Qiao Nan hadn’t been feuding with his brother for even two days when it was time for Old Li’s art exhibition opening ceremony.
The exhibition was set to take place on the second floor of the KM Art Center, occupying a huge exhibition hall of over two thousand square meters.
Besides Old Li’s own more than one hundred works, there were also three hundred and thirty-one paintings from over fifty renowned artists participating.
Qiao Nan and Qiu Ran, due to their teacher-student relationship, secured two of those spots.
On this point, he was actually a little nervous.
Although Old Li had been in a creative block for many years with no new paintings released, his talent in his youth had impressed many in the art world.
Plus, he had a wide circle of friends and deep connections in the industry.
For this art exhibition’s opening ceremony, more than thirty influential figures from the art world were attending to lend their support.
He had never revealed this information before, which made it quite difficult to secure sponsors.
Now that the news had spread, people in the art circle and journalists were swarming, and the art exhibition’s opening ceremony tomorrow was sure to be very lively.
For Qiao Nan, who hadn’t yet graduated and become a professional painter, this was both an opportunity and a challenge.
At 1 AM, he tossed and turned in bed, too nervous to sleep.
Clutching his phone tightly, he wanted to message Pei Xu several times for comfort but managed to suppress the urge.
He pursed his lips and gave himself a pep talk, constantly self-suggesting, Don’t be afraid, you can do this, Qiao Nan.
At 7 AM, he got up early, solemnly put on a neat suit, and after repeatedly confirming everything was in order, he drove to the KM Art Center.
The art exhibition opening ceremony began at 9 AM.
Qiao Nan arrived an hour early but found that journalists were already squatting outside.
Wearing press passes and carrying large cameras, they immediately started snapping photos of Qiao Nan’s face, regardless of whether they knew him or not.
Qiao Nan lowered his head, covering his face, and hurried to the exhibition hall’s backstage to find Old Li.
“There are so many journalists outside.”
Old Li, energized by the joyous occasion, waved his hand, “This is nothing, just a small scene.” He then instructed his two students, “This is a good chance for you two to build courage. Many old friends will be coming later, so don’t be shy and embarrass me. I’ve already talked big.”
Today, he wore a formal vintage plaid suit, its slim cut complementing his slightly plump figure, giving him a gentle and refined scholarly air.
Qiao Nan vaguely recalled seeing his early interview photos when he helped Old Li organize documents.
Young Old Li had delicate features, a slender build, and beneath his refined and scholarly appearance, the unique defiance and aloofness of an artist could not be hidden, a stark contrast to his present self.
Qiu Ran whispered, “Old Li is unusually serious today; it’s making me even more nervous.”
Qiao Nan felt a bit of it too, but he knew how important today was, both for Old Li and for them.
He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, as if expelling his nervousness, “Just follow what we discussed before.”
The opening ceremony was Old Li and the influential figures’ main event, so junior figures like Qiao Nan and Qiu Ran naturally wouldn’t have a chance to show their faces.
However, after the exhibition hall opened to visitors, they were responsible for explaining the artworks.
This was a rare opportunity to gain recognition and visibility.
At 9 AM, the opening ceremony began on time.
Old Li, as the exhibition organizer, went on stage to give a speech.
Afterwards, several other renowned artists, who had rarely made public appearances in recent years, took turns giving speeches.
The painters had varied personalities, but their speeches were consistently and tacitly brief.
After the last speech concluded, the bright lights in the hall dimmed.
On the central giant screen, an ancient, dimly colored Miao village slowly unfolded like a scroll before everyone.
The characters “归乡” (Guī Xiāng – Homecoming) were written with powerful strokes, conveying the deep emotions of a wanderer returning home.
“Guī Xiāng” – that was the theme of this art exhibition.
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As the dimmed lights brightened again, the gates throughout the exhibition hall opened.
Queuing visitors checked their tickets and entered, exploring the exhibition hall, which was rich in Miao ethnic style.
Qiao Nan’s painting was placed in Exhibition Area No. 3, a location that wasn’t particularly prominent but wasn’t bad either.
Many visitors were just Browse casually, but when they saw he was more handsome than TV stars, even if they didn’t know his name, there was no harm in taking a look.
Driven by curiosity, many visitors gathered around him.
Not all visitors to an art exhibition understand art; their appreciation of it is often from a more secular perspective.
As Qiao Nan introduced his work, some would ask tricky questions.
Qiao Nan diligently answered each one, and from time to time, he had to accommodate visitors’ requests for photos.
He was initially a little nervous and flustered, but as more and more visitors gathered, his nervousness gradually became numb.
In addition to explaining his own work, he was also responsible for explaining other works in Exhibition Area No. 3.
He was like a busy little bee, flitting around the exhibition hall, trying his best to make every visitor understand the story behind the paintings.
The preliminary publicity for the “Guī Xiāng” exhibition had been very well done, and this exhibition was much more successful than anticipated.
From 9 AM to 11 AM, he was almost constantly busy.
Qiao Nan finally found a brief moment with fewer people to grab a drink of water. When he returned, he saw Pei Xu standing in front of his painting, “Hope.”
He didn’t know when he had arrived.
He was about to go forward but was unexpectedly stopped by a journalist and had to deal with them first.
Pei Xu heard his voice, turned his head, and smiled at him across the crowd.
That smile contained many emotions: reassurance, affirmation, and something else, but Qiao Nan couldn’t discern it.
He had to focus on answering the journalist’s questions.
@Good novels at Jinjiang Literature City
And Pei Xu stood there watching him, his eyes deep.
