Chapter 87
In the early morning, there was a heavy rain in Huajiang City, and the air was filled with the fragrance of earth.
Even though there was no more lightning and thunder at dawn, there was still a drizzle overhead.
Soon, a black car drove from the end of the intersection and stopped in front of a gray, cold-toned building that looked like a Rubik's Cube. Jager Hillman pushed open the car door and unfolded the black umbrella handed to him by the driver. With a slight bang, a serious man in a suit and tie stepped onto the stairs holding an umbrella.
A woman in a professional suit with her blonde hair tied up high on her head was also holding a black umbrella and following him a little behind him.
There is a wide square outside this Rubik's Cube-like venue. To enter the venue, you first have to walk up dozens of small steps.
The rain dripped down on the steps, and even though the grey-eyed, white-haired man was very careful, his trouser legs were still a little wet.
As soon as Hillman and Marcia walked to the entrance of the venue, many people came out to greet them. Judging from their appearance, they were almost all familiar professors from top art academies in the country.
Chai Tao, wearing reading glasses and with a warm and sophisticated smile on his face, was the first to step forward and shake hands with Hillman.
"Welcome Mr. Hillman to Huajiang City. On behalf of the Xingchen Cup, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you."
The reason why Yager Hillman came here was actually to exchange a favor and fill the vacancy left by Qin Lan. Therefore, when Marcia translated Chai Tao's polite words to Hillman, the man with gray eyes and white hair nodded slightly and accepted it without hesitation.
Hillman was surrounded by the crowd and escorted into the judging room.
The security guards who stayed behind to close the door looked at each other and smiled, "Did you see the foreigner's eyes? They were grey."
"He is quite old. I heard that he is a German who was invited from France."
Jager Hillman walked into the judging room. In the spacious and clean room of more than 100 square meters, a huge white screen was hung. Facing the screen was a long table and eight soft chairs that had been placed in advance.
The maroon leather chairs reflected the overhead lights. Printed documents were neatly laid out on the long table, detailing the previous works of the three groups of eighteen contestants who entered the second round of the Star Cup.
Jager Hillman pulled out a chair and sat down, saying something in German. Marcia beside him translated, "The dean said that everyone can sit down and finish the work as soon as possible."
Hillman's schedule is very full. He will fly to the UK to attend a lecture almost today after finishing the judging work for the Star Cup.
Chai Tao narrowed his eyes slightly behind his reading glasses, his expression sneered, but his tone was very respectful, "Okay, let's get started now."
Chai Tao sat on Hillman's left and glanced at Marcia, "Which group does Dean Hillman want to start with?"
Marcia translated quietly and then watched Hillman's expression quietly.
In order to ensure the fairness of the entire Xingchen Cup competition, the judges cannot see any details of the contestants' works before they officially enter the judging room to participate in the judging work.
Hillman flipped through the documents in his hand. Suddenly, his eagle eyes narrowed and his gaze stopped on an iron sculpture under his hand. It was signed You Mian and numbered 0409.
Hillman pointed to the number 0409, turned to Marcia and said in German, "Let's look at the sculpture group first."
Chai Tao suddenly frowned when he heard the word "sculpture group".
But he quickly suppressed his annoyance and asked the staff in charge of logistics to move up the second-round works of the sculpture category covered with white cloth.
Chai Tao exchanged glances with several professors from well-known domestic art academies around him, and then showed his artistic demeanor and began to speak a few words.
"We are all gathered here for the Star Cup, and also for these children's works to have a fair and just opportunity to be judged. The competition has set up three rounds in order to gradually select the strongest, most skilled and outstanding contestant among them."
"So today's judges must not be careless, nor should they let these young contestants off because they feel sorry for them. They must strive to be inclusive and open. The theme of the second round is maternal love, and there will definitely be contestants who will take shortcuts to attract attention, but we must reach a consensus that the works must not deviate from the theme of maternal love."
After Chai Tao finished his speech, he picked up the thermos on the table, unscrewed the lid and blew gently, then took a sip with a hissing breath. He looked relaxed and natural, as if he was confident about today's review work.
