Art Exhibition and Critics

The pace of the Magic City is always fast, so fast that it leaves people breathless.

But at the West Bund Art Center by the Huangpu River, time seems to have been put on slow motion.

This is an art district transformed from old industrial ruins. Giant oil tanks, towering cranes, and minimalist white art galleries stand intertwined. The air is filled with a unique scent that mixes the damp moisture of the Huangpu River with expensive oil paints.

"The past two days, I took you up into the sky and down into the sea, racing on the track and diving in the water. It must have worn you out."

A Rolls-Royce Phantom stopped at the entrance of the art center, and Xia Lin stepped out of the car, holding onto Su Bai's arm. Today, she had changed out of her sleek racing suit and put on a well-tailored dark gray cashmere coat over a black silk dress. An Hermes geometric silk scarf was tied around her neck, giving her an intellectual and elegant "old money" vibe.

"So today, your big sister is taking you to cultivate your sentiments and wash off that smell of gasoline."

Xia Lin smiled and pointed to the gallery ahead, which was transformed from an old hangar. "Ye Lan, ever heard of her? She's an emerging female artist making waves internationally right now. Today is her first exhibition back in the country, and only a very small number of collectors and media were invited."

"Never heard of her."

Su Bai told the truth. His knowledge of the art world was limited to knowing that Van Gogh cut off his ear and Picasso painted crooked faces.

This kind of high-brow art was still beyond Su Bai's cognitive scope...

However, following Xia to learn a bit about it wasn't a bad idea.

Since they were already here.

"It doesn't matter if you haven't heard of her. In these kinds of occasions anyway, there aren't many people who can understand the paintings, but there are plenty who can understand the prices." Xia Lin smiled pointedly. "Let's go take a look inside."

...

Inside the gallery, the air conditioning was on full blast.

On the minimalist white walls hung oil paintings with intense colors and bold compositions. Warm yellow spotlights shone precisely on each piece, creating a holy yet detached atmosphere.

Quite a few people had already gathered at the venue.

Most of the men were in suits and leather shoes, while the women were dripping with jewels. Holding champagne glasses, they gathered in twos and threes in front of the paintings, talking in low voices and occasionally letting out meaningful sighs of admiration, as if everyone was a connoisseur who had been immersed in art for years.

In the center of the crowd, a man with shoulder-length hair, round black-rimmed glasses, and a Japanese-style cotton and linen gown was talking loudly about a painting.

"...Look at this piece, 'Chaos'. The artist used extremely radical deconstructive techniques in an attempt to break free from the constraints of traditional perspective. This clash of colors is a silent accusation against postmodern industrial civilization, full of Freudian subconscious struggles..."

The man's voice was loud, his spit flying everywhere. He was surrounded by several wealthy businessmen in luxurious clothes who, although completely confused, nodded cooperatively, afraid of showing their ignorance.

"Who is that?" Su Bai asked casually.

"Zhou Dawei, a famous art critic in the circle."

Xia Lin curled her lip and lowered her voice, "He's actually just a hack who makes a living by brainwashing the rich and helping galleries inflate prices for commissions. He has a glib tongue that can talk the dead back to life and hype up garbage into masterpieces."

As they were speaking, the arrival of the two caught the attention of the people around them.

After all, the combination of Su Bai and Xia Lin was simply too dazzling.

Xia Lin was a familiar face in the Magic City's socialite circle, with a powerful aura; meanwhile, Su Bai's peerlessly handsome face, combined with his casual, ultra-wealthy temperament, instantly stole the gazes of most of the women present.

Zhou Dawei was enjoying the crowd's flattery, and seeing that everyone's attention had been drawn away, he instantly felt a bit displeased.

He pushed up his glasses and swept his gaze over Su Bai, a trace of contempt flashing in his eyes.

Too young, too handsome, and being held by the eldest miss of the Xia family.

This setup, in the eyes of a self-proclaimed aloof intellectual like him, was simply the standard template of a "rich woman keeping a toy boy."

"Oh, isn't this Miss Xia?"

