Almighty painter

Chapter 742: Mr. Gu and Miss Anna met for the first time. The atmosphere was not good at first (Part )
In the 19th century, the ultimate achievement of human design of purely mechanical creations was probably the Difference Engine.

It was the initial imagination of people about computers before the invention of the electron tube, relying on countless gears to work together to calculate differential equations. British scientist Babbage took the lead in designing hundreds of pages of drawings. The complete version will have more than 4000 gears and weigh more than 2.5 tons.

Its principle and design were flawless, but because there were too many gears, the meshing would always get stuck due to one problem or another. After burning through several large and small sums of money from the Royal Society of Science and sponsors, it was considered a Tower of Babel that could never be built, and it was sealed up and put into storage.

It was not until 1991, on the th anniversary of Babbage's birth, that the Royal Society produced a complete and functional Difference Engine in order to commemorate the ancient human imagination of pure precision machinery.

Actually.

Perhaps there has already been a "gear machine" in the world that is more complex, more precise, and larger than the Difference Engine. Long before Mr. Babbage worked out the blueprint for the Difference Engine, it had already been running for hundreds or thousands of years.

Interpersonal society.

The social dinner at the Fleish Hotel is a differential machine that covers hundreds of square meters and is decorated with gold-plated crystal chandeliers and thick Persian fabric carpets.

It consists of several focal figures, several of the largest and strongest gears as bearings and cores of operation, and dozens of smaller gears rotating around them. Every word, every smile, and every toast of the crowd is an even smaller mini gear.

Hundreds and thousands.

Mesh as one.

The machinery composed of all of this, if nothing unexpected happens, will keep running with the clanging sounds for two or three hours, until all the social energy required to keep it running is consumed, and it spits out a few paper tapes that make people successful. Then the gears will quietly disperse with satisfaction, waiting to be reassembled with different gears in the next different occasion.

Huge machines do not always operate properly, nor do they always produce computing results that lead to success.

conflict.

collision.

The sarcasm and hidden dagger in the toasts.

They are the small pieces of grit that get mixed in between the gears from time to time.

When the operation of the social machine gradually becomes difficult, you need to resolve the awkwardness through cleverness, eloquence, and self-deprecation, or ask someone like Teacher Yang to come out and lick the small gravel between the gears with his greasy tongue.

Being able to use intelligence to eliminate possible embarrassment and awkwardness has always been one of the most praised talents at upper-class social banquets. In the European salons of the classical era, there were more than one or two guests who relied on this ability to thrive and rise to prominence.

Cui Xiaoming is a very talented person.

He coped wonderfully.

He noticed Miss Elena's hesitation before shaking hands, and immediately turned the handshake into a clever and playful court kneeling, which not only showed that he had a pleasant sense of humor but also avoided embarrassment.

He even took into account that Miss Elena's hesitation was due to her reluctance to show such closeness to a young man she had just met.

This is a classic response that is enough to win applause.

But it was also a bit embarrassing, and it really couldn't successfully resolve it even if it did the court kneeling 10,000 times in a row.

For example, you are excitedly talking to a critic about your grand ideas about art, hoping to win his appreciation and praise, but halfway through your words, the manager of the "Oil Painting" column in a wheelchair stretches out his hand and says "enough".

There was not a grain of sand stuck in the difference engine, but a huge rock was thrown into it. No matter how good Teacher Yang was at licking, he couldn't lick it away.

Say.

Lao Yang's licking hours are very expensive! His collection of jokes is used to make Miss Elena happy. What is Cui Xiaoming?

then.

Miss Elena's words came out.

Cui Xiaoming's smile froze on his face.

Looking at his son proudly, Cui Xuanyou's smile, with a glow above his head, froze on his face.

The people around who were looking at this place with curiosity and envy while chatting and laughing, their smiles froze.

The normally functioning social machine was instantly stuck by the two words "enough".

She raised her finger, and all the gears stopped turning, leaving only hollow white noise and the rustling breathing of the people around her, like an old movie film camera idling.

"puff."

Old Yang suddenly laughed in his heart.

Putting aside the complicated relationships among Cao's disciples, he really didn't have a very good impression of Cui Xiaoming and his son, and was happy to see him suffer a big setback.

But then, he felt that Anna's thoughts were truly "unpredictable".

Just now she showed great interest in Cui Xiaoming, but in the blink of an eye, she told him to shut up.

