The Art of Teasing - Chapter 7
Chapter 7
She was well aware that, given her current reputation, her Kunlun Myriad Demons Scroll, under normal circumstances, even if someone bid it up for her, would not exceed two million.
The Kunlun Myriad Demons Scroll selling for a sky-high price of over six million was clearly abnormal.
It was either Ye Ling selling to herself, or someone got into a bidding war during the auction, driven by momentary provocation.
Generally speaking, those willing to venture into the antiques market, apart from the occasional reseller only interested in money, tend to be quite particular. They carry a certain scholarly air about them, striving for refinement, and seldom act like flashy tycoons throwing money around to show off. If a real tycoon had come, they would have made a public appearance and put on a grand show, not created a mystery buyer.
So the greatest likelihood was that Ye Ling was selling to herself to drive up the price.
But what was the purpose of Ye Ling driving up the price by selling to herself? Inflating it to such a high level, anyone with insight could see what was going on; it wouldn't achieve much. Was she hyping up the price of her paintings to fool laymen? Although her paintings were numerous, most were from her early years; large-scale pieces that could fetch a high price weren't that plentiful. Reckoning it up, even at most, she might only make a few million. Given Ye Ling's means, spending ten days to half a month, engaging so many people and setting up such a grand spectacle, those few million earned wouldn't even cover the cost of time, energy, and connections she'd expended.
Wen Zhengyu felt the pinch on Ye Ling's behalf.
She was well aware that Ye Ling did not engage in losing ventures. Ye Ling's actions must have had a purpose, and it likely had something to do with her. Otherwise, why would Ye Ling promote her instead of someone else?
If it did concern her, and Ye Ling had no ties to her family, what Ye Ling could be after was nothing more than profit and reputation. Since her family no longer had money, what remained to be coveted was fame.
Although her family had no money, a rotten ship still has three inches of nails. As a native local family that had cultivated its position over several generations, with her aunt's family, her paternal cousins still around, if Ye Ling acted too disgracefully, her relatives wouldn't let Ye Ling bully her and her grandfather at will. Ye Ling had vanquished her father and bought her family residence; even though it was a business transaction, it inevitably drew disapproving glances. Who knew when one of those cousins might slip a cold knife in where Ye Ling least expected it. From what she saw of Ye Ling, she knew Ye Ling was not one to avoid trouble, but that didn't mean she was willing to earn a bad name and have everyone on guard, or even avoid her like the plague. So, was Ye Ling using her paintings to hold an exhibition, turning her into a figurehead to earn some reputability?
Wen Zhengyu could only make this conjecture, but whether it was true was still hard to say.
Wen Zhengyu was still puzzling over this when her cousin Wen Li arrived.
Wen Zhengyu set down her brush, turned her head to look at the curly-haired woman in high heels, alluring as a mesmerizing seductress—Wen Li—and asked, "Sister Lili, why have you come?"
Wen Li tossed her bag onto a nearby chair and lazily sank into another chair. She looked Wen Zhengyu up and down, rested her chin thoughtfully on her hand, pondered for a moment, and asked, "Do you think Ye Ling really has a screw loose?"
Wen Zhengyu stared at Wen Li in astonishment, completely baffled.
Seeing Wen Zhengyu's blank expression, Wen Li felt a knot in her heart. She said, "Take your sister's advice: stay far away from that nutjob in the future."
Wen Zhengyu asked, "What happened?"
Wen Li said, "She used your paintings to hold an exhibition, selling them. I went to buy paintings and couldn't get a single one. For your Kunlun Myriad Demons Scroll, I bid up to five million eight hundred thousand; my heart was starting to bleed, and then that lunatic actually sent someone to bid six million eight hundred thousand. She even came up to me and said, 'If you bid up to ten million, I won't compete with you.'" Wen Li was so angry she cursed again, "Nutjob!"
Wen Zhengyu went to pour a glass of water for Wen Li and said, "Have some water, calm your anger." She said to Wen Li, "Sister Lili, thank you."
Wen Li shot Wen Zhengyu an exasperated eye roll and said, "Thanks my ass, I'm full of anger." She took a sip of water, then rested her chin on her hand again and pondered, "Just what is Ye Ling trying to do? She bought your paintings, held an exhibition, and whenever someone wants to buy, she sends someone to stir things up..."
Wen Zhengyu asked, "Do others know it's Ye Ling driving up the price for me?"
Wen Li said, "People aren't stupid or blind."
Wen Zhengyu shared her conjecture.
Wen Li glanced blandly at Wen Zhengyu and said nothing.
Wen Zhengyu could tell from Wen Li's glance that she didn't quite agree with her guess. She asked, "Sister Lili, what do you think?"
Wen Li said, "If I could figure it out, I wouldn't have stopped by to probe around."
Wen Zhengyu said, rather helplessly, "Regarding Ye Ling, I know even less than you do."
Wen Li stood up, picked up her bag, and said, "One thing I can be sure of is that nutjob is holding an exhibition to sell your paintings but doesn't actually want anyone to buy them." She changed her tone and said, "Alright, I'm off."
Wen Zhengyu looked at Wen Li quizzically and asked, "You're leaving already?"
Wen Li said, "I was passing by and popped in to check on you. Seeing you're as spacey as ever and haven't suffered any blows, I'm relieved. Alright, get back to your painting. I'm off."
