[Titanic] Where Your Heart Goes

No matter how beautiful the holiday is, there is always an end. As soon as the Christmas holiday ended, Mr. Henry took Carl and others back to the United States.Jack watched the originally crowded home suddenly turn into deserted and sat in the living room. He was a little dazed. He held the Christmas gift left by Carl—a set of hand-painted mugs—and suddenly felt regret from the bottom of his heart. So far, what he is pursuing is a person who loves each other deeply and understands each other deeply. Karl is already standing in front of him. Why did he hesitate to back down for the sake of fame when facing the last step?

"Mr. Bowen, what do you think if I say that I regret it and go after Carl and follow him back to the United States?" Carl suddenly asked while looking at Mr. Bowen who was cleaning up the room.

Mr. Bowen showed a gentle smile. He looked at Jack's eyes suddenly covered with confusion and asked him: "Mr. Carl is now a well-known investor in the United States, and he is found in all walks of life. Since you are in love, you give up everything and There is nothing wrong with him going back. But think about why you left him in the first place? Why did you set foot on a foreign land to endure loneliness and hardship, and work hard step by step?"

"...In order to be able to stand beside him and be introduced openly, I don't want to be the stain hidden behind his back." Jack's clear blue eyes glowed again, and he jumped up from his seat and rushed to the studio: " I've wasted time thinking about it, and I still have half a year to hurry up, at least I need to be 'little famous' to leave!"

Mr. Bowen saw Jack recovering his vitality and smiled without interjecting. No matter what the reason for getting to this point, Jack actually has no way out. For a lover who is outstanding in identity, status, pedigree, and knowledge, if Jack If he can't be an eagle flying beside Karl, he is doomed to be a canary in a cage to be enjoyed by others.

No matter how expensive and luxurious the cage is, the people living in it are just playthings.If Jack doesn't want to fall into this situation, he can only make himself shine before returning to Carl.When he returns to stand on American soil, no matter how amazing Jack's talent is, as long as he bears the label of "Karl Hawley's lover", his reputation will only be marked with doubts. If it goes on for a long time, even Jack I can't tell whether it's my ability or Karl's money that made him famous, right?

It seems that there are many roads before Jack, but the one that will not be broken is always the one that Carl chose for him from the beginning.Jack has never had a chance to choose, he can only go to the dark one way.

Mr. Bowen thought about the look of sympathy in his eyes. I am afraid that Master Jack himself is very aware of this, otherwise he would not have invited more than a month of vacation to be single when the final assignments of the students were all in Berlin. One person ran to London, England.

Thinking of this, Mr. Bowen sighed. He felt that Carl and Jack were two silly children. One fought in the mall like a greedy beast in order to be able to protect his lover no matter what the situation; He doesn't care about his health, and strives on the road of art every day.

Carl knew that Jack was a talented and hard-working person, but he didn't expect that Jack would make such thorough use of his last semester——Jack applied for self-study and went to some corner of the world to paint himself Send the oil painting back to school and ask Mr. Mild to help him sell it!

If Mr. Bowen hadn't been with Jack to take care of him, Carl almost felt that Jack was tired of him and ran away secretly!Looking at the postcards sent back from all over the world, Carl felt that his anger was rising every day.But the feet are on Jack's legs. Whenever Carl's letter reaches Jack's hands, Jack has already left the original place.

Seeing the time advance bit by bit to June, Carl suddenly lost track of Jack.Carl never dreamed that for a shocking work, Jack broke the agreement with him and went to Sarajevo to participate in the nationally jubilant "Vidovan Festival"-in fact, Jack didn't understand that "Balkan" is not a country at all , but the general term for a piece of land!

Carl found a corner and set up his easel in a place where there are many people but not too crowded.The nearby residents considerately vacated a small space for Jack and continued to enjoy their own festive joy, singing and dancing to their heart's content.Not far away, an open car was slowly approaching, and Jack raised his head strangely when he heard the sound of the engine.Except for himself, Jack didn't see a car on the street all morning, and Jack didn't even think that according to local customs, he couldn't drive out on this day.