If I were to be a mature, steady, dignified and domineering professional assistant like myself, would I be able to gain the other person's attention?
Yang Dekang felt a little confused again.

Even he felt that.

Cui Xiaoming's performance just now was quite good. Except for his poor ability in telling jokes, he has already reached 80% of the skills of his brother Yang.

……

Cui Xiaoming was really embarrassed and at a loss at this moment.

The young man's words got stuck in his throat, and his eyes looked a little confused, but more bewildered.

He didn't know where he said the wrong thing, and he didn't know how to deal with the situation that was about to happen.

"I, uh, I, Miss Elena, you..."

He hesitated and exposed himself to everyone's attention. The gazes of the onlookers, which he had enjoyed so much before, now seemed like cold ice knives.

Cui Xiaoming's lips opened and closed a few times, and the fingertips holding the champagne glass turned a little white. He subconsciously looked in another direction, but didn't know who to ask for help.

His father seemed even more confused than he was.

The young man under the crystal chandelier now looks a bit like a quail shivering in the cold wind.

He didn't even know how to leave if he wanted to end the conversation decently.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Mr. Choi."

It was Anna who spoke up and helped him out.

"You explained it very well, and the New Three Bodies of Buddha itself looks like a good work. But I suddenly feel a little uncomfortable." The woman said, "It's not your problem. It's just that temporarily, I may not be able to be your good listener. Only when you understand, can you learn to listen."

Anna stared into the other person's eyes. "There are some things that I may need to think about and understand clearly. Um - give me some time, okay?"

Cui Xiaoming felt uneasy for a moment.

But he still breathed a sigh of relief.

Are you just feeling unwell?

"Oh, I see. Then you—"

"Miss Elena, would you like to take a break? Go to the balcony and enjoy the evening breeze. It's a bit too noisy here." Now it was not Cui Xiaoming's turn to come and show his courtesy. Tonks had already rushed over, showing his gentlemanly manners as a British uncle.

"Thank you, no need."

Miss Elena declined his invitation, "I came to the dinner party because I wanted to meet someone."

"Excuse me for a moment."

She signaled to her secretary Elliot to entertain the people around her, then she controlled the wheelchair, walked through those mixed gazes of confusion and surprise, and headed for the corner of the banquet hall.

The first moment Anna came to the banquet hall.

She noticed the other person.

The young man who lived alone at the noisy banquet.

"Little painter? Can I meet you?" She extended her hand. "Hello, I'm Anna Elena."
-
Gu Weijing heard a sound coming from the side.

strangeness.

Before he raised his head and heard Anna say his name, Gu Weijing knew who the visitor was.

Perhaps it was because he had heard this impressive voice in online videos and live broadcasts of the European Art Conference.

Maybe it’s because the voice is too delicate.

Yes.

Charming, crisp, soft, delicate...these words are not quite appropriate to describe this sound.

It is very delicate.

The sound of pearls and jade.

Pearls and jades are exquisite.

You can't tell whether the other person is a stunning beauty by listening to the voice, but from the voice, you can tell that this is a very impressive person.

Some people you can't forget once you meet them.

Some sounds too.

When Gu Weijing turned his head, he saw an impressive and stunningly beautiful woman in a wheelchair looking at him.

She held out her hand.

"Hello, I'm Anna Elena."

Gu Weijing was stunned.

He had given up on going to "meet" the other party, but he didn't expect that she would appear in front of him alone.

Is Lao Yang so powerful?

Unexpectedly, he remembered the first instruction Lao Yang gave him - smile, smile, and look charming. He really didn't know how to smile, so he imagined it was like seeing Hainanese chicken rice and Chinese mitten crab.

Gu Weijing made an attempt.

Then he failed.

His smile was not comfortable—for two main reasons.

First of all, Gu Weijing didn’t really like the meaning of this smile, but this was a meeting arranged by Lao Yang for him, and he couldn’t embarrass the other party.

Second.

This is an overly beautiful woman.

There is no shortage of beautiful girls in international schools, and many of them can shine at school dances.

Gu Weijing is not a person who has not seen the world. The people around him, such as Katsuko Sakai, Koko, and even Miss Mona, are all beautiful in their own ways, have their own personalities, and are all different in their own ways.

They are all beautiful.

They have also illuminated Gu Weijing's life.

But whether it is Koko or Sakai Katsuko, their beauty is not "frozen" or "unique".

Like painting the sunset, the setting sun, and the waves.

It is an expression of the atmosphere, one more cloud, one less cloud, one more sunshine, one less sunshine, one more drop of wave, one less drop of wave.

