Almighty painter

Chapter 737 Singapore in neon

“Resonance, resonance is important, and the first impression is also important.”

Old Yang was humming a song while giving Gu Weijing a lesson on how to act cool at a banquet.

"Clothes make the man. Brother Yang, let me teach you a lesson. Even if formal suits are not particularly expensive, try to choose pure fabrics such as linen and wool, and try not to touch chemical fibers. What is the most important thing for men's outfit? Fabric, fabric, and fabric. Your collar is too narrow, and the style does not look grand. It does not have the mature and stable temperament of a strong man..."

If a person wears a set of clothes, he looks rustic.

Then it may be that you haven't mastered the tricks of dressing yet, or you don't care about clothing matching.

If a person loves to dress up, has a professional stylist, often attends various art festivals, occasionally goes to fashion weeks, and wears a hundred sets of clothes, but still looks like a douchebag, then it is probably because of some kind of congenital deficiency.

Yang Dekang runs around barking every day because of his "strong temperament", not because he is careless in studying fashion.

At least he was well versed in the art of showing off at upper-class dinners. He could talk about everything from the types of patent leather shoes to the way to hold a champagne glass. From the Mirochor Hotel to the Raffles Hotel, Old Yang explained everything and also gave Gu Weijing a brief introduction along the way.

A BMW sedan is driving through the sea of ​​cars at night.

Gu Weijing listened attentively at first, but then he became distracted.

It's not his fault.

Who can remember so many messy and complicated rules after listening to them once? What is the difference between "Dark Suit" and "Suit"? The formality of a single-breasted three-piece suit with notch lapels can be the same as a double-breasted black suit with peak lapels, but it must be pure black. Dark blue is a suit and is one level less formal.

shameful.

Under no circumstances should you choose a black suit with a patch pocket design when attending formal occasions.

shameful.

Evening elements in your outfit should not be confused or merged with daytime elements.

shameful.

……

In the first few minutes, Gu Weijing was listening carefully to what Lao Yang said. Later, these sentences slowly meshed together in his ears.

The meanings of various words and proper nouns were blurred together, with only the three words “disgraceful” being repeated.

then.

When Lao Yang's voice fell into Gu Weijing's ears, it became peak lapel, notch lapel, shawl collar, indecent, indecent, indecent; single-breasted, double-breasted, buttonless, indecent, indecent; A, B, C, D, indecent, indecent, indecent.

In the end, all that was left was disgrace, disgrace, and disgrace.

In Gu Weijing's mind, the social dinner of the upper class turned into a scene like this - in a brightly lit stage venue with red curtains that looked like an opera house, hundreds of well-dressed gentlemen and ladies were sitting in seats below the stage, their faces and facial features were all blurred in the mist, which was totally unimportant. Under the beam of light emanating from the stage, only the men's straight suit collars and the women's smooth and soft silk dresses were shining.

The host on the stage kept introducing the newlyweds, and every time a name was read out according to the invitation, someone would come out from behind the crimson curtain and step into the social scene.

He stood nervously under the spotlight.

Each member of the audience pulled out from his pocket a roll of notes that looked like the shopping list of a housewife who only went to the supermarket once a quarter. It had hundreds of lines and was long enough to hang from his fingertips to the ground.

Everyone began to rate the people on the stage one by one, from the collar to the tip of the shoe, from the cufflinks to the carvings on the patent leather shoes, and they were as picky as a rancher selecting his breeding pigs.

If everything goes well.

The way they were dressed, the way they spoke, and the way they behaved were all those of people in the circle. So when the hook was played from the first row to the last row, all the men and women in the seats stood up and applauded.

Streamers and light smoke floated across the stage.

The host raised his arms and shouted "ladies and gentleman!"

The guests in the spotlight have passed the review and can jog to the stage, choose a seat and sit down, with a stamp of "senior person" on them.

From then on, he became a new member of the upper class and the next scoring judge with a list in hand.

If it's unfortunate.

There was something about him that seemed shabby and downtrodden, and was crossed out by the judges in the audience.

Suddenly.

On the stage, there will be a sound effect similar to the one in variety shows where one fails to pass a level or hold hands - a curved "clang" sound.

The lights on the stage suddenly turned into a cold and chilly color.

All the guests in the audience stood up and sang together:

"Disgraceful, disgraceful, disgraceful!"

Then there was a burst of laughter.

Gu Weijing also laughed softly, and the curve of his lips pursed up looked a little sarcastic.

