Almighty painter

Chapter 951 Viktor's Understanding
Gu Weijing's scheduled flight to Paris was scheduled for noon the day before the date on his flight.

While eating in the school cafeteria, he overheard the magazine "Oil Painting" and Anna's name again during a conversation. This wasn't particularly surprising.

"Painting" is the most famous super art media in Europe. Anna is a super celebrity in the art academy. Being a super celebrity in the art academy means that Gu Weijing can always hear Miss Elena and the name of "Painting" magazine at any time and in any place on campus, in the classroom, the studio, under the green trees by the tennis court, next to the sink in the toilet, or when he is getting food in the cafeteria.

You know Viktor, right?

His roommate, nicknamed "Professor," was a very unsociable person, but one of his greatest hobbies in his spare time was browsing Miss Elena's whereabouts on the campus network.

This is not because Viktor is some kind of perverted stalker.

Rather, it means...

Viktor had a grand plan for this. It was a plan he devised by referencing Arnold Schwarzenegger's life trajectory. As an Austrian with a thick accent, he dreamed of becoming president; to become president, he first needed to be governor of California; to be governor, he first needed to become famous; to become famous, he needed to become a Hollywood star; and to do that, he first needed to work incredibly hard at the gym—

Viktor, on the other hand, dreams of becoming a tenured professor at a top art academy, which is very difficult.

He made detailed life plans for this.

To become a tenured professor at an art academy, one needs sufficient qualifications, academic contributions, and artistic achievements. In addition to gradually building seniority in academia, one needs to win an award or have so-called "cross-disciplinary influence," such as making outstanding achievements in curating or art criticism.

The easiest and quickest way to win awards or gain "cross-disciplinary influence" is naturally to work hard at drawing, writing articles, and so on...

"Man!"

Viktor, who hadn't left school because he was attending summer courses, slapped the table lightly across from him: "Of course, I'll become an editor at 'Oil Painting' magazine! Is there a better life plan than this? Whether you want to win awards or do other things, you should definitely get on good terms with 'Oil Painting' magazine first."

Gu Weijing neither agreed nor disagreed.

"Want to become a tenured professor? First, win an award. Want to win an award? First, become an editor at 'Oil Painting' magazine."

"So, you want to become an editor at Oil Painting magazine?" Gu Weijing asked curiously. "Do you want to intern at Oil Painting magazine first? And if you want to intern at Oil Painting magazine after graduation, you need to study hard now?"

"No, no, no."

Viktor shook his head like a rattle-drum, looking utterly hopeless. "Studying hard is important, but even more important... is, of course, figuring out how to make an impression on Anna Elena!"

“Gu! The major shareholder of the ‘Oil Painting’ magazine is taking classes at our school. Don’t you realize what a great resource that is? The greatest treasure on this campus isn’t any professor’s course, but gaining Anna Elena’s attention!” He spoke calmly, as if he had already clearly planned out his life for the next twenty years.

"I've heard that Miss Elena has a less than pleasant personal relationship with Sir Brown and the entire board of directors of The Painting."

Gu Weijing kindly reminded him.

"What's it to us?"

Victor continued to shake his head: "They're still the magazine's major private shareholder. No matter how bad the relationship is, getting someone in for an internship is just a matter of a recommendation letter. Does Sir Brown have the time to argue with interns who come here for internships?"

"Believe me. A letter of recommendation from Miss Elena is more valuable than any letter from the head of the department!"

"So—have you thought about how to gain Miss Elena's personal attention?"

Gu Weijing asked this philosophical question out of curiosity.

"You're telling me this because..."

Gu Weijing was surprised. Could it be that during his entire year at school, the perceptive Viktor had noticed something?

"Yes, that's right, it's because of the 'Anna Elena Fan Club'!"

Viktor nodded heavily.

As he spoke, he took out several badges from his pocket and placed them on the table. This action, coupled with Victor's expression, was so eerily reminiscent of Miss Know-It-All in Harry Potter pouring out a handful of "House-Elf Protection Society Badges" on the table, or like Kong Yiji slapping several copper coins onto the table.

"There's actually such a club at school?"

Gu Weijing was astonished.

It's so outrageous.

He knew that the school had all sorts of clubs and activities, various art programs, and many, many campus bands composed of college students.

But—"Anna Elena Fan Support Group," isn't that a bit too bizarre?

Does Anna herself know this?

He strained to see the colorful badges that Viktor had placed on the table.

“Oh, actually, it’s the ‘Photography and Curating Studies’ club within the campus photography workshop under the Academy of Fine Arts.” Viktor pointed to the landscape and humanistic photos printed on the badges. “I named it myself, ‘Fan Support Group.’ I did some research, and it’s the only campus club Anna Elena participates in. There are way more people joining this year than in previous years, hmph.”

Victor sneered.

"It seems there's more than one smart person."

"My plan is to get to know people, then get a letter of recommendation. Count me in."

Viktor casually grabbed a badge with what appeared to be an old fisherman's photo on it and handed it to Gu Weijing.

"Hey, great painter, no offense, but how come you and Miss Elena get along like this?"

Viktor didn't wait for Gu Weijing's refusal; the smile on his face vanished completely, replaced by a serious expression.

Ok?
Gu Weijing stared at the other person.

Perhaps they had already seen through the deception.

"What's wrong?" Gu Weijing asked calmly.

“Don’t lie to me, Gu.” Victor put down his fork, stretched out his right hand, pointed to Gu Weijing’s eyes, and then pointed to his own eyes.

"There's definitely something going on between you and Elena."

He said.

"I understand."

"You two met in Singapore before, at that symposium? She hosted it. That painting called 'The Old Church on a Thunderstorm,' which you discovered. Damn. That painting is worth at least $1000 million. Not to mention, you two were involved in the Griffin case and spent a week together at sea."

