“What’s wrong, Abmer? Who is this guy?” Leo, though a bit oblivious as a foreigner, could tell there was tension between us. He furrowed his brow. “How dare you say Abmer is useless? Nonsense, that’s arrogant. With your level, you have no right to judge him.”
Qing Ze lifted his chin and looked Leo up and down. “No right? I’m representing the Jiangcheng Art Association,” he said, pointing his thumb toward the prominent large painting at the entrance. He sneered at me, his gaze filled with bitterness. “Where’s his? I suppose it’s in Ming Luo’s… grave, right?”
I glanced at his painting, clenched my fists, and said nothing in response.
This sneaky guy was deliberately trying to provoke me. If we were outside, I might have lost control and acted on impulse, but I hadn’t forgotten where I was right now.
Hearing the sound of high heels clicking nearby, I glanced over and saw that it was Cheng Wan who had returned.
As soon as she saw Qing Ze, Cheng Wan furrowed her brow, seemingly worried that I might start a fight with him right there. She walked straight between us, giving him a gentle smile. “Isn’t this Junior Qing Ze? You were also invited as a special judge for this year’s YICCA?”
Qing Ze’s expression changed slightly, clearly taken aback by her intentional emphasis on the word ‘also’. He looked at me in disbelief. “You’re saying he’s a special judge? Are you kidding? Why? What works does he have? Just based on those old pieces from four years ago?”
“You’re quite well-informed, it looks like you’ve been sending people my way.” I sneered, glancing at the model in his painting. Although the person was someone not worth remembering, I still clearly recalled the face for which I personally sketched the draft.
“Oh, Teacher Qing Ze!”
“It’s Teacher Qin Ran! I haven’t seen him for a long time…”
At this moment, a few low exclamations came from the door. People who were waiting in line to visit came in one after another, spreading in the exhibition hall like a tide. Qing Ze immediately became a different person. The hostility on his face disappeared without a trace, replaced by a fresh and playful Japanese literary youth mask.
I rolled my eyes, unwilling to waste any more time, and went upstairs with Leo. The first floor exhibited outstanding works by the new generation of global artists, while the upper floor showcased the masterpieces of veteran artists, their great works refined by the passage of time. As I gazed up at these divine creations, I was momentarily immersed, as if transported back to my student days, becoming a tiny molecule drifting through these vast, magnificent universes.
“Abmer, do you remember the night we secretly stayed at the Palazzo Pitti in Florence?” Leo suddenly whispered with a chuckle in my ear.
“Was it the time we bumped into the Da Vinci Code crew?” My gaze drifted, absorbed in one of the paintings, responding absentmindedly.
“I really wish we could have another adventure like that…” He murmured. “Abmer, after this exhibition, come with me to Italy? We can stay in Florence for a while, wander around like we used to, and you’ll surely find your new muse.”
Go to Italy?
I froze for a moment, suddenly hearing a faint “click” from the side. Turning my head, I noticed a few visitors in the limited-access area on the second floor. Among them, I immediately spotted a flamboyantly styled teenager with a wild afro, holding up his phone, aiming it in my direction. When our eyes met, he calmly smiled and said, “Sorry, I was taking a picture of that painting. Can you move aside?”
My expression darkened. “Photography is not allowed at this art exhibition. Please delete the photo and put your phone away.”
Seeing that the boy didn’t take it seriously and just shoved his phone into his pocket without deleting the photo, I walked over, grabbed his hand, and took his phone out.
“Password,” I stared at him, “Don’t make me call security.”
“Did you hear what he said? If you don’t delete the photo, we’ll have to ask you to leave, Sir.” Leo stepped forward to back me up, showing his ID badge from his clothes.
I reluctantly entered the string of numbers he provided. As I opened the album, my eyes immediately landed on the first photo, and I couldn’t help but feel a surge of anger. I had initially thought he was just desecrating the artwork, but it seemed he was targeting me.
I deleted the photo and tossed the phone back to the boy. Seeing his flushed face, I didn’t want to press him further, but my mood to appreciate the artwork had definitely been ruined.
Just as I was about to head downstairs with Leo, I suddenly heard a commotion coming from below.
Looking down, I saw the pink-haired figure still in front of his displayed artwork in the lobby. Standing next to him was the muse I considered nothing more than a vulgar object, and the two of them were happily posing for photos with local media, signing autographs for the fans surrounding them. They seemed to arrogantly turn this international art exhibition into their own personal showcase. The idea of an artist becoming famous not through their art was something I deeply despised.
“How can he do this?” Leo frowned and raised his voice, “Excuse me?”
Qing Ze looked up, as if he had already anticipated this moment, and flashed me a provocative smile.
“Isn’t that Senior Qin Ran? Senior Qin Ran!” Someone noticed me and whispered. It was a young girl I didn’t recognize. I then realized that most of his fans seemed very young, probably students, and they all had the aura of art students.