Zhou Dawei greeted them with a fake smile, his tone somewhat sarcastic. "What, brought a friend to receive some artistic cultivation today? This young brother looks unfamiliar. Is he a top student from some film academy?"

There were thorns in his words, mocking Su Bai for being an actor who relied on his face to make a living.

Xia Lin frowned and was about to flare up, but Su Bai gently squeezed her palm, signaling her to stay calm.

"Not a top student, just a man of leisure."

Su Bai smiled faintly, completely ignoring Zhou Dawei's provocation. His gaze crossed over him and landed on the huge painting in the center of the exhibition hall.

It was a massive oil painting titled "Abyss."

The entire painting was dominated by dark blue tones. The canvas was filled with countless twisted lines and blocks of color. At first glance, it looked like a deep sea, and also like a giant whirlpool, giving off a strong sense of oppression.

"A man of leisure is good. Only men of leisure have the time to pose as lovers of culture."

Seeing that Su Bai didn't take the bait, Zhou Dawei thought he had a guilty conscience and became even more energetic.

He walked up to "Abyss," put on the airs of an expert, and dictated:

"Since this young brother is looking at this painting, why don't you tell us what you see in it? This is Teacher Ye Lan's crowning masterpiece. Without a certain level of artistic cultivation, I'm afraid you can only see a tangled mess, right?"

The surrounding wealthy businessmen also looked over, their eyes filled with the playful mockery of onlookers.

In their eyes, a toy boy who relied on his face to get ahead knew jack shit about art.

Su Bai paid no attention to Zhou Dawei's clamor.

He stood in front of the painting, narrowing his eyes slightly.

His 100 points in the [Mind] attribute granted him perception and insight beyond ordinary people.

In his eyes, this painting was no longer just a simple piling of pigments. Those messy brushstrokes, those layered blocks of color, seemed to come alive, transforming into the emotional fluctuations of the artist during creation.

"Oppressive."

Su Bai suddenly spoke, spitting out a single word.

"Hehe, oppressive?"

Zhou Dawei sneered, "Dark blue tones will naturally make people feel oppressed. This is introductory knowledge in color psychology. Young brother, if that's all you can see, you'd better go back and read a few more books. This painting expresses the exploration of the ultimate truth of the universe, it's a grand narrative..."

"No, not that kind of grand oppression."

Su Bai interrupted him, his voice calm but powerful. "It's a sense of... suffocation."

He pointed to a very inconspicuous grayish-white block of color in the lower right corner of the painting.

"Look here."

"The brushstrokes of the entire painting are violent and cathartic. Only here, the brushstrokes become extremely delicate, even a bit cautious. Beneath this grayish-white layer is a very thin layer of warm yellow, like... a beam of light seen through the deep sea."

"When the artist painted this part, her emotions must have been extremely conflicted. She longed for this light and wanted to reach out and grab it, but she was afraid that this light was fake, a bait. So she wrapped this light layer by layer with heavy dark blue, like self-protection, and also like self-imprisonment."

Su Bai turned his head, looked at the dumbfounded Zhou Dawei, and said faintly:

"This isn't some grand narrative about universal truths. This is the final breath of a drowning person before they give up the struggle. It's a sliver of... untouchable hope mixed within despair."

Dead silence fell over the room.

Zhou Dawei opened his mouth wide, wanting to retort, but found himself completely at a loss for words.

Because Su Bai's description was too specific. Specific down to the thickness of the brushstrokes, the layering order of the colors, and even that soul-piercing emotional interpretation.

Could a layman really see all this?

"Clap, clap, clap."

Right at that moment, a crisp round of applause rang out from the back of the crowd.

Everyone turned around to see a woman step forward, wearing a black turtleneck sweater and a pair of jeans stained with specks of paint.

She had a sharp, short haircut, eyes as piercing as knives, and held an unlit cigarette between her fingers.

Ye Lan.

The star of this art exhibition, the legendary genius female painter known for her eccentric and extremely difficult personality.

"Well said."

Ye Lan walked straight up to Su Bai, her eyes—which seemed capable of seeing right through a person's soul—locked onto him. "You are the first person to see through that layer of warm yellow."

