Almighty painter

Chapter 830 Return of Gift
Curatorial Assistant Ms. Bonnie Lampcher takes Gu Weijing backstage at the opera house.

There is still an hour and a half left before the exhibition opens.

Art interviews do not require any complicated lighting effects or stage designs, so the entire corridor appears very quiet.

Maybe too quiet.

Gu Weijing originally thought it would be more... hard to describe. It was the first time in his life that he accepted an interview with an art journal of the magnitude of "Oil Painting", and the venue was in the opera house. He originally thought it would be more "grand"?

Oil Painting sent a multi-person interview team to Singapore, led by the magazine's art director and a senior deputy editor-in-chief.

Not counting Anna's personal staff, including the photographer, there are about four or five people in total, which is a small but efficient team.

The past two weeks.

They are the center of public opinion surrounding the Biennale, the eye of the hurricane.

Oil Painting magazine just interviewed a certain artist, which in itself is enough to be regarded as news. The deputy editor of Oil Painting magazine had lunch with the CDX Gallery staff in the hotel, and Oil Painting magazine will reserve a personal page for Tonks in their new art review. It is said that the buyer section of the magazine intends to increase the star rating of Wu Guanzhong's recommendation...

True news, false news, true and false news, mixed together, became the most talked-about topic among the participating painters.

Even if the most inconspicuous young photographer in the team was having a meal in the restaurant, there would be many pairs of eyes on him, wondering if he could find a way to get a news photo or something.

What if it is selected by the editor when selecting manuscripts?

The attitude of many painters towards "Oil Painting" is similar to the attitude of sports celebrities towards top gossip newspapers twenty years ago, during the heyday of print media.

Love and hate it.

Being reported by them may not be a good thing.

While it will bring huge traffic and exposure, it may also be ridiculed by harsh comments and become a laughing stock in the eyes of the world.

There's a fine line between heroes and clowns.

At the same time, not everyone is qualified to make the front page headlines of these newspapers and be laughed at by others by making a fool of themselves on the court.

I have to be at least the main star of Real Madrid or AC Milan.

Being widely reported in the news means that you are important enough and is a symbol of status.

Fortunately.

Sports stars may be the subject of gossip, but they themselves do not make a living from gossip. No matter how viciously the Sun reporters mock their clothing taste, they can always slap their mouths with a beautiful hat trick in the Champions League.

But if, if there was a sports review newspaper in the world.

Their editors can comment on a person's taste, blow the whistle and act as referees in top league finals, vote for the World Footballer of the Year, decide whether you can start for Real Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain, and even decide your transfer value.

If only such a newspaper existed.

In sports, it's called God.

In the art field, it is called Oil Painting Magazine.

Therefore, it is understandable that during the art exhibition, there was a rumor that the curator, Mr. Micah Tonks, was in his office every morning, practicing in front of the mirror how to smile when facing Director Elena.

I was able to be interviewed by Oil Painting magazine.

Otherwise, it requires you to be important enough.

Otherwise, the fun you create has to be big enough so that one of the two ends will be involved.

As the curator of the Lion City Biennale and co-director of the Taylor Art Gallery, Mika Tonks can barely be considered the former at the Biennale, thanks to the advantage of being the organizer.

And Gu is the classic.

In the eyes of many people, he is clearly closer to the latter.

A work by an unknown female Impressionist painter that no one has ever heard of is not as good as Leonardo da Vinci's "Salvator Mundi". Even if what he wrote in his paper is true, its price is at most a few million dollars.

The painter who creates a single work that costs millions of dollars may be qualified to be taken seriously by Oil Painting.

But Gu Weijing, the researcher who wrote a specious paper, is not qualified for this treatment.

The unusually grand attitude of "Oil Painting" and Miss Irena's usual strong and sharp style.

Various factors add up.

Compared to the art director, the lady came here specifically to support Gu Weijing.

She came specifically to hang him up and hammer him, and "took off" his big dog head as a trophy to hang on the office wall, which was more in line with the expectations and imagination of the spectators.

