"Uncle Xie and Uncle Zhou, are they here to participate in the calligraphy competition or the Chinese painting competition?" Luo Yu asked.
"Haha, we are not good at Chinese painting. We are here to participate in the calligraphy competition. Luo Yu, you should be here to participate in the calligraphy competition too. Come join us later." Grandpa Xie said with a smile. He had a good impression of Luo Yu. The most important thing was that he felt that they had common interests and hobbies.
"Okay." Anyway, now I only know Mr. Xie, well, now there is also Mr. Zhou.
Soon, the competition officially began. Because there were so many participants, the first day was the preliminary round, the second day was the promotion round, and the last day was the final.
Luo Yu, along with Mr. Xie and Mr. Zhou, was the first to arrive. The calligraphy competition was limited to ten minutes, while the traditional Chinese painting competition was limited to fifteen. On each table lay rice paper. Participants were required to complete their work within the allotted time. Once the time was up, regardless of whether the work was finished or not, the on-site staff would collect the completed works, which would then be judged by renowned calligraphers and traditional Chinese painting masters invited by the competition. Of course, to prevent cheating, all works that passed the preliminary round would be posted online.
Ten minutes is enough for a calligraphy competition. Mr. Xie and Mr. Zhou write with such fluent strokes that you can tell they practice frequently. Of course, anyone who can come here to participate must have some skills.
Mr. Xie and Mr. Zhou were right beside Luo Yu. Since there was no set topic for the preliminary round, they simply wrote a single character. The two old men stopped writing at almost the same time. Looking at the words on the rice paper in front of them, the two old men saw that the other had also stopped writing and then looked at their own, and then glanced at each other.
"Not bad, Old Zhou, your handwriting has improved a lot compared to last time. It seems you have practiced a lot, right?" Grandpa Xie said to Grandpa Zhou.
"That's right. I practiced when I had nothing to do while I was in the hospital." Old Master Zhou glanced at Old Master Xie and said, "Your handwriting is not bad either. It seems you put a lot of effort into it."
"Haha, even though I can't possibly win the championship, I still want to fight for the runner-up spot." The Zhou family was superior to the Xie family, and in other areas, the Xie family couldn't compare to the Zhou family. But there was one thing that Old Man Xie was better at than Old Man Zhou: calligraphy. The year before, Old Man Xie had won third place in the adult competition. While the prize money wasn't much, it was a fantastic honor for someone who loved calligraphy. Of course, both old men concealed their identities to participate in the competition, otherwise there wouldn't have been any need to compete in this calligraphy and painting competition.
After the two finished writing, they just stood there and did not leave. When the competition time came, staff would come forward to collect the written competition works.
After waiting for several minutes, the two old men standing there seemed a little bored, so they all turned their eyes to Luo Yu next to them. They saw that everyone had stopped writing, but he was the only one who was still writing vigorously.
It was strange. It was just writing a few words. It would take no more than three or four minutes to build up the emotions and write. Why was Luo Yu still writing? Was he going to write a long poem? As a result, Mr. Zhou, who was closest to Luo Yu, was shocked when he saw it.
This... he's actually painting Chinese paintings? But this is calligraphy.
Because Mr. Zhou was blocking the view, Mr. Xie couldn't see anything. He couldn't make a sound during the competition, so he gently tapped Mr. Zhou on the shoulder, signaling him to move aside. Mr. Zhou didn't react, and Mr. Xie became anxious. Could it be that Luo's handwriting was terrible? No way, he was representing the school in this calligraphy and painting competition, so his calligraphy skills must be pretty good.
Old Master Xie couldn't wait to lean over and take a look, then he was also stunned. The two of them just watched Luo Yu holding the brush and moving quickly across the rice paper.
Some spectators outside the venue also noticed what was happening. The three of them were simply too conspicuous. Originally, there weren't many young people competing in the adult category, and Luo Yu seemed to be the youngest among them. His appearance and aura were both exceptional, so he should have attracted quite a bit of attention from the start. However, since they were in the middle of the competition, they didn't dare to disturb them too much.
Now, with the two old men beside him staring blankly at the handsome young man writing with all his might, the scene was too eye-catching among so many people, so the TV media filming on the scene turned their attention here, and the overhead cameras moved directly towards the young man, and then a shocking picture of mountains appeared on the screen.
Verdant mountains, stacked one upon another, undulate like the surging waves of the sea, majestic and magnificent. In the distance, towering peaks pierce the sky, and a hazy blue smoke shrouds the mountains like a veil. And at the foot of these precipitous peaks, there's a house. Curling blue smoke rises from the chimney of the roof, surrounded by lush trees, blooming peach blossoms, and flocks of birds fly by. What a paradise, what a secluded home.
The images captured by the on-site cameras will be played simultaneously on a large screen in front of the competition venue. When the audience outside the venue saw the shocking calligraphy of a paradise written by the young man, they all exclaimed in amazement.
