The festive atmosphere in Arles has nothing to do with Paris, but Paris is as lively as ever. Even in the fifth arrondissement, there is no shortage of tourists. The Pantheon and the Botanical Garden here have always been the favorite check-in spots for people traveling to Paris.
In his book, Chen Xing did not recommend these well-known places like others. In his book, he mainly wrote about the historical streets in the Fifth District.
There are even many European-style courtyards.
Chen Xing was sketching in one of the courtyards at the moment. He put down his camera and picked up his paintbrush.
Hedwig was trying too hard.
She started practicing in seclusion when she came back, which was similar to when Chen Xing first came here, but now she occasionally comes out to cook for Chen Xing, which is quite good, so that Chen Xing doesn't have to eat takeout every day.
Although sometimes Chen Xing still thinks the takeout is delicious, there is no need to tell others.
She was happy when she had something to draw, and maybe part of her own reason for that was rubbing off on him. That's why he came out to sketch today to consolidate the painting knowledge he learned this year.
How should I put it, painting is still a higher level than photography.
Take your time, Chen Xing is not in a hurry now.
After all, his paintings are worthless, but the photos he took have been sold for 50,000 to 60,000 euros each. This price is very low, and it is estimated that it will fall back to between 30,000 and 50,000 in a month or two, but it is enough for Chen Xing to live a superior life.
This kind of photos refers to works sold by galleries and placed on the walls of rich people's villas to show off.
If there are other special uses, the price of a photo will be higher than this amount, depending on the cooperation.
In short, with financial independence, Chen Xing also began to re-plan his time.
This courtyard is located at No. 252 Sorbonne Street in the 5th arrondissement. The main body is a historical building from more than 300 years ago. What Chen Xing is painting now is the garden under that old house.
There are many art students in Paris, which Chen Xing no longer wants to explain, although some areas of Paris are indeed dirty. But history has given this place a beautiful artistic environment, attracting painting students from all over the world.
In just this small garden, Chen Xing saw seven or eight artists who came here to sketch.
There are not many flowers blooming in the garden anymore, and it looks a little desolate.
But the reason why painting is superior to photography is that it can accommodate more of the artist's imagination.
In Chen Xing's paintings, it is still spring with brilliant flowers.
Unlike Hedwig who threw the paint around when painting, Chen Xing squeezed it out and put it neatly back into the bag... He was not in a hurry to paint this painting. There was still less than half a month before the school started and the students returned. .
"Xing, can I borrow some paint?"
"What do you want?"
"Pure white."
Chen Xing took a look in his bag and said, "I don't have much left, so go out and buy it yourself."
The person he was talking to was from the second-grade painting class. Chen Xing always went to their class this year, so he knew him. When he came here with a bunch of things, he recognized him. He forgot his specific name. I only know that he has a nickname called Mai Se.
Pure white paint plays a great role in oil painting, so it is used at a disadvantage compared to other colors.
In most industries, this kind of material that needs to be used in large quantities must be very cheap, right?
But the oil painting industry says no to this practice!
He is expensive.
You can buy cheap paints, but you have to endure the color cast no matter how you mix them, and you compare the same painting with those who used top-quality paints. You can tell who is good and who is bad at a glance.
Mai Se quickly borrowed paint from others and said, "It's so difficult to borrow."
Chen Xing nodded slightly and asked, "When does your class start? Is the teacher the same as last year?"
"He is still here, but I heard that a new teacher has arrived, the Danish painter Mebraun. His paintings can be sold for more than one million in New York auction houses. He is a very powerful new-school painter."
"Then you are so lucky." Chen Xing said.
There are few high-end students and many teachers in Paris, and such famous artists are often invited to teach at the school. So if one class encounters a real master, and the master takes a fancy to his talent and accepts an apprentice, then It really skyrocketed.
Chen Xing and others inquired, and found that the teachers in the photography class were still the same.
However, it has nothing to do with students like Chen Xing who have entered the internship period. It is not certain what Chen Xing will do after school starts this year.
It is possible to follow Mr. Nobel’s project.
At the end of the month, Chen Xing had to go back to China. He had made a photo appointment with Tang Shiyi, and he had already sketched it with a pencil. This is what Chen Xing wants to shoot most right now, and he has been waiting for almost two months.
Chatting with Mai Se about things at school, Chen Xing took his things and walked back when it got dark at seven or eight o'clock.
