“I remember, he went off to live in seclusion, searching for the second peak of his life, and outright refused any interviews with the media. I had the questions and draft ready, made so many phone calls, asked many people to intercede, but to no avail,” Hu Yue complained, then raised his eyebrows, “What? Did the Qingmei Biennale bring him out of seclusion?”
“Yes, his four students’ paintings all made it into the top ten. He personally accompanied his disciples to the award ceremony and will stay in Beijing for a few days, touring with his students for fieldwork and participating in museum visits and other events organized by the Tsinghua Academy of Fine Arts competition.”
“But if you want to get the material for the magazine earlier, it’s better to go tomorrow.”
“I wonder what state this once glorious master is in after years of seclusion, whether his students can reflect his level, and whether it’s possible for them to surpass their master…”
The more the boss spoke, the more intrigued Hu Yue became.
“I’ll go tomorrow, and I’ll invite our special photographer. I’ll draft the questions and the article tonight. Postponing the next issue’s theme by a month should be fine… Why are you only telling me now? Why don’t you just tell me tomorrow night instead?” Hu Yue scratched his head, facing another all-nighter!
“Ah, the person from Tsinghua Academy of Fine Arts who contacted me before didn’t mention Master Shen Jiaru. I thought it would be fine for Xiao Zhang or someone else to just go. It was only today when they called me to inform me of the details that I learned about this. Alright, you go on with your work, I won’t disturb you any longer. I’ll add a bonus for your overtime later,” said the president as he waved his hand and walked away.
Being the boss is great, you can just call it a day and delegate everything to the highly paid talent.
Talent really is the most wonderful treasure of the twenty-first century.
“…” Hu Yue sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose as he took a sip of his tea.
The tea had gone cold and bland.
He decided to get up and make a strong cup of tea, preparing himself for an all-nighter.
He dug out something he had written years ago, pondered for a long time, and after looking up a lot of information, he finally started writing.
Once he got into his work, his enthusiasm was gradually roused, and his fatigue and sleepiness began to dissipate.
At last, this oil painting master whom he had always wanted to interview and understand, was finally within his reach!
…
…
At night, after all the children had returned to their rooms, Zhao Xiaolei brought a bunch of things Shen Jiaru had bought today to his room.
Shen Jiaru stretched his arms and turned to ask Zhao Xiaolei:
“Your school must be on winter break now, right?”
“Yes, so I didn’t even need to ask for leave to come out with the teacher,” Zhao Xiaolei replied as he boiled some water for Shen Jiaru, preparing to leave.
“By the way, didn’t the kids ask each other about their rankings, or ask you who got first, second, or third place in this competition?” Shen Jiaru suddenly remembered.
“…No,” Zhao Xiaolei recalled and then affirmed.
“It’s just as well that Lu Yunfei didn’t ask; he’s always quiet and a bit slow to react. But how come the other three are also being so honest…” Shen Jiaru furrowed his brows.
“…” After thinking for a moment, Zhao Xiaolei said, “Maybe for them, knowing their own rankings is enough. Maybe who their competitors are doesn’t matter at all.”
“?” Shen Jiaru raised an eyebrow, then recalling his four extremely self-centered students, he suddenly shook his head and chuckled bitterly.
Perhaps Zhao Xiaolei really hit the nail on the head.
…
…
Finally, the 8th arrived, and at 7 o’clock, Zhao Xiaolei went knocking on doors to wake everyone up.
Hua Jie pulled out a set of new clothes from her suitcase that she had originally planned to wear for the New Year—
The top was a black fabric shirt with 3/4 batwing sleeves, decorated with four small cloud-riding kittens embroidered on the right half.
The bottom was a modified skirt with a black base, adorned with indigo, dark gold, and other colors in a deer cloud celestial pattern. A long black belt wrapped around and hung down, adding a touch of elegance even without accessories like jade pendants.
On her feet, she wore versatile leather boots given by Shen Mo, and her hair was styled in a half-up, half-down bun.
