Gu Mingxi used to treat strangers with sympathy indifferently. He knew that he could not change others' thoughts, and his physical condition was clear at a glance. It was normal for others to sympathize with him.

He has dignity and hopes to be respected by others. However, the general environment of Chinese society determines that the status of disabled people must be lower than that of healthy people. Gu Mingxi is just a person, unable to change anything, and what he can do is to stick to his own bottom line and live well.

Cheng Dapao predicted that Gu Mingxi could really earn 200 yuan a day because he often met generous people, spending fifty yuan or even one hundred yuan to buy a painting. Gu Mingxi wanted to find money, but the other party would not ask for it, and said, "You can keep it and buy paint."

Sometimes, Gu Mingxi would stop writing and rest for a while. There was no cover on the overpass. He leaned against the railing of the overpass and looked up at the sky in a daze.

The sky in the city is not too blue, gray, and even the clouds are not white enough. Flocks of birds flew over his head, and Gu Mingxi thought of Pang Qian, what was she doing now?

When he missed her, he learned to build small animals from Cheng Dahuan. Cheng Dahuan could weave crabs, grass-green small crabs with two big pliers, which Gu Mingxi especially liked.

He used his feet to weave it, but no matter how hard it was, he was not impatient, and he just carefully clamped a leaf with his toes. Another leaf slowly weaved it. It took a few minutes to weave a crab. Gu Mingxi couldn't weave it all day, but he enjoyed it and always looked at the semi-finished crab with a smile.

Li Han needs to undergo three phases of chemotherapy after the operation. He has to stay in S City until May, so Gu Mingxi has set up a stall on the overpass for three months intermittently.

In the past three months, he encountered some troubles, such as urban management driving people, stealing thieves, making things difficult for passers-by, and being embarrassed when it suddenly rained.

During the three months, he encountered more people and things that warmed him. There are always many kind-hearted people in this world. Gu Mingxi no longer cared about their motivation for buying paintings. After all, the family earned several thousand yuan more every month, and for him, the meaning was to make his and his mother live a more prosperous life.

Most people who buy paintings will pick a picture carefully after giving money, or wait for Gu Mingxi to paint on the spot and then take it away. However, there are also a few people who say they buy paintings, but after giving money, they leave directly, and Gu Mingxi can't even shout back.

Once, he called out a young man: "Sir, you forgot to take the painting!"

The man turned around and said, "Forget it, I don't want it."

Gu Mingxi stood up and said, "If you don't take the painting, I will return the money to you. I'm doing business, not begging for food."

The man looked unhappy: "What's wrong with you?" Seeing that Gu Mingxi was about to speak, he waved his hand impatiently, "Okay, don't tell me, I'm in a hurry, you can give me the painting."

He took a random painting, turned around and left. Gu Mingxi kept looking at his back. When he reached the entrance of the overpass stairs, he raised his hand and threw the painting away.

The paper drifted down the overpass with the wind and slowly landed on the sidewalk on the ground. Someone happened to walk to the side. He bent down, picked up the painting, and after looking carefully for a while, he looked up at the overpass.

Xu Shuanghua held the painting in his hand and walked to Gu Mingxi, looking down at the young man who had no arms painting with his feet. Gu Mingxi looked up and saw him with a shy smile on his face, saying, "Sir, look at my painting. If you like it, it's very cheap."

Xu Shuanghua is nearly fifty years old, has a medium figure, a little sparse eyebrows and a very ordinary dress. He didn't say anything, but just stood by watching Gu Mingxi's paintings.

Gu Mingxi had long been used to watching others. He painted without distractions. Soon, two colorful kittens snuggled together were born under his pen.

When he was washing the pigment with a pen on his toes, Xu Shuanghua spoke: "Have you learned it?"

Gu Mingxi raised his head and nodded: "I have studied for a few years."

"several years?"

"I started learning to draw at the age of nine for nearly ten years."

“How old is now?”

“Twenty-one.”

Xu Shuanghua looked at the painting in his hand again and asked, "You are the brushwork of taking the exam, are you an art student?"

