Chapter 420: Furious at the Shamelessness, Plagiarized Old Master Qiao’s Last Work
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Qiao w.a.n.gbei was not a high-profile person, and most people in the exhibition hall didn’t know him.
They only saw a thin, tall, and capable middle-aged man rus.h.i.+ng forward like a gust of wind. His hair was short and neat, his black eyes were narrowed, and his momentum resembled a tidal wave about to crash down.
Because his figure was too thin, it made him look a little skeletal, cold, and ruthless, giving off a very harsh and cold impact.
He was about to rush up to the stage when the organizer stopped him. “Sir?”
The stage is already chaotic enough. Which great G.o.d is this?
Many people in the audience didn’t know him either, and they were discussing among themselves until an industry insider who knew him said his name, “Isn’t he Qiao w.a.n.gbei? He’s Old Master Qiao’s only son!”
The organizer was dumbfounded.
He had originally wanted to use the matter of the Jade Hall of Spring’s plagiarism to promote Gao Xue. But now that Gao Xue’s plagiarism had been exposed, his previous lawsuit against the Jade Hall of Spring had become a joke.
The head of the Qiao family had come, and it was obvious that he was here to settle the score.
“Get lost!” Qiao w.a.n.gbei shouted angrily. The staff stopping him retracted his hands hurriedly.
Autumn in the capital was already chilly. He was wearing thin clothes, and his posture was as tall and proud as a mountain. His sharp freezing eyes overshadowed the cold autumn wind. He rushed straight onto the stage.
“Uncle…” Song Fengwan pulled Wu Yuxin away and stepped back.
Wu Yuxin’s eyes were red from fright as she stared blankly at the middle-aged man on the stage.
Jing Hanchuan raised his hand and nudged Fu Chen. “Is he Miss Song’s biological uncle?”
“Yes.”
“Just by looking at him, it’s apparent that he’s not someone to be trifled with. What sin did you commit to provoke such a big family?” Jing Hanchuan smiled gloatingly.
Fu Chen coughed and didn’t say anything. He looked around and saw Qiao Xiyan smoking at the door from the corner of his eye.
He was wearing a long black trench coat and had his head slightly turned as he lit a cigarette. The lights below the stage were dim, and his entire body was facing the light. His face was instantly illuminated by the flames before falling silent again.
Perhaps noticing Fu Chen’s attention, he narrowed his eyes and looked at him.
As a craftsman, Qiao Xiyan’s eyesight was much better than ordinary people’s. He saw Fu Chen at a glance and nodded slightly at him.
His dark eyes were as deep and boundless as the sea.
Jing Hanchuan followed Fu Chen’s gaze.
“Qiao Xiyan?” Actually, the grandfathers of the two families had some friends.h.i.+p, but the younger generation didn’t have much of a relations.h.i.+p. The Qiao family members were all born with a pair of phoenix eyes, so they were very recognizable.
“Yes.” Fu Chen nodded.
“He doesn’t look easy to mess with.”
“The Qiao family has always been the kind of people who hold knives since they were young. What do you think?” Fu Chen smiled lightly.
“Does his family know anything about you two?”
Fu Chen shook his head helplessly.
“Come to think of it, based on the behavior of the father and son, if they knew that you kidnapped Miss Song when she was still underage, it would probably be extremely difficult for you to live until now,” Jing Hanchuan teased.
“When I first met Qiao Xiyan, he gave me a warning.”
“He’s that powerful?” Jing Hanchuan chuckled lightly. “With your temper, why didn’t you act against him?” He smiled gloatingly.
It wasn’t that Fu Chen couldn’t touch Qiao Xiyan but that he didn’t dare.
Song Fengwan only had this one cousin. He was his future brother-in-law. If Fu Chen confronted him head-on, it would probably be even harder for him to marry his wife in the future.
“Jing Hanchuan, unless you find an orphan in the future, you’ll eventually walk the path I took today. And the resistance you’ll face will only be greater than mine.”
Jing Hanchuan raised his eyebrows. Aren’t sweets delicious? Why fall in love?
“I think it’s good to listen to opera and raise fish every day.” Life is so comfortable every day. Why should I ask for trouble and find a wife?
