Almighty painter

Chapter 92 Empathy
Good Luck Orphanage,
"Brother, what are you doing? Collecting folk songs?"

Du Wen, a reporter with a volunteer badge, stood in the yard, looking curiously at the young people in the yard.

The other party seemed to be dressed as a student, holding a drawing board and drawing with his head down, looking very unique in the orphanage.

Du Wen is a newly recruited young reporter of "Myanmar Mirror".

He is ambitious and is preparing to write an investigative report on the local orphan group in Yangon in the next few months, which has become a hit in the local press.

This kind of documentary news that records the dark side of society has always been the favorite subject of political reporters, and it is also the easiest to win various awards in the news category.

As for why not go to the Golden Triangle to interview big drug lords, or go to northern Myanmar to record wars and frictions among warlords...

Sorry,

He's actually not that ambitious.

Since he wanted to get first-hand information, it was impossible for Du Wen to hold up his press card and let the photographer walk around with a long gun and a short cannon.

He drew up the interview plan and investigation process in advance, and almost every day, as a volunteer, he mixed into various local orphanages in Yangon to conduct investigations.

Nowadays,

He met a wonderful girl in the Lucky Orphanage.

In fact, the reporter industry has a high probability of encountering strange works. The art students who have been picked up by the orphanage are rare, but it is a bit rare, and it will not make Du Wen a fuss.

But every time the other party finishes drawing a picture, he throws the drawing paper into the coal stove on the side and burns it.

This makes Mr. Reporter not quite understand.

"Why burn it? The painting... I look pretty good?"

Du Wen craned his neck curiously, watching the thin boy who looked about seventeen or eight years old throw the sketch he had just completed into the coal stove for boiling water again.

Although I don't know much about painting, reporter Du Wen intuitively sees that the painting seems to be lifelike.

"The mood is wrong."

The flames licked the rough surface of the sketch paper, and the paper shrank rapidly, scorching black, and after a few seconds, it turned into a puff of dissipated blue smoke.

Gu Weijing looked at the gradually dimming fire in the stove and shook his head in distress.

After taking a taxi to the orphanage today, he originally planned to draw a portrait sketch to complete the task.

The subject of portraiture was chosen not only because he had obtained Berryman's specialization in anatomy.

It is because painting portraits is undoubtedly the easiest way for painters to capture emotions.

Everyone lives with his own happiness, anger, sorrow, and joy all the time.Even if you want to be deliberately calm, calm itself is an emotion.

What the painter needs to do is just to record this emotion.

Especially children in orphanages.

Innocent, childlike, simple, theoretically the best model.

But he has burned several drawings in a row.

each drawing,
Just burn one on the coal stove that boils water.

Sometimes halfway through the painting, they simply take it and burn it.

The reason why Gu Weijing did this is because it seems that there is still something missing in his paintings.

it doesn't feel right,

The final emotional evaluation can't go up either.

He stared at the girl who was playing with a doll with her head down under the tree not far away, and was lost in thought. That was the model he had chosen.

"I heard that your family donated a lot of money here, maybe several thousand dollars?"

Du Wen was a little interested in this boy who burned paintings.

This guy is not very old, but I heard from others that he often donates money and supplies to the orphanage, which is already a lot of money.

still so young
Rare.

"My own money."

"Your own money is your parents' money. What do your parents do? If you can afford Dulwich College, the family probably earns a lot."

Du Wen pouted.

As a well-informed reporter, he recognized Gu Weijing's dark school uniform with the school badge made up of the letters DUWLCH (Dulwich College) on the chest. This is a well-known local private middle school.

It turned out to be the son of a rich family,
Du Wen thought.

He has heard of local rich kids in Yangon who play cars, watches, models, even sex fans, but those who like to play charity are really curious.

"Are you going to apply for a foreign university? Spend a few days in social services, and then you will get extra points for the application... It's quite willing to spend money. In fact, it's better to find an overseas study agency."

Reporter Du Wen thinks he has found the answer.

To become a reporter for the largest newspaper in Myanmar, he also studied journalism at an overseas school and knows the twists and turns of foreign universities.

Many foreigners prefer to enroll students with social service background.

For example, at Harvard, the minimum GPA of middle school admitted students is generally 3.6, and the SAT (American college entrance examination) score is 1500, but if the social service is particularly outstanding, maybe GPA3.2, SAT1300 is enough.

However, in this case, you can go directly to the study abroad agency to issue a certification form. You can spend a little money to compile all the backgrounds for you to ensure that you look like a good student who is keen on social welfare.

Why come to the orphanage? It's tiring and unappealing.

Du Wen felt that although this guy's family was rich, he was obviously not knowledgeable enough.

He shook his head, ready to leave.

There is really no need to report a kid from a rich family who came here to earn points for social activities.

If it is said that this kind of behavior is denounced in the report, it is not enough.

