Almighty painter

Chapter 1039 The Remarkable Gu Weijing (First Update)
“Even someone like my grandfather wouldn’t have this kind of mentality.”

Gu Weijing said, “He’s a super ‘trendy’ person. He likes to be elegant and sophisticated. He loves wearing formal attire. Even on the hottest days, he can wear a meticulous three-piece suit out.”

"He loves to dress up and knows a lot about fashion. At least he knows more about fashion than I do."

“If I were to give my grandfather a whole outfit like that, he couldn’t possibly be as nonchalant as Anna, shrugging his shoulders and saying, ‘Oh, it’s just an outfit.’ I don’t fucking care. Honestly, it’s really hard to do that.”

"He might feel the same joy as I do, and he might carefully put it away just as I do."

"Or rather... that's where I resemble him."

Gu Weijing said.

"But there are also aspects that are different."

“I wouldn’t be like him, able to chat happily with the tailor. Nor would he feel like me, that wearing this outfit replaces my own meaning and my own definition.”

"That's part of his personal life and personal style, not the whole of it."

"He has his own spirit, he has his own will, and he can use his will to control everything."

"He is very genuine."

“A friend gave him a simple and elegant suit worth the price of a car, which he liked very much. Someone else gave him a small vase that looked very ordinary and certainly cost no more than $50, which he also liked very much.”

"62.5 euros! Yes, 62.5 euros! Laser engraving costs extra! I still have the receipt!"

Mr. Yang Dekang, who was trying to outwit the parrot, was now displeased.

Brother Gu, that's where you're wrong.

Listen to the nonsense you're spouting.

If you're just chatting, then chat. If you're talking about yourself, then talk about yourself. Why are you also making baseless accusations against others?

"That kind of liking is a very real joy."

"Neither Gatsby nor Buchanan would have considered a party as the whole of life—I'm not saying my grandfather was Gatsby or anything. I don't want to make that comparison."

I was just talking about Nick.

"Many people at a banquet have things more important than the glittering feast, or the crates of gin being brought in."

"And Nick, Nick is like a ghost, ethereal and lost in this bizarre little dream, drifting around, and finally writing down some feelings full of confusion."

Gu Weijing said.

"But."

Mr. Sloth slowly said, “On that very day—at the Singapore Opera House, you donated a priceless oil painting. That painting, ‘The Old Church on a Thunderstorm,’ is probably worth 100 sets of custom-made clothing sewn with the most expensive silk thread.”

"Yes."

Gu Weijing nodded.

"There are times when you feel you have to make choices. You have to embrace certain things, and only by doing certain things do you truly live, and only then does everything you do have meaning."

So you mustered your courage and desperately stretched out your fingers, trying to grab something.

"But most of the time, you feel like you can't grasp anything. I always wonder, if I were given a similar choice again, would I still say those things?"

"If I hadn't donated that painting, I might have gained the wealth of 100 custom-made suits. What was I desperately reaching for?"

Gu Weijing said.

"Like the green light that was always on in front of Gatsby's house, day and night, never going out. That's one of Fitzgerald's most classic images."

The young man said.

“Dreams,” said Mr. Sloth.

"Yes, I did countless reading comprehension exercises about that green light in high school. That green light represents a dream, or more precisely, the American Dream. It's a symbol of THE American Dream. The problem is, The Great Gatsby is a tragedy."

Gu Weijing said, "No matter how you interpret it, at least 'The Great Gatsby' is not a comedy, and it's hard to even call it a tragicomedy. Gatsby ultimately didn't get that green light. Fitzgerald's greatest work is a work about the disillusionment of the American Dream."

"It's all fake."

"It's a paradox in itself. At one moment, you think it's right in front of you, that you can reach it with just a finger, but in the end, you realize that it's just an untouchable illusion. Everything will eventually lead to disillusionment."

The end of the novel.

Nick sat alone on the beach next to the mansion, gazing at the deep night.

"I sat on the beach, lost in thought about the ancient and unknown world, and suddenly I thought of Gatsby."

Yang Dekang read it softly.

After some tugging, the macaw finally grabbed Old Yang's short, stubby fingers, and the middle-aged man lifted the parrot out of its old cage. He spoke in a melancholy tone, like an actor on a Broadway stage.

"When Gatsby first saw the green light at the end of Daisy's dock, he must have been overjoyed. He had come a long way through the fog to reach this azure harbor. He must have felt that his dream was so close, almost within reach."

"What he didn't know was that his dream had already been left behind, on the vast land west of New York, on the endless plains under the dark night."

Yang Dekang has three treasures.

coercion.

overbearing.

Good memory.

Back in school, there was often a very long classical Chinese text in the textbook. Back then, when I was still a student, I would read it carefully a few times and then I could recite the whole text from memory. Everyone around me was astonished and amazed.

Even artsy girls from neighboring schools, after hearing about it, would come all the way here with great anticipation to see Yang Dekang's performance, only to have mixed feelings afterward.

In the words of artsy female students.

"Before I came here, I thought I would see some dashing and romantic figures, with feather fans and silk turbans, enjoying the flowing water and wine cups. But after I came here, I found that it was An Lushan dancing the Hu Xuan dance."

It's completely different from what she was thinking.

but.

Impressive... truly impressive after all.

While it may be oily, the skill level is indeed high.

Old Yang hummed softly: "The green light that Gatsby believed in, the blissful future that fades from our sight year after year. We can never catch it, but that doesn't matter—tomorrow we'll run faster, stretch our arms further…until some beautiful morning—"

In the podcast, Gu Weijing said to Mr. Sloth: "The green light represents a dream. For Gatsby, it was Daisy, it was the American Dream. For me, it might be Daisy, it might be the dream of art."