…
On the stage…
When Gao Xue heard that this person was Qiao w.a.n.gbei, her red face instantly turned green and then white. She had reprimanded Song Fengwan loudly just now. Her expression was full of fear, as though she had seen a ghost.
Anyone who knew Old Master Qiao knew that his son had inherited his father’s work. Because he was too engrossed in carving stones and jade, the people outside had given him a nickname—
[Mad Qiao]
Not only was he obsessed with carving, but he also had a bad temper. When he got angry, he would be no different from a lunatic.
In the past, she had only heard rumors. Now that she saw him in person, it was naturally another scene.
This person was not to be trifled with.
When the organizer found out that Gao Xue had plagiarized, he was already dumbfounded. He didn’t expect the situation to become even worse. The Qiao family came straight to the door.
“What did you say just now? Who did Wanwan plagiarize?” Qiao w.a.n.gbei sized up Gao Xue, his focused eyes extremely sharp.
With his height advantage, he looked down at her with a domineering aura.
If Qiao Xiyan hadn’t confiscated his tools when he got out of the car just now, he really wanted to…
Qiao Xiyan’s att.i.tude was also tough. “Then, do you want to show your true skills in front of the entire country and then get arrested? Would that make you happy?
“Before we came, we said that we would settle this matter in a civilized manner. If you insist on using a knife, then I’ll go! You can stay in the car.
“If you hurt someone on the stage, after the matter is resolved, you will go to jail. When that time comes, you’ll really disgrace Grandpa.”
He was so angry that he almost slapped this brat. How can he talk to his father like this?!
At this moment, he wasn’t carrying any tools, and his hands were itchy!
Looking at this brazen person in front of him, he wished he could go and kick her a few times to be satisfied.
Qiao w.a.n.gbei glared at Gao Xue. “Are you mute? Say something? Who did you say Wanwan plagiarized?”
“I, I…” Gao Xue was stunned by his aura and didn’t know what to say for a moment.
“You’re about to die, yet you still want to drag Wanwan down with you. I’ll let you die in understanding today.” Qiao w.a.n.gbei looked at the people around him. “Who is the organizer?”
“Me!” President Qi’s back was covered in cold sweat.
Speaking of which, Gao Xue’s designs had all been patented. Now that she was suspected of plagiarism, this room full of design drawings definitely couldn’t be sold anymore. He had paid a lot to hold this design exhibition.
All his efforts would probably go down the drain. When he thought that he would not only lose money but also ruin his reputation, he felt devastated.
If not for the special situation, he wanted to go up and kick Gao Xue.
F*ck, it’s fine if I want to die, but do you have to drag a group of people down with you?
“You should have a computer here that can project images. There are some photos inside. Please show them.” Qiao w.a.n.gbei handed him a USB flash drive.
President Qi trembled as he took the flash drive. It was as if this thing was hot to the touch, and his hands were shaking terribly.
Everyone stared at the big screen. Soon, a picture appeared on it.
The brush strokes were skillful and exquisite. The characters on the painting were vivid and lifelike, and there was a row of words at the bottom right of the painting. The signature was [Qiao Yuhe] with a red stamp. It was exceptionally eye-catching.
Old Master Qiao’s style had always been unique.
When he was young and new, he had focused on innovation. When he was in his fifties, his creative style was even more sophisticated and majestic. His ink-colored style was also more bold and magnificent.
In the years before his death, the paintings he displayed used simple and few brush strokes. But they were still able to show his magnificent and extraordinary artistic conception. Some of the paintings had been auctioned, and most of them had been collected by various museums.
He had always been imitated but never surpa.s.sed.
So up until now, when everyone mentioned Qiao Yuhe, they still addressed him respectfully as Old Master Qiao.
The images slowly changed, and the paintings inside continued to appear. They were all paintings that no one had ever seen before, causing many experts present to exclaim.
Ever since Old Master Qiao pa.s.sed away, apart from some museum collections, no other paintings had appeared.
So much so that for many years, his paintings in the public had risen to sky-high prices, let alone the unrevealed treasures.
There were around forty pictures of his works here. How many treasures was the Qiao family hiding?
But the more they looked at it, the more they felt that these works seemed familiar. Below the stage and in front of the livestream, everyone was discussing these paintings.
