It wasn't an apple that hit Newton.

However, unlike JD.com's face, which only makes people feel cute, Newton's curly-haired pig will make people test their SAN value.

"What is this?" Hook asked as he gradually recovered.

“This is you,” I said.

“But this…” Hook frowned, seemingly unsure of what to say.

"It doesn't look like it at all, does it?"

I smiled rather smugly and said, "But you can still recognize it as you at a glance, isn't that amazing?"

Yes, but...

Hook shook his head slightly: "I have never seen this kind of painting before."

So I told her that this is called comics. It's a style of drawing that ignores character details, is extremely free-flowing, and only focuses on capturing the prominent features of the characters.

Many people would find it difficult to accept something completely new that they don't understand in their area of ​​expertise, and some might even resist it... But Hooke showed an honest thirst for knowledge and hoped to try to learn it.

With an almost missionary mindset, I taught them a little about comic drawing techniques.

Let me emphasize again, I'm a long-time anime/manga fan.

【PM15:00】

With his background in drawing, Hook quickly grasped the essence of the JD.com face and created several new combinations of human faces.

The comic style is obviously not limited to the JD.com face; there are also many fine styles that emphasize details and lines. I told Hu Ke not to stick to one style and casually showed several different styles.

So, Hu Ke, who had just begun to grasp the essence of the "JD.com face" expression, picked up his paintbrush and stared blankly at the canvas, lost in deep confusion...

【PM16:00】

Bring in the blankets; the sun at this time has lost its sterilizing effect.

Hugging the fluffy quilt, which smelled of mites killed by ultraviolet rays, back into the room, Hook was still enthusiastically experimenting with comic book style on his drawing board. Occasionally, he would ask a question if he didn't understand something. He looked much better than when he sat alone on the sofa, indifferently flipping through magazines.

For some reason, I felt a sense of accomplishment, like an old father seeing his daughter, who used to ignore him, finally talking to him.

There's a saying that goes, "A teacher for a day is a father for life." I guess I can definitely be considered half a father.

In short, my number of strange daughters has increased. But if I really had a daughter who liked women, I would definitely have a huge headache, and I might even be thinking about how to correct it... Luckily, I don't have one yet, or maybe I'll soon...

That's a bit of a tangent, but at this hour, Phillips definitely won't be coming, right? Or is Hook hoping to freeload another dinner?

I wanted to ask that, but after glancing at the slender figure sitting in front of the easel, holding a paintbrush, focused on trying out new painting methods, with a smile occasionally appearing on the corner of her mouth, I didn't say it—anyway, it's quite boring to be alone, and it's quite interesting to experience the feelings of an old father once in a while.

Chapter 284 So here's an extra chapter to make up for it.

Five o'clock in the afternoon.

The sunlight gradually begins to disappear, which is commonly known as the time when chickens return to their coop.

Li Cheng glanced at the sky through the window, guessing that Phillips had probably really stood them up today. He was about to gently remind Hook, who was engrossed in his painting, that it was getting late and it was time to go back to his room... no, it was time to go home.

Knock knock knock—

"Are you home, Mr. Designer?"

A clear, crisp voice called from outside the door. Li Cheng swallowed back the words he was about to say to Hu Ke to go home. Hu Ke, focused on his easel, had clearly also heard the voice, which sounded like a young girl's, and turned to confirm.

“Is this Phillips?” Hook asked.

“It’s her voice.” Li Cheng nodded.

The two, who had already given up hope, were surprised when Phillips arrived right on time, leaving them slightly bewildered.

However, after confirming that it was the target, Hook got up from his easel, quickly used the wet towel next to him to clean his paint-stained hands, and put his black straw hat, which was adorned with roses that looked a little wilted compared to the morning, back on.

"Is it straight now?" Hook asked as he adjusted it with both hands.

“It’s straight,” Li Cheng replied.

After she quickly tidied her clothes, Li Cheng went to open the door.

Although the living room was already quite messy with drawing boards, paints, scraps, and crumpled papers (mostly by Hooke), there was clearly no time to tidy it up, so they could only leave it as it was.

"Excuse me, excuse me, are you still busy so late, designer?"

The wait was too long, so Phillips made a joke, but then she immediately noticed Hook next to Li Cheng and exclaimed in surprise, "Eh, who is this...?"

"This person is one of my... uh, business partners."

Li Cheng gestured and introduced, “Let me introduce you to Miss Robert Hook. You may have heard of her; her book ‘Micrographics’ is her work. She is also a fashion design enthusiast, and we happen to be here today to discuss how to design new styles of clothing.”

Hook, who was being introduced, smiled at the opportune moment: "It's an honor to meet you, beautiful lady."

As she said this, she extended a slender, fair hand with a slight trace of paint, attempting to shake hands with Phillips—although it was their first meeting, almost no woman would refuse after making good use of her gender advantage.

But who is standing in front of Hook?

That's Phillips, you know!

In fact, ever since that meeting with Hook, Li Cheng had been pondering a deep question: since she claimed to have an innate aversion to physical contact with men, and that touching certain areas would cause her discomfort as if she had a rash, what would happen if she were to shake hands with Phillips?

A French crossdresser with androgynous appearance, and a British woman who claims to be allergic to men.

The story of Zhuge Liang and Feng Yu is quite something. Although we don't know what terrible things he did in his past life to have to meet these two, this is definitely a good opportunity to satisfy our curiosity.

Li Cheng pulled himself out of his thoughts and focused his attention on the eyes.

