Money and Art (continued)

As the bell rang, a large group of foreign candidates emerged from the examination hall, most of them looking worried and sighing. Although the difficulty of the foreign admissions was lower than that of the domestic ones, Su State has always valued education and is the most technologically advanced country in the Sea Continent. The content of its textbooks is also the most cutting-edge, which is undoubtedly a major hurdle for foreign candidates. The difficulty is no less than that of getting into a prestigious university in their own country.

Apart from guys like Si Ming who are "exporting and then re-importing" (i. e., those who are skilled in practical skills but not in theoretical exams), the situation is better for Confucian School students. Their practical skills may be average, but they are strong in theoretical exams. Moreover, the national conditions of Liguo at this time are similar to those of the Li State. Those who have the opportunity to go abroad, even if they cannot be called elites, are not ordinary people—either they come from extraordinary families or they have extraordinary talents.

Therefore, although there were few students from the Li State, most of them were full of confidence and were confident about the recruitment. Next were the France students. The disciples of the Legalist School were also good at written exams. After all, they had a compulsory course in "law" in China starting from junior high school. High school students need to memorize the laws and regulations that are frequently involved in daily life, and university graduates must memorize the entire legal dictionary.

How do you feel? Are you confident?

This time, Yao Bilian fulfilled her responsibilities as a guardian by waiting outside the examination hall.

"It should be a sure thing, unless there's a major mistake like a misplaced answer in a multiple-choice question, otherwise it's practically guaranteed."

Si Ming was originally a top student with his own set of learning methods and exam techniques. With the help of Murong Qing, the current top student, he quickly mastered the knowledge points he lacked. Moreover, in terms of theoretical knowledge, the current Su State textbooks were not as good as the content he learned in his previous life. Only subjects like medicine, which did not exist in his previous life, needed his attention.

"Great, that puts my mind at ease. I can go and have some fun now," Yao Bilian said, shoving a train ticket into Si Ming's hand. "The ticket is for 9 p. m., so I guess I won't be able to go back with you. You can take the train, or you can run back now. If you want to save your energy, take the train; if you're in a hurry, run."

Before Si Ming could react, she turned and walked towards a female student who looked like she was from Linked Mountains University, a bright smile on her face, and opened her arms, saying, "My dear Xiaomei, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. Tonight is a night for just the two of us, and no one else can interfere."

The female college student looked very pretty and was dressed very neatly, not at all flashy. She was holding a book of poetry and looked every bit the literary young woman. She was a little shy and somewhat resistant to Yao Bilian's enthusiasm. "Don't do that, so many people are watching."

"It's alright, they'll just see us as good friends." Yao Bilian took the other's arm, leaned close to her ear, and whispered, "I've walked across many bridges, seen many clouds, and drunk many kinds of wine, but I've only ever loved one person at the prime of their life."

The female college student bit her lip, a blush rising to her face, feigning reluctance. Clearly, the poem had struck a nerve with the literary youth. The two walked away sweetly, and since they hadn't done anything particularly outrageous, onlookers simply assumed they were just good friends playfully bickering.

Left alone, Si Ming felt the cold wind whistling past, as if he had become part of the background, with only the accompaniment of an erhu playing.

"What kind of situation is this! No wonder she was so proactive. I thought she had a change of heart, but it turns out she's traveling all the way to meet her 'girlfriend.' Does she have casual sex partners all over the world?"

Si Ming suddenly remembered a song. "It's hard to find a fuck buddy in a thousand miles, but with more fuck buddies, the road is easier to travel. Sincerity is the key to success. Let's be fuck buddies from now on. Make new fuck buddies, but don't forget the old ones. So many new fuck buddies have become old ones. The sky is high and the earth is thick, the mountains are high and the rivers are long. May we have good fuck buddies everywhere we go."

Shaking his head to clear his mind of those chaotic thoughts, Si Ming decided to head to the train station. Although he could probably run faster, since trains these days only go up to 150 kilometers per hour and usually go below 120, running would be too tiring. His energy hadn't fully recovered yet, so it would be easier to go back by sitting down.

However, halfway through his journey, he saw a promotional poster with a familiar name on it, so he stopped.

Hongdou Masterpieces Exhibition.

Clearly, this is a promotional poster for an art exhibition, and it's Hongdou's solo exhibition. Since returning from the Barbarian Continent, her painting skills have reached a new level, and the content of her paintings has become increasingly wonderful and extraordinary, surpassing people's imagination. The former is because her cultivation level has greatly improved, which has led to a corresponding increase in her skills, while the latter stems from her increased experience, especially after seeing the architecture of Glazed Temple. Her works often have a sense of religious mystery and solemnity.

Furthermore, the farewell to her mother and witnessing firsthand the monks of Glazed Temple facing death with equanimity gave Hongdou ample insight, which is reflected in her work as a manifestation of human warmth.

According to those masters' evaluations, Hongdou's previous works were usually characterized by an ethereal style, a kind of unrestrained imagination, like the starry sky thousands of miles away, giving people a sense of distance that is untouchable and can only be looked up at.

These kinds of works emphasize the word "strange," but they don't convey human emotions. In fact, Hongdou rarely paints works with figures because the figures she paints are as cold as machines, and you can't tell at a glance that they are living people. So she avoids this point and specializes in painting "objects" that don't require emotion.

Hongdou can now paint "living people." Although the figures all have tragic and brave expressions, they truly have a sense of life, are lifelike, and are very infectious. This is undoubtedly a breakthrough.

"We still have plenty of time, let's go take a look."

