What followed was a massive influx of reporters into the scene, frantically taking photos and videos! They even tried to rush over to interview Gao Jianfei, but were blocked by armed police officers.
Meanwhile, some journalists have already posted the valuable news online as soon as possible... "A genius painter was born in the flower market, surpassing Ge Chunhou, the number one painter in G province, and Ma Junsheng, Ge's favorite student."
"Ge Chunhou and Ma Junsheng left the stage in sorrow; the art world no longer believes in tears."
"Following the masters of the art world such as Qi Baishi and Zhang Daqian, my country has once again produced a superstar-level painter... Mr. Gao Jianfei!"
Gao Jianfei was indifferent to the numerous leaders and judges offering high prices for his painting; it was just a painting, after all. If they wanted it, he could give it to them without hesitation. However, when Gao Jianfei glanced at Qin Leshi out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that the girl seemed a little unhappy.
Gao Jianfei paused for a moment, then realized... That's right, this was a work based on Qin Leshi. Selling this work to someone else wouldn't be a happy thing for Qin Leshi. Probably not many girls would want their portrait displayed to strangers.
Gao Jianfei smiled, then picked up the painting, rolled it into a scroll, and handed it to Qin Leshi. "Leshi, the birthday present I gave you last time wasn't very good. This time, I'll make up for it. This painting is for you."
"Huh?" Qin Leshi was stunned for a moment, then happily took the painting. Her gaze towards Gao Jianfei was filled with an intense and unyielding tenderness and love!
Qin Leshi thought to herself, Gao Jianfei is really good to me. This painting is clearly worth millions, but he gave it to me without even blinking!
Qin Leshi clutched the painting tightly, as if afraid it would be snatched away.
And those print journalists started making things up again...
"A famous painting was gifted to a beautiful woman. The model for the master Gao Jianfei is suspected to be his confidante!"
"Even heroes can't resist the charms of a beautiful woman; Master Gao Jianfei has fallen in love!"
"Master Gao Jianfei and his girlfriend participated in a painting salon competition and stole the show!"
After that, Wu Keyou, the leading figure in the Chinese painting world, did something that surprised everyone! He actually went over and poured a cup of tea himself, then bowed respectfully to Gao Jianfei, picked up the teacup with both hands, and handed it to Gao Jianfei, saying, "Teacher Gao, please accept me as your unworthy disciple!"
The entire room fell completely silent!
All that was left was a bunch of reporters frantically taking pictures!
"Huh? Teacher Wu, you...you mustn't be joking with me like this! You're a very important figure in the Chinese art world, and you're much older than me, this...please don't do this, please don't do this." Gao Jianfei was also startled by Wu Keyu's astonishing actions!
Previously, Wu Keyou had said that if Gao Jianfei could prove that the painting of the Red Cliff was indeed his, then Wu Keyou would be willing to become his apprentice. However, at the time, Gao Jianfei and the others thought Wu Keyou was joking. Now, unexpectedly, he's serious!
Although Gao Jianfei wanted to become famous, he still found it difficult to accept Wu Keyu's act of becoming his apprentice!
Wu Ke has a high status in the Chinese painting world, with students all over the world, and he is already in his sixties or seventies. How could Gao Jianfei possibly accept him as a disciple?
Wu Keyou, of course, had his own reasons. "Teacher Gao, there is no order of precedence in learning; the accomplished are teachers. Although I am a few years older than you and have a small reputation in the Chinese art world, my meager skills are laughable in your eyes, like a kindergarten child's scribbles. Besides, I have admired the style of Master Qiu Ying since I was a child. Now that Master Qiu Ying has passed away, and Teacher Gao has received his true teachings and is standing right in front of me, wouldn't I be a fool not to become his disciple?" After a pause, Wu Keyou actually said, "If Teacher Gao insists on not accepting me as his disciple, then I will kneel here forever!"
As he spoke, he actually started to kneel down!
"Hey...don't!" Gao Jianfei couldn't stand this kind of etiquette, so he directly helped Wu Keyou up.
Mayor Feng He of Huashi City's eyes flashed with a strange light, and he hurriedly said, "Teacher Gao, since Teacher Wu is so determined to become your disciple, please accept him!"
Secretary Meng chimed in, "Yes, yes, Teacher Gao taking on a disciple will surely cause a sensation throughout China and become a legendary tale!"
