The Romance of a Young Painter

On the day of the art exhibition, Wen Juan gave Zhou Nianjiu a break to accompany him there, but when we got there, the ground parking lot was already full, so Wen Juan asked Zhou Nianjiu to get out of the car first, and went to the basement to park by himself.

Zhou Nianjiu entered the gate and called Sha Jianguo: "Brother, I'm here...well, it's right here on the poster in the lobby...the special area on the second floor?...Li Xiang? Okay, I'll wait for him here."

After a while, I saw a young man coming out of it. He looked here for a long time, then walked over and asked a little uncertainly, "Excuse me, is this Uncle Zhou?"

Uncle Zhou?

It was the first time for Zhou Nianjiu to hear someone call him that, and it was from someone who looked no more than a year or two younger than himself. It felt a little weird: "It's me, are you Li Xiang?"

"Yeah." Li Xiang nodded, then reached out to take the painting in Zhou Nianjiu's hand, "Uncle Zhou, let me get this?"

Zhou Nianjiu looked at the other's arm that was thinner than her own, and said, "No need, just take me there."

Li Xiang withdrew his hand a little awkwardly, with a look of embarrassment because he couldn't help: "Then... okay, Mr. Zhou, this way please."

Zhou Nianjiu followed Li Xiang upstairs, and as the distance got closer, he found that this Li Xiang was not ordinary thin, but a little weak, with sickly pale skin, and he didn't look in good health, but he didn't pay attention to it. The young man was on him for too long, because he had already seen Sha Jianguo, who was talking to a middle-aged man in a suit.

"Brother." Zhou Nianjiu walked over to say hello.

"Xiao Zhou is here," Sha Jianguo introduced to him, "This is Mr. Zheng Jing, the organizer of the art exhibition. Mr. Zheng, this is my fellow apprentice, Zhou Nianjiu."

Zheng Jing turned around and saw a half-grown young man wearing a casual shirt. Although the slightly long bangs and black-rimmed glasses covered half of his face, he still had good facial features and a figure that suited his taste. I couldn't help feeling something different, so I stretched out my hand calmly: "Just now I heard Sha Lao mention you, you are indeed young and talented, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Zhou Nianjiu was not good at socializing, so naturally he couldn't see the flash of interest in Zheng Jing's eyes. He shook hands politely: "Mr. Zheng, hello."

Zheng Jing squeezed lightly in the gesture of shaking hands, observing quietly.

Zhou Nianjiu didn't notice anything unusual.

Zheng Jing smiled with satisfaction, the other party looked very innocent, based on his many years of hunting for beauty, it should be easy to get started.Given that Sha Jianguo was right behind him, he didn't act presumptuously, but let go of his hands and said in a gentle manner, "Xiao Zhou, I see that you are not very old, how old are you?"

Zhou Nianjiu said "Seventeen." In fact, his birthday in August is still half a month away from Seventeen.

"Seventeen?" Underage, Zheng Jingnian turned his head around and said, "So you and Xiangxiang are the same age, and you look older than him."

Zhou Nianjiu followed Zheng Jing's line of sight and saw Li Xiang standing quietly beside Sha Jianguo.Was he older than himself?It seems that due to his frailty, he has grown slowly, and he is also taller than the average peer.

Seeing that they noticed him, the thin boy retorted shyly, "Uncle, I will grow taller."

Zheng Jing said with a smile: "Then you should learn more from your little uncle Zhou."

Li Xiang looked even more embarrassed.

Sha Jianguo put one hand on Li Xiang's shoulder and said to Zhou Nianjiu: "Xiao Zhou, Li Xiang is my new student. The two of you are about the same age. You should be able to chat better than me, an old man. He is very clever. You have time to point him out."

Sha Jianguo used the word "student". People of his generation paid great attention to the inheritance of masters. Disciple and student have exactly the same meaning, and they don't accept disciples easily.

But Zhou Nianjiu was not clear about these, he thought that Sha Jianguo and Li Xiang had the same relationship as Qin Kao and him.He quickly said: "Welcome to communicate with me, I dare not give advice."

Sha Jianguo said with a smile: "Don't be modest. Last year, more than 3000 people participated in the Moore Award in China, and you won the only special prize. This level is more than enough to guide him."

Zheng Jing is essentially a businessman, and he doesn't know much about these awards in the art world, but seeing that the great painter Sha Jianguo, who is over [-] years old, looks very proud, he knows that this award must have a high gold content. However, Zhou Nianjiu's calmness and lack of arrogance made him feel a little different when he first saw Lie, so he praised without hesitation: "I didn't expect Xiao Zhou to be so powerful, he is really a formidable young man."

Several people chatted for a while, Zheng Jing asked for Zhou Nianjiu's contact information in the name of Li Xiang, and then invited Sha Jianguo to greet several other important people. Li Xiang naturally followed his teacher and uncle.

Zhou Nianjiu borrowed tools from the staff, placed the brought paintings in the place reserved for him by Sha Jianguo, and made labels for the works according to the requirements of the organizing committee. After working for a while, the preparations were almost done. It's an exchange period, he doesn't need to stay here all the time.

Zhou Nianjiu looked at the time, it was almost half an hour, and Wen Juan hadn't arrived yet, so he simply called Wen Juan.

Wen Ju'an was standing in an inconspicuous position at the moment, staring coldly at Zheng Jing, who was so personable and sociable not far away.He didn't expect to see this person here after so many years. When he returned to the country, there was no news at all. But yes, the old matter has long been settled, and the 15-year prosecution period has passed. The media will not grasp this. If there is no newsworthy news to make a fuss about, Zheng Jing, as a suspect, can of course appear openly.It's just that Wen Ju'an still finds it very ironic that the bereaved dog in the past is now looking like a successful person.

