Chapter 102
It wasn’t just Xiao Si.
Looking at these paintings, Zheng Zhuren finally understood where Ji Wei and the others’ cautiousness came from.
Ye Lang’s name was destined to leave a rich and colorful mark on the history of art.
He didn’t know when they would be exhibited again.
He made a swift decision, extending the one-week exhibition to a full month.
On the first day, there were only a few people at the exhibition.
On the second day, there were hundreds.
On the third day, thousands.
…
By the fourth day, a long line had formed outside the art museum.
Upon closer inspection, one could see many well-known painters among them, their faces etched with solemnity. Many had already been there for four consecutive days, yet they still stood in line under umbrellas in the rain.
Gu Huaiyi and his assistant also came.
He really wanted to know just how good Ye Lang’s paintings were.
Nearly every art publication in the country hailed Ye Lang as the best painter of the modern era, comparing him not only to domestic artists but also to those abroad.
An auction house had appraised Ye Lang’s paintings, estimating each to be worth at least fifty million. This meant that Ji Wei, who had inherited all of Ye Lang’s works, now possessed a fortune of a truly terrifying magnitude.
“Are they really that good?” the assistant couldn’t help but mutter, seeing many reporters taking photos.
An old man standing in front of them overheard him, turned around, and said sternly, “Young man, if you don’t understand, don’t speak so casually.”
The assistant could only shut his mouth sheepishly.
After waiting in line for an hour, they finally entered the art museum.
They went up to the second floor, where a massive painting was displayed at the entrance.
—The signature was Ji Wei’s.
The assistant had intended to walk straight into the exhibition, but he noticed several old men chatting by the painting.
“How much do you think this portrait is worth?”
“It’s far from Ye Lang’s level. If it were me, I’d only be willing to pay one and a half million.”
“How many Ye Langs are there in this world? Your price clearly leaves room for negotiation. It should be at least two million.”
Two million for a single painting?
Gu Huaiyi didn’t even earn that much in a year.
Ever since he started queuing, he had felt that something was off.
Very off.
Hearing the conversation at the entrance, he understood. They had hired quite a few people to hype this up.
He stopped and couldn’t help but say, “Isn’t spending two million on a student’s painting being a complete sucker?”
The old men paid him no mind at all.
Gu Huaiyi noted that the old men’s speech and bearing were not that of ordinary people, so he shook his head at his assistant, signaling him to be quiet.
The assistant, used to speaking his mind, said dismissively, “It’s the truth. If that’s not being a sucker, what is?”
One of the old men found it amusing. “Young man, why are you so worked up? What does it have to do with you if we’re suckers?”
“And what does my saying it have to do with you?”
The assistant was about to say more when Gu Huaiyi saw a reporter taking pictures nearby and snapped at him, “If you don’t leave now, I’m leaving!”
Gu Huaiyi had already lost interest in the exhibition and turned to go down the escalator.
Only then did the assistant panic. He ignored the old men and hurried after Gu Huaiyi.
On the first floor, they ran into someone unexpected.
“Ji Wei?” Gu Huaiyi raised an eyebrow.
“Long time no see,” Ji Wei greeted him.
Gu Huaiyi also said, “Hello.” Just as they were about to pass each other, Gu Huaiyi suddenly stopped. “Will we be seeing you on the show again soon?”
The show?
It took Ji Wei a moment to realize Gu Huaiyi was asking about The Forbidden City’s Little Shop.
He planned to consult Professor Song this week. If Professor Song said it was okay, he wanted to return to the show too. He nodded. “If there are no issues.”
“Good luck. I look forward to seeing you on TV again,” Gu Huaiyi said with a smile.
“Thank you.”
Ji Wei remembered how Great Nation’s Artifacts had been arranging increasingly thrilling and dangerous tasks for its guests in pursuit of ratings, which were nerve-wracking to watch. He couldn’t help but remind him, “You too. Be careful when you’re filming.”
Gu Huaiyi hummed in acknowledgment, and the two went their separate ways.
After Ji Wei left, the assistant complained, “Isn’t he just cursing you?”
Gu Huaiyi’s smile vanished. “He’s different from me. He has the capital to be delicate. I don’t.”
“You’re just too kind-hearted,” the assistant sighed. “Always seeing the good in people.”
Gu Huaiyi didn’t say anything, and he and his assistant walked out of the art museum, one after the other.
What they didn’t know was that some media outlet had posted the video of the assistant’s argument with the old men online.
The incident itself wasn’t a big deal.
What mattered were the people involved.
Because a major finance influencer reposted it, the comments under the video exceeded ten thousand in less than an hour.
[Stock Market Stories] Sucker??? Do young people these days not recognize Jiang Zai, Li Qiubai, and the others? These guys are regulars on the Forbes rich list. Who in the investment world now hasn’t read Jiang Zai’s “Investment Records”? I’m truly shocked.