"Oh my god, it's been less than ten minutes, and he's already created such a masterpiece. How on earth did he do it?"
"Look, the peach blossoms are so realistically painted, just like real peach blossoms in full bloom, so beautiful..."
"How is this possible? Isn't this cheating?"
"The paper is all blank, and everyone is watching. How can he cheat? Is it possible that he can create something out of thin air?"
"It's so bright that it blinded my titanium dog eyes."
"I knelt right down..."
"That's impressive, but am I the only one who noticed? Isn't that the calligraphy competition area? The Chinese painting is on the right. That handsome guy seems to have gone to the wrong venue."
…
"Ding ding ding..." The one-minute countdown in the calligraphy area began to sound, but Luo Yu had just finished a whole painting and had not had time to write the words for the calligraphy competition.
As the countdown began, Mr. Zhou and Mr. Xie also came to their senses and looked at Luo Yu anxiously. "Why didn't you tell me you were going to compete in Chinese painting and just followed them to the calligraphy area?" This was a calligraphy competition. No matter how good the painting was, it was useless. The judges in the calligraphy area were just calligraphers. They only looked at the characters, nothing else. What should I do now?
Countdown, half a minute, Luo Yu put down the big brush in his hand, then picked up the small brush next to it, dipped it in ink, and began to paint in the upper right corner of the painting.
What should he do? Was he planning to write an inscription on his finished painting? But wouldn't that make it a calligraphy and painting competition? Yes, if he did that, Luo Yu wouldn't be eliminated. However, if it became a calligraphy and painting competition, then when submitting his work, two judges would score it. If one judge failed, he would be eliminated.
This not only puts twice the pressure on competitors compared to others who are only participating in the same style, but also increases the likelihood of distraction or lack of time, which can easily lead to failure. It's like Luo Yu right now. By the time his painting is finished, the clock is already counting down. While good calligraphy only requires a single character, it still requires concentration and time to cultivate emotion, right? If you finish a painting and then pick up another brush without thinking, wouldn't that just be scribbling haphazardly?
Furthermore, participants in both competitions typically don't write their calligraphy directly on their paintings. A single mistake could ruin both the painting and the calligraphy. The artistic conception of the calligraphy and the painting must match, and no one can guarantee there won't be any mishaps during a competition. Therefore, while some participants compete in both, they don't write their calligraphy directly on their paintings; they usually write them separately. However, Luo Yu boldly did so, and both Mr. Zhou and the others, as well as the audience watching on the big screen, broke into a cold sweat for him.
Countdown 10…9…6…2…1…
At the last second, Luo Yu stopped writing and looked at his finished work. He smiled with satisfaction. It was worth his several nights of practice in the virtual space. The results were very ideal.
The camera switched, and the audience outside only saw Luo Yu's faint smile, but they didn't see his finished work. Their hearts were itching. Although the boy's smile was indeed beautiful, they wanted to see the finished work! Several audience members were almost going crazy. How was the work done?
This was the suspense left by the competition. When the competition time came, all the works of the first batch of calligraphy contestants were collected. Five minutes later, all the works of the Chinese painting contestants were collected, followed by the second batch.
The contestants sitting in the back, unable to see the big screen, had no idea what was happening. The spectators outside the venue, however, began to chatter. Mr. Zhou and Mr. Xie, who had retreated to the rest area, couldn't take their eyes off Luo Yu in astonishment. The rules of the competition required that participants could only leave the venue after the competition was truly over, in order to maintain order. Therefore, Luo Yu and the others could only wait in the rest area.
In the preliminary round on the first day, twenty contestants will be selected from the many contestants to enter the qualifying round on the second day. Although there are many contestants, the quality of their calligraphy works can be seen at a glance, so the list of contestants who can participate in the qualifying round on the second day will be announced in the afternoon together with the entries.
After the game, Mr. Zhou and Mr. Xie, who had been holding back for a long time, pulled Luo Yu aside and kept asking questions.
"Luo, what were you thinking about the competition just now? Since you were participating in both, you should have said so and went to the Chinese painting competition area. The time there is five minutes longer than the calligraphy area. You said you didn't say anything, and we didn't know, so we dragged you to the calligraphy competition area with us, and almost caused you to fail the competition. Aren't you going to make us both feel guilty?"
As soon as Mr. Xie finished speaking, Mr. Zhou also said, "That's right, you can't act like this again during the promotion match. Ouch, you almost gave me a heart attack."
The two old men are still frightened.
"However, I didn't expect that you, at such a young age, could paint so well. You completed such a fine piece in such a short time, especially the latter part..." As he spoke, Old Master Xie sighed, "You are truly a young talent. It seems that I, Old Master Yu, will have no chance of winning the championship this time."
"Thank you for the compliment." Although he was very happy that his work was praised, Luo Yu knew that his current calligraphy and painting skills were not enough to win him the championship. This was because there were several difficult characters in the last group of people in the competition. Although they were in disguise, they were still recognized by the sharp-eyed Luo Yu.
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