“This is his first formal work. It’s only been on display for two hours, and three or four well-known art collectors have already inquired about the price. He lacks nothing in terms of ability, background, or connections. Given time, he will surely soar, and his achievements will be immeasurable.”
“Aren’t you afraid, CEO Pei?”
Unbeknownst to when he appeared, Qin Feng gazed intently at the painting before him, but his words were directed at Pei Xu beside him.
Ever since his scandals were exposed and trended, Qin Feng had been quite anxious during that period of intense public scrutiny.
However, he was, after all, the second young master of the Qin family and an artist.
The public’s moral demands on him were not as strict as they were for celebrities.
After the initial buzz, those romantic escapades gradually faded from public view.
Of course, this was partly due to the involvement of the Qin Group’s public relations department.
After the trending incident, Qin Feng hadn’t appeared around Qiao Nan for a long time, but from the implications of his words, he clearly hadn’t given up.
Pei Xu looked at him, his tone flat, “Only cowards fear. I only fear he doesn’t fly high enough.”
His words held no apparent provocation, but Qin Feng inexplicably felt a sense of grievance, as if he was being belittled.
He scoffed, “When he flies into a broader sky, he’ll see through your clumsy tricks.”
“Even tired birds return to their nests,” Pei Xu remained unmoved.
A punch landed in cotton, yet inside hid a sharp needle.
Qin Feng’s face darkened.
He met Pei Xu’s gaze for a moment, then took the first step to leave.
After he turned away, Pei Xu’s composed face cracked inch by inch, and he remained silent, lost in thought.
@Good novels at Jinjiang Literature City
Zhao Bo, who was beside him, completely failed to understand the veiled remarks exchanged between the two, but he did catch one phrase clearly, “Someone has already inquired about the price. Should we make a move?”
He thought Pei Xu had specifically skipped work to buy Qiao Nan’s painting.
But to his surprise, Pei Xu shook his head, “He probably hopes this painting will be bought by someone else.”
***
The art exhibition lasted for seven days.
Because the first day’s opening ceremony gathered many influential figures and attracted attention from all sides, “Guī Xiāng” even briefly trended.
Among the real-time trending topics, besides the overall appearance collection, Qiao Nan had the highest popularity.
He was a fine arts student from a prestigious school, a handsome man, and a second-generation rich kid – practically stacking buffs.
Many netizens dug from his school background to his family history, and even found Qiao Nan’s personal Weibo account, which had an extremely low update frequency.
In just seven days, the number of visitors who came specifically for him significantly increased, and even more people flocked to Exhibition Area No. 3.
Qiao Nan’s personal Weibo account rapidly gained nearly one hundred thousand followers.
During this period, Qiao Nan was almost constantly busy, collapsing into bed as soon as he got home each day.
It wasn’t until the last hour before the exhibition ended that he finally got a moment of leisure.
As the exhibition drew to a close, most visitors had already left.
Qiao Nan, stealing a moment of free time, slowly sipped the loquat soup that Aunt Chen had specially prepared for him.
His throat was a bit hoarse from the high-intensity explanations over the past few days.
He hadn’t rested for long when an old man in an old-fashioned suit walked in through the entrance.
The old man stood straight, with a somewhat stern demeanor, looking to be in his early fifties.
Qiao Nan vaguely felt a sense of familiarity.
He started looking at the paintings from the left side and finally stopped in front of Li Changli’s painting.
Exhibition Area No. 3 was named “Old Dreams,” and contained only two of Old Li’s early landscape paintings; the rest of his works were mainly concentrated in Exhibition Area No. 1.
Seeing that the old man seemed very interested in Old Li’s painting, Qiao Nan proactively stepped forward to remind him, “Teacher Li Changli’s major works are mainly in Exhibition Area No. 1. There are forty-five minutes left until the exhibition closes. If you like his work, you can go to Exhibition Area No. 1 to see them.”
But the other party silently shook his head.
He then asked Qiao Nan, “Are you Li Changli’s disciple?”
Unexpectedly, the other party recognized him. He nodded.
He took the opportunity to scrutinize the other’s face, and the sense of familiarity grew stronger.
After searching his memory for a long time, he finally remembered who the person in front of him was.
“Are you… Teacher Xu Feng?”
Xu Feng’s status in the art world was no less than any of the influential figures at the opening ceremony earlier.
However, he suddenly announced his retirement at the age of forty, and since then, he only took on students, with no new paintings released and no interviews accepted.
For such a senior figure, Qiao Nan had only ever heard his name but never met him.
Xu Feng did not deny it, but he also showed no intention of conversing further with Qiao Nan.
He paused for a moment in front of the painting, then left as quietly as he had arrived.
Qiao Nan was too stunned to remember to ask for an autograph until he had left.
After the exhibition, Old Li slowly came over with his hands behind his back, only to see his two proud disciples huddled together, whispering excitedly, their faces full of enthusiasm.
He coughed, “What are you whispering about?”
Qiu Ran excitedly said, “Qiao Nan said he just saw Xu Feng!”
Old Li froze for a moment, then sneered, “Just a coward who shirks responsibility. So he came, what’s there to be happy about?”
“You know Xu Feng?”
Qiao Nan asked curiously.
Old Li, however, was unwilling to say more.
He waved his hand, “When you live long enough, how can you not know a few people? It’s nothing special.”
He seemed reluctant to discuss the topic further and changed the subject, “This exhibition was very successful. Both of your paintings have been sold.”
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