Gao Jianfei thought to himself, "It seems that if I don't take on a disciple today, I probably won't be able to get away. This stubborn old man Wu Keyou will definitely keep pestering me!"
"Alright! That's settled then! Teacher Wu, I...I...I'll take you as my apprentice!" Gao Jianfei said through gritted teeth, forcing himself to speak.
Wu Ke was overjoyed. He immediately knelt down on one knee, raised the teacup in his hands, and performed the disciple's salute to Gao Jianfei.
Gao Jianfei awkwardly accepted the cup of tea and took a symbolic sip.
The reporters' eyes gleamed with extreme fervor... This news was simply dramatic and revolutionary! It was an absolute bombshell! Tomorrow, Gao Jianfei would become a celebrity famous throughout the entire country!
A master painter becomes an apprentice to a 22-year-old... Isn't that amazing?
This kind of admiration can even make people who have no interest in painting admire Gao Jianfei, pay attention to him, and even idolize him!
After all, at the young age of 22, he had already become a figure at the very top of the cultural and artistic world. This is truly a mythical, dreamlike legend!
The print journalists are writing articles like crazy again...
"A legendary figure has been born in the art world of China!"
"A complete upheaval! Utterly upheaval! Wu Keyou, the foremost painter in China, has become Gao Jianfei's disciple! This establishes Gao Jianfei's divine status!"
"Gao Jianfei, how many years will you dominate the Chinese art scene?"
Having inexplicably taken on a disciple, Gao Jianfei was both amused and exasperated. However, today, he truly had achieved his predetermined goal…
Fame!
Create a polished image for yourself!
Gao Jianfei has already accomplished all of these!
Now, he is no longer just a gambling expert affiliated with underground forces; he is an elite figure in the cultural field!
The mayor and party secretary of the flower market, including the provincial propaganda minister and the "chairman" of the provincial painters' association, were all very polite and enthusiastic towards Gao Jianfei, even extremely attentive!
After some discussion, Gao Jianfei donated the painting of the Red Cliff to the Huashi Museum free of charge; and Gao Jianfei was also directly admitted as a member of the G Province Painters Association.
Even the head of the provincial Party committee's publicity department left Gao Jianfei's mobile phone number.
Then, under the protection of the armed police and security guards, they got rid of the frenzied reporters, and the mayor of Huashi City's driver personally drove the municipal party committee's car to take Gao Jianfei and Qin Leshi out.
Gao Jianfei didn't have the driver take him to his home in Hushi. Instead, he and Qin Leshi got out of the car at an intersection in Huashi.
After getting off the bus, Qin Leshi looked at Gao Jianfei with a very complicated expression.
"Jianfei, you...you are truly an unexpected person. It's all so surprising, everything just now feels like a dream!" Qin Leshi murmured. Her gaze was fixed on Gao Jianfei, unable to look away, as if she were bewitched!
Just as Gao Jianfei was about to say something, his phone rang.
I took out my phone and saw that it was Tang Bao calling!
"Uh, Leshi, I have something to do right now. Go home by yourself, we'll talk again later. Okay, that's all." Tang Bao called, probably about the Zheng Bang Casino. Gao Jianfei didn't want a proper girl like Qin Leshi to hear about casino matters, so he said goodbye to Qin Leshi and walked across the street. He answered the phone as he walked.
Qin Leshi held the portrait painting that Gao Jianfei had given her in her hand, watching Gao Jianfei's receding figure with a dazed look in her eyes!
Meanwhile, Gao Jianfei, after receiving Tang Bao's call, instinctively asked, "Uncle Tang, has something happened at the casino?"
"Ha, my good nephew, the casino is fine! Now that you're affiliated with our Zheng Bang Casino, who would dare to come and cause trouble? Ha! The casino is perfectly safe! I'm completely at ease!" Tang Bao said with a laugh on the other end of the phone. "Um, nephew, tomorrow is Feilong's mother's birthday. The birthday banquet officially starts at 6 pm. You're one of Feilong's people, so you should go there early to help out. I told you last time that my son Wenjun has returned to China, and he's now working for Feilong Company. Go there early tomorrow, meet Wenjun, and make friends. Remember, it's the Fengming Mountain upscale villa residential area."