"Brother Yang, is there really someone who can do these things and never make mistakes? Does Miss Elena spend 24 hours a day studying other people's clothes and accessories?" He shook his head slightly and felt that the image of Anna Elena in his mind was becoming more and more unfamiliar.

"Research?" Old Yang looked at Gu Weijing strangely.

He sniffed.

"No, I don't think people need to study. A good artist can distinguish the disfluency and impurities in one of a hundred lines, and one of a hundred notes played one sixteenth of a beat longer. A real princess can feel a tiny pea under a hundred mattresses."

"Don't be silly. What she needs is not research. She just needs to breathe. She has been living in that kind of air since the moment she was born."

Old Yang blurted out a very personal dirty joke:

"I don't know if Ms. Elena can feel the peas under the mattress. But I guess that in the eyes of others, the mistakes in your outfit are as obvious as running naked on the street."

Old Yang laughed contentedly.

Gu Weijing stopped smiling.

There was a fleeting sadness on his face.

BMW cars are parked on the street.

There was music playing on the speakers.

While driving, Lao Yang continued to explain the four different ways of tying a tie, chuckling from time to time.

Gu Weijing was in a state of spiritual detachment from the world.

Such laughter was really harsh. He didn't hate Lao Yang. He knew that Lao Yang really had no ill intentions. He also knew that Lao Yang was really doing this for his own good.

Such truth, such laughter.

Ugly.

If you want to listen, you must pay tuition.

Money or dignity.

Ten or twenty years ago, the person on the stage who was laughed at and shouted as indecent and indecent by everyone might even be the middle-aged uncle wearing Versace and Rolex.

He still felt a little uncomfortable.

Such laughter reminded Gu Weijing of his first Valentine's Day dance on campus when he was in ninth grade.

That day, Mona held his hand and glanced at Miao Angwen who was passing by not far away.

He heard someone laughing and saying, "You don't even know that the last button of your dress cannot be buttoned in this kind of occasion. All bark and no bite, a pig with a green onion stuck in his nose, barking like a dog to show off."

"You know what? His father is a taxi driver..."

There was a low laugh all around.

I lived in an international school for many years until I was eighteen.

He spent almost all of his youth there before adulthood, hundreds of days and nights, doing hundreds of various complicated chores.

Gu Weijing had long forgotten many, many things.

His only vague memory of the school dance in the ninth grade was that Koko danced very well that year and seemed to have won the first prom queen title in her student days.

When Lao Yang's laughter rang in his ears.

Miao Angwen's face, which was in the shadows, with his mouth pursed and the muscles on his cheeks tightly stretched, appeared before his eyes.

How embarrassing.

At that time, Miao Angwen was at a loss. He wanted to be like the people around him and tried hard to blend into the atmosphere. But everyone's laughter clearly told you that even if you put on the best suit, you were just the son of a taxi driver.

Because you can't even learn how to unbutton the last button of the hem.

Gu Weijing felt embarrassed and awkward for Miao Angwen.

How embarrassing.

The me at that time, the one with a smile on my face.

Was his voice also heard in the chorus of cold laughter all around him? He could not remember the details, but he probably did.

His relationship with Miao Aung Win had never been good.

When everyone was laughing at Miao Angwen, did he laugh along with everyone else? Was he filled with a sense of superiority and smugness? Because you laugh, you are one of them. Because you laugh, you are one of the classmates.

He is the one who knows that the hem of a formal suit should not be buttoned.

He is a senior person.

Miao Angwen is the kind of person who doesn't know how to unbutton the hem of a formal suit.

He is a low-class person.

The superior people laugh at the inferior people.

It is justified.

As it should.

Gu Weijing really felt embarrassed and awkward for himself at that time.

A few years later, he suddenly realized that international schools are not the real upper class, and there is a real upper class outside of the upper class.

If you know that you shouldn't button the bottom button of your suit, you are not considered sophisticated.

If you want to become a senior person, you also need to know the four different ways to tie a tie, know the difference between "Suit" and "Black Suit" in the etiquette requirements on the banquet invitation, know the difference between "Dress" and "No Dress", know the difference between "In the White Tie" and "In the Black Tie", know the peak lapel, notch lapel, and shawl lapel, know A, B, C, D... and know that above the senior people, there are even more senior people.

You've put on the nicest suit you own, you've done your best to clean the stain on your collar, and you've carefully loosened the bottom button of your suit.

But in the eyes of some nobles who have lived their whole lives surrounded by gold, jade and silk, you are still naked.