“Qin Ran, come down quickly! These are all juniors from our alma mater. They’ve heard so much about you. Come down and sign some autographs for them!” He laughed, then added, “Oh, by the way, do you want to see Senior Qin Ran’s new work?”
I licked my canine teeth, frowned, and stood still without moving.
“Qin Ran, where’s your new work? Do you guys want to see it?”
“We want to!”
“Senior Qin Ran, where is your new work? I really liked your previous pieces!”
“I don’t think I saw it in the front hall?”
“Yeah, but isn’t the upstairs gallery for foreign artists? That can’t be right…”
The murmurs and discussions blended into a buzz. Seeing that I hadn’t come down, Qing Ze leisurely began to ascend the stairs. “Let’s go upstairs and take a look. Maybe this year, your Senior Qin Ran has gone abroad and has already become an international artist.”
I glanced around but couldn’t find Leo. Not knowing where he’d gone, I pointed to the notice at the top of the stairs and coldly said, “There’s no painting of mine upstairs, but it’s a restricted area. Only ten people are allowed in at a time. Can’t you guys read?”
“So fierce, really cold and distant.”
“Tsk, what’s so impressive about him? I heard he’s already out of ideas.”
Qing Ze raised his voice: “What nonsense are you guys talking about? Our Senior Qin Ran was the top scorer in our school’s competition and a genius who was directly admitted to the Florence Academy of Fine Arts!”
At that moment, there was a sudden sound of “whoosh.” I looked up and saw a red cloth falling from the sky. The spotlight that had previously been off above the dome suddenly lit up, shining on the massive painting hanging high, illuminating the figure of Tunshe Nalin in the artwork.
In the midst of the sudden uproar, a wave of shock surged through me as well.
“My god!”
“He is here!”
“Abmer染… isn’t that Qin Ran’s artist name?”
“That’s Teacher Qin Ran’s new work!”
“Genius, truly a genius! Who said he’s run out of ideas?”
A hand slapped my back, and I snapped back to reality and saw Leo’s radiant smile. “I had the organizers reveal your painting a bit earlier. You don’t mind, do you, Abmer?”
So it was him. I smiled and shook my head, glancing down to see Qing Ze also staring up at my painting in shock. His face gradually turned pale, and his gaze shifted from my painting to the model beside him, then back to the painting again.
I knew that inside, he must be shocked by the stark contrast between this shallow model and Tunshe Nalin, just like how I felt the first time I saw Tunshe Nalin. But unlike me, he must also be seething with jealousy that this muse wasn’t his to claim.
“It can’t be…”
“Senior Qin Ran, may I ask, is this painting from your imagination?”
“Yes, is the person in this painting real? Is this your new muse?”
“Can you let us meet him?”
“Have you named this painting? He looks like a deity… a noble god of death! Can you tell us the inspiration behind creating this piece?”
“Is this the incarnation of your late muse?”
Countless questions surged toward me, and I took a step back.
“Abmer… have you found your new muse?” Leo sighed dreamily from behind, “Who is he? Where is he from? Is he a real person?”
I shook my head, and the word “no” was frozen between my teeth before I could say it. My gaze froze. At this moment, the visitors on the first floor burst into exclamations, and everyone’s eyes, like mine, were focused on the figure who slowly walked into the exhibition hall.
—That turned out to be… Tunshe Nalin.
He changed into a more luxurious dark purple antique robe embroidered with gold and still had his eyes covered with black cloth. He seemed to have walked out of my painting, draped in the cold moonlight of the forest at night, carrying the fierce winds and snow from the snow-capped mountains, and simply walked into the mortal world.
I stood there dumbfounded, thinking I was trapped in a nightmare.
Tunshe Nalin… how could he… how dare he appear so blatantly in public, at an art exhibition?
What about his clothes, his corpse slave? Doesn’t he fear his identity being exposed?
How did he manage to find his way to Jiangcheng from a thousand miles away, and how did he get here?
Isn’t it daytime? I looked toward the glass door—outside, snow was falling, the sky was dark and gloomy, and there was a heavy fog. Although it was just past afternoon, it already felt like evening.
There is no sun today.
So, as long as there is no sun, he can walk in the daytime?
“…God, Abmer, he’s your muse, isn’t he?”
“It’s exactly the same as in the painting. It’s him! Abmer’s muse!”
The exclamations rose one after another, gradually spreading and causing a sensation.
At first, it was unclear who started, but soon the sound of cameras clicking filled the air, although the exhibition prohibited taking photos of the displayed artworks, but it didn’t say anything about taking pictures of living art. These visitors, captivated by the beauty of Tunshe Nalin, were eager to capture his image, unaware that he was not human at all.