Wen Zhengyu saw Wen Li to the door. She knew Wen Li had come specially because she was worried.
The contest between Ye Ling and her father was one of the business world; the outcome had been decided, so there was nothing more to be done. This drama Ye Ling was staging with her painting exhibition had put her cousin on alert. She guessed Wen Li was worried Ye Ling might do her harm.
Wen Zhengyu was confident she had done nothing to offend Ye Ling. Even if there was offense, it was Ye Ling who had offended her family, but not to the point where she needed to eradicate them to forestall future troubles; it didn't seem like she had any malicious intent toward her or her family. With this thought, she set her mind at ease and continued painting.
As the opening piece of a series, Phoenix Battles the Heavens was a grand composition, depicting not only numerous birds but also mountains and vegetation. These flowers, plants, and trees were all in the midst of burning flames, so she had to render not just their stems and leaves but also their forms and shapes as they were consumed by fire. Each blade of grass, each flower, had to be individually detailed and colored layer by layer. Every plant, every bloom, every tree was distinct—their growing locations, their shapes, the way they burned, the degree to which they were scorched—all varied.
Since she painted with such meticulous detail, it naturally took time.
By the time it was completed, it was already midsummer.
To her surprise, Ye Ling had not once pressed her for the painting.
She thought to herself, Could Ye Ling have forgotten about this painting? But recalling Ye Ling's manner and how she conducted herself, she didn't think Ye Ling was the careless, forgetful type. She called Ye Ling; the phone rang unanswered.
After two minutes, Ye Ling called back, her voice tinged with a trace of weariness: "Is this Zhengyu?"
Wen Zhengyu said, "Phoenix Battles the Heavens is finished. May I ask when it might be convenient for Miss Ye to come collect it?"
Ye Ling said, "I'm currently tied up with matters and can't get away; it will likely be half a month before I can come for the painting. I must trouble Zhengyu to keep it safe for me for the time being."
Wen Zhengyu always found it a bit grating whenever Ye Ling called her "Zhengyu," but she could hardly object. Having taken over two months to finish the painting, it wouldn't do to have any objections to Ye Ling coming half a month late to collect it. So she replied, "Alright. I won't disturb Miss Ye further. Goodbye." and hung up the phone.
Ye Ling not coming to get the painting was not a bad thing for Wen Zhengyu. She continued on from Phoenix Battles the Heavens to paint the second piece, Phoenix Falls from the Ninth Heaven.
The phoenix was defeated, falling from the Ninth Heaven, plummeting into the lightless Boundless Abyss deep within Kunlun.
Along with the phoenix bird fell the tens of thousands of other birds.
That was the world after the cataclysm.
Heaven and earth seemed to have fallen into stillness.
The vegetation upon the mountains had long since been reduced to ash by the great fire; amid the ash covering the hills, only a few charred trees not yet fully consumed still emitted wisps of blue smoke.
The little sprite hid among the rocks, its body covered in ash, black as a piece of charcoal.
The phoenix bird plummeting from the Ninth Heaven was still dripping blood. Its blood no longer burned. That blood of the divine bird, gleaming with golden light, fell from the Ninth Heaven and happened to drip onto the little sprite's forehead. With a "pat" sound, it seeped into the sprite's forehead. The scorching blood was very hot, and it also carried a thick sorrow. That ineffable feeling of grief still lingered in Wen Zhengyu's heart to this day.
She did not understand why the phoenix bird would battle the heavens, nor why it was so resolute, never hesitating even unto death.
She did not know whether the grief in the phoenix bird's heart drove it to battle the heavens, or if battling the heavens to exhaustion and defeat caused the grief.
She was merely a little sprite wandering the mountains, watching the drama, who had accidentally gotten a drop of blood on her forehead and with it, a trace of that sorrow.
Although she did not know why the phoenix bird battled the heavens, she understood, and she comprehended.
Some things must be done regardless of victory or defeat, win or lose. Some things must be undertaken, even knowing the cost will be devastating.
Wen Zhengyu spread out her paper and secured it with weights. The scene of Phoenix Falls from the Ninth Heaven rose in her mind's eye. She fixed her gaze on the paper, imprinting the mental image onto it, and with her brush began to outline the phoenix bird's form on the paper.
When she painted, she never used preliminary sketches; she would simply lift her brush and paint directly on sized xuan paper. What she painted was what she saw in her mind, and however it turned out, that was it. If she tried to alter it, it would only become an awkward, muddled mess. She thought, it must be like cosmetic surgery: even if it's not perfectly beautiful, what's natural, even if ugly, has its own unique character. What is surgically altered, even if beautiful, has bones beneath the skin that are no longer the original; the appearance presented has lost its true liveliness. Some, after too many surgeries and injections, their faces look like dolls. Her paintings were never perfect; what she pursued was spirit, life, soul. Imperfection could sometimes be a kind of beauty. Something too perfect must forfeit that which is imperfect, and thus is not truly perfect.
There was another reason Wen Zhengyu did not use preliminary sketches: what she first painted directly from her mind was infused with emotion, the truest representation. To then trace that onto paper again would be like making a duplicate copy, losing the initial, most original essence of emotion and spirit.
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