(Note: I'm following the Chapter numbering of Qidian. There are two 251 š¤£)
After Fang Mo's encouragement and advice,
Jonathan found his courage again and left with his head held high.
Out of curiosity, Fang Mo chose not to fast-forward time this time but quietly followed along.
However, although Jonathan had regained his confidence, ready to take on Dio again, the truth was Dio no longer wanted to pay him any attention.
This was also one of Dio's schemes.
The dynamics within children's circles can sometimes be quite peculiar. As mentioned before, Dio was very good at acting; deceiving kids of his age was like playing a game for him. So, he quickly became the king of the local kids, spreading rumors that Jonathan was a tattletale and such.
Tattling was one of the things kids hated the most.
So, it wasn't long before everyone started to distance themselves from Jonathan, like a form of postmodern school bullying.
According to Dio's plan, loneliness could hollow out a person, so he would stop at nothing to take everything away from Jonathan.
Whether it was friends, paternal love, or even his pet dog, which was his emotional support, he aimed to isolate Jonathan completely, both spiritually and physically, until Jonathan could no longer bear the torment and would become a dejected waste of life under his own fears.
If Jonathan were to become such a waste,
It would be much easier for Dio to seize the family fortune once he came of age.
After all, George was an easy fool to deceive. A little poison would kill him, and then he could get rid of Jonathan, who would be like waste by then, and completely take over the Joestar family fortune without raising any suspicion.
Just thinking about this scenario made Dio almost too excited to handle.
He even feigned an interest in the study of law, planning to study it further in order to lay a more solid foundation for the legitimate seizure of the family estate.
But Jonathan was in great pain, unlike the ecstatic Dio Brando.
There he was, lying on the grass, holding the Sunlight Stone, practicing and pondering over recent events.
"Damn that bastard Dio..."
Jonathan furrowed his brow and muttered to the sky, "It's like he's constantly invading me. I wanted to confront him, but now he's ignoring me..."
While he was talking, suddenly there was a sound of footsteps on the road above.
Jonathan looked up and saw it was a few youths from the town, with whom he had played before.
"Ah, it's you guys."
Seeing them, Jonathan sat up from the grass and greeted them warmly: "Where are you headed? Want to come and play?"
But upon seeing Jonathan, the youths showed expressions of disgust.
"Hey... that guy seems to be talking to us," said one of the darker-skinned youths, frowning and whispering to his companions: "What should we do? Should we respond?"
"Don't bother with him."
A boy in a pink vest next to him looked at Jonathan with disgust: "This guy loves to snitch the most, he's like this now, and he'll definitely be a tattletale when he grows up..."
"What did you say?"
Hearing this, Jonathan couldn't sit still anymore, he was about to rush up and ask for clarification: "Who did you say is snitching!?"
"Run, he's angry from embarrassment."
Seeing this scene, the others scattered all at once, and while running, they mocked: "Ha ha, snitch Jojo is angry, run, or this idiot will tell everything to the adults!"
"Wait, come back!"
Jonathan tried to defend himself from behind: "I've never snitched on anyone!"
"Ha ha ha! Jojo is a stupid tattletale!" "Right, nobody plays with him!" "He even hits people when he's angry! Shameless, and he claims to be some kind of gentleman noble, it's laughable!"
The group continued running while letting out piercing laughter.
This laughter was like sharp knives, stabbing into Jonathan's nerves one after another.
"Damn it! It must be that guy Dio again!"
Listening to these taunts, Jonathan felt incredibly frustrated and angry, wanting to explain but no one would listen, and telling his father would only lead to being blamed for not being friendly enough.
In this moment, he suddenly felt a profound loneliness and sadness.
Even his beloved dog Danny had been given away by his father, and now Jonathan had no one he could confide in, a feeling that was very uncomfortable. He couldn't help but smash his fist into the ground.
His fist was covered with a faint orange glow, and with a bang, a small pit the size of a bowl was smashed into the ground.
Jonathan slowly lifted his arm and saw that the soil inside had turned slightly red, making a hissing sound, and a wisp of blue smoke drifted up from the pit.
