Chapter Eleven: Wax Figures

  Name: Hong Xian

  Gender: Female

  Age: Appearance around twenty-seven

  Occupation: Red Line Wax Museum Owner and Wax Figure Master

  Address: No. 62-66, Dongshi Street, Bomei District

  "Look, it's her!"

  "What's so special about a woman who is dull and unattractive but has good grades?"

  "Shh, keep your voice down, I heard she's ill, what if she hears us and has a relapse?"

  "That's for the best, saves me from seeing this ugly woman and feeling nauseous!"

  Su Xue took a deep breath, lifted her head and strode past the two girls in front of the mirror in the bathroom, who were adjusting their clothes while intentionally speaking loudly for her to hear. She quickly rushed out of the bathroom and closed the door. Just as the door fell shut, she finally couldn't hold back her sorrow and curled up her body, sobbing and leaving behind big tears.

  I don't know which philosopher said that a good name can often give the other party a good impression at first sight, but the philosopher didn't know that for people who are not worthy of their name, a beautiful name would instead bring more piercing pain. When Su Xue's parents named their newborn daughter, they must have also had infinite beautiful fantasies, but they did not expect that such a thought-provoking name would bring to this over 120 kg, not pretty-looking daughter of theirs sarcasm, criticism and hardship in life.

  Things often follow the example of a vicious circle. Su Xue, who was looked down upon by people for being fat and ugly since childhood, paid much more effort than ordinary people to learn in order to hold her head up among her peers, thus achieving extremely good grades. In a child's mind, good grades equal praise and standing out from the crowd. However, Su Xue didn't realize that by surpassing everyone in grades, she seemed to have earned self-respect for herself, but in reality, she was even more ostracized by others.

  No one liked her, she often sat alone in the quiet classroom after school, watching those classmates walk home or go shopping together. Occasionally, someone would invite her out of sympathy, but she always refused with a cold and proud tone, only to regret it afterwards, yet still making the same choice next time. Gradually, people really stopped paying attention to her. Except when exam results were announced, she was the one who held her head high with pride, otherwise, classmates mostly treated her as if she didn't exist at all.

  "I don't want to go to class anymore, it's not fun going back to that place!" Su Xue wiped away her tears and stood up, like a ghost drifting aimlessly in the afternoon sun. She didn't know how long she had walked or where she was, but when she looked around again, she found herself in the midst of this bustling market.

  The huge and bright orange sunset of dusk hung low in the narrow sky above the market, appearing unusually close, as if it could be touched with a stretch. Under the sunset glow, people crowded in front of various stalls wrapped in canvas, and the vendors, dressed in strange clothes, shouted loudly, unaffected by the summer evening heat. The bizarre goods were piled up like mountains, shining quietly and mysteriously under the light of old-fashioned yellow bulbs, bewildering people with their brilliance. What kind of market is this?

  Su Xue stopped in front of a large black wooden mansion, although she didn't know why she stopped, it was as if the world inside the high wooden door had an invisible rope that tied her up and couldn't move half a step. After hesitating for a moment, she finally walked forward and gently pushed open the slightly ajar wooden door.

  The world inside the door brought her surprises that couldn't be explained in a few words, or perhaps the word "surprise" was enough to summarize it. It was just a vast and profound great hall, completely unlike the typical Ming and Qing architecture she had imagined outside the door, with no courtyard or corridor, just such a huge great hall, without any decoration or furniture, except for a narrow passageway about 50 centimeters wide in the middle, all the space inside was filled with countless people, motionless, completely lifeless!

  Su Xue was startled and almost turned around to escape, being stared at by so many people with eyes that seemed to have no life in them would be a chilling experience.

  "Welcome to the Red Line Wax Museum." A husky yet languid and sensual woman's voice emerged from the darkness, followed by a slow walk out of the shadows. It was a mysterious and alluring woman that Su Xue had never seen before, wearing a bright red embroidered cheongsam with no sleeves and a high collar, adorned with a luxurious white fox fur stole draped over her shoulder. Her slender fingers, painted with dark red nail polish, elegantly brushed through her curly long hair, revealing an enchanting face that radiated an otherworldly glow that was impossible to resist.

  "These are... wax figures?" Su Xue finally came back to her senses from the shop owner's stunning beauty, and asked hesitantly.

  Although they are lifeless eyes, although they are just objects carved by skilled hands, why is each one so exquisite and perfect? Whether male or female, each one seems to be proclaiming its own existence with unparalleled brilliance, making it almost impossible for people to gaze directly at them. In comparison, she, a real person, appears dull and worn out!

  "Do you like my wax figure?" Hong Xian smiled lightly and raised two dimples, for a moment Su Xue was a little dazed.

