CEFYMA: Chapter 87

In the early morning, it rained heavily in Huajiang City. The air was filled with the scent of earth.

Even though the lightning and thunder were no longer roaring when the sky was dark, there was still a light rain overhead.

A short time later, a black car came from the end of the intersection and stopped in front of the gray, cold building that looked like a Rubik’s Cube. Jaeger Hillman pushed open the door and unfolded the black umbrella handed over by the driver. The serious man in a suit and leather shoes went up the steps with the umbrella.

A woman in professional attire and blonde hair tied high behind her back followed half a step behind him with a black umbrella.

Outside this Rubik’s Cube-shaped building was a wide square. If they wanted to enter the venue, they must first walk past dozens of small steps.

The rain was pouring down the steps. The gray-eyed man still got his trouser legs wet despite being very careful.

The moment HIllman and Marcia walked to the door of the venue, they were greeted by many people. Almost all of them were professor-level familiar people from the top art academies in China.

Chai Tao wore reading glasses and had a very warm and sophisticated smile on his face. He was the first to step forward and shake HIllman’s hand.

“Welcome to Huajiang City. On behalf of the Star Cup, I would like to give you my sincere thanks.”

Jaeger HIllman’s visit was actually an exchange of personal favors to fill the vacancy due to Qin Lan’s withdrawal, so when Marcia translated Chai Tao’s polite words to HIllman, the gray-eyed man nodded and accepted it unceremoniously.

Hillman was swarmed by the group and ushered into the judging room.

The security guards who stayed behind to close the door looked at each other and smiled. “Did you see the foreigner’s eyes? They are gray.”

“He is quite old. I heard that he is a German person invited from France.”

Jaeger Hillman walked into the judging room. A huge white screen hung in the spacious and clean room that was over 100 square meters. Facing the screen was a long table and eight soft chairs that had been placed in advance.

The maroon leather chair reflected the overhead lights. Printed documents were neatly placed on the long table, recording in detail the previous works of the three groups of 18 contestants who entered the second round of the Star Cup.

Jaeger Hillman pulled out a chair and sat down. He said something in German. Marcia translated from next to him, “The dean said that everyone can sit down and get the work done together as soon as possible.”

Hillman’s schedule was very full. He would finish the Star Cup judging work today and fly to the UK to attend a lecture.

Chai Tao narrowed his eyes behind his reading glasses and sneered, but his tone was very respectful. “Okay, let’s start now.”

Chai Tao sat on the left side of Hillman and glanced at Marcia. “Which group does Dean Hillman want to start with?”

Marcia translated softly and watched Hillman’s expression quietly.

In order to ensure the fairness of the entire competition, the judges of the Star Cup couldn’t see any details of the contestant’s works before officially entering the judging room to participate in the judging work.

Hillman flipped through the information in his hand. Suddenly, his eagle eyes narrowed. His gaze rested on an iron sculpture that was signed You Mian, number 0409.

Hillman pointed to the number 0409. He turned to Marcia and said in German that they should look at the sculpture group first.

Chai Tao frowned when he heard it was the sculpture group.

However, he quickly suppressed his irritability and asked the logistics staff to move up the second-round works of the sculpture category that were covered with white cloth.

Chai Tao exchanged looks with several professors from well-known domestic art academies around him. Then in an artist-like manner, he started with a few words.

“We are all gathered here for the Star Cup and for these children’s works to have a fair and just opportunity to be judged. The competition has set up three rounds to select the strongest and most skilled one among these contestants step by step.”

“Therefore, today’s review must not be sloppy, nor can we feel sorry for these young contestants and let them go. We must strive to be inclusive and open. The theme of the second round is maternal love. There will definitely be some contestants who will find other ways to gain attention using shortcuts. But we must reach a consensus that the work must not deviate from the topic of material love.”

Once Chai Tao finished speaking, he raised the thermos on the table. He opened the lid, blew lightly and took a sip. His expression was comfortable and natural. He seemed to be confident about today’s judging work.

Several other professors around him nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

“Yes, going off-topic is a big no-no.”

“An approach that is too unconventional will indeed ignore the theme of material love. The second round should be more strictly controlled than the preliminary round. These works were selected from the best of the best.”

Jaeger Hillman was always annoyed by such nonsense that hindered work efficiency, so he waved his hand and motioned for them to start quickly.

Chai Tao pursed his lips and cursed the foreigner in his heart. But on the surface, he nodded to a staff member. “Let’s start.”