He is familiar with this area.
The school is in the 5th District, the place where I live is in the 5th District, and I used to go out for street photography in the evening when I had dinner in this area.
Specifically, where are the five arrondissements of Paris, Chen Xinghui suggested buying his upcoming book as soon as possible.
……………………
After returning home, Chen Xing habitually went to the refrigerator to get a drink. There was a little movement in the house. This is normal. It may be that Hedwig is cooking again. It seems that I am a guinea pig again tonight. .
The food Hedwig makes is not unpalatable, but it's just a bit uncanny, after all, she just learned it for a short time.
If he really wants to learn, Chen Xing thinks cooking should be very simple.
Although he didn't know how to do it, Chen Xing thought so.
After tearing open the can, there was a splashing sound from the drink. It was still a bit hot in Paris now, so it was very comfortable to drink a bottle of chilled drink after returning home from the outdoors.
As soon as he walked out of the refrigerator, Chen Xing saw Shahrukh Yazan, who was Brother Asan who lived next door to Chen Xing, carrying a box downstairs.
This was the first time Chen Xing saw him since graduating in June.
The two of them met again after a long separation, their big eyes stared at each other, and they were both stunned.
Two seconds later, Chen Xing suddenly spit out smoky coke on the ground, almost dying of discomfort...
"Ahem!! Ah, Shah Rukh, when did you come back?"
"Are you OK?"
Shah Rukh asked with concern.
"I'm fine." Chen Xing coughed twice more, wiped his mouth with a tissue on the dining table, and said, "I didn't know you were back. I thought it was Hedwig who made the noise. You were holding something to ask for Where to go?”
"Hedwig? If you didn't tell me, I thought she wasn't here..." Shah Rukh first laughed at Hedwig's social fear, and then said, "I met an islander in school who likes games as much as me. We want to Let’s open a game store in Paris together.”
"Game store?"
Chen Xing's mind suddenly flashed back to those video game arcades in the small town when he was very young.
It wasn't called an arcade city at that time. It was just one or two ordinary storefronts opened in places where no one usually went, and they were blocked with curtains. As soon as you entered, it was filled with the smell of cigarettes, alcohol, and hoodlums. place.
Chen Xing's cousin Chen Jie was very popular in their town at the time, and Chen Xing followed him to see him.
By the time he grew up a little and was called Brother, this kind of store was no longer seen, and the video game malls that appeared later did not have the same feeling as at that time.
Chen Xing and Shah Rukh compared each other.
Shah Rukh quickly shook his head and said: "Who still plays this kind of thing now? The games I'm talking about are the games I usually play, PS5, or switch. What do you think of the Red Dead Redemption I recommended to you last time? "
"It's okay." Chen Xing said.
He knew about this game from others when he was climbing mountains before, and it was not until this year that he had time to play it on the computer.
The story is very good and touching.
But after playing it for a week, I got a little tired of it... The plot is excellent and the graphics are stunning, but it doesn't seem to have much playability.
Online games are still fun.
"Then why are you moving things?"
"I'll move this one over too. Anyway, I'll go there every day and won't have time to play games at home. I've already vacated my room. I'll just live in a small room over there for sleeping." .”
Chen Xing understood.
"Do you know that Hedwig and I are in a relationship, so you want to move away so as not to disturb us?"
Shah Rukh shook his head and responded that Chen Xing was not like this.
Did he open the store to make money?
No, it's just to play games with others. In this house, Hedwig is a social and artistic girl. Chen Xing is very easy to talk to and they communicate a lot. But Chen Xing doesn't play games, so living here is not fun. .
But after shaking his head, his eyes widened.
"You and Hedwig?"
"Uh-huh."
"Hey, brother, you are confused... Sometimes I forget about her. To be honest, it takes a week to see her in this house. Otherwise, my uncle and aunt are going to deliver food to her. I thought She lives outside."
"Why are you with her?"
Beautiful, what can I say?
Chen Xing glanced upstairs and said, "Keep your voice down, otherwise she will be sad again."
"Are you serious?"
"It doesn't make sense if it's true or false. We still have our own lives, but since I am her boyfriend, I have to protect and take care of her. Anyway, just don't move away because of us, otherwise I will be very embarrassed."
Shah Rukh rolled his eyes.
"I didn't see it. I thought you were happy."
Chen Xing smiled and said, "Really?"
