Not in this city, we have to take a plane first, and then drive for two hours before we can get there.
However, although the journey was a little arduous, the scenery of the vacation hotel was really good.
It was autumn, and the mountains were magnificent.
The lush trees were still green, and some had taken on the desolate hue of autumn, occasionally with an orange-red as gorgeous as the evening glow, accompanied by the clear lake water and vast sky, making people feel carefree and reluctant to leave.
As soon as Jianjing saw such beautiful scenery, she immediately threw away the annoyance of interrupting her work and sincerely exclaimed, "Living here is really no different from a fairyland."
Kang Mu Cheng said, "Well, it's not easy to delay the manuscript."
Jianjing: "..."
The vacation hotel was at the westernmost edge of the town, across a bay. No matter which room you were in, you could have an intimate contact with nature as soon as you opened the door.
The one who welcomed them was the owner of the vacation hotel, Kangsheng's good friend, Chang Painter.
She was probably in her early forties. There were slight wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, but her figure was still very slender. Wearing a silk floral shirt and jeans, she would easily be mistaken for a student in her early twenties if you didn't look at her face.
"Mu Cheng." Chang Painter held a lady's cigarette between her fingers, her eyes narrowed, "Long time no see."
Kang Mu Cheng politely nodded: "Sister Chang."
"You brought your girlfriend?" she asked.
Kang Mu Cheng said, "She is a young person in our studio. I brought her here to see the world. Jingjing, this is Chang Painter."
Jianjing politely greeted her.
Chang Painter looked her up and down with a smile, "What a beautiful girl. Come in, it's windy outside." She called a girl from the house, "Xiaotian, come here."
"Oh, okay teacher." A girl with a ponytail came trotting out.
"This is Chairman Kang. Take them to Stars Night and Iris." Chang Painter waved her hand, "Mu Cheng, settle in and then come over. Let's chat."
Kang Mu Cheng nodded.
Xiaotian led them out the door and turned left, walking to the adjacent two-story small building next door, explaining, "There are three buildings here. Monet is on the far right, Da Vinci is in the middle, and this one is Van Gogh."
Stars Night and Iris were of course the room numbers, adjacent to each other, with the same layout, double beds, wardrobes, desks, and private bathrooms.
After putting down her luggage and freshening up briefly, Jianjing went with Kang Mu Cheng to the Da Vinci building in the middle to meet other guests.
Chang Painter had some reputation in the industry and many friends. Some were busy and only stayed for an afternoon, while others were free and simply stayed to chat with friends every day and enjoy the natural scenery.
At this moment, there were two unfamiliar faces sitting in the living room.
"This is Xiao Xia brought by Editor-in-Chief Tao. Hmm, come to think of it, your publishing houses seem to like signing young and pretty girls in recent years," Chang Painter introduced them while joking.
Kang Mu Cheng said coldly, "Writers look at talent, not faces."
His words were blunt, and Jianjing couldn't help but glance at the girl who had been introduced as Xiao Xia. She was probably twenty-four or twenty-five years old, with wavy caramel brown hair, delicate makeup, and a sweet appearance, looking somewhat familiar.
After some thought, it wasn't difficult to recall her identity.
Xia Xing, aka Sweetheart Idol, was a romance writer pushed by Morning Star Publishing House, whose book sales often ranked in the top three of romance fiction charts over the years.
As for Editor-in-Chief Tao... if she guessed correctly, he should be the editor-in-chief of Morning Star Publishing House.
Impressive, the two competing publishers bumped into each other!
"Chairman Kang really knows how to compliment people, I'm flattered," the girl Jianjing secretly crowned Sweetheart Xia in her heart waved her hand with a smile, "I write light and casual love stories to spice up daily life. But I'm quite proud of myself, not everyone can make people buy their work."
She said this humbly and sincerely, yet with the edge and spirit of a young person, showing great skills.
Kang Mu Cheng glanced at her but didn't argue with the young girl.
Chang Painter's eyes flashed as she introduced the tall, languid man next to her, "This is Ai Di, a model."
"Hello," Ai Di yawned, seeming to be hungover and still drowsy.
Chang Painter didn't seem surprised by his condition, "You should drink less, at least before dinner. I hope you can be more spirited."
"I'm always like this during my vacation," Ai Di waved his hand indifferently.
Chang Painter didn't say more, and turned to the bar instead, "What would Chairman Kang and the little one like to drink?"
"Coffee," Kang Mu Cheng glanced at Jianjing and answered for her, "She'll have the same."
Chang Painter folded her arms, "I don't have coffee here, only alcohol. Drink if you like."
Kang Mu Cheng said, "Water is fine too."
"None," Chang Painter walked straight out from behind the bar and sat down at the farthest end, with an expression that she didn't want to bother anymore.
Her apprentice Xiaotian sensed the atmosphere and quickly brought two glasses of lemon water: "Chairman Kang, Miss Jian, water."
"Thank you," Jianjing took the glass but did not drink it. She asked softly, "Are there many guests? The rooms downstairs seem to be occupied."
