Return to the Road of God

Ye Yufan made an appointment with his tutor in the email, intending to take this painting over in person—Andrew said that Ye Yufan can talk to him about painting experience at any time.

After seeing the painting, Andrew's expression was a little surprised. He praised "amazing", which means surprising, and asked, "What were you thinking when you were painting?"

Ye Yufan said, "I'm just venting my emotions."

"To be specific, what kind of emotion is it?" Andrew glanced at the tone of the painting, "Love? Or fear?"

love?Impossible!

Ye Yufan frowned: "I don't know..."

Andrew said thoughtfully: "It feels like you are struggling with something."

Ye Yufan marveled at Andrew's sensitivity, but he couldn't describe his entangled memories and inexplicable feelings to the other party.

Andrew also noticed Ye Yufan's confusion, nodded and said, "All in all, this is a very good work."

He used "work" to describe it instead of "work", which made Ye Yufan a little flattered, but he felt a little uneasy in his heart, because when he drew this painting, he was passive. To be more precise, he was like A "soul out of body body".

Then, Andrew was concerned about his recent life and how he got along with the group. Ye Yufan vaguely passed the next question. He didn't feel that he was unbearable and lonely, but he was very free.

Andrew: "What also surprised me is your language. I really can't believe that you can improve so much in a short period of time. How did you do it?" The last time I saw this student, he couldn't speak accurately and fluently Express yourself.

"Recite, practice, chat with roommates." Ye Yufan said.

Yes, this is a method that everyone knows, but few people can improve so much in a few months!

Andrew seems to need to re-examine this seemingly quiet Chinese boy, because the information given to him by the admissions office can't explain his real strength at all.

"You are great, cherish your talent, keep going."

After Ye Yufan left, Andrew opened his student record book and wrote in the tutor's evaluation column: "This student has first-class learning ability, and a maturity that does not match his age." After this sentence, Andrew hesitated for a long time before adding: An asterisk remark: "The thought expression in the painting is contradictory to my own language expression, suspected to have split personality disorder."

Before that, Ye Yufan’s tutor’s evaluation column only had a short and common evaluation: “Beginner’s painting level, according to the analysis of the personal paintings submitted when applying for admission, has a great potential for improvement, English communication ability is to be determined, and creative ability remains to be observed .”

Ye Yufan didn't dare to go to the school's English class again, he deliberately avoided He Yuexi and Guo Zhekai.

There was no other reason. It was his intense emotional and mental reaction after hearing about "Guan Lin Yun" that made him worry and fear. He was afraid that his mental illness would recur, and he was afraid that he would become dazed and manic uncontrollably.

Self-preservation is a human instinct, especially in this foreign country with no relatives, Ye Yufan has to be careful with every step he takes.

Thinking of the phone call Jiang Bing made to him in the morning, Ye Yufan felt a little better. He took out his mobile phone and sent an email to the other party. This time, Jiang Bing didn't reply in seconds.

It's midnight in China now, presumably that guy is still sleeping.

Feeling lost, Ye Yufan stuffed his phone back into his trouser pocket, and found that since he left the country, he has been in contact with Jiang Bing far more frequently than his parents!

There were very few students in the studio at noon, they might have stayed up all night, or they might have gone to lunch.

The few people present are all familiar faces, all foreigners, among them is the senior Han Rui whom Ye Yufan met when he came to the studio for the first time.

Seeing that Han Rui was devoting himself to painting a still life oil painting, Ye Yufan went to his seat without disturbing him.

He took out a brand new piece of sketch paper and pasted it on the old wooden drawing board with sealing tape. Cut out a large piece of lead core.

When doing these things, Ye Yufan's expression was extremely serious, as if he was performing a sacred ceremony.

The large studio is very quiet, because there is no one, so it is empty, and any sound will echo, including the friction sound of wood and metal when the blade cuts the pen body.

There is sunlight, but it shines on other corners of the studio. The shadows of trees outside the studio shake and are reflected on the wall directly opposite. Seagulls fly over from the seashore and make a cry.

