Nan University.
In the large lecture hall of Teaching Building Five, Professor Li Wen had finished his lecture.
Quite a few students had stayed, however, because Nan University's famous ice-cold beauty, An Jing, was also in the lecture hall. Besides An Jing, Chen Zheng, the bodyguard of the recently popular campus belle Su Cheng, was there too.
Although Chen Zheng was not a Nan University student, two short videos had made him hugely popular there!
The king of three-pointers!
Sending Kim Eun-woo, the taekwondo expert among the Korean exchange students, flying with a single kick!
Those two feats had long since spread throughout Nan University!
So although the class had ended, quite a few students stayed. Professor Li Wen and Professor An Jing seemed to be discussing... or rather, arguing about something at the front of the room!
"Teacher, you weren't like this before."
An Jing looked at Li Wen with some disappointment.
She had actually already guessed why her teacher had called her to the university for a talk today, but when she truly heard him say those things, she was still deeply disappointed.
She had learned her painting techniques from Professor Li Wen, yet... Professor Li Wen was actually putting in a good word for that Qi Chengzhi of the Qi family, and even belittling Chen Zheng. She could not accept that.
"Before, I..." Li Wen froze, then frowned at Chen Zheng. After looking him over, he still shook his head. "An Jing, whatever the case, this young man isn't good enough for you. You aren't an ordinary person, after all. You can't be with an ordinary person. An Jing, if you choose this young man, then I, your teacher, will be very disappointed too."
"You're wrong, Teacher." The disappointment on An Jing's face deepened at his words. She wanted to say something, but found that there seemed to be nothing left to say. She turned, ready to call Chen Zheng and Su Cheng to leave with her.
"An Jing, are you really refusing to listen even to your teacher now? Just what do you see in this Chen Zheng!"
Professor Li Wen frowned again, his tone growing harsher.
The students who had stayed in the lecture hall instantly picked up on something when they heard that!
They were having a falling-out!
Professor Li Wen and his student, Professor An Jing, were having a falling-out, and it seemed to have been caused by Chen Zheng! Professor An had fallen for Chen Zheng. Now that was explosive news!
Rumors had already been circulating that Professor An had resigned because of Chen Zheng, but there had been no solid proof before. Now Professor Li Wen's words were practically confirmation!
The ice-cold beauty professor had fallen in love with the campus belle's personal bodyguard. This was a bit of a soap opera!
"I love everything about him!"
An Jing turned around and suddenly smiled at Professor Li Wen. Then, in front of everyone in the great cathedral, she wrapped both arms around Chen Zheng's neck, rose slightly onto her tiptoes, and offered him a sweet kiss!
"Holy shit!"
"Big news!"
"God! She really kissed him!"
The students erupted at the sight!
"You... argh! From now on, you're no student of mine! You turned down a perfectly good young master of the Qi family for some lowly bodyguard! Cough! Cough! Cough!"
Professor Li Wen's face darkened at the sight, and he flew into a rage on the spot, only to break into a coughing fit.
He had been angered.
He was a nationally recognized painter and an old friend of the Qi family's elder. He had intended to bring An Jing and the Qi family's young master, Qi Chengzhi, together, never expecting An Jing to run off with someone else's bodyguard.
An Jing's refusal to heed his advice had, first, made him lose face. Second, he considered himself a member of the elite, and An Jing was one too. The elite ought to maintain their purity! Yet An Jing had gone and gotten involved with a bodyguard, even resigning from her professorship at Nan University!
He had called An Jing in for this talk to bring her back onto the right path. He felt she must have been dosed with some spellbinding potion; otherwise, how could an outstanding woman of the elite possibly fall for a bodyguard!
However...
"I hear Professor Li Wen is a nationally recognized painter."
Chen Zheng suddenly smiled, looking at Professor Li Wen with a friendly expression.
"What! What do you, a bodyguard, want to ask? Are you questioning my credentials? Hmph! A bodyguard like you will never understand art!"
Li Wen glared at Chen Zheng.
A bodyguard, a simple-minded bodyguard with well-developed limbs-how much could he possibly have in his belly or his head? And now he was questioning him. He really thought he was somebody!
"I don't understand art, but I do know how to paint."
Chen Zheng was not angry. He kept smiling, looking as friendly as ever.
