55: Chapter 055: Is this the scruffy chicken you drew?
55: Chapter 055: Is this the scruffy chicken you drew?
Zhou Jiangming’s painting talent wasn’t only known to those judges, it had spread throughout the entire school.
From the moment he entered the school, Zhou Jiangming had shown an extremely high aptitude for painting and had won many Zhonghai City painting awards.
At Zhonghai City University, Zhou Jiangming was recognized as one of the strongest painters in the school.
Zhou Jiangming listened contentedly to everyone’s chilly sarcasm towards Ning Fan and the not-so-subtle praises of himself.
After the embarrassing incident at the mall last time, he wanted to make Ning Fan even more embarrassed to get back at him for the previous grudge.
Zhou Jiangming smiled and said, “It’s okay if you can’t, just watch, and yes, it’s best not to talk too much.”
Xu Xiaoqing looked at Zhou Jiangming’s proud expression, acting as smug as can be, without a shred of goodwill towards Ning Fan, almost entirely mocking.
She couldn’t stand it.
So what if Ning Fan couldn’t paint?
Intending to challenge Zhou Jiangming, Xu Xiaoqing said, “I’ll compete with you, Zhou Jiangming.”
Xu Xiaoqing was very confident in her own talent for painting.
She too was a well-known painting expert at school, not far behind Zhou Jiangming.
Zhou Jiangming chuckled and responded, “Xiaoqing, having you participate in the painting competition will surely make the exhibition interesting.”
Suddenly, everyone started commending Xu Xiaoqing for her exceptional painting skills, eager to see her work.
The official painting competition began, and the contestants started their artwork.
To create a conducive atmosphere for the painters, everyone quieted down and watched silently.
Ning Fan stayed beside Xu Xiaoqing, originally thinking that sticking around a little longer and thirty thousand would be his.
But upon seeing Xu Xiaoqing’s painting, he couldn’t help but frown.
“Girl, your lines aren’t smooth, you need to change that…”
“Girl, the order of your coloring is incorrect…”
“That correction is even worse.
You have to consider the overall harmony, use warm colors…”
Ning Fan’s comments in the quiet setting were quite jarring, each remark landing heavily in the hearts of the onlookers.
Immediately, everyone was in an uproar, as a person ignorant about painting was actually giving guidance to Xu Xiaoqing.
The sight was simply too frustrating to watch.
Someone stepped forward and said, “Kid, if you don’t know how to paint, then don’t babble nonsense, disturbing the beautiful school belle’s train of thought is very shameful.”
After one person’s mockery came another’s ridicule, “You poor loser probably can’t even afford a paintbrush, what right do you have to command others?”
all talk, no ability to paint.”
Ning Fan maintained an indifferent attitude, completely ignoring the accusations from the people around him, and kept offering advice to Xu Xiaoqing every now and then.
Xu Xiaoqing’s forehead was covered in sweat.
She glanced sideways at Zhou Jiangming’s painting and felt immediately dispirited.
Her own artwork was no match for Zhou Jiangming’s.
How could she continue to stand up for Ning Fan ?!
What made things even worse was Wang Xiaoyan constantly mocking her painting.
“Xiaoqing, what on earth are you painting?
It’s totally unviewable, it looks like poop…”
Xu Xiaoqing, constantly being put down by Wang Xiaoyan, felt she was about to collapse and impulsively lifted her brush, turning to face the crowd.
The crowd thought Xu Xiaoqing had given up on the competition and couldn’t help feeling a bit regretful.
But Wang Xiaoyan was gloating over her misfortune and cast a victorious glance at Zhou Jiangming.
Xu Xiaoqing went straight to Ning Fan, “Here’s the brush, you paint.
Wang Xiaoyan snorted with laughter, taunting Xu Xiaoqing,
“Xiaoqing, if you’re going to have someone help you, at least find someone who can paint.
Ning Fan is great at playing the piano, but let’s forget about painting.
He probably can’t even paint a pile of poop right.”
Sneers and mocks erupted once again, most of which were not directed at Xu Xiaoqing.
Rather, they were aimed at Ning Fan.
Ning Fan saw the young girl was almost on the brink of tears.
He shook his head, then approached Xu Xiaoqing’s easel.
Without even taking a brush, he simply said, “Well, let me give it a try.”
Everyone looked on in bewildered suspicion.
Seeing Ning Fan eager to start, someone hurriedly said, “You can’t be serious, you’re really going to paint?
Don’t embarrass yourself, it’s no big deal if you do, but Xu, our campus belle, shouldn’t lose face because of you.”
Xu Xiaoqing yelled at that person, “Ning Fan is painting, is it any of your concern?”
Their voices were overpowered by Xu Xiaoqing’s.
Ning Fan began to paint, but unlike the others, he didn’t even use a brush.
He dipped his fingers into the ink and then started to smear the paper haphazardly, as if a child were doodling in the sand.
Everyone was shocked; this was not painting.
If such a thing could result in a painting, then everyone could be Picasso or Van Gogh.
“Impressionism?” someone chuckled suddenly.
Laughter filled the room immediately.
A male student said, “Him, impressionism?
Van Gogh would probably be so pissed he’d come back to life and then kill himself again after seeing his painting!”
Wang Xiaoyan clapped her hands in approval, laughing, “The master’s skill is really different.
What do you guys know?
Maybe someone will appreciate his painting.”
As she spoke, Wang Xiaoyan looked towards Xu Xiaoqing, “Right, Xiaoqing?”
Xu Xiaoqing was spinning her eyes anxiously.
Initially, she thought Ning Fan, who had been giving advice from the sidelines, must have some level of skill.
Maybe he could once again bring her an astounding performance.
But now, Ning Fan’s random scribbling and smudging couldn’t be counted as painting.
She didn’t believe Ning Fan could produce any real painting, just feeling frustrated while watching him splatter ink all over the paper.
Finally, Xu Xiaoqing burst out, “Do you even know how to paint?”
Without looking back, Ning Fan said indifferently, “I am a legend in the art world, what do you think?”
Someone laughed heartily: “With that, he’s a legend in the art world?
Then I must be a myth of the art world!”
The crowd followed with a burst of mockery, showering Ning Fan with sighs and hisses.
Xu Xiaoqing now totally disbelieved that the guy had any painting ability.
Just a moment ago he had been critiquing this and that beside her, but all he had were these trivial skills.
She would have been better off going first.
After some time passed.
Almost everyone had finished their paintings, and Ning Fan finally stopped.
He teasingly smeared some paint onto Xu Xiaoqing’s nose.
Ning Fan said with a smile, “There, done.”
Staring at the painting with her mouth agape, Xu Xiaoqing forgot to wipe the paint from her nose tip, her heart bleeding…
she couldn’t understand at all what the painting was supposed to be.
Everyone glanced at Zhou Jiangming’s painting, then back at Ning Fan’s.
They can’t even be compared.”
“It plainly looks like a pile of dog shit!”
“No, no, look closely.
It seems like he’s painted a chicken, a scruffy Grand Duke rooster!”
The crowd looked again more carefully and indeed saw in the painting a semblance of a messy rooster.
Instantly, everyone burst out laughing about this discovery.
Xu Xiaoqing looked at Ning Fan with a face full of gloom, her eyes conveying the message, ‘You’ve doomed me.’
With a faint smile, Ning Fan thought, naturally, these people couldn’t understand his painting; he would leave it to the judges to decide.