After finishing lunch, Xiang Lan refused to let Fangzi deliver the prescriptions and rushed off to the art district to find Liu Nanyang.
She was taken aback when she arrived; the exhibition hall was packed with people. What was going on? Art is about refined tastes, and it has never sought a large audience, but rather discerning connoisseurs. She took out her phone and dialed Liu Nanyang's number. A moment later, he rushed out and said, "Come with me, I'll introduce you to someone."
"Who? Why are there so many people at the exhibition? Have you become famous?" Xiang Lan asked curiously.
“Mr. Gu Yuan is here, so many people have come because of his reputation.” His expression wasn’t really one of genuine happiness. “He looked at your graduation project and is very interested in you. You can meet him.”
"ah--"
"He owns several art companies. If possible, I'll recommend you to him. Do your best, okay?"
Chapter 55
Xiang Lan had heard of Gu Yuan before, having heard her teachers and other senior students talk about him frequently. He was an art dealer with a discerning eye and unique aesthetic sense. In recent years, the works of young artists he had discovered had seen their prices rise year after year, and many young people without connections hoped to gain his favor. What made him even more sought after was his striking good looks and avant-garde, unique personal style, making him extremely popular within his circle.
Xiang Lan had certainly entertained such fantasies, but she hadn't expected them to come so quickly.
"Uncle, I didn't prepare any business cards."
“There’s not much to it,” Liu Nanyang said. “Don’t be too optimistic. He doesn’t seem very friendly, but if he takes a liking to you, he can be very persistent. I’m just recommending you for an internship, but he seems to have a thing for you. If he wants to sign you to a contract, just refuse.”
"Why?"
He glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention, then whispered, "Selling things to him is fine, the prices are fair; but you must be careful to keep your distance, his private life isn't very good."
"What do you mean?" Xiang Lan blinked. Her family rarely talked to her about these negative things. She had vaguely heard about them, but she didn't know the details.
“He has messy relationships with men and women, and is unclear about his relationships with the artists under him. Sometimes, in order to stimulate their creative inspiration, he will give them negative guidance,” Liu Nanyang affirmed. “Talent and inspiration are equally important, but if you are immersed in extremely negative emotions for a long time and pursue expression beyond the extreme, normal life will be far away from you.”
Xiang Lan understood. She had seen many different styles of work, some exquisitely beautiful, others utterly repulsive. Closed, small circles are prone to extremes; the pursuit of so-called ultimate beauty can produce great works, but it can also lead to death. The guidance of mentors, husbands, or agents is crucial. Often, in pursuit of success, some people either act eccentrically themselves or create extreme environments for their students to create extreme works. There are numerous precedents of failure before success, with various forms of depression and neurosis, and even drug addiction or suicide, not uncommon.
Gu Yuan is adept at discovering the talents of artists and can appropriately influence them, strengthening or amplifying them, but he doesn't go to extremes to the point of causing disastrous consequences, so he hasn't reached the level of infamy. Some people even quite like the influence he brings; of course, different personal pursuits are understandable. Liu Nanyang is deeply involved, but he must remain cautious.
Liu Nanyang led her through the crowd into a small hall, which mainly displayed Fang Zidu's paintings and sculptures, surrounded by her and her classmates' graduation projects. This teacher was clearly very savvy; each student's portfolio and graduation project were placed in a prominent position for people to browse.
At this moment, a small circle of people had gathered around the painting. In the center was an extremely tall man, dressed simply and casually, chatting and laughing with those around him, but it was clear that he was the center of attention. When he saw Liu Nanyang arrive, he took two steps forward, then looked at Xiang Lan behind him and sized her up from head to toe.
"Xiang Lan, this is Gu Yuan, Mr. Gu. This is Xiang Lan," Liu Nanyang introduced the two.
Gu Yuan immediately extended his hand to Xiang Lan, "Miss Xiang, hello, it's a great honor to meet you."
"Hello." Xiang Lan extended her hand.
The two shook hands and quickly separated.
"Is this obsidian sculpture of love and beauty your work?" Gu Yuan slowly walked over.
"Yes." Xiang Lan expected to hear some praise, but after asking the question, he didn't say anything more.
He didn't ask her any questions, and she didn't answer them either. All the communication was in their works, and there was no point in saying more.
Gu Yuan reached out and flipped through her portfolio, which contained the results of her work over the past four years. Some parts were rather immature, while others were parts that she was personally satisfied with.
"Is that small obsidian statue also your work?"
"no."
"What about the oil painting?"
No, not exactly.
"The painting depicts you."
"right."
"But these things belong to you, don't they?"
"Yes."
After asking his question, Gu Yuan fell silent and turned to look elsewhere. Liu Nanyang occasionally introduced the works to him, and then left him to appreciate them on his own.
After looking at other people's work for a while, Xiang Lan got a little tired, went to Liu Nanyang's office to get some water, and then leaned back on the sofa and closed her eyes to rest.
A moment later, Liu Nanyang came up to look for the documents. Xiang Lan opened her eyes, yawned, and asked, "Uncle, are you done?"
"After everyone left, Gu Yuan was still watching from downstairs."
"Oh—" Xiang Lan stood up and stretched, "What is he looking at?"
"They're still looking at your and Zidu's work, and seem quite interested."
"I didn't realize that." She didn't have high hopes; this person really was unresponsive. "He hasn't really talked to me much."
"He doesn't like large crowds."
Xiang Lan rummaged through his drawer and took out some candy and cookies to eat. Seeing him frantically searching through documents, she asked, "Uncle, what happened to that Sister Mia? There's been no news about her."
"Sigh—" Liu Nanyang sighed and shook his head repeatedly.
