The Versatile Master Artist-Chapter 38 - 26: Elder Cao’s Question

"Still too young..."

Gu Tongxiang did not feel reassured by Elder Cao’s comfort.

Concern leads to confusion.

He didn’t notice the unusual expressions on the faces of the surrounding artists, nor did he pay much attention to the mural on the wall.

The unique confusion of the elderly, also the unique wisdom of the elderly—

Gu Tongxiang felt this wasn’t the point; he just kept apologizing to the person in charge of the painting.

He even mistakenly thought that Mr. Cao Xuan’s "let’s not rush to talk about this" was a sarcastic comment made in anger.

It’s over, it’s over, it’s really over...

Gu Tongxiang was so anxious he was about to lose his mind.

If it weren’t for the fear of leaving others in an awkward position, acting like an elder abusing his privilege, and risking an unexpected backlash, Old Gu would have considered directly kneeling before Elder Cao and the local museum staff.

Having experienced the ups and downs of many years, Gu Tongxiang understood things well. These great artists might take some thought to support someone.

To ruin someone, well, that’s really just a matter of a few words.

They don’t care why things turned out this way; these artists lack the patience to care. They only care about the result.

The result is,

The future pillar of the Gu family’s art legacy, his grandson, personally ruined the work Elder Cao poured his heart into.

Gu Tongxiang regretted in his heart. He didn’t regret that Gu Weijing made a mistake, but regretted bringing his grandson into this [Master Project].

"Still too young, too immature, it’s my fault."

Gu Tongxiang thought in painful reflection.

His grandson Gu Weijing is indeed too young, just a minor, still lacking in consideration in his actions.

If a painter with plenty of life experience was here and saw that moment of the complex "Buddha Worship and Protection Painting" on the mural, they would know something was wrong and wouldn’t impulsively start painting.

Gu Tongxiang turned his gaze to the side, where Yakai Gangchang was covering his face, looking at the bewildered Gu Weijing, inwardly sighing that this boy had a good father.

Though it was Gu Weijing who picked up the brush and doodled on the Buddha Worship and Protection Painting, it was Yakai Gangchang who signed the nameplate and signed. His mistake was definitely not small, accounting for at least fifty percent.

Yakai Ichiro promptly turned the salted fish over with a slap.

Only ignorant parents would continue to blindly shield and protect a child who is clearly in the wrong, which only creates resentment in others.

Gu Tongxiang felt that the slap from Yakai Ichiro just now was at least half intended for the others to see.

He, Yakai Ichiro, such a prominent professor and internationally acclaimed artist, slapped his son so mercilessly; how could you others not give me some face and let the matter with my younger son pass? All right, all right.

This, in turn, is a protection for Yakai Gangchang.

No matter how this matter is finally resolved, having received this heavy slap has at least dispelled most of the shadow hanging over Yakai Gangchang’s future artistic path.

Even if Elder Cao is angry, he’s probably too embarrassed to trouble the Sakai family’s child, and if someone really needs to be held accountable for the painting, the one to take the fall can only be his grandson.

Gu Tongxiang understood the other party’s actions; he just hated that he didn’t have such influence.

His body trembled slightly due to excessive worry.

"Please don’t ruin my grandson; please don’t ruin my grandson... If money can resolve this, I’ll sell all I have to compensate for the painting." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

In his heart, he prayed repeatedly.

He prepared to pull his grandson to properly apologize to Mr. Cao Xuan.

Apologies are always very pale and powerless.

Now, what else can he do that isn’t pale?

"Don’t worry too much, Mr. Gu."

A chubby hand patted Gu Tongxiang’s shoulder, stopping his trembling.

He turned his head, and it was Yakai Ichiro speaking to him.

Yakai Ichiro withdrew his gaze from the mural, looked at Gu Weijing holding a paintbrush, covered in paint, then lowered his head to look at his son, whose cheek was trembling slightly.

Finally, his sight returned to Gu Tongxiang.

"There’s always a solution to everything."

Uncle Sakai shook his belly, embodying a relaxed demeanor, having just let out a big sigh of relief.

The situation was better than he imagined—it was much better.

"If Gu Weijing can’t go to Mr. Lin Tao’s studio, why not come be my student instead?" Yakai Ichiro didn’t make it explicit; at this moment, he found himself surprisingly considering this idea, which even startled himself.

Gu Tongxiang was first puzzled.

Then,

He was slightly stunned.

He looked up at the artists around him with a dazed expression, turned his head, and once again carefully examined his grandson.

...

With a cane, Elder Cao slowly walked up to the mural.

