Part 4
With that, Xiu Nai bowed to Zhu Ran once again.
Zhu Ran nodded and saw Xiu Nai off.
After closing the door, Zhu Ran sat on the sofa, eyes lowered in thought.
The entire living room had taken on a new look with Lai Zeâs help. The original, extremely simple decoration style had been replaced with a low-key luxury style. Even if Zhu Ran wasn’t familiar with the interstellar furniture market, he could guess the immense value of these pieces from their subtle patterns.
Not only that, although there was no second person in Zhu Ranâs home besides himself and Z, the sensitive Zhu Ran had already discovered that within the last hour, his previously uninhabited neighboring units had all been filled with people.
They seemed to be guarding something.
Zhu Ran touched the vine on his wrist, lost in thought.
So, just who… was Z?
Planet Wenduerier
After passing through clay sculptures made of a blend of metal and earth, an ancient European-style building stood there.
The building was surrounded by statues of various strange speciesâeight-legged hard-shelled sea creatures, flowers larger than a human face, mythical winged unicorns…
While these sculptures added interest to this ancient manor, they also seemed somewhat out of place.
This was the manor of the artist Bai Luo.
Yan You had communicated with Bai Luo yesterday and had come to visit today.
His heart was a bit nervous, yet also a bit excited.
After all, this was the first time in three years he had plucked up the courage to find Bai Luo.
Yan You arrived at Bai Luoâs door. Just as he was about to knock, he heard voices inside.
“Master Bai, can you really not take me as your disciple? Iâve already won this year’s Art Newcomer Award and have gained recognition from many people. Why won’t you take me?”
“Is there something Iâm still not doing well enough? Tell me, and Iâll change.”
Yan You recognized the owner of this voiceâit was Yan Han.
He and Yan Han were university classmates.
But… compared to Yan You, who had started his path late, Yan Han was born into an artistic family. He had grown up immersed in art, and his paintings from high school could already sell for around 100,000 Star Coins.
In his freshman year, Yan Han had signed with a management company, cultivating the image of a “noble gentleman painter.”
He often appeared on variety shows, was good-looking, and his family was indeed wealthy, so he had amassed a large following.
Yan Hanâs painting speed wasn’t slowâhe could produce one or two pieces a month. He often auctioned off his paintings or held exhibitions, and nearly every piece could sell for seven figures in Star Coins.
Because of this, many art enthusiasts had heard of Yan Hanâs name, while the name âYan Youâ was very foreign to them.
Yan You had constantly heard people in the academy discussing how ‘Yan Hanâs painting sold for X million Star Coins yesterday,’ ‘Yan Han won another award,’ and ‘Yan Han is the undisputed number one among young artists’…
Every time he heard these comments, Yan You would think: Yan Han is amazing. I wonder if Teacher Bai Luo regrets taking me as a disciple; I only bring shame to him…
Inside the room, facing the persistent Yan Han, Bai Luo spoke slowly, “Yan Han… Iâm old. Iâm an old fossil who doesn’t understand the trendy new things among young people.”
“Your painting style is too young; I can’t teach you.”
Yan Hanâs hands clenched. “I don’t accept that. Art has no boundaries. As long as youâre willing to take me as your disciple, I can change my style and my methods to what you like.”
“Iâm also not convinced. Yan You hasn’t been able to produce a single painting in a year, yet he can be your disciple. Why can’t I?”
Bai Luo only looked at Yan Han and didn’t speak.
After a long silence, Bai Luo said, “If youâre so persistent, Yan Han, why don’t you compete with Yan You?”
“Yan You, come in.”
Hearing Bai Luoâs words, Yan You, who was standing outside the door eavesdropping, felt the embarrassment of being caught.
After some mental preparation, he pushed the door and entered.
“Good afternoon, Teacher. Hello, Classmate Yan.”
Yan You greeted them obediently.
Yan Han nodded slightly. “Hello, Classmate Yan.”
He maintained a surface smile, but the corners of his mouth were stiff.
Bai Luo suggested, “Don’t you young people like to do livestreams online? Why don’t you livestream your painting together and let the netizens be the judge?”
“If Yan Han can win the favor of more people, I will take you as my disciple.”
“However, artistic aesthetics are a very subjective thing. If either of you loses, don’t take it too much to heart.”
Yan Hanâs eyes lit up upon hearing this.
“I agree.”
Relying on internet marketing, Yan Han had tens of millions of fans. He was extremely confident in his online influence.
As for Yan You, he was just an unknown little artist who hadn’t had a single representative work in so many years. How could he possibly compare to him?
Facing Yan Hanâs self-assured look, Yan You remained silent.
In that moment, he remembered many things.
He remembered Yan Hanâs friend accidentally splashing paint on his painting. He remembered a group of people privately calling him a “country bumpkin.” He also recalled a party where Yan Han was surrounded by a crowd and said to him, ‘You probably won’t be able to drink this wine in your lifetime! Today’s my treat, drink as much as you want.’
Yan You clenched his fists and finally made his decision.
“I accept.”
Soon, news of Yan Han and Yan Youâs livestreamed painting competition spread through the painting circle. The matter even reached the hot search on the Star Network and flooded the art section of the forums.
[Yan Han is a sure winner. Who is Yan You? Never heard of him.]