“I’m not a person with an outstanding memory. But I can still remember very clearly the last sentence of The Great Gatsby, Nick’s summary of the whole book. It’s the most famous ending in the entire history of American literature.”

The macaw stretched out its long beak, trying to peck at Yang Dekang's lower jaw.

Yang Dekang forcefully released his grip, shoving the blue-feathered parrot back into its new cage.

"—So we strive forward, but it's like rowing against the current; we're destined to keep retreating back to the past," Yang Dekang said.

"—So we strive forward, but it's like rowing against the current; we're destined to keep retreating back to the past," Gu Weijing said.
-

[So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.] ——"The Great Gatsby"
-

In the following episodes.

The two continued their conversation at a leisurely pace, discussing many things. Gu Weijing talked about the many changes in his personal life after his solo art exhibition in Abu Dhabi ended.

He also talked about his reclusive lifestyle.

Gu Weijing said that Mr. Sloth mentioned the word "seclusion," which is probably a misunderstanding. Gu Weijing did not live in seclusion, nor did he actually stay indoors all the time.

He goes out a lot.

For the past few months, he has gone out for a walk whenever he has free time, but he hasn't appeared in the mainstream media very often.

on the one hand.

Gu Weijing's social circle has shrunk.

on the other hand.

Gu Weijing felt that he had actually opened up to a great extent. In the past year, he had seen many things he had never seen before.

The young painter mentioned the stunning painting that had impressed him, as well as a small gallery he had recently visited that was called "Oh, this damn week is finally over!"

"I can always see some very interesting works in many places."

Gu Weijing said.

"...I sat in that gallery for a while."

Yang Dekang was slightly taken aback.

The little gallery called "Oh, this damn week is over" sounds familiar.

He seemed to have been to a similar shop before. Yang Dekang's deepest impression was that the shop assistants there were extremely stingy. Even when he was about to buy a painting, they wouldn't even give him a free coffee.

Ah!
She-Grandet!

Where do you do business like this? He even told the other party that he had a parrot that could recite Hegel's words!

Even though it's just bragging.

But a stingy person who won't give a free coffee to a cool guy who owns a Hegel parrot deserves to never grow their business.

Let her go and regret it!
Yang Dekang pursed his lips.

However, he felt that the restaurant Gu Weijing mentioned was the one he had visited, since it was a very distinctive name and it would be hard to find another one like it in the entire Hamburg.

"The law should stipulate that a man who owns a parrot that can recite Hegel's words can drink coffee for free."

Old Yang mumbled something, took the Starbucks coffee out of the brown paper bag, and placed it next to the parrot's cage.

“I talked a lot with the owner there about painting styles.”

Gu Weijing said.

"Did she recognize you?" Mr. Sloth asked.

"I guess not. Throughout the whole process, she seemed to think of me as just a student who was just browsing around. And I was just a student who was just browsing around."

Gu Weijing said, "Moreover, she did not agree to give me my coffee for free."

"IMHO."

"I don't want to come across as arrogant, but if they recognize me, most gallery owners wouldn't mind buying me a coffee."

puff.

Yang Dekang grinned.

Suddenly, the middle-aged man felt much more at ease.

See? I told you she was a female miser!

Considering that Brother Gu also received the exact same treatment, Yang Dekang decided to forgive the miser.

"But she agreed to let me pick any painting in the shop and take it, even if it was a painting worth 7000 euros. Forgive me for being frank, but if she recognized me, she might have given me a painting worth 7000 euros, but at least she would have let me sign it and take a photo with her."

"And if I don't mention what happened that day, then no one will ever know."

Yang Dekang was displeased.

just now.

Yang Dekang believes he can never forgive that female shop owner.

It's not about money at all. Yang Dekang isn't really short of money for a cup of coffee, or even for that painting. To put it bluntly, if Mr. Yang went out there, there would be plenty of people willing to chase after him and give him a painting "priced" at 7000 euros, as long as he was willing to accept it.

This is entirely a matter of face.

This is entirely a matter of double standards. To apply double standards is utterly shameless. Yang Dekang spent ages trying to persuade them, but they wouldn't even waive 5 euros. Meanwhile, other people just strolled around there and got thousands of euros worth of paintings given away without a second thought.

begging.

Gu Weijing still said that the other party recognized who he was.

That way, Old Yang would feel a little better.

Yang Dekang absolutely refuses to admit that this is due to personal charm or artistic cultivation.

“I think if they really offered you 7000 euros to do advertising, Mr. Gu, you probably wouldn’t agree. Besides, this involves the restrictions imposed by the Hermès Gallery.”

Mr. Sloth said, “Now, you’re treating it like a funny story and sharing it with others. From an art market perspective, 7000 euros for your endorsement should be quite a bargain. The signing fees offered to you by those big galleries should be more than a zero higher than that.”

“If I were your agent, I might think that the other person probably already recognized who you are. But she might be better at using these little tricks.”

"maybe."

Gu Weijing said, "Who can really say for sure about such things? If that's really the case, then I think she must be very good at knowing what I want."

"Because she didn't spend 7000 euros at all."

"I ultimately chose another artwork."

“I saw a small painting in a gallery, entirely composed of color, that only cost 170 euros, but I felt it was better and more realistic than some works that sold for 1700 euros.”

"I heard it almost got bought by someone else."

Gu Weijing said.

"But before making payment, the other party hoped that the gallery could waive the cost of the coffee they had ordered, but the owner disagreed, so the deal fell through."

"I'm quite fortunate."

“That’s a really interesting piece of work. I feel like I can see a lot in it. Even if I painted it myself, in some ways I wouldn’t be able to do it any better.”

Yang Dekang felt as if he had been stabbed in the chest again.

(End of this chapter)