Chapter 346: Ring "I want Jin to be my curator."
However, Lin Xi soon realized that there was nothing he could decide on his own.
"There really is something wrong with the painting that you revised, sir, right?" Lin Xi seemed to be talking to himself.
"The reviews in the newspaper are polarized. Some say it represents a new artistic trend, a post-avant-garde return to the drawing board. Others say it is bizarre and incomprehensible, and makes them feel uncomfortable after reading it." Lin Xi lowered his head and stroked the newspaper in his hand.
The newspaper's cover page featured an overly saturated painting printed in low-quality oil paint. Lin Xi could tell from the photo where the man had altered it.
The entire painting was basically drawn by her, and the man just added some strange symbols on it... Lin Xi, please forgive me for being frank, but she doesn't think these things added later conform to the formal beauty. It is more like the personal seal of the owner that was forcibly stamped, just like the densely packed seals that Qianlong stamped on the calligraphy and paintings in his collection.
This made Xiao Linxi very uncomfortable. She always felt that the stamps were not on the paintings, but on herself.
But, most importantly—
"If there is really nothing wrong with those paintings, why didn't you show me the originals, sir?" She frowned.
Indeed, the gentleman was...very good to her.
She was weak as a child. When she was twelve, she had a high fever that nearly blinded her brain and made her unable to remember anything that had happened before. Her husband told her that her parents were dead and that he was her father's friend and her guardian.
He provided her with a place to live where she could have enough food and clothing, and paid for her to go to school and learn painting.
Lin Xi was a very insecure child. If her husband was willing to give her a home forever, then even if he took away her talent and paintings, it wouldn't matter. She didn't care about money or fame, but she wanted a home.
But as she grew older, she increasingly discovered that this home... seemed different from what she wanted.
Although the husband cared about her, it wasn't so much care as a desire for control. He looked at her as if she were gold, gems, or agate, but not like an elder looking at a younger person.
So Lin Xi made a plan.
After she becomes an adult, she will find a way to break away from her husband's supervision.
She was very grateful for her husband's care over the years, but she had her own sky and sea that she wanted to pursue.
The world is so big, there is nowhere you can't explore, how can you be confined to one place?
However, when she really wanted to escape, she realized how difficult it was to put her ideas into practice.
Ubiquitous surveillance, locators in electronic watches...
She was like a bird in a cage. When she realized the existence of the cage, she found that she could not escape.
The more Lin Xi understood her guardian, Clark, the more terrified she felt. There was even a hint of hatred mixed in that she didn't want to dwell on...
However, what you want will be reflected in what you get. You can tell what the gentleman wants from her by looking at his behavior.
For example, he spent a lot of money to hype "X" - yes, a large part of "X"'s fame came from hype - and he didn't show her the painting after he changed it.
So, she came to ask the little ghost.
The little ghost is different from her. She can go anywhere and is as free as the wind. She must be able to discover many things that she cannot discover.
"Yes, you guessed right. There's something wrong with the painting after it was altered." Miyano Shiho sighed. "Looking at it for too long is not good for one's spirit."
Lin Xi couldn't help but rub his eyebrows.
She could tolerate cashing in on her paintings, but she couldn't tolerate them being used to harm others.
"What on earth does my husband want to do?" She stared at the newspaper absentmindedly. "I've been very well behaved and can make him a lot of money..."
If one-sided needs are not met, the inner gap will only become bigger and bigger.
Xiao Linxi has everything except family affection, which is why Uramaru Renye's "sugar-coated bullet" is so successful.
Because even if Xiao Linxi knew that the candy was poisonous, she would still hold it in her mouth and swallow it.
Miyano Shiho opened her mouth and then closed it again.
She quietly held Xiao Linxi's hand: "Don't worry. You won't... kill anyone."
Those who are affected by the paintings will be cured in the future.
Lin Xi exhaled and folded the newspaper.
That night, she found Karasuma Renya.
"Sir, I want Jin to be my curator," she said. "This is my first solo exhibition after I go to Japan, and I want Jin to help me organize it."
Karasuma Renye, who went by the pseudonym Clark, was a bit surprised. He slowly narrowed his eyes. "He's still a student. Xiaoxi, your exhibition is very important and needs to be run by professionals. You can't let Bonnard take on such an important task just because he's your friend."
Lin Xi's eyes dimmed.
"Okay, I understand," she said.
It sounded reasonable, but Lin Xi knew that the guardian was just fooling her.
This was actually a small matter, and she had thought he would agree. But as soon as it became related to her painting, it seemed to become a big deal... It became something Lin Xi had no control over.
She returned to her room and whispered to herself, "Sister Ghost, I don't want to stay here anymore."
“I’m not happy at all staying here,” she said dejectedly.
Before Miyano Shiho could comfort her, she quickly encouraged herself: "However, the more he doesn't let me see, the more I want to go and see. I have a feeling that those altered paintings are the key to the whole thing. I have to see them with my own eyes to understand his purpose."
