CH 16

Chapter 16 – Painting the World in His Heart

As long as Chen Li started painting, he would devote himself to it. Everything around him could no longer affect him. His brush fell, seemingly smearing a mess of color blocks on the canvas, but when the blocks kept piling up, a breathtaking painting slowly appeared.

Wei Chen stood quietly next to Chen Li and watched Chen Li paint. The painting under Chen Li’s brush was the world in his heart, he could cast words and peek into Chen Li’s mind.

At first, Wei Chen didn’t know what Chen Li was painting. After about 20 minutes, the painting on the canvas gradually took shape, and Wei Chen could see what Chen Li was painting.

Chen Li painted the surrounding scenery, but there was no color block that could reflect the vitality of midsummer. The colors were thick and depressing, the green trees were like ghosts with teeth and claws, and the passers-by turned into fierce ghosts.

This was the world in Chen Li’s heart. Everything in the outside world was full of malice and eerie to him, as if it would easily strangle him.

Seeing such a painting, Wei Chen’s heart was full of sorrow for Chen Li, and he glanced up at the sunlight mottled by the leaves. He thought to himself that in the future, he would definitely sprinkle the sun on Chen Li’s world and let Chen Li know that this world was not so malicious, nor was it so eerie.

Chen Li dotted the last heavy stroke on the tree before completing the painting. No matter who saw this painting, there would be a sense of depression in his heart. Obviously, it was more abstract than realism, but the seemingly chaotic lines and color blocks seemed to be able to oppress the air, making people feel suffocated.

“This young man draws well.”

The moment Chen Li put away his brush, an old voice sounded in the ears of the two of them. Chen Li was stimulated by this strange voice, and the brush in his hand was immediately scared off. He stood up abruptly and hid behind Wei Chen in fear.

Wei Chen squeezed Chen Li’s hand, and after secretly calming Chen Li’s emotions, he set his sights on the old man who appeared beside him and Chen Li at some unknown time, and asked coldly: “Do you need something?”

The old man’s dress was too avant-garde, with at least five gorgeous colors from head to toe, and it looked a little shiny under the sun. His hair was gray and his face was wrinkled, not sure if it was because of his frequent laughter or because of the carving of the years.

He looked a little suspicious, and Wei Chen was also a little vigilant.

Seeing Chen Li’s reaction, the old man knew that he was a bit rash when he spoke just now, and immediately admitted his mistake, saying: “It’s my fault, I disturbed you, and I am very sorry if it caused you trouble.” He probably saw Wei Chen’s vigilance, suppressed the smile on his face, and said sincerely.

As the saying goes, don’t hit the smiling person’s face. The old man not only smiled but also admitted his mistake sincerely. It was impossible for Wei Chen to treat the old man with a cold attitude, and just asked again: “This old gentleman, can I help you?” Compared to the previous attitude towards the elderly, it was now much more polite.

“I am also a person who loves painting. I just saw that young man’s painting and felt it was to my liking, so I couldn’t resist coming over, it was rude of me,” the old man explained.

He could see now that this young man with a special style of painting had psychological problems, otherwise, he would not have made such a gloomy but shocking painting.

The old man also knew about Chen Li’s psychological problems. He guessed that Chen Li was probably afraid of contact with strangers, so he turned around and left without waiting for Wei Chen to issue an eviction order, but left a word and a business card when he left.

In a word, this is my business card, please keep it first, sir, it will be useful sometime.

After the old man walked away, Wei Chen looked at the old man’s business card. After seeing it, Wei Chen’s eyes couldn’t help but sink.

Zhuge Yu, professor at the Q Academy of Fine Arts.

Wei Chen searched for Zhuge Yu’s name and came up with a long list of achievements, but in summary, this man was a renowned painter both at home and abroad, and the founder of a new genre.