As the news that Anna Elena would personally host the interview about Gu Weijing came out, all kinds of rumors immediately arose among the group of people paying attention to this matter.

People who become famous at a young age are always envied.

Rather than becoming the next Picasso-like success myth, the fake clown's funny face under the mask being exposed by the art director of Oil Painting magazine himself can better satisfy people's curiosity.

Three days ago.

Even Gu Weijing himself was convinced that the reason Anna interviewed him personally was because he was angry and humiliated after being rejected by her.

but now.

After receiving that brief and sincere apology letter.

Gu Weijing himself was also a little unsure.

The backstage of the opera house was quiet.

He looked carefully and realized that although it was quiet, there were actually quite a few people backstage.

Gu Weijing saw photographers holding cameras, staff members chatting in the dressing room, and scholars and teachers dressed in suits like himself who seemed to be going on stage soon. He also saw the deputy editor-in-chief of Oil Painting magazine sitting on the sofa and flipping through his phone... Gu Weijing vaguely remembered that the other person seemed to be called Newzlan.

No one spoke to him.

When the curatorial assistant took Gu Weijing past, everyone turned their heads and stared at Gu Weijing thoughtfully.

But no one spoke to him.

It was as if he had turned into a ghost that could not be touched by anyone.

"Oil Painting is like sending an army." Gu Weijing heard Yang Dekang beside him blow a breath gently and said in a thoughtful tone.

Gu Weijing was slightly stunned.

It dawned on him.

Teacher Yang's killer instinct always enables him to point out the key to the problem.

Yes.

How much it feels like an army.

Over the past two weeks, editors and reporters of Oil Painting have traveled far and wide, working independently. They have interviewed local art masters, Asian partners of major galleries, and had dinner with well-known artists and scholars on the organizing committee.

just now.

They all gathered together and formed the guard of honor for the person in charge.

What Gu Weijing felt was more solemn than desolate.

No one talked to Gu Weijing or said hello, not because Gu Weijing had turned into an untouchable ghost, but because there was no point in talking to him.

Similar to the editor-in-chief of Newzland, he may also be a person with great knowledge and eloquence.

But on such occasions.

He is just a pawn surrounding the "king" in chess, and his task is just to cooperate with others' work.

The interview is about to begin.

No matter what plans Oil Painting magazine has or what countermeasures it discusses, on the chessboard of the final game, there will only be the voice of one player on one side.

"It's here."

Ms. Lampcher stopped in front of a lounge at the end of the corridor.

"Dong dong dong."

The curatorial assistant knocked on the door of the room. "Mr. Gu is here."

The door was opened.

Elliot's face appeared behind the door. She looked at Gu Weijing for a moment, her eyes fell on his clothes. She paused for a brief moment, then glanced at Yang Dekang behind him, then she moved aside to make room, indicating that Gu Weijing could go in.

Anna is putting on makeup.

The woman sat facing the mirror. This lounge was prepared for the biggest and most prestigious sopranos and sopranos in the troupe performing in the opera house, and there was a very impressive dressing mirror.

The clothes were exposed in the half-open drawer on the storage table next to the dressing mirror.

There was a folded velvet cape decorated with feathers, an embroidered silk shawl, several lipsticks of different colors, and a crown inlaid with sky blue gems placed next to the woman's hand.

Gu Weijing couldn't help but stare at the gorgeous crown.

He rarely sees jewelry like this in the real world.

The woman at the dressing table was wearing a long dress with a wide skirt? An evening gown?
Gu Weijing didn’t quite understand.

The blue skirt falls freely at the feet, with puff sleeves decorated with silk on both sides and a light yellow belt binding the waist.

Combined with the gorgeous and antique decorations on the dressing table, it reminds young people of the princesses living in the castle in Disney movies.

"When the stars set, the dawn comes, and I will win."

The woman snorted.

"what?"

"There's these things in the drawer over there. I was a little curious, so I took them and looked at them. They're all props for the show - when the stars set, the dawn comes, and I will win."

