Bai Yun says: "There are still people who understand Van Gogh's madness, maybe it's just a matter of fate. In my opinion, Van Gogh should have been a man who was very serious about his feelings."
Richard said, "You admire him because he was serious about his feelings? Ho ho ho, how do you know if he was really serious about his feelings, you didn't live in his time."
Bai Yun said, "I respect everyone who is serious about their feelings, and I think Van Gogh was one of them. Let me tell you another story. You know how Van Gogh loved to capture the bright lines and translucent colours of the sun, and in order to achieve the desired effect he liked to paint at midday when the sun was at its most poisonous. It was often a time when you could feel the burning sensation of the sun on your head very strongly. On one occasion, however, he suddenly felt the burning sensation on his head diminish and Van Gogh looked back to find a beautiful, slender girl holding an umbrella for him. He later learnt that this beautiful girl was the daughter of the owner of the Château, and was so moved by his almost brutal artistic pursuits that she came every day on time to fetch Van Gogh's umbrella, and gradually fell in love with him. Later, Van Gogh went to the owner's house to ask for his hand in marriage. But as Van Gogh was only a poor little painter at the time, with no reputation whatsoever, the owner of the house would not accept. Although Van Gogh said to him in all seriousness: "Sir, I am really not famous now, I cannot sell my paintings, I am really poor, and, to tell you the truth, sometimes I do not even have the money to buy two slices of bread a day. But please believe that one day my paintings will sell for a lot of money and I will be good to your daughter! The house was furious and said, "What are you talking about? Get this poor madman out of here! And so the poor Van Gogh was pushed out of the door by the fierce butler. In spite of this, the girl still came to give Van Gogh an umbrella, but she became more and more emaciated every day. When Van Gogh realised that something was wrong, he turned around and saw the girl, who was blue, collapsed on the ground. The girl was taken to the village doctor, where she was rescued. She was later taken to a lunatic asylum not far from Arles, where she spent the rest of her life. Van Gogh was devastated by the girl's death and never married. So I think Van Gogh would have been a man who was very serious about his feelings."
Richard looked at the white cloud and said gently, "How do you know so much about this story?"
Bai Yun said, "I read it in a book. I like his works and of course I care about what kind of person he was ...
If Van Gogh had married the owner's daughter, perhaps he wouldn't have had to worry about not having money, and perhaps he would have had more energy to work on his art. Perhaps it was this ordeal that made Van Gogh devote all his passion to his painting career. Who knows, in life, no one can say for sure. But I like Van Gogh's passion, and his paintings are an expression of it. As he himself said: "The colours in his paintings are the passions in his life."
Richard says: "Yes, Van Gogh spent three of the richest and most exuberant months of his life in Arles - less than three months, I should say - and he brought Arles to life. But there are no authentic works of Van Gogh in Arles and he only sold one painting during his lifetime."
White Cloud said, "Yes, and he was later made to feel crazy and committed suicide at the age of 37. It wasn't until after his death that his work became so valuable. If Van Gogh had met you, if you had been very rich, would you have helped him and bought his paintings?"
Richard said, "What if that's true? Haha, Van Gogh and I are not from the same era."
Bai Yun said, "I mean if, if you were of his time and you were rich, would you help him?"
Richard said, "I don't know, there were many people of Van Gogh's time who had money, but I think maybe I would and maybe I wouldn't. Maybe I would have thought he was just a crazy lunatic like everyone else."
Bai Yun said with a sigh of relief, "Ahem, that's sad, it seems that Van Gogh is destined to be famous only after his death. But it's good that he's finally famous and his paintings are worth a fortune. But what about me? I don't even know if anyone will pay a high price for my paintings after I die, let alone a fortune."
Richard looked at Bai Yun and knew that her inferiority complex was acting up again, so he encouraged her by saying, "Aren't you still young? And aren't I helping you to realise a part of your dream? You have come to Provence, the rest of your dream is up to you. You have to cherish life while you're alive, don't think about what happens after you die.
Bai Yun turned her head and looked at Richard tenderly and said, "You are right, but why do you have to be so kind to me?"
Richard looked at Bai Yun's gentle eyes and his heart fluttered inadvertently. But he hid the stirring in his heart and said calmly, "Because you are a pure and beautiful white cloud, you deserve a carefree and happy life, and I am willing to do what I can to make it happen. I just hope that no matter what happens in the future, you will face it with strength and never give up. I hope that you will cherish your young life and give full play to your passion in life ..."