CEFYMA: Chapter 68

The late autumn wind was dry and cool. You Mian put on an extra white plush coat when he went to Huajiang Art Museum, just because he was afraid the temperature would plummet when he came back.

You Mian grabbed a shoulder bag, packed a brush bag and sketchbook, and ran out of the apartment building.

The afternoon sun wasn’t dazzling. Golden trees grew on both sides of the street. When the wind blew, the leaves spun and flew into the sky.

The wheels of the bicycle clanged over the withered yellow leaves on the ground, and there was a gust of golden wind.

You Mian’s coat was lifted up. The young man pedaled briskly. His chestnut brown curly hair was flowing in a free and light manner. His neck was slender, his shoulders were straight, and his bright amber eyes curved in a gentle smile. Vitality burst from it.

You Mian placed his bicycle outside the art museum door. He followed the crowd in line to the entry sign. Then he walked to the exhibition hall door in a familiar manner.

Lin Yuqing was busy, so before coming, he informed You Mian in advance that a senior brother from A College would come to see him first.

The moment You Mian lowered his head and scanned his phone, a simple and honest male voice sounded nearby.

“Hello. You should be You Mian, right?”

Liu Hao pushed up his black-rimmed glasses and said with a smile.

Director Lin told him that he didn’t have to worry about finding the person. He took a quick look and found that the most eye-catching and good-looking person in the crowd was the one.

Liu Hao thought to himself silently. He hadn’t expected that the director wasn’t exaggerating at all. His words were quite right. Liu Hao found him instantly.

The official website of the Star Cup only had the player numbers and photos of their works. There were no photos of the players. He hadn’t expected You Mian to be so handsome.

You Mian looked up and greeted the man who had a plump body and was round and stocky. His eyes were slightly narrowed due to myopia. However, these eyes weren’t as gentle as his smile. They gleamed with a sharp light. At first glance, it could be seen that he was outspoken and fast-talking.

You Mian nodded and replied. “Yes, it is me. You are…”

You Mian felt that this person was a bit familiar. Once Liu Hao finished introducing himself with a smile, he immediately remembered it.

“You are the gold medalist of the Star Cup the year before last.” You Mian recalled that he had seen the opponent’s final work. His eyes widened slightly, and he sincerely praised the other person. “I like the person in the glass very much.”

Liu Hao was happy. He seemed a bit shy after being praised.

He waved his hand. “A hero is only brave in the past. Now is your generation.”

“Besides, the scale of the Star Cup at this time is far less than it is now,” Liu Hao commented objectively. “The judges’ popularity is also far worse than it is now. My work might’ve won first place at that time. If it was today, there are still too many flaws.”

The sincerity of Liu Hao’s words made You Mian’s affection for him rise a lot.

Liu Hao led You Mian into the side hall on the left. “There are many groups in this afternoon’s exhibition. The sculpture works are mainly concentrated in these two sections… Director Lin asked me to show you around well. Just ask me if you have any questions. There is no need to be polite.”

Art students often spent a long time visiting the museum, ranging from as short as two or three hours or as long as the museum closed. If they wanted to copy and analyze the work, it would take even longer, and their fatigue would increase exponentially.

Lin Yuqing asked Liu Hao to show You Mian around, so he could help prepare something while You Mian observed and analyzed.

Normally, You Mian would sit down cross-legged in front of the work he wanted to copy and start painting. Now he saw Liu Hao walking over with a small wooden stool and said, “Junior brother, take this stool. There is a water dispenser and bread over there.”

You Mian took the wooden stool and put it behind him. “Thank you, senior brother.”

The young man’s eyes curved beautifully when he smiled. His amber eyes were like autumn pools.

Liu Hao was hit by the close-range beauty crit. He slowed down for a few seconds before recovering.

The honest man pushed up his glasses and smiled brightly. “I posted a short video two days ago. I don’t know if you saw it or not.” He scratched his head and sighed helplessly. “But it was quickly removed.”

You Mian shook his head, frowned, and wondered, “What video?”

Liu Hao waved his hand. “I am an art appreciation blogger on the side. I briefly analyzed your sculpture from the Star Cup preliminary round.”

You Mian looked at Liu Hao in slight surprise.

Liu Hao made no secret of his love and spoke words of praise the moment he opened his mouth. “Your sculpting foundation is very good. It can be seen that you have put in a lot of hard work. The presentation structure of the work is also very novel. You deserve first place.”

“I thought that the level of the Star Cup had dropped this year. I didn’t expect to see such an outstanding work in the end.”

You Mian just pursed his lips after receiving such appreciation. He smiled in a restrained manner. “Thank you.”

Liu Hao had been surfing the Internet all year round. Even though the hot search on Bai Lin and You Mian was quickly taken down, and he could no longer find any comments about that topic, he had read it at the time.

Thinking back to the theme of the second round of the Star Cup, Liu Hao immediately understood why You Mian came to Lin Yuqing.

Lin Yuqing, that old-fashioned guy, didn’t surf the Internet at all. He probably didn’t know about You Mian’s complicated background.

Liu Hao was worried that the old man would rub salt into other people’s wounds, so he tried his best to arrange everything for You Mian.

Liu Hao pointed to the nearby circle and said, “The latest works are displayed here. If you want to find a more suitable theme, there are electronic albums over there that you can search by name.”

You Mian looked up gently. “Thank you for the trouble, senior brother.”

Liu Hao sighed. He thought that this young man was so handsome and didn’t dare to think any further. He immediately got back to the topic and said, “Do you have a rough idea of the theme of maternal love?”

In front of You Mian was a post-modern abstract sculpture placed in a glass cabinet.

The bright colors made You Mian’s eyes slightly soft, but the words he spoke weren’t gentle.

“I don’t have a clue,” You Mian answered truthfully.