[Catfish Finance] Old Jiang just likes collecting calligraphy and paintings, and he has incredibly high standards. Now he’s a sucker? Ignorance isn’t scary, what’s scary is being ignorant and calling others ignorant.
[Fish Fillet] My teacher is a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts. He took a six-hour flight to Yancheng yesterday to see the exhibition. He said an artist like Ye Lang only comes around once every few hundred years. His grandson might not be his equal, but at his young age, he’s already showing his edge. It’s only a matter of time before he becomes a top-tier painter. Why wouldn’t that be worth two million?
[O-Bubble Fruit Milk] The person next to him seems to be Gu Huaiyi? What’s their relationship?
Most people on Weibo were just there for the entertainment, leaving a comment and a like before moving on. However, the gossip forums took on a professional gossip-mongering attitude.
One original poster used photos from Gu Huaiyi’s Weibo to dig up the fact that the young man in the video was Gu Huaiyi’s assistant. The entire forum was stunned.
Even the gossip about a popular actress allegedly acting like a diva was abandoned as everyone focused on Gu Huaiyi’s assistant.
[Fleeting Years] What kind of move is this? Isn’t the brand Gu Huaiyi is negotiating an endorsement with owned by Jiang Zai? Not to mention Li Qiubai, who owns half the household chemical market. Will he ever get another endorsement again?
[Blizzard] Come, come, let me show you a picture. All these brands belong to those big shots [Image].
[Snail Noodles] Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap! I’m speechless. What kind of luck does Gu Huaiyi have? First an unreliable agent, now an unreliable assistant. I feel like his TV series is going to fall through too. More than one person has their eye on it, and now he’s offended the top bosses.
[Buddhist Fortune-Teller] Does his assistant not know the weight of the name Ye Lang? How many celebrities have reporters photographed there these past few days? Gu Huaiyi doesn’t look surprised at all in the video. It seems this isn’t the first time his assistant has mocked Ji Wei in front of him. He’s not entirely blameless.
That afternoon, Gu Huaiyi issued a statement announcing the dismissal and an apology, but it was futile. The brand he had been in talks with officially announced a new spokesperson that same afternoon, eager to distance itself from him.
[Pineapple Rice] His career was on a good upward trend, who knew it would suddenly plummet. Whispering here, but Jiang Zai seems a bit petty. It was his assistant’s fault, not his.
[Tom Yum Soup] …Jiang Zai probably doesn’t even know, but with the matter blowing up this big, his subordinates won’t just let it slide. Especially when the endorsement doesn’t have to be Gu Huaiyi. What’s wrong with switching to a safer bet?
[Egg Yolk Pastry] Jiang Zai doesn’t have time for these trivial matters, but it’s true that Gu Huaiyi has been blacklisted by many brands. Has he forgotten the lesson from his last agent? Once is an accident, twice is worth thinking about.
[No Regrets] +1, I never dared to say it, but his fans kept bragging about how high the ratings for “Great Nation’s Artifacts” were. I was so mad. Did they forget Yancheng Television’s usual behavior? Sure enough, it backfired today. Hehe.
Gu Huaiyi pursed his lips and closed his laptop.
In just one afternoon, the future he had planned was completely gone.
The assistant packed his things and came over to apologize, looking extremely embarrassed. “I’m sorry, Huaiyi. It’s all my fault.”
Gu Huaiyi just glanced at him.
The assistant thought to himself that Huaiyi was indeed too kind-hearted. He had made such a huge mistake, yet he hadn’t said a single word of reprimand.
He mustered his courage and asked, “Can I stay here for another week? I can’t find a job right away, and I don’t have money for rent. I promise I’ll move out in a week.”
Unexpectedly, Gu Huaiyi shook his head. “Do you think you can still find a job in this industry? No one will hire you.”
Gu Huaiyi was speaking the truth, and the assistant started to panic. “Then what should I do? Huaiyi, tell me what to do!”
“What I want you to do?”
Gu Huaiyi stood up, picked up the assistant’s suitcase, and threw it out the door. “If I told you to go die, would you?”
As Gu Huaiyi said this, he seemed to have transformed into a different person, scaring the assistant so much that he quickly grabbed his suitcase and ran off.
He felt that he had been too naive before. In this circle, there were no truly simple people.
***
There were an exceptional number of reporters today, so Ji Wei was still at the art museum at seven in the evening.
This wasn’t an easy task; he got nervous easily when facing cameras.
But he wanted to introduce Ye Lang to as many people as possible.
After seeing off another reporter, a tall, thin old man walked up to him and pointed at the portrait at the entrance.
“You probably won’t be selling your grandfather’s paintings, at least not so soon. But I really like this portrait. Will you sell it for two million?”
Two million?
Although this was his best painting to date, his last one had sold for ten million rubles, which was a little over one million yuan. This price was double that, and Ji Wei was still taken aback.
