My girlfriend is Kusunoko Saiki

The freezing cold sea water makes it impossible to escape.

The persecution from his superiors, the cold eyes from his enemies, the ridicule from outsiders, each pain was like a chain from hell, seemingly pulling him into the darkness.

But just when he was so desperate, hands began to appear behind him.

He remembered them. Even after several years or even more than ten years, he still remembered the faces of everyone behind him.

His former friends and partners began to appear behind him, supporting him as he continued to float up.

And the speed is getting faster and faster.

Until Shuiyue's body suddenly rushed out of the water, what greeted him was the vast starry sky.

Minister Shuiyue had never seen such a beautiful starry sky.

So vast, so peaceful.

He understood that these stars were what he had always been pursuing.

Fame, money, love, every single thing exists in that sea of ​​stars.

"This, what exactly is this..."

When Minister Shuiyue came to his senses, he found himself still sitting in the conference room.

But what on earth was that illusion that seemed so real just now?

Everything that just happened was so real, as if I was really at the bottom of the sea.

Mizuki Chidori once went abroad to watch those classic works, and once briefly fell into a wonderful illusion.

But Minister Shuiyue had never seen such a realistic scene before.

"Is there really such a real illusion in this world?"

At this time, Shuiyue looked at the judges who were also in hallucinations and felt a little unbelievable.

Looking at the people who supported her in the previous illusion, Shuiyue couldn't help but think of the name of this painting.

"The pillar of progress? It turns out that I have always been supported by friendship."

At this moment, Shuiyue couldn't help but recall her student days.

As the young master of the Shuiyue family, Shuiyue was actually not sociable in school at that time.

I have very few friends, only three or two.

But without exception, they are all best friends.

And at that time, they also believed that they would always be friends.

But after graduation, their contact gradually became less and less.

Maybe it was because they had a new life, or maybe it was for some other reason, but gradually, they went on different paths.

However, Shuiyue still can't forget how her friends helped her when she was in the most difficult time.

When I just graduated, I thought I could make a name for myself even without the support of my family.

But what was waiting for him was undoubtedly a big mess.

The intrigues and deceptions in society are not something a young graduate can handle.

Soon, he was cornered by his enemies.

At that time, a job I was working on was in crisis. There was a problem with a batch of goods. Not only was there a hole in the funds, but even the goods were in bad condition.

At that time, it was several of his friends who not only provided him with funds but also helped him through the difficult times.

One of them even persuaded his family to exchange the batch of goods back.

It was precisely because of this incident that Shuiyue rose to prominence and became a shining new star in the political arena.

In just twenty years, he went from a young man just starting out to a senior official in the country.

This is absolutely impossible without the help of all my friends.

Friendship is pearls and memories are diamonds.

No matter how many years pass, this friendship will never change.

When many judges came to their senses, the entire conference room became so quiet.

At this moment, none of them could break free from their own unique illusion.

The abyss and the dream are so real and so beautiful.

"So, what do you think of this work?"

After a long silence, Shuiyue was the first to speak.

But then, Shuiyue gave a bitter smile.

Is there any need for any evaluation at this point?

If such works don’t win awards, then who else is eligible? Anyway, they don’t know what the point of this is.

"So it's settled. The winner of the gold prize is this painting."

In response to the minister's words, everyone looked at each other and had no other comment. After all, this painting was indeed a bit over the standard.

Naoto Yamashita lives up to his title as the top talent of the current young generation.

Chapter 185: Sleepless Night

"Dudu."

"Okay, let's stop here. Remember to pick me up tomorrow."

"I see. Minister Shuiyue, see you tomorrow."

After saying goodbye to the driver who picked her up, Chidori Mizuki walked towards the Sawano family.

Because he has been working too late recently, Minister Mizuki has to live nearby at his sister's house, the Sawano family.

When Mizuki walked into Mizuki's villa, she found that Kiyoko Sawano was sitting quietly in the living room.

"Qingzi, it's so late today, why haven't you slept yet?"

"Yeah, a little bit. I can't sleep."

"It's probably because of the art award."

As for why Kiyoko was still here, Shuiyue knew without hesitation why.

Today is the last day of judging for the art awards. Basically all the rankings have been announced on this day, which also means that today is the day that determines one’s fate.

I'm afraid there are quite a few people who can't sleep today. As Qingzi's uncle, Minister Suigetsu naturally knows that Qingzi wants to prove her strength this time.

