Chapter 402: Chapter 402: Drawing
“Get him off the stage!” Li Haonan snorted coldly.
“Right, get him off!” Some people nodded in agreement.
“No!” Director Zhao shook his head. He understood Xiao Han and also appreciated Chen Aiguo’s ability to judge people. He was well aware of Xiao Han’s artistic capabilities. So Director Zhao was more composed and said, “Give him ink and a brush!”
“Yes!” The assistant nodded hurriedly.
It wasn’t long before the ink and brush were ready.
Unexpectedly, Xiao Han shook his head and said, “I want the biggest brush and a big bucket of ink!”
...
The crowd gasped again. What did the biggest brush look like? And why did he need a whole bucket of ink?
The assistant was in a dilemma. He stood to one side and whispered, “Mr. Xiao, our biggest brush is only the size of a fist. You see… ”
“Go, bring that mop over here!” Xiao Han pointed at a mop not far away.
The assistant paused for a moment, then scurried over to fetch the round-headed mop and handed it to Xiao Han. Xiao Han took the mop and said, “Go get a bucket and fill it with ink!”
“Alrighty!” The assistant, upon hearing this and relieved that the troublesome issue of finding a big enough brush had been solved, was now only left with sorting out the ink. Therefore, the assistant seemed somewhat excited as he hurried backstage. Not long after, half a bucket of ink was carried up.
Xiao Han glanced at it, grabbed the handle of the mop with his right hand, and swung the mop head into the ink.
Swish…
Suddenly, Xiao Han picked up the mop with one hand and flung the cloth part against the backdrop.
Everyone below the stage was extremely surprised. They had no idea what Xiao Han was doing. They only saw him continuously smearing something on the backdrop with the mop, completely clueless about his actions. All they knew was that Xiao Han seemed to be painting, but there were no visible signs of a painting.
The crowd was very puzzled and surprised.
The backdrop was large, and whether he was painting or just smearing, it required a lot of strength. So as Xiao Han moved around on stage, sweat was relentlessly shed. Let alone wielding a gigantic mop as a brush, even painting continuously with a regular brush required tremendous physical effort. Xiao Han clenched his teeth, persistently enduring. The mop in his hand felt heavy, and with such a large canvas, even a great painter would need immense patience and stamina for an artwork that stood three to four meters tall and more than ten meters long.
Five minutes… ten minutes… half an hour passed.
Yet on stage, the painter continued to sweat profusely, waving the mop in his hand, frantically painting.
Finally, after half an hour, Xiao Han turned around and tossed the mop back into the ink. Panting, he looked at everyone and then asked, “Do you all think I’m done?”
“Uh…” The crowd was taken aback.
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“No!” Xiao Han shook his head. He suddenly raised the mop in his hand and violently threw it out.
Crash!
The mop slammed fiercely against the white backdrop behind him. What had been an incomprehensible work of art suddenly became clear. On the backdrop, there was a breath of spring. The painting depicted a beautiful scene that shocked everyone—it was a picture of a young woman contemplating spring.
On the lush green grass that seemed to reach the horizon, a curious young girl was sitting with flushed cheeks, facing a lake, and beside the lake were weeping willows. The willows were beautiful, just like the girl’s flowing long hair.
Whoo…
All the people on site were stunned, utterly shocked. Xiao Han’s one-breath painting, especially one of such a grand scale, truly astonished them. Director Zhao stood up, clapping excitedly, shouting while clapping, “Good, good, brilliant, just brilliant!”
Xiao Han’s performance was indeed captivating. That last moment, in particular, had everybody’s eyes light up.
The applause was thunderous and lasted a long time.
The applause had barely ended when Director Zhao excitedly walked onto the stage, looking at the audience with zeal, saying, “Great! I really didn’t expect Xiao Han to have such strength. This is indeed a surprise to me. However, this surprise has also moved me. Xiao Han is impressive, his ability is touching, and astonishing.”
Li Haonan’s face was filled with embarrassment.
He had originally planned to embarrass Xiao Han, so he had ordered people to sprinkle ink on Xiao Han’s backdrop. He hadn’t expected his plan to fail. Not only did it not work out, but Xiao Han also seized the opportunity to showcase his talent, which was astounding to everyone. Li Haonan wanted to say something but in the end, he could only swallow his anger quietly.