Even without makeup, the youthful and tender girl needed no embellishments to highlight her natural, delicate beauty.
As she came out of the bathroom, even Fang Shaojun, who lived with her but rarely spoke to her, was taken aback, her gaze following Hua Jie, unable to look away.
No girl can resist beautiful clothes, especially such dreamily modified, traditional-style outfits.
Beautiful and unique, the outfit was almost too striking.
Hua Jie met Fang Shaojun’s admiring and mesmerized gaze, smiling shyly in a friendly manner.
It was then that Fang Shaojun realized she had been staring and blushed uncomfortably, turning her gaze away. The silence was awkward, so she could only say dryly:
“The dress is pretty.”
Hua Jie beamed a brilliant smile, playfully responding:
“The person wearing it isn’t bad either, right?”
“…” Fang Shaojun was taken aback. Being proud and not very sociable, she had few friends and was rarely joked with. She didn’t know how to respond.
After a moment of silence, just when Hua Jie thought she wouldn’t reply at all, Fang Shaojun finally spoke up reluctantly:
“It’s okay, the hairstyle is nice.”
“Pfft.” Hua Jie couldn’t help but laugh at Fang Shaojun’s loss for words. Seeing Fang’s offended expression, she quickly composed herself and said earnestly:
“Thank you.”
Fang Shaojun then calmed down, but her pursed lips showed she had no interest in continuing such a trivial conversation.
Hua Jie tactfully remained silent, and the two of them left their room one after the other, just as Qian Chong and Lu Yunfei were coming out of the neighboring room.
“Yo,” Qian Chong raised an eyebrow, saying unguardedly, “Dressed up all nice and proper.”
“Can you give a compliment? If not, shut it,” Hua Jie retorted without any politeness.
“Haha,” laughed Qian Chong, who was also dressed up today in a white casual shirt under a gray diamond-patterned V-neck sweater, paired with black trousers, looking much more handsome than usual.
He straightened his back and, after a glance at the similarly dressed Lu Yunfei and Fang Shaojun, turned to ask Shen Jiaru:
“Teacher, did you choose disciples based on their looks?”
“The other three, yes, but you were chosen for your talent,” Shen Jiaru joked as he looked over his four students, clearly in a good mood.
“Haha, I’m so talented—wait, are you implying I’m ugly?” Qian Chong started to feel proud, then suddenly realized the implication.
“Hahaha…”
“Pfft!”
Everyone was amused and still smiling as they entered the elevator.
In the hotel restaurant, Shen Jiaru encountered many acquaintances, all painters and professors from various prestigious schools, arranged by the Tsinghua Academy of Fine Arts competition organizers to stay there.
Inevitable small talk and networking made Shen Jiaru’s breakfast rather restless.
Whenever these people saw Fang Shaojun and the other three students, they invariably praised not only their artistic skills but also their good looks.
Comments like “a great teacher produces outstanding students” were so frequent that the kids’ ears could have developed calluses.
Although Qian Chong behaved and followed the teacher like the other three, when no one was looking, he couldn’t help but show a look of discomfort and impatience.
After breakfast at 8:30, Wang Jian personally came with a fleet of cars to pick them up.
Shen Jiaru declined to join the group, not wanting to engage in trivial conversations with them. He had Zhao Xiaolei hire a seven-seater car specifically for transporting them around the capital during their stay.
On the road, Hua Jie felt nervous for the first time since arriving in Beijing.
She had never attended such an event before. What would it be like? Would there be many people? Would she need to say anything? Would she meet many well-known artists?
Her hands clenched together as she tried to take deep breaths to calm herself. Just then, her phone in her small bag vibrated.
Turning her head and seeing that Fang Shaojun and the others were resting with their eyes closed, she took out her phone and clicked on the small envelope icon. A message popped up:
【During the award ceremony, keep your back straight, chin up, smile modestly, and don’t show your teeth. There will definitely be lots of people taking photos today, so make sure to leave a good picture behind. Otherwise, if you become a famous painter later, people looking up your first public appearance will only find a bunch of silly black history.】
Hua Jie bit her lower lip. Would there really be a lot of media taking photos and writing articles for magazines?