The upper class has always been a place where people are divided into third, sixth, and ninth classes.

Singapore in neon lights.
-
Raffles Hotel at night.

The lights are brilliant.

This luxurious hotel was built in the 13th year of Emperor Guangxu's reign in the Eastern Qing Dynasty. It was funded by the wealthy Armenian brothers, the Schertz brothers. When it was first designed, it only had ten rooms, but in the following two hundred years, it gradually evolved into a magnificent building with an internal museum, boutiques, Singapore's best handmade tailor shop, and even an internal opera house.

It is to Singapore what the Plaza Hotel is to New York.

Although on a smaller scale.

But the design may be more refined and also represent the historical memory of a past era.

It is famous in Southeast Asia for its old Victorian architectural style from the 19th century. However, just a few years ago, the capital group that owns the hotel spent about 130 million US dollars on modern renovation.

While retaining historical traces, it also has modern facilities. It was contracted by the organizers of the Lion City Biennale to host the artist banquet on the first night of the exhibition, which was perfect.

In the "Mission Impossible" series, the same silver BMW sports car that Tom Cruise drove stopped in front of the hotel.

Lao Yang opened the door and walked out of the car with his head held high.

He threw the key to the parking attendant and took out a pink handkerchief with Poppy Spots and Hello Kitty from his pocket. He unfolded it with a "swish", attracting the attention of the guests around him.

The inspiration for this handkerchief comes from Gu Weijing.

He noticed that when Gu Weijing came out of confinement, his fat golden cat successfully attracted the attention of the blonde girl, who once invited Gu Weijing to bring his cat to the party to show it to his friends.

Lao Yang is a person who is very good at learning. If he has any cool and pretentious skills, he can take them away and use them for himself at any time.

An idea suddenly occurred to him.

Yup!

Which girl doesn’t like cute and soft animals? Men who like pets can also show their love.

It's a great help in pretending to be cool and picking up girls.

At this kind of artist dinner, clothing and accessories are all regulated, and Lao Yang has little room to express himself. Handkerchiefs are the best way to show his personality.

Some guests will pin a white, blue or gray handkerchief on their breast pocket.

Some more eye-catching guests who are not afraid of being the center of attention will use bright red or patterned handkerchiefs.

If you want to be more special, you can wear a bright rose on your chest like Vito Corleone in the movie "The Godfather".

But Lao Yang would never let himself mix with the masses easily.

How flirtatious he is!
He couldn't dress like Gu Weijing did in the afternoon at the dinner, and the procedures for purchasing pets in Singapore were complicated, so he couldn't carry the cat or dog around in his arms in a short period of time.

So he ran to the gift shop and bought a pink Hello Kitty handkerchief.

If you do it, you should be the most eye-catching one in the crowd.

This is called contrasting color design!

Versace suits, Armani belts, Rolex gold watches. During his stay in Singapore, Lao Yang originally followed the personal style of a domineering president.

At this moment, he transforms into a domineering president who likes pink Hello Kitty.

There is a tiger in your heart, but you can still smell the roses.

"Resonance? You know what? Let me tell you a secret. Miss Elena is also a person who particularly likes small animals. She even brought her pet with her when she came to Singapore to host the work of Oil Painting magazine on her private plane." Old Yang noticed the way Gu Weijing was looking at his handkerchief and explained. "If you have a chance to meet, you can seize this opportunity! Try to please her dog or something."

Yang Dekang folded his handkerchief into the shape of a pocket square.

He waved to Gu Weijing.

"Brother Gu! Let's go!"

He took out an invitation card that he had gotten from somewhere, and rushed into the banquet hall first, walking like a dragon or a tiger, looking proud, as if he couldn't wait any longer.

"When the time comes, you stay in the corner and don't move. After the banquet starts, I'll go get some lobsters and come back after saying hello."

……

Fifteen minutes later.

Ballroom.

In a corner not far from the buffet counter, a domineering middle-aged man with a kitty cat scarf on his chest was holding a plate of Swiss sausage and lobster salad in his hand. He raised his chin to a white man with a high nose and deep eyes as a greeting, and then turned to the young man in a secluded place.

"How's that, feeling a bit lonely?"

The man picked up a piece of salad and grinned at him.

"It's kind of quiet."

replied the young man.

After the banquet started, Gu Weijing had been here for a long time.

Men and women gathered together.

Some were talking loudly, some were sipping champagne from their glasses, and from time to time for some unknown reason, they would burst into laughter.

A banquet hall is not an art gallery.

