Chapter 7: No Other Woman Could Catch His Eye

“My woman, since when is it your turn to lecture her?”

Zhuang Qianqian almost went weak in the knees from his gaze, stammering, “I… I’m her cousin…”

She said shyly, “We met at the Zhuang family hall that night.”

She had been standing behind her father, facing him for a long time. Someone as striking as her, he couldn’t have missed her.

“Never seen her.”

Qiu Yixun coldly dropped those words and turned to leave.

That night, his eyes only held one ethereal fairy, and no other woman could catch his eye.

Zhuang Qianqian felt like she had been struck by lightning, standing there in a daze, unable to recover for a long time.

When the auction began, the guests sat in the front row, with an outstanding female alumna hosting the bidding.

There were a total of thirty works up for auction, most of which went for a few thousand or tens of thousands. Lu Zhiyuan’s work reached the highest price of 170,000.

For a recent art graduate, this was a huge affirmation.

Listening to the envious whispers of his classmates, Lu Zhiyuan’s handsome face held a touch of satisfaction and pride.

As the auction neared its end, a half-mountain night scene in dark tones sparked some controversy.

“Who painted this? The style is so sloppy?”

“Yeah, the lines are smooth and the strokes are delicate, but there’s no bright color at all.”

“It feels a bit gloomy and cold, a very eerie piece!”

“It feels like it wasn’t taken seriously. I guess this piece will be passed over, no one will be willing to spend this kind of money.”

The discussions around them were loud. Lu Zhiyuan frowned and scrutinized the painting for a while. It felt familiar yet strange, but soon his eyes lit up, and a plan formed in his mind.

Zhuang Jianxi stood in the back, calmly watching the painting on the screen in front, lost in thought.

These past few months, she had been living in the Tengjingshan Villa. The half-mountain night scenes she painted, every tree and every blade of grass, every mountain and every stream, every day and every month, were the sights she had witnessed from her balcony countless times, deeply etched into her memory.

She had been agitated and felt a sense of self-abandonment while painting, so the painting looked messy at first glance. But if you observed it carefully from different angles, there were different details, depending on whether someone had the discerning eye.

“200,000!”

A familiar voice rang out. Zhuang Jianxi was startled and turned to see her brother, Zhuang Qinyang, had arrived.

Zhuang Qinyang smiled at Zhuang Jianxi, their eyes communicating a brother-sister understanding.

Zhuang Jianxi’s heart stirred, a warmth spreading through her chest.

If there was anyone in the world who knew her best, it was her brother, who had grown up with her. Zhuang Qinyang was familiar with all her likes and habits, and could almost always tell at a glance what she had painted and its meaning.

Unconditional, unreasoned, giving the greatest affirmation and praise.

Spending 200,000 on a messy painting by an unknown artist was truly baffling.

Even if you had money, you wouldn’t spend it so recklessly, right? Some of the classmates who had bid low or even failed to bid felt a bit uncomfortable.

Lu Zhiyuan and Zhuang Qinyang were also close friends, and he knew that he had also recognized the work as Zhuang Jianxi’s.

But he knew Zhuang Jianxi better than Zhuang Qinyang. Her painting skills were on par with his, so it was impossible for her graduation project to be so simple.

Lu Zhiyuan stared at the painting, examining it meticulously. He was determined to find the hidden meaning.

However, at that moment, a deep, magnetic voice broke through the chaotic atmosphere.

“One million.”

As soon as the words fell, everyone couldn’t hold back any longer, causing a commotion.

Some people noticed that the bidder was actually Qiu Yixun, the eldest son of the Qiu family, and were even more confused.

A fellow entrepreneur and alumnus sitting beside him couldn’t help but ask Qiu Yixun in a low voice, “Qiu Shao, I apologize for my lack of appreciation, but what exactly is the highlight of this painting? What makes it worth such a high price?”

Under the curious gazes of those around him, Qiu Yixun simply said calmly, “I find it pleasing to the eye.”

The entrepreneur alumnus, “……”

“Pleasing to the eye,” indeed. Rich people are so capricious, and their taste is quite peculiar.

Qiu Yixun had been a prominent figure in the business world for many years, and he had auctioned and collected many famous paintings. Although the style of this painting was smooth and flowing, with rich layers, the colors indeed lacked a certain feeling.

He didn’t see anything special at first until he noticed the half-mountain night scene, which seemed familiar.

His eyesight was undoubtedly sharp. Even though Zhuang Jianxi had deliberately changed some of the scenery, he could still tell that it was the lake and mountain scenery that could be seen from the second-floor bedroom of his villa.

Especially the faint brushstrokes in the lower right corner, where Zhuang Jianxi had impatiently painted when he entered her room without knocking that night, it was too obvious.

Since he was here to support his little wife, he naturally had to give her the biggest show!

Many classmates were discussing it. Zhuang Jianxi at the back was stunned for a moment and then rolled her eyes helplessly.

This man… was he bluffing or did he actually see something?

At this time, Lu Zhiyuan suddenly discovered something and immediately went up to whisper a few words to the person in charge and Director Zhao.

The next moment, Director Zhao suddenly realized and directly brought Zhuang Jianxi’s half-mountain night scene painting to the front, and a lamp was lit directly above the painting.

Under the direct light, the originally dim painting became bright and three-dimensional almost instantly.

The night mountains were verdant, the lake surface was smooth as a mirror, and on a gray and lonely night road, it seemed as if countless threads of moonlight had finally poured down through the clouds, illuminating the way forward.

The rough yet flowing lines became grand and ethereal, revealing hidden details. Before everyone, there was a different kind of profound and beautiful scene, so beautiful that it sparked imagination.

After the female auctioneer announced that the author of the work was Zhuang Jianxi, the voices of those who were skeptical and dissatisfied immediately subsided, replaced by awe-inspiring amazement. Some who had heard of her name also had a look of “worthy of being the first talented woman of the Academy of Fine Arts” in their eyes.

Many experienced teachers and alumni also recognized the extraordinary nature of this work, which was on par with Lu Zhiyuan’s “Soaring Dragon for Ten Thousand Miles.”

But even if this work was unique, the author was still young and unknown, so two hundred thousand was the ceiling, it was impossible to be worth one million.

Qiu Yixun looked at the painting that was almost completely transformed, his eyes filled with a strange depth.

He didn’t expect that Zhuang Jianxi was beautiful and cold, and at such a young age, her painting skills were so amazing. If it weren’t for the one million that shocked too many poor people, he would have directly bid five million.

Well, he would have Zhuang Jianxi paint a portrait of him later. On the surface, he was a handsome and dashing domineering CEO, but when the light hit him, he would directly transform into a general who galloped across the battlefield, shining brightly…

“One million one hundred thousand!”