All-rounder Artist-Chapter 843 - 798: The Last Leaf

Chapter 843 -798: The Last Leaf

In the following days,

Tribes and blogs extensively promoted their respective “King of Short Stories” events.

Through their words, a fierce rivalry was apparent, an open and secret contest.

The competition between two major capitals sparked numerous heated discussions among netizens!

Under the foreboding atmosphere of an impending storm,

Undercurrents surged within the realm of short stories.

Lin Yuan had always been quietly typing away in his studio.

The remaining manuscripts were completed one after another.

And when he had finished his work, the time had already moved towards the middle of the month.

That day,

Morning,

Jin Mu suddenly knocked on Lin Yuan’s office door and brought him a piece of news,

“The Tribe has just launched this event. They’ve changed their usual play, releasing the first anonymous short story as a signal to start the battle. Today, for each upcoming hour, they will release one anonymous short story.”

“What about the blog?”

“Continue to follow.”

Lin Yuan nodded.

The stories Lin Yuan had written were already completed, which were his ace in the hole prepared for the blog, and how to play these cards against the Tribe was now for the literary editors at the blog to consider, and the Tribe had already made their move.

Bang!

The starting gun fired.

The battle for the King of Short Stories had officially begun!

…

The first short story released by the Tribe was named “Mirror.”

As soon as this story was published, it immediately sparked rave reviews from the netizens.

“This story is quite good!”

“The Tribe truly boasts a golden lineup, the quality of the first story is quite impressive!”

“It’s a pity the ending lacks something, but overall, it’s already a very outstanding piece.”

“This one doesn’t seem like Feihong and Feng Hua’s work, feels more like Zhou Yu’s style. If it were in previous terms, this story could easily rank in the top three, but this time the Tribe’s lineup of writers is too strong, the final ranking is hard to say.”

“I feel it’s a bit like Zou Ge’s work.”

“If this story had been released on the blog’s side, it would definitely make the top three. Except for Chu Kuang, I can’t think of anyone else on the blog’s side whose work can top this!”

“Speaking of the blog, has their event started yet?”

“…”

The netizens were curious.

The Tribe had already made a move. How would the blog respond?

Someone tried opening the event page of the blog.

Swoosh!

The event page of the blog also updated, revealing the first short story!

The title of the work, “The Last Leaf!”

“Ah, this!”

“The blog is quite swift!”

“It seems both sides are really putting their energy into this, the Tribe just showed their first short story, and the blog is quick to follow with a short story of their own!”

“Both sides are playing the same game!”

“Comparing them side by side like this, doesn’t it highlight the blog’s disadvantage even more obviously?”

“Compared to the Tribe’s lineup, probably only Chu Kuang’s work from the blog’s side can compete, right?”

“Let’s check out this one first.”

“I bet a pack of spicy sticks that the quality of the blog’s first story won’t match the Tribe’s, Chu Kuang’s works are definitely held back to be the finale, to salvage the pride!”

“…”

The netizens discussed as they switched to the blog and clicked on “The Last Leaf.”

In fact,

The only reason everyone paid attention to the blog’s side was because of Chu Kuang.

The writers from the blog, only Chu Kuang’s works were truly anticipated by everyone.

…

Han Continent Art Academy.

Inside Literature Academy 1313 Classroom.

Professor Logan’s special public lecture!

Professor Logan was the prestigious banner of the Literature Academy at the Han Continent Art Academy, aside from his professorship, he was also a very successful short story writer, with numerous works to his name and highly respected by students in the school.

Today’s class was specially prepared by the school for Professor Logan.

Professor Logan wasn’t lecturing today, instead, he directly had the students read the short stories released by the Tribe and blog via their smartphones and computers, then discussed the works based on their personal understanding.

A novel teaching method integrated with the real-time dynamics of the literary world.

Everyone had just finished discussing “Mirror” by the Tribe, and the enthusiasm was very high.

Professor Logan looked at the blog and said with a smile,

“You all made some good points just now, next please read ‘The Last Leaf’ released by the blog, and then share your interpretation with me.”

“Okay!”

The students cooperatively responded and then clicked on “The Last Leaf.”

Professor Logan also opened the story.

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The short story competitions held by the Tribe and the blog were major events in the literary world, and holding a public class around this big event was what Professor Logan had specially requested from the school, and so far, the effect seemed quite good.

This was also Professor Logan’s intention.

He felt that doing well in this class could deepen the students’ understanding of short stories.

“I wonder which one is Chu Kuang’s work, and when it will be released.”

Before opening the story, this thought flashed through Professor Logan’s mind.

There were many writers from the Tribe whom Professor Logan looked forward to, while the blog only had Chu Kuang.

However, although the blog’s lineup of writers wasn’t as strong as the Tribe’s, they were still well-known short story writers in the industry, and their works were mostly worth the students’ research and reflection.

