Chapter 600: Tree’s Shadow
I
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Ning Li turned around and saw a few students walking her way.
There were two girls and a boy.
‘The girl in the middle was about 1.7 meters tall, with long, straight black hair and she was wearing a beige trenchcoat. With her bright eyes and white teeth, she looked pure and beautiful.
The short-haired girl on her left was exquisitely made-up and had a luxury brand bracelet on her wrist which was particularly eye-catching.
The boy on her right was about 1.8 meters tall. He was thin and wore half-rimmed gla.s.ses. He looked like a refined and cultured person.
The one who had spoken was the short-haired girl.
“Sheng Ruxue, your painting is not much worse than Tree’s Shadow’s painting. Why is his painting so expensive?”
Sheng Ruxue smiled and shook her head gently.
“Tree’s Shadow has been famous for a long time. How can I be compared with him?”
“Why not?”
Shang Wenwen sneered.
“He’s good at oil painting, and you’re good at oil painting. I saw his painting two years ago, and it was just so-so. A few hundred thousand is not bad, but the new painting this time was sold for six million. I really don’t know what the buyer was thinking.”
As she spoke, she shrugged.
“I think the one you painted last month was better than his.”
“You said the same thing the year before last as well.”
Sheng Ruxue smiled.
“A lot of time has pa.s.sed. His skills must be better than before.”
“Not necessarily.” Xue Bingyu also spoke. “Drawing is still a matter of talent. Some people may be at the peak of their creativity in the early years. It doesn’t mean that they will improve later.”
He looked at Sheng Ruxue with unconcealable fondness in his eyes.
“Not everyone can be like you, Ruxue. The more you paint, the better you get.”
“That’s right! This year, Teacher w.a.n.g Yan only recruited only one disciple… You!”
When Shang Wenwen mentioned this, a look of envy appeared on her face,
“Who doesn’t know that Teacher w.a.n.g Yan has very high standards? Many people tried very hard to pull strings to be chosen. It’s difficult to even ask him for advice. The fact that you were able to catch his eye is enough to prove your excellence!”
w.a.n.g Yan was a professor at Xijing Art School. He was good at oil painting and was very famous.
On one hand, it was because he was indeed very capable. On the other hand, it was because he had been Yu Pingchuan’s only disciple.
“That’s Teacher w.a.n.g Yan…”
Xue Bingyu also sighed.
Sheng Ruxue was w.a.n.g Yan’s third disciple. There had been a senior brother and a senior sister before her.
This relations.h.i.+p between a master and a disciple was different from the relations.h.i.+p between a teacher and a student in the school.
The former kind of relations.h.i.+p needed to be formally acknowledged by offering tea to the master.
Compared to the latter, the former had a deeper and closer relations.h.i.+p.
There were three major factions in the domestic painting industry. Yu Pingchuan was the representative of the Qing School, and his status was very important.
Sheng Ruxue had become w.a.n.g Yan’s disciple, which also meant that she had become a member of the Qing School.
Just this alone was enough to attract the envy of countless people.
This almost meant that she had already stepped into the top painting circle in the country.
Sheng Ruxue also pursed her lips and smiled.
Shang Wenwen asked curiously, “By the way, since you’ve studied painting with Teacher w.a.n.g Yan. Have you ever heard him evaluate one of Tree’s Shadow’s paintings?”
Tree’s Shadow had appeared out of nowhere more than two years ago. A copy of “Kiss” had been auctioned off at a high price of 1.8 million yuan.
This price was actually not high compared to a real master painter.
However, the key point was that before this, Tree’s Shadow had just been an unknown painter.
That had been his first painting and it had sold at such a high price. Thus, that could be considered a “high price.”
Once this matter had gotten out, it had shook the entire art world.
The name Tree’s Shadow then quickly became famous.
However, this person was very mysterious. He had never shown his face in public, nor did he accept any interviews.
As a result, many people still had many speculations about him.
Sheng Ruxue shook her head.
“No.”
“How could there be none?”
Shang Wenwen and Xue Bingyu were both very surprised.
“Teacher w.a.n.g Yan is also an oil painting master. Did he never mention Tree’s Shadow?”
Even if he did not know the artist personally, evaluating a painting could not be simpler.
“He really didn’t.”
Sheng Ruxue recalled for a while.
“Tremember once, a student imitated one of Tree’s Shadow’s paintings and brought it to Teacher w.a.n.g Yan to be critiqued. After it was over, that student casually Tree’s Shadow and even asked Teacher w.a.n.g Yan what he thought of him. But Teacher w.a.n.g Yan didn’t say anything.”
“Tsee… then it must be because Teacher w.a.n.g Yan doesn’t like him.”
shang Wenwen pursed her lips.
“No one would like someone who imitates their own style, right?”
Sheng Ruxue’s lips moved, but she did not say anything.
‘There were indeed some people in the industry who commented that Tree’s Shadow’s style was similar to w.a.n.g Yan’s.
However, there were also people who said that compared to w.a.n.g Yan, Tree’s Shadow was more like Yu Pingchuan.
There were different opinions.
Sheng Ruxue said, “Forget it, let’s not talk about this. I’m almost out of paint, so I’m going to buy some. Do you want to come with me?”
Shang Wenwen was surprised.
“Didn’t you just buy some not long ago? Why are you using it up so quickly?”
Sheng Ruxue said softly, “Lately, Teacher Yu had rarely stayed in the Capital for a long period of time. Teacher w.a.n.g Yan said that he wanted me to prepare a painting and send it to be seen by Teacher Yu. So–”
“Really?! Teacher Yu will personally be going to see the painting? No wonder…”
The two immediately understood.
It was such a rare opportunity. Sheng Ruxue definitely wanted the best painting to be sent over.
“alright then, I’ll go with you! I’m not even counting on Teacher Yu. I just hope that Teacher w.a.n.g Yan can take a look at mine when he has time…”
As the few of them were talking, Sheng Ruxue suddenly felt that Xue Bingyu was a little distracted.
“Bingyu? What are you looking at–”
She followed Xue Bingyu’s line of sight.
Atall, slender, beautiful girl was standing not far away.
She looked somewhat familiar..