Does anyone know which novel has a heroine named Mai Dong?

Self-portrait of Ophiopogon japonicus

1. The words written above

What do you know? What do you really need to know?

Is it your parents, classmates, teachers or someone else? When you open your eyes to look outward and understand the world, do you have a moment to look inward for that self that you have ignored and abandoned for a long time?

Everyone has an angelic heart, which is beautiful, pure, and full of wisdom, but this heart is often obscured by colorful things. When we are troubled and confused, what we are confused about is not the road, but our own soul. When you find your true soul, will you still think that everything is just a cloud?

This is how the protagonist of our story, Maidong, searches for himself.

Now, let’s begin our story!

2. Blank Canvas

Maidong is already a second-year junior high school student, but his image is still very cute, with chestnut-colored short ear-length hair, covered by a thick side part. She added light eyebrows to make her magnolia-like skin even fairer. Ophiopogon japonicus has a little secret that she never tells anyone. Every evening, when the setting sun dyes the clouds on the horizon red, she always likes to go for a walk on the path deep in the campus. To be honest, that path is dusty on sunny days and muddy on rainy days. There is really no scenery to speak of. That is to say, when Ophiopogon japonicus is wandering back and forth there, her sea blue dress that moves with the wind can add a bright color to this monotonous earthy yellow. From a distance, it looks like a vibrant Phalaenopsis blooming in the desert.

Mai Dong recently had a wish to paint a self-portrait that is both physical and spiritual. But it's been a whole week, and she has no inspiration at all, and she can't draw well at all. The drawing paper she tore off can fill a sack. It's a pity for those papers and pens. Is my painting technique wrong? No, I started learning painting when I was 4 years old. I have been learning painting for 10 years and even won a gold medal in a school painting competition. Didn't I observe carefully? No, I placed a huge mirror next to the easel and looked at it while painting. I never missed every subtle line or turn. Why is that? Maidong was walking while thinking about it. When he got tired, he sat on a bench by the roadside. There was a tall tree next to the bench. She looked up and looked for a long time. She felt that the boundless blue sky was like the vast sea, the white clouds were like rolling waves, and the leaves were of course countless. A small boat connected end to end. Ah, so beautiful!

At this moment, a hand patted her gently from behind, pulling her back from her wandering thoughts.

She looked up and saw an old man. His face was dark and thin, with deep wrinkles that looked like dry land. His long white beard fluttered slightly in the wind. Light gray sun hat, beige shirt. He was carrying a leather bag on his back and a dark brown crutch in his hand. There is an emerald ring on the ring finger, green and shiny.

"Hello!" Maidong stood up and asked the old man.

"Hello, little girl. What are you doing here?" The old man smiled kindly.

"Stay." Maidong replied, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Just stay there? I think you have a lot of problems." The old man looked at Ophiopogon japonicus with bright eyes.

"I..." Maidong hesitated, wondering whether this old man could read minds.

"Can you tell me? Maybe I can help you." The old man kept smiling, his eyes full of wisdom.

Mai Dong has always been a withdrawn girl. She is not very good at communicating with strangers, and she is not good at expressing herself in words. For someone who loves to paint, she uses her paintings to speak.

"Why don't you believe me?" the old man said gently.

“I have always wanted to paint a self-portrait.” Maidong said.

"That's a good idea! Go on." The old man said.

"But I can't draw it like it." Maidong said, with a slight hint of melancholy on his face. That was the melancholy that only a fourteen-year-old could feel. Just like the young leaves that have just grown, they are shaking their heads gently in the spring breeze. They are extremely beautiful, but also touching.

"What do you think is different in the painting? Is it the eyes or the eyebrows? Is it the nose or the mouth?" the old man asked.

"I don't know." Maidong said.

The old man shook his crutch, was silent for a long time, and then said to Maidong: "Can you take me to see your studio?"

"Of course." Maidong answered.