She became even more nervous.
【What if I forget to check and end up showing my teeth when I laugh?】 She forgot to practice smiling in the mirror before leaving the house.
The reply came instantly:
【…】
Followed by another message:
【Alright, don’t be nervous. If you end up laughing foolishly, we could draft articles like ‘Every Genius Must Have a Flaw’ or ‘The Naive Genius Painter Hua Jie’s Past and Present’—those would certainly catch people’s attention.】
Hua Jie rolled her eyes at the message:
“…”
【Can’t you come up with nicer titles?】
【How about ‘The Flip Side of Genius is Foolishness’?】 Shen Mo.
【That’s terrible! Shen Mo is running out of talent, totally hopeless!】 Hua Jie.
【Then let’s go with ‘Only those who can laugh so purely can paint such brilliant masterpieces!’ Men must excel.】
【That’s more like it. Please write an 800-word article with that title and submit it to the magazine.】 Hua Jie grinned mischievously.
【Do I even need to write it? Once you step up to receive your award, countless magazines will rush to write pieces like ‘Genius Young Painter Makes a Brilliant Debut and Wins Silver,’ ‘Silver Medalist Hua Jie, Who Embodies Beauty, Wisdom, and Talent,’ and ‘Shocking! The Contest’s Runner-Up is…,’ ‘The Underage Prodigy of the Art World Becomes Famous Overnight.’ Wow, the whole world will be filled with news about the mysterious young girl Hua Jie, and for a while, everyone will be talking about, longing for, and envying her!】
Shen Mo’s lengthy reply was split into two messages.
Hua Jie, trying not to laugh, held her phone with a grin she couldn’t close.
【Then how about a couple more articles like ‘How is the Genius Girl Still a Top Student? Unveiling Her Great Mentor, Shen Mo!’ or ‘The Mysterious, Handsome Young Model of the Genius Painter: Shen Mo!’ What do you think?】 She typed rapidly, now quite familiar with her phone.
【Um, let’s not. I prefer to keep the mystery.】 Shen Mo.
【Hahaha, that’s so you!】Hua Jie.
【By the way, your mom said Huanhuan might be pregnant.】 Shen Mo suddenly changed the topic.
【Wow! Really? Who’s the father?】 She raised her eyebrows, excitedly asking.
【I don’t know. Your mom said it might be Da Huang from the front street, or Xiao Hei from the back street, or it could be stray dogs a, b, c—the dad is a mystery.】 Shen Mo.
【What a name, Xiao Hei, haha, sounds like a band name.】Hua Jie.
【There’s no band with such a tacky name.】 Shen Mo.
【By March, I’ll have a litter of puppies to play with.】 Hua Jie couldn’t help but look forward to it.
【Yeah, let’s build a big doghouse for Huanhuan and its babies together. I’ve been learning carpentry from your dad these past few days, I’m almost a master. Building a doghouse will be no problem.】Shen Mo.
【Great, I’ll design the blueprint for the doghouse.】 Hua Jie.
【The bus is almost here, let’s stop chatting for now.】 Hua Jie.
【Yeah, don’t be nervous, it’s just a small contest. Just treat it like you’re taking artistic photos, and smile at the camera. Just like how you stand on the stage during a parent-teacher meeting and talk about study methods, that’s how you should face those artists and assorted guests today.】 Shen Mo.
Hua Jie chuckled, turning distinguished guests into ‘assorted’ ones in Shen Mo’s description.
She wanted to reply to Shen Mo, but the car suddenly slowed down and stopped. She turned to look outside and saw they had already pulled into the garage.
She put her phone in her purse, smoothed her hair, took a deep breath, then raised her head, puffed out her chest, and tried to exit the car gracefully, stepping out and bending over.
Getting out of the car.