Persona: Devil Summoner

When Yusuke heard the shocking statement made by Takamaki Anne that Sayuri was not beautiful, he instinctively wanted to open his mouth to refute her, but he immediately realized his situation and stopped talking, allowing the other party to continue.

After all, as an artist, it is inevitable to be criticized. You can't just listen to the good things.

"Sayuri is of course very beautiful, but what I felt from that painting was more of a... gentle feeling? It was like the feeling of something soft deep in my heart being cared for... 'You did a good job', 'Are you sad?', 'I'll be with you' and similar feelings. It was a painting of a very gentle mother talking. But I don't understand paintings, I'm just talking about my feelings as an outsider."

After Gao Juanxing finished speaking, she felt a little embarrassed.

After listening to the three people's words, Yusuke's eyes gradually lost their luster: "Ah... is that so... a gentle mother... I, I understand..."

Yusuke's voice was trembling, and Jiang Tianwei knew something was wrong when he heard it. This kid was probably going to get stuck in a rut again...

"Because my mother is such a gentle mother, so she can convey this feeling...As an artist, I don't have this kind of feeling, so I can't convey this feeling. It's not that art has a problem, it's me...I say I want to paint whatever I want, but I also want to pursue the ultimate beauty that can be understood by everyone. I despise those materialistic artists who use art to make money, but I also want to soar to the sky and have financial freedom through art exhibitions. I hate fame and reputation, but I also want to be looked up to by others and don't want to lose to anyone. I think about worldly problems like if I don't get good results, I won't be able to stay in school! It's me! I can't paint beautiful works because I have become a worldly and dirty person! And I don't want to admit it. I'm really ugly!"

Yusuke almost exploded, venting a long list of his anger. Everyone looked at him with concern, but the despair emanating from him was so strong that no one dared to comfort him easily...

"Indeed... you are already dirty."

In this dead atmosphere, Jiang Tianwei suddenly said this.

His voice was not loud, but it was like thunder, attracting everyone's attention. Sometimes, the voice does not need to be loud, as long as what you say is shocking enough, you can attract the target.

He was very satisfied with the fact that everyone's attention was focused on him. After all, he was essentially an Actor, so he continued speaking:

"So, what's wrong with that?"

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 714: What’s wrong with being dirty, ugly, and petty?

If anyone has ever understood this, they will find an interesting phenomenon.

Many artists who have made a lot of money are not very happy. Some of them choose to commit suicide when they are successful. Such examples can be easily cited, such as Dazai Osamu, the author of No Longer Human, who committed suicide by drowning, and Hemingway, the author of The Old Man and the Sea, who shot himself. For example, Kawabata Yasunari, whose works were once included in the textbooks of the Chinese government, committed suicide by taking gas.

There is a saying that the reason why these artists choose this extreme method is that their ideological realm and the ideal world they pursue are incompatible with the era and the world they live in. Therefore, they have no attachment to this world.

Yusuke is also heading in this direction. He is a person who likes to get stuck in a rut, and with his high standards and strict requirements for art, it is only a matter of time before he becomes hysterical.

Now, he stared at Jiang Tianwei, who had just made a shocking statement, with a pair of lifeless eyes: "You said... there's nothing wrong with this?"

"Yeah, that's what I said."

"Why! We formed the Phantom Thieves because we couldn't stand this dirty and annoying world!"

"Yeah. That's right."

"Then why do you say that? Have you forgotten our original intention..."

"No, that's not the case. So, great artist, you should sit down first. Just save your passion for your paintings."

Jiang Tianwei pretended to be calm. He knew that yelling at him now would not make the situation any better. He was the kind of person who claimed to be a realist and was a bit utilitarian. He would not provoke the other party when he knew that there was no benefit in doing so.

Yusuke immediately remembered what had just happened to him. He sat back in his chair, holding his head weakly with his hands. He didn't say anything, but he didn't look at Jiang Tianwei either.

"Yusuke, as you said, humans are like this, full of desires, full of lies, chasing fame and fortune, greedy... Ryuji, let me ask you, why do you run, why do you want to be the ace in the track and field club?"

Jiang Tianwei suddenly threw the topic to Long Si.

Long Si was startled. Although he usually gave people the impression that he was not very smart, mainly because he always liked to give bad advice, at this time, he could still understand what Jiang Tianwei meant. He immediately followed his meaning and said, "Of course it's for popularity, to make my mother proud, and to enjoy everyone's admiring eyes. My goal is to hear the junior school girls shout to me, 'Ah, you are really worthy of being the senior Long Si~'!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere became cold.

Jiang Tianwei thought: I do hope you say something similar, but I didn't ask you to expose yourself so deeply? You just need to expose yourself symbolically, there is no need to exchange such shameful feelings!

"Hey, Xing, why do you want to be a model?"

"Because I--because I think there's money to be made this way."

Gao Juan An instinctively wanted to say that since she was chosen by the scout, she should just go with the flow. But then she thought, even Ryuji had cooperated with her just now, and it would be bad for her to sabotage him, so she quickly changed her words.

Of course, if she said that she just went with the flow, Jiang Tianwei would have an explanation: Isn't it enough to just say that this is the fatigue in human nature? This shows that the final right of interpretation is really a very important right.