Constantly observing the environment anytime and anywhere had become her instinct.
Xiaotian said, "Yes, they went fishing with Xiaolu."
"You can go fishing here?" Jianjing chatted with her in a low voice, "What kind of fish are there?"
"Yes, there is a reservoir in the mountains, very suitable for fishing and sketching." Xiaotian was outgoing and enthusiastic. She took out photos from her phone to show her. It was indeed a vast and clear large reservoir with extremely beautiful scenery.
Jianjing glanced at Chang Painter with a smile and asked, "Do you often go there to sketch?"
Xiaotian nodded and asked her, "Would you like to go?"
"I'm too tired from the trip today. Maybe another day," Jianjing caressed the water glass with a smile. "It would be a shame not to go see such a beautiful place."
She used this to open the conversation, asking who named the vacation hotel, and then asking if it was difficult to learn to paint, slowly getting acquainted with Xiaotian and eliciting information about the others.
Chang Painter had two disciples, one was Xiaotian, and the other was Xiaolu. Editor-in-Chief Tao and Sweetheart Xia were guests, but Ai Di was not.
He was Chang Painter's "friend" who accompanied her to sleep. For half a year out of the whole year, he lived here. He was not the owner but almost like one.
As for the guests who went fishing with Editor-in-Chief Tao and Xiaolu, they unfortunately had some discord with Jianjing.
Wu Writer.
"They are friends?" Jianjing looked slightly surprised, finding it hard to imagine the relationship between the two sides.
Xiaotian leaned over and said in an almost inaudible voice, "Wu Writer is master's friend." After a pause, she added, "Master passed away two years ago."
Jianjing took out her phone to search and learned that Chang Painter's deceased husband was also a famous writer, with a very characteristic pen name, Yang Guan. He was good at writing historical prose and novels and was quite well-known.
The encyclopedia headshot was a middle-aged man of some age. She calculated the years and he died at the age of sixty-two.
Looking at the marriage time, he also had two marriages, one at the age of twenty-one, and one at the age of fifty-two. His second wife was Chang Painter, and she was only thirty when they married.
Wu Writer is fifty-nine this year, so it's not surprising for him to say that Yang Guan was his friend.
On the other side, Chang Painter asked Kang Mu Cheng, "How many days do you plan to stay?"
"Let's see, if there's nothing urgent at the studio we can stay a few more days, but we'll have to leave if something comes up." Kang Mu Cheng answered impassively.
Chang Painter leaned back against the velvet sofa, "Is Sister Kang so busy? All the responsibilities are on your shoulders."
"She always has things to do here and there," Kang Mu Cheng said.
"I see," she lazily flipped her hair, smiling coquettishly, extremely charming. "But since you've come, you might as well stay a few more days. Many people want to come here, and I've never seen anyone who wanted to leave."
Kang Mu Cheng said, "The countryside scenery may not be bad, but I'm more used to the city."
Chang Painter asked back, "How do you know you won't like it if you don't try? People change." She turned her head and said to the others, "When I was young I loved traveling everywhere, unable to settle down. If you asked me to stay in one place for long, it would be like cutting my flesh, excruciatingly painful. But now that I'm older, it's best to not move around all year. "
Sweetheart Xia smiled and said, "It has nothing to do with age, it's just that doing the same thing over and over makes one bored, and naturally want to try a different kind of life."
"Ha," Chang Painter flicked off some ash, smiling, "How did Old Tao train you to be so sweet-mouthed."
She glanced at Xiaotian, or Jianjing next to Xiaotian, "If my students were half as smart as you, I wouldn't have to waste so much effort."
Xiao Tian's expression was somewhat embarrassed for a moment. But it was unclear whether such things had happened many times before, and she quickly adjusted and apologized with an awkward smile: "Teacher has spent a lot of thought on us."
"It's good that you know." Chang Painter said plainly, "Don't just stand there, take out your sketchbook and show everyone. Although Kang Mu Cheng is not as experienced as General Tao, his eye for talent is quite renowned."
Only then did Xiao Tian's face show some joy. She took a sketchbook from the bookshelf and handed it to Kang Mu Cheng, "Please give me your critique, teachers."
Chang Painter’s expertise was in watercolors, so naturally her students were as well.
The sketchbook contained several carefully collected watercolor paintings, mainly natural landscapes, with elegant brushstrokes that were very beautiful.
Kang Mu Cheng looked through page by page, completely focused. Xiao Tian had wanted to ask him to make a simple comment of good or bad, but once he entered work mode, his momentum was quite formidable. She hesitated to speak up, not daring to disturb him rashly.
These few short minutes felt like immense torture to her.
After a while, Kang Mu Cheng finally looked up and commented: "Very beautiful paintings."
Xiao Tian's eyes showed some joy, and she couldn't help but look towards Chang Painter. Chang Painter stubbed out her cigarette, picked up the cocktail on the table and took a sip, then asked: "Can it be published?"
"It can," Kang Mu Cheng answered readily, "3,000 copies, 10%."
Sketchbooks had high production costs, so this was already a very practical price for a new artist.
