NOVEL NEXT Chapter 27: Jealous?
"In the first round of the competition, the event is the identification of Chinese paintings. All competitors participate together, and within half an hour, from tens of thousands of Chinese paintings, they must select the one they believe to be the most authentic and the best."
"In the end, our three professional judges will appraise the value of the painting selected by the competitors. The higher the value, the higher the ranking. This round will eliminate half of the competitors."
As the referee announced the rules on stage, the competitors below, ready to go, were eager to try.
Wang Ye glanced over and just caught Su Wanqing also getting ready.
Today, Su Wanqing wasn't much dressed up, just wearing light makeup. Compared with Fang Feifei, who had just amazed the crowd, she seemed somewhat ordinary.
However, she still appeared quite exceptional compared to the other women present.
"Junior Brother, what are you looking at?" Chen Li asked when she saw Wang Ye staring in that direction and daydreaming.
Wang Ye snapped back to reality and quickly covered up, "Nothing much, just casually looking around."
"Casually looking around?" Chen Li didn't believe Wang Ye's words. She followed the direction of Wang Ye's gaze and saw Su Wanqing.
"Ah, it's her! Junior Brother, she's the girl who kept looking at you yesterday."
"I know."
When Chen Li had mentioned it yesterday, Wang Ye already knew it was Su Wanqing.
"You know? Then the two of you must have a telepathic connection! She was looking at you yesterday and you are looking at her today."
"It's just a coincidence."
"A coincidence? Absolutely not. But, Junior Brother, remember you're engaged. Don't be fickle-minded, okay?" Chen Li said, poking Wang Ye's head.
An engagement?
Chen Li still didn't know the girl Wang Ye was looking at was the main character of the engagement.
"It's time to compete on stage."
Wang Ye said, rising to his feet and heading to the stage.
At that moment, the stage was filled with dozens of racks. Each rack held hundreds of Chinese paintings.
Some paintings were obviously modern forgeries, which anyone with a bit of knowledge could easily dismiss.
But many others were hard to distinguish.
Usually, half an hour, was only enough to appraise one painting.
Thus, to pick the most authentic and valuable painting out of tens of thousands within half an hour was very difficult.
However, luckily it was a knockout round, where ranking higher than others was all that mattered.
"Is everyone ready?" The referee asked, holding a microphone.
"Ready!" Nearly a hundred contestants replied simultaneously.
"Three, two, one, begin!"
At the referee's command, nearly a hundred contestants immediately began weaving through the sea of Chinese paintings.
This competition was not only about discernment but also about speed. Since it was first come, first served, if two competitors wanted the same excellent painting, it would come down to who was quicker.
Wang Ye only made one round inside, then picked up a painting and walked towards the judges' panel.
Appraising treasures was actually very draining. So Wang Ye didn't plan on wasting his energy in the first round, especially since he had to compete in three rounds today.
"Okay, we already have a contestant who has chosen their painting! What speed, isn't it too fast? It's been less than a minute," the host announced loudly onstage.
All eyes immediately turned towards Wang Ye.
"This kid, does he want to give up? How could he possibly have appraised it in less than a minute?"
"Not necessarily, I think this kid just wants to take a gamble, relying on luck."
"True, with tens of thousands of paintings, there's a chance if you're lucky."
While the audience below was discussing, Wang Ye had already handed the painting to the judges.
However, the judge said to Wang Ye, "Contestant, did you read the competition rules that were just distributed? This competition cannot rely on luck. You chose a painting so quickly, which means you are gambling on luck. According to the rules, you may be disqualified from the competition."
Upon hearing this, Wang Ye simply smiled and said, "Mr. Judge, I'm not relying on luck. I have already identified this painting as a genuine piece from the Ming Dynasty. Although the artist is not famous, its age and quality make this painting quite valuable."
"Really?" the judge was not very convinced.
"True or false, we will know after the appraisal," Wang Ye said calmly.
The judge nodded and handed over the painting to the appraisers.
After a few minutes, the three appraisers unanimously nodded their heads.
"This painting is indeed an authentic work by a Ming Dynasty artist. The condition is good, and the painting skills are excellent. Its value is considerable."
After hearing the appraisers' words, the judge had no choice but to tell Wang Ye, "Okay, you may go rest for now. We won't disclose the value of this painting yet until everyone has made their selection, and then the rankings will be determined."
Although that was what he said, the judge knew that Wang Ye had already advanced to the next round.
Because among tens of thousands of paintings, there were less than a hundred authentic ones. So choosing a genuine painting almost certainly meant advancement.
After Wang Ye, the second person to make a choice was Su Wanqing.
Wang Ye noticed that Su Wanqing had chosen a genuine Qing Dynasty painting, and even more, it was a pavilion scene by Zhan Ziliang. That painting was definitely worth several times, if not tens of times, more than the one he had chosen.
Moreover, Su Wanqing had taken less than five minutes to make her choice.
It seemed her skills were also quite formidable.
"Brother, not bad! You did very well," Chen Li said as she approached Wang Ye when he was stepping off the stage.
Wang Ye just smiled slightly, without any hint of pride.
"But that girl you were watching seems to have done quite well too," Chen Li continued.
"You're right, her strength must be strong as well."
As they were talking, Fang Feifei walked over.
Chen Li was a bit stunned to see Fang Feifei.
Because in her view, Fang Feifei was definitely a very aloof person. In such a setting, she would not likely appear again.
"Divine Doctor, I didn't expect you to participate in this appraisal competition," Fang Feifei said with a smile as she approached Wang Ye.
"Yeah." Wang Ye just nodded and responded briefly.
Facing Fang Feifei, Wang Ye actually felt somewhat nervous.
Because Fang Feifei had wiped his sweat with her own hands yesterday, so now Wang Ye felt quite a peculiar sensation toward her.
Initially, Chen Li was somewhat puzzled, but after thinking for a moment, she understood.
Wang Ye had visited Patriarch Fang yesterday to provide medical consultation, so it was reasonable for him to know Fang Feifei.
"Who is this?" Fang Feifei asked Wang Ye, looking at Chen Li.
"I'm his senior, Chen Li," Chen Li introduced herself actively.
"Miss Chen Li, nice to meet you," Fang Feifei reached out and shook hands with Chen Li proactively.
"Nice to meet you, Miss Fang."
This scene below the stage was just observed by Su Wanqing from above.
Seeing Wang Ye and Fang Feifei appearing quite familiar with each other, Su Wanqing felt a bit strange, and there seemed to be a hint of jealousy in her heart.