Chapter 528: Purpose Achieved

After the ceremony's proceedings were completed, the sun had already slanted westward.

The guests had left, and only family and a few close friends remained on the lawn.

Mu Youyu stood at the edge of the lawn, watching Yan Yuejiu being led by Mu Nian toward the bridal chamber.

She walked slowly, so Mu Nian walked slowly with her, occasionally whispering a few words, making her smile, which looked especially lovely.

At that moment, Nanran walked over to Mu Youyu with a gentle smile, saying, "Ah You, from now on we'll be one family."

Mu Youyu turned her head to look at her, saw that she was Yuejiu's cousin, also a friend she'd known since childhood, easy to get along with, so she casually added a few words.

Not far away, Song LuXiao, who had just been preparing to approach his sister, recalled his grandmother often saying, "I think that little girl Nanran is quite good," and quickly retreated, pretending he had never come.

A breeze blew from afar, carrying the scent of flowers and grass, lifting Mu Youyu's skirt into a small arc.

Jiang Liangjin lowered his gaze, glanced, then reached out to hold down her skirt edge, saying, "Don't let the wind blow you away."

Mu Youyu laughed, "I'm not a balloon."

"You're a fairy." Jiang Liangjin reached out his hand, palm up, fingers slightly spread, "Fairies are meant to be led by someone."

Mu Youyu placed her hand in his palm, "Alright, then your purpose is achieved."

Nanran silently walked away.

The next day, Mu Youyu returned to the Art School, preparing to attend class.

In the hallway, several female classmates were gathered chatting; seeing her approach, they immediately called out greetings, she responded to each, her steps didn't stop, and she went straight to the Painting Studio door.

Today was Lin Tingsong's oil painting class; she and Jiang Liangjin arrived neither early nor late, and the Painting Studio was already half full.

Qiao Xin sat in the middle of the second row, head down, quickly sketching something on the drawing board before her, looking rushed to keep up with the schedule.

Xiao Yu sat beside her, holding a cup of steaming coffee, her expression vacant.

Xu Zhiying sat in the last row, her textbook opened to the first page; since the start of term, it seemed she hadn't turned more than a few pages.

Mu Youyu sat down in front of Qiao Xin, took a pencil from her art supplies case, and spun it between her fingertips.

Jiang Liangjin sat down beside her, also picking up a pen.

The door of the Painting Studio was pushed open, and Lin Tingsong walked in.

He held a stack of materials, walked up to the podium at an unhurried pace, his gaze sweeping the classroom, and the chatter below gradually quieted.

Seeing that all seats were filled, Lin Tingsong said, "Today I'll first show the class a few paintings."

Speaking, he flipped through the materials in his hand, lifted the topmost printed painting, so everyone could see it fully.

It was a landscape oil painting, with a somber hue and rough brushstrokes; distant mountains were covered in large swaths of gray-blue, while the nearby grass was dotted with a striking splash of bright yellow.

At a glance, it felt as if someone had torn open a rift in a gray world.

Mu Youyu felt the painting looked rather familiar.

Lin Tingsong held up the painting and asked, "Who would like to say what's good about this painting and what's not?"

Everyone likewise felt the painting was familiar, each having their own answer in mind, yet they unconsciously turned their gazes toward Mu Youyu sitting in the front row.

Lin Tingsong's gaze also fell on his beloved disciple; Jiang Liangjin blinked and turned his head as well.

Under many gazes, Mu Youyu pondered a moment, then replied slowly, "The good is that bright splash; the bad is that it's too deliberate. The artist wanted that yellow to be the focal point, so he made it pop more than the rest."

After a few seconds, Jiang Liangjin, not hearing her continue, added in agreement, "Unfortunately this jump is forced in, lacking the feeling of natural growth. It lets those who understand immediately see there's a design here, rather than just feel it."

He used to sit in on Lin Tingsong's class with Mu Youyu when he was young, and it wasn't for nothing.

Lin Tingsong turned to the others, "Anyone else have anything to add?"

The Painting Studio fell silent; Qiao Xin hesitantly raised her hand, "I think the distant scenery is handled a bit too sloppily, not matching the detail of the foreground."

Lin Tingsong gave an affirmative hum, then pulled another sheet from the materials, "How about this one?"

The second painting is more abstract than the first, large blocks of color stacked together, no concrete objects discernible, yet it conveys an overwhelming sense of pressure.

Xiao Yu spoke up without raising her hand, her tone uneven: "The painting's technique is fine, its emotional expression is spot on, but it has a fatal flaw—it bears too strong a resemblance to the breakthrough work of a certain contemporary artist from M Guo."

"Still, it's not plagiarism; it's more a matter of path dependence. The author has seen too many of that person's works, his visual language has been assimilated, so what he paints naturally carries someone else's shadow."

Xu Zhiying only felt a buzzing in her head, completely unable to follow the professional discussion, just wishing the class would end soon.

Lin Tingsong looked slightly surprised, recognized her as Xiao Ting's granddaughter, and nodded.

Mu Youyu turned her head toward Xiao Yu's direction; the other happened to be looking over as well, their gazes lightly met in the air, then each looked away.

Beside her, Qiao Xin muttered softly, "You guys, can't you stop being so cutthroat? Leave a way out for ordinary people."

Xiao Yu said, "Simple—you also get caught up in it."

Lin Tingsong stacked the two paintings together and placed them aside, saying slowly, "These two paintings are from the same person's hand."

A low murmur rose in the classroom, with some students instinctively glancing at Mu Youyu.

Jiang Liangjin felt puzzled.

Mu Youyu lowered her brows, not understanding why they were looking at her, after all she hadn't painted them.

Someone widened their eyes, "No way, the style gap between these two paintings is too huge—one is realistic, the other abstract, they couldn't possibly be by the same person."

"A big difference is exactly right." Lin Tingsong said in an even tone, neither praising nor criticizing, "When this person painted that realistic landscape, his mind was full of how to make viewers think he painted well, how they'd praise him, so every detail was there to show off his skill, fearing others wouldn't notice his effort."

"The result was overdoing it, making the whole thing loose instead; that splash of yellow is a classic case of 'here be three hundred taels of silver'—he practically wanted to grab a megaphone and shout to passersby, 'Don't miss this, everyone hurry and look here, this is my specially designed highlight!'"

Someone was amused by those last lines and let out a low laugh.

Lin Tingsong lifted the abstract painting a bit higher, "In this piece, he finally stopped thinking about how to please others, set aside those techniques, and painted something truly his own."

Having finished speaking, Lin Tingsong gathered up the two paintings, with no intention of giving them more time to digest the information: "Alright, today's task is simple—paint what you truly want to paint, not what you think I want to see."

Mu Youyu finally understood the purpose behind Lin Laoshi's words, simply adjusted the angle of her drawing board, and raised her hand.