He raised his head, meticulously scrutinizing every freshly painted detail on the mural wall, his hands resting on the head of the cane, silently pondering.

On one side, Gu Weijing had already put down his brush, standing honestly aside; he was serious about painting, but he wasn’t foolish.

After realizing something was wrong, he immediately moved away after finishing filling in the corner of a character’s clothing in view.

"Young man, do you know what you have done?"

Elder Cao looked for a long time before lowering his head to look at Gu Weijing.

"Painting?"

In an instant, many different answers flashed through Gu Weijing’s mind, but ultimately, he only uttered this simple word.

"Oh, painting. Is this the painting you were supposed to do?"

Elder Cao’s tone was very stern.

"The task card I received clearly stated No.17, which is this mural." Gu Weijing explained.

"I won’t concern myself with what happened during the process. I’m only asking you one thing, you’re so young, don’t you think it’s odd to have received such a task?"

Elder Cao lowered his head, his tone extremely cold, with no trace of the earlier smile at the corner of his lips: "I had already made it clear beforehand, if anyone dares to mess around in the project, I will not let it slide. Do you think I was joking?"

Gu Weijing was silent.

However, Elder Cao showed no intention of letting him off easily.

"Since you thought there might be a problem, why didn’t you ask the staff?"

"The staff were on their lunch break."

"Elder Cao, it was Gang Chang’s mistake, it has nothing to do with Xiaogu." Yakai Ichiro spoke up from the side.

"I don’t care, this is his own issue! Don’t shirk responsibility."

Elder Cao displayed a pedantic attitude, even other artists present felt the elder was a bit harsh today.

"In this situation, you didn’t think something might be wrong? Why so coincidental, others went for lunch and you received a mural you were not supposed to handle. Do you know the consequences if you had ruined it today?"

"Being responsible for yourself is also being responsible for the work. This is the work I’m responsible for, and I didn’t fulfill my duty, that’s my problem. As for your life, if you don’t fulfill your responsibilities, regardless of the reasons, it’s your own issue."

He raised his head, casting a stern glance around at the crowd, then lowered his head again and asked seriously.

"Gu Weijing—is that your name?"

Cao Xuan inquired.

Gu Weijing nodded, "Yes."

"Very well, Gu Weijing, I’m asking you, have you thought about what to do if I were to hold you accountable today? What if you accidentally destroyed the ancient artifact during the painting process, what then? Even if I don’t want to hold you accountable, can this matter just be brushed aside?"

"In the end, even if the cause is found, and it turns out to have nothing to do with you, and it’s a problem with the project’s procedures. But once the artifact is destroyed, it’s destroyed, don’t you think it’s a pity?"

Cao Xuan patiently raised a series of questions.

The old man paused.

Finally.

He asked meaningfully, "Have you ever thought, what if someone wanted to harm you today?"

Hmm?

In the crowd, Tanaka Masakazu’s body trembled slightly.

Initially, Mr. Tanaka watched the drama with a sense of amusement, wanting to see how the outcome would unfold between the two.

Given his status.

At first, he was squeezed to the back of the crowd, only able to watch the commotion from afar. But as he observed the situation, Tanaka Masakazu realized the atmosphere around was not quite right.

At the very least, he didn’t think the intense gaze from those old artists towards Gu Weijing seemed like they were looking at someone who had made a big mistake.

Tanaka Masakazu immediately stood on tiptoe, craning his neck to peer at the mural over there.

Originally watching the elder sternly rebuke Gu Weijing, he thought things were developing as he had imagined.

The art consultant was angry.

Great, be even angrier!

But as he listened more, the atmosphere just didn’t seem right anymore.

What was that last sentence about?

[What if someone wanted to harm you today]—this sentence, rather than a rebuke, sounded more like protection.

With these words from Elder Cao, today’s incident shifted from Gu Weijing supposedly "destroying" Elder Cao’s work to becoming a scenario where someone intended to harm him.

Heavens knew how meticulously Tanaka Masakazu planned this.

Since that day, he had held a grudge against Gu Weijing.

Observing everything with caution, and after a few days, his perseverance finally rewarded him with a perfect opportunity to frame someone.

What is this!

Call the police!

Get someone to investigate! This is the work you’re personally responsible for.

I went through so much trouble, Yakai Gangchang’s signature on the register is legit, and Gu Weijing painting on ’Buddha Worship and Protection Painting’ is real.

You old geezer, how can you decide the nature of the incident so lightly?

Isn’t there a law here!

Tanaka Masakazu felt somewhat aggrieved in his heart.