Chapter 57: What is Art?

  "Lao San, how are you feeling today?" Yang Tao's voice came in with the opening of the door.

  "Not bad!" Chen Chufan hung up the phone and said expressionlessly. Although he had already acknowledged in his heart that Yang Tao was right, he would absolutely not admit it with his mouth, otherwise Yang Tao's boasting and teasing him could make him restless for a whole night.

  "Wow, you're quite bold! But today the boss really wants to thank you properly! If it weren't for your sacrifice, the boss wouldn't have had such a big gain today!" Yang Tao's words made Meng Wei, who was following behind him, blush.

  "Oh? No wonder you guys came back so late? Which one is it?" Chen Chufan was indeed piqued by Yang Tao's words and genuinely happy for Lao Da Meng Wei. It's been said that lately, Lao Da has had a very bad temper, if he had a girlfriend, she should be able to help him regain his usual composure, right?

  "It's that Xiao Xiao, the little girl who sat between Lao Da and Chen Xi during meals!" Yang Tao introduced.

  Chen Chufan still had some impression of her, she was a pretty cute girl with a round face and long hair simply tied into a small braid.

  "Congratulations, boss! You can finally say goodbye to being single!" Chen Chufan teased Meng Wei.

  "Alright, let's drop it. The eight characters aren't even aligned yet!" Meng Wei waved his hand, indicating he had no interest in continuing the conversation.

  "Not bad, you've already told me your birthday on our first meeting, I think the opportunity is great. Of course, boss, you should thank Old Three properly, if it wasn't for his heroic sacrifice, causing the two female MM to fight over wine, you wouldn't have had such a good chance. By the way, didn't Ye Siying and Han Xiaohui bully you at home?" Yang Tao looked at Chen Chufan with a playful gaze.

  "What can I do? I'm upright and not afraid of the shadow being crooked. You think I'm like you! At least no one made me write a self-criticism." Chen Chufan replied to Yang Tao's question with an air of righteousness. Then, imitating the boss's mannerism, he waved his hand, indicating that he also didn't want to continue this topic.

  Yang Tao was just about to tease Chen Chufan for a couple of sentences when the dormitory phone rang again. Judging by the time, it was probably Yang Tao's roommate calling to check in on him. Yang Tao couldn't be bothered with teasing Chen Chufan anymore and quickly went to answer the phone.

  As expected, the dormitory was soon filled with Yang Tao's flattering tone and greasy language. Chen Chufan really admired Li Can, wondering how he could tolerate Yang Tao's daily verbal attacks and still be enthusiastic about it.

  Taking advantage of Yang Tao's chatter, Chen Chufan ran into the bathroom to tidy himself up and then got into bed early. He wanted to think things over and didn't want to listen to Yang Tao's nagging.

  The result was not as expected. After Yang Tao hung up the phone, he still found him.

  "Lao San went to bed so early today, must be reflecting on his mistakes in bed! No need to hide under the blanket and cry, just let it out and show us, I won't laugh at you. Many kids who don't listen to their elders are like this, I'm used to it."

  Many years later, when online gaming became popular, Chen Chufan learned that there was a type of game profession called MT, which had a skill called "taunt" used to attract hatred. At that time, he recalled the scenes from his school days and finally gave Yang Tao an accurate positioning - he was simply born to be an MT, with a mouth that could taunt without even needing to use skills. Just like this sentence now, it's enough to make Chen Chufan want to get out of bed and beat Yang Tao up.

  "Reflect? Why reflect?! Hurry up and go wash and sleep! Still talking nonsense, believe it or not, I'll give your family's Cuan a call to report on your glorious deeds at school!" Chen Chufan said angrily.

  "Hit the standard to pain, then annoyed and angry, even prepared to use immoral means to strike back!" Yang Tao, however, ignored Chen Chufan's threat and continued to lean on the stool next to the phone, continuing to attack Chen Chufan. It can be seen that Yang Tao has some resentment towards Chen Chufan for not listening to him today.

  "What's gotten to you? What's making you so angry? I went to bed early because I had some problems and wanted to think quietly about whether it was good or not! Please don't use your dirty brain to guess at my pure heart!" Chen Chufan retorted sharply.

  "What's there to think about? What problem do you need to quietly ponder? Why not just say it out loud and let everyone help you think it through!" Yang Tao didn't mind Chen Chufan's sarcasm, but he did take an interest in the problem Chen Chufan mentioned.

  Chen Chufan thought for a moment, feeling that with Yang Tao's broad thinking, it seemed really possible to discuss the arrangement of some programs with him, so he opened his mouth and said: "The school anniversary celebration party is coming soon, I'm preparing to come up with a program, now I'm thinking about what kind of program to do! Do you have any good ideas?"

  "What's wrong with me? You're good at playing the piano, just play a solo!" Yang Tao said in an unoriginal tone.