Besides,

What if “The Last Leaf” was created by Chu Kuang?

Several thoughts flickered through Professor Logan’s mind as he began his official reading.

“In a neighborhood on the west side of a certain square, streets stretch out haphazardly, fracturing into tiny alleys…”

The story’s background was introduced initially.

A very conventional way to start a short story.

With his mind undisturbed, Logan continued to read along the lines.

Two minutes later.

Suddenly, an inexplicable sound escaped Logan’s mouth.

“Hmm?”

His heart sped up slightly for a few beats, and Logan slowed down his reading pace.

The content of this short story wasn’t complex…

The female protagonist, Johnsy, contracted severe pneumonia in the cold November, and her condition was worsening.

As a painter, she pinned her hopes of living on the last ivy leaf outside her window.

She believed that the day the leaf fell would be the day her life ended.

Many people who give up in the face of illness tend to harbor such ethereal thoughts.

Distressed by this, Johnsy’s best friend told the old painter, Behrman, about her thoughts.

Behrman was a hot-tempered man who constantly accompanied by alcohol. He had painted for nearly forty years without success, always talking about creating a masterpiece, yet it was all talk.

After hearing this, he cursed and ranted, but was still at a loss.

However, in the days that followed, a miracle occurred:

Despite the severe winds outside and the jagged edges of the leaf turning yellow and withered, it still clung to the high vine branch.

Seeing that the last leaf remained on the tree deeply moved Johnsy.

If the leaf could survive the bitter cold winds, why couldn’t she?

She regained her will to live and stubbornly survived…

What did this mean?

If you just believe in miracles, will they really happen?

If the story ended in such a fashion, Logan would definitely have harshly criticized the author.

Force-feeding readers with moral lessons, huh?

He frowned slightly.

Logan continued reading.

Actually, there wasn’t much content left.

The story ended with the best friend saying to Johnsy:

[Mr. Behrman died of pneumonia in the hospital today. He had been sick for only two days. The first morning, the janitor found him in his own room downstairs, in so much pain he couldn’t move. His shoes and clothes were completely soaked and ice-cold. They couldn’t figure out where he had gone on that stormy night. Later they found an unextinguished lantern, a ladder that had been moved, several scattered paintbrushes, and a palette smeared with green and yellow paint, and—darling, look outside the window, look at that last leaf on the wall. Haven’t you ever wondered why, despite the fierce winds, it never stirred or moved? Ah, dear, that leaf was Behrman’s masterpiece—he painted it there forever the night the last leaf fell.]

Gulp.

He swallowed subconsciously.

The furrow in Logan’s brow spread to his forehead, forming a series of clear frown lines!

At that moment!

Logan was dumbfounded!

In a trance.

He envisioned a scene before his eyes:

On a stormy night, the old painter Behrman, over sixty, struggled with his paintbrush on a ladder.

The last leaf took shape amidst these extreme challenges!

In the final moments of old Behrman’s life, this painter, who achieved nothing in his technique, finally completed a breathtaking masterpiece!

A twist!

A classic twist!

Logan’s scalp tingled slightly!

Countless emotions surged within him!

At this moment, a name flashed through Logan’s mind—

Chu Kuang!

Logan could almost be certain that “The Last Leaf” was definitely penned by Chu Kuang!

He had studied Chu Kuang’s short stories.

This was a very classic Chu Kuang-style ending.

Chu Kuang excelled at delivering a stunning twist at the conclusion.

This was also why Logan admired Chu Kuang so much!

He exhaled deeply.

Logan reflected inwardly:

“That truly was a marvelous twist, just like ‘The Gift of the Magi’, unexpected yet perfectly logical.”

He looked up to the audience below.

In this classroom, filled to capacity with students—a dense crowd of hundreds—some had finished reading the story.

Logan could clearly see the subtle changes in the expressions of the students in the front row.

Surprise!

Moved!

Astonished!

All these varied emotions were apparent on the students’ faces, with some sentimental girls already teary-eyed.

And when everyone had finished reading the story, the entire classroom burst into uproar!

The students excitedly discussed:

“This work must be written by Chu Kuang!”

“Beautifully written!”

“The final twist was so touching!”

“I’ve never been so moved by a short story before!”

“Up until the ending, I almost thought this was a tacky piece glorifying miracles…”

“That piece from the tribe is completely overshadowed by this!”

“There’s absolutely no comparison; this story completely overshadows that one from the tribe!”

“I can’t find any faults at all!”

“…”

After several minutes of heated discussion, Logan tapped the desk unhurriedly, his voice somewhat solemn:

“Next, let’s analyze why this story is so good.”

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ps: I’m certain this chapter will be critiqued heavily, but don’t worry, it’s necessary for the pace. Being the first piece as a sample, it inevitably requires detailed depiction. The subsequent chapters won’t be as detailed.