The Versatile Master Artist

Tang Bohu and Liu Yong need no introduction, and the infamous Qian Qianyi Old Qian still had Liu Rushi accompanying him.

As for the great painters and literary giants of the West, they were all like walking pile drivers, sources of infectious venereal diseases, each one more libertine than the next.

Some art schools even have the bold declaration that ”only work that can conquer beautiful girls is good work” circulating around.

The artist profession inherently contains latent flirtatious genes.

Back in the day, Mr. Cao Xuan, while mingling in the Shanghai Beach, was also quite the charming figure.

”No wonder Weijing can charm Miss Sakai, it’s my genes at play, just like me. Too bad I’m growing old.”

Mr. Gu twisted his mustache, looking at Anna’s photo, without any improper thoughts, but rather filled with great vanity.

Your grandfather is indeed your grandfather.

Being able to attract the attention of the Ilyena family’s female heir certainly outshines the grandson.

When Wang Wei made scrolls back in the day, it took just one poem to conquer Princess Yuzhen, making it a timeless elegant tale, not unlike this.

Princess Yuzhen wasn’t known for her beauty, she surely wasn’t as beautiful as this Miss Ilina.

Gu Tongxiang chuckled to himself for a while, finally collecting his thoughts, opened WhatsApp, and clicked on the link Hanks had already sent over.

WhatsApp, to protect privacy, allows adding friends via a generated specific link without a phone number.

[Do you want to add Anna Ilina to your contacts?]

The phone screen switched to the social page, popping up the corresponding chat prompt.

The social page was very clean, without any unnecessary remarks or messy screen names, just the simple German name, Anna Ilina.

Her profile picture wasn’t like Musk’s Twitter page filled with anime geek style, nor like many businesspeople or celebrities who have a big headshot or lifestyle photo.

Anna’s page photo was an impressionist oil painting of a large dog with black and white spots, able to convey the feeling of a youthful girl.

Gu Tongxiang couldn’t recall a famous painting that looked like that, nor did he know if she painted it herself.

”Huh? It’s not her assistant or secretary’s account, it seems like Miss Anna’s private account, eh.”

Gu Tongxiang felt even more pleasantly surprised.

He clicked to confirm adding her as a friend, and almost immediately, the request was accepted.

Gu Tongxiang was still racking his brains on how to write a suitable self-introduction as an opening line when the other side sent a new message.

[Bonjour Monsieur Gu, vos dessins m’impressionnent. (Hello, Mr. Gu, your drawings impress me)]

A line of Latin letters that he couldn’t recognize appeared on the screen.

How strange,

Is that... French?

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Meanwhile,

Gu Weijing stepped into his bedroom, locked the door, tested his voice changer on the computer, and entered the already scheduled ZOOM online chat room.

Mr. Tree Sloth was already waiting in the chat room.

”Bonjour (Hello)”

”Bonjour.”

”Being able to use illustrations to treat autism, if successful, would be exciting news, Lady Detective Cat, please give it your best.”

”Certainly.”

The two exchanged casual greetings.

They usually communicated in English, occasionally using a few French words like now.

Mr. Tree Sloth could speak very fluent French.

When studying Western art at an advanced level, there are certain countries one cannot overlook.

In art history, the United Kingdom and the United States can only be considered second or third-tier countries.

American collectors are quite wealthy, and the major art foundations’ purchasing power at auctions can probably only be matched by buyers from the Middle East.

But after all, its history is relatively short, making the depth of cultural art heritage lacking.

Even today, the United States still hasn’t fully shaken off the image of a nouveau riche and bumpkin country.

The UK’s shortcoming lies in having only Turner on the £20 note as a name that can shine across the world, while the rest like Thomas Gainsborough, William Blake, and Burne Jones... Though all are notable painters, they still lack a bit in being the imposing giants that make others tremble.

Germany and Russia each have unique aesthetic charms, also vying for the top seat. Germany is undoubtedly outstanding in philosophy, but where it truly excels is in sketching, printmaking, and watercolor.

Missing legendary oil painting artists is like an athletic powerhouse lacking a 100-meter champion.

Furthermore, there’s the burden of the unglamorous WWII history.

Russia shares the same problem as the Americans, being too short on art history.

Before the Anti-French Coalition and Pushkin’s generation, the literati of St. Petersburg always regarded France as their spiritual homeland, even failing to appreciate their mother country’s rustic Tsarist Russian culture.

It almost leapt from being barbarians on the snowfield to shining gloriously in the golden era without any transition.

Naturally, this characteristic, like a cannonball exploding in the snowfield with unmatched brilliance catching all of Europe’s notice and reverence, is what makes Russian literature and art uniquely captivating.

Only France’s art history stands in the Western World as ”Father with hands in pockets, finding no opponent.”

These English and French century-old rivals, when it comes to literature, the John Bulls have Shakespeare, Dickens, and Wilde to parry a bit, but on the art front, the French merely need to look across the English Channel once, and that’s already a loss for the French.

Degas, Cézanne, Monet, Gauguin, Renoir, Picasso can be considered almost half-French... Even today, Southern France remains the sanctuary in the minds of art students worldwide, attracting millions of art enthusiasts to pilgrimage there year after year.

Paris stands as the Jerusalem of the Western art world.

When Fitz required every student to choose a foreign language as a compulsory course, over fifty percent opted for French.

Gu Weijing’s French grades have always been good.

His father also worked in France, and in eleventh grade he got an A2 on the DELF exam (similar to the French version of IELTS).

Before meeting Elder Cao, Gu Weijing’s dream was actually to apply to a French art academy during university, as studying costs in France are relatively cheaper in Europe compared to the UK, US, or Australia.

He chose Algeria as the nationality for Detective Cat, not just because it falls alphabetically earlier but also because it is a French-speaking country.

”Uh... Excuse me, could we use a language I understand?”

A slightly rough and bewildered male voice said in English.

There was a third person in the chat room, also the only one with the real-time camera on.

He appeared to be an Asian man around fifty years old, with hair slicked back using hair wax, wearing a black and gray pinstripe suit and a white shirt with a Windsor collar.

Even though the background was a warmly furnished private office, his tie was still impeccably tied.

The impression given by this attire was that he was an academic intellectual, a lawyer, university professor, or senior doctor.

”Dr. Jin Anqing.”

The man raised his hand briefly, introducing himself: ”Private psychological consultant for Elder Jean Arnou, responsible for Tony’s psychological treatment, it was also my suggestion to invite you to participate in Tony’s treatment process. Given the languages I know, out of courtesy, I suggest we either speak in English or New Zealand Maori, how about it?”

”Sorry, of course, I’m just accustomed to it.”

Before Gu Weijing could respond, Mr. Tree Sloth had already apologized.

It is generally impolite for two people to use a language others cannot understand in a tri-party meeting.

”English is great.”

”Don’t be constrained, I just made a little joke. Actually, if anyone indeed knows Maori, I wouldn’t understand either. I can only shout out a couple of times during the university football team’s entry chant. Being multilingual is always admirable, French is beautiful, no need to apologize for my ignorance.”

Dr. Jin Anqing smiled gently.

Gu Weijing also smiled a bit, Dr. Jin was truly a well-established expert in psychology, warming up the chat room atmosphere with just a small joke.

”Well then, let’s get to the point, everyone has received Tony’s case file survey, right? It already provides a detailed overview of the patient’s situation.”