After the second round, there were only six contestants left in the sculpture category.

Chai Tao looked at the name of the first unfamiliar contestant and sniffed disapprovingly.

The boxes of expensive tea cakes and famous calligraphy sent by You Jiyuan and Bai Peilan weren’t in vain.

Chai Tao’s attitude of collecting money and doing things was more upright than when painting.

Chai Tao remembered that Bai Peilan said the young man called You Mian would be unable to solve the topic of maternal love and wouldn’t be able to perform at his usual level. Chai Tao just had to add a bit more fuel to the fire and suppress You Mian’s work in the second round. It was a very simple thing.

The judging process was discussed, and the judges were all familiar with each other. A few words of disapproval about a contestant were no different from directly handing out an elimination ticket.

Chai Tao blew at the high-grade tea leaves in the thermos and smacked his lips together happily.

What’s more, this You Mian was Qin Lan’s student. He had long disliked Qin Lan. He could collect things and make Qin Lan unhappy. Chai Tao had no reason to hesitate.

The white cloth of contestant 0067’s work was torn away. Detailed photos of the four sides of the sculpture were also displayed on the big screen.

This was a decent statue of the Virgin Mother. The mother lowered her eyes and hugged the baby in her arms with a sad and pitiful expression.

Less than two seconds after the photos appeared, Jaeger Hillman frowned seriously and waved his hand. “Pass.”

“Keine Innovation， keine Attraktivitt.”

Marcia’s clear translation voice sounded cruelly and directly in the judging room, “It isn’t innovative, it isn’t attractive, it isn’t worth staying.”

Chai Tao paused for a moment, feeling genuinely happy for the first time after seeing this foreigner.

He very much hoped that when You Mian’s work came out soon, this person would say ‘pass’ so simply. This would save him the trouble of talking.

There was firewood burning under the kang in the small igloo. The warmth amplified people’s sleepiness, so when You Mian woke up and washed up, he found he was the only one left in the room.

The warm water dispelled the young man’s sleepiness a bit.

As You Mian wiped his face, he suddenly remembered that no matter whether they were alone in the tent or when they were assigned to the same room in the Japanese house, he had never seen Pei Huaiji when he woke up in the morning.

The other person either got up early for a morning jog or was in the dining room.

It seemed a bit weird, but You Mian couldn’t feel any sense of violation. He just assumed that Pei Huaiji was used to getting up early.

You Mian put on a light blue coat. As he was crouching next to the suitcase to sort out his clothes, he suddenly found a pair of plush blue gloves.

You Mian’s movements paused.

In fact, judging from the color alone, the clothes he wore today matched these gloves very well.

However, You Mian put the beautifully packaged gloves back into his suitcase without hesitation. He never thought of taking them out to wear.

Coincidentally, at the same time, the USB flash drive that Yan Tingxuan had forcefully stuffed into You Mian’s coat pocket that night also fell to his feet as he crouched down. It made a soft clicking sound.

You Mian: “……”

You Mian turned his head and stared at the USB flash drive silently for a long time. He wondered if he should just throw it away.

Then after a few seconds, he sighed and picked up the USB flash drive. He put it back in the suitcase compartment.

You Mian saw through Yan Tingxuan’s personality. He thought that if Yan Tingxuan went crazy and wanted to take it back, he would have something to return.

Suddenly, there was the sound of footsteps outside the house.

You Mian looked up and met a pair of dark eyes. He saw that Pei Huaiji’s coat was slightly open, and the man’s breathing was as steady as usual. If You Mian hadn’t seen the sports bracelet on the other person’s hand, he probably wouldn’t have guessed that Pei Huaiji went for a morning run.

How dare he wear such thin clothes in such a cold place?

Pei Huaiji smiled very handsomely. “Did you sleep well?”

You Mian remembered the embarrassing moment when the two of them were alone in the igloo last night and nodded. “It was good.”

During last night’s heartbeat text message session, Pei Huaiji’s phone rang once as soon as You Mian finished sending it. Then when Pei Huaiji finished sending it, You Mian’s phone rang once.

You Mian: “……”

You Mian didn’t dare to recall how complicated his mood was at the time. What made him even more embarrassed was that when the lily of the valley guests finished sending their heartbeat text messages, his phone rang four times!

You Mian heard Pei Huaiji’s gentle laugh when the last message finished.

Inexplicably, his back started to burn.

White Lily

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