None of it matters, and none of it hurts.

You can delete and subtract, you can paint and modify, you can repair and scratch.

As long as the atmosphere of the facial features is expressed, it will be cute and lovely.

The woman in the wheelchair is a completely different creature.

Her beauty is clear and powerful, her appearance is a realistic, concrete, and timeless expression of a certain kind of beauty. Even if you were given a brush and a palette knife, you wouldn't know how to modify it.

Even when you extend your painting knife and it touches the canvas, you will feel that either the canvas will instantly disperse like mist and your painting knife will pass through it, or you will hear a slight "ding!" sound and the painting knife in your hand will be directly bounced away.

Because she is so beautiful and indestructible.

When Gu Weijing was painting "The Blazing World", he avoided depicting the face of the heroine. All the portraits were shown sideways or with a back that made people want to follow them, because he was unable to depict that kind of beauty.

From pictures, videos to real people.

From a distant view to something right in front of you.

The illusion of the approachable Miss Elena in Gu Weijing's heart was shattered. However, the beautiful Miss Elena in Gu Weijing's heart was so close that she made people dazed.

Nothing to do with lust.

Just about beauty.

About the majesty of beauty.

She reaches out her hand to you, and that kind of silence and that overwhelming pressure are totally irreplaceable by eating Hainanese chicken rice, Chinese mitten crab or Dungeness fish.

and so.

Gu Weijing laughed very hard, and he didn't feel comfortable at all.

……

Miss Elena feels a little uncomfortable.

The smile on the young man's face made her feel like a dish.

Another ingratiating, envious, greasy smile.

This was not the reaction she expected.

If what Anna wanted to see was a flattering, envious, greasy smile, which was everywhere in the banquet hall, why did she go out of her way to get to know the other person?

Very strange.

When Anna arrived at the dinner, everyone was smiling at her and greeting her, but when she entered the banquet hall, she immediately noticed the young people there.

Long before she subconsciously matched that person's figure with the person in the photo on TV, Anna knew that the other person was the one she was looking for.

His name is Gu Weijing.

A person who can sit in a noisy corner of the banquet hall, wearing a cheap suit, away from the hustle and bustle, not blending in, not getting close, and holding a book in his hand.

Or maybe he's just pretending.

Otherwise... his heart should be very rich, more peaceful and rich than those sparkling crystal wine glasses and chrome tableware around him.

A painter who can paint "Wisteria Flowers" or "Good Luck Orphanage in the Sunshine" should be like this, with a tranquil temperament like the golden sunshine.

But this smile... made Anna a little disappointed.

His smile was not even as smooth and relaxed as those people's. The only thing that was not bad was that Miss Elena did not see any strong lust in his eyes. At least his eyes were very clean.

"Out of courtesy, you should hold my hand now, right?"

Anna stared into the other's eyes.

……

Meeting those chestnut eyes, Gu Weijing suddenly realized that he had been staring at the woman's face in a trance for too long.

He remembered the second strategy that Lao Yang had given him - "Don't stare at people. If you can't walk when you see a pretty girl, you have no future."

Then Gu Weijing shifted his gaze, turned his head and stretched out his hand.

"Hello, my name is Gu Weijing."

He held the other's hand.

fortunately.

It was not as Gu Weijing had imagined, that his hand would not pass through the other person's shadow, or that he would touch an object as hard and cold as an ice sculpture.

Miss Elena's beauty is indestructible.

Miss Elena's hands were a little cold, but they were a pair of soft and slender women's hands.

But, the moment I looked away.

Gu Weijing felt a sense of thirst.

From beauty to the ordinary, from stunning to ordinary thirst. Ordinary is not hard to endure, if you have never seen the perfection of ingenuity.

He tilted his head, as if he had just stared into a flame, the bright light leaving a visual image on his retina, her face still lingering in Gu Weijing's mind.

Shining.

……

Different from the smile on his face, the eyes that made her feel quiet and peaceful dodged and moved away.

This made Anna even more unhappy.

She didn't hate being stared at like this. She hated the stares of some people, but the young man in front of her, and the pair of black, clean pupils in front of her, were not among them.

But Miss Elena's personality hates to be secretive and timid.

She is a powerful person.

She also admires strong people.

Anna knew how beautiful she was. Since she was willing to come in front of the other person and actively extend her hand, she was not afraid of the other person seeing her.

Just look at it openly.

