The Romance of a Young Painter

Four years later, Feicheng.

"Zhou Xiaonian, tell me how long you haven't contacted me. I'm thinking that if we don't see each other again, I don't even remember what you look like." Fang Leye dug a large spoonful of ice cream into his mouth, then Frowning from being so sweet, he pushed the dessert aside in disgust, and said, "I heard that you have been doing well recently, and you won some other award, er, the Pressure Mountain Award, right?"

"It's the Alexander Lucci Painting Award." Zhou Nianjiu corrected him.

Fang Leye took out a small notebook and wrote it down, explaining: "This time, my buddy came here specially to find you. Let's take time to chat about your business. I'll save it for material."

Zhou Nianjiu said: "I also happen to have something to ask you."

Fang Leye patted his chest and said with a smile: "It's rare that Zhou Xiaonian took the initiative to inquire and promise to know everything without saying anything."

Zhou Nianjiu said, "Do you know where Shen Guangji has gone?"

Fang Leye's smile stiffened, and he said, "I really don't know about that."

"Who in your family knows, can you ask for me?" Zhou Nianjiu said.

"This...you see, my little cousin is so big, he doesn't need to report to anyone where he goes, most of them don't know, but don't worry, since he promised you, he will definitely ask for you," Fang Leye said with relief Jin Er, a series of questions also came, "What have you two been playing these years? Are you playing hide and seek?"

Zhou Nianjiu said, "I didn't hide from him."

"You didn't hide that he deserves to fly abroad every now and then? According to my opinion, most of his income from selling paintings was contributed to the airline company. Fortunately, he still has trusts and dividends, so he won't starve to death for a while," Fang Leye said, " By the way, I remember you said categorically that you have nothing to do with him, who would believe this now?"

"We did date for a while." Time has passed, Zhou Nianjiu thinks there is no need to hide it.

"Pass? That means you guys are really having a good time, and you're divided?" Fang Leye opened his mouth wide open.

"I don't know if it counts as a breakup." Zhou Nianjiu said.

Shen Guangji's original words were that if you need to think about it, I will give you enough time and space, and when you think of the answer, I will wait for you within your reach.It was Shen Guangji's unconditional tolerance that made Zhou Nianjiu determined to treat it with caution. He said: "At that time, I thought it was unfair for him to associate with that kind of uncertain mentality."

fair?How can there be fairness in such things as feelings?It is not the first time that Fang Leye, who has made up countless lingering little stories in his brain and put them into words, has seen his friend's weakness in this area, but he will not be kind enough to tell Zhou Nianjiu this sentence, after all, he can see Shen Guangji in his lifetime Being deflated is simply a joy in life—you must know that it is Shen Guangji, who is omnipresent. Fang Leye even felt that the psychological shadow of his youth seemed to have been cleared up a lot in an instant. He resisted the gloating in his heart and twisted his expression to Zhou Nianjiu gave me a look that I understand.

"I think it through now," Zhou Nianjiu didn't care about Fang Leye's Yan Yi at all, he said, "I need to talk to him face to face, but I can't get through to his phone number, and I didn't reply to his email, if you have any news about him Be sure to tell me as soon as possible."

It took less than a minute for the process from gloating at others' misfortune to excruciating joy to sorrow. As a housekeeper, Leye felt that his entire expression system had collapsed. He said, "So you plan to rebuild the old relationship with him, right?"

"It's better to restore the old one? Do you need me to remind you of the inappropriate words?" Zhou Nianjiu said.

"You have not been doing business in this area for five years, and you have no fighting power to compete with full-time writers." Fang Leye, who has just climbed up from the bottom of disappointment, said that he refused to accept non-professional opinions. Read all the published books and submit an after-view review of no less than [-] words."

"No need, I won't waste time on such meaningless things." Zhou Nianjiu stopped Fang Leye in time before he started pushing the book forcibly, and said, "By the way, why did you come all the way to the city to find me? Shouldn't it be just to talk to me about this?"

"It's really something." Fang Leye took out a low-key and connotative card from his bag and handed it to him, saying, "The department organized a fifth anniversary party, and I'll give you the invitation letter."

"Are you going?" Zhou Nianjiu took it and flipped through it, and the time was a week later.

"Of course, it is said that Xihua is single again, I have to seize the opportunity." Fang Leye did not hide his goal, seeing Zhou Nianjiu's lack of interest, said, "If I want to tell you, you should go out more and hang out with me. There are a lot of people of the same age with a bit of youthful atmosphere, don’t hang out with people in their 30s all the time, and make yourself look despondent and see through the world. Dude, let’s leave this here, just say it, go or not ?”

"I'll go." Zhou Nianjiu said.

"I said you don't have to think about it... Hey, what did you just say?" Fang Leye didn't react for a while.

"I said I'll go." Zhou Nianjiu repeated it kindly, "So please stop repeating that set of philosophy of life, author Fang Da. I've been listening to it for several years and can almost string it together as a model essay for a compulsory course."