If possible, Shuiyue also wanted to give this time's gold reward to Qingzi.

But unfortunately, there are monsters here this time.

"Has Uncle finished his work? Are there any works you like this time?"

Looking at her niece's slightly expectant eyes, Shuiyue opened her mouth slightly, but in the end she was unable to tell Qingzi the cruel truth.

In fact, both Nan Yunxiao and Sawano Kiyoko are good among their peers.

Even this time, both of them won the bronze award. If there were no problems with the intention, it would be understandable that they won the silver award this time.

But the gold bounty is impossible anyway.

If the gap was only a small one, it would be understandable, but their gap was so huge that it was like an unbridgeable chasm.

Although her uncle did not tell her the truth, Qingzi had probably guessed that she had indeed failed the exam.

"Is the gold reward this time still for Yamashita-kun?"

"Yes, if nothing unexpected happens, he is indeed right."

Qingzi smiled with relief at the answer given by her uncle.

Maybe in her heart, she probably knew that she had no chance of defeating Naoto.

Long before, after hearing that Naoto was going to give it his all in this competition, she had actually guessed that the most likely result this time was that Naoto would win first place.

But after really knowing this matter, I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

"Is the gap between him and me really that big?"

"Well, the difference between the two of you is that he is far better than you in both conception and painting skills. If you want to catch up with him, it may take you ten years or even longer to hone your painting skills."

In fact, even Shuiyue herself knew that this was impossible.

Putting aside whether Kiyoko will continue to concentrate on art, the realistic illusions in Naoto's paintings are not something Kiyoko can catch up with.

This monster, Naoto Yamashita, is no longer someone his peers can contend with. I guess only those monsters who have already established fame in the painting world will have a chance.

"That's really, really distressing."

Even her uncle said so, which made Qingzi realize that the man was no longer someone she could challenge.

In fact, it is not only Qingzi who feels this way. Many people have fallen into a sleepless night today.

After all, the selection process is not an airtight wall, and many people have already received specific news after the end of today.

Although it may not be accurate, some of the information has probably been known.

In particular, many people have already received news about the winner of the gold prize.

The news that Naoto Yamashita had won the gold bounty again had spread among a small number of people.

"Is that so? Even the Minister of Culture is full of praise for Naoto-kun's work?"

At President Fujino's house, the president, who had not yet gone to bed, received the news that Yamashita Naoto was praised by the minister.

The person on the other end of the phone did not directly tell the president that Naoto had won the gold prize.

But the mere fact that the minister praised Naoto was enough to almost tell the outcome.

Although the president had probably guessed that Naoto's work this time would shock everyone, what he didn't expect was that Naoto really conquered everyone with his own strength. Even the Minister of Culture was impressed by Naoto.

"Even the ministers praised this man. It seems that Naoto-kun has indeed given me a surprise once again. Before, I thought Naoto-kun couldn't do it."

The president smiled at this time. Before, he had no confidence whether Naoto could get the gold reward.

But now it seems that I was worrying too much.

Naoto Yamashita, the man who has been creating miracles for more than a year, is still creating miracles today.

"But what kind of work could win the minister's praise? I am really curious."

Even the president himself is not very clear about the quality of Naoto's work.

Since he did not participate in the selection this time, and the works were so complicated, he had no idea what Naoto was painting.

Now that he has reached this point, he has become very curious about Naoto's works.

"Old man, why aren't you asleep yet? Look at what time it is."

At this time, the president's wife spoke to the president who was still sitting at the desk.

"Oh, right away. You go to bed first. I'll go to bed soon."

In response to his wife's urging, the president quickly said something to his wife.

But could he really fall asleep? Having already aroused his interest, it would be difficult for him to fall asleep.

At the Nanyun family, after learning that Yamashita Naoto had won again this time, Nanyun Xiao immediately locked himself in the room.

Nan Yunxiao tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep.

No one knows what he is thinking at this moment.

People who lost sleep because of Naoto's painting would never have imagined that the instigator of this incident, Naoto Yamashita, had already fallen asleep peacefully in bed.

Naoto didn't care about the ranking in this competition at all, as if this matter had nothing to do with him.

If those people knew that Naoto could actually sleep peacefully here, they would probably not be able to help but start cursing.

And the results of everything will be at tomorrow's award ceremony.

Chapter 186: Well-Deserved First