Chapter 49

Thanks to Zhao Debiao, Wei Ming's face was no longer unfamiliar in some poetry enthusiast circles, and he had also popularized his heroic act of righteousness.

The person in front of him had clearly read that issue of the Peking University school newspaper.

And Wei Ming wasn't the type to hide things, so he admitted it frankly.

Once he admitted it, the person became even more excited: "Wait a moment, I'll introduce you to A-Cheng later. You should look at my works first."

As he said this, he pulled Wei Ming along.

A-Long followed blankly behind. No, what was this about writing poetry in seven steps?

Was that poem very famous? Why did it seem like my brother had become some kind of amazing big shot?

"Haven't asked what to call you yet, big brother?" Wei Ming asked.

"Oh, my name is Qu Leilei. You can call me Leizi."

Wei Ming had heard of this name because he mainly hung out in Europe later, so he wasn't very famous domestically, but his father was world-famous.

"Heavenly King conquers the earth tiger, the pagoda suppresses the river demon!"

"Why is your face red? Glowing with health! Why is it yellow again? Wax applied to prevent the cold!"

Qu Bo, the author of the novel "Tracks in the Snowy Forest" which gave birth to these classic lines, was his father, and the prototype for the novel's heroine, "Little White Pigeon," was his mother.

Qu Leilei brought Wei Ming to a few ink-wash paintings. Ink-wash painting was Liu Rulong's specialty, so he also leaned in to admire them.

After all, as a disciple of a master, having seen too many excellent works, Liu Rulong couldn't help but comment in his heart: the foundation was still a bit lacking; it felt like these paintings focused more on expression, and the technique was a bit inferior.

However, the two brothers nodded politely, looking appreciative; they were both very good at handling people.

It was just that when he saw one of them, Wei Ming clearly paused for a longer time, the expression on his face very intrigued.

Qu Leilei explained: "Yesterday I saw a newspaper with a novel in it. It wasn't finished yet, but it inspired me, and then I created this 'Spring River Water Warm, Ducks Know First'."

"Oh~"

Qu Leilei continued: "Isn't it a coincidence? The author of this novel is also named Wei Ming, the same name as you!"

Wei Ming laughed: "Is it possible it's not the same name?"

A-Long, who was leaning in to look at the painting, and Qu Leilei in front of him were both stunned.

Wei Ming explained to the two: "'Spring River Water Warm, Ducks Know First' is a short story I submitted to 'Wenhui Bao' a while ago. I'm just dabbling in writing poetry; I'm serious about writing novels."

"Wenhui Bao" was considered one of the top newspapers in the country. Although Liu Rulong hadn't read it, he had heard of it. And with Qu Leilei's family background, he was even more aware of the weight of this famous Shanghai newspaper; perhaps many big leaders would see it.

Liu Rulong: My brother's novel was actually published in "Wenhui Bao"? He actually writes novels too!

"You guys don't need to have that expression; this is very normal. After all, I'm a writer who is about to publish a novel in 'Harvest'."

Liu Rulong/Qu Leilei: "..."

There was also "Harvest" involved in this?!

Wei Ming gave A-Long a wink, indicating they would talk later.

"Leizi, you go do your thing. We're just passing by, just looking around."

"How can we not meet A-Cheng? He really likes that poem of yours."

"Okay, I also really like that painting of his."

Soon, Qu Leilei called people over, and it wasn't just Zhong Acheng, but almost all the initiators of the Stars Art Exhibition were called over.

At this time, Zhong Acheng hadn't yet written "The Chess King," "The Tree King," or "The King of Children," which made him famous in the literary world. He had been sent to the countryside for ten years and had only just returned this year. Besides helping his father Zhong Dianfei with film theory creation, he just liked to paint.

In addition, among these people, Huang Rui was the later initiator of the 798 Art District, Ma Desheng had polio and walked with crutches, Wang Keping was a sculptor, Yan Li was both a painter and a poet, and there was the only female member, Li Shuang, who later caused a huge stir because of a transnational romance.

Just these few, it could be said that not one was a pushover.

Later, almost all of them went abroad. Some drifted outside, some acquired foreign citizenship, and only two or three returned.

But for those in art, being too rational, restrained, and rule-abiding wouldn't lead to art either.

So although Wei Ming also understood art, he couldn't become an artist because he was very rational and restrained.

A-Long couldn't do art either because he was a rule-abiding person, but that might not be the case after joining a gang. Hearing him say it, the tattoos of their club were all designed by him personally; perhaps art had been achieved at that time.

They introduced themselves, and Wei Ming also introduced Liu Rulong. Upon learning that A-Long was from the Film Academy, the other party immediately asked, "Do you know Chen Kaige?"

"I know him; he's a famous figure in our school."

Chen Kaige had a close relationship with the "Today" poetry school, and "Today" and "Stars" seemed to be of the same spirit, so they all knew each other.

Later, Chen Kaige even filmed Acheng's "The King of Children."