At least they really spent money for charity, and the students of Dulwich International High School are either rich or expensive, and they might be the children of local high-ranking officials, so there is no need to offend them.

Unexpectedly, at this moment,
Perhaps it was because they stared at the little girl in the blue skirt for too long, which aroused each other's curiosity.

The little girl walked over cautiously from under the shade of the tree.

The girl looked very shy, she did not disturb Gu Weijing who was painting, but stood still a few steps in front of Du Wen.

She tentatively handed over the Snow White doll in her hand.

"Uncle, can you play with me?"

Du Wen has no interest in playing with dolls with the little girl.

He was still pondering his report in his mind, but subconsciously took the doll.

When the skin touched, he felt that the little girl's little hand was cold and thin, like a small dry firewood stick.

He raised his head, and out of the professional habits of journalists, he took a look at the other party.

The girl is long and wrinkled,
It was black and small, like a small piece of black charcoal.

Of course, it's not considered as powder carving and jade masonry now, but when I grow up, I'm looking forward to the [-]th female change, and the probability of becoming a beauty is not very high.

The only bright spot is a pair of beautiful big eyes,

Other than that, the attire was lackluster.

The pale blue dress, which was noticeably oversized, had been washed and washed and looked second-hand from other, older children.

There are no other decorations on the whole body, only a ribbon made of red silk is worn on the wrist of the right hand.

wait!

"What did I see?"

Red ribbon?
Du Wen's heart skipped a beat.

It's a... red ribbon doll!

Red Ribbon Doll is actually a nice term for AIDS children.

Like some countries in Africa, affected by drug abuse, Myanmar is also a country that suffers from AIDS in the world.

AIDS can be transmitted from mother to child, and this orphanage itself houses many drug orphans. It is not surprising to meet children with AIDS.

Although knowing this,
But...under the sudden direct skin contact, Du Wen subconsciously felt disgusted.

As if he had touched a large group of pathogens, he slammed the little girl's hand away.

"Don't touch me!"

Du Wen actually didn't have much practical strength, but he overestimated the strength of this little girl who also looked about ten years old.

The little girl was thrown by him, and her whole body seemed to be made of cotton candy. She was staggered lightly, and the doll in her hand was also thrown aside.

The reporter didn't have time to care about the girl who fell, and quickly took out a tissue from his pocket and wiped his hands repeatedly. Because of disgust and fear, goose bumps even appeared on the back of his hands.

The little girl who fell looked at Du Wen with fearful eyes, her big eyes were full of tears, but she didn't dare to cry.

Obviously, this is not the first time she has experienced this kind of thing, and she also knows that she may have caused trouble and made others unhappy.

She said in a small mosquito-like tone, "I'm sorry, I just want to play with you."

Du Wen, who had recovered from his strength, felt a little embarrassed,
He wanted to help the little girl up from the ground, but he couldn't reach out.

suddenly,

Du Wen saw the rich boy in Dulwich school uniform walking past him, knelt on the ground on one knee, and picked up the little girl from the ground.

"Jasmine, are you okay? You didn't fall down, did you bleed?"

Gu Weijing vaguely remembered that this little guy was called Jasmine.

The moment Du Wen pushed Jasmine down, he almost subconsciously understood what was missing in his painting——

It's empathy!
He once told Sakai Katsuko that the other party's paintings lacked a sense of reality.

And I made the same mistake myself.

If there is no rumble of thunder in the mind, it is impossible to paint a thunderstorm. A painter who cannot empathize with the characters in his works cannot talk about the soul of the characters he expresses.

Gu Weijing has never really understood the inner world of these children.

His original works were too bookish and dogmatic.

A little girl playing with a doll in the shade.

In art textbooks, such a scene is naturally childlike, peaceful, and plain.

When Gu Weijing painted, he also took it for granted, perhaps with a little pity.

But it's his own emotion, not the character's own.

He didn't pay attention to Jasmine's inner world at all.

In fact, she is not peaceful and happy at all. She longs for the company of others and plays with other children, but she can only sit alone under the tree and hug her doll.

Discrimination against children with AIDS is widespread.

Not only was no one willing to adopt them, even the children in the orphanage were subtly influenced by the outside environment and isolated Jasmine.

They may not yet understand what AIDS is.

But those older children of the same age have been able to understand that this kind of companion with a red ribbon is "unclean", and if they mix with her, they may become unclean themselves.

Not to mention ordinary people, in fact, even volunteers are reluctant to contact them.

Gu Weijing has never understood Jasmine's emotional world.

not enough empathy,
It's like randomly stuffing a pot of borscht into dumpling stuffing, and the end result is naturally wrong.

"Wow……"

Seeing someone caring about her, the little girl Jasmine, who had been pretending to be strong, burst into tears, her head resting on Gu Weijing's back, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.