"Yes, Uncle Tang, I will definitely go there as soon as possible." Tomorrow is the 5th, and Gao Jianfei remembered that it was Feilong's mother's birthday.
After hanging up the phone, Feilong called back personally, "Xiao Gao, come over early tomorrow and help me out. Oh, and bring your girlfriend Chen Xian too. Your sister-in-law and I both want to meet her."
"Okay, Brother Feilong," Gao Jianfei replied.
Flower Market, Feilong's company headquarters. In his office.
Today, Feilong's wife also came to Feilong's office to accompany him to work.
Feilong hung up the phone and smiled at his wife. "Honey, I've personally called and told Xiao Gao to come to my mom's birthday party tomorrow. Are you satisfied now?"
With a gentle smile, Feilong's wife ran behind the chair where Feilong was sitting. First, she massaged Feilong's shoulders and back, then wrapped her arms around Feilong's neck from behind, kissed Feilong's cheek, and said, "Husband, tomorrow, you should observe Jianfei carefully. He is definitely not an ordinary person."
"In my opinion, Xiao Gao is just an honest and ordinary young man." Fei Long stroked his wife's smooth hand. "Wife, I met Xiao Gao once with my own eyes, and I trust my judgment."
"Tch. Honey, it's the same old story. If Xiao Gao is just an ordinary person, then... then I'll let you... let you touch my back..." Fei Long's wife gently bit her lip. "I also trust my own judgment!"
Flower market. A hotel suite that Hu Zi booked.
Tang Wenjun and Hu Zi sat on the sofa.
"Wenjun, tomorrow is Feilong's mother's birthday banquet. We've temporarily shifted our focus from Gao Jianfei to Feilong. Have you made the arrangements?" Hu Zi grinned and asked Tang Wenjun.
Tang Wenjun smiled politely, "Brother Beard, you can rest assured that I can handle things. Tomorrow will definitely be a birthday party that Feilong will never forget in his life."
"Pfft... Wenjun, don't turn someone's birthday party into a funeral!"
"Heh, Brother Beard, I don't rule out that possibility."
Chapter 154 Jianfei Hello, I am Tang Wenjun
Chapter 154 Jianfei Hello, I am Tang Wenjun
After attending the art salon exchange competition, Gao Jianfei left the basketball court and said goodbye to Qin Leshi. He checked his phone; it was lunchtime. He hurriedly crossed a street, hailed a taxi, and returned to the Shanmu residential area in Hushi. In the car, Chen Xian had already called to urge Gao Jianfei to go home, acting like a virtuous housewife.
Originally, lunch was the sole expense for this salon exchange. Every judge and provincial and municipal leader present was to be invited to dine at a luxurious hotel in Huashi after the salon. At the time, the mayor and party secretary of Huashi, along with various painters, including Gao Jianfei's apprentice Wu Keyou, all extended a strong invitation to Gao Jianfei to join them for lunch. Well… Gao Jianfei paid for the entire salon, so there wasn't really any real issue of invitations; he was practically the host.
However, Gao Jianfei did not attend the grand luncheon party; he chose to go home. Now that he had successfully secured a prestigious reputation as an artist, he no longer needed to socialize with those so-called leaders and painters. Even with his apprentice, Wu Keyou, Gao Jianfei only offered a few perfunctory words. They agreed that Gao Jianfei would only nominally be Wu Keyou's teacher, but would not actually spend time instructing him in painting.
"Hmm. Tomorrow is Feilong's mother's 70th birthday. Although I've only met Feilong once, he did help me find a job, and he said he considers me family and even asked me to go over early tomorrow to help. Well... I guess I'll go with Xiaoxian this afternoon to prepare a birthday gift for Auntie!" Gao Jianfei thought to himself in the car. At the same time, he remembered how kind Feilong's wife had been to him, so Gao Jianfei decided that even if it meant spending a lot of money, he had to prepare a decent gift for Feilong's mother.
Back home, Chen Xian had already prepared dinner. While eating, Chen Xian served Gao Jianfei food, gently smiling, "Jianfei, you left so early this morning, what were you doing?"
Gao Jianfei chuckled, "What? It'll be a secret for now, but... well, Xiaoxian, I'll tell you our upcoming schedule. First, we're going to an elder's birthday party tomorrow. Then, I'm planning to take you home to meet my parents and aunt. Xiaoxian, you know, even an ugly daughter-in-law has to meet her in-laws eventually!"