"Ah, no." Although this man looked indifferent, Gu Mingxi felt that he didn't need to be wary of him and replied, "I studied in the Youth Palace in elementary school, and after junior high school, I learned from a teacher. Most of the teachers taught were art students, so there was inevitable test-taking brushwork in painting things."

"Why don't you take the college entrance exam?" Xu Shuanghua asked, while sitting on the ground like Gu Mingxi, crossing his legs and continuing to ask, "Is it because of the difficulties at home?"

Gu Mingxi whispered: "I've been off from college and my mother is sick. I want to take care of her."

"Where is your dad?"

"He is out of town, and they are divorced."

"May I have your name?"

"Gu Mingxi."

After that, Xu Shuanghua stopped talking, and Gu Mingxi did not take the initiative to speak. He continued to spread a piece of paper on the drawing board, and Xu Shuanghua sat next to him silently and watched him draw.

It took two hours to sit there. In the end, Xu Shuanghua said nothing and got up and left.

In the next few days, Gu Mingxi often saw this middle-aged man. They never chatted again. The man just stood next to him or sat on the ground, watching him draw one picture after another.

Until one day, Xu Shuanghua said, "Xiao Gu, please pack up your things and I'll take you to a place."

After so many days, he said this to Gu Mingxi. If someone else had it, he would definitely not agree, but Gu Mingxi just hesitated for a moment and packed up all his things.

He carried the drawing board on his shoulders and had some difficulty carrying his backpack. Xu Shuanghua helped him, and Gu Mingxi said, "Thank you."

Xu Shuanghua said lightly: "You're welcome, let's go, my car is below."

Gu Mingxi never expected that Xu Shuanghua would bring him to a famous art academy in S City. He even more unexpectedly, this middle-aged man with an ordinary appearance was Xu Shuanghua.

"Are you Teacher Xu Shuanghua?" Gu Mingxi was so shocked. Xu Shuanghua is a famous oil painting master in China. He is usually a visiting professor at S City Academy of Fine Arts. Gu Mingxi was a little excited about being able to contact such a master-level figure.

Xu Shuanghua smiled rare and said, "Do you know me?"

"My teacher often mentions you." Gu Mingxi's eyes were bright, "Teacher Xu, you brought me here, right..."

"I want to see your foundation." Xu Shuanghua said, "A classmate's freshman year has to draw plaster in class, and you can draw with them."

Gu Mingxi was driven to draw plaster sketches by being driven on the shelves. He hadn't drawn plaster for many years. He was very nervous when he was mixed with a group of freshmen. In the end, he didn't draw well.

Gu Mingxi could see the disappointment in Xu Shuanghua's eyes. He also knew that he had painted awful lot. Xu Shuanghua had no comments on anything, but drove Gu Mingxi back under the overpass.

When I parked the car, Xu Shuanghua said to Gu Mingxi: "Although I am a teacher in the Academy of Fine Arts, those students are just students, not 'my students'. So far, I have only accepted three students, one in Shanghai, one in Germany, and the other in the United States for development. I am not particular about taking students, and I don't care about the red tape. I am talking about fate and talent."

He looked at Gu Mingxi: "Xiao Gu, you and I are very destined to be together, but I'm sorry, you lack some talent."

Gu Mingxi got out of the car, stood on the street with a drawing board on his back, watching Xu Shuanghua's car drive away.

He is no longer a teenager. Gu Mingxi knew that he might have encountered an opportunity to turn his life, but he was messed up by his own incompetence. Gu Mingxi thought to himself that the sketch just now was not his true level, so he should not give up easily and must fight for it again.

Gu Mingxi likes painting. Back then, he didn't take the art exam because his cultural course scores were very good. To take the top art colleges, Gu Mingxi had to spend at least a year of time focusing on preparation, and he might not be able to pass the exam in the end. If he failed and delayed his cultural course scores, he would be in vain.

Gu Mingxi met Xu Shuanghua by such a chance. He suddenly felt that his life had a new direction. He thought about it all night at home, and he decided to convince Xu Shuanghua.

From this day on, Gu Mingxi no longer went to Tianqiao to set up a stall. He went to S City Academy of Fine Arts every day, stood at the door of Xu Shuanghua's office, and waited for most of the day.