"Huh? What is this..."
Jonathan was also stunned by this scene.
But at this moment, there came a snapping sound from not far above, like someone accidentally stepping on a dry branch.
Jonathan looked up in confusion, only to find a blonde, blue-eyed girl hiding behind a tree with a bamboo basket, which seemed to contain some fruit.
"Huh?"
Jonathan felt that the girl seemed familiar.
However, before he could recognize her, the girl shyly hung the basket on the tree and ran off, lifting her skirt as she turned.
Jonathan walked over in confusion, took down the bamboo basket, and to his surprise, found a clean handkerchief inside, with his own name Jonathan Joestar printed on it.
"Ah... my handkerchief."
Seeing this item, Jonathan immediately remembered.
This girl was also from the town. One day, the local bullies snatched her toy doll. Acting the hero, he charged in to help, but ended up getting beaten up by the gang, losing his handkerchief in the process. Luckily, he managed to retrieve the doll.
"So it's her."
With that thought, Jonathan hurriedly shouted towards the girl's retreating figure: "Thank you for the fruits, I'll be here tomorrow too, let's play together!"
She didn't say anything, just shyly glanced at him, and then ran away.
However, Jonathan did not realize that he liked this kind of quiet girl, and on top of that, she was very beautiful, so he started to feel moved.
What came next was simple.
Currently, Jonathan didn't really have any other friends, a loner, and the girl saw him as her savior.
Back then in Europe, children grew up early, so it didn't take long for the two to start playing together, from amusement parks to street dates, and even water fights in the creek. Of course, during this time, Jonathan also learned her name, Erina Pendleton.
About half a month passed.
Jonathan finally realized that he seemed to have fallen in love with the girl named Erina.
Due to the excitement, Jonathan urgently needed someone to confide in. Clearly, his old-fashioned father wouldn't do, so after thinking, he decided to go find Fang Mo.
"Mr. Steve!"
Jonathan knocked on Fang Mo's door excitedly: "I have something to tell you!"
"You found a girlfriend, didn't you?"
Fang Mo sat on the sofa drinking coffee, looked at Jonathan with his usual expression: "So how far has it progressed? Have you confessed? Is the first kiss still there?"
"Eh?"
Jonathan was momentarily stunned: "Teacher... you, how do you know?"
"Nonsense, I am a master of the art of love," Fang Mo rolled his eyes and said, "From far away I could smell the sour stench of love on you... What, do you need me to give you some tips?"
"A master of love?"
Jonathan looked somewhat puzzled: "But... Mr. Steve doesn't seem to be a flirt, do you have someone you like?"
"Shut up! Shameless thief!"
Fang Mo immediately took offense: "The realm I'm in is not something you can understand, you probably don't even know what to do when a girl has her period, do you? Let me tell you, this is a matter of life and death..."
"Oh?"
Hearing this, Ah Xue, who was busy in the kitchen, also became curious and came out: "Does the master know what to do?"
"Do I even need to say it?"
Fang Mo waved his hand confidently and said: "Of course, tell her to drink more hot water!"
"Master, are... are you sure?"
Ah Xue glanced at Fang Mo, then at Jonathan, who was listening intently, wondering if she should remind him of something: "Is there a possibility that the girl actually just wants him to spend more time with her..."
However, before Ah Xue could finish her sentence, Fang Mo suddenly pulled out a large gold bar.
"Take this hundred-pound gold bar for now, go back and boil some hot water," Fang Mo said indifferently: "If it's not enough, remember to tell me, I have more."
Ah Xue: "..."
Jonathan: "..."
"Have you learned?"
Fang Mo tossed the gold bar aside carelessly, then asked Jonathan: "Girls are actually easy to understand, just learn more from me, and you'll soon be able to shed the title of 'ironclad straight man.'"
"No, Teacher, this I really can't learn."
Jonathan couldn't help but facepalm and said, "Is there no way to do this without gold bars?"
"You're really dense."
Fang Mo looked at Jonathan with a look of frustration as if lamenting his lack of understanding: "Then tell me, how far have you gotten with that girl?"
"I..."