She might make some jokes and make a few "Anna's sharp comments", but she would never mean anything maliciously.

This kind of pretentious attitude of hiding something and hiding something made Miss Elena look like a little thief, but she didn't even have the interest to make fun of him.

So she took the initiative to separate her hands as soon as they touched.

"You know, Gu, I have a collection of your paintings, the "Wisteria Flower Painting", and you should have received my return gift, the gilded cross?"

This is a question.

Miss Elena did not wait for the other party to respond, but spoke on her own.

"We probably have some Whatsapp friends and we've exchanged polite greetings, but that's it."

The woman withdrew her hand, placed it on her knees, and looked at the other person.

"I have heard of you, Gu Weijing. Different people have different versions of you. Excuse me, they are like two completely different people. As for which one is the real you, I think I should have the answer after this meeting."

This is an extremely strong declaration of meeting.

Some people are naturally wary of what others tell them. They only trust their own judgment and what they believe.

This is a common trait among those in a higher position.

This is the side of the nobleman Liu Ziming's character.

Anna Elena, she had it too.

"Of course, acquaintance is mutual. I believe you have known me before, and know the different versions of me described by different people. I hope that after this meeting, you can make your own judgment about what kind of person I am."

Her eyes swept over Gu Weijing.

After lingering for a moment on the diamond-studded gold watch on his wrist, Anna's eyes fell on the book "Conversations with Goethe" in his hand.

“Perhaps you have already made a judgment.”

She said calmly.

"It seems that there is more than one painter in the banquet hall today who has learned how to study the judges' preferences in advance. However, you are more informed than others."

"I should say, you are indeed a young man that Cao Xuan admires. It's only been a few hours. Tonks?"

she asked.

"Huh?" Gu Weijing didn't understand.

"Beautiful works of art speak for themselves. In fact, your painting 'Good Luck Orphanage in the Sunlight' is more pleasing to me than a book by Goethe. Sometimes, doing less is more." The woman stared at him and advised, "When the painter was painting, he had already painted a very vivid python, so there was no need to add four more legs to the python on his own initiative. This is an ancient oriental proverb about painting, and it sounds very reasonable."

Gu Weijing didn't understand what was going on from beginning to end.

The woman stared at him, waiting for his answer.

thought for a moment.

Gu Weijing finally grasped the key point of the other party's words. He frowned and asked, "Do you like Goethe's books, too?"

Miss Elena's eyes once again revealed disappointment.

Points deducted!

She was patient and gave the other party a chance.

It is not the other party's fault to be good at scheming, and it is understandable that the young painter wants to become famous, but if he only thinks about pleasing his superiors, he will eventually lose his pure character and will only sway in the storm of fame and fortune along with the entire forest around him.

A painter can "please" Miss Elena better by painting a work that Miss Elena likes than by reading a book that Miss Elena likes.

Cui Xiaoming at least wins by being honest.

When Anna asked, "Is this a coincidence?", he smiled and said frankly that he had heard that she liked Heidegger's works, which was why he gave that answer at that moment.

It's obviously not annoying.

This Gu Weijing.

Less than half a day ago, she had just thought of rereading Goethe and read Goethe's poems next to his works. As a result, at the banquet in the evening, he appeared here with a copy of Goethe's Conversations.

How could Miss Elena, who likes to observe the world with a cautious and vigilant gaze, believe that this was a coincidence?
This requires a certain level of telepathy.

How can one be so clever?

Naturally, someone who saw the scene at the Esplanade told Gu Weijing the news.

In this game of "Guess My Heart", his score was higher than anyone else in the venue.

100 points.

But unfortunately, the answers on this test paper were obtained by cheating, so the score is worthless. The higher the score, the more greasy Miss Elena feels.

Even greasier.

For Katsuko Sakai's sake.

For the sake of "Good Luck Orphanage in the Sun" and "Wisteria Picture", she really didn't say anything particularly sharp. She controlled her temper and gave the other party a way out very gently and tactfully.

Anna is so good-tempered that she is not common.

She could have said much more venomous things, but she didn't.

But the other party was still acting with her, pretending to be in tune with her, and he didn't even have the presence of mind to end the situation gracefully after his pretense was slightly exposed.
-
"Stunning, kind, and telepathic. Stunning is the first piece of wood, kindness is the air surrounding it, and at that special moment, the lightning of telepathic connection pierces the air. The fire of 'love'... just like that, it starts burning." - Mr. Sloth's Love Class

(End of this chapter)