“Especially since you switched from gouache to watercolor just two or three months ago. The others competing against you have been deeply engaged in one style of painting for over a decade.”
“Hua Jie, you always seem a bit silly, but on a national scale, you’re quite impressive.”
Shen Mo spoke calmly, as if discussing something perfectly ordinary.
But leaning against the window, with her stomach against the heater, the young girl had silently started to cry.
She didn’t know why, but his words suddenly touched a part of her past she hadn’t thought about for a long time, and she couldn’t hold back her tears.
In her previous life, she had never been involved with the traditional art circles. Back then, her only concern was making a living.
The path taken by traditional art circles is completely different from commercial illustration, online drawing tutorials, graphic design, and logo design.
One is the pursuit of pure art direction, focusing on selling art and seeking breakthroughs in painting throughout one’s life.
The other is more like a carpenter or technician who has mastered a skill; although this skill may seem romantic, it’s essentially just a job.
In that life, she hadn’t established a personal style, hadn’t become a well-known illustrator or designer; she just muddled through.
She had never even considered that living another life, she would take a completely different path.
Such pure dedication to painting, following Shen Jiaru on a path of competing in contests, participating in exhibitions, and selling paintings.
She was actually… living a life she never dared to dream of.
Now she was only 15 years old; in her past life, she was still confusedly studying, worried about not getting into college.
And now, she was in Beijing, just having participated in a national competition where she won second place, and she was about to be invited by the Qingmei Biennale organization to visit museums, Confucian temples, and climb the Great Wall…
Envied, respected, recognized.
“Are you crying?” Shen Mo’s voice suddenly came through again, sounding a bit surprised.
“Yeah, you praised me too well, I couldn’t help but take it seriously. You’ve really moved me, you know?” She laughed through her sobs.
“…What I said was true.” His tone suddenly became very solemn, his voice deep, as if he were making a declaration.
Hearing her hoarse voice, he suddenly felt warm.
He had made her cry… Why did he feel a bit pleased?
And, he kind of wanted to see her, wanted to see her looking miserable and crying.
“Do I really deserve the praise you gave? I’m just too lucky.” She pressed her lips together.
Originally, she was just an ordinary girl, fortunate to have another chance to start over, fortunate to have mustered the courage to step out of her secluded world, fortunate to have secured a seat next to him, fortunate to have been accepted as a disciple by Teacher Shen during his secretive retreat.
Like a butterfly flapping its wings, one stroke of luck led to many others.
“Luck played a part, sure, meeting a good desk-mate like me who tutors you every day. And having a dad who can paint, able to give you a little help. But if you weren’t smart yourself, if you didn’t have some skills of your own, people as opportunistic as my dad and I wouldn’t bother with you.” Shen Mo teased:
“We only care for geniuses.”
“Pfft.” Hua Jie held her slightly warm phone, wiped the moisture from the corner of her eyes, “I must be a child of destiny then, the kind that shines as soon as I stand before you.
“The typically indifferent Shen Mo instantly bows in homage.”
“Are you going to start calling me ‘Dad’ again?” Shen Mo threatened.
“Hahaha, calling you ‘Dad’ is definitely not happening, not in this lifetime! Please be a decent person and don’t pick on an honest person like me.”
“Are you silly? Crying one moment and laughing the next?” he asked.
“Since no one sees, I can cry if I want to, laugh if I want to.”
“Do I not count as someone?”
“Have I not embarrassed myself enough in front of you? What’s the harm in you having a laugh at my expense?” Hua Jie said proudly, tilting her chin up.
“…” Shen Mo smacked his lips.
He felt like her words were meant to praise him, but they somehow didn’t sit right.
Can’t she act a bit shy around him?
So unabashed, how is she so much like a good buddy?
Just as he was about to say something critical, a soft voice suddenly came through the phone:
“Shen Mo, thank you for recognizing me so much. It’s rare in life to find a true friend, and from today onward, I hereby declare you my confidant.”
“Happy? Don’t feel inferior, I think you’re quite fit to be my confidant, yes.”
“Pfft.” The young man’s mood suddenly improved, leaning against the desk with his legs crossed, his toes tapping the wooden floor unconsciously, making a tapping sound.
