Inside a small building in the northwest corner of Rongda University's campus.
The members of the calligraphy and painting club sat wearily in their seats, waiting. Yesterday, under Shen Tu Liang's supervision, each of them had barely managed to complete a piece of art, leaving them physically and mentally exhausted.
Su He sat quietly in a corner, wearing a long white linen dress, like a lotus flower quietly blooming. On the table in front of her were two long, rectangular paper tubes.
Fang Jing sat beside Su He, her face filled with worry.
"Su He, after you left yesterday, Director Shen Tu was very angry. He said he would report you to our law school and deal with you seriously!"
Su He smiled faintly, her face calm.
"How can you not be worried at all? You meet all the requirements this semester. If you lose credits because of this, you won't be able to apply for a scholarship!" Fang Jing said anxiously. "Why don't you talk to Senior Shen Tu? Director Shen Tu is his uncle; his words will definitely carry weight!"
Su He calmly shook her head and smiled, saying:
"Xiao Jing, I don't think I did anything wrong! Why should I beg him?"
Chen Yang had a great influence on Su He, and she didn't take the threat of losing credits seriously at all.
Fang Jing became anxious upon hearing this and was about to persuade Su He again when the door to the activity room opened, and a refined-looking middle-aged man walked in, surrounded by Shen Tu Liang and several others. Seeing this, Shen Tu Fan, who was fidgeting in his seat, quickly greeted him with a beaming smile, saying,
"Director Lü, hello!"
Director Lü paused slightly, and Shen Tu Liang, standing beside him, introduced him:
"Director, this is Shen Tu Fan, the president of the calligraphy and painting club. He put a lot of effort into collecting entries for this calligraphy and painting competition. He also created a very good piece himself; I think it has a high chance of winning."
Director Lü nodded in understanding, smiled faintly, and said,
"Shen Tu Fan, I know you. You're Deputy Director Shen Tu's nephew, aren't you? Truly a family tradition!"
Shen Tu Fan bowed slightly and replied repeatedly,
"Director, you flatter me!"
Director Lü smiled and shook hands lightly with Shen Tu Fan, then looked up at everyone. Shen Tu Liang immediately understood and announced loudly:
"Students! Today, Director Lü Qiushi of the Art Department is personally visiting the calligraphy and painting club. He's here to see you all and also to review your submitted works! Let's give him a round of applause!"
The students clapped enthusiastically, with Shen Tu Fan especially enthusiastic. However, the number of claps was small, and everyone was exhausted from yesterday's work, so the applause was rather sparse.
Shen Tu Liang's expression darkened, but he couldn't easily show it to Lü Qiushi. He continued:
"Everyone, please display your works from yesterday!"
Then Shen Tu Liang turned to Lü Qiushi:
"Director..."
Lü Qiushi smiled and nodded, then walked to the nearest table, picked up a work, and examined it closely. The student stood up nervously, anxiously observing Lü Qiushi's expression. Lü Qiushi quietly observed the artwork for a while, then noncommittally put it down. Sensing the student beside him was a little nervous, he smiled slightly, patted the student lightly on the shoulder, and moved on to the next piece.
After examining several works, Lü Qiushi's expression gradually darkened. He was clearly not satisfied with the quality of these exercises. Seeing this, Shen Tu Liang quickly gave a wink to Shen Tu Fan, who was following closely behind. Shen Tu Fan nodded in understanding, strode to his seat, picked up his artwork, and approached Lü Qiushi respectfully, saying,
"Director Lü, this is a traditional Chinese painting I created. Please offer your guidance!"
Lü Qiushi nodded and accepted Shen Tu Fan's painting, examining it carefully. Shen Tu Fan had painted a traditional Chinese landscape in ink and wash. Both the structure and brushwork were well-structured, demonstrating solid skill. Lü Qiushi's slightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.
Shen Tu Liang and his nephew both breathed a sigh of relief. Lü Qiushi put down his painting and smiled at Shen Tu Liang, saying,
"Deputy Director! Your nephew's skill is quite good. He has a solid foundation, and this landscape painting is a fine piece. I believe he has a good chance of winning an award if he enters the competition!"
Shen Tu Liang was overjoyed and repeatedly said,
"Thank you for the praise, Director! Xiao Fan is still young and has a lot to learn! Please continue to guide me in the future!"
Lü Qiushi smiled and nodded, gently patting Shen Tu Fan's shoulder before continuing on his way.
Shen Tu Fan was somewhat flattered, rolling up his painting and following closely behind Lü Qiushi and Shen Tu Liang.
The works hastily collected by the calligraphy and painting society were generally of average quality. Apart from Shen Tu Fan's landscape painting, only one or two works caught Lü Qiushi's eye, and he casually commented on them. He glanced at most of the works once or twice and then silently put them down without comment. Shen Tu Liang naturally knew that Lü Qiushi wasn't very satisfied with the works he had personally supervised collecting, and an embarrassed expression appeared on his face.