Looking at the fragile and tearful eyes of this little girl who was treated unfairly by God.

Gu Weijing felt very uncomfortable in his heart.

"Don't cry, let me play with you, okay?"

"They say I'm dirty and dark, no one plays with me, I can only play with dolls by myself all the time..."

Molly said tearfully.

Gu Weijing shook his head with a smile, and took the little girl's hand: "You are not dirty at all, you are so beautiful, my brother taught you how to dance the European princess, okay, you are the first girl I invite to dance. "

"Cough...brother, she...has AIDS."

Du Wen couldn't help reminding him that Gu Weijing might not have noticed the red ribbon on Jasmine's hand.

The headmistress of the orphanage also noticed the situation here and walked over.

After hesitating for a while, the headmistress still whispered, "Little Gu, just let Jasmine play by herself."

Du Wen is not an exception. Many kind-hearted volunteers in the orphanage also refrain from contacting children with infectious diseases.

Mr. Gu, who often comes to the orphanage to donate money or help out, is a very nice young man.

She didn't want to make the other party feel unhappy.

Gu Weijing didn't let go of Molly's hand, and shook his head: "I know, but it's okay, AIDS won't be spread through holding hands."

The United Nations International Health Organization has almost free AIDS antiviral treatment public welfare projects, and AIDS treatment is very cheap.

Jasmine is also taking related drugs for a long time in the orphanage, the virus load in the blood is not high, and the risk of transmission is actually very low through normal contact.

Many AIDS families have lived together for more than 20 or [-] years, and the family members who have AIDS will not transmit the pathogen to other family members.

This kind of normal contact, as long as you overcome your own psychological barriers, generally there will be no problems at all.

Faced with such a tearful request from a little girl, Gu Weijing couldn't say no to it.

"Ugh."

The headmistress of the orphanage sighed with emotion.

Many people know this truth, but how many people are really willing to hold the red ribbon doll's hand with a smile?
The reason why Princess Diana has become the most beloved member of the royal family in the whole world for half a century, or even in the past century, is largely because she embraced an AIDS-positive lady when she visited the US President’s wife in the 90s. children, and shook hands with several AIDS patients.

This move shocked the world,
Time magazine called Princess Diana a "loving angel".

Even France, which has always been at odds with the British royal family, and the newspaper "Le Monde" with the largest circulation in France called the other party's behavior "enough to change the world."

The photo of Her Majesty the Princess holding the hand of an AIDS patient has even become one of the most classic political news photos in the past 30 years.

What can be compared with it may only be the global lens photos of the magnitude of "The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center at the Moment of Collapse" taken by the New York Times.

This also shows from the side how shocking and moving it is in people's eyes to have close contact with patients who know they have AIDS.

"Brother, what's your name?" Du Wen asked with a complicated expression.

"His surname is Gu, and his name is Gu Weijing. He is the most upright young man I have ever met." The headmistress took a soft breath: "If I have a son like this, I am willing to lose 30 years of my life." .”

The sun gradually sets from the west,

And Gu Weijing really patiently danced with the little girl all afternoon.

He didn't lie to the little girl either,
What she danced was really the dance that European princesses danced back then, directed by Louis XV, there is nothing more authentic than this.

The court dance is not too complicated, the little girl has soft muscles and bones, and she really looks decent when she jumps up and spins her skirt.

It wasn't until the sky was dark and the clothes were sweating that I was reluctantly called by the headmistress to wash my hair and change clothes for dinner.The hot water here is limited, and it is all burned by coal stoves. I can only simply wipe my body and wait until the weekend to take a bath.

Gu Weijing didn't go home immediately, so he lit a candle in the yard of the orphanage, took out his mobile phone, and opened the photo album.

That Mr. Volunteer, who didn't know why he had been asking him all the time today, stood beside Jasmine and watched them for a long time when he and Jasmine were dancing.

The other party always looked hesitant to speak, and then took out his mobile phone and took several photos.

Gu Weijing didn't stop him, but asked the other party to send the photos to him using the airdrop on the iPhone.

Photographs are indeed an incomparably quicker way to record reality.

Gu Weijing hopes that the other party can capture the happiest expression of the little girl and use it as a template for his own painting.

"No, why does he always take care of me?"

Gu Weijing looked at the photo twice and was a little speechless.

Nine out of ten of these photo lenses focus on Gu Weijing's body.

I have to say that the old man's photography skills are good, even quite professional, and the formal school uniform of the international school itself is very decent.

This made Gu Weijing and the little girl dancing hand in hand, with a gentle and modest feeling under the camera, and it looked really graceful.

but,

This is not what he wants.

"This one is okay."

After searching for a long time, Gu Weijing finally found a good-looking photo under the camera. The little girl's blue skirt was twirling and she was smiling brightly.

He picked up his paintbrush by candlelight.

(End of this chapter)