[Yan Han is the young master of the artistic Yan family. Heâs been immersed in art since childhood, and a single painting can sell for millions. Can Yan You compare?]
[Supposedly Yan You is Master Bai Luoâs student, so his strength shouldn’t be too bad…]
[Just a student of Master Bai Luo, not Bai Luo himself. Yan You is said to be just a poor student. What does a poor student know about art?]
…
Unsurprisingly, almost everyone online favored Yan Han. Those who thought Yan Han was a sure winner accounted for 99%.
An overwhelming support rate.
At 7:55 PM, under the witness and supervision of Bai Luo and an AI witness, the two young artists, Yan Han and Yan You, entered two private studios respectively to prepare for their work.
At 8:00 PM, Bai Luo, the most authoritative artist of the day, announced the theme for this livestreamed painting match.
“The theme for the creation is ‘Hope.’ Time limit: 1 hour.”
[Hope? Such an abstract theme…]
[Yan Han is smiling, he’s so handsome!]
[Yan Han smiling like that means he must be very confident! As expected of the most promising artist.]
[Yan Han has already started! Heâs started!]
…
When he heard the theme was ‘Hope,’ Yan Han breathed a sigh of relief. This was a keyword he had recorded before.
He quickly picked up his brush. While painting, he explained to the camera, “The word ‘hope’ makes us think of light, and the most dazzling light in the entire universe is none other than the sun. I believe if you ask an AI, they would give the same answer.”
“So, I plan to paint a sunrise to demonstrate this theme.”
Yan Han mixed his paints based on memory.
The mixing formulas and painting techniques for all things were recorded in his mind. What he painted would definitely be the optimal solution that conformed to public aesthetics.
On a 16*20 inch canvas, the most suitable size for the main subject would be around 17cm in diameter…
Color scheme for the sun… Y291 at 32%, W938 at 10%, R219…
The size of the sunspots should be… the color…
…
Formula after formula and equation after equation formed in Yan Hanâs mind. His speed in mixing paints and painting was also very skilled, without pause.
To the viewers in the livestream room, Yan Hanâs style appeared as if it were done in one go, showing the air of a grandmaster.
The heat in Yan Hanâs livestream room was currently 11 million, and the tips received totaled 240,000 Star Coins.
Meanwhile, the heat in Yan Youâs livestream room was 1,217, and the tips received were 0.
[As expected of Yan Han!]
[Wow… I can already imagine what this painting will look like.]
[The guy next door still hasn’t started. Haha, he probably can’t even paint!]
…
Yan Han was also very confident in his painting. His composition couldn’t go wrong, nor could he lose to anyone else.
After all, it was a standard answer analyzed and selected from the big data of the entire interstellar and AI databases.
“Just painting a sun isn’t enough to highlight the theme of ‘hope.’ Where there is light, there must be darkness. So, in the remaining parts of the painting, we use dark colors as contrasting colors…”
Yan Han confidently used his brush to dye the white canvas a deep blue. The livestream bullet comments remained hot; everything seemed to be going as he expected.
However, at some point, the heat in Yan Youâs livestream room started to rise.
[The guy next door finally started. Heâs so slow! Can he finish in the remaining half hour?]
[Iâll go next door to give some free gifts. He is Bai Luoâs disciple after all, gotta show some face.]
[Iâll go take a look too.]
…
However, after these people went to Yan Youâs livestream room, they never returned.
The number of people in Yan Youâs livestream room was increasing at a rate visible to the naked eye.
10,000… 150,000… 1,000,000… In just 20 minutes, Yan Youâs livestream reached a heat of 9.79 million! The gifts sent in the room also reached 30,000 Star Coins.
Although the tips were quite a bit behind, the heat was almost on par with Yan Hanâs!
Before the livestream started, no one could have imagined that an unknown painter could suddenly surge by nearly ten million in heat in less than half an hour.
There weren’t many bullet comments in Yan Youâs livestream room, making the screen appear very spacious and clean.
The viewers waiting in Yan Youâs livestream room had no time to post comments at this moment.
They all held their breath, watching the person who was fully immersed in his work.
Compared to Yan Hanâs livestream room, Yan Youâs room was somewhat quiet.
Yan You had no extra expressions, nor did he speak to liven up the atmosphere. He had no intention of pleasing the audience.
However, his painting technique and the canvas that was gradually being filled with color were exquisitely crafted and fascinating, making it impossible to look away.
Heavens… heâs painting so chaotically, bits here and there, but it has a strange attraction.
His use of color is so bold! He can even mix them like that?
A completely different style from Yan Han, it’s quite captivating.
…
Yan You painted the entire canvas a deep brown. Withered and rotting yellowish leaves and wilted flowers fell on the soil like corpses, resembling a graveyard.
Then, he quickly mixed a touch of bright green and made a few quick dots at the center of gravity of the canvas.
The brush moved away, and then, the day dawned.
In the withered land, the remains and skeletons of plants were everywhere.
Yet, a green sprout was breaking through the soilâsmall and fragile, but also… sturdy and powerful, surging with life.
Although it wasn’t light, it was brighter and warmer than light.
Like a flame in despair, or a lighthouse on a boundless sea, it lit up the night and drove away the cold.
This was hope.
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