She Was Sentenced to Life Imprisonment [Unlimited] - Chapter 60

Chapter 60: The Studio (2)

◎So Pathetic◎

“Did the dean find you two as well?”

The girl walking in front of them carefully glanced back, a hint of obscurity flashing in her eyes as she spoke as if by chance.

Jiang Nan couldn’t free her hand from Thanatos’s grasp and gave a distracted “Mm.”

The girl in front of them lowered her head and whispered.

“So pathetic.”

She spoke in a voice as quiet as a mosquito’s buzz, which would have been impossible for a normal person to hear, but Jiang Nan heard Thanatos attentively repeat it in her ear.

Hearing this, Jiang Nan glanced at Thanatos, then her gaze fell on the girl walking in front.

The girl was wearing a school uniform, which didn’t look different from other students, but the pair of faded shoes on her feet already hinted at her plight.

Jiang Nan didn’t ask her why she was so emotional and instead asked for her name.

“What’s your name?”

The girl clearly hadn’t expected to be asked this question. Her footsteps paused, and her expression changed multiple times where no one could see. Finally, she forced a smile and replied.

“You can just call me Fang Yuan.”

After hearing the name, Jiang Nan repeated it softly, trying to recall the roster in the dean’s hand. But she had only seen it in a hurried glance and hadn’t managed to read all of it.

“You just said we don’t have to draw. Why?” Jiang Nan asked, her eyes watching the changes in the other person’s expression.

Everything since they had appeared in this instance pointed to their identities being art students.

But if they were art students, why would Fang Yuan say they didn’t have to draw?

This time, Fang Yuan was clearly not as flustered as she had been the first time. A hint of sarcasm appeared on her lips as she said.

“Because we can’t afford to.”

After saying that, as if afraid they would ask more questions, she turned around and gave them a creepy smile before continuing.

“You’ll find out for yourselves later anyway.”

Her eyes were filled with a dark mist. An evil aura rushed toward them, making the air around them drop by a few degrees.

“Let go. I’m not going to get lost.” Jiang Nan looked at the hand holding her and grew more and more dissatisfied with being treated like a child.

Thanatos had no intention of letting go. A smile filled her eyes, but her gaze at the person she was looking at was bone-chillingly cold.

“That’s not a guarantee.”

Seeing that the two of them were ignoring her, Fang Yuan’s expression stiffened. Her voice became a little harsh and a little displeased.

“Are you two looking down on me, too?”

Jiang Nan finally gave up on trying to get her hand back. When she heard Fang Yuan’s words, her eyes narrowed slightly, and she chose her words carefully before speaking.

“No, we don’t know each other.”

Since they didn’t know each other, there was no need to look down on her.

Fang Yuan’s gaze shifted between them, and her eyes returned to normal. She then spoke apologetically.

“I’m sorry, you two. I think I’ve gotten us lost, and I might make you late.”

Jiang Nan looked around. The bright sun had been covered, making the area dim and gray. An unknown cold wind rustled the leaves on the trees.

They walked for a while and found themselves back in front of the storage room.

Jiang Nan: …

“What’s the punishment for being late?” Jiang Nan asked.

Fang Yuan was stunned for a moment. She shook her head and said.

“The teacher will be unhappy.”

Jiang Nan looked at Thanatos beside her, then turned to look at the sports field outside and said calmly.

“Then let’s not go.”

Fang Yuan: ??

Thanatos chuckled and also looked at the sports field, showing no signs of being in a hurry.

It seemed their actions made her a little confused, leaving her unsure of what to do for a moment.

“You guys…”

Fang Yuan watched them for a moment. Seeing that they really had no intention of leaving, her expression suddenly became sad, and she said self-reproachfully.

“Are you two blaming me for getting us lost… I didn’t do it on purpose…”

As she spoke, she suddenly started crying.

Hearing her cries, Jiang Nan hesitated for a long time, but still didn’t know how to comfort this person who had suddenly started crying.

Thanatos propped her chin up, and nonchalantly pointed to something on the sports field.

“Why did the school put so many statues over there?”

Dozens of plaster statues were placed on the sports field. Judging by their faces and poses, they were not famous sculptures. They were so unremarkable that it made one wonder if they were custom-made to resemble the students here. Their faces held expressions of terror, as if they had seen something terrifying.

Jiang Nan looked over. Facing those pale, terrified, and twisted faces, it was as if she could feel the fear and helplessness they had once faced.

She had just stopped because she felt uncomfortable with them staring at her.

The sky was now gray and the cold wind rustled, making the sight of the rows of plaster statues feel eerie and terrifying.

Hearing the question, Fang Yuan’s crying stopped. She raised her hand to wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes and smiled at them.

“Those? People die here every day, but for some reason, they all turn into plaster statues. They originally wanted the police to get involved, but the principal covered it up for the sake of the school’s enrollment rate. So they could only be moved to the sports field and put there for now. And the school only allows people in, not out.”

As she spoke, her smile became even more frightening. Her pitch-black pupils were lifeless, like a puddle of stagnant water. She continued with her slightly pale lips.

“Do you know? In class F, it’s very likely that you’ll also end up over there.”

“What about the classes above?” Jiang Nan asked.

Fang Yuan looked up, not at anything in particular. She said hauntingly.