“What are you doing tomorrow?” Shen Mo asked.
“Tomorrow, I’m going to the museum to gather inspiration and maybe do some sketching there,” Hua Jie replied.
“Mm, try to sell another painting tomorrow,” he suggested.
“Stop dreaming, how can you sell paintings every day? If that were the case, I’d be rich,” Hua Jie laughed heartily.
“Go to sleep early, you must be exhausted from today, and tomorrow you have to run around all day again,” he said.
“Mm, what are you doing tomorrow?”
“I’m going to school, tomorrow they announce the grades, you’ve been having so much fun you forgot you just finished your final exams and haven’t gotten your grades yet?”
“Ah… I actually forgot. Then tomorrow night I’ll call you to ask about my rank. Ah… I hope it’s good, otherwise how will I get through this winter break…”
“Now you start to worry, isn’t that a bit negligent?”
“What can I do? I’ve met so many people these past few days, it’s been dizzying just trying to remember them all, to avoid the embarrassment of not being able to call them by name. My head is about to explode, plus there’s painting and attending all kinds of events, I had no time to think about final exams.”
“Don’t worry, tomorrow I’ll go get my report card and winter break homework, and you can just keep enjoying your trip.”
“Mind your words, I am working right now, not playing! Diligent Hua Jie at work!”
“Are you going to hang up or not?”
“You were the one who brought up the topic of final exams.”
“You asked me what I’m doing tomorrow, that’s why I mentioned the final exams.”
“…Is that so?”
“Hang up, hang up, bye bye.” Shen Mo started to rush her off the phone.
Hua Jie quickly said goodnight and hung up the phone.
“Beep… beep…” Shen Mo listened to the sound from the phone and frowned.
She really did hang up immediately…
Hua Jie tucked away her phone and skipped back to her room, where Fang Shaojun had already finished washing up. She greeted her with a beaming smile before happily diving into bed.
Fang Shaojun glanced at Hua Jie’s expression, seriously suspecting that Hua Jie had just been up to no good outside.
Why else would someone smile so mischievously unless they were up to something?
…
That night, just before the deadline for the October 10th magazine issue, they managed to finalize the front-page article, layout the photos, and proofread, ensuring the proof was error-free and ready for publication on time.
Hu Yue sighed in relief, leaning against the wall and wiping sweat, it had been a long time since it was this hectic right before publication.
Securing the first article on the Qingmei Biennale was not easy.
Just one or two days delay would mean waiting another month.
“Hu…” Hu Yue twisted his neck, thinking about having a cigarette, then walked out of the printing shop.
The boss of “Visual 111,” who had stayed to approve the front page and review the issue, was also working overtime and was currently smoking with the photographer Wang Qi.
Wang Qi was a standout presence for “Visual 111.” He had won awards in multiple photography exhibitions around the country and had an extraordinary sensitivity to fashion and beauty.
Moreover, this guy didn’t sign long-term contracts, only special strategic collaborations, making him someone even the magazine’s boss had to pamper.
For magazines like theirs, the quality of images was critical. Many people buy magazines just for the pictures; if the pictures are appealing and engaging, they might then look at the title and decide whether to read the article.
As the media landscape evolved, purely text-based newspapers and magazines could no longer meet contemporary demands.
While smoking, the boss chatted with Wang Qi and greeted Hu Yue as he saw him, cigarette in mouth.
“You can go home now.” Hu Yue pulled out a cigarette and lit it with the boss’s lighter, taking a deep drag.
After finishing the work, he felt a weight lifted off his shoulders, the next issue could wait a few days before needing his attention again.
Although Hu Yue felt relieved after completing his task, the boss began his monthly bout of tension. As the founder of the magazine, he was more concerned about sales than anyone else.
“Why choose Hua Jie as the subject and even put her on the cover?” the boss asked, squinting, cigarette clamped in hand. “Why not use Shen Jiaru or the champion, Fang Shaojun?”
“I’ve discussed this with Wang Qi,” Hu Yue said, taking a drag of his cigarette before continuing:
“Fang Shaojun has been competing and winning championships year after year. What’s the point in reporting that? Oh, champion Fang Shaojun won another championship? I’d be too bored to even write that.”
