Chapter 116 - 96: Rubbing Paintings

Words : 936 Updated : Sep 17th, 2025

Chapter 116: Chapter 96: Rubbing PaintingsThe two finished eating and soon set out. Chen Feng drove, and the two of them chatted and laughed their way first to the provincial museum. Xiu Zhou City has several museums, but the provincial museum is undoubtedly the largest. It was roughly 1:30 in the afternoon, and there weren’t many visitors in the museum. Today was not a holiday and, except for Mondays, the museum was generally open during the day, so the visitors were spread out, and naturally, there weren’t many people. Chen Feng had been looking forward to the artifacts on display at the museum, but after one round, none of the artifacts gave him the same feeling as the "Lanting Preface". Many of the displayed items were marked as replicas, but most were likely genuine, some even thousands of years old, yet none gave Chen Feng that special feeling. Chen Feng felt somewhat disappointed. He had been optimistic initially, thinking that if a living artist like Master Wang Yi could create a "genuine" piece like "Lanting Preface" that brought joyful changes to his mind and body, then art by even more impressive historical artists should have the same effect. But now, he realized he might have been wrong. As Chen Feng didn’t find what he was looking for, his mood wasn’t great, which led him to skim through the next set of exhibits with little interest. Wu Mengting, who was with him, noticed his unusual behavior and asked with concern, "Are you alright? Do you feel unwell?" Chen Feng quickly shook his head, "No, I just find these boring. Let’s go to the art museum instead. There seems to be an exhibition of a famous painter today." Wu Mengting had wanted to explore the museum further, but upon hearing Chen Feng, she reluctantly agreed, "Okay then. Last time we only saw Master Wang Yi’s calligraphy and painting exhibition; we haven’t really looked at the other art pieces collected by the museum." "Let’s take a good look this time." So, the two quickly left the provincial museum and drove to the provincial art museum where they had visited Master Wang Yi’s calligraphy and painting exhibition last time. In Chen Feng’s view, since the items in the provincial museum hadn’t had an effect, it was likely the same with other museums in Xiu Zhou City. Considering "Lanting Preface" was a piece of calligraphy, Chen Feng decided that instead of wasting time visiting other museums, it would be better to revisit the provincial art museum. The two places weren’t far apart, just four or five kilometers, taking about ten minutes to reach. The provincial art museum had many exhibition halls. After entering, they started to walk through the exhibition halls one by one. To Chen Feng’s dismay, after going through three halls, he still hadn’t found the calligraphy or any other piece of art he wanted. Then the fourth hall, nothing; the fifth hall, also nothing. When they reached the sixth hall, Chen Feng had little hope left, but coincidentally, there was an exhibition by a painter. It must have been the one Chen Feng found online. According to the description on the sign at the entrance, the painter was named Song Yi, a 58-year-old oil painter, graduated from a prestigious domestic art school, studied later in France, then made a name for himself in Europe. He once had an oil painting auctioned off for 1.6 million US Dollars in Zurich. This time, he brought out fifty-two paintings for the exhibition, each claimed to be a masterpiece. After briefly reading the introduction, they walked in to explore. Initially, Chen Feng wasn’t expecting much, but as he viewed painting after painting, he suddenly stopped in shock in front of a painting called "Autumn Sky". The painting was vibrant, layered with golden yellow and dark blue, abstractly depicting the autumn sky like swirling whirlpools. Below this whirlpool-like sky was a winding abstract river and a dark cluster of trees. The painting was very abstract, even somewhat distorted. So, it was clear that Song Yi must be an abstract painter. Chen Feng stood there for over ten minutes, until Wu Mengting nudged him, bringing him out of his trance. "What’s happening? You were so engrossed, you didn’t even hear me calling you," Wu Mengting looked at him curiously. "I got captivated," Chen Feng said cheerfully, "I really like this painting and want to buy it. I just don’t know if it’s expensive; if it’s over a million dollars, I definitely can’t afford it." "You’re buying again?" Wu Mengting widened her eyes. Chen Feng nodded affirmatively, "I’ll contact Director Huang right now to find this painter, Song Yi." Chen Feng was determined to have the "Autumn Sky" as long as the price wasn’t unreasonable. Like the "Lanting Preface", he felt this painting also held considerable value for collection. After making the purchase, as long as the price wasn’t too outrageous, it would likely be a good investment. Director Huang from the art museum had exchanged contact information with Chen Feng before. Chen Feng stepped out of the exhibition hall and, standing in the corridor, called him. Once he mentioned it, Director Huang immediately expressed enthusiasm to contact Song Yi right away. A few minutes later, Director Huang personally brought along the person in charge from Song Yi’s side, his agent, who turned out to be a white elderly man with a large nose. Chen Feng, whose English was average, had a brief conversation with the white-haired old man, learned his name was Lei Man, and that he was Song Yi’s agent.

Chapter 116 - 96: Rubbing Paintings

Comments (0)