Asked for the address again.
The store they opened is in the 4th arrondissement, which is home to the Pompidou Center and the Monument of the Old Lady. It is also a place where tourists gather. It is not cheap to open a store here.
But money matters don't bother Shah Rukh.
I am an old Indian aristocrat and I am not short of money.
He found a car parked outside, and Chen Xing also helped him move his things twice.
For people who have money and don't have any old things to do, it is probably easy to move. Shah Rukh took some of his favorite clothes, books, and five boxes of physical disks or cards with him. He didn't need anything else.
After everyone left, Hedwig walked out of the room.
"Is it Shah Rukh?"
Chen Xing nodded and said, "He found a new place to live, in District 4."
"Is it because of us?"
"I knew you wanted to do this. Don't worry. I have found a bunch of friends to play games with. It's fun. How different is it from me. I can't even find someone to play games with me. Why don't you come to my room at night? Come?"
Chen Xing made crazy hints, and Hedwig lowered her head and pretended to be an ostrich.
Based on Hedwig's character, it won't be long before she takes the initiative on her own, so Chen Xing is not in a hurry. He has never met such a woman before, and it's very refreshing at the moment.
Uncle Feida and Aunt Lizzy are going to move to the countryside, and Shah Rukh is leaving too. So isn't this big house their world for the two of them?
The two worlds were separated by a floor, and Aunt Lizzy came back from the country the next day.
After opening the door and walking in, I saw that the house that I hadn't been back to for half a month was still clean, and a smile appeared on my face.
Hedwig is a girl. Although she is a bit sloppy, she still accomplishes what she promised.
She was sure that Chen Xing or Shah Rukh did not clean up this house. These two people never paid attention to the living room, bathroom, corridor and stairs. Chen Xing can only clean up his own room, and Shah Rukh can only clean up his pile of rags.
A head suddenly appeared on the second floor.
Seeing the person, Chen Xing greeted: "Auntie, are you back?"
"Well, you're back too. How is Hedwig?"
"She is the same as before." Chen Xing said.
Lizzy went upstairs and looked at Shah Rukh's room and said, "Sure enough, there are so many things left."
Shah Rukh told her a few days ago that he was looking for a new place to live, and he even made a video call when he left yesterday. She came back after seeing a lot of things left in the room.
"I contacted a second-hand dealer. You can follow me later to see if there is anything else that may be useful."
Second-hand dealers in Europe are different from those in China. China is still very resistant to second-hand clothes or beds and quilts, but there are specialized second-hand shops in Paris. You can even buy cheap LV bags or Dior perfume that has only been used a few times here.
Aunt Lizzy is also old and doesn’t know much about young people’s things.
He was afraid that he would pack something valuable, not the merchant, but the merchant would be in trouble if Shah Rukh came back and wanted it again.
Chen Xing said: "There shouldn't be any leftovers. I asked many times yesterday."
The businessman lives nearby and comes quickly.
When Shah Rukh left, he only took what he wanted, but after clearing the room, except for the bed and table that could not be moved, the pile of remaining things was almost enough to fill a small pickup truck. Before that, Chen Xing I never expected that there would be so many second-hand goods that could be sold for money.
Aunt Lizi said to Chen Xing in a tone of 'I just said there would be a lot': "Those who have moved have a deep understanding. Sometimes you don't know if you don't clean up. If you tidy up a little, there will definitely be an unexpected amount of stuff." Unexpected.”
But so many things were sold for little money.
Aunt Lizi came back with the money, sighed and said, "School has started now, so it's probably hard to find someone to live here. Chen, do you want your neighbor to be a beautiful woman or a man?"
1: Beauty
2: Men
Is this a multiple choice question? If you are a man, you should choose 1.
Chen Xing didn't choose anyone, so he took this room just because he wanted a study room.
"You want a study? That's fine. Anyway, it's good if someone uses it. Otherwise, there will always be a room empty and many things will break easily."
She won't accept Chen Xing's money.
Chen Xing was not polite either. Sometimes being polite hurts the relationship.
Li Zi came back to Paris specifically to deal with the matter in this room. Now that it was done, she had to take a friend's car back to the farm. While waiting for someone on the way, she cooked a meal for Chen Xing and the others.
She invited Chen Xing, who had never been to the farm, to be her guest.
Chen Xing readily accepted.
(End of chapter)
