Chapter 294 - A Not-So-Good Instinct
Translator: Lav
Editor: Likia
Everyone was shocked. Wei Xingyue’s expression changed drastically.
She quickly pulled Shi Lei back by the arm and whispered, “Cut the nonsense!”
Shi Lei shrugged and remained silent.
Everyone’s gaze fell on him, and Wei Xingyue felt extremely awkward. She wasn’t worried that someone would do something to him because even Old Bai couldn’t completely ignore someone who could ask her father for help. And Old Bai wasn’t a narrow-minded person. Even if Shi Lei was talking nonsense, he wouldn’t dwell on his words.
She was just worried about Shi Lei losing face.
If he shut his mouth right now, the others wouldn’t take it to heart out of consideration for Old Bai, since Shi Lei was just talking nonsense. But if someone intended to mess things up, then he would be shamed no matter how generous Old Bai was.
However, there really was someone who wanted to stir up trouble.
“Although you can be willful because you are young, you cannot speak without thinking. Old Bai has been analyzing art for a long time and he has seen much more than you. Doesn’t your words mean that Old Bai’s taste isn’t as good as yours? Old Bai is generous and won’t dwell on it, but there are so many professionals here, including a few masters from Jiangdong Province’s Painting Association. How is the treasure in everyone else’s eyes not so amazing in yours?”
Everyone looked toward the person who spoke. It was the man surnamed Xu who had previously spoken to Shi Lei and Wei Xingyue on the balcony.
Shi Lei frowned slightly. Although he was confident enough to use facts to speak, no one else spoke up besides that man named Xu. And he was also the only person who had interacted with Shi Lei before.
But why does this guy have to pick on me? Shi Lei was confused as he turned around to look at Wei Xingyue, only to see a never-before-seen expression of anger on her face. That made him realize something.
“Did he try to pursue only to end up being rejected?” He asked in a tiny voice.
Wei Xingyue’s face froze.
Although his voice was small, the room was so quiet that they could hear the sound of a pin drop. Who couldn’t hear him?
Wei Xingyue rolled her eyes. “What nonsense is this?”
Shi Lei saw that the man surnamed Xu also seemed awkward, and he laughed silently. Of course he knew that it was impossible for the man to pursue Wei Xingyue because of his age. He was so old and it was impossible for Wei Xingyue’s father not to look for trouble with him.
“Oh, I know! He wants to have an arranged marriage with your family but your father declined. So I have to take his hatred for you!”
Wei Xingyue rolled her eyes again and thought: Even if you are the one being dragged into this, it’s your own fault. And yet you are blaming me for it.
The man could not keep smiling anymore. Shi Lei was right. He had indeed wanted his son to marry Wei Xingyue, but her father had scolded him right to his face, saying, “Who the hell are you and how dare you look to arrange a marriage with my Wei family?” and then declined it on spot. Hence, he had wanted to pick on Shi Lei from the very beginning and focused on what Shi Lei just said regarding the painting.
“Xingyue, is this your friend? He’s talking nonsense in front of so many elders and started making irresponsible comments about me when I merely gave him a warning—”
Of course Wei Xingyue knew that this man was targeting the Wei family and Shi Lei was indeed being dragged into it. Hence, she cut off the man’s sentence coldly. “Uncle Xu, it’s true that Shi Lei may have said some wrong things, but when you proposed the marriage to my father, you were indeed declined on the spot. How is that an irresponsible remark?”
The man’s chest rose in anger and the others all lowered their heads and sniggered. None of the people there knew that the man had once proposed a marriage with the Wei family for his son, but they knew that there was an enormous gap between the Xu and Wei families. This man obviously wanted to climb the social ladder by tying himself to the Wei family. It really wasn’t a surprise that Wei Xingyue’s father declined. It was indeed shameful for him to be humiliated by a youngster in front of everyone when he wanted to pick on him.
“I merely thought that my son is around the same age as you. I wanted to see if there was any favorable connection that could be made in marriage. It’s nothing to be rejected by your father. This has nothing to do with today. I just want to know that what this young sir meant by “not so amazing.” It’s not good that you act like this at such a young age. How is he treating our compliments and analyses? I want to hear your opinion. Which part of this painting is not amazing?”
Seeing that the topic had been changed instantly, the man obviously had to change it back to the original topic.
Wei Xingyue didn’t know what to say and glared at Shi Lei. She wanted to know how he was going to handle the situation.
Shi Lei looked at Wei Xingyue blankly and whispered, “Is he asking me to explain?”
Wei Xingyue felt resentful and had a stern expression. She thought: Shi Lei is just an ordinary person and he won’t have the chance to see them again, so it’s fine if he loses face. But Xu, you are targeting me on purpose. Do you really think that my family is too scared to deal with yours?
But Shi Lei spoke, pointing at Wei Xingyue. “She isn’t letting me.”
Some of the people wore a blank expression and others laughed out loud. Although they also felt that Shi Lei wasn’t being respectful, since they all understood that it was the man surnamed Xu who first picked on him intentionally, of course they didn’t want to be part of it. They were all sophisticated people. Who would want to stand out?
Seeing that Shi Lei had used Wei Xingyue’s sentence of “stop the nonsense” righteously, he was rather quick-witted and everyone was amused.
Even Old Bai smiled. It was difficult for the man surnamed Xu to continue talking with those words. That was mainly because it was difficult for people with their statuses to experience the rogue actions of an ordinary person.
“Haha, this young friend is interesting. I also want to listen to what you think of this painting…Hmm, ‘not to amazing’…Haha, these words are interesting.”
When everyone saw Old Bai say that, they thought that this young man better be able to say something, or else it would be hard for him to step out of this. What was Wei Xingyue doing? How could she bring a child who didn’t know what to and what not to say?
Everyone waited for Shi Lei to speak, but they had underestimated how shameless he was.
He pointed at Wei Xingyue again. “It’s not that I don’t want to, but she really won’t let me speak.”
Wei Xingyue almost fainted, and everyone was speechless. Old Bai told you to speak and yet you still use this excuse. This was no longer interesting, but shameless.
Old Bai wasn’t angry. He still smiled. “Since this young friend has that wonderful finishing touch, I believe that he won’t say nonsense. Don’t worry about Xingyue. If you have something to say, then you should, and expand my knowledge.”
Shi Lei scratched his head and looked at Wei Xingyue. “Well, Old Bai asked, so can I say it?”
Wei Xingyue stomped angrily and was still speechless. “Fine fine fine! Say it!”
Shi Lei then spoke. “In fact, I can’t really explain it clearly. It’s just an instinct. I just feel like this painting was copied badly. It’s rigid and inflexible, and it’s far different from Zhang Sengyou’s original work.”
There was an uproar in the room. Even Old Bai frowned slightly.
This painting had already been lost in the world a long time ago and it was impossible for anyone to have seen it before. Everyone simply compared this to the “Five Stars of the Lunar Mansions” and came to conclusion that this copy of the painting was extremely similar to the original based on the records in the books.
It was fine if Shi Lei could say something, but he simply said “instinct,” which made everyone, including Old Bai, feel dissatisfied.