This has never been a quiet place, but it was just that it was very quiet around Gu Weijing.

There were no violent conflicts.

The organizing committee did not refuse him entry to the banquet hall because his outfit did not fully comply with the dress code stated on the invitation, and no one came over to laugh at him because his suit jacket was not made of worsted wool.

No.

Nothing like this happened.

It's just very quiet.

Old Yang smiled greasyly again, wiped the handkerchief on his chest gently, and changed the subject. "Do you know who I just met?"

"Yovan Phin?"

Gu Weijing's gaze turned towards the banquet hall in front of him.

He did not see Miss Elena here, nor did he see Katsuko Sakai and her family.

In the huge banquet hall, people were coming and going, toasting each other.

Most people seemed to know each other, but Gu Weijing knew almost no one.

"When I was passing through the hotel lobby, I noticed a colorful English sign. It seemed that there was a special lecture on the way humans understand nature in the conference room on the third floor in two days. It was hosted by Yovan Phin from CDX Gallery. His name and photo were on it."

Gu Weijing just saw a man with a beard and round glasses who looked very artistic. He came up to Lao Yang and said a few words to him. He recognized the man as Yovan Phin in the photo.

"Oh, well, he just invited me to his lecture. It's just a common way for CDX Gallery to win awards. The seminars and lectures held here may cost a lot, but they can be very high-end. The lobster in the buffet is good."

Lao Yang picked up a piece of lobster from the plate with a fork, stuffed it into his mouth, and slurped it to show his approval.

"That's all. No matter how delicious the lobster here is, or how high the per-person entertainment allowance the gallery reimburses, it can't be compared to the official master lecture at the Esplanade. It's just a small event."

"If he could swap his lecture at Raffles with your talk at the Esplanade, he would definitely cry and beg to swap with you. There is no need to envy others at all."

Old Yang thought about it and added another sentence.

"Normally."

"That guy has accumulated some fame in South Asia, but he is not in any competition with you, in any sense." Lao Yang explained. "CDX Gallery has invested a lot of money to promote him. Judging from the lineup, he will only make money if he can win the gold medal this year."

"His most expensive work has sold for $4. I don't know if the gallery hired its own buyers to raise the price. If he can win the Biennale this time, his value should be able to barely touch the level of the transition from international third-tier to international second-tier."

"Of course, even if he is really a second-tier international painter, and can occasionally reach the level of $100,000 per painting, he is still a small figure in front of me, Brother Yang."

Old Yang raised an eyebrow.

There is not much pretense in this statement.

The status of a personal assistant of a top-ranked super artist may not be comparable to that of an ordinary painter who wins one or two gold medals in ordinary biennials.

"Of course, that's based on my standards. Xiao Ma Guo He, you know, his current professional status, age, and fame are all completely different from yours." Old Yang was afraid that he would pretend to be too cool and make the young man in front of him flattered. "If he doesn't win the gold medal, it's a failure. For you, the most important thing is to get through this exhibition safely... uh, get a small award."

"Come, I'll introduce you to some of the most important people in this banquet hall. If you have the chance, you can get to know them and have a chat. It won't be a bad thing."

Old Yang touched his chin.

"Ms. Elena? I don't seem to see her." Gu Weijing said.

"Maybe he was late. Or maybe he suddenly didn't want to come. Who knows?" Old Yang shrugged. "Social rules are for ordinary people, not for collectors on the rich list or the editor-in-chief of Oil Painting. If I were Miss Elena, I would do whatever I want."

"Don't think about Ms. Elena. It's still a small pony crossing the river. She is a little too 'big' for you. Even if she can show up tonight, everyone will gather around her immediately. You can toast her from a distance, make a name for yourself, and make an impression. It will be considered a success. With your situation, it is impossible for you to get too close to her."

Old Yang raised his chin again.

Don't be too proud.

lad.

Licking Miss Elena and barking at her are Brother Yang's main tasks at the dinner tonight. He is competing with a series of people including the curator of the art exhibition and the local top art scholar.

It is not the case that an art novice like Gu Weijing who has no foundation is qualified to challenge the Demon King-level difficulty copy.

If Lao Yang could make the other person happy and he would smile at Gu Weijing out of love for the other person, then he would be secretly happy. If he could just say a few simple words to Gu Weijing and just say hello, then this would be a big favor.

Ask yourself.

Gu Weijing deserves his gratitude towards him.

"When the time comes, Brother Yang will help you show off and fly."

(End of this chapter)