Chang Painter spoke coldly: "You don't see much potential?"
"Beautiful isn't a style." Kang Mu Cheng closed the sketchbook and returned it to Xiao Tian. "Your paintings have similar themes but wandering styles, imitating this person one moment, imitating that person the next. There is no individual character."
Xiao Tian was stunned.
Kang Mu Cheng said, "Your paintings are good. If you sign with our company, I’d give you a higher price. But at your current level, if you want to achieve artistic success, you still need two years."
Every publishing house had its own contracted artists for illustrations, covers, themed collections - high paying work. But no matter how much money these people earned, they would not gain recognition from the art world.
Xiao Tian hugged her sketchbook tightly and bit her lip before managing to say, "Thank you, Director Kang."
"You're welcome."
The atmosphere was awkward for a moment.
Xia Xing came out again to smooth things over. She said to Xiao Tian, "I really like your elegant and delicate paintings. Could I buy one from you? I just moved houses and my bedroom is still missing a painting as an accent."
Xiao Tian shook her head and said dejectedly, "My paintings are worthless."
"Buying art is about affinity. Even if I sold all my possessions, I wouldn't have the 'affinity' for Master Chang's works." Xia Xing flattered both sides in one go. "I don't understand art, liking it is enough."
Xiao Tian was coaxed into relaxing her expression. "Then I'll give you one as a gift. Come to my studio and pick one yourself."
The two young women walked away hand in hand.
Chang Painter looked meaningfully at Jian Jing and said, "Aren't you going too? You were chatting so enthusiastically with Xiao Tian just now, I thought you liked her paintings too."
Jian Jing: "Chatting amiably doesn't necessarily correlate with liking the paintings."
"So, do you like them or not?" Chang Painter was a typical artist, unconcerned with logic and focused more on feelings. "I want to hear what you young people think."
Jian Jing strangely asked: "Isn't Director Kang also a young person?"
Kang Mu Cheng chuckled: "Middle-aged already."
"Anyone under 44 is still considered youth, especially if unmarried," Jian Jing cited.
But Chang Painter was very stubborn: "I want to hear your thoughts."
Jian Jing raised her eyebrows. Socializing was tiring work. If not necessary, she'd rather stay quietly observing in a corner than make insincere small talk.
But just because she wasn't good at socializing didn't mean she couldn't handle it.
"Why? Am I that important?" She counterattacked, unwilling to easily obey.
Communication was sometimes socializing, and sometimes hidden combat.
"Just casually asking, you don't want to say?" Chang Painter did not back down. "Do you have any concerns?"
"What concerns could I have? I'm a layman. If I don't speak well, will everyone laugh at me?" Jian Jing pretended to be bewildered as she asked back, then said, "Compared to others' evaluations, your opinion is more important, isn't it?"
Chang Painter smiled. She smoothly took a ladies' cigarette out of the case, lit it, and exhaled. "My opinion?" She deliberately dragged out her words, sounding a bit strange. "What opinion could I have? I have no opinion."
Jian Jing: "..."
She abruptly ended the conversation.
She immediately lost interest: "Excuse me, where is the restroom?"
Ai Di yawned lazily and got up bonelessly. "I need to go too. Follow me."
Jian Jing didn't want to interact with him more, but her bladder was uncooperative. She could only follow along.
The restroom was in a convoluted location, through the living room, down the hallway, and around an art studio before the entrance was discovered.
Just as she was about to thank him, Ai Di suddenly turned to face her.
Jian Jing was puzzled: "Is something the matter?"
"Lisa has a rather arrogant temper." Ai Di's hoarse voice scratched at her eardrums, the low tones seductive. "Just go along with her and there'll be no issues. If you oppose her, she'll cling to you and not let go. But she doesn't have any malice, she just wants people to always listen to her."
Jian Jing nodded: "Thank you for the reminder."
Ai Di shrugged and pushed open a small door next to them. In a flash, greenery filled her vision - it was a stretch of beautiful mountain scenery.
Jian Jing paid it no mind and headed straight for the restroom.
When she came out, Ai Di was still standing in the doorway, as if waiting for her.
"It looks like you also don't want to return to chat. Do you want to take a walk outside?" he said. "There are very beautiful sights if you go out this way."
Jian Jing did indeed not want to sit stuffily inside again. And she felt Ai Di seemed to have some other motive, so she thought for a moment and said: "Alright."
The weather had been clear when they arrived, endless blue skies. After sitting inside for a while, the skies had clouded over considerably. The cool mountain air rushed up, carrying some autumn bleakness within.
While walking, Ai Di spoke up: "What do you think of the scenery here?"
Jian Jing sincerely said: "Very nice."
"That's because it's your first time here." Ai Di said. "Occasionally coming once or twice can relax your mood, but coming every year, anyone would get tired of it."
His words were very meaningful. Jian Jing couldn't help asking: "If you don't like it, why do you still come?"
"A bird raised at home, even if it likes to fly elsewhere, still has to return to its cage on time." Ai Di leisurely said, "Outside, there is no food you can eat without exerting effort."