When he stepped on stage, Li Haonan gave Xiao Han a hard glare, but as soon as he was up there, he instantly regained that spring-breeze-like demeanor, that handsome, unrestrained look. Holding the microphone, he excitedly said, “Indeed, it’s very impressive. Xiao Han has touched me with his strength, and moved everyone present. He has shown me that there’s such wonderful music in this world, and such astonishing ways of drawing. It’s truly moving…”
Knowing that Xiao Han and Director Zhao had a good relationship, Li Haonan was generous with his praise for Xiao Han after getting on stage.
Applause…
The audience gave a round of applause. Xiao Han walked slowly to the front of the stage, bowed slightly, then turned and left. Every gesture he made was filled with the charm of the ancients. In Hanfu, even without flowing long hair, they still found Xiao Han quite attractive.
“Who is that person?”
“So young and yet so dashing.”
“Yes, so handsome!”
In the audience, many people watched curiously.
Xiao Han walked back to the backstage. However, when he returned, he was surprised to find that Liu Yiyi had disappeared. Xiao Han urgently looked around; he so hoped to share his success and happiness with Liu Yiyi at that moment. He had put so much effort into his performance, so much effort into his drawing. And the girl in the painting, with that silhouette, the flowing long hair, the fluttering white dress, wasn’t that precisely Liu Yiyi’s unique symbol?
“Xiao Han, who are you looking for?” said Jiang Xiaoqing, seeing Xiao Han searching around curiously. “Do you want me to help you look?”
“Where is Liu Yiyi?” Xiao Han asked.
“Oh, her bodyguard has taken her away,” Jiang Xiaoqing hurriedly said. “Do you know her?”
“I… sort of,” Xiao Han quickly nodded and asked, “Why did she leave?”
“It seems she wasn’t feeling well!” said Jiang Xiaoqing with a smile. “Do you need her for something?”
“It’s nothing,” Xiao Han shook his head and then said, “I just have some things I want to talk to her about.”
“Oh!” Jiang Xiaoqing heard this, pursed her lips, and smiled, “You couldn’t have fallen for her, could you?”
Xiao Han froze for a moment, then quickly shook his head and said, “Don’t talk nonsense, don’t ruin the girl’s reputation.”
“Yes, yes, less concerned about yourself and more about others,” Jiang Xiaoqing laughed.
Xiao Han sat down disappointed in the rest area. Jiang Xiaoqing took a seat beside him. She smiled at Xiao Han and then said, “You did really well today. You will surely be the highlight at this year’s event, and you’re bound to win the award for best performance.”
“Haha…” Xiao Han couldn’t help but laugh when he heard this, then said, “I hope so. But, I don’t have much thought about becoming the best performance. I was just here to fill in a spot for your Director Zhao. So, don’t bother giving me any award.”
“That can’t be done!” Jiang Xiaoqing shook her head quickly and then said, “No matter what, your performance is the best in my heart. I believe you will definitely win the audience’s votes. I’m sure you’ll be the most popular act today!”
“Thank you!” Xiao Han closed his eyes and lay down to rest.
Jiang Xiaoqing watched Xiao Han, smiling faintly. Suddenly, she felt as though Xiao Han was like a younger brother to her. Though she didn’t have a brother, the maternal glow inside a woman’s heart shone through at that moment. She watched Xiao Han intently; he was reclining on the sofa, looking very tired. His handsome face, his pale cheeks, his beautiful eyes tightly closed, his eyelashes slightly curled, giving him a remarkably handsome look. The determined face, with arched eyebrows and sparkling eyes, red lips, and white teeth. His carefree, tousled hair made him all the more endearing.
Jiang Xiaoqing shuddered all over. She quickly got up and left the rest area swiftly.
The afternoon recording continued for several hours. Xiao Han was not a big shot or a special hire, so he had no performance fee. He just picked up a boxed lunch for the afternoon. However, Xiao Han didn’t have much interest in money. How much could the TV station give him? Xiao Han didn’t even think about it. He felt that the greatest gain today was meeting Liu Yiyi. But what made him most upset was that Liu Yiyi had left without waiting for him to finish; he didn’t know if she had seen his painting, nor if she had understood his feelings.
…………
In the TV station’s parking lot, a black Audi car quickly left.
“Miss, hang in there!” The man in black was very nervous.
In the backseat of the Audi, Liu Yiyi lay in agony, clutching her chest, her body shaking constantly. Coughing, high fever… In that moment, she felt her body was almost unable to hold up. Blood continually flowed from her nose. Liu Yiyi tried to cover her nose with her hand, but the blood still streamed out.
“Uncle Liu, am I… am I going to die?” Liu Yiyi’s body trembled.
“No, no!” The man in black quickly shook his head and said, “You won’t, you definitely won’t. I’ll take you to the hospital right now!”