“Most of them won’t. They have scapegoats.”

“Do you have to be good at drawing to get to the classes above?” Jiang Nan asked her.

Fang Yuan looked at them and answered with certainty.

“You two can get in.”

She only said that they could get in, but she didn’t directly answer Jiang Nan’s question about whether they needed to be good at drawing to get to the classes above.

Jiang Nan’s eyes lowered slightly, not knowing what she was thinking. The depths of her gaze at Fang Yuan held a hint of wariness.

“Have you remembered how to get back to class? We don’t want to be delayed for too long,” Thanatos asked with a smile. However, the smile in her eyes was tinged with coldness, making people feel a sense of dread.

Fang Yuan was startled by her sudden gaze and shivered. The terrifying aura coming from the other person made her not dare to misbehave anymore. She could only nod timidly.

“I remember now.”

Saying that, as if she had some apprehension, she turned and walked in one direction.

Jiang Nan watched her back, frowning. Only after Thanatos nodded to her did she feel at ease and followed her.

Although Thanatos was a liar, Jiang Nan had to admit that she was extremely powerful at suppressing ghosts.

After they left, the sun, which had been hidden by the dark clouds, came out again. The warm sunlight fell on the plaster statues on the sports field. Strangely, the terrified faces of the statues now looked peaceful, with smiles on their lips.

Inside the classroom, the scratching sound of brushes on paper and the occasional tap of the teacher’s stick on an easel could be heard.

The art studio had a dull, strange atmosphere. Everyone’s face was filled with a sense of listlessness.

The sudden figures at the door didn’t make them stop their hands from drawing.

Their faces were sallow, their expressions vacant. Lifeless, they looked at their paintings as if this were the only thing in their lives.

The teacher frowned deeply and scolded the two people standing at the door.

“What’s wrong with you two? Why are you so late to the studio?!”

Two?

Jiang Nan suddenly looked to her side. At this moment, only Thanatos was left. Fang Yuan had disappeared.

Thanatos spoke in a voice only they could hear: “She ran away.”

Jiang Nan said “Mm” and didn’t continue to look for Fang Yuan.

Seeing that the two of them were still not moving, the teacher used the thin bamboo stick in his hand to tap the easel of a person next to him. The force was so great that the stick broke. He angrily pointed at the two of them.

“What are you standing there for?! Those who are late, sit over there!”

Then, he pointed to an area near a trash can where discarded drawings and graphite dust were piled up.

The few people over there, hiding behind their easels, saw Jiang Nan and her companion. Yan Xin was about to call out to them, but her gaze fell on the unfamiliar person next to Jiang Nan, and she hesitated for a moment.

Yan Xin finally called out to Jiang Nan softly: “Hurry and come over.”

It seemed that they, the players, were the ones who were late.

The art studio was cluttered. Paper and pens were scattered on the floor, leaving almost no room to step. Jiang Nan and Thanatos slowly walked to the back under the teacher’s growing impatient gaze.

The rustling sound of painting in the studio covered their conversation, and occasional scolding from the teacher could be heard.

Yan Xin sized up Thanatos, who was a stranger among them, and then said to Jiang Nan with a hint of sarcasm.

“Although it’s not certain if that person is dead, you don’t have to be in such a hurry to find a new love, do you?”

Jiang Nan didn’t reply, which they all took as an admission. For a moment, they felt a little sorry for the person whose fate was unknown. Little did they know that the person in question was right in front of them.

Lin Jia was originally smiling at Thanatos, but after a few seconds, a hint of surprise appeared in her eyes. She quickly masked it and changed the subject.

“You all know this is a class F, right? It’s on the sixth floor, the very bottom floor. Do you also think it’s the worst one?”

Jiang Nan looked at the students who were buried in their paintings. Unlike their lifelessness, the paintings they were drawing were extremely detailed, showing how much effort they had put in. Moreover, the brushes in their hands were mostly sharpened down to be as short as they could get.

At this moment, the teacher was tapping on someone’s drawing, scolding them with a stern expression.

“How many times have I told you not to use such a short brush? Oh, that’s right, you don’t have the means to. If you did, you would already be in the higher classes.”

As if their pride had been crushed, the student stopped painting for a long time, then resignedly continued to draw.

“They paint very well,” Jiang Nan said, retracting her gaze.

Lin Jia nodded, with a serious expression.

“I’m an art student myself, so I can tell. They are already perfect. They are more than good enough for an exam. But if they’re considered the worst, then the ones above have no more room for improvement.”

She picked up a brush and continued.

“Coming here might not mean you’re bad at drawing; it might be for other reasons.”

The students’ uniforms were more or less stained with paint and graphite dust. They were gray and dusty, and they wore old, worn-out shoes. Their hair was a mess. If they went outside and didn’t speak, people might think they were mute beggars.

Their appearance was different from the shiny, clean-looking students Jiang Nan had seen when she first came in, or rather, they didn’t fit in with the entire school.

“The main god will try to trick us, too. What kind of ‘easiest instance’ is this? There hasn’t been a single hint since we came in. We’re just told to survive. Are we supposed to help them finish their art exams and school?” Yan Xin complained, frowning and throwing a piece of discarded paper at her feet into a basket.