At this moment, Lü Qiushi and his group walked to Su He's table in a corner of the activity room. Upon seeing Su He, Shen Tu Liang's face immediately darkened. He snorted coldly and said:
"Su He, do you know that your behavior yesterday was extremely wrong? It was utterly disorganized and undisciplined! All the members of the calligraphy and painting club are preparing for the competition. Are you saying everyone else is okay? Hmm? Are you the only one who's special?"
After yesterday's events, Shen Tu Liang remembered Su He's name. He got more and more excited as he spoke, continuing:
"And you brought all sorts of random people to the calligraphy and painting club without permission! What do you take the club for? A vegetable market? Coming and going as you please? Let me tell you, this isn't over yet. After the calligraphy and painting competition is over, I'm definitely going to report this to the law school leadership. You, and that... Chen Yang! They must be dealt with seriously!"
At this moment, Shen Tu Liang suddenly realized he had come with Lü Qiushi. The moment he saw Su He, he was furious and immediately launched into a tirade of criticism. This was actually very inappropriate; their direct supervisor, Lü Qiushi, was present, and he hadn't even said a word yet. What kind of behavior was Shen Tu Liang doing, jumping around like this?! Shen Tu Liang immediately realized this and hurriedly turned to explain what had happened yesterday to Lü Qiushi, only to find that Lü Qiushi hadn't even noticed what he was saying. Lü Qiushi was holding Su He's calligraphy work, "Dian Jiang Chun," his eyes filled with excitement, and even his hands holding the Xuan paper were trembling slightly.
After a long while, Lü Qiushi reluctantly looked away from the work, carefully placed it back on the table, and then turned back to ask:
"Deputy Director, what did you just say?"
"Uh..." Shen Tu Liang was a little unsure of Lü Qiushi's thoughts. He had just seen that Lü Qiushi seemed quite satisfied with Su He's calligraphy, so Shen Tu Liang was considering how to phrase it.
Just then, Shen Tu Fan, with his sharp eyes, immediately spotted Chen Yang's signature on another painting of a lady. Ever since the various versions of the story between Chen Yang and Su He began circulating at school, Shen Tu Fan had harbored a deep dislike for Chen Yang, especially after yesterday's events. He was even more resentful of Chen Yang, so he disregarded his attempts to appease Su He and pointed at the painting, loudly proclaiming:
"Director Lü, this painting isn't the work of any of our calligraphy and painting club members!"
Shen Tu Fan's words reminded Lü Qiu Shi, whose gaze also fell upon the painting. Lü Qiu Shi's eyes lit up, his eyes darting back and forth between Su He's face and the painting, revealing intense admiration. But when he saw the signature, he trembled, utterly shocked.
Shen Tu Fan, oblivious to Lü Qiushi's change in expression, continued his incessant chatter:
"Director Lü, it was this Chen Yang who caused trouble at the calligraphy and painting club yesterday, even dragging Su He away. Today, he sent this painting through Su He again; he definitely doesn't have good intentions!"
Shen Tu Liang, without even examining the two works Su He brought, became furious upon hearing Shen Tu Fan mention Chen Yang, saying forcefully:
"Yes, Director! This Chen Yang is simply too arrogant! Yesterday, I made sure every student in the calligraphy and painting club completed a piece for the competition. While everyone was diligently preparing, he barged in and caused trouble, even dragging one of our students away!"
After speaking, Shen Tu Liang glanced at Su He, a sharp glint in his eyes.
Lü Qiushi finally understood a bit. He remained silent, only offering a kind smile as he looked at Su He, wanting to see her response.
Just now, Shen Tu Liang had launched into a tirade of criticism, but Su He had remained calm and unmoved. Now, seeing the uncle and nephew working together to slander Chen Yang, she finally couldn't help but pull up her chair and stand up, saying sweetly:
"Deputy Director Shen Tu, Chen Yang didn't cause any trouble. He just heard I was delayed here, so he came to find out what was going on. How did that become causing trouble?"
After saying that, Su He turned to Lü Qiushi and continued:
"Director Lü, Deputy Director Shen Tu stipulated yesterday that everyone must submit one artwork." "Moreover, expecting it to be completed on-site is inherently unreasonable. Artistic creation requires inspiration; how can good work be produced with so many people crammed into a noisy room? Besides, although I left with my friend beforehand, I still finished my work. In fact, to show support for the school's competition, my friend even personally created this painting of a lady and entrusted me to submit it for review."
Su He was initially a little nervous, which is typical of her personality, but as she spoke, her initial apprehension disappeared, and her words became increasingly clear and articulate. "So you think you're right? That's utter nonsense!" Shen Tu Liang was enraged that Su He, a mere student, dared to talk back to him. Ignoring Lü Qiushi's presence, he roared, "Why should everyone follow the rules, but you get special treatment? Besides, I heard you work at a bar at night. What time do you get back then? Do you even have time to create something properly? A few scribbles and strokes don't make a work of art! What is this garbage?!"
With that, Shen Tu Liang slammed his hand heavily on Su He's painting, "Dian Jiang Chun" (a type of Chinese painting). He was blinded by rage, completely forgetting the admiring look Lü Qiushi had given him earlier.
"Enough!" Lü Qiushi, who had been observing coldly, suddenly shouted.