Xu Shuanghua is a visiting professor and rarely goes to school. When he occasionally comes to see Gu Mingxi, he is surprised, but he feels a sense of disgust.

Seeing Xu Shuanghua, Gu Mingxi immediately followed him. He carried the drawing board on his back and said, "Teacher Xu, I brought a few sketches to practice. Can you take a look?"

"I have seen your sketch." Xu Shuanghua said without looking back, and Gu Mingxi was still following him: "Teacher Xu, I didn't draw it well last time because I had been a long time..."

Xu Shuanghua interrupted him: "A truly talented person will be a shocking work even if he hasn't started writing for decades."

"Teacher Xu..."

Xu Shuanghua suddenly stood still and looked back at Gu Mingxi. The wind and sun on the overpass for several months made him dark. His eyes were bright, but his lips were dry and faded. Xu Shuanghua frowned and asked, "When did you come here?"

Gu Mingxi replied: "Nine o'clock in the morning."

"Have you got a meal yet?"

Gu Mingxi shook his head and nodded again: "I brought bread and had lunch."

"Where can you go to the toilet?

Gu Mingxi whispered: "I just drink less water."

"Nothing!" Xu Shuanghua was angry, "Gu Mingxi, stop asking me to see you!"

He was so angry that he left, and Gu Mingxi stood there and stared blankly at his back.

A few days later, Xu Shuanghua saw Gu Mingxi outside the office door again. He smiled and said, "Teacher Xu, I brought my tools and could go to the toilet by myself, but it was a bit slow. I also brought a water bottle and drank a lot of water today."

Xu Shuanghua asked: "What tool?"

"Don't ask for help." Gu Mingxi grinned, "just it's itchy."

The two confronted each other at the door of the office. After a while, Xu Shuanghua said, "Xiao Gu, don't do this. I'm not a big girl. It's useless to pester them."

Gu Mingxi put away his smile and said, "Teacher Xu, I really want to be your student."

"Why?"

"I..." Gu Mingxi said calmly, "I don't have arms and can't find a job. I have to think about what I can do in the future. I can't set up a stall on the overpass for a lifetime. I like painting. I hope to be your student, and I can really learn something and make a living in the future."

He said it very clearly, but Xu Shuanghua said: "I'm not a charity here."

Gu Mingxi's face suddenly became extremely ugly, his chest fluctuated for a moment, and he whispered: "Teacher Xu, can you give me another chance?"

At this time, another teacher hurried over and saw Xu Shuanghua, saying, "Teacher Xu, I have something to discuss with you. The model in the sketching class suddenly fell ill and couldn't come anymore. I couldn't find the model for a while. Do you think we'll adjust the class?"

Xu Shuanghua glanced at him, then looked at Gu Mingxi beside him, and suddenly said: "I think that the incomplete human beings will give people a huge visual impact. The old men with kids with folds are almost tired of drawing. Maybe a young model can make them burst out with creative passion."

He looked at Gu Mingxi with a smile, "Can I give you another chance, naked model, are you willing to do it?"

When Gu Mingxi stood at the door of the studio, his heart was beating violently.

Finally, he pushed open the door with his shoulders and walked in slowly.

There were more than 20 students in the studio, all preparing for sketching in front of their easels. Someone looked up and saw Gu Mingxi, and his eyes were filled with surprise.

Young man? This is really strange.

But after the bathrobe on Gu Mingxi was taken off, a low scream even sounded in the studio.

All over his body, Gu Mingxi was wearing only a pair of gray briefs, with more than 20 easels surrounding him. The afternoon sun shone in through the studio window and sprinkled on him.

Countless tiny dusts were flying in the sun. Gu Mingxi stood quietly in the middle of the studio, lowering his head and holding his chest, and his chest was undulating violently. After a while, he closed his eyes and opened it again, a firm light shone in his eyes. He slowly raised his head, straightened his waist, and stretched his shoulders.

He had never revealed his broken shoulders in front of so many strangers. The place where the flesh and flesh were cut was scars that ordinary people could hardly see. When he moved his shoulders, the two round amputations would move accordingly. The bones squirted under the flesh, the skin stitched under the armpit was tight and trembling slightly.
To be continued...