might resemble her, but she would never be a ridiculous substitute. The most ridiculous person was actually herself. This fact made He Yanjin lose control, her hysterical appearance making people afraid to approach.

“I enjoy seeing you suffer, but it’s pretty much enough at this point,” Zhou Yunmeng sent this message to He Yanjin.

He Yanjin twisted her stiff neck. She stared intently at the sentence on the screen, her eyes flickering, then glanced at the photos and short videos that Zhou Yunmeng had sent to provoke her. Chang Yishao’s eyes held no place for her, and Zhou Yunmeng’s revenge seemed to be coming to an end.

In the end, she hadn’t grasped anything.

Her gaze seemed to be laced with poison.

The coloring on the little boat was not easy. Under the old master’s guidance, Xie Qingtang applied the brushstrokes, but the final result was only barely presentable.

“Practice makes perfect; it’s always like this,” the old master grinned and pointed at the ceramic boat, “Take the little boat home to play with.”

When they left, Xie Qingtang didn’t just take her “work”; Chang Yishao was also holding two small figures—but they weren’t clay sculptures; they were dough figures.

“Teacher Chang, are you coming to color tomorrow?” Xie Qingtang shook her right hand, which had been holding the brush, and smiled as she looked at Chang Yishao.

Chang Yishao glanced at Xie Qingtang, her eyes twinkling. Naturally, she very much wanted to accept Xie Qingtang’s invitation. However, she couldn’t fall behind on her progress on the other side, or she wouldn’t be able to achieve her goal. “I wish I could say yes.” Chang Yishao smiled sweetly.

Xie Qingtang immediately understood her meaning. She wanted to say yes—but there was some irresistible force that prevented her from truly accepting. “How about shortening the time, or skipping a few areas and only making a select compilation?” This amount of work falling on Chang Yishao was immense, and Xie Qingtang had seen signs of fatigue in Chang Yishao’s eyes quite a few times.

Before Chang Yishao could answer, Xie Qingtang frowned again. She sighed, knowing that this choice was not ideal, and even went against her original intention. She gritted her teeth and said decisively, “Then let’s hire more professionals.” Her retirement fund was being cut down repeatedly, but it wouldn’t get to the point where she couldn’t live.

Chang Yishao chuckled, looking at Xie Qingtang’s troubled expression. Being with Xie Qingtang, she could sense her concern for her “retirement fund,” so this was a really big compromise.

Hearing the light, pleasant laughter, Xie Qingtang shoved the ceramic boat into Chang Yishao’s arms. She crossed her arms, asking with a hint of annoyance, “Well, Teacher Chang, do you have any good ideas?” She was thinking of Chang Yishao and wanted to lighten her burden, yet she actually laughed out loud.

“I’ll go find investors,” Chang Yishao said with a soft smile.

“There may not be a return,” Xie Qingtang frowned. She didn’t want to insert any advertisements.

“You’ll see,” Chang Yishao replied.

After this trend takes off, there will be countless followers.

Actually, the previous reality show in Pingyao felt like a premonition.

Live-streaming handicrafts was a pure idea of Xie Qingtang’s. Her concept was just a (prototype/embryo). After Chang Yishao edited a video, the response exceeded her expectations—and some things were also developing in an uncontrolled direction. Her original intention was just “self-amusement” and “public service” promotion, but at this point, she began to take a step back.

She had previously insisted on not letting the professional team that Chang Yishao wanted to find get involved.

All of her “unreasonable demands” were being carried by Chang Yishao—this… wasn’t right.

“Teacher Chang.” Xie Qingtang’s smile faded. She looked at Chang Yishao, her eyes unblinking.

Under Xie Qingtang’s gaze, Chang Yishao’s mind was momentarily flustered, but she quickly recovered. She looked back at Xie Qingtang and softly replied, “What is it?”

“You are too good to me.” Xie Qingtang’s voice was neither loud nor soft, just like a breeze brushing past her ear.

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