Chapter 1626: 1628: Different Encounters

Chapter 1626: Chapter 1628: Different Encounters

She knew Teacher Liu hoped they would have eyes skilled at discovering beauty.

Shitou Town might be small, but there were indeed many spots worth immortalizing in paintings.

Liu Guoying added another comment: “Don’t submit the practice pieces you worked on in town. What I want are paintings you create anew, relying on your memory.”

The group burst into protests again.

“There’s another piece of news. I’m planning a small-scale art exhibition, at the invitation of Capital Art Academy.” Liu Guoying glanced around at the students and said, “The top three paintings, as chosen by the whole class, will be taken to the exhibition. All the proceeds from this exhibition will be donated to Shitou Town for building a new schoolhouse. So, those of you in the top three should be mentally prepared. Even if your painting sells, that money…”

Before he could finish, the entire class shouted, “Teacher, I’ll donate!”

“Get out of here! You sound like you’re already in the top three! Teacher, I’ll donate too!”

“Do you all have no shame?” Jin Lei joined in the commotion, raising his hand high and shouting, “Teacher, I’ll donate third!”

For a moment, the classroom’s atmosphere was lively and enthusiastic, with everyone in high spirits.

Just earlier, when they heard about the assignment, they looked as though life had lost its purpose, but now they couldn’t wait to start painting.

Chiang Xiao propped her chin on her hand, listening to their ruckus, and couldn’t help but smile.

So nice. She had never experienced such an atmosphere before.

Liu Guoying looked over and said, “Chiang Xiao doesn’t need to join.”

Chiang Xiao and everyone else froze.

“Teacher, why won’t you let Chiang Xiao participate?” Jin Lei immediately felt it was unfair. With Chiang Xiao’s skill level, as long as she joined, there would certainly be a piece of hers at the exhibition.

They had already mentally prepared themselves, thinking one of the three spots was definitely hers.

Standing at the podium, Liu Guoying calmly explained, “I forgot to tell you all—Chiang Xiao has been my student for years now. Her reputation as an artist is no less than mine. This exhibition, we were jointly invited. She’s already preparing ten pieces of her own to participate.”

“What?”

Jointly invited to host an art exhibition?

This was incredible!

“My gosh—Chiang Xiao, you wouldn’t happen to be the prodigy painter ‘Little Chiang,’ would you?” Someone clapped their hands and exclaimed in shock.

With that said, those who had vaguely heard of ‘Little Chiang’ suddenly realized.

That’s right, she must be!

It really is ‘Little Chiang’!

In the art world, ‘Little Chiang’ was already quite famous!

Chiang Xiao rubbed her nose.

She didn’t understand why Liu Guoying had suddenly revealed this in class.

Her silence was essentially an admission.

The entire class immediately erupted in cheers.

“That’s amazing! I heard that ‘Little Chiang’ won first place in the G Province painting competition when she was just thirteen!”

“Previously, Teacher Liu held a small art exhibition with his student ‘Little Chiang,’ and turns out—it was Chiang Xiao!”

“Awesome, awesome. We really didn’t know we were sitting next to greatness.”

Chiang Xiao saw them going on and on, and finally said helplessly, “Okay, it’s not that exaggerated. Calm down, calm down.”

Liu Guoying added, “There’s one more thing—Chiang Xiao has already decided to participate in the painting competition in Country Y. So, for the next while, she’ll likely focus her energy on creating the three pieces for that competition. She might need to ask for leave more often. I’m sharing this with you all so that you won’t have any misunderstandings about it. Everyone’s path in life may differ. I won’t stick to rigid rules when guiding you, but rather, I hope to offer the most fitting support whenever you encounter opportunities. Today it’s Chiang Xiao; tomorrow, it could be any of you.”