A group of policemen surrounded the slow-moving car, and they successfully destroyed the festive atmosphere of the residents. Jack sighed regretfully. He thought he would be able to find the graduation work he had been looking for today, but it seems that today will be nothing. Nothing to gain.

"Boom! Boom!" Two gunshots pierced into Jack's ears. A teenager standing in the crowd turned around and rushed past Jack with a panicked expression. Several policemen jumped over Jack and chased the boy. , and rudely knocked Jack to the ground.At this time, Jack was still replaying the facial expressions of a couple in the car when they were facing death-horrified and empty in his mind.

Jack felt his fingers tremble. He knew that the painting he needed appeared on this occasion!

"Master Jack, let's go back to the hotel." Mr. Bowen dragged Jack, who seemed to be still in deep thought, and disappeared into the street.The first time Jack returned to the hotel, he said: "Don't disturb me, just leave after painting!"

Mr. Bowen didn't take the matter of "staying for painting" very seriously, but things soon turned out to exceed his and Jack's expectations—Jack usually finished the oil painting in ten days and half a month. It seems that he is not satisfied with anything and keeps re-editing, but what Mr. Bowen thought was an ordinary official was killed turned out to be the crown prince and his wife of the Austro-Hungarian Empire!

Serbia was besieged by Austro-Hungarian and German soldiers, and the headlines of the entire European newspaper the next day were that the crown prince and his wife of the Austro-Hungarian Empire were assassinated and died!At this time, Mr. Bowen wanted to take Jack, but he couldn't leave. He could only go out every day to inquire about the news, and told Jack to stay in the hotel and not to go out.

Mr. Bowen has a complete set of German identity certificates. As a German citizen of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it is indeed more suitable for Mr. Bowen to go out to inquire about news. No matter how bad it is, his life is still guaranteed.

But every day I receive bad news, and even letters can no longer be sent out.Amid Mr. Bowen's anxiety, Jack completed his first real masterpiece "Assassination".Watching Jack pack up his painting utensils, Mr. Bowen finally couldn't sit still. He rushed into the German army with his packed luggage that day and asked them to "return to the country".

German officers are very willing to help their compatriots-Mr. Bowen and Jack's German are very standard Berlin accents-this has nothing to do with the justice of the German army's war.

But in the face of Mr. Bowen's request to return to China "immediately", the officers were helpless. The bounden duty of soldiers is to obey orders. At this time, they are standing by and ready to accept instructions from their superiors to start attacking. At this time, they are escorting anyone to "retreat". news cannot happen.

But Mr. Bowen and Jack were well taken care of, and they were arranged in a guest room in the barracks.A warm, cheerful man with a wink is always welcome at all times, and Mr. Bowen and Jack were not badly looked after in the army.Finally, six weeks after Belgium also fell, the fact that the Eastern Front was ineffective caused the German troops here to be transferred to eastern Germany to fight against the Russians——Jack and Mr. Bowen were finally packed away by kind fellow countrymen, the officer We decided to escort the two of them back home.

Jack and Mr. Bowen didn't flee in all directions. During the war, following the army was the most correct decision. At least they didn't encounter forced conscription along the way.After ten days of fast driving with the army, Jack and Mr. Bowen were finally released back home. Looking at the familiar streets of Berlin, the two of them could only smile wryly. How could they leave Germany at this time?

It is not difficult at all to leave Germany!

Jack's identity is an out-and-out American, not to mention that Mr. Henry, who has admitted that Jack is his family member, has recently made an amazing deal with Germany-the assassination of the crown prince and his wife of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is just an excuse, and the whole of Europe has already started to deal with it. A big battle is brewing!As early as a year ago, the arms race between the British Navy and the German Navy had already started, and Mr. Henry's steel factory was used to build warships in cooperation with Germany.

What's more, although the United Kingdom has declared war with Germany, the United States has not participated in this war at all. As long as Mr. Henry hints that his youngest son is in Germany when delivering the goods, and he is very worried, Jack wants Going home is no problem at all.

Therefore, when Jack and Mr. Bowen packed their luggage and sat on the cruise ship back to the United States, they still couldn't believe their good luck.

They actually just avoided the battlefield?