The plaster statue placed on the low table looks blurry under the messy light source. No wonder few people like to come to the studio during the day. Even spotlights and curtains can’t block the vitality outside, so most of the students look like vampires The same day and night.

Ye Yufan liked this atmosphere very much, he was in the corner of the studio, as if invisible.

With this kind of mechanical, thoughtless action, the attention is gradually concentrated, and there are only paintbrush, drawing paper and the one square meter space where I am in front of me...

Spending an afternoon painting a plaster cast's hair, or meditating, may seem like a dull activity, but it's calming.

Ye Yufan gradually found a sense of existence from this boring behavior.

Yes, the soul that smeared like venting yesterday is out of control, and now every line on the paper is drawn consciously by him, watching the outline of that person gradually emerge on the white paper, as if the creator created Adam with absolute control feel……

It wasn't until there was an exclamation from behind: "Nicedrawing!" Ye Yufan came back to his senses.

Henry stood behind him at some point, his chin was full of stubble, his face was haggard, but his eyes were shining.

"I thought you were drawing a plaster statue," Han Rui pointed to the boy on the painting, and asked, "Is this your friend?"

"Yeah." Ye Yufan gently wiped the corner of the boy's mouth with a plastic eraser, making Jiang Bing's iconic smile more obvious, "This is my friend in China."

"Helook handsome." Henry laughed, he looked handsome.

Ye Yufan was a little embarrassed, and put down the paintbrush in his hand.

Henry asked, "Why don't you paint in color? I've never seen you paint."

"Occasionally, I paint." Ye Yufan didn't want to say that he was worried about the price of paints. Yesterday's venting picture made him feel bad. He probably won't be able to paint in a short time, so he could only say, "I prefer sketches."

"Well, your sketches are great. If I had known you in the third grade, I would have been more motivated to draw." Han Rui blinked at him and confirmed, "Really, my Chinese friend, You make me feel in danger."

Ye Yufan smiled, saw that Han Rui had changed his clothes, and asked him, "Are you leaving?"

Henry always wears a gray hoodie when he is in the studio. It is said that the dress was originally beige, but now the original color cannot be seen at all, and Han Rui regards it as work clothes.

Henry said, "I'm going to work in a bar later."

Ye Yufan's ears perked up: "Part-time job? Is it a part-time job?"

Henry: "That's right."

"Generally, how much do you earn as a part-time job?" Ye Yufan asked politely.

Han Rui shrugged: "Ten braids per hour." Obviously, in his eyes, this salary is not high, but Ye Yufan was excited when he heard it. , working part-time for two hours a day can earn 6000 yuan a month!

God!No wonder the consumption is high here!

Ye Yufan looked at Han Rui expectantly: "Where can I find a part-time job?"

"Do you want to work part-time? I can help you find out," he was very straightforward, but soon realized that something was wrong, "No, no, no, you are not yet an adult, right?"

"..." Ye Yufan instantly looked like a deflated ball.

Han Rui crossed his arms, looked at him with a smile, and asked, "Are you short of money?"

Ye Yufan saw that Han Rui already had a clear look, so he didn't put on any pretense anymore, and nodded in admission: "Yeah."

Han Rui said seriously: "Under the age of [-] in country A is not allowed to work part-time."

Ye Yufan: "Sixteen years old?"

Henry: "Yeah, sixteen years old is considered an adult."

"!!!" Ye Yufan exclaimed in surprise, "I'm already sixteen years old!"

He took out his student ID card with his date of birth on it: "Look!"

Henry "..."

After comparing the real person with the photo on the student ID card, Han Rui was speechless: "...I really can't tell, I thought you were only 14 years old."

Ye Yufan has black lines all over his head, this is the second time, is he really so young in the eyes of these Europeans?

"If you're really 16 years old..." Han Rui was still a little confused, "The part-time job where I work is not short of staff recently, I can help you find other places." Not to mention places like bars where people like Ye Yufan show their faces. ... would really be considered illegal child labor!