Hearing that Gao Jianfei wanted to take her home... well, to meet his parents, which meant officially establishing a legally recognized romantic relationship in the traditional sense, Chen Xianfang's heart fluttered with joy.
After finishing their meal and cleaning up the dishes, Gao Jianfei prepared to go out with Chen Xian to buy a birthday present for Feilong's mother. However, Chen Xian told Gao Jianfei that nowadays, people usually give cash for weddings or birthdays. This was different from Qin Leshi's birthday last time, when it was among colleagues of similar age, where a symbolic gift was sufficient. Now it was an elder's birthday, so giving a gift was the only practical thing to do.
Gao Jianfei broke out in a cold sweat, thinking to himself that his mindset was indeed quite outdated.
Well then, let's just give them money!
Gao Jianfei didn't need to handle this himself. Chen Xian, the stay-at-home mom, could manage. After discussing it, the young couple decided to give a large red envelope containing 66,666 yuan, symbolizing good fortune. Since the largest denomination of Japanese yen is 100 yuan, giving such a large red envelope was a bit inconvenient. Therefore, Chen Xian's main task in the afternoon was to go to the bank to exchange some Hong Kong dollars. The largest denomination of Hong Kong dollars is 1,000 yuan, and the exchange rate is similar to that of Japanese yen, so a 66,666 yuan red envelope was just a stack of banknotes.
Chen Xian went out to run errands, and Gao Jianfei lay down on the bed to sleep.
Moreover, he went into the Ghost Den to take a look and found that the repair of the mission system was already 70% complete.
Thank goodness, although repairing this task system is extremely slow, it's at least more than halfway done! According to the AI program, Gao Jianfei only needs to wait a few more days—just a few days—before he can play with the task system! Furthermore, the AI program also revealed to Gao Jianfei that this task system can indeed rapidly increase a user's exorcism points and experience points. However, the prerequisite is to complete certain tasks. As for what those tasks are, the AI program didn't disclose them to Gao Jianfei.
As for the exorcism points, they have been restored to "5000". Gao Jianfei is not in a hurry. He plans to wait until the Super Ghost Instrument's mission system is repaired and he truly understands the specific functions and characteristics of the mission system before using the existing exorcism points to target some level 2 ghosts.
Also, after attending Feilong's mother's birthday party, Gao Jianfei will go home. He really misses his family. Besides, Gao Jianfei now possesses considerable talent and a prestigious artist status in society. Going home would be a triumphant return!
Which wanderer doesn't dream of returning home in glory?
Of course, another purpose of going home was to see if he could deal with the Zeng family! Although Gao Jianfei didn't necessarily mean he had to go back and wipe out the Zeng family, he could at least try to put up a fight with them. At least he wouldn't be instantly defeated by the Zeng family like before, right?
Gao Jianfei's job was very leisurely. Under normal circumstances, there was nothing for him to handle at the casinos. He received his monthly share of the profits from the two casinos as usual, and he could do whatever he wanted in his spare time. Life was very leisurely. Therefore, time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was already the next day.
The 5th. Feilong's mom's birthday!
After lunch, Gao Jianfei told Chen Xian to get ready. Feilong's wife called again in the afternoon, urging Gao Jianfei to arrive early to help with the birthday party arrangements.
After all, Feilong Flower Market is a prominent figure in the business world, and many people want to curry favor with him; moreover, Feilong, as a businessman, also has no shortage of people he wants to curry favor with.
Therefore, this birthday banquet will definitely be very grand, and there will be a lot of guests attending!
Feilong wasn't booking a hotel for the entire birthday banquet; he was hosting it at home. Therefore, he needed a lot of help from his family to arrange everything before the guests arrived.
Feilong and his sister-in-law both called Gao Jianfei to come over early to set up the venue. This definitely shows that they treat Gao Jianfei as one of their own, not an outsider!
This warmed Gao Jianfei's heart. At least, having some relatives far from home was truly a godsend!
Chen Xian wore the high-necked suit that Gao Jianfei Dior bought for her, along with some pearl necklaces and diamond earrings that he bought later. At first glance, she truly looked like a woman of great elegance and grace! Radiant and beautiful!