Mr. Bowen looked at the penniless Jack and suddenly thought of a question: "Master Jack, where are the paintings you drew before?"

Jack pinched the bridge of his nose and then laughed: "I put them in the house, and the house key was in the farewell envelope and sent to Mr. Nolde together. I hope he can help me put these A painting sold for a good price."

Jack didn't know that his teacher not only sold these paintings with an astonishingly good grade, but also made Jack famous all over the world in an instant—the crown prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was assassinated without leaving a picture, but Jack succeeded. It perfectly reproduces the shock of the crown prince and his wife, the panic of the police and the joy and tension of the assassin.The images of these few people appearing in a peaceful and joyful crowd are extremely abrupt, and Karl's characteristic of expressing emotions in color under the influence of Mr. Nolde is even more magnified.

This "Assassination" appeared on the headlines of newspapers all over Europe the day after Jack boarded the cruise ship-it's nothing more than a famous painting.By the time Jack disembarks, his paintings have already been fired to a shocking number.Immediately afterwards, several other works consigned by Jack at the same time were also sold at sky-high prices with different contents.

Jack's luck was unbelievable.

Carl has collected the "New York Times" for the past few days, and the time of reading newspapers for breakfast every day has become the most angry time for him.Carl never considered that Jack not only failed to abide by the agreement with him to "return to the United States before June", but also went to the most dangerous Balkan region to paint!Jack actually witnessed the entire assassination!

The bastard!Carl gritted his teeth and swore in his heart that when Jack appeared in front of him, he would make sure that Jack couldn't get out of bed!Let him run around in the future, Jack is afraid that he will not have a heart attack 30 years in advance? !

After Carl finished swearing, a feeling of fear immediately rose in his heart. These days, Jack can always occupy a place in the newspaper.Even if he didn’t accompany Jack through everything, as long as he looked at the published paintings, Carl felt cold sweat running down his back—those soldiers who were blown to pieces in the trenches and their empty eyes simply painted a picture of hell ——Did the boy he had been protecting with all his heart risk such a big risk to rush back to him?

"God, don't let Jack get hurt. This is the second time I have prayed to you devoutly. You did it last time. I hope we can cooperate happily this time." Carl closed his eyes and muttered to himself, then stamped With stiff toes, he walked to the sofa and sat on it.

[-] was destined to be a troubled year. Compared with the battlefields far away in Europe, Karl found it most incredible that the United States used troops against Mexico in April!Of course, what makes Karl feel even more ashamed is that he feels that judging from the current situation, this use of troops is doomed to fail.

The regime in Mexico has always been controlled by the United States. Although there have been a group of rich people in Mexico, the tragedy is that the gap between the rich and the poor within Mexico has been greatly widened, and almost all farmers do not even have land— —No money may be bearable, but when life is threatened, no one will make concessions.

Bare feet are not afraid of those who wear shoes. The armed uprising of Mexican workers and peasants and the troops sent by the United States are facing such a confrontation. The failure of the American soldiers is almost without doubt, and the failure has become a matter of time.But Carl couldn't wait. His farmland and ranch next to Mexico were likely to ruin this year's harvest—all the hired workers were Mexicans.Karl had to curse darkly, the failure will come sooner, at least it will not delay his business.

Luckily Jack came back just as Carl was about to yell about the gains on the land.

When Jack stepped out of the cruise ship, a heated discussion erupted at the port. Many people knew that the famous painter who had just become famous all over the world came back on this cruise ship, but no one knew what Jack looked like. Who did the reporters look like? Anyone who is a "famous artist" will be surrounded.

Those who dressed strangely and behaved unruly became the key targets of the siege, but Jack, a handsome young "rich young man", escaped unharmed.Carl pulled Jack into the car, and then slammed the door. The black glass window blocked the prying eyes of the outside world. Carl directly pressed Jack against the car door and sucked his tongue hard.

"Jack, you are a bad man!" Carl bit Jack's tongue and complained angrily. Jack just looked at Carl blankly and innocently. He didn't understand why Carl was angry.

Carl forgot one thing - Jack's geography is very bad, and until now he still thinks that "Balkan" is a country, not a collective name for a whole piece of land...