Ryusuke Gets Straight to the Point
The terminal vibrated less than half a minute after the message was sent.
[Zhenzhu: Okay, I understand. Her serialization output will double this month.]
Jingxing twitched his lips, put away his terminal, and decided not to tell Xuzhao he was the "culprit."
The World-Painting Academy is indeed large. Sampo led him through the forecourt, talking non-stop: the gray building on the left is the Department of Theory, where the youngest professor is said to be able to lecture on art history for six hours straight without taking a sip of water; the glass room on the right is the Color Laboratory, through which you can see several colorful, Imagenae fish swimming, their scales changing with the paint in the palette by the pool, sometimes blue, sometimes orange.
"These are all creations by graduates of the Academy," Sampo said. "The dean encouraged everyone to leave their works at the Academy for future generations to visit and learn from."
"I understand," Jingxing nodded. "Our school also requires us to leave a piece of our work at the Academy before graduation, so that future students can admire it."
Sampo grinned. "Being selected means you must be a student your esteemed school can be proud of."
"Thank you for the compliment." Jingxing waved his hand. "Let's continue. May we visit the painting classrooms now?"
Sampo shook his head regretfully. "Getting into the art classroom isn't easy. According to the 'World-Painting Academy School Rules,' the art classroom isn't open when there are no art classes. You have to apply to the principal to use it, but our principal is always out there working on his 'Stardust Realism' and rarely appears at the Academy..."
"Stardust Realism?" Jingxing had never heard of this art style before, and his curiosity was immediately piqued. "What is that?"
"It's the director's unique personal artistic style," Sampo said, shrugging. "After being widowed, the director experienced a sense of frustration regarding the theme of continuing life, and then his daughter also passed away—"
"Widowed and losing both a husband and a daughter...?" Jingxing couldn't help but feel sympathy for the dean he had never met before. "That's a double blow..."
"Yes, in short, Stardust Realism is a new style of realism created by the Dean using a large amount of cosmic dust, comet ice, and residual radiation from extinct planets as materials. It focuses on the theme of 'vulnerability' and creates artworks with themes such as the ecology of primitive planets on the verge of extinction, edge stars assimilated by their the Families or incorporated into interstellar trade networks, and natural landscapes of star systems Destruction or swallowed by nothingness."
"Wow, Sampo seems quite familiar with your dean." Jingxing raised an eyebrow. "You're not actually the dean himself, are you?"
"Haha, how could that be?" Sampo laughed and waved his hand. "These are all original comments about our dean published in 'Interstellar Art Criticism.' I just memorized them."
"I see." Jingxing understood. "Interstellar Art Criticism" is published by Interastral Peace Corporation and is the most authoritative art magazine in the galactic art world. He had only been to it once, and that was by sneaking into a corner of the page where his teacher and Zhuming Xianzhou were exchanging ideas.
Further in, a row of easels stood by the playground, where several students were sketching. With each stroke of their brushes, one Imagenae after another came to life on the paper.
"Is it only by graduating here that one can master the methods of creating Imagenae?" Jingxing asked.
"Of course, there are other teaching channels in the Dual-Phase Paradise, but the World-Painting Academy is definitely the most mainstream," Sampo explained. "Moreover, the Imagenae rely on people's 'Wish Power' to function, and this power only exists in the Dual-Phase Paradise. So even if you learn it, you won't be able to create Imagenae on other planets—of course, if you have the help of the Genius Society, that's another story."
Jingxing always felt that this guy was targeting him, as if he knew a lot about his past experiences.
"Could it be my imagination?" he wondered.
When they reached the third floor of the teaching building, Sampo suddenly fell silent.
Jingxing followed his gaze. At the end of the corridor stood a man with striking bright red hair that stood out against the drab grayness of the corridor.
He was intently examining a graffiti on the wall. After a few seconds, as if sensing his gaze, he looked up, his eyes landing on Jingxing Sampo. He then beckoned to them, his tone as familiar as if greeting a regular customer. "You two over there, come here."
Sampo lowered his voice and quickly uttered two words: "Dean."
Jingxing was taken aback. Sampo had already put on a smiling face and went to greet him, "Oh, Dean Longjie, what a coincidence! I'm just showing a friend around—this is Jingxing, the painter that Lady Zhenzhu from the company sent for a study tour."
The red-haired man raised an eyebrow. With that slight movement, his previously somewhat haggard face came to life. "Zhenzhu?"
"Yes." Jingxing stepped forward. "Ms. Zhenzhu arranged this study tour, allowing me to have a good look World-Painting Academy."
The man didn't reply immediately. His gaze lingered on Jingxing's face for a moment. After a brief pause, he looked away, smiled, and extended his hand. "Murata Ryusuke, the dean of this Academy."
"Since she's chosen you, it seems your drawing skills have been recognized." Ryusuke released his grip, his tone casual. "It's rare to see someone from the company come here for an exchange program."
"I'm not an employee of the company," Jingxing denied.
"Alright, then I'm even more looking forward to your performance." Murata Ryusuke shrugged, looking nonchalant. "Since you're here, don't just stand in the hallway. I have a newly published art criticism magazine from Interastral Peace Corporation in my office, along with some other stuff—come on, let's go upstairs and chat. I've been wondering who I can talk to about where the art scene is headed these days."
Jingxing followed. Sampo winked at him from the side and mouthed something—probably something like "There's a chance."
"Sang... Bo?" Murata Ryusuke glanced back at him. "You wait here for a bit."
"Huh? Can't I go in and listen in?" Sampo's eyes widened.
Murata Ryusuke ignored him and led Jingxing into his office.
The office door closed behind me. The room was filled with the smell of paint and coffee mixed together, and several potted plants whose names I didn't know sat on the windowsill.
Ryusuke walked behind the table, took out two mugs from the drawer, and poured one for Jingxing and one for himself. "The art trends in Galaxy change every few years. A few years ago, Surrealism was popular, and everyone painted like they were in a photograph. Before that, there seemed to be this 'emotional Blank Space' thing, painting large areas of emptiness and then randomly adding a few strokes and daring to sell for hundreds of thousands or millions. They're just treating people like idiots."
He blew on the steam rising from the rim of his cup. "As Academy for learning to create Imagenae, we at the World-Painting Academy don't discuss these things, but as the dean, I have to listen to the winds blowing from other planets."
After he finished speaking, he glanced at Jingxing, interlaced his fingers, and the smile in his eyes turned much colder, "Alright, state your purpose. You're a member of Idrila's family, the unlucky one who was recently tricked by Aha, or rather—the lucky one?"
Jingxing: "!"