The Versatile Master Artist

His smile grew even brighter, as if he considered Gu’s Calligraphy and Painting Shop his own home. He ran over to pour Gu Weijing a cup of tea.

"Mr. Xiao Gu. You’re back. You’re home early today."

Hanks paused for a moment and then said, seemingly intentionally and unintentionally.

"If I had your level and technique, why bother going through the trouble of attending school?"

"The headquarters of Ma Shi Gallery is in Regensburg, Germany. We have good relations with both the cultural department and the education department of Bavaria. If you don’t mind going there for college, it’s just a matter of a word, and I’ll get you a tuition-free recommendation spot."

"The Singapore Art Exhibition is just a little over a hundred days away. Why not save some time and study the kind of paintings to exhibit?"

Hanks thought that at Gu Weijing’s level, attending high school in Yangon was simply a waste of time and a squandering of life.

This time could be spent researching works for the exhibition... or even used to flirt with Miss Sakai?

All of this would be better than carrying a backpack to school every day.

If Hanks had a choice, if it weren’t for the fact that exploiting an artist’s talent couldn’t be done crudely, it had to be done with finesse and methodology.

The blonde agent wished he could transform into a supervisor, locking Gu Weijing in a small dark room every day and whipping him to paint for him.

"You still need to attend school. Even if you’re not learning new knowledge, engaging in art requires social contact; painting isn’t everything in life."

Mr. Gu heard this.

The smile on his old face, which had been as vibrant as an old chrysanthemum, faded slightly as he looked at Gu Weijing and seriously said.

Painters are inherently prone to mental illness.

There’s quite a bit of historical evidence of many great painters having some mental problems.

The primary reason, of course, is syphilis picked up from sleeping around with women.

Secondly, many painters are a bit reclusive and don’t like to interact with society.

Van Gogh locked himself in his little house, Monet confined himself to his self-built Japanese-style garden, and the protagonist of "The Moon and Sixpence," Gauguin, shut himself away on a secluded island in Brittany.

Mental illness often isolates people.

Gu Tong Xiang hoped day and night, often hoping that his grandson, Gu Weijing, would achieve success.

However, he absolutely did not wish for Gu Weijing to become a socially isolated genius painter nobody loves.

"Then school is good; it’s still good to go to school."

Hanks changed his stance and perspective without any hesitation or dignity.

Ma Shi Gallery is planning an exhibition next quarter for Dike Anren in Abu Dhabi.

Hanks’s past schedule included going over to butter them up and build rapport.

In light of recent considerations, he voluntarily canceled this plan.

Dike Anren is currently one of the leading artists at Ma Shi Gallery, and his agent, Ms. Su Xi, treasures him like her darling, always guarding against colleagues poaching him.

The likelihood of his successfully striking up an acquaintance by going over there was not high.

Aside from inviting disdain, he’d most likely just function as an unpaid laborer.

Not appealing at all.

It would be better to invest time in cultivating emotions with the young talent whom Ma Shi III has shown unprecedented interest in.

His only current focus at work is to get closer to Mr. Gu.

For hunter agents, signing an artist is never a one-off deal. Maintaining a relationship is also part of Hanks’s official duties.

The reason he wasn’t mainly aiming to get close to Gu Weijing is because Gu Weijing is too young.

At this age, Hanks felt at a loss on how to proceed.

Myanmar isn’t exactly a trendy, cosmopolitan hub.

He thought of gifting concert tickets or VIP passes to sports events — these are usually popular ways gallery agents network with their artists globally.

Unfortunately, there have been no large gatherings in Yangon recently.

Offering a movie ticket seemed a bit embarrassing.

Things like going to bars to drink, flirting with girls, and sleeping with women — common adult social interaction techniques —

are often highly effective with young boys.

But please,

doing such things in front of Mrs. Sakai, Hanks would need to have a particularly low EQ to risk his life that way.

After considerable thought, Hanks decided to focus on pleasing Mr. Gu instead.