PPS Chapter 89
by Volare“Welcome everyone to support our current ‘Painting Shadows, Flowing Light’ competition. We are here to appreciate and celebrate the creativity and talent of all the contestants. However, during the competition, we regret to have discovered some discordant notes.”
As the host’s voice faded, a stir erupted in the venue. The audience members turned to each other, murmuring in discussion. While some in the audience were there for the spectacle between Xie Haoran and Chu Zhaoyi, most were there because they loved painting and respected the industry.
They naturally couldn’t tolerate unfair competition such as plagiarism.
“What’s going on?”
“What does this mean?”
“What are ‘discordant notes’? Unfair competition?”
“It can’t be plagiarism, can it? That would be too stupid…”
Xie Haoran’s heart sank. He quickly glanced at Chu Zhaoyi, only to find that Chu Zhaoyi had already turned his gaze to him, his eyes as if scrutinizing a clumsy performer.
The host waved his hand, and the staff projected two paintings onto the large screen.
To the naked eye, the contents of the two paintings looked completely identical, but upon closer inspection, there were some differences. However, the appearance of two such similar paintings in a competition of this level was particularly shocking.
The atmosphere in the venue instantly froze. The audience members looked at each other, their eyes full of disbelief. Some covered their mouths to avoid gasping, while others whispered, trying to make sense of the sudden change.
The other contestants also looked stunned. They stopped what they were doing and looked up at the big screen, the sound of discussions rising and falling.
“How is this possible?!”
“Are they crazy? To plagiarize in a competition like this, wouldn’t that ruin their career?”
Xie Haoran’s face turned pale. He subconsciously clenched his fists, his eyes wandering between Chu Zhaoyi and the two paintings, desperately trying to control his expression so as not to reveal anything unusual.
Gu Yusen raised his eyebrows at the scene. Xie Haoran was even stupider than he had imagined.
He was jealous of Chu Zhaoyi’s talent, yet he used Chu Zhaoyi to become the so-called genius painter in everyone’s eyes. He loathed Chu Zhaoyi, but he had to rely on Chu Zhaoyi.
Even at this time, he didn’t dare to produce his own original paintings.
Butterfly elements are very common in paintings, and Chu Zhaoyi had brought back a lot of paintings to the dormitory, with a wide variety of themes, including one with butterflies.
Xie Haoran loathed, envied, but had to rely on him.
He kept saying that he could surpass Chu Zhaoyi, but he never had the courage to take out his true originals.
Chu Zhaoyi’s face still didn’t show much expression, as if everything in front of him couldn’t affect him, as if his name wasn’t on one of the paintings on the big screen.
He frowned slightly, a little unhappy. Xie Haoran was even stupider than he had imagined. He didn’t expect that he would dare to imitate his work to participate in this competition.
It disrupted his plan a little.
But it didn’t have much of an impact.
Chu Zhaoyi relaxed his frown when he figured this out. The five judges in front of him all looked serious, obviously very resistant to this matter.
That’s right.
Plagiarism.
No one would look up to this kind of behavior.
“Host! Do you know who plagiarized these two people?” The audience below the stage shouted loudly, especially after realizing that the names on the two paintings were the two people who had recently become popular online.
“From our point of view, Chu Zhaoyi’s painting is obviously better. Although the two paintings are roughly the same, Chu Zhaoyi’s work is obviously more mature in its brushstrokes, and the final painting is more spiritual.”
“In this painting, a butterfly is quietly perched on a rose, but its wings are tightly entangled in a spider web, unable to break free. The sense of oppression and despair conveyed by the picture makes people feel resentment.”
“However, Xie Haoran’s painting didn’t give me this feeling. The overall painting skills are naturally good, but it’s not spiritual, it’s just a simple painting.”
The speaker was the judge sitting in the middle of the five judges.
Professor Qin watched this scene without changing his expression, nodding knowingly when he heard this voice. In this industry, if you ask him who he looks up to, to be honest, there are not many people. This person is one of them. He also has considerable authority in the industry, so what he says is naturally more convincing.
Li Ze sighed deeply from the side, closed his eyes, and couldn’t bear to watch any longer. He had always felt that there was something wrong with Xie Haoran. He occasionally saw other paintings by Xie Haoran, which were indeed good compared to his peers, but they were much worse than the works he submitted.
In fact, it is basically impossible to tell the difference from the painting style, but in the eyes of people like Li Ze and Professor Qin, the difference is huge.
Li Ze could explain it once or twice as Xie Haoran not performing well, but after too many times, it’s not like he couldn’t tell.
A week ago, the work Xie Haoran submitted in the fourth round was a painting he drew himself, which was very similar to his previous style. No wonder his students didn’t see it and planned to submit it directly.
He asked a question out of concern, and when he saw the painting and thought about the final competition format, he understood what Xie Haoran was thinking. He was just afraid of being exposed during the live painting.
This person has been praised and respected by the people around him since he was a child. Everyone flattered him because of the Xie family. His living environment since he was a child was simple and pure. Playing tricks is simply not enough for people like them who have been struggling in society for many years.
Li Ze realized the seriousness of the matter and went to the official website to see Chu Zhaoyi’s painting.
He silently knocked on the door of Professor Qin’s office.
Professor Qin looked at him with displeasure. Li Ze knew he was in the wrong, so he agreed to cooperate with Professor Qin and let Xie Haoran participate in the final normally.
Although he was already aware of what would happen in the final, he naturally did not show mercy to Xie Haoran, fueled by the anger of being deceived.
Plagiarism.
It is the most shameful thing.
The judge’s words completely pushed Xie Haoran into the spotlight.
“Ah? Is it Xie Haoran?”
“Now that you mention it, I also think Chu Zhaoyi’s painting looks gloomy, but Xie Haoran’s doesn’t have much of a feeling.”
“But Xie Haoran was first in the previous competitions, wasn’t he? Could that also be plagiarism?”
Xie Haoran lowered his head, his eyebrows tightly locked together, and his eyes showed a trace of anxiety and urgency. He had been thinking about countermeasures, trying to sort out a feasible path in his mind. Why would Chu Zhaoyi also draw this painting, and it was exactly the same, unless… unless he did it on purpose!
From the day he put the painting in the dormitory,
It was all Chu Zhaoyi’s scheme.
Xie Haoran understood Chu Zhaoyi, but how could Chu Zhaoyi not understand Xie Haoran?
From a young age, he became gradually arrogant because he was used to hearing praise for Chu Zhaoyi’s paintings, but whenever others saw his own paintings, they would always say, “Is your condition not good?”
Words of concern were a cruel denial to him.
He loathed it, but he was unusually dependent on it.
Once he had the opportunity, he would naturally subconsciously choose Chu Zhaoyi’s things instead of his own.
Chu Zhaoyi used this mentality of his to help him step by step to the final. It was worth it that his hand was about to break before he made these two stacks of paintings, which almost covered every common theme.
Xie Haoran completely realized that he had fallen into a trap.
And what was Chu Zhaoyi’s purpose?
To expose his identity as a plagiarist.
No… no…
It can’t be!!!
He took a deep breath, trying to keep his expression calm, and forced a stiff arc at the corner of his mouth, as if everything was under control. But his tightly locked eyebrows and slightly trembling fingers betrayed the struggle in his heart.
He put on a pitiful expression: “I know I didn’t paint well this time. I was careless some time ago and didn’t take good care of myself, which injured my hand. But! A-Yi… how can you slander me instead?!”