The old man seemed to notice his surprise and smiled. “No need to be surprised. This painting is completely worth this price.”
“Thank you,”
Ji Wei said sincerely, politely declining the old man’s offer. “But I don’t want to sell it.”
“Is it because it’s a painting of your grandfather?”
The old man wasn’t annoyed and continued to ask.
Ji Wei nodded.
“A good child.”
The old man glanced at the painting, his eyes filled with admiration.
He handed Ji Wei a business card. “Save your next painting for me.”
Ji Wei took the card.
There was nothing else on it, just two simple words.
—Jiang Zai.
The name sounded very familiar.
When he looked up to ask more, the old man had already left.
He could only put the business card away.
A foreign reporter entered the art museum and spotted Ji Wei at the entrance to the second floor. He wanted to take a picture of Ji Wei with Ye Lang’s portrait, but the angle from the side of the escalator wasn’t good. He went up to the third floor, found the best angle, and set up his camera.
The exhibition was on the second floor, so there weren’t many people on the third.
But next to him, a man wearing a mask was also quietly watching Ji Wei.
The man had handsome features and a detached aura.
After setting up his camera, the reporter asked familiarly in his broken Chinese, “Are you also here to see the exhibition?”
“Why aren’t you on the second floor?”
“I know that’s Ji Wei. He’s very famous in the New York art scene. I think his painting is getting better and better.”
The man acted as if he hadn’t heard the questions, not saying a word.
Perhaps his questions were too boring.
After taking his photos, he was about to pack up his equipment and go downstairs for an interview when, not giving up, he aimed his lens at the man.
“He inherited all of Ye Lang’s paintings, and I heard his partner is an actor he likes. Don’t you think this boy is very lucky in a way?”
The man’s gaze remained fixed on the young man on the second floor.
Just as he was about to move his camera away without any hope, the man suddenly spoke. “It is his partner who is so fortunate.”
He actually answered.
The reporter was pleasantly surprised and said “Thank you” to him.
***
It was almost the end of the exhibition when Ji Wei finally walked out of the art museum.
It was already eight o’clock, and the sky was completely dark.
Just as he stepped out of the museum, his phone rang.
—It was Lu Shenxing.
Because there were more and more reporters at the exhibition, his idol hadn’t come again after the first day, but he always picked him up on time to go home.
He answered the call, and the man’s low voice came from the other end. “I’m waiting for you by the door.”
“Okay.”
He didn’t want to keep Lu Shenxing waiting.
He hung up and immediately ran towards the museum entrance.
The man was wearing a trench coat, its crisp fabric making his figure look even more tall and straight.
He walked up to the man, panting, and asked, “Have you been waiting long?”
“Not long.” The man brushed aside the hair on his forehead that had been messed up from running. “Just got here.”
Ji Wei’s heart finally settled, and he got into Ying Guanxiao’s car with the man.
Not long after he left, Lin Yiqiu, who had been in the crowd, walked up to Ye Lang’s portrait and reached out as if to touch it.
But he pulled his hand back. He gazed at the youth in the painting and, after a long moment, said, “In the end, he is not like you.”
Ye Lang’s paintings were a coexistence of light and darkness, contradictory and desperate.
Ji Wei’s paintings were warm.
“Teacher, who are you talking about?” his student beside him couldn’t help but ask.
“An old acquaintance.” Lin Yiqiu turned around. “Take that Ink Shrimp painting to Ji Wei.”
“Consider it returning to its rightful owner.”
***
When the car reached the entrance of the residential complex, Ying Guanxiao stopped.
“Yu Shuang is in Yancheng,” he said, his face unable to hide his excitement.
“What does that have to do with you?” Lu Shenxing asked lazily.
Ying Guanxiao was speechless. That Old Lu!
“Then let’s walk back ourselves,” Ji Wei said understandingly, pulling Lu Shenxing out of the car.
The man paused for a moment, then took his hand in return.
The action was completely unexpected—
After getting out of the car, he subconsciously wanted to pull away, but the man stared fixedly into his eyes, holding his hand without letting go.
It wasn’t the first time they had held hands, but his heart still leaped violently.
And so, the two of them walked hand in hand through Hua Ting.
He had wanted to walk quickly.
But Lu Shenxing walked very slowly, so he slowed his pace as well.
The night enveloped them, with only a half-moon in the sky.
The lights sprinkled onto the lake like countless specks of shattered gold.
It was exceptionally quiet all around, so quiet that even their breathing was clearly audible.
Ji Wei didn’t know what to say and tried hard to find a topic, finally asking, “Do you always walk this slowly?” After asking, he felt his tone sounded accusatory and quickly added, “There’s nothing wrong with being slow.”
“To be more precise, with you—” the man paused, then said deliberately, “I walk especially slowly.” The moment the man finished speaking, he felt his hand being squeezed tighter.
—Their fingers were tightly intertwined.