“As for Teacher Shen Jiaru, he was just a supporting role in this event, the main characters are the contestants. If I were to draft something about him, what should I write? Repeat his past glories? It’s not that it’s impossible, but without a current major event as a topic, after introducing Teacher Shen’s illustrious past, what would I use as a focal point?”
“So, Hua Jie is indeed suitable.”
“Yes, and from the photos, Hua Jie’s camera presence and charisma are more moving than anyone else.”
“People like to see beautiful, fresh faces, and they love beautiful and fashionable new faces even more. Hua Jie fits this perfectly, her fashion sense on that day was absolutely stunning,” Wang Qi explained from his perspective.
“Exactly, a beautiful girl with great taste in clothes, whose fashion and aesthetics are spot-on, stylish yet very individual, showcasing her vibrant youth and uniqueness.”
“Such a cover girl, a genius in the field of painting, doesn’t that make her more convincing?”
“Not only is she great at painting, but her dressing and color matching are also excellent. Wouldn’t you want to know the story of such a girl?”
“People love stories about geniuses, especially those who gain fame at a young age.”
“What has she experienced? Why is she so different? How did she become a genius? All ordinary people would be curious about this.”
“Just as I’m curious about what the life of a wealthy tycoon is like, or as Wang Qi is curious about how American photographers learn their skills, we are naturally curious about unusual things we see but know nothing about.”
“And if that thing is also very beautiful, very adorable, and very likable, then we’re even more curious.”
Once Hu Yue started explaining his reasoning, he couldn’t help but go on and on.
Listening to all this, the boss felt like giving Hu Yue a raise.
“Mm, I’ve read the article, and it is indeed quite wonderful. I’m just a bit uneasy about featuring such an unfamiliar girl on the magazine cover as the lead story,” the boss said, finishing one cigarette and lighting another.
“Let’s see.”
“A 15-year-old girl who has mastered both watercolor and gouache—two mediums that typically take years to master.”
“She made her debut and immediately won second place in a national competition, with three of her paintings selected for the Biennale exhibition.”
“All the teachers praise her work as astonishing, calling her an eccentric and paradoxical genius who can paint in distinctively different styles, creating new techniques and brush strokes that even inspire many older artists in the field.”
“Though her watercolor is slightly raw and her gouache a bit unrefined, which placed her second, her courage to innovate and pursue new techniques ranks her first.”
“Moreover, she’s not some little miss from a well-off family.”
“When I interviewed her and heard her story, I knew it was compelling.”
“Born in a small northern town, both her parents are workers. Now her whole family supports her father’s start-up in their underdeveloped town; she designs furniture which her father, who learned carpentry from a young age, handcrafts. Their store, Da Huang Furniture, made its investment back on opening day.”
“And the money for her father’s start-up came from selling her first painting.”
“When she started high school, her academic performance was poor, but after half a semester of hard work, she made significant progress, reaching eighth in her class. So, can we speculate that painting might expand the brain?”
“Also, boss, the outfit she wore today, including that horse-face skirt you admired, was her own modified design.”
Hu Yue’s enthusiasm surged as he spoke.
For any magazine editor, capturing such an interesting story is inevitably exciting.
He doesn’t even need to embellish or add anything; just translating it into elegant prose is enough.
“If this issue sells well, I bet a lot of parents will be sending their kids to learn painting,” Wang Qi joked.
The boss looked at Hu Yue, then at Wang Qi.
Seeing the two gold-medal partners so confident about the main content of this issue of the magazine, the initial anxiety about using new faces and new characters began to fade, and he couldn’t help but start looking forward to the sales.
As the three chatted and finished a few cigarettes, each drove home while the moon was nearly setting.
A new day was about to dawn, and “Visual 111” magazine would be the first to be sent to all newsstands, bookstores, and grocery stores in the capital, and at the same time, it would be bundled into large trucks and distributed across the country.
People would also read the story of a dream-chasing girl about painting.
This girl, with big cat-like eyes and a round head, loves to smile.
Her name is Hua Jie.