Rebirth in a Shura Field, but in an Abstract Version

014 This is a logic problem.

Today is Jiang Di's eighteenth birthday. Before this, she was still a minor and could not get tattoos.

On the day she comes of age, theoretically she can get a tattoo.

She decided to tattoo the name of her beloved on her body to express her feelings.

This logic is actually very simple and not difficult to grasp at all. But being able to grasp it doesn't mean you can understand it.

Wang Zhe blurted out, "Why?"

Jiang Di was a little embarrassed. She touched her two index fingers together, lowered her head, and said, "Because I like you. You might not feel it, but I..."

"No, no, no," Wang Zhe couldn't help but interrupt, "I know you like me, but I don't understand why you have to get a tattoo? If you like me, just confess. If you think words aren't enough, then write me a love letter. If you think love letters are too cliché, you can give me anything else, but what's the point of getting a tattoo on yourself?"

Jiang Di looked up at him and said, "Because I think tattoos are the most meaningful and the most lasting."

Wang Zhe: "..."

At this moment, her cousin Huang Xinxin chimed in: "Xiaodi has wanted a tattoo for a long time. She asked me about it before she was even sixteen. My shop had just opened then. I was shocked when she came to ask me because she was a minor. And if I got her a tattoo, how would I explain it to her parents? My dad would definitely break my legs."

Wang Zhe: "And now?"

Huang Xinxin shrugged: "My dad's dead, no one will hit me."

Wang Zhe scratched his head. They really are cousins; in some abstract ways, they are quite similar.

Seeing his strange expression, Huang Xinxin explained, "Actually, I don't want to get Xiaodi tattooed right now. Although she's an adult, eighteen years old, she hasn't taken the college entrance exam yet. This tattoo could potentially have an impact. But she called me the day before yesterday and threatened me, saying that if I don't get her tattooed, she'll cause trouble at my shop..."

Wang Zhe then looked at the threatening and disruptive girl and asked, "Why are you only targeting your cousin's shop and not others?"

Huang Xinxin quickly chimed in, "Yeah, why do you have to ruin my life?"

Jiang Di replied softly, "I don't know where any other tattoo shops are. You're the only tattoo artist I know, sis."

Huang Xinxin couldn't help but scratch her head: "Look, that's how it is. This child is so stubborn, he won't listen no matter what you say."

Wang Zhe complained, "Your cousin lent you her ID card so you could go online, and then you threatened her?"

Huang Xinxin: "Exactly!"

Jiang Di looked aggrieved: "I just want to get two small words tattooed on my face and arms, and nobody will see them. What's the big deal...?"

Huang Xinxin slowly shook her head: "No, you don't know, this is really weird. I didn't know you were going to get your boyfriend's name tattooed before, but now that I do, I have to tell you just how weird this is."

Jiang Di was taken aback: "Impossible?"

Huang Xinxin said, enunciating each word clearly, "Every single couple's name I've tattooed—and I mean every single one—led to a breakup. Boys with their girlfriends' names tattooed on their bodies broke up with them. Girls with their boyfriends' names tattooed on their bodies broke up with them. I've had tons of these kinds of tattoos, and they all ended in breakups, without exception!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Di couldn't help but gasp.

But Wang Zhe thought this was normal.

In modern relationships, breakups and makeups are perfectly normal. He remembered reading statistics that showed a very small percentage of first loves actually lead to marriage. In his previous life, of all the people he knew, he was the only one who actually married his teenage first love.

And they later got divorced.

Regardless of gender, first love often leaves the deepest impression. Many people impulsively tattoo their first love's name on their body, but in the end, it is difficult for them to stay together. So isn't the phenomenon observed by tattoo artists quite normal?

But Wang Zhe certainly wouldn't analyze it from a probability and logic perspective at this moment. Instead, he agreed with Huang Xinxin, saying, "It seems really sinister. You can't get tattoos randomly, the more tattoos you get, the faster you'll break up."

Jiang Di's gaze shifted unpredictably as she was sandwiched between the two loaves of bread. But suddenly, she noticed a detail.

The girl asked, "Sister, are all the people who get tattoos from you couples? I mean, they all want their boyfriend's or girlfriend's name tattooed on their bodies, right?"

Huang Xinxin: "Isn't that obvious!"

Jiang Di smiled slyly: "But Wang Zhe and I aren't a couple yet. Since we're not a couple, we can't possibly break up!"

Huang Xinxin was stunned: "Huh? But you guys..."

Jiang Di laughed and said, "It'll be different if he becomes my boyfriend after I get the tattoo. Because he's not my boyfriend when I get the tattoo, so he won't be able to curse me. Sis, don't you think that's right?"

Hearing her say that, Wang Zhe was also taken aback.

Good grief, she's actually looking for bugs?

Couples with tattoos often break up, so if someone gets tattoos first and then becomes a couple, then that becomes an exception...

What if this is a logic problem?

And judging from the situation, this girl really wants to get a tattoo. But just thinking about his name being written on someone else's body makes Wang Zhe feel a chill down his spine.

Fortunately, he reacted quickly.

Wang Zhe immediately grabbed Jiang Di's hand and asked, "Are you confessing your feelings to me?"

Jiang Di was taken aback: "What?"

Wang Zhe: "I'm asking, you brought me here today, and now you're going to tattoo my name on your body and let me see it in front of you. Isn't that a way of confessing your feelings to me?"

The girl nodded shyly.

Wang Zhe immediately replied, "Okay, I agree."

Jiang Di hadn't even reacted yet: "What?"

Wang Zhe emphasized, "I said, I agree, so from now on, I'm your boyfriend. If you get a tattoo, especially one with my name, then we're breaking up. If we break up, we can't even be friends. Have you thought it through?"

Jiang Di stared straight at him, her little mouth trembling, almost on the verge of tears.

Wang Zhe hugged her.

In an instant, the overwhelming joy of being embraced by her beloved washed away the frustration of her plans falling apart, leaving the girl with a rather complex expression.

Huang Xinxin, who was watching from the sidelines, clapped her hands and said, "Great! True love prevails in the end! A happy ending for all!"

Jiang Di murmured, "So, we're already..."

"Yes, you're already a couple. So, do you still want to get a tattoo?"

Just because we're a couple now doesn't mean we will be forever. Besides, he's going to university in Shanghai or Hong Kong in two months, so for now, we should focus on keeping this silly girl happy.

Wang Zhe released the girl from his arms and looked at her blushing face.

However, after hesitating for a moment, Jiang Di suddenly blurted out, "But we're already here."

Wang Zhe couldn't help but put his hand to his forehead.

The next moment, Jiang Di continued, "But I'm not getting my name tattooed anymore, sis, can I get a mole tattooed instead?"

Huang Xinxin was stunned: "It's just getting a dot tattoo?"

Jiang Di nodded, then looked at Wang Zhe and asked, "If you wanted a beauty mark on my body, where would you like it placed?"

Wang Zhe: "Aren't beauty marks usually on the face?"

Jiang Di: "It doesn't have to be a beauty mark, just one. Where do you want it on my body? I'll do whatever you say. Besides my cousin, this is the only one you know about..."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.