"Here it comes!"
"Chen Zheng and Professor Li Wen are facing off!"
"Is Chen Zheng going to compete with Professor Li Wen in painting? No way! Professor Li Wen is a nationally recognized painter. Apparently, he receives a special allowance every year, and a single painting of his can sell for several million. He's a towering authority in China's art world!"
The students' eyes instantly lit up at those words.
From Chen Zheng's stance, he was clearly going to pit his skills against Professor Li Wen's!
Chen Zheng, a bodyguard, was actually challenging Professor Li Wen to a contest of painting skills. Wasn't that like showing off an axe at the master carpenter's door, or flourishing a broadsword before Lord Guan himself?
"Um... Chen Zheng is really good at painting..."
A tiny handful of students in the lecture hall had seen Chen Zheng's masterpiece in An Jing's class and could not help speaking up. But there were too few of them, and they were quickly drowned in the other students' chatter.
"I acknowledge Chen Zheng's three-point shooting and Ancient Martial Arts, but challenging Professor Li Wen in painting is overestimating himself!"
"Painting takes more than physical strength!"
"Chen Zheng is asking to be humiliated today!"
Most of the students began shaking their heads, believing Chen Zheng was inviting humiliation. A young man, a young man with well-developed limbs, actually wanted to wrestle with a nationally recognized painter in painting.
Wasn't he just asking for a rebuff, practically begging to be slapped?
"You know how to paint? Fine! Use any of the tools here. Paint something for me. Open my eyes and let me see what a bodyguard like you can produce!"
Li Wen sneered, his eyes full of contempt!
In his eyes, Chen Zheng was nothing but a muscular bodyguard, a simple-minded street punk with neither education nor refinement! He did not believe Chen Zheng could paint anything worthwhile. As far as he was concerned, Chen Zheng could not even hold a brush properly!
Chen Zheng smiled faintly, walked to the easel, casually picked up a brush, and, after a moment's thought, began painting.
"Hmph! Putting on an act! Let's see what sort of demonic scrawl you come up with!"
Li Wen continued sneering.
"Chen Zheng does a good job of looking the part... huh?"
"This Chen Zheng seems to have some skill!"
"Holy shit! That painting technique! He doesn't look like a beginner! Why does he seem better than me? No! Not just better! He really is much better than me!"
The students were laughing at first too, thinking Chen Zheng did a good job of keeping up appearances. But once he actually began painting and an image appeared on the paper, their laughter abruptly stopped, and surprise filled their eyes one after another!
Chen Zheng!
He had some skill!
This guy really seemed to know how to paint!
"You!"
No matter how much Li Wen looked down on Chen Zheng deep down, he remained clearheaded at that moment. With his standing and ability as a nationally recognized painter, he could naturally discern quite a lot! Even if he did not want to admit it, he had no choice!
This Chen Zheng was not merely putting on an act. He actually understood painting techniques!
"You!"
Professor Li Wen uttered another "you." He stared at the paper, his brow furrowing ever more tightly. He sensed something profoundly unusual!
"That'll do. Just a casual painting." A little while later, Chen Zheng stopped and set down his brush, looking at Professor Li Wen with a smile. "Professor Li, you're a nationally recognized painter. Do you think my painting counts as art?"
"..."
Li Wen did not respond!
Because at that moment, his eyes had already fallen into a daze. His soul seemed to have left his body, as though it had flown into the paper, into the mountain peak painted upon it!
"Heavens!"
"This mountain is so imposing! So magnificent!"
"It's like being there! I feel as though I'm already at the foot of the mountain!"
"It's flying out! This mountain peak is flying out! Heavens! This mountain really towers into the clouds!"
"It's alive! The painting has come alive! The mountain Chen Zheng painted has walked out of the paper!"
A brief silence was followed by an eruption as the students screamed!
At that moment, they had only one feeling: the mountain on the paper seemed to have walked out of it, standing before them like a mountain that truly existed. Apart from that mountain, everything else had vanished!
And now they stood at its foot, able only to gaze upward. Even when they raised their heads, they could not see its summit!
"God of painting..."
An Jing was the first to come to her senses. Although she had experienced a painting coming alive once before, this time was still incomparably stunning. She looked at Chen Zheng's profile and murmured, her eyes filled with adoration.