Chapter 217: Jenna's Worry

As soon as Jenna finished describing where she learned acting, she felt the living room become extremely quiet. Whether it was Fors or Lu Mian, the gazes they directed at her carried some indescribable meaning. The waiter named Charlie, in particular, couldn't control the changes in his expression or his body's reaction; he visibly shrank back, his eyes filled with fear.

"Is there... a problem?" Jenna asked, not feeling very confident.

At this moment, Lu Mian took out a gold louis and flicked it toward Jenna's feet with a *clink*, his eyes fixed on her every move, including the subtle changes in her expression.

"Damn it! What's your meaning?" Jenna looked down at the gold louis in a daze, then angrily questioned Lu Mian.

Lu Mian's expression returned to normal. He turned his head and said to Fors with a smile:

"Not a 'miser'."

"Obviously!" Fors responded, feeling both annoyed and amused. "We meet often. Although she's a bit frugal, she's definitely not a 'miser'. Besides, she hasn't shown any traits of a 'sex addict', and her acting isn't that great either."

Halfway through, Fors unconsciously showed a hint of regret.

"What on earth are you two talking about?" Jenna was completely bewildered, forgetting even to use foul language.

"You explain it," Lu Mian said to Fors.

Fors stood up and tried to squeeze onto the same armchair as Jenna, but Jenna felt it was too crowded and chose the single sofa, placing the pile of normal clothes she was holding on her lap.

"Do you remember that pervert named Hedesy?" Fors sat back in the armchair, looking slightly disappointed.

Jenna answered without hesitation:

"I remember. Tmd, he died too easily!"

Not easily anymore... Lu Mian recalled the miserable state of Hedesy's lower body and muttered silently.

Using this as an opening, Fors talked about the Bliss Society, about the few sequences belonging to the evil god "Mother Tree of Desire," about the relationship between the Bliss Society and the Old Pigeon Cage, and about the various matters concerning True Aif, Lentas, Maip Meier, and Susanna Mattise.

Jenna, whose occult knowledge all came from Fors, became more shocked the more she listened, as if someone had opened the door to a new world for her, revealing a "landscape" completely different from what she had known before—a festering, hideous, terrifying, and disgusting "landscape."

When Fors finished speaking, she blurted out:

"Did that pervert have his eye on me back at the Old Pigeon Cage?"

Since Hedesy was a peripheral member of the Bliss Society and a subordinate of theater manager Maip Meier, he must have frequently and secretly entered and exited the Old Pigeon Cage.

Jenna suspected that the pervert had likely often hidden in dark corners, watching her and other female acting apprentices during class.

"It's possible." Fors also felt this better explained why the pervert Hedesy didn't choose other female underground singers and instead risked drugging Jenna.

Although Jenna was indeed good-looking, and after learning acting and makeup techniques at the Old Pigeon Cage for a while, she was slowly able to master the identity of an underground singer, allowing her own charm to manifest more and more, she was after all not a "Witch" yet and didn't have that much allure. Furthermore, there was no lack of female underground singers in the Market District who were more open and better at inciting the desires of men at the bottom of society, and they didn't have the identity of being a "Red Boots" mistress.

Jenna then looked at Lu Mian, ground her teeth, and said:

"You suspected I was a believer of the 'Mother Tree of Desire' just now, so you used a gold louis to test me?

"Isn't that too stingy? It should have been at least ten gold louis!"

Lu Mian laughed:

"I suddenly realized that since I've known you, you've never praised any orthodox god. To this day, I don't know if you believe in the 'Eternal Blazing Sun' or the 'God of Steam and Machinery'. It's very suspicious."

Jenna laughed "Hehe":

"Most of the time when I meet you, I'm dressed like this, wearing smoky makeup that represents depravity, singing 'My dear, he really knows how to use his fingers.' If I were to praise the sun in this state, I suspect the god would burn me to death."

As she spoke, she pointed to her chest, which revealed a large expanse of snow-white skin and an alluring cleavage.

Without waiting for Lu Mian to respond, she pointed at Fors again:

"Fors never praises any god either. Why don't you suspect her?"

"Who says so?" Fors drew the triangular holy emblem on her chest with a solemn face. "Steam be above!"

Your acting is very average... Aurora was like this too; she basically never mentioned faith and didn't attend mass often, only praising the sun when questioned by others... Lu Mian followed suit and drew the triangular holy emblem:

"Steam be above!"

Infected by their behavior, Charlie subconsciously spread his arms:

"Praise the Sun!"

This brought about an unspeakable silence; it seemed no one knew how to continue this topic.

After several seconds, Lu Mian said to Jenna:

"So your true identity is an acting apprentice."

Jenna immediately felt a bit proud, slightly raising her chin:

"So, am I qualified to evaluate your acting?

"Also, I'm really not a low-quality female hooligan who swears all the time. I was just performing the state a female underground singer should have. How about it? Was the performance very real? Could you tell there was any problem at all?"

