PPS Chapter 50
by VolareChapter 50 The Radiance of Painted Shadows
“Teacher, do I really have to participate in this competition?” Xie Haoran stood before Li Ze, his tone carrying a hint of self-doubt.
A week ago, Li Ze contacted him, asking him to participate in this competition. “The Radiance of Painted Shadows” was the name of the competition, and it was one that many university students in this major dreamed of participating in, even winning awards in.
But he was just a freshman. Participating was indeed… a bit rushed.
Xie Haoran didn’t want to do things he wasn’t sure about, but Li Ze had directly finalized and submitted his name back then, so he had no choice but to practice with a stiff upper lip. But the results were minimal this past week.
“If you can perform at the level of your initial three paintings, this competition will naturally be no problem. If you can be more mature in terms of skills and so on, you can completely compete for a ranking,” Li Ze, a person who usually appeared stern, softened his voice to comfort him.
In his view, Xie Haoran could have enough confidence in himself. With his level, perhaps winning an overall ranking would be a bit difficult, but wanting to stand out was not difficult at all.
Xie Haoran’s paintings had a lot of aura, which was the most scarce thing in this major, even in the entire industry. It wasn’t the same thing taught according to textbooks and teachers. It had its own content, so the things he painted would never be bad.
But the difference was in the painting techniques, like a self-taught amateur, lacking something, as if he had never received professional education.
Thinking of this, Li Ze was a little puzzled. As far as he knew, Xie Haoran had come through the art exam in a proper manner. He had participated in the school’s exam, and he had immediately taken a fancy to this student and taken him under his wing.
Since he had been admitted through a formal exam, how could his paintings be so “wild”?
“Your skills are indeed a bit lacking. If you can continue to work hard in this area, you will gain something. Relax and believe in yourself.”
Xie Haoran embarrassedly touched his nose, “To be honest, my family didn’t support me in learning this major back then. These were all painted by me through self-exploration. Later, even with a teacher, it was difficult to correct them for a while.”
“So that’s how it is,” Li Ze nodded understandingly.
“I will not let down the teacher’s trust,” Xie Haoran took a deep breath, as if to relieve his nervous emotions.
“You can completely have enough confidence in yourself. Sometimes being too humble is not good.”
“Yes, thank you for the teacher’s guidance.”
“It’s not a problem for you to pass the preliminary round. The final round is a live painting. You tend to get nervous, so if you really get to this point, you can’t afford to make mistakes,” Li Ze was vaguely worried. He had seen Xie Haoran paint before, and this child was too nervous. The level he showed was not even half of what he usually did.
Xie Haoran didn’t expect Li Ze to trust him so much, even thinking that he had the possibility of entering the finals. He was really a bit apprehensive.
“Yes, there’s probably no chance of entering the finals this time, but I will definitely work hard next time and overcome this weakness of mine during this time,” Xie Haoran always knew what to say.
Sure enough, Li Ze nodded with satisfaction. Being easily nervous wasn’t a big problem. In his view, it should be caused by a lack of experience, which could be changed.
“Oh, right, that old Qin professor’s student has also signed up. Did I forget to tell you? And that school next door, that Qin professor’s nemesis, has also sent his own capable disciple. I estimate that the two are going to compete. If you perform normally, we still have a chance to get involved,” Li Ze said with a smile. He couldn’t help but be amused when he thought of the scene at that time.
Qin professor’s little genius student had an interesting personality, but he hadn’t seen his paintings before. Qin professor was very shrewd, treasuring him and holding him in his hands, unwilling to let them see.
He was afraid that they would snatch him away.
“Thank you for the teacher’s trust,” Xie Haoran smiled bitterly. It was truly a battle of immortals.
He just never knew who Qin professor’s student was. It had been a month since school started, but he hadn’t heard of any impressive figures in this class.
If he was Qin professor’s student, he would probably be eager to stand out and show off, right?
How come he hadn’t shown his face until now?
In fact, his initial goal was not Professor Li Ze. After all, who didn’t admire Professor Qin? Professor Li was certainly powerful, but he was still a notch below Professor Qin.
If… if he could have caught Professor Qin’s eye back then, that would have been great.
But this competition shouldn’t be too high-profile. If he really entered the finals, with his situation, wouldn’t that be a joke?
Xie Haoran left Li Ze’s office, worrying about this matter.
As soon as he went out, he saw a figure at the end of the corridor. He couldn’t tell who it was. The person was wearing a hooded sweatshirt as if he wasn’t afraid of the heat, and the hood was covering his head, shielding him tightly.
On this floor, there were only the offices of Professor Li Ze and Professor Qin, and Professor Qin’s personal studio.
“Could this person be Qin professor’s student…” Xie Haoran thought to himself, subconsciously chasing after him.
The two weren’t far apart, but when he reached the end of the corridor, he found that there was no one on the stairs or downstairs.
It had only been a few seconds. Could this person have already gone far away?
Xie Haoran was a little puzzled, but also a little unwilling. He wanted to know who the person accepted by Professor Qin was…
Xie Haoran chased down two more floors, unwilling to give up, but there was no one on each floor, so he reluctantly gave up and left the building.
Just after Xie Haoran left, a figure slowly walked out of the classroom on the second floor, leaned on the railing, and looked down. Seeing Xie Haoran’s hurried departure, he tilted his head.
He took out a lollipop from his satchel and put it in his mouth.
“Too sweet…”