Ten Points
Although these people all have teachers, each of their situations is different.
Zhong Lei's master was a rather strict person. He felt that his disciple was not yet a fully qualified apprentice and had come to participate in the competition. If he got a very bad ranking, it would be a disgrace to him.
Therefore, this is Zhong Lei's first time participating in the competition.
Lin Yunshen was different. His master believed that people need to be tempered and grow through setbacks. Lin Yunshen participated in the competition almost every year for the past few years. He lived up to the expectations of his master and family, and his ranking improved year by year.
In Zhong Lei's view, Peng Guoan only gave him a six out of ten. This shows that in Peng Guoan's eyes, his painting was only slightly better than average, far from being recognized. With such a score, he would have no way to explain it to his master.
Lin Yunshen knew that a score of six or higher was already quite good. After all, these people had seen too many excellent paintings, and ordinary paintings wouldn't catch their eye. Giving a score of six meant that Peng Guoan had already approved of it, and it was at least pleasing to their eye.
Moreover, he currently has the highest score. Even if Zhao Ruxi is first and Zhang Xiuyan second, he can still get third place. Even if Kang Shilin, Zhou Wenbai, and others don't score high enough to get third place, getting fourth or fifth would still be good for him.
Keep in mind, he only came in tenth place last year.
He knew that talent was predetermined, and Zhao Ruxi's level was something he might never reach in his lifetime. But he wouldn't belittle himself because of that. After all, his style and Zhao Ruxi's strengths were different.
In his area of expertise, as long as he works hard, he is likely to reach a certain level of success.
Therefore, he received a score of "3 out of 6" from Peng Guoan, which made him very satisfied and Gao Xing.
Hearing Lin Yunshen and Zhong Lei's scores, Zhang Xiuyan remained calm.
He felt that these people were not good enough, and it was only right that they received such low scores.
He felt both nervous and expectant as he watched Peng Guoan walk up to his painting.
His situation is similar to Zhong Lei's, yet also different.
This is also his first time participating in the year-end talent competition.
It wasn't that Mei Zhongjun wouldn't let him participate; rather, it was that he himself was unwilling to participate. He had a very high opinion of himself and only allowed himself to be number one, not to suffer even the slightest defeat.
If he participated in a competition before his painting skills were up to par, wouldn't it be incredibly embarrassing if he didn't win first place? If people talked about it later, saying that someone else was better than him and won first place in a certain year's competition, while he only came in second or third, he would probably feel resentful for the rest of his life.
So over the years he has only attended exchange meetings, not competitions.
Until the last year or two, those who were originally better than him in painting skills, after winning first place in the year-end talent competition, became more protective of their reputation, worried about being surpassed by others, and let their success become a thing of the past. They repeatedly failed and could no longer win first place. Therefore, after winning the crown once, they never participated in the competition again.
Zhang Xiuyan inquired around and confirmed that no one in today's competition was stronger than him before he came to participate.
At this moment, Zhao Ruxi was stronger than him in both ranking and strength, but after the shock and disappointment just now, and seeing Zhong Lei's deeply affected appearance, he had already made up his mind.
He now only hoped that Peng Guoan wouldn't be so biased and would give him a higher score. That way, he would be more comfortable talking to him later.
Peng Guoan stopped in front of Zhang Xiuyan's painting, looked at it for a while, and gave it a score. "Six out of seven."
Zhang Xiuyan's face darkened immediately.
He thought his paintings were quite good; some people even said they were almost on par with his master's, that he had surpassed him. Even if his painting didn't deserve a perfect score, it should at least be a nine, right? Why only a six?
Is this meant to highlight Zhao Zhiwei and make him stand out? Giving him such a high score makes it impossible to distinguish Zhao Zhiwei's painting as good and deserving of a higher score.
At this moment, Zhang Xiuyan was burning with rage. His earlier hesitation had become even more resolute.
He was determined to expose this shady dealings and get justice for himself.
At this moment, Peng Guoan had already stood in front of the painting of Zhao Ruxi.
After seeing Zhao Ruxi's paintings in the preliminary and semi-final rounds, he was eagerly anticipating seeing Zhao Ruxi's painting in the final round. Having served as the Imperial Academy for several years, he had seen countless talented young people, but never before had he been so excited and preoccupied with this competition that he couldn't eat or sleep, only hoping that the day of the final would come soon.
Heaven knows how impatient he was when he entered, eager to start by looking at Zhao Ruxi's paintings.
Now, he finally saw Zhao Ruxi's painting. And Zhao Ruxi did not disappoint him, creating such a breathtaking painting.
If Zhao Ruxi's mountains inspire awe and her waters stir emotions, then this landscape painting evokes nothing but awe, awe so profound that all thoughts cease, all external sounds and light vanish, leaving only the towering, solitary peak and the roaring, rushing waters created by the gods of heaven and earth, with no room for anything else.
"We are but mayflies in the vastness of the universe, a mere grain of millet in the boundless ocean. I lament the brevity of my life, and envy the endless flow of the Yangtze River."
He stood before the painting for a long time, murmuring his feelings.
"Master, it's time to give the scores," Peng Guoan's servant reminded him.
During the preliminary and semi-final judging, Peng Guoan stood in front of Zhao Ruxi's painting for a long time. At that time, no one was watching, and no one said anything no matter how long he stood there. The performance of the other four judges was not much better than his.
But things are different in the finals.
To avoid being influenced by the judges ahead, the next judge should be at least five people away. If the judge takes too long to give a score, the next judge cannot score.
Many contestants wait outside the venue after their competition, hoping to hear their scores and find out their rankings; nowadays, so many officials are also watching. Peng Guoan's prolonged standing is highly inappropriate.
Therefore, he had instructed his servant well in advance that if he became lost in thought in front of Zhao Ruxi's painting, the servant should remind him in time to prevent him from losing his composure.
The servant shouted right next to his ear, and quite loudly, which quickly snapped Peng Guoan out of his daze.
He looked at the painting intently for a moment, then reported the score, "Ten out of ten."
Upon hearing the score, the onlookers finally couldn't hold back and began to discuss it.
"Oh my god, a perfect score? Did I hear that right?"
"You heard me right, I heard it was ten points too."
"Isn't this score a bit too high? No one has ever received such a score in a painting competition before. I admit the painting is good, but surely such a large painting created in such a short time couldn't be without any flaws?"
"I think that, given the quality of this painting, a perfect score of ten is truly warranted."
Hearing the crowd's discussion, Peng Guoan wanted to tell everyone his reasons for giving it a perfect score.
This painting is at the level of a national master. Even renowned painters like Kang Shilin, who had achieved great success, wouldn't dare say their paintings are better than Zhao Ruxi's. If such a painting doesn't deserve a perfect score, whose painting does?
But his words broke the rules and would affect the scoring of those who followed. He could only suppress his thoughts and stand aside in silence.