“If Young Master Pei is feeling bored, why not come upstairs to the tea room and admire some paintings and calligraphy with us?” he said quietly. “These are collections that aren’t displayed at public auctions. They’re only available for private bidding.”
“Oh?” Pei Cizhou glanced sideways at Miss Qiu. “Interested?”
Qiuyun saw what he had in mind and put on a standard business smile. “Of course. I’ve been wanting to see the auction house’s most prized collections for a long time.”
Those who were interested in the paintings and calligraphy accepted the invitation and moved to the exhibition hall on the second floor.
The temperature and humidity were carefully controlled there, making it resemble a private storeroom more than an exhibition hall. The paintings and calligraphy were protected beneath glass display cases. Guests wandered about in groups of two or three, admiring the works at their leisure. Whenever someone came across a piece they liked, they would ask a waiting attendant for a bidding slip, write down a number, and seal it inside an envelope with wax.
Qiuyun wandered from one display to another. Just as her eyes settled on Fan Kuan’s Autumn Mountains and Inquiring After the Dao, a chorus of flattering greetings sounded from the doorway.
The two of them turned around and saw that Ruan Siheng had arrived.
Pei Cizhou withdrew his gaze and likewise refused to let Qiuyun look for too long. “My brother has always had women fluttering around him. He’s getting on in years and still doesn’t want to get married. My aunt is practically frantic.”
“...” Qiuyun was baffled. “Why are you telling me this?”
The corners of Pei Cizhou’s lips curved upward. “Nothing. Let’s look at the painting.”
Qiuyun bent down to examine the movement of the brushstrokes in detail, then frowned. “There’s something wrong with this painting.”
“Hmm?”
“Fan Kuan’s brushwork in his later years was like iron casting and the leaking of a roof—solid, angular, and deeply textured. The strokes in this piece are far too smooth.”
When it came to appreciating paintings and calligraphy, Pei Cizhou had already experienced Qiuyun’s expertise firsthand at Chengyuan. He had no doubts about her judgment. “Tsk. They actually took in a fake. Wouldn’t selling it ruin my brother’s reputation? Attendant!”
“Wait.” Qiuyun grabbed his arm. “If your brother knows it’s fake, wouldn’t it put him in an awkward position if you speak up so abruptly?”
“Impossible. The pieces displayed here for bidding are all consigned by sellers. If someone tried to fool him with a fake like this, he’d have to thank us for recognizing it.”
Pei Cizhou was about to have someone remove the painting when he turned and saw his brother’s group standing not far away.
“Cizhou.” Ruan Siheng approached with the others. “What fake?”
“The painting, obviously. It’s fake.”
Ruan Siheng glanced at Qiuyun, who was standing nearby as though the matter had nothing to do with her. He waved for the people behind him to step back a few paces, then said in a low voice, “Miss Qiu, you really are something. My little brother isn’t some brainless hothead, yet you managed to get your claws into him. It must have taken quite a bit of effort, right?”
“Brother!” Pei Cizhou frowned. “She and I are not involved like that!”
Ruan Siheng shrugged, unconcerned, and motioned for someone to open the glass case. “So you weren’t interested in the three-million-yuan bracelet after all. You had your eye on this five-hundred-million-yuan painting.”
Pei Cizhou drew a deep breath. He didn’t want to embarrass his brother in front of everyone, so he grabbed Qiuyun by the wrist and pulled her away. “Let’s go. To hell with his reputation. If it falls, let it crush him.”
This had happened again and again. It was truly infuriating.
Qiuyun gently freed herself from his grasp and waited for the assistant to take the painting out. Her smile was polite and courteous, but her words were anything but. “My apologies, President Ruan, but I have no interest in a fake worth only a hundred thousand yuan either.”
Ruan Siheng narrowed his eyes. The assistant beside him warned, “Miss Qiu, please don’t make irresponsible accusations. Every item in our auction house has been examined by experts and tested using carbon-14 dating. Counterfeiting is impossible. If you continue spreading rumors and making defamatory statements, we will take the matter to court.”
