1146 Painting (1/2)
”The exhibition is over for today. Please come again next time!”
Angelina sent the last wave of tourists away with a stiff smile. She finally exhaled, patted her cheeks, and murmured, ”Damn… I'm so sick of this stupid job. And that damn rule. What do they mean by the standard smile requires you to show eight teeth? Go to hell. The questions the tourists ask were so stupid and ignorant, but I can only lie. If not for the one silver sol every seven days, I would have long…”
She grumbled while changing out of her work uniform. After exiting the exhibition hall, she entered a familiar coffee shop and walked out with two long loaves of bread that exuded a creamy aroma.
After returning to his apartment, Angelina lit her stove, began brewing coffee, and fried two pieces of bacon as well. Crispy golden bacon was really enjoyable with bread.
She would be in heaven if she could also have a plate of vegetable salad.
No! Angelina, you still have a mortgage of thirty gold punks to pay off. You can't be so luxurious…
Angelina suppressed the urge to make a plate of salad and extinguished her dinner in no time. She then brought the coffee into her bedroom.
The decorations were really simple, and only one oil painting was hanging on the wall. Many colorful lines formed an abstract and distorted eye, and the dark colors surrounding it made the eye stand out even more.
At the bottom right of the painting was a signature belonging to Vincent.
An appraiser would have found it to be absolutely authentic!
”If I could sell it… although it wouldn't compare to Dream, it would probably be worth at least a thousand gold punks? Then, I wouldn't have to worry about any mortgage and could live in a villa…”
Angelina stared at this huge eye and smiled bitterly.
This oil painting is her nightmare! A nightmare that could not be gotten rid of! No matter how she destroyed or discarded it, it would appear by her bedside the next day.
Even…
Angelina stared at the hazy twisted eye.
This eye seemed to see a unique change tonight. It seemed alive and blinked suddenly.
Bloop! Bloop!
A large amount of blood immediately flowed out from the pupil, and the overwhelming scarlet drowned Angelina.
”…” Angelina gritted her teeth as her surroundings became hazy.
She seemed to see a long queue of cars entering Kimbert City and stopping in front of a villa.
A wealthy businessman with a big belly and a wig emerged from a car. A young girl with a parasol was by his side and ordering the housekeeper and servants to move the furniture.
Finally, an oil painting was hung on the wall of the villa's study.
The oil painting seemed to depict a starry night sky, but it was full of distorted figures and shadows, looking extremely abstract with an indescribable charm.
Bang!
Angelina did not bother with the coffee spilling all over. Instead, she gazed at the hazy eye oil painting and murmured in a low voice. ”That's… Dream! It's been brought into Kimbert City!”
…
At the same time, in the villa, a young girl in pajamas was tossing and turning in bed.
If Angelina were here, she would find that this young girl was the daughter of the wealthy businessman that she saw in her hallucination.
”Why did Dad want to come to Kimbert City all of a sudden? What a hasty decision!” The young girl pouted. ”I miss my old bedroom and my friends… Dad's become so weird after he brought that painting…”
Her father, Robert, was a well-known rubber merchant who had started from a workshop that was about to close. He had seized a few well-timed opportunities and developed his company into a large one with thousands of employees.
After becoming rich, this rubber merchant was brimming with a strong desire to enter high society. So that he would not be seen as a parvenu, he invited extremely strict tutors to teach this young girl etiquette and collected various artworks.
Moreover, he had collected several of the so-called 'unlucky paintings' of Vincent after hearing about his legends. His obsession with the paintings grew, and he spent a lot of money to buy 'Dream'.
”Despite the crazy pursuit of some nobles, these antiques also have some bad rumors circulating…” The young girl thought anxiously. ”The previous paintings were all right, but something is definitely wrong with 'Dream'!”
With this thought, she secretly got out of bed and tiptoed to the study.
She knew from her small adventures previously that her father was crazy about Dream and would sometimes admire this painting well into the wee hours of the morning.
This time, he had even moved to Kimbert City against the protest of others.
”There must be some secret!”
The emboldened young girl sneaked to the outside of the study.