Just as they were chatting, they suddenly heard a passing aunt shout, "Art exhibition? What art exhibition? I looked and didn't feel it was beautiful." Everyone laughed after hearing this and didn't refute the aunt. The wood carving named "Silence" at the art exhibition mocked the act of covering one's mouth, so they were naturally willing to accept comments of various voices.

Wei Ming appreciated this attitude, but his communication with this group of people was just a touch-and-go, not too deep.

After all, this was a group of marginal artists drifting outside the mainstream, while Wei Ming wanted to walk the broad road and sought to be upright and bright.

So when the leaders of the Artists Association came, taking advantage of the gap while they went to receive them, Wei Ming, who had seen enough, pulled Liu Rulong and slipped away.

There was still some time, so they decided to go into the art museum to take a look, but before that...

"Talk, what else are you hiding from me," A-Long said resentfully.

"It can't be called hiding; it's just that you didn't ask, and I haven't had time to say yet~" Wei Ming first layered some armor for himself before starting from the beginning.

Earliest, to earn some living expenses, he wrote fairy tales for "Children's Literature," where his aunt worked.

Afterwards, he started creating novels. Being provoked by someone, he submitted it to the top literary journal "Harvest," and unexpectedly, he was called to Shanghai to revise the manuscript.

Before going to Shanghai, he had a novella passed at "Yanjing Literature and Art," and at the same time, his inspiration burst forth and he wrote a long poem "Ideal" that had some small popularity.

On the train to Shanghai, he accidentally subdued a human trafficker and saved a little girl.

!

And, after arriving in Shanghai, because of buying wine, he wrote a short story that was accepted by "Wenhui Bao."

"That's about it."

Liu Rulong picked up his jaw that had fallen to the ground: "Is this definitely something that happened within a month?"

"Hmm, to be precise, 28 days."

Liu Rulong grabbed his hair: "I've never seen anyone like you in writing novels; the plot elements are too dense!"

"Maybe the author who controls my life is too poor in skill." Wei Ming laughed.

Liu Rulong shook his head. He only felt that he needed to re-recognize this old classmate. How was it that he even felt a bit of worship for this guy!

"By the way, I want to ask you one more thing. Are you interested in drawing illustrations for 'Children's Literature'?" Wei Ming simply brought up this matter. "I mean specifically drawing illustrations for my works. You can earn some money. Of course, it definitely can't compare to what Uncle gives you."

"Of course I'm willing!" Liu Rulong agreed without even thinking. "I'd be willing even without money!"

"That's not necessary; one thing is one thing."

Liu Rulong added: "Do you need me to draw now?"

"In a few days. I haven't decided what to write yet."

"Fine, I'll go find you at Peking University in a few days, and by the way, let you see my recent works!" A-Long was eager to try.

After the college entrance exam, Liu Rulong returned to Guangzhou to find his teacher for a refresher, and afterwards studied at the Beijing Film Academy for a month. Three months later, he still had some progress.

After clearing things up, the two stepped into the art museum and strolled for more than an hour. It was mainly ink-wash paintings, but there were also a large number of oil paintings and sculptures.

Here they saw works by contemporary artists such as Li Keran, Li Xingjian, and Huang Runhua.

This also included woodcuts by the genius of Western Hunan, Huang Yongyu, as well as paintings by Liu Rulong's mentor, Master Guan Shanyue.

However, the themes were indeed relatively old and repetitive. Just on the subject of Jinggangshan, they saw no fewer than ten pieces, and there were more than twenty types of portraits of the great man.

Viewing an art exhibition inside was a completely different state of mind from viewing one outside.

Inside, you could learn and discuss the techniques of these famous masters, but you just couldn't get hyped up.

Outside, it was basically a visual bombardment—no technique, all emotion.

When walking out of the art museum, when A-Long asked Wei Ming for his evaluation of the works of the "Stars," he thought for a moment and left the sixteen-character comment: "Passion in excess, skill insufficient; courage is great, learning is not enough."

A-Long said: "I think they are very lucky. At this point in time, neither biased nor partial, they appeared, so it is very likely that they will leave an important mark in the history of domestic art. Too early wouldn't work, too late wouldn't work either. Earlier, they would have been arrested; later, they wouldn't have stood out."

Wei Ming deeply agreed with A-Long's evaluation.

However, with these two art exhibitions, one new and one old, this trip was considered worthwhile.

Liu Rulong found his classmates who were about to return to school at the art exhibition, so he let them take him back.

When introducing Wei Ming to his classmates, he said proudly: "This is my high school classmate, who guards the gate at Peking University. But in the future, if you want to mix in the animation circle, you might have to beg him."

All classmates: "?"

"By the way, A-Long, remember to ask Zhang Yimou from the photography department for my photo when you return to school." After giving this instruction, Wei Ming rode that Flying Pigeon and pedaled hard, rushing and rushing, but it still took an hour and a half. It was already dark, and he estimated he would miss the meal with the young ladies from the Chinese Department.

When he rode his bike into the Nanmen, a senior guarding the gate called out: "Little Wei, you're finally back. Go take a look quickly; Biaozi was beaten!"

(Kneeling to beg for monthly tickets, must hold on!)

(End of chapter)