There were surveillance cameras in her room, but no eavesdropping devices. So Lin Xi developed the habit of going back to her room to chat with Miyano Shiho. After all, Karasuma Renya couldn't hear what she said, and he wouldn't be surprised why she was talking to the air.
"You will help me, right?" Lin Xi looked at Miyano Shiho with burning eyes.
Miyano Shiho propped up her chin, floating in the air: "I know where the painting is, but do you want to go now? It's already bedtime. If that guy finds out you sneak out, he'll probably lock you up."
"I'm not afraid!" Lin Xi said, "The daily surveillance footage will be uploaded to Clark at midnight and noon. As long as we're careful after midnight, we won't be discovered by Clark."
"Your watch has a positioning function."
“Oh, just take it off!”
"There's someone guarding outside your room."
"I climbed out the window."
"This is the third floor..."
"There are air conditioning and water pipes outside the window, and the grooves on them can apply force." Lin Xi said with a chuckle, "Besides, I was only weak when I was a child, but now I'm very strong! Even if I jump from the third floor, I won't get hurt!"
Miyano Shiho sighed.
Being weak is a lie told by Karasuma Ryouto, while being strong is the numerical improvement brought about by the system's transformation of the body.
"I'll take you there," she said.
Lin Xi was happy.
She had obviously planned this for a long time and waited patiently until after twelve o'clock. Then, she changed into black clothes in the moonlight, put on a mask, and climbed out of the window.
The moonlight was just right, and she climbed up the eaves like a nimble cat and leaped down to the grass. A blue ghost floated before her, and she chased that blue, rushing towards freedom.
…
Her altered paintings were hidden in a private gallery. Lin Xi knew this gallery, and the owner seemed to be a friend of Karasuma Renya.
The gallery's security measures were average. And for some reason, the power went out in the area tonight. It seemed there was a circuit problem, and they were repairing it, so all the surveillance equipment and alarms were turned off, which was convenient for Lin Xi.
The paintings are stored in a room on the side of the gallery. However, the lock on the room is a combination lock that requires a password.
This made Lin Xi a little confused, but Miyano Shiho quickly told her the correct password.
"004753." She said lightly.
Lin Xi looked at her in surprise, then quickly entered the password and opened the door.
She saw her own painting.
The painting was placed in the center of the studio, visible as soon as the door opened. Unlike the distorted photos in the newspaper, facing the real thing brought Lin Xi a stronger sense of discomfort.
The discomfort was so strong that Lin Xi wanted to vomit.
She heard the ghost sigh softly behind her. Before she could ask, the light suddenly came on.
——The circuit is fixed!
So fast?
But she didn't have time to think about anything else, the lights that suddenly lit up in the room and the strange smoke attracted her attention.
The lights are strange, the smoke is strange, and in this strange atmosphere, my own paintings are strange too...
Lin Xi's mind went blank. She stood there frozen, as if her brain had been eaten by a zombie that had suddenly appeared, the doubts in her mind shattered by the complex emotions that surged up in her.
Miyano Shiho stood behind her and sighed again.
This is why Karasuma Renye didn't let her see the altered painting - the painting drawn by Lin Xi, with grotesque symbols added by Karasuma Renye, supplemented by smoke containing special potions and specific light, will make the person who sees it become an alternative container of Karasuma Renye's consciousness.
Lin Xi's situation is even more unique. She was originally one of Karasuma Renya's vessels, so she no longer needs to see the painting. However, her battered spirit, upon seeing the painting, will have an unexpected reaction - breaking through the shell of dusty memories and recalling her past.
This was something Karasuma Renya didn't want to see. That's why Lin Xi had never seen a painting of himself that had been altered before.
Today's trip was completely unexpected for Karasuma Renya. He had never imagined that the usually well-behaved Xiao Linxi would go out without any warning, and he had never imagined that she would sneak into the gallery where the paintings were stored and witness the finished paintings.
By the time he found out, everything was over.
Lin Xi lay unconscious in the brightly lit room. Karasuma Renya, who had hurried over, looked glum. The gallery owner stood trembling beside Karasuma Renya, his attitude less like a friend and more like a subordinate confronting a superior who had done something wrong.
"How could she be allowed to sneak in like that?" His voice was filled with anger beneath the calmness.
The gallery owner heard it and bent down even lower.
"The circuit...shorted for some reason," he said, his voice trembling. "We just finished repairing it."
Karasuma Renya smiled.
The body of Madeira he used, his calm face and sinister eyes, and the way he smiled were simply chilling.
"A circuit wouldn't short out for no reason," he said softly. "Go check it out."
He used his gloved hands - white gloves this time - to pick up the girl on the ground, using the same posture as when he lifted Xiao Linxi out of the mud many years ago.
The unconscious girl looked as fragile as a piece of paper, but Karasuma Renya knew how resilient the heart beneath the fragile appearance was.
But Karasuma Renya knew how to destroy her.
"I heard that you are very familiar with the Bonnard family?" He looked at the gallery owner.
The gallery owner looked up.
"Go tell Bonnard to let his son come to your gallery for an internship." The man spoke softly, but to the gallery owner it sounded like a poisonous snake spitting out its tongue.
"……yes."
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