Jonathan chuckled awkwardly twice, then scratched his head and said, "Heh, I want to confess my feelings to her."
"Not bad, quite courageous."
Fang Mo nodded, then asked, "Have you thought about how you're going to confess?"
"I was thinking of carving our names into a tree and then surrounding them with a heart-shaped pattern." Jonathan said, his head lowered, a rare shyness in his demeanor: "If... if Erina doesn't reject me..."
"Are you serious?"
Fang Mo was stunned by this confession method: "You're going to confess by carving names into a tree? You don't plan to give her something like a diamond ring?"
"I... my allowance isn't enough..."
Jonathan said, embarrassed.
"That method is pretty much in keeping with your... well, with your character, but for a confession, it's a bit lame." Fang Mo rubbed his temples, then reached into his chest pocket: "Forget it, let your teacher think of a solution for you."
While speaking, Fang Mo pulled out a necklace from his chest.
As soon as the necklace was revealed, its pure luster immediately caught Jonathan's attention.
"That's beautiful!"
Jonathan couldn't help but exclaim: "Teacher, what is this?"
"This," Fang Mo explained, "is called an Azurite."
"However, this has nothing to do with redstone, and as for why it's called that name... I'm not sure either. Anyway, from now on, this item is the heirloom of the Joestar family, and you'll give it to my daughter-in-law tomorrow."
"Eh? Daugh... daughter-in-law?"
"How could you forget that I am your godfather?" Fang Mo said cheerfully: "Then tell me, as a father, shouldn't I give my full support when my son gets married?"
"But this thing must be very valuable, right?"
Jonathan couldn't help but say.
"Look at the gold next to you, and then repeat what you just said." Fang Mo said: "I've told you, I can perform alchemy, do you think I would lack money?"
"Then, thank you so much! Teacher!"
Jonathan finally couldn't resist the temptation of the Azure Redstone and took it from Fang Mo: "Erina and I will definitely cherish this relationship!"
"Oh, the child's name is Erina, right?"
Fang Mo said: "Tell me her home address later, I'm quite curious to see what she looks like, just to make sure everything is okay for you."
"Erina is a very good person."
Jonathan didn't doubt him and straightforwardly told him everything he knew.
"Mmm, very good."
Fang Mo nodded with satisfaction: "Then you should go back, and prepare for the confession tomorrow, but remember after the successful confession you have to kiss her, otherwise don't blame me for turning my face."
"Kiss!?"
Jonathan's face turned red in an instant: "Teacher, isn't this too soon?"
"Nonsense."
Fang Mo thought to himself that if you don't kiss her soon, Dio will take advantage, but he explained: "I didn't ask you to do anything else, don't you think it's romantic? This is called a confirmation kiss... it's proof of the relationship of love when giving the confirmation gift, it's the vow of growing old together. You should know that we magicians take vows very seriously, understand?"
"Then... I'll try my best..."
Jonathan nodded, seemingly mustering up courage.
"Alright, it's getting late, you should go back." Fang Mo didn't bother to keep him any longer, waved his hand, and sent Jonathan on his way.
However, as soon as Jonathan left, Fang Mo stood up in a flash.
"Let's go, Ah Xue."
Fang Mo excitedly beckoned to Ah Xue: "Come on, let's go have some fun..."
"Master, what are you planning to do now?"
Ah Xue, seeing Fang Mo so impatient, immediately guessed something: "You... you wouldn't be thinking of dealing with Erina, would you?"
"Spit it out, you're talking nonsense."
Fang Mo said; "What do you mean dealing with her? I'm clearly doing this to deal with Dio. Stop nagging... hurry up and come with me to witness the birth of a demigod."
"Demigod?"
Ah Xue was stunned: "Master, what exactly are you going to do?"
"Can't you tell?" Fang Mo smiled as he pulled out an enchanted golden apple and a bunch of essence berries, chuckling: "Of course, it's to turn Erina, the wife of Big Jojo and the grandmother of Little Jojo, into a goddess among men, after all... I'm not a demon.
"I just want to see the scene of Dio forcing a kiss on her."