eurekapd Chapter 189 Big Scandal
Chapter 189 Big Scandal
The competition continued the next day.
The events held that day were the final two categories: oil painting and watercolor painting.
Lin Chen arrived at the examination hall early as usual.
Unlike yesterday, today's contestants also include a girl named Su Yao.
She was going to participate in an oil painting project.
"Lin Chen! Here, here!"
Su Yao noticed him first, rather than Lin Chen.
Upon seeing Lin Chen's figure in the distance, she excitedly waved to him.
Her slender figure attracted the attention of everyone around her.
"Is that Su Yao, the campus belle of the Central Academy of Fine Arts?"
"Isn't it her? I heard she's not only the school beauty, but also comes from a scholarly family! The current vice dean, Old Su, is her grandfather!"
"Wow, just because of Senior Su, I'm going to apply to the Central Academy of Fine Arts!"
"Huh? Who's that man?"
"What the hell! How does he get to stand next to Senior Su?"
Ignoring the countless envious gazes around them, Lin Chen and Cai Hua arrived at Su Yao's side.
"Lin Chen, I'll be going now. I'll be waiting for your good news later."
Cai Hua was originally from the Central Academy of Fine Arts. He had arranged to have tea with some old classmates today, so he said goodbye and left early.
As soon as Cai Hua left, Su Yao and Lin Chen stood side by side, one male and one female.
The two were a perfect match, drawing envy from all the female contestants around them, who started shipping them as a couple.
The male contestants, on the other hand, gritted their teeth and their eyes burned with rage.
"Lin Chen, you need to be careful today, you must give it your all!"
Su Yao said with a worried expression.
"What's wrong?" Lin Chen asked, looking puzzled.
Su Yao said earnestly, "I actually heard that Chen Qing kept finding fault with you during the calligraphy and traditional Chinese painting judging yesterday."
"Chen Qing? Who is that?"
"That's Chen Qing, the one who gave the speech the other day!"
Seeing Lin Chen's indifferent expression, Su Yao became somewhat anxious.
Lin Chen smiled. Of course he knew which Chen Qing it was, but in the face of absolute strength (cheating), there was no need to care about some petty villains.
"Senior Su, we're rivals today. Aren't you afraid of being eliminated if you help me like this?"
"What am I afraid of? I've been learning to draw since kindergarten! I'm just afraid that you'll be framed and the competition will become unfair!" Su Yao pouted.
Lin Chen smiled and cupped his hands in thanks: "Then thank you for the reminder, Senior Su!"
Su Yao turned her face away, but a strange sense of panic welled up inside her, and her heart was beating very fast.
The competition began shortly afterward.
Similar to calligraphy and traditional Chinese painting, watercolor and oil painting remain the designated themes.
The former focuses on scenery, while the latter focuses on people.
Compared to calligraphy and traditional Chinese painting, Lin Chen's strengths in watercolor and oil painting are actually more prominent.
Because among Lin Chen's peers, their pursuit of both is still only at the most basic, superficial level.
In other words, it's all about looking good.
What they sought was a clear theme, harmonious colors, and fluid brushstrokes.
Don't be fooled by the fact that there are only these three goals; many people find it extremely difficult to achieve them.
However, with the system's support, Lin Chen had long since transcended that level.
His paintings have touched upon deeper emotional expression, not only demonstrating excellent technical skills but also evoking resonance and reflection in the audience.
In the afternoon, after the watercolor painting competition ended, the competition for Lin Chen and the other contestants came to a close.
But for the judges, the competition was not over yet.
Just like yesterday, a group of judges sat in a special judging room, quickly reviewing each piece of work.
With yesterday's experience, the review process was much faster today.
The initial evaluation of the oil painting project was completed in no time.
The final evaluation hasn't even started yet, but the results seem to be out already.
A professor looked around at the crowd and said, "I already have the result for the first prize in mind. I wonder if you all feel the same way?"
"Yes, me too."
"The difference is too obvious."