Si Ming glanced at the location of the art exhibition; it wasn't far, so he walked there using the map.

Upon arriving at his destination, Si Ming was surprised to find an unexpectedly large number of people visiting the art exhibition, including many foreign friends who had traveled a long distance to admire Hongdou's works. Clearly, the organizers had put a lot of effort into promoting the exhibition, including highlighting Hongdou's breakthrough in painting skills, which was used as a promotional gimmick to attract many people to see the young master's new works.

Si Ming wasn't surprised that he didn't see Hongdou at the scene. He knew that Hongdou disliked crowded places and rarely even went to school, let alone such a crowded place. However, he did see an acquaintance— Auntie Liu.

She wore a black short-sleeved shirt on top and a black pencil skirt that accentuated her hip curves on the bottom. Her long legs were encased in slightly sheer black stockings, giving her an indescribable sex appeal. Especially for those who enjoy the allure of uniforms, she was simply a stunner capable of igniting hormones.

However, Auntie Liu's aura of a strong woman, which could be felt even from dozens of meters away, and her "stay away from me, you piece of trash" look, were enough to extinguish the desires of any delusional person.

"That makes sense. She's Hongdou's agent, so it's only natural that she'd be at the art exhibition." Si Ming quickly realized.

The man talking to Auntie Liu was a charming middle-aged man with a stubble beard and a weathered look in his eyes, a look that seemed to tell many stories, enough to make any young girl swoon. Moreover, his clothes, though of unknown brand, were exquisitely crafted, exuding understated luxury, revealing his extraordinary family background.

However, Auntie Liu was clearly not the naive young girl who was not captivated. Instead, she showed impatience. If it were a man with a strong sense of self-respect, he would probably have turned his back and left immediately. But the middle-aged man was very patient. He ignored Auntie Liu's impatience and kept trying to find topics to talk about, occasionally telling some interesting stories. His intentions were obvious.

Seemingly wary of something, Auntie Liu didn't leave. She could only continue to stall and think about how to escape. This wasn't the first time she'd encountered such a persistent and shameless person, so she naturally had a backup plan. However, when her gaze fell on Si Ming, she felt that those plans were unnecessary.

"Wait a moment, I've run into someone I know."

Auntie Liu apologized to the middle-aged man, then walked towards Si Ming, saying in a tone of special concern typical of an elder to a younger person, "What are you doing here? By the way, today is the day for Linked Mountains University's special admissions exam. It seems you went to take the exam too. How did it go?"

Her tone was very kind, but her eyes were filled with annoyance as she instructed, "Quickly find a way to get rid of this guy."

"Not bad, it should pass."

Si Ming was quite helpless. He had never done anything like this before. If it were a typical novel plot, he might pretend to be a couple to force the other person away and slap them in the face. But the age gap between Auntie Liu and him was too big. No one would believe him. Even if he pretended to be a kept man and forced a "young man with a younger woman" scenario, Auntie Liu's elder-like tone had already shattered that possibility, not to mention the connection with Liu Qingqing.

The middle-aged man clung to Auntie Liu like a leech and said, "Is he your relative? He's a very energetic young man, handsome and talented, and you can tell he's very popular with girls. From what you just said, he seems to be a prospective student at Linked Mountains University? My second uncle happens to be the vice dean there. If I ask him to help you out, I guarantee you'll pass."

Logically, even if Auntie Liu was unwilling, she should have expressed her gratitude and asked for help in taking care of the younger generation for the sake of their future, thus incurring a favor. However, she knew that Si Ming's master was Yan Jinghong, and that he could easily pull strings without needing anyone's help.

Auntie Liu then put on a stern face and said, "That won't do. Whether you're doing business or being a student, integrity is paramount! A person without integrity cannot stand, and nothing can be accomplished without it. Someone who only thinks about using connections will only grow up to be a petty opportunist. Even if you don't pass the exam this time, even if you're not as skilled as others, you can still lose. You must never do anything against your conscience. You must be an upright and honorable man!"

These words were spoken with such righteous indignation and force that the middle-aged man looked embarrassed, yet he couldn't find fault with them, because what Auntie Liu said was the correct reasoning.

"Auntie Liu's reprimand is absolutely correct!"

Inspired, Si Ming realized there was no need for all those fancy tricks; the most direct method would suffice. He immediately adopted an innocent expression and asked, "Uncle, your second uncle is so powerful, your cultivation level must be very high too, right?"

The middle-aged man's Internal Cultivation had reached level six, which was indeed beyond the average person, since the national average Internal Cultivation level was only level five. However, this level of cultivation was obviously not enough for a candidate who was about to be admitted to Linked Mountains University, because the minimum admission requirement for Linked Mountains University was level six Internal Cultivation.

Just as he was about to launch into a speech about how a man's worth isn't solely determined by his Internal Cultivation, Si Ming said, "We had a class reunion the day before yesterday. The student with the worst grades in the class only has level six Internal Cultivation. He really disgraced our top class. What's the use of Level Six Inner Cultivation? He didn't even have the right to speak at the dinner table. If I were him, I would have jumped into a well and committed suicide. He's such a waste."

Auntie Liu understood and asked, "What level is your Internal Cultivation?"

"I just advanced to level nine, and I'm aiming to break through to level ten next year, so that people won't look down on me... Oh, Uncle, what level is your Internal Cultivation?"

As Si Ming spoke, he released the aura of Level Nine Internal Cultivation. His meridians had not yet fully healed, so he could not use too much True Qi.

The middle-aged man opened his mouth, but ultimately couldn't bring himself to lie, so he made up an excuse and ran away with his tail between his legs.