The Versatile Master Artist

The illustrations of Detective Cat are a flowing feast, and the timeless words serve as the accompaniment to this feast, blending perfectly together.

Flipping through 56 illustrations from start to finish, just to get a general impression, only takes a short period of time.

But Kelly was flipping through them slower and slower.

The entire book of The Little Prince consists of twenty-seven very short Chapters.

When she reached the twenty-third Chapter, Kelly pinched the corner of the page, hesitated for a moment, then started flipping back from the end towards the beginning.

Many people have had this feeling when binge-watching a series or reading a novel. They see an especially wonderful part, clearly looking forward to it immensely, yet are reluctant to finish watching it.

That’s exactly how Kelly felt now.

She was a bit reluctant to finish seeing all of the illustrations so quickly. She wanted to go back and carefully savor these earlier works once more.

In the reading hall, readers are enjoying the illustrations of The Little Prince, even repeatedly savoring them.

It’s not just Kelly.

”...The rose is an important image in Saint-Exupéry’s writing. In a philosophical sense, this character in the fairy tale holds multiple meanings and metaphors...”

On the podium, Dean Hawke was passionately explaining the philosophical viewpoints of The Little Prince.

He suddenly felt that the atmosphere of the entire presentation was somewhat quiet.

A presentation isn’t a marketplace,

loud and chaotic would not be suitable, but now, inexplicably, it seemed a bit too quiet, with an eeriness in the air.

At the university, when Dean Hawke taught, it was never this quiet.

Apart from his own voice, there was almost only the sound of papers rustling.

He moved his gaze away from his lecture notes and glanced at the readers seated on beanbag sofas at the front.

Rustle, rustle, rustle.

Each person was holding The Little Prince seriously, continuously flipping through the book.

”It seems the readers still appreciate my translation skills.”

Seeing everyone looking so serious and engaged, even the great translator Hawke couldn’t help but feel delighted inside.

”But what I’m talking about now isn’t really that profound... Are they truly so absorbed in listening?”

Amidst his joy,

Charlie Hawke couldn’t help but feel a bit puzzled.

When Kelly was brought back to reality from her second round of illustration viewing,

Mr. Hawke’s presentation had already ended.

Readers interested in purchasing the new edition of The Little Prince needed to go to the front desk to pay first and then take the purchase proof to the staff to find Charlie Hawke for a signature.

The second viewing hadn’t fully satisfied her.

Kelly was still completely immersed in the beautiful illustrations by Detective Cat, holding the book while queuing up in front of the cash register that already had a long line.

At that moment,

Kelly suddenly realized something.

She was too engrossed in the book.

Where did her best friend Maca go?

-----------------

Some people are happy, while others are conflicted.

As happy as Kelly was when reading The Little Prince,

that’s how conflicted Maca was acting now.

The round-faced girl was standing on the side of Waterstones, hiding between shelves temporarily stocked with fitness guides, enjoying some peace and quiet.

She held a copy of The Little Prince in her arms, biting her nails.

”Should I... buy it or not?”

Maca was biting her fingers hard, as if there were two little people in her head fighting to the death.

It’s so lovely!

Don’t buy it!

The illustrations are truly so beautiful, so beautiful!

I won’t buy it!

Such a beautiful fairy tale book would be perfect as an Easter holiday gift for the younger siblings at home! Much better than giving any LEGO sets.

Damn it, why bother talking, I said I won’t buy it. My boyfriend has already arranged for a trip to the Scottish Highlands for fishing next weekend.

But...

Maca felt that not watching shirtless handsome guys at school and being dragged by her best friend to some signing event during lunch time

was truly a very wrong decision.

If only she had been more firm in refusing Kelly’s invitation.

She wouldn’t be so conflicted now.

In her hesitation, Maca accidentally broke her nail, the pain causing her to gasp slightly.

”Ugh, so annoying!”

She stomped her foot heavily.

Out of sight, out of mind.

The girl wanted to make up her mind to put the copy of The Little Prince into a deep corner of the shelf in front of her, and then rush out of Waterstones without looking back.

Her hand was raised, but she hesitated and stopped.

Ordinary people might find it hard to understand Maca’s mood at this moment.

It’s just a fairy tale book.

There’s no illustration or fairy tale book in the world that has the effect of heroin, where once you take a look, you can’t let go, and if you can’t buy it, you feel like you’re going to die.

Faced with such a bet, an ordinary person doesn’t argue for the sake of it.

A pat on the back, and they leave.

Maca is not an ordinary person.

Though not an illustration enthusiast like Kelly, she’s also a student at the Royal Academy of Arts, one of the top four art schools in the world, a dream pursuer dedicated to the art path.

Those who can get into the top four art schools on their own merit all have a bit of artistic pursuit, don’t they?

Worshiping authority is merely an external manifestation of her journey on her artistic path.

Maca may sometimes seem to lack a flash of brilliance or creativity in the eyes of her teachers, but her grades are not bad at all, even slightly better than Kelly’s.

In a university bustling with talents, she still ranks in the top 15% in GPA.

Those who truly love art all have a bit of OCD to some extent; they’d make decisions that seem baffling to outsiders for the sake of good art.

The former world’s richest man Paul Getty was the kind of miserly scrooge who, when his grandson was kidnapped and the kidnappers sent an ear, remained so cold-hearted that he wouldn’t spare a penny. Yet, he spent 2.2 billion US Dollars on art collection without batting an eyelid.

Anna was willing to offend Van Doorn for the sake of an unknown Detective Cat, and she worriedly used up precious favors, only to ask Osborne for a trial opportunity for her.

Maca wasn’t at that level of extremity, but she did have her own little insists.

A bet wasn’t a big deal.

But deceiving oneself was rather uninteresting.