There’re Always Paranoid Thoughts to Monopolize Me - Chapter 22.2

After most of the class, half of the girls in the classroom were almost fangirling over Huo Jingyan.

In the middle of the class, Qiao Jin was secretly grinding his teeth in anger. “Brother Jun, it doesn’t look like he’s here to bring you back; it’s more like he’s here to steal our junior girls.”

“Others don’t know,” Qiao Yu laughed teasingly, “but I think Junior Qin Ke is already starting to look at Teacher Huo with some fangirl admiration.”

Qiao Jin: “Huh? That can’t be. I heard Qin Yan and the other girls all competing to answer questions, but Qin Ke didn’t say a word.”

“See for yourself if you don’t believe it.”

“……”

Huo Jun, who had been expressionless, suddenly looked up, his gaze sweeping across most of the multifunctional hall to land directly on the front row of the first-year elite class.

And the fact was just as Qiao Yu had said—

Sitting alone in the front row as the class monitor, Qin Ke, though not competing to answer Huo Jingyan’s questions like the others, was still attentively looking at the podium, with both hands obediently resting on her knees. Her slender waist was straight, and her beautiful apricot eyes were bright and shiny.

She was staring intently, without blinking.

This wasn’t “starting to look like a fangirl”; she was already a fangirl.

Huo Jun’s face turned dark.

Seeing this, Qiao Jin tried hard to hold back his laughter.

“Hold on, Brother Jun, there’s only two more minutes until class ends.”

“……”

And at this moment, on the podium.

Huo Jingyan had just finished discussing the last school.

“Munch’s ‘The Scream’ is one of the most representative and widely spread works of Expressionism. Next class, we’ll use it as an example to talk about the stages of development of Expressionism in the history of Western painting.”

Huo Jingyan finished speaking and pointed to the last page of the PPT.

A new oil painting appeared on the big screen.

Having just been “cultivated” by the masterpieces of Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Abstract Art, and Expressionism, this suddenly realistic painting style was especially eye-catching to the students.

The screen showed a landscape and figure painting. The background was filled with dark clouds and a thunderstorm, while the foreground was covered in brambles and dense thickets.

In between the foreground and the background, a long-haired woman, with her skirt fluttering, seemed to be dancing gracefully in the storm and brambles.

“So beautiful.”

Many girls couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.

“Hey, but why isn’t the title of this painting shown?”

“Yeah, why not?”

“Maybe the teacher who made the PPT forgot again, haha…”

“Teacher Huo, what’s the name of this painting?”

“Yes, Teacher Huo, this painting is so beautiful. Is it also by a master of one of those schools?”

“……”

Amid the girls’ questions, Huo Jingyan was looking at the screen with a helpless smile.

——

The moment he flipped to this page of the PPT, he had paused, clearly not expecting to see this painting.

Hearing the girls’ questions, he hesitated, seemingly unsure whether to speak.

During these few seconds of silence, a soft female voice suddenly murmured—

“Wind and Brambles.”

“……”

The multifunctional hall was quiet, and after hearing this soft voice, everyone couldn’t help but turn their gaze over, especially Qin Yan, whose expression became complex.

——The voice had come from Qin Ke, who had been silent all this time.

Even Gu Xinqing, who was sitting behind Qin Ke, was surprised. She whispered, “Ke Ke, what did you just say?”

Qin Ke kept her eyes fixed on the familiar painting and said softly, “The name of this painting is ‘Wind and Brambles.'”

“Huh? You know it?”

“……”

In the middle section, Qin Yan’s expression twisted.

She frowned and looked at Huo Jingyan on the podium, desperately hoping he would say that Qin Ke’s answer was wrong—her own performance in this class had been above average, and she didn’t want to be overshadowed by Qin Ke on this final page of the PPT.

On the podium, Huo Jingyan seemed stunned for a few seconds before coming back to his senses.

He smiled, “Among you, there’s someone who even recognizes this painting?”

“……” Qin Yan’s face changed.

Huo Jingyan looked at Qin Ke, “I’m curious, how do you know about this painting? Unlike the many masterpieces earlier, the creator of this painting is an unknown artist, and the painting’s circulation is quite low. Even among professional painters, the recognition rate for this painting should be low.”

“……”

Qin Ke fell silent.

Of course, she knew it.

In her previous life, Huo Jingyan had personally copied this painting and given it to her, along with the most influential words in her life.