So, Maidong supported the old man and walked towards the studio.

The studio is at the end of the path, a spacious bungalow. This makes it look particularly cute and slightly mysterious in the tall teaching building. The dark red brick walls, triangular roof, and a few pigeons flying above the roof are simple and elegant. The large rectangular windows welcome the bright sunshine outside, making the entire studio feel bright and warm even in winter. There are some scattered easels in the studio, and on the easels are unfinished works. Some of these works are simple, some are gorgeous, some are high-pitched, and some are profound. In one corner, there is a blank canvas, as white as a vast snowfield. There is a waste paper bucket next to it, with paper balls crumpled together in it.

The old man pointed and said. "Child, is this the drawing you threw away?"

"Oh." Maidong lowered his head. I felt a heat on my face, but it wasn't from the sun. That's two words - shame. < /p>

The old man took Ophiopogon japonicus by the hand, bent down, picked out a ball of paper, and opened it gently. The sunlight shines on the paper, and the drawing is very clear. I just used a 2B pencil to draw the sketch on the drawing paper without coloring. The girl in the drawing smiled very sweetly. The old man looked at the painting and then at Ophiopogon japonicus without saying anything. The old man picked out another paper ball, which was similar to the one just now, and his smile seemed to be brighter. In this way, the old man picked out the paintings that had been discarded by Ophiopogon japonicus one by one, smoothed them one by one, and arranged them neatly on the ground, as if he was going to hold a painting exhibition.

"Come, child, take a look at your drawings." The old man led Maidong to these paintings.

Mai Dong looked at these drawings. Although there were smiling faces in each drawing, maybe it was because they were wrinkled. It seemed that every drawing frowned at her. Maybe it was not colored. Reason, every drawing is like a pale sigh.

"Child, look, is that you in the painting?" the old man asked gently.

“It doesn’t look like what I painted.” Maidong kept his head lowered.

"Child, you don't have to blame yourself. Look at these drawings spread out on the floor. I know you've tried your best."

"But I still feel that it's not me." , That's not me. But, I don't understand why it doesn't look like that." Maidong felt a little excited. She really wanted to leave her youth on the paper with her own brush.

The old man looked at Maidong, was silent for a long time, and said, "But do you know yourself? Or do you know yourself?"

"Me?" Maidong was stunned. , how could I not know myself? What I know best is myself.

3. The most authentic negatives

The old man smiled and took out a small photo album from his schoolbag and handed it to Ophiopogon japonicus. Maidong opened it and saw a photo inside. The photo was none other than himself.

She looked at the first picture seriously. What was she doing? She was walking on the path, but there was no smile on her face. Why is your head so low and listless? Oh, she remembered that she didn't pass her English test that day.

Look at the second picture, what happened? The corners of his mouth were curled up, so ugly. Oh, that day I had a conflict with my classmates in the dormitory over fetching water.

Looking at it, this one has an irritable expression, that one has a noble attitude...

Looking at it, she smiled, it turned out that this is me. She raised her head and looked at the old man.

The old man said: "I am in charge of flowers and trees on campus. You probably haven't noticed me. When I was your age, I also liked painting, but now I like photography. I always see you walking here. , there are few flowers and trees on both sides of this path, and it looks very monotonous, but when you come, especially when you come wearing that navy blue dress, the colors suddenly become richer, and it looks particularly vibrant every time you take these photos. There is a small regret, that is your expression. Sometimes, I want to stop you and ask you to smile, but it is still you."

Maidong looked at the old man, nodded and said, "So this is the real me."

The old man shook his head and said, "No, kid, that's not it, that's also a fake you."< /p>

"Fake?" Maidong was stunned again.

"Yes, look at these photos and expressions. Were you happy then?" the old man asked.

"No, but I can't control my emotions. My English exams, homework, and relationships with classmates put me under a lot of pressure," Maidong said.