The woman hummed two lines from the famous song "Nessun Dorma" in a deliberately low voice, but it was not Princess Turandot who sang the lines, but Prince Calaf.

"I saw you were staring at that tiara."

“I guess a theater group has rehearsed Turandot here before, and maybe there will be performances after the Biennale. Who knows?”

Miss Anna in the mirror used an eyelash brush to gently roll across the upper edge of her eyelids, and the arc of her eyelashes was slightly lifted up like a knife blade.

She seemed to be staring at her own eyebrows, and also seemed to be talking to the visitor behind her.

"Don't get me wrong, this is not mine. I can't imagine doing an interview with a crown like this. It would make the interview look like a scene from Disneyland."

Anna made sharp comments casually.

"It's disastrous, isn't it?"

"Of course—you look good in this, little painter."

the woman said.

Anna did not mention the unpleasant experience of their last meeting, as if she wanted to deliberately forget that meeting.

So Gu Weijing didn’t mention it either.

"Thank you."

He nodded, but still handed over a small box from his pocket.

"This is what I promised to give you back."

Gu Weijing said.

The box contains the heirloom cross of Elena's family.

In the cafe on the ground floor of Raffles Hotel, Gu Weijing said that he did not want to have anything to do with Elena's family anymore and would return the accessories that Anna gave him.

When he went to Xihe Guild Hall, he definitely would not bring any valuables with him.

After Gu Weijing came to Singapore, he even bought his painting supplies.

This jewel-encrusted gold cross and the original copy of Carroll's "Old Church in a Thunderstorm" were packed up and taken away by Gu Tong Xiangrun before he went to London.

He specifically asked his grandfather on the phone to bring it with him when he came to Singapore.

Now the old things are brought up again.

It was a subtle way of hinting that Gu Weijing didn't know what Miss Elena was thinking.

He didn't mind Anna's ridicule of him, but if the topic returned to Carol, the answer would be the same as before.

Still "No."

Elliot took the box from Gu Weijing's hand.

Anna seemed to understand what it was and waved her hand, signaling the secretary to put it away.

"I was going to say that we should have a good talk."

Miss Elena is wearing lipstick.

"We had a long talk today."

Gu Weijing said calmly: "It should be enough for us to have a good talk once—"

"——Open to the public."

He looked forward and added, looking at the woman in the mirror.

Gu Weijing was unwilling to accept the bribe from Elena's family and make the deal under the shadow.

He is fed up.

Really.

Whether it is true or not, after all these things, it is time to talk about it publicly.

Miss Elena looked into the man's eyes in the mirror for a moment, then she pursed her lips and revealed a fleeting, moving smile.

"Yeah. I thought so too. Aren't we all here for this matter today? I'm looking forward to it, little painter."

"Me too."

Gu Weijing said.

As the two of them asked and answered each other, Lao Yang's heart was shaken again and again.

His mood was like that of the Viking sailors who dumped whale oil onto the sea during a rainstorm during the Age of Exploration. The thick, oily film of oil barely maintained surface calm for a short period of time, but beneath it there were raging waves surging.

Not right.

Something is really wrong.

What's happening here?
It seems that Miss Elena is still as arrogant and unapproachable as before, but... when a person is unapproachable, will he hum an opera for others when they meet? Will he show a smile like he did just now?

Look beyond the surface.

Among the people present, Yang Dekang might be the one who knew the least about what happened between the two of them.

I can’t resist Lao Yang’s keen nose!
August can sniff out the scent of detective cats.

Lao Yang's killer instinct is no less impressive.

"Go put on your makeup, and then think about the interview. I have prepared a lot of questions, and it won't be easy to deal with them. I also need to rest for a while."

Anna closed her eyes.

"Oh, wait a minute."

The woman opened her eyes again and glanced at Yang Dekang.

"Is the watch yours?"

Anna was silent for a moment.

She suddenly asked a completely irrelevant question.

(End of this chapter)