It took about a week for Han Rui to reply to Ye Yufan, saying that a pizza delivery shop was looking for someone to deliver the delivery menu, just like a postman delivering letters, stuffing mailboxes door to door, eight dollars an hour.

Ye Yufan readily agreed, this job is really easy, you don't need to use your brain, and you can also exercise your body!It's a pity that the other party doesn't need Ye Yufan to send it every day, and it's over once a week!

On the day to report for duty, Ye Yufan brought his identity certificate registered at the police station. Sure enough, the boss, like Han Rui, confirmed it several times in surprise before he could not believe it. It's over!"

Ye Yufan promised repeatedly and attached a copy of his passport, so the other party was relieved.

The boss asked the food delivery driver to take Ye Yufan to the outskirts of the city. Most of the local citizens live in the suburbs. There are many villas here. Ye Yufan started his part-time job with a big bag of "menu" on his back.

The first time he walked for three hours and delivered hundreds of menus, the boss was very satisfied with his work attitude and gave him 26 buros, plus a free chicken pizza.

Ye Yufan was satisfied, and a few weeks later, the pizzeria hired another delivery man.After work, the two chatted over a free pizza dinner at the store.

When the other party heard that Ye Yufan only had this job, he was surprised and said, "Are you here to experience life?"

"No, I want to earn some pocket money." Ye Yufan was telling the truth.

The man found it incredible: "How much money can you make by working only three hours a week? Eat two meals and you'll be gone!"

Then, that person told Ye Yufan about his experience.

He is a fourth grader and has been in Xili City for three years. He currently holds three jobs, with an average working time of about [-] hours a week. "Let's not talk about living expenses, what kind of paint you want to buy, or travel to nearby cities every season, it's not a problem!"

"Will it affect your studies?" Ye Yufan asked.

"Your question is very good. Almost everyone who knows that I work part-time will ask me if I waste time. I personally don't think so!" But you can get this score, do you know why?" He paused, whetted Ye Yufan's appetite, and then smiled mysteriously: "There are many rich children in the Royal Academy of Arts, who stay at the entrance level year after year. , they can't make progress because they lack life experience."

Ye Yufan: "..."

The man elegantly cut the pizza with a knife, chewed it slowly, like a nobleman, he said: "Even a genius, always in the same environment, will become an ordinary person. A genius needs all kinds of external influences." Stimulation can create masterpieces, Van Gogh, Picasso, which one is not? Of course, I am not saying that you have to work hard to find painful experiences. For example, I don’t think I work hard at all. In fact, you can understand in the process A lot of different people, especially restaurants and bars, and you hear a lot of stories, and those stories become part of you."

He is very talkative, seemingly unattractive, but he can say such a thought-provoking philosophy of life casually.

"In the beginning, I also wanted to sell paintings on the street to make money, but there are too many people who can paint in Xili City, eight out of ten are talented, and the students in the middle and lower grades are not competitive at all. Later, I went to find and Art doesn’t want to do jobs at all, wash dishes in restaurants, move goods at the port... Oh, friend, don’t think this is a waste of time,” he whispered to Ye Yufan as if imparting some peerless secret: “Yes Sometimes people have to gain ideological sublimation from these experiences.

Ye Yufan thought of a sentence in a daze——

"Don't be greedy for pleasure, go to suffer, to hone, to enjoy them, only through pain can you create..."

Who said this sentence?

Ye Yufan frowned, a picture suddenly flashed in his mind, and he remembered it!It's the international airport in City S!

Guo Zhekai and He Yuexi, so I have seen them at the airport... Is the middle-aged man who said that the teacher Ge that He Yuexi was talking about?

"Can you introduce me to some other jobs?" Ye Yufan asked the man.

He laughed: "Iamgladtohelp!"

Many years later, Ye Yufan saw reports about that person in the media, and only then did he know that the person who sent the menu with him turned out to be an aristocrat from the W Kingdom in Eastern Europe, and his father was a famous court painter in the LW Kingdom.