  Chen Chufan originally had this idea, because it was the simplest method. However, after experiencing the job search at the coffee shop today, he wavered in his thinking. Boss Wang's evaluation of his music made him realize that there are actually not many people who truly appreciate pure piano music. Just putting a piano on stage and playing randomly has no meaning. Maybe it can get some applause from classmates below and some admiring glances, but what's the use? He wanted to create a program that would make Han Xiaohui's eyes light up, not show off his piano skills, and he didn't have a salary to pay himself, so it was completely meaningless.

  "Play a tune casually, I still need to find you to discuss!" Chen Chufan gave Yang Tao a white eye, and then told Yang Tao his own views.

  "That's not wrong!" Yang Tao nodded: "This is a concept of mass and niche. Just like you playing the piano, people who understand music can indeed immerse themselves in it, but those without musical cells really can't appreciate its flavor. And at the school's anniversary gala, only a small part of the audience understands music, so performing this is indeed quite niche!"

  "So I want to think about what kind of program to make! It's hard to find someone who understands me!" Chen Chufan sighed.

  "Lao San, you wouldn't really consider developing in the literary circle, would you?" Yang Tao suddenly bypassed the topic in front of him and brought up Chen Chufan's plans for the future, his tone serious.

  "Huh?" Chen Chufan was taken aback, he really hadn't thought about these things. In his opinion, he was still only a sophomore, and considering the future seemed a bit far-fetched. After thinking for a moment, Chen Chufan said uncertainly, "I really haven't thought about this, but if doing this can make a living, it's not impossible."

  "Hey! You should think about it too. I think since the music department's professor thinks you have talent in this area, don't waste it. Actually doing something artistic is not bad at all. If you do well, you can make a living and become famous. A typical career that brings both fame and fortune. However, if you really plan to enter this field, you need to think carefully about how to develop your future." Yang Tao continued his serious speech.

  "For example, if you play the piano well, you can consider majoring in music. As long as you can play something impressive, don't worry about not having an audience; even a group of complete musical philistines will applaud and praise your playing enthusiastically after listening to just one piece! Of course, I'm just making an analogy."

  Chen Chufan replied after hearing Yang Tao's words: "But playing the piano in front of a group of people who don't understand music at all is really meaningless! I think that's blasphemy to art. Even if I really wanted to develop in the literary and artistic circles, I wouldn't just play the piano!"

  "Why?" Yang Tao was somewhat puzzled. Chen Chufan had been following Professor Wang to learn piano skills recently, and he knew that Chen Chufan's part-time job was also a pianist. Yang Tao had always thought that Chen Chufan would make a living by playing the piano after graduation.

  "It's actually nothing, just like you said, playing the piano is an art. I think it's okay to play the piano as a hobby, but if you really make this your profession and every day perform in front of a group of elegant people, it's actually quite boring. I'm from a humble background, I prefer more popular performances, just like,,,,,,," At this point, Chen Chufan found himself unable to describe his own mindset.

  "It's like some people enjoy watching opera, attending concerts! But those who truly understand these art forms are few and far between. The masses prefer to watch skits, listen to crosstalk, listen to pop music, and appreciate adult films. Your point is that if you enter the literary circle, you'd rather choose to develop in this direction of popularized art." Yang Tao helped Chen Chufan express his inner thoughts.

  Chen Chufan actually thought so, but didn't know how to express it. He didn't expect that Yang Tao would casually listen and truly grasp his mindset. But what he said earlier was quite good, why did he have to bring up A-papers? It made Chen Chufan feel a bit out of place.

  "Can A films be considered art?" Chen Chufan asked with a stunned expression.

  "Can't A films be considered art?" Yang Tao asked in surprise: "Chen Chufan, classmate, have you made it clear what is called art? Art comes from life, all art is just a manifestation of human behavior, and A films are also a great art, their connotation is actually very profound." When he said this, Yang Tao paused for a moment, as if to prove that his words were reasonable, and even began to give examples.

  "For example, when we were freshmen, the first time we went to a video hall for an all-nighter, that R-rated movie from Country A was showing at 3 am. It was about a teacher-student romance! The theme was about a female teacher and male student getting together, but we can't be so superficial. We need to see the artistic portrayal of human nature in it. For instance, from the process of them getting together, we can see the teacher's long-term loneliness and her challenge to traditional morality. From her passionate movements, we can see that the teacher's suppressed emotions are like a floodgate opening. And from the student's perspective, we can clearly understand the confusion and sexual urges of adolescence, as well as their primitive dependence on the teacher. Aren't these art? Not to mention that all A-rated movies contain the ultimate truth of human reproduction, who dares to say it's not art? Disagree? Come debate!"

  Yang Tao's impassioned speech came to an end, his expression still solemn, as if he were expounding on a grand topic; perhaps in the depths of Yang Tao's wanton heart, he truly believed this.

  "I still prefer Takeuchi Ran!" Meng Wei, the old boss who had been silent for a long time, couldn't help but speak up after listening to Yang Tao's argument.

  Chen Chufan now only felt that he was stupid again, he really wanted to slap himself in the face. How could he be so foolish as to believe that Yang Tao would have a good discussion with him about the problems of the evening party program? Even more foolishly, how could he discuss his future life with him? What made him most unforgivable was that he had discussed art, such a serious topic, with Yang Tao!