“These are Old Master Qiao’s true works.”
“That’s definitely the case. Old Master Qiao’s style is too unique. So many people imitate him. But you can tell that they’re f*cking fake with one look. These must be real. This is his unique style.”
“These should be genuine works that have never been seen before. Why do I feel like I’ve seen them somewhere?”
“The painting in front and the one that Gao Xue won the award with are very similar. F*ck, this is f*cking amazing.”
“People even said that she was the youngest Yuming Cup winner. She even dared to step on the Qiao family after plagiarizing Old Master Qiao’s paintings. How shameless is she?”
…
Gao Xue was so stiff that she couldn’t move. No one was more shocked than her when she saw these paintings.
Because these paintings had never been made public, naturally no one had seen them before. Otherwise, even if she had ten guts, she wouldn’t have dared to plagiarize Old Master Qiao’s paintings.
Did Song Fengwan imitate her grandfather? Does Old Master Qiao still have so many unpublished designs and paintings?
Many people in the industry said that after Old Master Qiao couldn’t lift his arm, he didn’t have any new works left to show the world.
“Why? Does everyone feel like they’ve seen these paintings somewhere before?” Qiao w.a.n.gbei chuckled. “Because all of them were stolen by some shameless lunatic, and she even claimed them in her own name.
“Didn’t you say Wanwan plagiarized someone?
“From the moment Wanwan picked up a brush, it has always been my father personally guiding her. Her brush strokes are naturally very close to his. My father even specially drew an introductory drawing book for her. Who do you think she learned from?”
Qiao w.a.n.gbei closed in step by step. His cold and intimidating aura rushed at her, scaring Gao Xue so much that she kept retreating.
“I know that everyone might question the authenticity of these paintings. Most of them aren’t in our house. Before my father pa.s.sed away, he donated most of his paintings to the Suzhou National Museum. It’s just that the collection in the museum hasn’t been exhibited.
“In order to let us keep recollection, the museum staff specially took photos of every painting and made them into a booklet for us.
“The letter of thanks is treasured at home. If you don’t believe me, you can call the museum to ask. Many of these paintings are in their collection.
“Many of the pictures were copied by my father for Wanwan to learn from. But I didn’t expect that someone would use them and cause such a commotion.
“Even the Qiao family and the Jade Hall of Spring were involved. What’s wrong with us using my father’s paintings and designs to make jade products? How did it become us plagiarizing?”
Qiao w.a.n.gbei’s words were firm and powerful.
Moreover, his words were clear and concise. Most importantly, these paintings were all artworks in the museum’s collection. They were just not public. All of this was verifiable.
This kind of thing couldn’t be fabricated out of thin air, nor could it be fabricated at the last minute.
Song Fengwan smiled. “Teacher Gao has kept going on about the matter of me withdrawing from the compet.i.tion. In that case, I’ll be direct. I’m still young, so I don’t have much talent in designing and drawing yet.
“It was all my grandfather’s early enlightenment. But after I entered the school, I put these things away. I only picked up my paintbrush again in the last two years, and I imitated my grandfather’s paintings.
“For the school’s design compet.i.tion, although I completed my entry independently, I could still see the shadow of my grandfather. I didn’t think it was my own creation, so I withdrew from the compet.i.tion at the last minute.”
Everyone looked at each other. This reason was very reasonable. Those engaged in art creation and design paid great attention to their personal characteristics.
“I just didn’t expect that this matter would actually become something for someone to use against me. I didn’t dare to show off with these pictures, but someone was shameless enough to plagiarize one of them to partic.i.p.ate in the compet.i.tion.
“Even at this point, she still wants to drag me down with her!
“To be able to do this much in public, she’s despicable and shameless to the extreme!”
At this moment, a low laugh sounded in the audience.
“The most shameless thing is to register patents with someone else’s creations. How thick-skinned is this person? How guilty must she be? How impatient…
“How utterly despicable!
“She’s a disgrace to the industry, and she has sullied my master’s lifelong prestigious reputation.”
Gao Xue suddenly looked at the audience. At this moment, she was already in the midst of a storm, yet another bolt of lightning appeared out of nowhere. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that she was struck by lightning.
“Master… Joe—” a staff member from the organizer exclaimed.