Chapter 148
Chapter 148: A Masterpiece
In the end, the latest version of The High Mountains and Flowing Water sold for the astronomical sum of ten million.
The result astonished Ye Fengyun, too. He had never imagined that a painting he’d casually drawn as a child would fetch such a staggering price.
Beside him, Tang Shihan exclaimed, “No wonder Master Yunfeng is so renowned.”
Ye Fengyun smiled. “Honey, there’s another surprise coming.”
“What surprise?” Tang Shihan asked, bewildered.
“One that has to do with you,” he said mysteriously.
“Me?”
“I told you I know Master Yunfeng, didn’t I?”
“Right.” Tang Shihan nodded.
Ye Fengyun smiled. “You can look forward to it.”
“You’re being so mysterious.” Tang Shihan pouted.
The sultry woman in the qipao returned to the stage, carrying another auction item.
The crowd exchanged puzzled looks. Hadn’t the last painting been the finale? Why was there another one?
Under their bewildered gazes, the woman placed the item on the stage.
“Ladies and gentlemen, in addition to The High Mountains and Flowing Water, Master Yunfeng has prepared one more surprise for us today.”
Even the host’s voice trembled as he spoke, a testament to the significance of this surprise.
“What surprise? What could possibly top The High Mountains and Flowing Water?”
“What is it?”
“Stop keeping us in suspense and show us already!”
Seeing how excited everyone was, the sultry woman covered her lips with a smile and asked the host, “Shall I unveil it?”
“I’ll do it,” he replied.
The woman nodded and sashayed off the stage.
“Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome another stunning new masterpiece by Master Yunfeng: Beauty of the Golden Age!”
With a grand sweep of his arm, the host pulled away the red cloth covering the painting. A breathtaking work of art appeared before the crowd.
In that instant, heaven and earth seemed to lose their color, the sun and moon their light. Only the painting shone brilliantly.
“Wow!”
The crowd broke into admiring exclamations.
On the pristine white rice paper sat a beautiful woman in a chair. She rested her delicate chin on one hand and tilted her face slightly upward, gazing at the bright moon beyond the window. A faint smile seemed to play upon her lips.
And yet that was not the most astonishing part.
The host stepped before the painting and shone a light on it. The pigments reacted to the light, and the woman who had been looking up slowly lowered her head, gazing out from the painting with tender affection.
What an astonishing visual effect!
Through a clever use of optical reactions, the artist had brought a static painting to life, giving it a soul.
Only Master Yunfeng could achieve such a feat.
This technique was more masterful even than Leonardo da Vinci’s—the artist who created the Mona Lisa!
Clearly, Master Yunfeng’s skill had reached the pinnacle of perfection.
But no one was more shocked than Tang Shihan.
The woman in the painting was none other than her.
Master Yunfeng had painted Tang Shihan!
Covering her mouth, she stared at the painting onstage in disbelief, then glanced at Ye Fengyun, who was smiling enigmatically.
So this was the surprise?
It was more than she could ever have imagined!
“Fengyun, this—”
Ye Fengyun smiled. “This is the surprise I told you about.”
Tang Shihan kept a hand over her mouth, unable to believe it.
Such a masterpiece—and it was a portrait of her.
It was too incredible, too dreamlike, too unbelievable!
Before anyone else could speak, a wealthy businessman stood up and called out, “No need to start the bidding. I’ll offer one hundred million for this painting!”
One hundred million!
Someone had opened with an offer of one hundred million!
And that wasn’t a bid—it was the starting price!
Just then, another wealthy businessman stood up. “I’ll offer two hundred million!”