"Lian, why do you want to be a Phantom Thief?"

"In order to uphold justice for the entire society and get this materialistic society back on track!"

"to be frank!"

"I feel like a superhero, very cool..."

Jiang Tianwei immediately saw through the boy's high-sounding words. Who would really take slogans seriously? We are all almost adults, so please be more mature!

"One, two, three, why do you want to play chess?"

“Because it can defeat the opponent.”

"Haru, why are you a young lady?"

"Ah? Oh?! Have you changed the question to me? Because my father is rich?"

"President, why do you need to study hard?"

"I want to be admitted as a guaranteed place, so that my sister can save some trouble."

"Fangze, why do you want to practice rhythmic gymnastics?"

“Because I can be praised by everyone.”

After asking around, Jiang Tianwei nodded and said, "I myself..."

"Wait, you haven't asked me yet?"

Sakura Futaba raised her hand, as if to say, "You can't exclude me." Jiang Tianwei was suddenly embarrassed. He didn't ask her because he didn't know what she would say. After all, he was not particularly familiar with her. Now he was mainly trying to comfort Yusuke, so Jiang Tianwei didn't want any uncontrollable factors in his speech.

But they have already said it, it would be inappropriate for you not to respond...

"Futaba...why...why are you staying at home playing games?"

“Because it’s fun!”

So Jiang Tianwei played a safe card. Although this question was meaningless, it at least made Shuangye feel a sense of participation.

"Yeah, then... to be honest, I'm a terrible person too. Wow, I fantasize about having lots of beautiful girls around me all day long. Wow, what a scumbag - Ryuji, if it were you, would you want to?"

"I want to! I dream about it!"

After asking around, Jiang Tianwei finally breathed a sigh of relief. He thanked everyone for their cooperation. They clearly didn't know what he was thinking, but they were still willing to cooperate with him without hesitation and believed in him...

"So, Yusuke, this is true for all of us. You too."

"How is it possible? We are clearly..."

"Yusuke, there is no conflict between wanting to uphold justice and integrating into the secular world. I'll quote a line from a movie here, which I think makes a lot of sense: If the bad guys are cunning, the good guys have to be even more cunning, otherwise how can they beat the bad guys?"

"A good guy... is more treacherous than a bad guy...?"

This logic obviously impacted Yusuke's thinking circuit, leaving him completely stunned.

"You are a human, not a god. As a human, you have seven emotions and six desires, and you will become worldly and full of desires. This is part of your human nature. The target of our heart change is the bad people with twisted desires, not the desires themselves. Apart from other things, I also like to eat and drink water. Do you want to deny my desire to eat and drink water?"

Jiang Tianwei is worthy of being someone who has been fighting with Bai Zhongzhi for a long time. He can already use a variety of debating skills normally, changing concepts while blurring the issues.

"Yusuke... you are actually no different, just like ordinary people. Maybe you think that as an artist, you should be able to sing high-brow songs that are not popular with the public, but in fact, you are no different from everyone else. You are a human, not a god. You have also discovered that you use the sublime as a cloak and use ideals to paralyze yourself. You think you are a transcendent person who has surpassed humans, but in fact - you are no different from us."

As Jiang Tianwei spoke, he asked Gao Juanxing for a small mirror and gently placed it on Yusuke's desk. The mirror reflected Yusuke's ugly expression distorted by tears.

"Welcome back to the human world."

Yusuke looked at himself in the mirror, and for a moment, he suddenly understood why the ancients would describe illusory things as flowers in the mirror and moon in the water...

"I want to depict human nature... so I have to be a human being... is that how it feels... because I have always wanted to step out and depict humans with a perspective and brushstrokes that are superior to humans, but I forgot that I am also a member of the general public... Hahaha, yes, there is nothing special about me, I am also a human being. I understand!"

Kitagawa Yusuke's expression suddenly became fanatical. Although the corners of his mouth were twisted, his eyebrows were twisted into a ball, and his eyes were exaggeratedly one big and one small, everyone had already felt that that was his true heart that had always been hidden under his calm face.

Everyone has witnessed this artist's enthusiasm many times, but usually, Yusuke would pretend to be calm. But this time, he tore apart his pretense of calmness and expressed his intense emotions.

He held up the painting he had just shown everyone, and snapped it into two pieces: "Ah, I understand! I understand what's wrong with this painting! Ahaha, thank you, everyone, I understand, I, I will draw it now! Ah, the beating and noisy voice in my chest! The sweetness of the instant transformation of despair and hope! The desire that tempts depravity and makes people ecstatic, I feel that my hands are calling me!"

Yusuke said something strange and suddenly rushed out.

Although he is the weirdest one in the Phantom Thieves, what happened today was a little too weird.

Jiang Tianwei breathed a sigh of relief. At least, he didn't have to worry about Yusuke choosing to commit suicide like those great artists who transcended the world... He himself was not sure. He admired himself for being able to suddenly come up with such words to comfort the other party. All he could say was that he broke out in a cold sweat.

