The new competition venue was a rather large stadium with a spectator area that could accommodate many people. As soon as they got out of the car, Gu Sisi saw a large number of people going in.
The heart that had finally calmed down started to hang in the air again. Gu Sisi asked in a low voice, "Are so many people coming to watch?"
Wen Xuanyang put his arm around Gu Sisi and walked a couple of steps. He explained, "There have been activities here these days, so the flow of people is quite large." He turned Gu Sisi to face him and looked into her eyes directly. "But you don't need to panic. As long as you perform at your normal level, you'll definitely be the best."
"But..." Gu Sisi scratched her head.
"There's no 'but'." Wen Xuanyang's eyes turned serious. Gu Sisi could only stare blankly. It was as if an invisible energy had been injected into her. "I believe in you, and you can't not believe in yourself."
Gu Sisi replied immediately, "I believe in myself."
"Come on." Wen Xuanyang made a fist at her to encourage her, then disappeared into the crowd.
The person in charge must be very busy, Gu Sisi murmured to herself. Then she entered the competition venue. With her qualification certificate, she entered the contestants' temporary rest area.
She had seen the other two contestants before, so she wasn't very surprised.
It was Yang Dahua who immediately stood up from his chair. "Sisi, did you just arrive?"
"Yeah." Gu Sisi nodded. "It's not too far away, so I wasn't in a hurry."
"That makes sense." Yang Dahua smiled.
At this moment, another contestant walked out from a corner. Passing by Gu Sisi without even a glance, as if she didn't exist, he sat down.
"Don't mind. He's a bit..."
"I know." Gu Sisi twitched the corner of her mouth, then closed her eyes.
It was very quiet all around. Gu Sisi waited for time to pass by second by second. Her originally restless heart gradually calmed down.
A voice sounded from outside, "Ladies and gentlemen, the highly anticipated competition is restarting. Are you looking forward to it?"
The venue was bustling. Many people replied, "Yes!"
The noise was deafening.
Gu Sisi adjusted her breathing, afraid of getting nervous later.
Before long, the person in charge below urged them to take the stage.
"Hurry up, hurry up. Get ready to enter."
Before they could even react, Gu Sisi and the others were standing on the stage.
A spotlight shone down. The host's voice rang out again, "Let's welcome today's three strong contenders for the championship. The winner will have the opportunity to win..."
There was another round of enthusiastic applause from the audience. After a long while, when they had all introduced themselves, the competition began.
Gu Sisi sat in front of the drawing board, carefully pondering today's theme: Life.
The two contestants beside her had already started scribbling, but she hesitated to put pen to paper.
This theme was very abstract. Usually when Gu Sisi encountered such topics, she would express them in a rather abstract way. But this time, she wanted to be more specific.
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck, and Gu Sisi, who had been hesitating, started to draw.
The audience held their breath, watching the three contestants' paintings. Their canvases were directly connected to the big screen, so every stroke they made was clearly visible to the audience. This was also the biggest highlight of this kind of competition.
Watching the process from nothing to incomplete and then to complete.
There were whispers from the audience below, as if they were discussing which painting was the best. Gu Sisi put down the last stroke and closed her eyes, not looking anymore.
Ten minutes later, the bell rang, and the competition ended.
"This painting is divided into three levels: the budding, flourishing, and withering of the leaves. The life of a leaf symbolizes our life," Yang Dahua introduced his painting. There was a tree on the painting, and the three seasons were very obvious.
The audience applauded thunderously. Using the life of a leaf to metaphorize human life was really ingenious, the judges praised.
The next painting was from the person who had always disliked Gu Sisi.
The audience gasped in surprise because this painting was basically a copy of The Last Supper.
"It's very simple. In life, there are good and evil, real and fake. Who knows if this meal will be your last? Can you see through it or not?"
The man gave a faint smile and glanced at Gu Sisi. That glance was like a poisonous snake, strangling her. Gu Sisi felt a bit out of breath, but the man quickly looked away.
The judges glanced at each other and shook their heads. They didn't have a good impression of borrowing from famous paintings in such a large - scale competition.
It was Gu Sisi's turn soon. Even the host was stunned for a moment before forcing a smile and asking, "What's the concept of your painting?"
Gu Sisi also saw the audience's stunned expressions below. She gently shook her head and said, "Life. What I'm showing is the change of a person's life from head to toe."
Her painting depicted three periods: childhood, youth, and old age. The reason the audience was stunned was that these three periods appeared on one person. The head was of a child, the body was of a youth, and the legs were of an old person. It looked a bit of a mishmash.
The judges were more accepting than the audience and clapped their hands.
One of them asked, "Why did you paint two people?"
There were two "mishmash" people on the painting, and it was obvious that one was male and the other was female.
"In a person's life, the connection with others is the most important. Lovers, family, friends, even strangers, and even enemies. In my opinion, they are all indispensable in life, and that's what I want to express."
The three judges glanced at each other. After all three had finished their introductions, they had a heated discussion. Finally, they gave the result to the host.
"Who do you think is the winner?"
There were all kinds of shouts from below. The audience's participation was very high. Gu Sisi's palms were slightly sweating. She even saw Wen Xuanyang standing below. He gave her a thumbs - up, and Gu Sisi's heart calmed down a bit.
Anyway, the result was already out. She would just leave it to fate!
Anyway, this was not the beginning, nor would it be the end.
"I announce that the final winner of this competition, the champion is... Gu Sisi."
Gu Sisi, who had already come to terms with the possibility of failure, was shocked when she heard this news.
The host continued to read, "The reason for the award is that the choice of material is very novel, and the concept is also very prominent. The interweaving of time and life makes the meaning of this painting more prominent."
Amidst a round of applause, the competition finally ended.
Yang Dahua hugged her. "Congratulations. And I want to say sorry again. Also, be careful."
"Thank you." Gu Sisi replied with a smile, not yet understanding his hint.
The crowd gradually dispersed. Gu Sisi shook hands with the judges one by one and said goodbye to the staff, saying thank you many times.
She was really grateful for this competition because she had gained so much from it.
"These are the prizes you won this time. Give us an address, and we'll send them to you."
Gu Sisi stared blankly at the form the staff handed her.
There were all kinds of household appliances on it. She was sure that there wasn't enough space at Yang Qian's place to put them.
"No need." Gu Sisi circled a laptop. "Just give me this. Donate the rest for me."