The Big Nose Art Museum is located on a less bustling street in the cultural district of G City.
According to information gathered by members of the "Painting Theory" group, this museum has always favored avant-garde styles, and its exhibitions mostly feature abstract and surrealist works. The artists behind these works are mostly niche painters, some relatively unknown, others only known within small circles.
Even Mu Yiran couldn't provide any useful clues this time.
It's worth mentioning that Zhu Haowen, as a new member, joined the "Painting Theory" group, and the "Gentle Green" avatar in the group remains permanently fixed at "Just an Avatar."
Regardless of what kind of person Sha Liu was, her value cannot be judged by her death, hence the general feeling of pity. However, for someone preparing for death, sympathizing with others is clearly a waste of emotion and utterly useless.
When Ke Xunweidong arrived at the Big Nose Art Museum, it was raining heavily. With summer approaching, the weather was unbearably hot and humid, making the air-conditioned museum the perfect place for pedestrians to escape the rain and heat.
"I expect we'll have enough people this time," Wei Dong said sarcastically.
Ke Xun closed his umbrella and went with Wei Dong to find the luggage storage area, where they ran into Zhu Haowen.
Zhu Haowen's style of dress was Ke Xun's favorite: a blue and white striped T-shirt, loose moss-green casual pants with the cuffs rolled up to expose his ankles, and blue and white canvas shoes—a complete Harajuku-style outfit.
Although this outfit might become mourning clothes, beggar's clothes, a long robe and mandarin jacket, or even a monk's robe once it's in the painting.
"Kon ni qi wa!" Ke Xun greeted.
Zhu Haowen turned to look at him, his gaze sweeping over Ke Xun's face and body, before giving a slight nod.
"Let's go up together," Ke Xun said. "The fourth exhibition hall is on the third floor."
"The hall isn't big, but it has quite a few floors," Wei Dong grumbled, wiping his face as he looked at the wrought iron staircase. They were about to enter the exhibition hall again.
This feeling was like going to the hospital for a shot as a child; the smell of disinfectant would give him a stomachache and make his legs go weak with anxiety. Wei Dong desperately hoped that going to the fourth exhibition hall was just for a shot, not for death. Ke Xun patted his shoulder and took the lead up the stairs. The architecture of this art museum was also very surreal, bizarre and fantastical, with doors and windows scattered about, and strangely shaped plaster sculptures occasionally appearing out of nowhere. It took the three of them a long time to find the entrance to the fourth exhibition hall. The sign at the entrance read "Works by Emerging Artists," followed by four or five rows of artists' names. "Another mixed exhibition hall," Ke Xun said. "Let's divide the tasks when we go in. When the light shines on the paintings, I'll look at the paintings themselves, and you two will look at the display panels below them. Try to quickly make out the artists' names and the descriptions of the paintings, okay?" "OK," Wei Dong tried to sound fearless. Zhu Haowen nodded slightly. The three stepped inside and were immediately dazzled by a kaleidoscope of colors. Everywhere they looked were bizarre and incomprehensible paintings, with strange content and bold colors, like entering a mental hospital. When the lights suddenly went out and came back on, the three immediately focused their attention on the painting illuminated by the light. A flash of white light, and they opened their eyes to find themselves inside the painting. Zhu Haowen: "..." Wei Dong: "..." Ke Xun: "..." Wei Dong: "Were we...did we wander into a men's bathhouse?" Why were there naked men all around...? Looking at the three of them, Zhu Haowen's Harajuku-style men's clothing, Ke Xun's black T-shirt and cropped hip-hop pants, and Wei Dong's white T-shirt and ripped jeans had all vanished without a trace, not even their underwear remained. "Holy crap! What the hell is this?!" Wei Dong quickly covered his groin and squeezed his legs together. "Don't bother covering up, everyone here is a man." Ke Xun calmly observed their surroundings, as composed as if he were wearing the Emperor's New Clothes. "Damn, this looks exactly what you wanted." Wei Dong glanced at him sideways. "Do you think I'm that naive?" Ke Xun continued, scanning the surrounding naked men. "If you want to see, you can go to a public bathhouse anytime." "Come on, public bathhouses are full of pot-bellied middle-aged men, unless you have a hard palate." Wei Dong said. "That's because you went to the wrong bathhouse. Public bathhouses are only full of middle-aged men, while some bathhouses are full of young, handsome, and fit hunks like me." Ke Xun said. "You're such a jerk." Wei Dong rolled his eyes. "You're such a heterosexual." Ke Xun said. Zhu Haowen glanced at Ke Xun from the side. Ke Xun's eyes were still searching in the crowd, and Wei Dong hit the nail on the head: "If you want to see Boss Mu's naked body, just say so. Don't cradle your neck like a groundhog and look around like that." "How can I tell you 'straight' when I'm gay?" Ke Xun said. "No, calm down. This is a painting, not a bathhouse. Let's not get carried away by lust, okay?" Wei Dong looked around and saw that all the naked men, except for him, were completely at ease, sitting, standing, or lying on the grass in the sunlight, looking quite comfortable. He also uncomfortably let go of his hand covering his private parts. "Are we in a pornographic painting or a nude painting? Why is everyone naked?" Ke Xun asked him, "Did you read what was written on the display board before entering the painting?" Wei Dong said, "I only saw the painter's name, Lex." "Where's Haowen?" Ke Xun looked at Zhu Haowen, who was just as calm and composed as him. Zhu Haowen seemed to deliberately keep his gaze fixed on Ke Xun's face: "I saw the name of this painting clearly, it's called 'Animal World'." Wei Dong looked bewildered: "Are you sure this isn't a TV program? Besides, what does 'Animal World' have to do with naked people?" Ke Xun said: "Humans are animals too, but why would they be naked? That's something we can't speculate on right now." Wei Dong asked him: "Did you see the picture?" Ke Xun replied: "It entered the painting too quickly, I only glanced at it, I vaguely saw a bull's head, and in the distance there seemed to be a cat with a strange expression." "It's definitely an animal..." Wei Dong scratched his head, "So what do we do next? Do we sunbathe and scratch ourselves like these people, picking lice off each other?" Ke Xun said seriously: "The most urgent thing is that I think we should find our buddies from this trip and discuss it together." Wei Dong: "Hehe." The three of them stood there looking around, and after more than ten minutes, Qin Ci appeared on the grass. Qin Ci was clearly taken aback by the fact that he had become completely naked upon entering the painting, but being a doctor, he quickly calmed down and walked confidently towards Ke Xun and the other two, even waving in greeting. Meeting naked in person... Wei Dong hid behind Ke Xun, watching the man wave and respond so casually. "Dr. Qin, what do you think of this situation?" Ke Xun asked.