When Hooker extended a handshake, Phillips hesitated for a moment out of caution, but then probably felt that the gesture was a bit abrupt, so he extended his right hand in a generous manner.

So the two, whose skin was equally fair, clasped hands in mid-air. However, Hook's fingers were longer, making his hand appear larger, as if it would envelop Phillips' hand.

I got it! I got it!

After confirming that the male and female guests had successfully paired up, Li Cheng immediately turned his attention to Hu Ke, gazing intently at Hu Ke's face with the fervent eyes of a lover, his focus ensuring that he didn't miss a single detail.

The corners of his mouth confirmed, turning up slightly.

A glance confirmed it; the pupils did not show any doubt or discomfort.

Facial muscles were confirmed to be calm and without twitching.

After careful observation, Li Cheng confirmed that Hook did not show any aversion to the handshake. In fact, perhaps due to some kind of mental filter, Hook's smile at that moment appeared somewhat like a lewd, middle-aged man's grin in his eyes...

While Li Cheng focused his attention on Hook's face, Hook focused his attention on Phillips' hand, which she was holding.

Li Cheng: Seeing how happy she was to shake hands, the male contact allergy theory is probably nonsense, but we can't rule out the possibility that it's psychological... Maybe we should find an opportunity to secretly try it?

Hook: It's very soft and warm, but something just feels off...

Phillips: Stare—

The triangle truly lives up to its reputation as the most stable shape. The three people, each with their own thoughts, maintained their handshake for a full three minutes before the other two finally let go of each other's hands.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Designer, I'm late today."

After shaking hands, Phillips put his hands together and made an apologetic gesture to Li Cheng: "I had a small argument with my brother, which caused the scheduled morning activities to be delayed until the evening."

"It's alright."

Anyway, it's not like I'm the one who's waiting all day... Li Cheng thought to himself, then smiled and said, "The long dress you ordered has been successfully completed. Wait a moment, I'll go get it for you."

He was creating a private environment for the two of them as agreed with Hook. After saying that, he pretended to walk to the small storage room at the back of the house, closed the door, and squatted down to stare blankly at the floor.

So boring...

To be honest, I'm quite curious about how female ketamines hook up with crossdressers. Although they seem completely unrelated on the surface, could it actually lead to a situation where a double negative represents a positive?

Lost in thought, Li Cheng estimated that the time was almost up. If he waited any longer, he would be suspected of running away with the bucket. So he took the long dress that was wrapped in a cloth bag and went back to the door.

He thought that with Hook's old slut-like appearance, he could win over Mrs. Hudson's heart by delivering breakfast in the morning, and that he could at least chat and laugh with Phillips while he was away.

When they returned to the door, Li Cheng found the two of them in an awkward silence, neither of them saying a word.

???

Filled with deep doubt, Li Cheng casually handed Phillips the cloth bag.

Whether it was because Hook was present or because she had something to attend to, Phillips, who had frequently visited Li Cheng's house a few days ago, actually thanked him after taking the dress and left in a hurry this time without even stepping inside.

"what happened?"

Li Cheng asked with a mixture of doubt, suspicion, gossip, and conjecture.

"I'm not quite sure." Hook frowned, looking at his own hands with suspicion. "Miss Phillips is just as lovely as in the painting, with a beautiful voice and soft, warm hands..."

After listing Phillips's merits, she paused, then said in a rather strange tone, "But for some reason, I just can't seem to get interested."

Chapter 285 The Unprofessional Street Scoundrel

Hook's amazing intuition amazed Li Cheng.

From his perspective, Phillips's disguise was flawless, but Hook somehow sensed something was wrong even though he couldn't see through it, and decisively stopped trying to seduce the cross-dressing man.

Is this what they call... a woman's sixth sense?

I've heard that male ketones can spot other male ketones on the street at a glance. Do female ketones have a similar ability?

Despite this, Hook still sensed something amiss during the handshake, and his expression even betrayed a lewd, middle-aged man-like enjoyment. This suggests that the so-called woman's sixth sense is unreliable—at least the so-called male contact allergy is unreliable; a controlled experiment is definitely in order sometime.

"It's normal not to be interested."

Lost in thought, Li Cheng casually remarked, "There's always a difference between a real person and a portrait. Maybe you just don't like this type of thing—like two pen pals who have been in contact for years, they might not have a good conversation when they meet in person."

"emmm......"

Hook pinched his chin, seemingly somewhat skeptical of the claim.

To interrupt this quick-witted young lady's deep contemplation and prevent her from coming up with any chilling deductions, Li Cheng began to urge her on: "Ahem, Miss Hook, now that you've finally met the real person, it's getting late, why don't you go back and rest?"

"Although my home is large enough to accommodate a young lady overnight, it would not be very good for your reputation."

"That's true."

Hook looked up at the sky outside the window, then glanced at Li Cheng beside him who was starting to force a smile, and nodded slightly in agreement: "Personally speaking, staying overnight in the home of a man living alone is a rather risky thing to do."

Li Cheng's lips twitched: "If you don't mind, I can give Miss Hook a ride."

"This is quite a difficult decision."

Hook murmured under his breath, "Both options seem very dangerous..."

Hey! Putting aside where I'm actually in danger, at least keep your voice down so I can't hear you! And do you think I'm happy to take you home? It's just that I'm worried you'll get knocked out and kidnapped if you go home alone in the dark, ending up on some weird life path!

Despite his words, Hook agreed to Li Cheng's suggestion to escort him the whole way.