“So it can be worth over a hundred thousand yuan? What exactly did I say that was wrong?” Qiuyun asked innocently. “Besides, I only made a remark or two during a private viewing. It was President Ruan who came charging over and questioned me. Without verifying whether the painting was genuine, you immediately accused me of talking nonsense. President Ruan, are you really so intolerant of differing opinions? Do you have some prejudice against me?”
Pei Cizhou stepped forward and shielded her behind him. “Brother, this place is meant for guests to view and bid on the items. We haven’t broken any rules, disturbed the environment, or affected anyone else’s bidding. Why are you being so aggressive? Are you going to be just like Mom and Dad, assuming that you know what’s best for me?”
Silence fell over the exhibition hall.
Ruan Siheng gave a quiet laugh.
She really did have a few tricks up her sleeve.
“Very well. Since Miss Qiu claims that the Autumn Mountains and Inquiring After the Dao, which has been appraised by more than a dozen experts at my auction house, is fake, I’d like to see what evidence you have to support that claim.”
Did she think he was going to let her appraise it for free?
Dream on.
Only then did Qiuyun link her arm through Pei Cizhou’s. “I have no evidence. I was simply speaking carelessly. Please don’t take offense, President Ruan.”
With that, she gave his arm a firm tug and swept out of the hall with him, paying no attention to what the people behind them might think.
Once they reached the outdoor terrace, the sea breeze rolled in, carrying a salty, fishy tang. It wasn’t unpleasant.
“I’m really sorry. My brother isn’t usually like that.” Pei Cizhou furrowed his brow slightly. He couldn’t understand what had come over him either.
Qiuyun didn’t mind. “I understand. People tend to judge others according to the kind of person they are themselves.”
Thinking of all the women who surrounded his brother, Pei Cizhou clicked his tongue. Suddenly, everything made sense.
Qiuyun leaned against the railing and tilted her head, raising an eyebrow. “Besides, he looks down not only on me, but on you as well. He thinks any pretty woman with a few tricks could manipulate you. He thinks you’re brainless, have no mind of your own, and that you’re some spoiled young master who can be bought with beauty. I’m guessing President Ruan didn’t take our investment in Tanmeng seriously either, did he? Otherwise, why would he send someone like Sun Guoping to the company to ‘assist’ you?”
The sea breeze drifted gently past, lifting the strands of hair at her temples.
After a long silence, Pei Cizhou turned his head away and smiled bitterly. “Although there was definitely an element of you trying to turn me against him, fine. I admit you’re right.”
When he had first said he wanted to start a game company, his brother had simply given him five hundred million yuan. Pei Cizhou had insisted on converting the money into shares under his brother’s name. Otherwise, his brother had apparently intended to toss the five hundred million into the pond like a stone, just to hear it make a splash.
Qiuyun tucked her hair behind her ear. “Then our Young Master Pei isn’t the sort to let people walk all over him, is he?”
“Of course not.” Pei Cizhou chuckled. “I’ll take the shares back and give him an IOU for five hundred million, with interest calculated at the highest rate offered by the banks.”
Qiuyun blinked. She hadn’t expected that Pei Cizhou would actually be willing to cut ties with Ruan Siheng after she’d casually said a few things.
Ruan Siheng wasn’t merely his angel investor. He was also his own cousin.
Pei Cizhou braced his hands against the railing and gazed out at the pitch-black sea, where only the moon could be seen. “He doesn’t respect you, but he doesn’t respect me either. He treats me like a child, so I’ll be childish with him in return.”
After discussing Western philosophy with her husband, Qiuyun had recently read several related books so she wouldn’t give herself away.
She had discovered something.
Pei Cizhou had a textbook mirror personality and an extremely strong instinct for self-preservation. Deep down, he maintained a very clear balance in his relationships: he treated others exactly as they treated him.
Whether it was when he told her that her parents had raised her as a daughter and she followed their wishes by becoming a traditional daughter who did not support her family financially, or now, when Ruan Siheng treated him like a child and he responded with a child’s temper—both situations offered a glimpse of the same trait.
