Chapter 27

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by

Zhou Zhijie

Its okay . Sister Manman, could you do me a favor? Whether I will be able to see the sun next week totally relies on you! Sun Linger holds Ding Manmans arm in her hands with great tenderness and says in a tactful and exaggerated tone . In the meanwhile, she acts coquettishly, which gives Ding goose b.u.mps in an instant .

You have to make it clear what favor I can do for you . Dont make it sound so serious . Whats the relations.h.i.+p between your being unable to see the sun next week and my ability to paint? Ding is unable to figure out the relations.h.i.+p between the two . Looking at Sun like this, Ding feels that this request seems not that simple .

Its actually not a big favor . One of my acquaintances whose paintings are of great popularity is going to hold an art exhibition recently . I dont get along well with her . When I met her a few days ago, we fell out and I told her boldly that I would present her a painting which is better and more popular than hers . . .

While Sun Linger speaks, her voice gets lower and lower . She realized that she had got herself into trouble afterwards . She is not good at painting and has very few friends active in the art world, not to mention that she majored in finance while studying in the U . S . , with no relation to art at all . Therefore, Sun Linger has no choice but to seize anyone she can find for salvation as the last straw .

Linger, its not that I dont want to help you . On the one hand, Im afraid I am unable to compete with her . The one who can hold an exhibition and draw the most attention from the viewers with her works must have had a lot of training in basic skills in painting . On the other hand, you were indeed too impulsive in this incident .

Ding Manman cannot see eye to eye on what Sun has done . People shouldnt flaunt their superiority before others about what they are unable to accomplish . It is the most important thing to accomplish what they are able to .

I also know about that, but that woman has really gone too far . She regarded herself as Vincent Van Gogh just because of a few prizes she has won for her paintings . Not to mention her arrogance, she kept degrading me by saying that without my brother, I was just an useless and unlettered woman . Sun is also clear that she was too impulsive, but that woman has done far worse .

She said in front of many celebrities that Zhongs family tainted with money-stink has no interest in arts except for profits, which really irritated me right then . Therefore, I instantly fired back at her that there are brilliant painters in my family, too . To my surprise, she said,

Oh, really? Then bring over the paintings from the brilliant painter from your family and let us appreciate it . Next week I will hold an art exhibition in a gallery in the city center in which many famous artists will bring in their works . I believe Miss Sun will definitely come with your familys works . Make sure not to bring childs graffiti then .

Even now Sun Linger can still remember the womans arrogant look with her nose pointing skyward . She was so furious that she immediately said that she would bring better works than hers . She asked all her friends for help, but none turned out to be capable of drawing . She had no way out but to turn to Ding Manman .

Why not turn to your brother? He is well-connected and must know some professional artists . At Dings words, Sun Linger instantly shakes her heads like a drum-shaped rattle, exerting all her strength to express her reluctance to inform her brother of this matter .

Sun rejects her suggestion with no hesitation . Rather than let my brother find out my conceited behavior, I prefer to be ridiculed by that woman and those of her so-called artists directly . My Brother hates the one most who has no competence but is fond of flaunting .

You know that being mocked by that woman she would just lose her face once, but letting her brother know what she has done, she would get into a life-threatening condition . She doesnt dare to ask her brother for help, even though she can find no way out .

All right, Ill try as much as possible . But first of all, I have to mention that I havent painted for a long time . Thus, my works may not even reach one third of others levels . Ding Manman is quite clear that although she is interested in painting, her basic skills are not good enough to compete with those of professional painters .

Its okay! One third is enough . Its better than nothing . Sun Linger doesnt expect too much now . She might be satisfied with just one decent painting .

Sun Linger takes Ding to the studio where all the necessary items for painting have been readily prepared . Ding notices an unfinished draft discarded in the corner which arouses her curiosity . She picks it up, takes a look, and falls into silence immediately .

Haw-haw, this is a draft I tried myself . It turned out to be dissatisfying . To be exact, it is so ugly that I myself even cant bear to look at it . Sun Linger scratches her head sheepishly . Originally, she really intended to try painting on her own .

She has seen some so-called great paintings that were auctioned for ten or even one hundred million dollars, which are just like spilled paint or childs graffiti, or nonsensical paintings in her eyes . Some of them were even regarded as milestones for the art world!

Hence, she thought that she could also paint like that . Later, she realized that no matter how hard she painted, her paintings did look like a childs graffiti, not only ugly but also ridiculous . Ding Manman doesnt reply to her immediately . She hesitates for quite a while before she speaks .

May I ask who has given you the courage to make such a bold offer? Ding Manman doesnt deliberately degrade her painting . It is really very bad . Even a 5-year-old child who has just started learning to paint may do as well as Sun has .

Maybe its Liang Jingru (a Chinese singer who has sung a song named Courage . ) Sun Linger is like a stooge and takes over the words jokingly . They look at each other and cannot help bursting into laughter . Ding likes Suns personality because Sun wont take any misfortune to heart, at least she wont mind that much .

Picking up the paintbrushes after a long time injects new vitality into Dings broken heart . Creation requires inspiration . Although Sun Linger is not clear about the essence of painting, she knows that one shouldnt be disturbed for the sake of inspiration while painting . Therefore, she retreats silently from the room so that Ding will be able to concentrate .

With no disturbance, Ding starts her creation . Since she hasnt used the paint brushes for too long, she is not satisfied with the first few paintings and goes on with some others . Its been a long time since she got in touch with something that interests her . Its also rare that she looks so excited . She lets her inspiration sparkle out on the white canvas freely to her hearts content .

Ding stays in the studio for a whole day until night falls . If it were not because of the sore feeling from her wounded palm, she might not want to come out . She is surprised to find that painting can change her emotions and clear the worries and concerns from her mind, while she devotes herself to painting heart and soul .

Seldom can she do what she likes wholeheartedly . In the next few days, Ding stays in the studio the whole time except for sleeping in the bedroom . Sun Linger guesses that if there were a bed in the studio, Sister Manman would not leave the studio at all .