Her ancestors sold paintings? She might as well say that her ancestors were tinters. Do I look that easy
to fool?
Stephanie fixed Elise with a complicated expression, unable to calm down even after a long time.
The person she had been looking for so long was right in front of her, but she found what she had
searched for far and wide by sheer dumb luck.
When the two of them returned with the painting, everyone had already moved to the villa’s hall.
Jonas sat on the main seat of the sofa, his brows still tightly furrowed. His anger didn’t seem to have
eased much.
Someone had already mentioned Elise’s identity to Jonas just now. Besides Alexander, she was also
friends with Kenneth. If he openly offended her today, it wouldn’t do anyone good. However, he was
dissatisfied, as she ruined his beloved treasure just like that.
He thought that if Elise could come up with a fake look genuine to console him, he might as well let it
go.
Jonas slowly raised his head upon hearing the sound of footsteps and saw Elise holding a rolled piece
of rice paper, thus shattering his hopes.
“Where’s SQ’s authentic work?” Jonas asked bluntly, showing no mercy whatsoever.
Elise slapped the rolled-up painting against her palm, then shook it nonchalantly. “Here it is.”
Then, she held the middle part and slowly unrolled it, revealing the ink peonies inside.
Jonas opened his mouth in surprise, his eyes gleaming halfway through Elise unrolling the rice paper.
When the painting was wholly unveiled, he couldn’t help but walk forward and take the artwork from
Elise’s hand, fascinated.
Judging from his experience collecting ink paintings, as soon as he touched the rice paper. Obviously, it
hadn’t been long since she made this painting. It was definitely not the pinnacle work of SQ, but the ink
peonies on it were indeed vividly painted. It was captivating, and it was undoubtedly a collectible.
“Mr. Hymer, what are you still doing there in a daze? Since there are experts here, hurry up and ask
them to make an appraisal!” Someone called out.
Only then did Jonas recover, bringing the painting over to a few friends who appraised antiques.
The experts placed the painting on an empty table, then formed a circle around the table and began to
carefully examine it with a magnifying glass.
After a few minutes, everyone reached an agreement.
The older appraiser said solemnly to Jonas, “This is indeed the work of SQ.”
Jonas was thrilled and quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
“But, one thing is strange.” The appraiser placed his hand on the rice paper, which was immediately
stained with black ink spots. He murmured dubiously to himself, “SQ’s ‘Ink Peonies’ was made a few
years ago. Why hasn’t the ink dried out yet?”
“Ahem.” Elise coughed awkwardly when she heard his remarks. “Uh, maybe because it’s been too
humid recently, and no special protective measures have been taken. But, this doesn’t affect the
authenticity of the painting, right?”
“Of course, it doesn’t.” The appraiser smiled and shook his head. “Not only is this painting the work of
SQ, but it’s even at a higher skill set than her previous painting. One can see that although the master
has been keeping a low profile over the years, they have constantly been transcending. This spirit is
simply commendable!”
Elise cast a triumphant look at Stephanie when she heard this, reckoning that she could now rest
assured.
Stephanie slightly pursed her lips, her smile not exactly natural.
Jonas was particularly excited. It was a pity to lose the pinnacle work of SQ, but the appraiser had just
said that the painting Elise brought was of a higher skill set and had more collectible value than the
previous one. With this luck, he should go and buy a lottery ticket!
However, at this moment, several guests raised objections.
“That’s not right. Since this one is the authentic work of SQ, what about the one just now? Is it possible
that both this and the ‘Spring Appreciation’ are real?”
“In my opinion, one of them must be fake. SQ’s student identified the one that was destroyed!””Isn’t that
too narrow of an outlook? Of course, SQ doesn’t have many artworks, but it’s impossible that one can
acquire only a few paintings. On the other hand, as the appraiser mentioned, maybe someone has
painted a new and better one?”
“The point is that none of us have ever met SQ. Who knows if they actually painted it or not? If it’s fake,
wouldn’t Mr. Hymer have no choice but to be a victim and suffer in silence?”
Jonas said nothing but simply frowned slightly and lowered his head.
They weren’t wrong. However, between a ruined genuine painting and a famous painting that may or
may not be authentic, he didn’t think it was a loss on his end.
The key to collecting such things depended on whether the collector liked them. The value of the
collection came second.
But now, going with the herd, he couldn’t tell the truth from what was false. He couldn’t just take their
word for it and let the matter slide.
All of a sudden, a voice rang out. “You’re all confused, aren’t you? SQ’s student is right here. Let her
tell us if SQ has created any new artworks recently. She will reveal the truth then!”
Tiana was about to run away, but when she heard this, she couldn’t help but come to a sudden stop
while sorting out her emotions.
Sure enough, someone caught sight of her in the next second.
“Miss Hill! You’re here! Come and save everyone from this confusion!”
The corners of Tiana’s lips twitched, but she had to bite the bullet and walk into the center of the crowd,
standing opposite Elise.
When Elise saw her, she gave a meaningful smile.
Tiana’s senses were sharp as she noted the meaningful look in her eyes and guiltily turned her head
aside.
Calm down. The one who contacted Elise is an alias that isn’t bound to any proof of identity. So Elise
won’t find out that I’m the one behind SQ’s account.
After a little mental preparation, Tiana returned to appearing confident and elegant.
“Miss Hill.” Jonas had a lot of respect for SQ’s students, so he asked humbly, “Dare I ask, has SQ
made another ‘Ink Peonies’ lately?”
Tiana didn’t answer immediately but pretended to be pretentious and walked to the table before
studying the painting again.
Finally, she answered thoughtfully, “It is indeed the one made by my teacher a few days ago.”
Undoubtedly, there was a reason she said that. Elise had an inexplicable connection with SQ. Since
this artwork had passed the appraisal, she could only admit that it was genuine. Even if any problem
arose in the future, everyone could place the blame on the appraisers.
Not to mention, if she weren’t on the same page with these people, they would probably ask her to
personally contact SQ, which would be troublesome.
Jonas clasped his hands tightly together, and his eyes couldn’t hide his joy and excitement. “Thank
you, Miss Hill.”
“Don’t mention it.” Tiana pursed her lips.
Elise lowered her gaze when she heard this. So she painted the painting, and solved the dispute, but
Tiana was getting all the credit?
“Miss Hill.” Elise said meaningfully, “Did you remember it wrong? One of the paintings that SQ let me
keep is ‘Ink Peonies’. So, they should have painted this one two years ago.”
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda