Chapter 958: Xijing Art School

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

This voice–

Shen Li tilted her head slightly and saw a familiar face.

Sheng Ruxue.

She was also in this class, but because she had been leaning against the wall and was covered by the easel just now, Shen Li had not noticed her.

When she met Shen Li’s light gaze, Sheng Ruxue’s heart skipped a beat and she subconsciously looked away.

Shen Li’s seniority was much higher than hers. She was not qualified to say such things in front of Shen Li.

However, she had felt really uncomfortable when she saw everyone praising Shen Li.

She was considered to be one of the best among her peers. However, ever since Shen Li had appeared, she had been instantly reduced to a mere foil. It seemed as if she had lost her luster.

Therefore, even though she had known that it was inappropriate to say this, she still could not help herself from opening her mouth.

When the boy heard this, he also looked hesitant.

That was true. He had only been focused on talking to this important person. How could he have forgotten this?

Ronai and Mei Yanqing represented the two major factions in the oil painting industry. Their styles were completely different from each other. Asking Shen Li to give him advice on this was indeed…

“Mr. Ronai produced this work when he was forty-one years old. It is said that on a rainy night in the summer, he had a strange dream. When he woke up in the morning, he made this painting based on a hazy dream.”

Shen Li’s voice sounded calm.

“So this painting is called ‘Rainy Night’. You can think about the rain in the summer and try to figure it out.”

As she spoke, she raised her finger and pointed.

“Also, there’s something wrong with the composition here. According to Ronai’s painting style, he would deliberately blur the distance and space, creating an illusion in the visual sense. Your painting is too neat and tidy. That will only restrict you.”

By the time she finished speaking, the entire studio had completely quieted down.

The boy stuttered and asked, “Big… Big Boss, are you very familiar with Ronai’s paintings?”

This painting was not the kind of painting that most people would be very knowledgeable about.

Ronai was a world-class oil painting master, and he had produced many famous paintings.

The one he had chosen to copy today could be considered as one of Ronai’s unpopular works. If it was not for the fact that he had studied Ronai, he might not have known that he had even painted such a painting.

Even he himself had searched through a lot of information before deciding to choose this one.

Even so, his understanding of this painting was actually not as good as Shen Li’s.

Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that she was very familiar with Ronai’s paintings. Even the knowledge of the background and the characteristics of his paintings came to her easily.

Sheng Ruxue’s face instantly turned a little pale. She looked at Shen Li with a look of shock and disbelief.

Shen Li said lightly, “Ronai is a painter that I like very much. I’ve seen some of this information on him before.”

“Oh, oh! I see!” Only then did the boy come to a realization, and his gaze towards Shen Li was filled with admiration.

A big shot was indeed a big shot. She could actually understand paintings from completely different schools…

Yu Pingchuan happened to walk over as well. His gaze paused on Sheng Ruxue for a moment before he said meaningfully, “Although there are different schools of painting, there is no separation in art. Sometimes, it is better to learn more and see more than to remain ignorant.”

Sheng Ruxue bit her lip and lowered her head.

The other students in the classroom responded one after another.

This small interlude passed very quickly. After that, a few students came to Shen Li for advice, and she answered them one by one.

She had said that she would listen in on the class, but the class had ended up being focused on her.

Only then did everyone realize that although Shen Li was not a drawing major student, her professional accomplishments were much higher than theirs.

In the end, they could only sigh with emotion. To be able to occupy a place in the domestic art scene at such a young age proved that she really had real abilities.

There were not on the same level as her.

Finally, the bell rang.

Yu Pingchuan announced the end of the class, waved at Shen Li, and led her away.

Many people watched as Shen Li left with Yu Pingchuan. They were reluctant to part with her.

“Sigh! I wonder if I’ll have the chance to take a class with her in the future?”

“Will she attend a class with us? Maybe she’ll give us a lesson!”

“By the way, Ruxue, you studied under Wang Yan, and Shen Li is teacher Yu’s junior sister. According to seniority, what should you call her?”

Someone teased her, and there was a hint of envy in his words,

“Do you see her often or even look at her paintings?”

Everyone knew that Shen Li’s paintings were auctioned off at a high price as soon as they were released. Currently, none of the major galleries had ever displayed her paintings publicly, resulting in many people not having the chance to look at them even if they wanted to.

Since Sheng Ruxue’s relationship with her did not seem ordinary, it was likely that she had the upper hand.

Sheng Ruxue pursed her lips and forced a smile on her face. However, she did not say anything.

She did not want to answer any of these questions.

Someone mumbled softly, “Why do I feel that Sheng Ruxue and Shen Li don’t really know each other well? She doesn’t even know that Shen Li likes Ronai’s paintings…”

Sheng Ruxue’s heart skipped a beat. She picked up her canvas and walked out of the classroom quickly.

…

Shen Li and Yu Pingchuan went downstairs.

As Yu Pingchuan walked, he said, “Ah Li, don’t keep mentioning Ronai when you’re with Master. Otherwise, he’ll get jealous again.”

The corners of Shen Li’s lips curved.

“I know.”

Yu Pingchuan looked at her and clicked his tongue again.

“However, before this, all I knew was that you liked his paintings. I didn’t know that you researched so many things about him.”

“This is not considered research. You should know that I read a lot in the past, and I’ve also seen a lot of messy things. I just happened to remember it,” Shen Li said.

Hearing this, Yu Pingchuan’s expression was filled with emotion, and his eyes were filled with pity.

Shen Li had only started learning painting from Mei Yanqing when she was fifteen years old. Before that, she had always been self-taught.

There were all kinds of master-level paintings. As long as she had liked them, and as long as there had been an opportunity, she had looked at them over and over again.

Of course, with her circumstances at the time, she had not had the opportunity to see any of the real paintings.

Even so, she had still managed to learn very well.

Without any professional guidance and purely relying on her amazing talent, she had still been able to keenly capture and sense the emotions and expressions in those paintings.

She could even handle the lighting and darkness, the drawing of lines and color blocks without a teacher.

The art of painting was about talent. Yu Pingchuan had taught at the Xijing Art School for decades. Those who were able to get into the academy were undoubtedly the best of the best. They were true geniuses in fine arts.

However, compared to Shen Li, they were still far inferior.

Mei Yanqing doted on her because she was young and sensible. Secondly, she was indeed a genius.

Yu Pingchuan suppressed these thoughts and said with a smile,”You know so much about his paintings. I wonder what kind of paintings you would have drawn if you had followed the same abstract path as him.”

Without waiting for Shen Li’s reply, he hurriedly waved his hand.

“Forget it, forget it. If Master finds out that I urged you like this, he will scold me again.”

The corners of Shen Li’s lips curved.

“Oh right, Senior Brother, when I arrived here today, I met Shi Yang.”

Yu Pingchuan was a little surprised, and then he thought of something.

“Oh right, he was giving a lecture here today. How did you feel when you saw him?”

Shen Li paused and did not answer this question. Instead, she asked, “I remember that he used to be a student at Xijing Art School?”