"Dude."

Viktor was extremely disappointed in him.

"It's not that I want to meddle, but... how can a person let themselves get into this state?"

"Gu, you have to pull yourself together!"

Gu Weijing was truly bewildered. He couldn't grasp the logic in his classmate's words; he only felt that if he had stepped out of the cargo ship that night and looked at the waiter, he would have seen a profound malice in the other's eyes.

At this moment.

In the reflection of Viktor's eyes... he seemed to see a lump of mud that could never be salvaged no matter how hard it tried.

No?

I dare not speak of other things, but even without the system, Gu Weijing has always been a good child, a good student in everyone's eyes, and a talented person since childhood.

If you don't believe me, go ask Brother Hao.

The bald henchman even came to our door with a fruit platter, okay?

When had he ever been looked at with such pity?
Look at yourself.

“Victor, what’s wrong with me? Is there a problem?”

Gu Weijing looked at himself.

He felt he had been insulted for no reason.

"You have a start that many art students can only dream of. Samuel Kertzens calls you a great painter, which sounds a bit sarcastic. Let me tell you, I think that old guy is jealous of you! But now, you've been in Hamburg for a whole year, driving your Polo around every day. It's such a failure."

"Failure? Uh, what's wrong with the Polo?"

Small-displacement cars are also environmentally friendly; polar bears and penguins in the Arctic will line up to thank you.

He felt his Polo had been insulted for no reason. However… considering the emissions scandal, perhaps such an insult wasn't entirely undeserved. No, that's not the point—

"What's wrong with me?" Gu Weijing was confused once again.

“Gu, you shouldn’t waste your life! You should spend your time on more meaningful things, things that truly bring you satisfaction.”

Victor said, "A Polo is nothing. You're a multi-millionaire, yet you're still driving a cheap car worth a few thousand euros. Do you know what that means?"

“That’s great. Artist, that’s what an artist is. Those rich white kids with easy money buying Porsches and high-performance cars at school. Okay?” He spread his hands. “I’m not jealous of them, they have good dads. But that kind of style is something anyone with money can do. But a real multi-millionaire like you driving a cheap beat-up car, that’s art.”

"That painting, 'The Old Church on a Thunderstorm,' was donated. I'm not a millionaire."

Gu Weijing explained one sentence.

“It’s okay,” Victor said. “It’s the same. Donating a work worth ten million dollars instead of using it to buy a sports car is still art.”

"The first day I met you, I really admired you. I think you are the kind of person who can find satisfaction in painting. I think you are amazing."

"Then do you know what it means to be unartistic? Wasting time, wasting resources, doing nothing."

"limit."

Victor said.

“I’ve told you before, boundaries. We can’t waste our time like white students, living a dissolute college life. It’s not about what kind of car you drive, it’s about going out and partying all the time.”

"If you ask me, you probably had a girlfriend outside of school, bro?"

He extended his fist.

Gu Weijing didn't bump fists with him, and he was dumbfounded. What was going on here?

"You are not being honest."

Viktor shook his head in disappointment. "Although you never tell me when I ask, what other reason could there be for a multi-millionaire living in an on-campus apartment to drive around aimlessly every day and come back looking exhausted? Sometimes, he even stays out all night."

"There are only a few types of things, usually either gambling or dating. Even local students don't go home that often."

He said.

"Brother, tell me, do you gamble?"

Gu Weijing shook his head.

“That is, getting a girlfriend. The outcome of these two things is usually the same,” he said confidently.

"Hehehe. Don't look at me like that, great painter." Viktor shook his head, instantly transforming into a master of emotions. "I'm not a disrespectful person. I'm not saying having a girlfriend is bad. I've seen so many problems caused by single-parent families or families without a father. Family, man, family is everything."

“What I mean by gambling is, do you know how many college couples around us actually end up together?” Victor asked.

"It shouldn't be high."

Gu Weijing recalled the number of girls who had appeared around Ed in the past month.

“5%, 3%, 1%, 0.1%? I don’t know, but the chances aren’t very high,” Victor said. “Most people in our watercolor department break up within three months, and in some cases, they just date for a day or two.”

"Do you know what the divorce rate is in Hamburg?" he pressed again.

Gu Weijing shook his head.

"One in four. Hamburg has the highest divorce rate in Germany. One in four newlywed couples will divorce within five years, another third in the next five years, and the remaining quarter will get tired of each other in the next ten years. The total divorce rate varies from 60% to as high as 72%."

Victor demonstrated amazing numerical talent.

"Wow," Gu Weijing exclaimed in amazement.

“I said I don’t want to become that kind of guy. I’ve witnessed the harm that single-parent families cause to both parents and the children. I can’t make a mistake. If I make one, I’ll become the kind of person people think I am.”

"Remember, boundaries. We can't mess around like white people; you need a stable family. The result of messing around is a probability of 30% multiplied by a very small factor. We already have few opportunities, and the more chaotic our lives are, the fewer opportunities we'll have. If you feel that's your destiny, then I wish you well. If not, you need to focus your energy on important matters!"

"For example... joining Anna's fan club?"

"For example, try to get an internship at the magazine *Painting*. Do something meaningful. You're a great painter; you won a gold medal at the biennial before you even went to university and secured investment from the Elena family. Seize the opportunity, and you will become a great painter! You can become a tenured professor before you're 40!"

"And the result?" Victor curled his thick lips. "Now, when Anna Elena sees you, she won't even glance at you, let alone greet you. What happened?"

"You need this."

He pushed the badge into Gu Weijing's arms.

He then took out an application form and a copy of the magazine "Oil Painting".

"This is more meaningful than all the fraternities and sororities, and more meaningful than spending holiday time in Paris."

(End of this chapter)