An international art competition called ARTSAY was being held from May through August that year, but it was rather unconventional. Designed to inspire artists' creativity, it called for painting styles to be as exaggerated as possible.
At first, Yu Qingchuan had not planned to enter. His painting style leaned toward the conservative, after all, which also had something to do with his personality.
Yet after their recent role-playing, Yu Qingchuan suddenly came up with an extraordinarily bold idea.
He began painting in secret, not wanting Lu Shiyi to see. Once, Lu Shiyi came home early without telling him, startling Yu Qingchuan into a fluster. He hurriedly turned the canvas toward the wall to hide it from him.
Lu Shiyi was curious, but he respected Yu Qingchuan's wishes. He would get to see it once his wife's work won an award anyway.
Yes, that was how much confidence Lu Shiyi had in Yu Qingchuan.
He even felt bad seeing Yu Qingchuan go to such lengths to hide it, so he told him to paint without worrying. He would not suddenly barge into the room, and would fully respect Yu Qingchuan's creative process.
Chen Shujun was a little worried about Yu Qingchuan entering ARTSAY, too, because this competition truly tested an artist's creativity. There was no question about Chinese artists' technical foundations, but they did fall slightly short when it came to creativity. As a result, very few Chinese artists had won this award. The last win had been seven years earlier, and even that had only been third prize.
"I entered when I was young, too," Chen Shujun said. "But they said I lacked imagination, and I never won anything. Still, it's good that you're willing to give it a try."
Yu Qingchuan took a photo of his unfinished painting and