"That little girl, is she really your daughter, my sister?"
"I really don't know."
"Why?" Xiang Lan took out her phone. "I need to contact Sister Milan."
"Absolutely not," he quickly stopped her. "Those two sisters have been driving me crazy lately. You almost missed your thesis defense the other day."
"What exactly is the reason?"
"Milan insists that Xiaomili is my daughter, while Mia insists she isn't. I think we should do a DNA test. If she really is my daughter, I can finally relax for the rest of my life. Having a little darling without getting married would be wonderful. Milan disagrees, thinking it's irresponsible and suspecting I'll tamper with the report; Mia also disagrees, saying Xiaomili isn't my daughter and there's no need for her to carry this burden at such a young age—"
"So confusing? Why don't you just pull out a strand of her hair and test it?"
"She's afraid of me and doesn't get close to me at all."
“I can help.”
"No need, I'll figure out a solution myself."
Liu Nanyang declined Xiang Lan's offer of help and hurriedly went downstairs with a stack of documents. She sat for a while longer, then went downstairs to continue looking at the exhibition. Since she was already there, she couldn't waste the afternoon. As for Gu Yuan, she would leave it to fate.
This art exhibition aimed to promote cultural exchange between emerging artists from China and the United States. The exhibits primarily featured works by emerging American artists, as well as some new-style art from China. The presentation of the exhibits was incredibly diverse, including various paintings, sculptures, and artworks made with new materials. The displays were bizarre and varied, expressing a wide range of ideas. Xiang Lan, after looking around for a while, felt her horizons broaden. She began to think Fang Zidu's suggestion was excellent; if he had the time, the two of them should indeed travel more and see other people's designs.
After viewing the art exhibition, she still had plenty of time, so she returned to the small hall and stood at the door admiring the oil painting that Zidu had painted for her. Only when she got closer did she realize that there was a signature at the bottom of the canvas.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?"
A man's voice rang in her ear, startling her. She turned around and saw Gu Yuan alone, one hand in his pocket, the other holding a cigarette, staring at her expressionlessly.
"Yes." Xiang Lan responded and stood a little further away from him.
“These are two untitled works, only the oil painting has the artist’s signature, Zidu—” Gu Yuan stood nearby and pointed to the obsidian sculpture, “It gives people a very peaceful and leisurely feeling; while the emotion in this painting is so intense that it’s about to burst out. Your lover loves you very, very much.”
"Thanks."
Gu Yuan glanced at her. "You're pregnant, aren't you?"
How did you figure that out?
"Your graduation project would be better suited to a different name."
Xiang Lan felt that this person was a bit strange, as if he was too independent, so she didn't say anything.
"Love and beauty are insufficient to express the tearing and painful struggle within; it must be sacrifice, or destruction—"
She frowned and refused, saying, "It's perfect right now, it doesn't need any changes."
“It seems you haven’t noticed yet.” Gu Yuan raised his hand, took a deep drag of his cigarette, and exhaled. “This piece of yours is completely different from your previous ones. It has broken free from the beauty of exquisite objects and has truly begun to recognize and express itself. And what brought about all this was pain, and the source of this pain—” He glanced at her waist, which hadn’t grown much under her thin clothes, “is clearly expressed in the work; it’s a fetus.”
"It brought about tremendous changes in my life."
“You’re wrong. It’s pain that makes you grow. It’s like a knife that sculpts a rough stone into a beautiful jade. You need it to help you. Of course, I will help you too.”
Xiang Lan turned her head away from the cigarette smoke, but Gu Yuan's gaze followed her closely, shining with an unusual light.
Gu Yuan noticed her disdain, smiled, stubbed out his cigarette, and called out. Immediately, a female assistant entered. He held out his hand, and the assistant naturally took the cigarette and left, displaying quite an air of importance.
Gu Yuan pulled a thin business card holder from his pocket, took out a card, and handed it to her with both hands, saying, "This is my business card—"
"Thank you." Xiang Lan accepted the card, then apologized, "I don't have a business card."
"You can leave me a phone number."
She took out her phone and dialed the number on the business card. His phone rang, and after taking it out and setting it up, he said, "It's working now."
"Xiang Lan, may I call you by your name?" Gu Yuan put away his phone.
"sure."
"You can also call me by my first name." Gu Yuan stopped and continued looking at the oil painting. "Do you have your own studio?"
"No."
"Want one?"
"Of course." Xiang Lan was a little happy. His willingness to learn more about her meant that he was interested in her work.
Gu Yuan nodded, not continuing the conversation, but instead shifting his angle to admire the painting. After a while, he asked, "Is this painting for sale?"
"This is not for sale."
He didn't ask for anything more, only saying, "Xiang Lan, I want to see your living environment."
Xiang Lan looked at him with puzzled eyes, frankly expressing her confusion.
"I am very interested in your work and would like to know the environment in which you created it."
He paused briefly as he spoke, his words somewhat mumbled, making it difficult for Xiang Lan to discern whether he was interested in the work or in her as a person.
Chapter 56
“So, he must be interested in my work and wants to sign me as his agent.” Xiang Lan showed Fang Zidu the information she found about Gu Yuan online. “He wants to see my living environment. My uncle said he’s a very cautious person; whenever he sees an artist he likes, he’ll thoroughly investigate their life. So, tomorrow I’ll take him on a tour of our school, have lunch in the cafeteria, or maybe just find a nice little restaurant—”
"What do you think?" She turned to look at Fang Zidu, who was leaning against the bookshelf flipping through documents.
"That's right. You just need to show him your most authentic self."
"My uncle said he would sell his work to him, but he couldn't sign an agency contract with him."