Qin Ci's usually calm and composed face now showed a hint of complex emotion: "I'm completely clueless too. I never expected the painting to be like this..."
Ke Xun tilted his head: "Surrealism, after all, is about breaking free from all shackles and being unrestrained by worldly conventions. By the way, have you seen Mu Yiran?"
Qin Ci shook his head.
The four of them stood there and continued to wait.
Another ten minutes or so passed, and two young men in their early twenties came running from the other side of the grass, looking bewildered and panicked. One was tall and strong, probably over 1.9 meters tall, and the other was burly and fat, with a belly bulging like a ball, bouncing up and down as he ran, his soft, fleshy chest swaying like waves—it was quite an eyesore.
Ke Xun and Wei Dong watched with indescribable expressions as the two men ran around aimlessly, then rushed into the group of naked men sunbathing, asked a few questions, and attracted a group of people looking at them as if they were idiots.
"Over here!" Qin Ci waved to the two men.
The two men rushed over. The tall, burly man, his voice booming, asked as he ran, "What's going on? Where is this? Who are you?"
Ke Xun and Wei Dong were used to the newcomers' barrage of questions, but they left the task of patiently explaining to Qin Ci, a doctor known for his patience. The two men shifted to the side, mainly to avoid the fat man's heavy breathing. Since they were all naked, his rapid breaths were hitting their chests directly, creating a numbing sensation from head to toe.
A few minutes later, the two newcomers, unsurprisingly, voiced their disbelief and accusations. Ke Xun and Wei Dong moved even further away.
Some things just can't withstand repeated exposure; even the most patient person can lose patience. Of course, this didn't apply to the patient Dr. Qin; his daily work was pretty much like this. While
Qin Ci continued explaining to the newcomers, another ten minutes or so passed. Then, a young man of about eighteen or nineteen years old came running from the other side of the grass. He was slender, with a long torso and short legs, squinting at people, and staggering as he ran.
"My glasses are gone—my classmate is gone—where am I? What's going on here? Who are you all?" Bai Ban covered his head and shrank into a ball.
Qin Ci continued to explain patiently.
"I hope Mu Yiran isn't in any trouble." Ke Xun looked at the other end of the grass.
"Maybe she'd rather die out there than have you lust after her body," Wei Dong said.
"Hehe," Ke Xun glanced at him, "I'm more worried about the female comrades who went into the painting."
Wei Dong's mouth formed an O: "Holy crap! How come I didn't think of that—this is—this is going to cause trouble!"
Ke Xun: "…Can you control your gleeful expression? Let's not lose our minds over lust, okay?"
Wei Dong manually pinched his mouth shut and said again: "Why haven't we seen any women come in after waiting for so long? And have you noticed that all the people sunbathing over there are men, no women?"
Ke Xun: "Perhaps due to the discordant nature of this painting, all those chosen to enter this time are men."
Wei Dong: "What the hell is this stupid painting!"
Ke Xun: "Mind your manners, harmony is important."
Wei Dong: "Harmony my ass! Tell me the truth, did you actually paint this? Do you have a pen name, Lex? Are all the animals you paint gay?"
"Shh…" Ke Xun suddenly said.
Wei Dong lifted his eyelids to look at him and saw that the corners of his naturally upturned mouth were slightly curved, and he was staring intently ahead.
Wei Dong followed his gaze and saw Mu Yiran slowly walking towards them in the brilliant sunset.
His skin was so white it glowed, and his taut muscles resembled a finely sculpted Greek god. His slender waist and long, straight legs perfectly embodied the golden ratio and exquisite sexiness.
Wei Dong, as a straight man, felt he couldn't take his eyes off this body, let alone his gay brother…wait, where is he? His gay
brother didn't pounce on him as he expected; instead, he darted behind him.
Wei Dong: "…"
Was he shy, or… lustful at first sight?