The names of the five finalists who made it to the grand finale have been announced, bringing joy to some and sorrow to others.
Bai Xiaoruo and Ji Shushu were both eliminated, but Xiao Yaran, whose grades were usually even worse than theirs, was selected for the finals, which was unexpected.
Ji Shushu was naturally the most frustrated. She and Xiao Yaran already didn't get along in class, and now Xiao Yaran had climbed up by stepping on them, making her even more unhappy. "How could this happen, Xiaobai? How could we be eliminated? And of all people, it had to be Xiao..."
"Shh! Shushu, don't say anything. It's okay if you weren't selected. There will be other opportunities in the future." Bai Xiaoruo winked at Ji Shushu, indicating that Xiao Yaran was still sitting in the lower row and it wouldn't be good if she heard her.
"I just can't accept it! Sigh, I spent several days and nights finally creating a painting that I was satisfied with, but it didn't pass. Xiaobai, aren't you usually a better artist than her? I can't believe that someone like her can be selected but you can't." Ji Shushu glared indignantly at the back of Xiao Yaran's head, feeling increasingly uncomfortable. She wanted to see what kind of painting she could possibly produce that would make it to the finals.
"Next, let's appreciate the painting skills of these five students who have been selected for the finals, especially Xiao Yaran from Class B of the first year of the painting major in our art department. She received the highest scores from the judges."
A round of enthusiastic applause erupted from the audience. Xiao Yaran stood up with a smug look on her face, bowed to the judges on the stage, and sat down again a few seconds later.
Bai Xiaoruo clapped politely a few times, while Ji Shushu crossed her arms in anger. If it weren't for Xiaobai wanting to stay and watch for a while, she would have loved to leave as soon as possible.
As the large screen lit up, the five paintings were presented one by one to all the audience members below the stage.
When Xiao Yaran's painting was shown, Bai Xiaoruo was stunned.
She could hardly believe her eyes.
"How is this possible!"
The painting on the screen, along with the signature below, completely shocked Bai Xiaoruo, and she suddenly stood up from her seat.
In the utterly quiet environment, her voice sounded incredibly clear, drawing all eyes to her from both the stage and the audience.
How could that be... How could it possibly have been drawn by Xiao Yaran!
That's clearly your own work!
The theme is summer night.
What Bai Xiaoruo painted was the night in the new courtyard. Every tree, every star, and everything in the surrounding environment was deeply imprinted in her mind. She had spent day and night sitting on the balcony watching and carefully drawing it. Xiao Yaran wasn't even there, so how could she have painted it!
Not to mention, it's exactly the same as the one I drew.
The teacher on the stage was maintaining discipline: "Hey student up there! Please sit down! If you don't want to continue watching here, please leave!"
"Xiao Bai, what's wrong? Sit down quickly." Ji Shushu reached out and tugged at Bai Xiaoruo's sleeve, also feeling puzzled. This was the first time she had seen Bai Xiaoruo so agitated. What did Xiao Yaran's painting have to do with her?
"No! That's not Xiao Ya Ran's painting at all. It's mine, I painted it. How could it be signed Xiao Ya Ran? You must have made a mistake! This is impossible! This is absolutely impossible!"
That day, I clearly handed the artwork to the teacher in charge of it myself, and I even signed my name before submitting it. How could it have turned out like this? Why did everything that should have belonged to me become Xiao Ya Ran's?
After Bai Xiaoruo said this, the students below the stage were whispering among themselves, some talking about Bai Xiaoruo and others about Xiao Yaran.
As the accused, Xiao Yaran naturally stood up to confront Bai Xiaoruo, "Bai Xiaoruo, this is clearly my painting. What evidence do you have to say that you painted it? Although my grades in class are not as good as yours, and my drawing skills are not as advanced as yours, you can't negate my efforts these past few days because of these. We all made it to the preliminary and semi-final rounds. Do you really think I don't have the ability to enter the finals? I hope the teachers can stand up for me, investigate the matter thoroughly, and give me justice. Of course, we should also give Bai Xiaoruo justice. Since she also participated in this evaluation, even though she didn't make it to the finals, we should still be able to appreciate Bai Xiaoruo's painting."
The students in the audience all agreed with Xiao Yaran's words.
"Yes, take a look."
"Let's see who plagiarized whom."
......
The teacher in charge of storing the artwork took the microphone and spoke: "There will be absolutely no mistakes in this grading. Bai Xiaoru did submit an artwork, but I originally wanted her to return it and redraw it. However, she insisted on using the original artwork to participate in the finals. I didn't have time to stop her before she left in a hurry. Such an unacceptable artwork should have been destroyed directly. It was really not appropriate to tarnish everyone's eyes."
All eyes turned to Bai Xiaoruo, who had stood up, wondering what kind of terrible painting was going to be destroyed by the teacher.
“Teacher Liu, how can you say that? When I submitted it, you were very satisfied and said that with my skill level, I would have no problem entering the finals. How can you say now that my painting is unacceptable and should be destroyed?”
For every artist, having poured their heart and soul into creating something, even without seeking recognition, only to have it squandered and insulted in this way, is an incredibly heavy blow. The painting on the big screen clearly belonged to her, but now it belonged to Xiao Yaran. Her artwork, which had clearly been recognized, was described so unbearably by the teacher. Bai Xiaoruo's heart ached terribly, tears blurred her vision, and she almost lost her balance.
Ji Shushu quickly got up and helped her up.
"Bai Xiaoruo, I understand that you are usually attentive in class and respectful to your teachers. Considering this is your first offense, I only intended to give you a private talk and cover up the painting to spare you from school punishment. But you are still not giving up, and I can't help you anymore." Teacher Liu sighed, seemingly very regretful. A few seconds later, a very obscene and vulgar erotic painting was projected on the big screen, and the audience immediately gasped.
The signature was Bai Xiaoruo.
The judges on stage, especially the principal, were furious. They had intended to increase students' enthusiasm for extracurricular activities by holding such a competition. The theme of the finals was "Summer Night," such a beautiful topic, but Bai Xiaoruo had drawn such a filthy and disgusting erotic painting. Wasn't this blatant contempt for the school, contempt for discipline, and even disregard for the school's teachers and the judges on stage?
Bai Xiaoruo and Ji Shushu were both surprised. How could this be?
Ji Shushu simply did not believe that the painting on the big screen was painted by Bai Xiaoruo. It was not that Bai Xiaoruo's painting skills were not up to that level, but rather, based on her understanding of Bai Xiaoruo, she would never paint such a suicidal painting in such a formal competition.
When Bai Xiaoruo saw the name at the end of the "Spring Palace Painting" on the big screen, she almost fainted from anger.
She never painted such a picture, much less put her name on it. Why would this happen? Who is trying to frame her?
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