  How enviable it is, such beauty; how...how...how hateful!

  The red thread seemed to have heard the small voice in Su Xue's heart that even she herself hadn't noticed, and with a slight smile, she said in a melodious voice like pearls hitting each other: "You can too, become like me." She chuckled lightly and unexpectedly used her left hand, which had a faint scent of fragrance, to grasp Su Xue's chin and lift up her round face, which was covered in sweat and oil. Her other hand then brushed aside the long bangs that Su Xue had left to cover herself, and with a smiling gaze, she carefully examined Su Xue.

  "Let me go!" Su Xue struggled free from those hands, panting and taking a few steps back. Her eyes welled up with tears as she thought to herself: How could she, how could she be so beautiful and yet touch someone like me, who's just an ugly duckling? And I'm all sweaty and smelly... how could she stand to touch me? It's disgusting! Su Xue thought frantically in her mind, biting down on her lower lip until a few threads of blood seeped into her dry mouth, bringing with it a salty taste. As she savored the flavor, she felt a dark sweetness that was hard to describe.

  "Don't be nervous." Red Line was still smiling slowly, turned around and searched through a pile of wax figures on the left with her eyes for a while, finally stopping at a certain point, lightly pursing the corners of her mouth, elegantly waving her hand. It was as if there were some kind of mechanism, the surrounding wax figures silently and quickly retreated into two rows, revealing a path in the middle, Red Line walked through it gracefully, like a queen receiving admiration from thousands of people, and when she returned to Su Xue's side, she had an additional half-person-high wax figure in her hand.

  "This can be considered one of my masterpieces."

  Su Xue didn't hear what Hongxian was saying at all, and from the moment she laid eyes on that wax figure, she had lost her ability to think. She had indeed heard that if a doll is made well enough, it can possess a real soul, something that splits off from the craftsman's own; also heard that in Japan, some families with long histories still keep dolls that substitute for family members, using those dolls to ward off all disasters; but in her heart, she had always thought that these man-made things were just fake objects in human form. So why did this one cast such a heavy stone into the depths of her previously untroubled heart, stirring up endless ripples?

  His hair, shining like the morning star with a faint golden light, was tied back with a beautiful satin ribbon. On his resolute face were embedded a pair of eyes as black as the night sky, deep and profound. His tightly pursed lips exuded an air of maturity and decisiveness. The luxurious sapphire blue overcoat with gold thread embroidery climbed up to the noble flower pattern, the silk shirt's complicated palace-style collar elegantly hung down, paired with a suitable cardigan-colored slim-fit long pants. This was not just an ordinary wax figure, but a living, breathing handsome young man!

  "How is it? Do you like it?" Hong Xian looked at Su Xue and asked, with a smile in her eyes.

  “Like……like……” Su Xueru replied involuntarily, as if she had been bewitched. I really want to... touch his face, such a perfect face. But her mood soon darkened again - after all, it was just an idol, and no matter what, it wouldn't become real; or maybe it's better that way, how could someone so outstanding possibly like herself? So, it's better to just look and not try to possess something that can never be hers.

  Unexpectedly, Hong Xian lightly added a sentence: "Try it out, maybe it'll become true?"

  "Huh?" Su Xue raised her head in surprise, looking at Hong Xian's smiling face, which was slightly blurry due to its dazzling beauty. Beautiful women are always beautiful, Su Xue thought on her way home, hugging the doll that had captivated her heart and soul. But it was really strange, why could she only remember the female shop owner's beauty in her impression, but couldn't recall her appearance at all? What...why?

  The day Su Xue went missing, Hong Xian was sitting in the workroom on the top of the high and spacious hall, creating a new piece. A small jar beside her suddenly made a cracking sound, followed by violent shaking, and soon a cloud of smoke burst out from inside the glass bottle, forming a ball that floated above the wax museum for a moment before rapidly rushing out of the door and disappearing without a trace.

  Hong Xian put down the pen in her hand, took off her glasses, and stared blankly for a while before a faint smile appeared on her lips. Su Xue had taken away the shell of a noble young man who had lost his soul due to unrequited love, and as an exchange, she would take away Su Xue's talent. That girl, despite having outstanding aesthetic sense and design talent, was unaware of it, and might even wear down her sparkling personality in daily self-abasement and self-pity. Now, the missing Su Xue had awakened the man who had been asleep for a long time, perhaps these two unfortunate people could find happiness together.

  Oh dear, the more I think about it, the more I feel like I've made a bad deal! Hong Xian pouted, wearing her simple work clothes, she was no longer the elegant and charming store owner, but rather looked like that young girl who wandered outside the Bo Mei market many years ago...