"It should be that one, that's what I think too."
"I never expected to see such outstanding works in this competition! These young people today are truly remarkable!"
Seeing everyone nodding in agreement, the professor who had spoken first said, "Then why don't we all say out the work's number together?"
"42!"
Almost in unison, everyone shouted out a number.
Then, laughter erupted from the room.
"As expected, they're all number 42. Staff, could you please bring up number 42?"
Just as the staff were hanging up the artwork, someone noticed that Chen Qing, who was actually the most qualified to speak among the judges, had not said a word since the beginning.
"Teacher Chen, didn't you say anything just now? Do you think number 42 is bad?"
"Do not."
Chen Qing shook his head.
"Of the works in this collection, only two pieces resonated with the audience. No. 42 is indeed the best among them, but I feel that the style of No. 42 looks somewhat familiar."
"Looks familiar? Let's take a look together in a bit."
A moment later, artwork number 42 was hung up.
This is an extremely special portrait oil painting.
The theme of this competition was explicitly required to be portrait painting.
However, among all the works, this No. 42 is the most unique.
Because it depicts a back view.
Under the early summer sun, a girl in a dress walks under a sycamore tree.
Upon seeing the painting again, some professors couldn't sit still any longer.
"Wow, look at this painting. Even though it only shows the girl's back, it captures her movements perfectly."
"No, no, no, what surprised me most was the part that wasn't visible in the painting! Didn't you all feel the longing and admiration in the eyes of the person outside the painting as they looked at the girl?"
"Yes, yes, yes! That's exactly it! You're absolutely right!"
After everyone finished speaking, they all looked at Chen Qing.
Unlike yesterday, Chen Qing is the one with the most authority to speak on this oil painting project today.
"Teacher Chen, what do you think?"
Chen Qing nodded: "I remember that a great Russian Impressionist painter, André Cohen, was most skilled at painting the backs of people. This painting is indeed quite in his style!"
"Then... shall we just confirm it?"
Just as everyone was about to award this painting first place, Chen Qing suddenly waved his hand: "Wait a minute!"
"Could you please show us number 12 as well?" He turned to the staff member beside him.
Soon, another artwork was hung up.
This work is the other of the two masterpieces that everyone previously considered.
This painting depicts a handsome man dressed in Hanfu (traditional Han clothing) and wearing a mask, wielding a brush in a wooden house.
"This painting is also good; the anticipation, trepidation, and youthful admiration are vividly portrayed on the paper."
"This must be a girl's work, right?"
"If it weren't for number 42, this painting would also be considered number one!"
The professors all looked regretful.
In their view, this is also a mature work beyond his years.
However, compared to the stunning number 42, it is ultimately slightly inferior.
However, at that moment, Chen Qing suddenly stood up.
At that moment, he finally understood.
I was wondering why number 42 looked so familiar...
It's not just number 42, but also all those déjà vu moments from yesterday...
So that’s it!
Chen Qing looked at entry number 12 with a malicious smile on his face.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I guess the author of number 42 must be Lin Chen, who won first place in both calligraphy and painting yesterday?"
Everyone was stunned for a moment.
"Lin Chen? The one who won first place in both calligraphy and traditional Chinese painting yesterday?"
"Teacher Chen, how did you figure that out?"
"You don't need to worry about that. Please confirm that what I said is correct."
One professor said, "Logically speaking, we shouldn't know the author's identity before the results are released, but since these 42 are first, I don't think anyone has any objections, right?"
Seeing that the others were shaking their heads, the professor had the staff remove the seal.
The author's name was indeed written as Lin Chen!
"It's really him!"
"This kid... he's actually incredibly powerful?"
"A genius! He's simply a genius in the art world!"
Seeing everyone praising Lin Chen in unison, Chen Qing suddenly snorted coldly, pouring cold water on everyone.
"Gentlemen, you're celebrating too soon!"
"I'm afraid a huge scandal is about to unfold in our competition!"
"Because of Lin Chen, he is suspected of plagiarism!"