Several other professors around him nodded in agreement.
"Yes, going off topic is a big taboo."
"Taking a different approach will indeed neglect the theme of maternal love. The second round should be more strictly controlled than the first round. These works are selected from the best of the best."
Jager Hillman was always annoyed by such nonsense that only slowed down work efficiency, so he waved his hand and signaled them to start quickly.
Chai Tao curled his lips quietly, and said "foreigner" in his heart, but nodded to the staff on the surface, "Let's get started."
After the second round, there were only six contestants left in the sculpture category.
Chai Tao looked at the name of the first unfamiliar contestant at the front and sniffed disapprovingly.
The boxes of expensive tea cakes and calligraphy by famous artists that You Jiyuan and Bai Peilan sent were not wasted.
Chai Tao's attitude towards taking money and doing things is more serious than painting.
Chai Tao remembered that Bai Peilan had said that the young man named You Mian would be at a loss as to the topic of maternal love and would not be able to perform at his usual level. With a little bit of fuel, it would be very easy for him to relegate You Mian's work to the second round.
The judging process was discussed together, and the professors knew each other well, so a few words of pessimism towards a contestant was no different from directly handing out an elimination ticket.
Chai Tao blew away the high-quality tea leaves in the thermos and smacked his lips comfortably.
What's more, You Mian is Qin Lan's student. He has disliked Qin Lan for a long time. He can collect things and make Qin Lan unhappy. Chai Tao has no reason to hesitate.
The white cloth of contestant No. 0067's work was torn off, and detailed photos of the four sides of the sculpture were shown on the big screen.
This is a standard statue of the Virgin Mary. The mother lowers her eyes and holds the baby in her arms, with a sad and pitying expression.
Less than two seconds after the picture appeared, Jager Hillman frowned seriously, waved his hand and said, "Pass."
"Keine Innovation, keine Attraktivitt."
Marcia's clear translation voice rang out cruelly and directly in the judging room, "No innovation, no appeal, not worth staying."
Chai Tao paused for a moment, then for the first time he truly laughed out loud after seeing this foreigner.
He hoped very much that when You Mian's work came out, this person would just say "pass" so simply, which would save him the trouble of talking.
——
There was firewood burning under the kang in the small ice house. The warm current made people sleepy, so that when You Mian woke up and washed up, he was the only one left in the room again.
The warm water dispelled some of the boy's sleepiness.
As You Mian wiped his face, he suddenly remembered that no matter when he and Pei Huaiji were alone in the tent, or when they were assigned a room in the Hefeng Cottage, he had never seen Pei Huaiji the first moment he woke up in the morning.
The other person either got up early to go for a morning run or went to the restaurant.
It seemed a little weird, but You Mian couldn't figure out what was wrong, so he just thought that Pei Huaiji was used to getting up early.
You Mian put on a light blue coat and was squatting beside the suitcase to sort out clothes when he suddenly found a pair of fluffy blue gloves.
You Mian paused slightly.
In fact, judging from the color alone, the clothes he wore today matched the gloves very well.
But You Mian put the pair of beautifully packaged gloves back into the bottom layer of the luggage without hesitation, and had no intention of taking them out to wear.
Coincidentally, at the same time, the USB flash drive that Yan Tingxuan had forcefully stuffed into You Mian's coat pocket that night also fell to the ground at his feet as he squatted down, making a slight clicking sound.
You Mian: “…”
You Mian tilted his head and looked at the USB drive in silence for a long time, wondering whether he should just throw it away.
But after a few seconds, he sighed, picked up the USB drive and put it back into the luggage compartment.
You Mian saw through Yan Tingxuan's character, and at this moment he only thought that if Yan Tingxuan went crazy and wanted to take it back again, he also had something to return.
Suddenly, footsteps were heard outside the hut.
As soon as You Mian raised his head, he met a pair of dark eyes. Pei Huaiji's coat was slightly open and the man's breath was steady as usual. If You Mian hadn't seen the sports bracelet on the other's hand, he probably wouldn't have guessed that Pei Huaiji was going for a morning run.
How dare you wear such thin clothes in such a cold place?
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