The vibration of the phone's incoming call finally caused Wen Juan to look away, and when he saw the photo on the caller ID, his expression softened.

Zhou Nianjiu asked: "Brother, where are you? Have you arrived yet?"

Wen Ju'an walked out while talking: "Xiao Nian, I have something to do temporarily, so I won't be with you. Call me after you're done. I'll come pick you up when the time comes."

"Okay." Zhou Nianjiu was a little disappointed, but he still urged, "Be careful when driving."

Wen Ju'an said: "I know, don't run around."

Zhou Nianjiu hung up the phone and went downstairs. The central exhibition hall downstairs is the main exhibition area. This time there are painters he admires participating in the exhibition.

Zheng Jing's peripheral vision falls on Zhou Nianjiu from time to time. Compared with the overnight love, he is more inclined to find a fixed bed partner who suits his heart. The way the other party is concentrating on the painting is really itchy. He will return to China for a month He has been busy taking over the affairs of the branch company and neglected to take care of his personal needs. He did not expect that attending the exhibition on a whim would bring him unexpected gains.

Finding a free time, Zheng Jing called his nephew over: "Think about it, go talk to your little Uncle Zhou, I think he has been there for a long time by himself, he should have a lot of experience, you go to him for advice, Helps you too."

"Okay, uncle." Li Xiang nodded and was about to go.

Zheng Jing told him: "You study hard. By the way, you can ask Mr. Sha and your little Uncle Zhou if they have any arrangements for noon. If not, uncle invites them to have a meal together."

"Oh, I see."

When Li Xiang came over, Zhou Nianjiu was watching Shen Guangji's "Return to the Swallow". This painting adopted Shen Guangji's usual large and bright style, with the sky blue, the grass green and the flowers gorgeous. A paper kite that came by chance was hanging on the branch. In the center right of the picture is the figure, the jumping figure is like a dexterous swallow, and the pure white dress makes the whole picture come alive.

"Ms. Shen's paintings are so shocking every time I look at them." Li Xiang said.

Zhou Nianjiu asked: "Do you like his paintings?"

Li Xiang nodded vigorously: "I like it very much. I always feel that Mr. Shen's paintings have soul."

Zhou Nianjiu said: "Your statement is not bad."

Li Xiang was much less embarrassed at the beginning. He pointed to the characters in the painting and said, "Uncle Zhou, I felt that the person in the painting was alive at first glance, and her vitality directly pointed to the heart through the picture. If "Gui Yan" is spring, then she is the messenger of spring, or she is spring itself."

Zhou Nianjiu didn't follow the topic, but said: "Mr. Shen's paintings are indeed very good."

Li Xiang said with a smile: "Yes, I really hope that one day I can draw as well as Mr. Shen." After finishing speaking, he seemed to think of something, and said embarrassedly, "Of course, my teacher is the best. And little Uncle Zhou."

Zhou Nianjiu actually didn't care about Li Xiang's taking Shen Guangji as a benchmark. To him, respecting a master is important, but it doesn't mean that disciples need to follow blindly, so he said: "Mr. Shen's paintings are worth learning, you You can copy more if you like."

Li Xiang nodded quickly: "Okay, Uncle Zhou."

It was actually quite awkward to be called Zhou Nianjiu by the little Zhou Shishu and Xiao Zhou Shishu. Thinking that the two of them would meet again in the future, he said, "We are about the same age, so we should just call them by our names."

Li Xiang looked a little embarrassed.

Zhou Nianjiu said: "If senior brother asks, just say I said it. Now call me by name, don't make a mistake."

Li Xiang struggled for a while, and finally called out "Zhou Nianjiu" in a low voice.

The two looked at a few more paintings together, and then Li Xiang said: "Xiao... Zhou Nianjiu, my uncle will treat me to dinner later, I wonder if you have time?"

Zhou Nianjiu shook her head and said, "I have something to do, so I won't go."

"That's a pity," Li Xiang said with a regretful expression, "I learned a lot from you today. I wanted to treat you to a meal and thank you for coming. It seems that I can only wait until next time."

Zhou Nianjiu said, "Let's talk about it later."

Li Xiang heard the refusal, and asked carefully: "Then can I go to you for painting matters in the future?"

Seeing the other party's cautious look, Zhou Nianjiu couldn't bear it, and said, "Yes, you can call me when the time comes."

Li Xiang thanked him happily, and then said: "Then I'll go to the teacher's place and I won't bother you."

Zhou Nianjiu looked at it alone for a long time, and before he knew it, it was past twelve o'clock. He looked at the venue, and there were only a few young people left besides the staff. Zheng Jingli thought they were all gone, and Sha Jianguo was there at his age. He didn't stay for long, and left after a while.

Zhou Nianjiu was already hungry, and it was an excuse to tell Li Xiang that something was up, he just didn't want to have dinner with someone he only met once.He went out of the exhibition hall and found a small shop that looked relatively clean. He ordered a set meal and sat down to eat it.

"Excuse me, is there anyone here?" Suddenly a voice asked.

"No." Zhou Nianjiu raised his head, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Teacher Shen?"

The young man on the opposite side looked at him with a smile. Although he was holding props such as a stainless steel dinner plate in his hand, he still looked refined and refined. Who was this man, if not the Shen Guangji he had just talked about with Li Xiang.