Liu Hao thought about it. It was strange that a mother’s love could become the soul of a work when there were such complex grievances between wealthy families.

However, these words couldn’t be said in front of You Mian. Liu Hao just led You Mian to the electronic atlas. His fingers skillfully retrieved all family-related sculptures in the past five years.

Liu Hao said, “A mother’s love doesn’t have to be gentle love. It could be harsh and demanding.”

Liu Hao’s hands moved across the female sculptures with sharp lines. “Like these…”

You Mian lowered his eyes and thought about it, but his heart was still blank.

He thought to himself that this type of anti-genre work could be produced, but it wouldn’t be outstanding, especially in a national competition like the Star Cup. It would definitely be submerged in the works of other people in the same group.

Liu Hao flipped through the portrait sculptures. “Maternal love also doesn’t have to be human love. Look at this one.”

You Mian discovered that it showed the Earth from the moon’s perspective.

Liu Hao tilted his head and smiled innocently, “You can use divergent thinking to imagine other carriers of material love. Don’t we often talk about Mother Earth and the Motherland? It is also possible to go in these directions.”

“Or animals, plants, buds of life, etc… Otherwise, you can’t go wrong with the Virgin Mary. After all, the details of your sculptures are much better than those in the same group. As long as the skin texture can maintain your usual level, you shouldn’t be eliminated in the second round.”

You Mian stepped forward and took the initiative to scroll through the pages. Liu Hao saw this and took a few steps back.

You Mian cruelly stated the faces. “But it is extremely easy for such words to borrow too much from each other.”

The broader the theme of Earth and the Motherland, the easier it was to look similar and be labeled as plagiarism.

In addition, the statue of the Virgin Mary was too unremarkable.

You Mian knew that someone was watching from the dark and observing his every step. They wouldn’t be able to let go of this.

Liu Hao stood aside and gradually emerged from the state of being anxious to give an answer.

It was because Liu Hao found that You Mian wasn’t worried about not being able to make a sculpture with the maternal love theme. The young man was more worried that he might not be able to make a sculpture that ranked first in the group.

You Mian actually wanted to create the most outstanding work in a theme where he was the weakest.

It was only at this moment that Liu Hao truly observed You Mian. He peeled away his previous impression of this person and sincerely thought, ‘it is frightening’ in his heart.

He was worried about not being able to produce a work while You Mian was already describing what type of work would be more successful.

Liu Hao felt that he could no longer help. Standing here would only waste the other person’s time. Therefore, he smiled and said, “I will be in that office. If you have any questions, you can come to me. I will stay until closing time.”

You Mian smiled softly. “Thank you, senior brother.”

The moment You Mian left, You Mian browsed all the works about family love in the exhibition hall even more quickly.

After finishing a round of portrait sculptures, You Mian’s brow furrowed even more.

He no longer restrained himself to the works about family ties. Instead, he resolutely turned toward other sculptures in the exhibition hall and started to draw new inspiration.

In his opinion, the important issue of the theme of maternal love wasn’t the image of a mother but the word love.

No matter what form the work was presented in, it should make people think of love from the first second they saw it.

Love could be harsh, gentle, selfish, or selfless.

The moment his thoughts opened up, You Mian quickly observed the works in front of him.

The young man walked with his bag and a small stool in front of tall or exquisite glass cabinets. Suddenly, he turned a corner and stopped in front of the interactive art exhibition hall.

“How to do this?”

You Mian was watching a VR projection. But once he heard these words, he instinctively turned his head.

He saw a noble lady wearing a graceful and gorgeous purple dress standing in front of an interactive sculpture. She talked to herself with a bit of embarrassment.

You Mian noticed that the other person wanted to turn on the switch of the interactive sand painting.

Qian Li frowned slightly and stood in front of the sand painting. She was wondering where the interactive switch was when a very good-looking young man suddenly approached her.

You Mian leaned over and simply opened up the built-in mechanism. There was the sound of gears turning in the sand painting, and Qian Li saw the beautiful amber eyes up close.

“The mechanisms of this type of work are relatively hidden, but they are usually designed on the lower right side,” You Mian explained softly.

Qian Li stared at him blankly for a few seconds before immediately showing a big smile.

The woman stepped forward and grabbed You Mian’s hands. She said with a smile, “Thank you so much! What is your name?”

You Mian was a bit frightened by the enthusiastic action. He restrained his desire to retreat and pursed his lips. “You Mian.”

Qian Li exclaimed, “It just so happens that my son left for a while. Can you accompany me to visit the exhibition?”

The woman’s long black hair was tied behind her head. Her high eyebrows gave her an extra dash of heroism. She was a person with a very dashing temperament.

You Mian blinked. He thought that he was going to visit the exhibition hall as well, so he nodded and said, “Yes, Sister.”

Qian Li’s eyes widened for a moment, and she covered her mouth. “What did you call me?”

You Mian was slightly stunned. “Sister.”

Qian Li was obviously stunned by the beautiful young man calling her ‘Sister.’ She didn’t let go of You Mian’s hands and said with a smile, “Why are you calling me Sister? You should call me Aunt.”

The fine lines at the corners of the woman’s eyes moved as she showed a gentle smile.

You Mian was about to call her ‘Aunt’ when a familiar voice suddenly came from behind him.

“Mom.”

You Mian looked at the lady in front of him with an awkward expression.

Pei Huaiji approached with steady steps. You Mian had his back to Pei Huaiji, whose face couldn’t be seen for the time being.

But he could smell Pei Huaiji’s clean scent.

The man leaned forward slightly. He approached You Mian from behind, but he spoke to Qian Li in front of him.

“Mom, what are you doing?”

You Mian turned his head and finally saw the son that Qian Li had mentioned.

White Lily

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