The night fell.
The VTOL fleet landed on the warship's deck again, another warship this time, lit up like a small town floating on the dark sea.
A new room had been prepared in the warship, one hundred square meters in size. It was a bit small, but it would suffice for a night.
His wife and child were very tired. After showering, they went to bed early.
Just as Jiang Ye was about to sleep, his phone buzzed with a message.
Shi Ningfu: "The school has agreed to hold a solo exhibition for Jiang Senlin, starting online and then offline."
Jiang Ye: "What does an online exhibition mean?"
Shi Ningfu sent an app.
Jiang Ye downloaded it to his phone and opened it.
The app was called "Frontier of Galactic Empire Art." Upon opening, it displayed countless painters and their works. They were all contemporary painters he'd never heard of. Various styles of paintings flashed by like a carousel, dazzling the eyes.
Jiang Ye randomly opened a painting, an oil portrait of a woman. She had a kind smile and was past her prime. The painting was more detailed than a photograph; upon zooming in, one could see the pores and even the blood vessels beneath the skin.
Below it was an introduction:
[Li Shenlou's latest work, "The Woman," in a hyper-realistic style, sold for a high price of 32 million yuan at the Gladadong Star First Auction House's Spring Charity Auction.]
[3,126,880 Likes] [28,110 Yuan in Tips]
Further down was the comment section.
The first comment had over two million likes.
"Holy shit! Isn't that my mom! Li Shenlou, I'm going to tear you to shreds!"
The second comment also had two million likes.
"Strongly demand the art world to ban Li Shenlou! This unscrupulous scumbag painter actually tricked my wife into being his nude model!"
Jiang Ye was surprised. This painter was quite something!
He opened the chat interface and sent a message to Shi Ningfu.
Jiang Ye: "So, it means putting Jiang Senlin's paintings on this app for exhibition, right?"
Shi Ningfu: "That's right. This app is jointly developed and operated by over seventy art academies from 46 planets. Pingzong Academy of Fine Arts is one of them. We can feature Jiang Senlin's paintings on the homepage recommendation for a week and see the public's reaction."
Jiang Ye naturally had no objections. This app was quite popular. Being on the homepage recommendation for a week would essentially place him halfway into the ranks of renowned painters.
Moreover, an online exhibition would surely build momentum for an offline one. If he gained fame online first, people would attend the offline exhibition. Otherwise, who would spend time looking at the works of an unknown artist?
Shi Ningfu: "First, you need to register an account for Jiang Senlin and upload the data for the paintings you want to exhibit. I suggest uploading all of Jiang Senlin's paintings. His style is versatile and covers a wide range, which should attract many people."
Jiang Ye opened the app and registered an account.
The name was naturally Jiang Senlin. Gender, age, and place of origin were easy to fill in.
Next was "Artistic Career."
There was also an explanation: the career here included art schools attended, well-known works, and recognized titles, etc.
Jiang Ye scratched his head and wrote: [Pingzong Academy of Fine Arts' youngest student admitted through special exemption.]
He had previously confirmed the "youngest" part with Shi Ningfu. Jiang Senlin was indeed the youngest student. A hundred years ago, there was a girl admitted to Pingzong Academy of Fine Arts through special exemption at the age of 15. She was already hailed as a "world-shaking prodigy," but compared to this little fellow Jiang Senlin, she paled in comparison.
The next item was "Detailed Information."
Jiang Ye pondered for a moment and typed a long string:
"A child prodigy painter suffering from reverse-aging syndrome."
"Showed astonishing talent the first time he picked up a brush."
"Paints for pleasure, can paint for over eight hours a day without fatigue."
"Currently too young for primary school, already admitted to Pingzong Academy of Fine Arts through special exemption, praised by multiple masters."
"Possesses super imitation skills, capable of mastering many completely different styles."
"His works are imaginative, with strong colors, profound meanings, and possess the power to move people and provoke thought."
Jiang Ye wanted to continue bragging, but he hit the character limit.
He clicked confirm.
Application successful!
He still had the scanned data packets of the paintings. Jiang Ye attempted to upload them, and quickly put up all 60 paintings Jiang Senlin had created during this period.
Then he sent the account link to Shi Ningfu.
Shi Ningfu: "Received. After 12 AM tonight, Jiang Senlin's account page will appear on the homepage recommendation."
Jiang Ye expressed his gratitude.
He checked the time; it was already half-past ten.
He was quite tired after a day of activity. Waiting another hour and a half would be difficult to endure. Jiang Ye got into bed to sleep.
After closing his eyes for a long time, he suddenly opened them again.
He couldn't sleep at all.
This was a major event in his son's life.
Perhaps Jiang Senlin's destiny would begin to ascend after midnight.
Cen Yemeng was already asleep, her beautiful profile nestled in the soft velvet pillow, a strand of hair covering her ear. Jiang Ye suddenly felt grateful. Such a beautiful woman had given him such a talented son. He reached out to stroke his wife's head, but then retracted his hand halfway. It was better not to disturb her sleep.
He tiptoed out of bed.
He changed his clothes and left the room.
Two female guards were stationed at the door, yawning. Startled by the sudden appearance of their commander, they snapped to attention and saluted crisply.
"Get me some stimulating drinks," Jiang Ye said.
"Yes!"
The female soldier ran to another cabin and soon returned with a small cardboard box.
The box contained over twenty types of beverages. Jiang Ye browsed through them and chose a bottle of sparkling green tea with pu-erh. He twisted it open with a hiss and took two sips. Feeling more alert, he returned to the room.
He moved a chair to the window and sat down comfortably, his feet propped high on the windowsill. He gazed at the night sky, drinking his soda, his eyes bright, lost in thought.
Soon, it was midnight.
Jiang Ye logged into the app on his phone. The homepage advertisements flipped a few times, and a new advertisement prominently appeared.
"Genius Child Prodigy Jiang Senlin's Paintings Featured Online for the First Time. Pingzong Academy of Fine Arts' Youngest Student."
Clicking on it led to Jiang Senlin's homepage, displaying thumbnail images of dozens of paintings.
Each thumbnail was as blurry as if it had been pixelated. This was intentional by the app. After all, paintings were most interesting when viewed up close. If the thumbnails were too clear, many people wouldn't click to examine them further.
Jiang Ye randomly clicked on one.
He expected no immediate attention since it had just appeared on the homepage.
To his surprise, there were already over two hundred likes and a long string of comments!
"Wow, the younger generation is formidable!"
"???? This was drawn by a child?"
"No way! If a kindergarten child can draw like this, I might as well buy a block of tofu and smash my head against it!"
"Terrifying, truly terrifying. No matter how old one is, to be able to paint at this level is terrifying."
"It's over. I won't be able to sleep tonight. I've strived for ten years, and it turns out I'm not as good as a child."
Jiang Ye was very satisfied.
It seemed he had stunned everyone.
With these comments, he felt reassured. Jiang Senlin's debut in the art world was a success!
The soda was finished, and drowsiness returned. Jiang Ye put down his phone and slipped back into bed.
Cen Yemeng frowned. Unsure if she was awake, she stirred and moved her arm, embracing her husband. She continued to sleep.