——

It was then that she learned that the mysterious artist “Yiyan,” who had taken the art world by storm but then quickly vanished, was actually Huo Jingyan’s pseudonym.

However, at this moment, Qin Ke naturally couldn’t say that.

She stayed quiet for two seconds, then stood up and calmly said, “This painting is by my favorite artist. ‘Wind and Brambles’ caused quite a stir and was widely discussed in many magazines. That artist is definitely not an unknown person.”

Huo Jingyan’s smile deepened.

“Since you know the name of this painting, and I’ve explained the creation of many paintings just now, why don’t you also talk about your understanding of the meaning behind this painting?”

Qin Ke’s eyes flickered.

——

Next month was Huo Jingyan’s birthday. Given their current frequency of one class per week, if she really wanted to get closer to Huo Jingyan and change his decision to lose his lover, this seemed like the only path she could take.

Understanding this, Qin Ke looked up at Huo Jingyan and began to speak in a calm voice.

“I…”

Before she could finish, a slightly anxious voice interrupted—

“Teacher, I would like to try too.”

Qin Ke paused.

Moments later, she turned her gaze to the side—Qin Yan stood up from the first row of the middle section with her hand raised.

Huo Jingyan paused for two seconds, then smiled slightly.

“Okay, you go first.”

Qin Yan was delighted inside, though she didn’t show it on her face. She took a deep breath and looked intently at the painting.

“The overall tone of the painting is dark, and both the depiction of the storm and the thorns are very rough. So, I think the artist is expressing dissatisfaction and resistance to the frustrations of reality, and a hope to break through these obstacles and find a bright and open path.”

After finishing, Qin Yan looked at Huo Jingyan expectantly, as if waiting for his approval or praise.

However, to her disappointment, Huo Jingyan didn’t seem to have much reaction to her words. He just nodded slightly and said with a faint smile, “Not bad.”

Then, Huo Jingyan turned to look at Qin Ke.

“And you, do you agree with her opinion?”

“We’re different.”

Qin Ke said softly.

She gave Qin Yan a deep look, then turned her gaze back.

“The background of this painting is oppressive and heavy—the thorns and the storm are representations and expressions of negative emotions.”

In the middle section, Qin Yan’s face relaxed, and a mocking expression appeared in her eyes.

She had been worried by the seemingly meaningful “we’re different” a moment ago, but now it seemed that Qin Ke was just repeating her own expression…

At this moment, Qin Ke’s tone shifted.

“But I think the focus of the painting is not on these landscapes, but on the girl dancing and singing. In traditional painting styles, many artists highlight the theme by contrasting pairs of contradictory things—for example, thorns and flowers, storms and light. However, in this painting, we can see that the artist has deliberately avoided factors related to flowers and light.”

As Qin Ke spoke, the students focused their attention and some nodded in agreement.

Qin Yan frowned and couldn’t help but retort, “Doesn’t that just mean it’s an expression of complete oppression and heaviness?”

Qin Ke didn’t look at her and continued speaking in a calm tone.

“Not showing something doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a desire for it—this painting belongs to the realist style. If we view it based on the foundational style, the painting is expressing the purest reality—there are no flowers and light, only thorns and storms.”

Qin Ke’s gaze fell from the painting and met Huo Jingyan’s eyes behind the podium.

Her eyes flickered slightly.

“So I believe—the artist in this painting is not conveying negativity and pessimism, but is telling us that life is like this. Life is not about breaking through thorns to see roses, nor about enduring storms to see rainbows. Most people’s lives are full of thorns and battered by storms. Instead of hoping for the illusory flowers and light, it’s better to do something more practical—learn to dance among the thorns, to sing in the midst of storms.”

Qin Ke finished speaking and lowered her eyes.

“That’s my understanding. Thank you… teacher.”

She stopped speaking and sat down.

Four or five seconds later, a few applause broke out in the quiet multifunctional hall.

Qin Yan sat down with an ugly expression, clearly convinced by Qin Ke’s words. On the podium, Huo Jingyan showed an expression other than his usual mask-like smile for the first time.

He stared in a daze at Qin Ke in the first row for a long time, unable to come back to his senses.

In the far left of the multifunctional hall, first row.

Huo Jun narrowed his eyes. He glanced at Huo Jingyan on the podium and then followed the man’s gaze to look at Qin Ke.

After staring for two seconds,

Huo Jun’s dark eyes filled with completely gloomy emotions.