I Paint My Way to Fame Among the Stars

[The main story is complete, with bonus chapters dropping from time to time. Please leave a five-star review!] Blurb: [An illustrator who’s an aesthetic genius and a money-loving contractor × a picky, wealthy interstellar coal tycoon who’s an easy client] The moment he opens his eyes, the world’s aesthetic standards have dropped a hundredfold! “What’s so bad about having one more rich person in the world!” Lin Feiran lets out a shriek, then dies at his workstation after revising the design 108 times. He transmigrates to the interstellar era as a minor noble. Happiness came too suddenly! He’s done being a corporate drone working for clients! He’s done putting up with those damn clients! Who needs to draw when you’re rich? Whoever draws is a puppy Woof~ He’s a noble, but he’s broke. Lin Feiran bows to reality. By day, he becomes a famous designer in the interstellar world, taking all sorts of commissions and making a killing. At the same time, he attends an interstellar art academy, where he’s a talented student who racks up awards. He’s got both sides covered, and he’s brilliant at both. Looking at the reference images sent by a client, all AI-generated surrealist monstrosities, Lin Feiran’s eyes hurt from how ugly they are. The huge gap in artistic sensibilities is more than he can bear. His painting “Starship at Sunset” takes the interstellar internet by storm, leaving netizens in an uproar! [Help! I’ve got goosebumps! A miracle!] [How do you paint colors and light that seem to be alive?] Lin Feiran smiles smugly. Monet is the grandmaster, after all. He supposes he can be the dad for once. The client’s motion-sensor lamps sell out, and before long, interstellar nobles and energy magnates alike come knocking to collaborate. Picture books, fashion design, and more are all within his reach. Even the military sends him a private message: [Boss, could you design the exterior of a new battleship?] But then there’s one guy who just doesn’t get it: a loaded interstellar coal tycoon, or rather, an energy mogul. “That’s it?” Later, the man who didn’t get it gives Lin Feiran a painting he bought at auction, looking a little nervous. “This one’s pretty. It’s for you.” Lin Feiran looks at his own anonymous work and curls his lips slightly, his tone dripping with sarcasm. “Oh, so you understand art now?” Huo Shen: … We might never have met if you hadn’t thrown money at me. When the interstellar internet discovers that the famous designer and the genius student at the First Interstellar Art Academy are one and the same, the whole internet goes wild. A feel-good fantasy about a contractor illustrator. Yes, one more contractor has lost it. Note: 1. A satisfying power fantasy with a leveling-up arc! Pure, brainless fun! 2. The character art is now updated with animal designs: they’re a fox and a wolf! Mm, I drew them myself, so don’t you dare complain! (Bossy) Coming soon: “Socially Anxious Appraiser Livestreams, Then Runs Away Pregnant” [A socially anxious, cool-headed beauty who appraises antiques × a sharp-tongued but softhearted heir to a Hong Kong family] Jian Rong, a Republican-era antiques appraisal master born with spirit eyes, is reborn as a notorious rich-showoff influencer who’s been mocked by the whole internet. The platform’s talent manager sneers, “You’ve offended the Lu family, and you still want to terminate your contract? Either pay up or livestream until you die!” He just transmigrated and already slept with someone. Now he has to livestream too? The socially anxious Jian Rong closes his eyes. “…” He… he’s allergic to living people! But to stop the antique shop protected by his predecessor from being taken away, Jian Rong stares at the livestream camera for a whole day and night before deciding to throw caution to the wind. Live antique appraisals: get it wrong, pay a thousandfold! No face on camera, no small talk, no haggling, only three items a day. His bold, arrogant introduction draws a flood of haters into the appraisal livestream: [Oh, stopped showing off your wealth? Right, I forgot, the Lu family kicked you out.] [You won’t show your face? With a face like a wall covered in plaster, I’d count it as a workplace injury just to look at you.] [You won’t give a price and you call yourself an appraisal master?] At the height of the excitement, the lower half of a snow-white chin flashes across the camera, and a trembling, cool voice comes from the screen: “Get it wrong, pay a thousandfold… W-would you like to connect?” During a livestream call, Jian Rong takes one look and spots the earthy smell of a tomb in the Tang sancai tomb figurine of a lady. He keeps it brief: “Call the police.” That night, the news trends explode: #StreamerHelpsCrackMajorTombRaidingCaseDuringAntiqueAppraisal# #GoodSamaritanMrJianWinsHalfAMillion# Netizens scramble to rummage through their homes overnight: Teacher Jian, take a look at my chamber pot! The livestream also occasionally draws big-name mystery guests: the head of the jade association, provincial museum appraisal experts, famous collectors from across the country, and old-money families from overseas… Teacher Jian, what a lineup! Meanwhile, rumors that Jian Rong is ugly, that his livestreams are scripted, and that he uses ghost appraisers are rampant. A Hong Kong tycoon returns to his hometown in triumph and hosts an antiques appreciation event at his private garden, inviting experts and collectors to exchange ideas. Jian Rong, a young livestream appraiser, stands out among the invitees. Plenty of people come to watch the show, waiting for him to be exposed. Forced to attend the event, Jian Rong bundles himself up in a hat and mask and hides in a corner like a mushroom, hoping it will end soon so he can go home. Unfortunately, the Jian family’s ancestral Thousand Buddhas jade carving appears. With no other choice, Jian Rong sheds his disguise and steps before the crowd in a long green bamboo-patterned gown. He wins the appraisal contest and takes back the Jian family’s Thousand Buddhas jade carving. Everyone is stunned: this is Jian Rong, the faceless livestream appraiser! The comments on the event’s livestream also go wild: [Wait, what?? Gorgeous, who are you??] [Weren’t you supposed to be scripting all this?] [Please tell me, how much does it cost to get a National Museum expert to act in a livestream?] Pei Xulin, the event’s host, glances at the blurry figure on the security footage fleeing the hotel in a panic and gives a slight smile. Found you. But before Pei Xulin can catch him, Jian Rong packs up and runs away overnight. Only later, beside a hospital elevator, Jian Rong is bundled up until only his eyes are visible, holding a pregnancy test result as someone pins him against the wall. Pei Xulin corners Jian Rong, who has stopped streaming and disappeared, his eyes fixed on Jian Rong’s rounded belly. “What is this…?” Jian Rong tries to keep his legs from running and blurts out a phrase he just learned: “A ball from running away pregnant?” Everyone knows Pei Xulin has stayed on the mainland to search for the long-lost family heirloom of the Pei family. Now, he’s found it. Theme: Celebrating the beauty built up through millennia of human civilization