"Zhou Xiaonian, you can do it, hurt me, right? I'll just wait for you to cry and beg me to save you at the party." Fang Leye angrily walked around the living room, the living room twice, and saw black tea on the bar with sharp eyes. and refreshments.

Fang Leye wasn't polite to him, so he brewed a pot, then drank it contentedly and said, "Hey, you have a lot of good things here, I'll bring some for Meng Meng when I go back, she must like it. Where did you buy it?" ?”

"I'm not too sure, just take these back to her." It was arranged by Steve when Zhou Nianjiu went to country E last month. He took two at random, and didn't realize it until he brought them home to drink tea. In fact, it was Shen Guangji's hobby, but Fang Leye was cheaper if Shen Guangji didn't come.

On the surface, the trip to Country E didn’t change anything. Steve chose not to disclose the father-son relationship between the two after seeking his opinion, but he gave Zhou Nianjiu some advice on painting as a collector—closed door Although it is possible to study in one direction to a depth that is difficult for ordinary people to reach, it is not conducive to opening up the pattern of works. He suggested that Zhou Nianjiu come to Europe to study for a period of time.

Zhou Nianjiu promised that he would seriously consider it.

Speaking of thinking about it, Zhou Nianjiu has actually made a decision in his heart. In the past twenty years, he has been living like a baby who has never been weaned, enjoying the meticulous care of Wen's father and son. Take the other person's care for granted.After arriving in Country E, during the short few days of getting along with Steve, the other party's seemingly laissez-faire Western-style paternalism that emphasizes personal independence made him see another way to get along with his family.

Learn to be independent, whether it is life or creation.

So he came to Feicheng and stayed for four years. Here he swept away the last obstacle in painting, which was the lack of self-confidence brought about by the uncertainty of his own style. The direct expression was unconscious self-denial, and then It became a kind of exhaustion in creative expression, and in this art capital, he finally found his painting self, and presented it in his works with a calm attitude—just like a rough stone being cut by a skilled craftsman in accordance with nature, and gradually revealed With dazzling brilliance.

Zhou Nianjiu has already passed the stage where he is eager to share with Shen Guangji as soon as he has something. This is a common trait in adolescence, but it has slowly and long run through his life when he and Shen Guangji have known each other for more than ten years.After completing the transformation work, he was finally able to talk to the other party on an equal footing with a more mature attitude, and seriously proposed to reconsider the relationship between the two.

Then, Shen Guangji disappeared after leaving those words.

Zhou Nianjiu unconsciously opened the last message that Shen Guangji sent him half a month ago: You must not guess where I am now, and I also know that you don't like to play guessing games, I will bring something back from here, trust me , this is definitely a gift you will never forget.

"...Talking to me is so boring, Zhou Xiaonian, even you started swiping your phone, can this world be better?" Fang Leye grabbed Zhou Nianjiu's phone and put it on the table, and said, "From now on, whoever looks at the phone is the one who craps." Wang..." Just as he was speaking, his own mobile phone rang. It was a chord played by Guqin. It was very special. He touched the mobile phone in his pocket, but he didn't look at it, and he didn't look at it.

"Meng Meng?" Zhou Nianjiu asked.

"Isn't this my aunt?" Fang Leye turned on the phone and said, "She knew I was coming to see you, so she specially sent a message to ask me to take care of you, and at the same time warned you not to bully her brother-in-law."

"That's it?" Zhou Nianjiu didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "How is she? Does she still make original music?"

Fang Leye shook his head and said: "It's crazy. She is now a rookie in the domestic ancient style original music network. At the beginning of the year, she even signed up for a TV show. If she wants to go, I guess she can get the top three with her looks. Pity……"

"She didn't go?" Zhou Nianjiu asked.

Fang Leye had a strange expression on his face, and said: "It's strange that she can go with a cousin. Let me tell you, her original documents are kept in the cousin's safe, and she can't get them out. Every time I do something, I have to pass the test of my cousin, and with my cousin's temper, how can I let her do such a showy thing as the draft."

"It's a pity, the things she made are quite unique." Zhou Nianjiu said, he suddenly remembered something, and asked, "Isn't Meng Meng an adult, why doesn't she hold the certificate by herself?"

Fang Leye said: "Hey, my cousin is even more important than the elders of the family. She has always said the same at home, not to mention Meng Meng's ID, even Meng Meng, if she really wants to hold Meng Meng, she can't leave the Shen residence. But My mother also talked about her, saying that the daughter has grown up safely, so she should not be kept in the same way as she was when she was a child. After so many times, the cousin returned the ID card to Meng Meng. "

"Girls really should be careful." Zhou Nianjiu said.The thorn left by the old dream in his heart would still suddenly come out to remind him when encountering certain memory points, and he was a little relieved to learn that Meng Meng had been peaceful in the past few years.