[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-an-improper-monster-girl-s-transformation-diary":3,"chapter-an-improper-monster-girl-s-transformation-diary-an-improper-monster-girl-s-transformation-diary-chapter-23":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","An Improper Monster Girl's Transformation Diary",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2311952,4517,"Chapter 23: This Craftsmanship? Truly Excellent! (Please Follow!)","an-improper-monster-girl-s-transformation-diary-chapter-23",23,"\u003Cp>What is “tsundere”?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What does “retire the environment” mean?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What is he talking about?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Valentina blinked, confused, her face radiating pure innocence untouched by knowledge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lately, she had begun to wonder if she’d been locked up too long—whether she’d lost the ability to understand the outside world’s language.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Hungry Dragon was baffled, Herbert asked: “Customer, do you have a preferred hairstyle? Longer or shorter?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Valentina’s lips twitched. “Whatever.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“‘Whatever’? People who say that are the hardest to please.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The barber, Master He, smirked, reluctantly picking up the scissors and muttering: “Since you said that, don’t come crying later.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once you enter this door, you no longer get to choose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shop bears no responsibility for any consequences!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Snip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a faint sound of blades grinding and pressing, flame-colored strands gently fell away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Herbert had issued a disclaimer beforehand, he wasn’t some idiot who rushed in without preparation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the duke’s second son, Herbert didn’t know haircuts—but the poor soul who’d struggled alone in his past life knew scissors well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His skill wasn’t great, but cutting his own hair and his friends’ was more than enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scissors flew behind Valentina as she nibbled slowly on her last chicken leg.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After last time’s lesson, she’d learned to pace herself—no longer gulping everything down at once, instead savoring the process quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not long after, just as Valentina was about to shove the cleaned bone into her mouth to crunch it, her shoulder was gently tapped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m not sharing this!” she snapped back, then bit and swallowed the bone whole.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Snip-snip. Gulp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Herbert: ???\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who’d even want to steal that from you?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sighed wearily, waving his hand. “Turn around. I’ll trim the front too.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching the overly obedient Dragon Lady, Herbert couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow—and for a moment, he couldn’t resist the urge, pressing his hand to the top of her head and ruffling it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hm?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Valentina looked up, puzzled, her eyes conveying confusion—and a threat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What are you doing?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this life-or-death moment, Herbert seemed to enter a special state.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this instant, he understood perfectly what he must do—and what he absolutely must not do!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His expression unchanged, he kept rubbing, saying seriously: “...Don’t speak. I’m thinking about how to cut.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Valentina instinctively felt something was off, studying his eyes closely—but found no flaw, and finally just murmured, “Oh.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh... hmm?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thump-thump-thump.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their distance was so close that Valentina could clearly hear the boy’s rapid, strong heartbeat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hey, why is your heartbeat so fast?” Valentina narrowed her eyes. “What are you afraid of?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The flaw was exposed. Everything seemed over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Herbert remained calm, even a little irritable. “I’m afraid I’ll cut it badly and you’ll get mad at me again... Alright, don’t move. It’s almost done.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Snip-snip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With two final, clean swipes of the scissors, Herbert completed his masterpiece.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stood back a few steps, squinted, then nodded in satisfaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmm, good. My craftsmanship is truly excellent!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just as I thought—you suit this look perfectly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Valentina stared at Herbert’s strange smile, a chill running down her spine. “Hey! Don’t just stand there grinning—speak! What do I look like now?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t rush, don’t rush—I’ll show you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Herbert pulled out the mirror he’d prepared and placed it before the Dragon Lady, smugly announcing: “Ta-da—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Valentina had been about to snatch the mirror away—but the moment she saw her reflection, her expression froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Valentina before her was no longer the ragged vagrant she’d been. All traces of mess and wildness were gone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her medium-length red hair cascaded down her back, with a few loose strands falling over her forehead—wild yet softened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A beauty this radiant yet bold would draw stunned glances on any street.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether she’d “cut men” was debatable—but she’d almost certainly “cut women.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Post a video online, and little sisters would either beg to call her “big sister” or fight to call her “mom.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is this... me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Valentina shook her head slowly, murmuring in disbelief: “Is this really me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She’d seen her human form before—she didn’t dislike it, but she’d never loved it as much as her dragon form.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She’d always believed she preferred the majestic, powerful dragon shape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, looking at herself in the mirror, her conviction wavered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course it’s you. And this is your true form.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No makeup, no special effects—how could this not be your true form?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Herbert handed her the mirror, smiling. “Keep the mirror. It’s a gift for your cooperation. You can look at yourself in it every day, admire your beauty.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah... hmm.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Valentina took it dazedly, her gaze fixed on her reflection, motionless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Herbert seized the moment to gather all the cut hair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Perfect. Got the materials!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suppressing his excitement, Herbert didn’t lower his guard. He picked up a damp towel and walked toward Valentina.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright, admire later—I’ll wipe the hair off your face first.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You don’t half-ass a performance—not when the finale’s at stake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Valentina blinked, startled, then instinctively refused: “No, I can do it myself...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hair? Just burn it off with fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why go through all this trouble?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Valentina tried to pull away—but Herbert wouldn’t let her go. He thrust the wrung-out towel right in front of her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Stop fussing. Close your eyes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You—ugh!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cool towel pressed firmly against her face, then rubbed in circles, up and down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>↑→↓←\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His technique wasn’t gentle—bordering on rough—but the Dragon Lady didn’t flinch. She was unusually cooperative.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>→→↓←→↓\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because this was the first time anyone had cared for her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She kept her eyes shut, silently whispering a name in her heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Herbert...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After finishing Valentina’s haircut, Herbert didn’t proceed to the next area. He left the prison with the hair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Better to handle these tricky materials first—wash them at least—since they’d be going into his mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, to avoid awkward encounters, Herbert avoided the kitchen. Instead, he headed to the monastery’s most remote well for water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But before he could reach it, the familiar scent hit him—and his expression changed instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Shit...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why does this keep happening to me?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His face darkened as he stared at the carp by the well, one thought echoing endlessly in his mind—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Bro, your craftsmanship? You’re really playing it right...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thank you to the faceless instant noodles for the donation—thank you, boss!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Please follow for more!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This cold is so awful—cough cough cough cough (trying to transmit this digitally to you)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1072,"2026-06-20T12:31:06.198Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","70c26b754e9af051943590fbf57f43e1dfc925e46aa056cc4090706e458fd91c","an-improper-monster-girl-s-transformation-diary-chapter-24","an-improper-monster-girl-s-transformation-diary-chapter-22",453,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fan-improper-monster-girl-s-transformation-diary-cover.jpg"]