The old man said gently: "Child, the you who you said was depressed by exams and homework is actually not the real you. It is just a fake you in emotion. The real you is The deepest part of your heart is the most powerful. She will not be depressed or confused. You will definitely find it if you look deep into your heart. ”

Maidong thought.

The old man continued, "Think about it, which one is real, the moon in the sky or the moon in the water? Of course it is the one in the sky, right? The moon in the sky is like the real you, and the water is like you English exam, homework. The moon distorted by ripples in the water is like you, the fake you. Are you painting the real you? ”

Listen. At this point, Maidong said: "So, these photos don't reflect the real me."

The old man nodded and said, "Yes."

Maidong pointed out He touched the drawings on the ground and said, "What about these? These all have smiles."

The old man said: "That's not the case either."

Mai Dong asked: "Why?"

The old man smiled: "Where do you get those smiles? They are made, not laughed. Right?"

Maidong thought about it for a while, and it was ah. Those smiles were forced on me in front of the mirror, not real smiles.

No wonder the muscle direction looks wrong.

The old man looked at Ophiopogon japonicus who was thinking, took a long breath, and said, "Now you understand, child, the melancholy you are not you, the you who pretends to smile is not you, the one who is really sunny." You are the one who really laughs."

Mai Dong really laughed this time and clapped his hands and said, "I understand why the painting is different."

With this clapping, Ophiopogon japonicus woke up. It turned out that it was a dream. After waking up from the dream, Ophiopogon japonicus' true self also woke up.

4. The portrait is the heart of the painting

In the spacious and bright studio, there is only Ophiopogon japonicus. Her chestnut hair is shiny and beautiful in the sunshine. She looked at herself in the mirror, feeling as if she had just met herself today and was so close to herself. The round face reflects the youthfulness. Although the light eyebrows are still a little confused, they are like two curves of clear creeks. The eyebrows are the source of the creek, which is pure and unsullied, and the tip of the eyebrows is the end of the creek, which is running towards the sea without regrets. The eyes are the easiest window to reveal one's innermost thoughts. They can always penetrate into the depths of a person's heart. She looked into her eyes and saw the little giant inside of her. In the past, the little giant was like a bee that accidentally flew into the house. Although he saw the scenery outside through the window and banged against the glass desperately, he did not know that there was an open door behind him. Now the little giant was sitting quietly, looking at her with a smile.

She quietly said to her inner self: "Hello, little giant."

The little giant said: "Hello."

She felt Surprised, even a little scared. This was the first time she tried to talk to herself, to her true self.

Maidong took a deep breath and continued to say to himself: "Little giant, where were you before, and why did I find you today.

The little giant tilted his head, naughty He said: "I have been calling you all the time, but you are the only one who is willing to pay attention to me now. "

Maidong asked: "When did you call me?

The little giant smiled and said: "When you cry, I say, don't cry, I am here." When you are afraid, I say, don't be afraid, I am here. I've been telling you, I'm here, I'm here! "

Mai Dong said seriously: "It turns out that I lost myself. ”

The little giant smiled, and so did Ophiopogon japonicus. This time she really laughed. What I want to draw should be the little giant in my heart. She is the real self. That confidence, strength , the wise self.

Mai Dong picked up the brush and started to create...

The brush lightly crossed the paper, and a smart line appeared on the paper with a beautiful melody. , gradually, there are more lines, intertwined with brilliant colors, what is painted is no longer a smiling face, but a most true and heartfelt song...

A white canvas, Before writing, there is always a meaningless blank. When traces appear, although the traces are sometimes painful and imperfect, it is precisely because of the existence of those traces that the blank becomes vivid and calm. Accept yourself and the shadows in life just like you accept the sunshine. That is your complete and true self.

Six months later

In the hall of the provincial campus art exhibition, Many people are admiring a self-portrait, and Maidong also stared in front of it for a long time. Maybe she is not admiring it, but reminiscing about the process of finding herself.