"No wonder I occasionally felt you had some culture." Lu Mian acknowledged Jenna's statement in a mocking way.

"What do you mean 'some'?" Jenna expressed her dissatisfaction.

Charlie's gaze shifted between the two faces, then he couldn't help but look at Fors, who was sitting in the armchair.

Fors pursed her lips, watching Lu Mian and Jenna communicating in a contentious manner.

Lu Mian ignored Jenna's boasting and turned to say:

"Let's talk about the Old Pigeon Cage."

Jenna recalled for a few seconds, suddenly froze, and blurted out:

"Damn it! My tuition!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she saw everyone's gaze turn toward her, all looking a bit strange.

Jenna hurriedly explained:

"Didn't you say Maip Meier might run away with members of the Bliss Society? Will the Old Pigeon Cage go bankrupt? Damn it, those dog-shit cultists, I've already paid a full year's tuition! Tmd, I must go and get it back!"

When Jenna calmed down a bit, Lu Mian twitched the corner of his mouth and said:

"Didn't you say that swearing and being low-quality was just acting?"

"..." Jenna was speechless at first, then forcibly defended herself, "I'm underground singer Jenna now! I'm still in this role, haven't pulled out of it yet..."

Seeing Lu Mian's look of disbelief, Jenna became angry from embarrassment:

"Damn it, do you understand? This is called getting into character!"

"Yes, yes, yes." Fors echoed Jenna, trying hard to change the subject. "The Old Pigeon Cage has a large group of regular patrons and many good drama actors. Even if the theater manager and two or three leads run away, it won't go bankrupt. At most, because the cash was taken away, it will have a difficult time for a while. I think there are plenty of people willing to take over such a high-quality asset. Oh, by the way, who is the owner of the Old Pigeon Cage?"

Jenna recalled for a moment and said:

"It's Maip Meier himself."

"I see..." Lu Mian looked at Fors. "If Maip Meier really wants to abscond, we can take over the Old Pigeon Cage at a very low price. Aren't there many dancers and some singers controlled by Brignier who don't want to sell their bodies? Just let them go to the theater to earn money."

"That would mean facing fierce competition." Fors responded thoughtfully. "If it really happens, it's indeed a path. The problem is how to convince Brignier... Haha, tell him stories, paint him a big picture, tell him that no matter how much you exploit a singer who moonlights as a streetwalker, they can only earn that little bit of money, while a famous drama actor controlled by our Savages can provide much, much more in return."

Charlie's gaze shifted between Lu Mian and Fors's faces, then he couldn't help but look at Jenna, who was sitting on the single sofa.

After communicating with Lu Mian for a while, Fors said to Jenna:

"Don't worry, your tuition won't be paid in vain."

Jenna, who had listened carefully to their discussion, breathed a sigh of relief and muttered:

"The tuition for the Old Pigeon Cage isn't cheap at all."

Fors brought the topic back on track:

"What impression do you have of those people at the Old Pigeon Cage? Who do you think is worth suspecting?"

Jenna thought while saying:

"Maip Meier likes to watch when we have acting classes. His eyes are a bit lecherous, but he has never harassed anyone. Aren't many men like that? Hmm, maybe some apprentices develop relationships with him in private; after all, he is the owner and manager of the theater...

"Lentas's acting is really great. He is the most professional and outstanding among all the acting teachers. Every character he plays in a drama seems to have its own life, and they are all completely different from each other..."

Speaking of this, Jenna was clearly a bit envious, seemingly wanting to obtain the ability of an "actor." But thinking of Hedesy's perverted appearance and Susanna Mattise's current state, she felt a wave of fear and didn't dare to fantasize.

"I haven't seen that Aif you mentioned much. Maybe he only comes when rehearsing certain plays...

"I'm not very familiar with Charlotte. When I entered the Old Pigeon Cage, she had already started as the female lead, but she is my role model. Her acting is a bit worse than Lentas's. I'm not sure if she is an 'actor'. Damn it, this is very hard to judge..."

Jenna tried hard to control herself for a long time, but finally let out a curse.

"The other acting teachers probably aren't 'actors'. Their acting is quite a bit worse than Lentas's. They also often praise me, saying I have acting talent. Although I can't compare to Lentas or the few who were female leads at the Old Pigeon Cage before, I can compare to Charlotte when she was still an acting apprentice..." Jenna stopped suddenly while speaking.

"What's wrong?" Fors asked with concern.

Charlie's gaze shifted between Fors and Jenna's faces, then he couldn't help but look at Charles, who was sitting beside him.

Jenna frowned and said:

"Official Beyonders will conduct an in-depth investigation of the Old Pigeon Cage tomorrow. What, what should I do?"

She was a wild Beyonder, an "Assassin."

"Give up the Old Pigeon Cage and go to another theater?" Lu Mian tried to suggest.

The money issue was the least important one.

Jenna pursed her lips, her expression sagging a bit:

"But, but I used my real identity at the Old Pigeon Cage. My mother, my brother, what will happen to them..."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 218 =====