Chapter 29 Part 3

"What do you think of this?" she asked Chen Liming.

Chen Liming smiled. "It's your competition today. If you say it's fine, it's fine."

"Then I'll tattoo it like this?"

Chen Liming was amused by her mild temperament and couldn't help but urge her, "Hurry up. I think you're the only one who hasn't started tattooing yet."

The lion was tattooed on her back. Chen Liming wasn't as afraid of pain as Xu Zhenfan and was quiet the whole time, not making a fool of herself like last time.

But that was also because everyone now knew Xu Zhinan's true skill from the voting page. No one would humiliate themselves by cluelessly teasing an expert anymore.

Xu Zhinan was very focused while tattooing. As the needle fell again and again, the lion gradually took shape under her hand.

Because the Realism Style was so difficult, fewer people had signed up for it in the first place. The ninth and tenth place contestants only made it to the semi-finals by frantically canvassing for votes. Now, faced with such a difficult design, it was normal that they couldn't handle it.

They hadn't expected to win any awards or prize money either; they were purely there for fun. Their models were just friends they knew well.

Two hours later, a roar suddenly erupted from the back of the venue. "I'll kill you, believe it or not! What the hell did you tattoo?! Is this a tiger or a cat!?"

The tattoo artist slapped him on the butt. "Don't move! I'll pay you more!"

"Stop it, you bastard! Stop! I'm not doing this anymore! What's the meaning of tattooing a cat on my precious ass!!!"

The two went back and forth, not really arguing, but just friends roasting each other.

The crowd around them roared with laughter.

However, hearing this made Chen Liming a little worried. It was being tattooed on her back, so she couldn't see it and didn't know how it was turning out.

Beside them, Lu Xihe had already finished. He walked over to take a look, then nodded and commented, "Yo, not bad."

Chen Liming was relieved.

She was also a tattoo enthusiast and had naturally heard of Lu Xihe. With his "not bad," there was basically nothing to worry about.

It wasn't until the tattoo was finished that Chen Liming looked in the mirror and was completely stunned.

This wasn't just "not bad," this was absolutely amazing!!!

She would have been willing to pay ten thousand yuan for this design. Agreeing to be a model this time was a real gain.

The semi-finals didn't use voting. Instead, professionals gave comments and scores on the spot. Among the judges were the grand champions of the previous two Tattoo Design Contests.

While waiting for the scores, the 40 tattoo artists in the semi-finals sat together.

Xu Zhinan became the center of everyone's attention. She had just taken a picture of the lion tattoo on Chen Liming's back with her phone, and a group of people, extremely curious about her, crowded around to look.

"Um, hello." A man extended his hand to her. "My name is Wei Jing, I was first in the School Group in the preliminaries."

The man looked to be only in his twenties, with a black headband with a checkmark logo on his forehead. Unlike most tattoo artists who were covered in tattoos, the only visible tattoo on his exposed skin was an eagle on his right arm.

It was a common element in old-school style.

Xu Zhinan shook his hand. "Hello, Xu Zhinan."

Wei Jing smiled, scratching the back of his head. "I know. I noticed you during the preliminary voting. Your work is really good."

"Thank you."

Wei Jing took his phone out of his pocket, about to ask for her contact information, when from the other side, Lu Xihe suddenly called out, "Hey, Ah Nan," and waved her over. "Come here for a second."

Xu Zhinan acknowledged him, apologized to Wei Jing, and walked over to Lu Xihe. "What's wrong?"

"Be careful of that bastard." Lu Xihe spoke crudely, jerking his chin towards Wei Jing. "That kid is no good."

Xu Zhinan paused and glanced back. Lu Xihe hadn't tried to hide his words at all. Even if Wei Jing couldn't hear clearly, he could guess it wasn't anything good, yet he still smiled at Xu Zhinan and gave a little wave.

Lu Xihe scoffed again.

Xu Zhinan turned back and asked, "What's wrong with him?"

""He used to work at my shop. Stayed for three months, poached a bunch of clients, then broke his contract and skipped out.""

"..."

That was quite unethical.

Xu Zhinan didn't know what to say about such matters. She just nodded and walked away, taking her phone out of her pocket to turn it on.

As soon as it turned on, it started vibrating repeatedly.

Zhao Qian had sent her a string of messages.

[Zhao Qian: Holy shit!]

[Zhao Qian: What kind of scumbag is Lin Qingye? He actually revealed that he had some 'white moonlight' from when he was 17.]

[Zhao Qian: I'm so pissed my lungs are about to explode. What did he take you for before???]

[Zhao Qian: Good thing you broke up with him!! Being handsome doesn't mean anything!!!]

At the very bottom was a link.

Xu Zhinan clicked on it—

*Lin Qingye Discusses the "Black Locust" Maiden: A Girl I Met When I Was 17.*