1 Year Of Beginning

Before long, Tian Quan walked over to the girls. "Hey, time to sing. We'll take turns."

"Me first!"

"I want too!"

"Then, duet!"

As the girls rushed to the front, Feng Mian looked at Tian Quan with arched eyebrows. "You're not going to sing with them?"

"Nah, since when The Great Tian Quan sang? I'm just telling them because they're annoying, talking so highly about Xiao Lan. Just watch. You used to be higher, but now you're nothing to me. As for Xiao Lan, she'll surely be placed under me too!" Tian Quan said confidently.

Feng Mian knew that Tian Quan was competitive, but she didn't expect it would continue even until now. She propped her head with her slender arm on the table. "Art is very subjective, you know. Even if you manage to create one good painting, it doesn't mean that your next one will be as good as your first one."

Tian Quan's face contorted. He glared at Feng Mian. "Don't you dare to belittle me! I'll show you that my painting is the greatest."

"Even greater than Leonardo da Vinci?"

"That's…."

This time, Tian Quan couldn't immediately speak. Comparing his painting with a historical figure sounded so far etched. He didn't dare to say that he would be able to paint better than Leonardo da Vinci. After all, a lot of painting experts would surely come and butcher him to make him prove himself.

Tian Quan couched. "I'll be the best in our year! Afterwards, I'll earn thousands of dollars for each painting."

Feng Mian's lips twitched. Painting something at that price would be hard and might take years before one could develop their skills to be enough to call themselves an expert. She herself was still training her skill to make sure that she could convey what she wanted in the painting.

"You should make sure that you can paint well for the years to come. When you paint, you don't only need the skill but also the inspiration or your painting will be dull."

"I know that."

That was one of the things their teachers often said to them back in their university days. They would be angry when they paint without any purpose whatsoever and drill them with the theory again.

"Oh, Xiao Lan?" Feng Mian noticed that Xiao Lan was looking in their direction. She was originally sitting not far from them because most of the girls gathered in this area while the boys are on the other side. It was quite a common occurrence where the girls would surely gather together while the boys gather on their own too.

Xiao Lan chuckled. "Tian Quan, you're very hot headed today."

"What do you want, Woman?" Tian Quan's face darkened again.

"Art is more like a hidden diamond and pebbles in the mud. If it's really good, someone will find it sooner or later because the brilliance of a diamond is completely different than pebbles. After all, mud could not cover the light a diamond had forever."

As she spoke, Xiao Lan was looking in Feng Mian's direction. Feng Mian knew that Xiao Lan was talking about her. If she truly had the skill, even if she was late compared to them by months or years, she would be able to achieve success. It might be a completely different success than Xiao Lan, but it would show that she is capable. However, if she didn't have the skill, that would be a completely different story.

Early success didn't always mean that what they made was good. A true success would be success that was built based on stability and constant dedication by presenting the same quality of art.

Tian Quan snorted. "We shall see whether you can keep up your success too or not, Xiao Lan."

"Indeed. Only time would tell."

"Heh, I don't plan to lose."

Hearing their talk, Feng Mian's fingers slowly balled into a fist. She was not a competitive person who wished for quick success from her paintings. However, she also wanted to be part of that world, the world of artists who lived from their paintings.

Right now, Feng Mian was glad that she came here. Meeting these two once again reminded her of her dream.

She would not lose against them.