Everyone fell silent for a while. Finally, Togo Ichi-san was the first to break the deadlock: "Ah... I didn't expect that Kitagawa-san is actually a hidden chuunibyou..."

(I think it’s not your turn to say this…)

Jiang Tianwei wiped the sweat off his forehead silently and complained in his heart.

At the same time, I also wish my brother in my heart that he can produce good works that satisfy him.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 715: Making money is not shabby, but making small amounts of money is shabby

Yusuke's finished product was completed faster than expected.

He returned to the dormitory, worked without eating, drinking or sleeping, and created the final version of the entry in just one night.

I always feel like I've seen something similar before, but that time it was a gothic female doctor working late to make medicine, this time it was a poor art student working late to paint. Why do people around me really like to stay up late? Fortunately, Yusuke only stayed up late to paint, not to fail the art school entrance exam, and he didn't go to the beer hall, otherwise it would be a big problem...

Yusuke called Jiang Tianwei, hoping that he could come with him.

As an art student, he must have submitted his works to many exhibitions, but today was undoubtedly the most nervous one for him.

Moreover, in addition to the long-lost sense of tension in his heart, there was also a sense of excitement and passion. He wanted to wake up his best friend and let him witness his final moments.

The museum that submitted the works is the same one as last time. As mentioned before, this exhibition will give artists a chance to adjust. To put it in a positive way, it is to allow artists to produce works that are of a higher level. To put it in a negative way, it is to allow the same group of people to sell tickets twice and double their profits.

Although Yusuke had just had such an intense outburst the day before and stayed up all night to paint, but apart from the dark circles under his eyes, Yusuke's mental state seemed very excited and he looked very confident.

This is probably a state of excitement that only creators can experience. You can call it a rebound, a Jedi counterattack, near-death excitement, etc. It means that a creator may temporarily fall into a low ebb, but when he breaks through his own obstacles, he will enter a state of excitement similar to that of a religious fanatic in a very short time.

Artists in this state can often create amazing works. A typical example is the famous calligrapher Wang Xizhi's "Lanting Xu", which is revered as the best running script in the world. But in fact, this manuscript was written when Wang Xizhi was drunk. There are errors and corrections in the whole manuscript. So when Wang Xizhi sobered up, he tried to write a perfect version again, but no matter how he wrote, it was not as elegant and vigorous as when he was drunk, so he had to give up in the end.

Although Yusuke didn't drink, he entered a similar state of excitement.

He was holding a carefully wrapped wooden board under his armpit. His clothes still had traces of curry from yesterday. He was probably too busy to even change his clothes. When he saw Jiang Tianwei, he took the initiative to greet him. His originally calm face suddenly revealed a proud and proud expression: "Brother Jiang, I've finished it! A masterpiece."

Jiang Tianwei nodded and gave him a thumbs up encouragingly: "I knew you could do it. Let's go submit our work."

When the painting was handed in, it was more dull than Jiang Tianwei had expected.

There was no confrontation or tension as one might have imagined. Yusuke simply handed the painting to the exhibition staff.

The old man who had criticized Yusuke so sharply before was also there. He must be a staff member of this gallery, otherwise it would be hard to explain why he had such high artistic attainments.

He took a look at the new painting submitted by Yusuke and nodded: "In such a short time, you have made great progress."

"Yes, because I have realized the essence."

Yusuke nodded slightly to him, his tone full of pride and confidence.

"Nature?"

"Yes, I have recognized my true nature, and now I feel more comfortable than ever before. As expected, only humans can describe human nature."

"Heh, even though I know you're very talented, I'm still shocked by your progress."

As the old man spoke, he took out a business card that read: [Director of the Japan Art Support Foundation] Kawanabe Akio.

Although Jiang Tianwei didn't know how influential this consortium was, he could roughly guess what the consortium did by listening to the name.

"You guys are going to support Yusuke?"

Jiang Tianwei asked, and Kawanabe Xiaosheng nodded: "Of course, if we don't support such a talented artist, who should we support? - Especially, that Madarame's disciple."

Kawanabe Xiaosheng said this with an evil smile, as if he had ulterior motives.

Although Kitagawa Yusuke himself doesn't know it, he is actually a well-known figure in the art world. However, it is not because of his painting skills, but because of this identity.

Some people are looking forward to whether he has inherited Madarame's painting skills, some are curious about his relationship with Madarame. Some want to hear negative information, some want to hear gossip...

"With such a sensitive identity, with a little packaging, he can create the image of an artist who does not associate with vulgar artists and pursues his artistic path alone. Moreover, he is so handsome. With the title of a handsome artist who appears once in a century, he will have no problem finding female fans. When the time comes, he can constantly incite fans to attack each other and stir up the heat. With fame, the money will follow!"

Jiang Tianwei frowned at what Chuan Guo Xiaosheng said. This reminded him of the manufacturers who had been trying to make money from his live broadcast recently. He said in disgust, "Your idea..."

However, just as he opened his mouth, Yusuke smiled calmly and raised his hand to stop him.

"Yes. You are talking about a way of life. Making a lot of money is indeed what artists pursue."

Yusuke calmly acknowledged the other party's words.

"Oh, I knew you would understand! You are the disciple of that Madarame!"