"Miss... Miss Ye?"

Zhou Dawei panicked a little. "This... this is just a coincidence, right? The theme of this painting is clearly..."

"Shut up."

Ye Lan shot him a cold glance. "I don't recall putting any deconstructivism or Freud into my painting. That was just something I painted when my depression was at its worst, soaking in a bathtub for an entire night."

"..."

Zhou Dawei's face instantly flushed the color of pig's liver.

It was a resounding slap to the face.

The original creator herself had just confirmed it, instantly turning all his pretentious, mystifying theories into a total joke.

The wealthy businessmen around them also changed how they looked at Zhou Dawei, their eyes now holding a hint of disdain and mockery. It turned out this so-called master knew less than a young man.

Ye Lan paid no more attention to the clown. Instead, she turned to Su Bai, a near-fanatical gleam flashing in her eyes.

"What is your name?"

"Su Bai."

"Su Bai... good name."

What was so good about it?

Feeling her overly friendly gaze, Su Bai was a bit bewildered.

He had honestly just been spouting nonsense based on his gut feeling. Could it be?

Ye Lan circled Su Bai, her gaze scanning him brazenly like an X-ray. From his broad shoulders to his long arms, and down to the waist hidden beneath his overcoat.

That look wasn't like she was looking at a person; it was more like she was admiring a perfect piece of raw material.

Xia Lin instinctively felt a hint of threat. She took a step forward, blocking Su Bai. "Great Painter Ye, we've finished looking at the painting, and it is indeed quite good."

"It is good."

Su Bai smiled and suddenly asked, "This piece, 'Abyss'—is it for sale?"

"Not for sale."

Ye Lan shook her head, rejecting him flatly. "It's not for sale. It's my life's blood."

"Five million," Su Bai offered casually.

Zhou Dawei gasped sharply from the sidelines. Five million? The market value of this painting was two million at best! Was this kid actually rich, or just showing off?

"I'm not short on money," Ye Lan refused again.

"Eight million."

Su Bai didn't even bat an eyelid. "Besides, I think it would create a great atmosphere hanging in the underwater suite I'm currently renovating. Think about it: looking through one-way glass at a deep blue swimming pool, with 'Abyss' hanging on the wall. That clash between suffocation and freedom... wouldn't that be absolutely stunning?"

Ye Lan froze.

The scene Su Bai described instantly surfaced in her mind.

Underwater suite... deep blue pool... 'Abyss'...

That setting was simply the perfect home for this painting! It was ten thousand times better than hanging in a cold art gallery for people to point and stare at!

"Deal."

Ye Lan didn't hesitate at all, not even bothering to negotiate the price further. "Eight million, it's yours."

The people around them were dumbfounded.

Just like that... a deal?

Just a moment ago she was swearing on her life that it was her life's blood and not for sale, but the moment he described a setting, she sold it outright?

Is this how an artist's brain works?

"Straightforward."

Su Bai pulled out a black card and handed it to a staff member behind him. "Swipe it, and wrap it up."

That casual display of throwing money around, combined with his brilliant display of talent that had just stunned the room, maxed out his charm in that instant.

Xia Lin looked at the man beside her, the affection in her eyes practically overflowing.

Too handsome.

Truly too handsome.

Not only was he wealthy, but he was also talented, and he could trample those so-called experts underfoot in their own professional domain. A man like this was simply poison.

Just as Su Bai was about to pay and leave.

Ye Lan suddenly reached out and stopped him.

"You can have the painting, but I have a condition."

Ye Lan looked at Su Bai, the fanaticism in her eyes growing even more obvious. "I want you to be my model."

"Model?" Su Bai was taken aback.

"Yes, a life model."

Ye Lan was completely blunt, her gaze fixed directly on Su Bai's chest even through his clothes. "Your bone structure is the most perfect I have ever seen. Proportions like an ancient Greek sculpture, full of power and divinity. Especially the lines of your deltoids and lats... they are simply God's masterpiece."

"I want to paint a series themed around 'The Fall of Gods,' and I need a male model with a flawless physique. Fully nude."

Pfft—

Zhou Dawei, who was drinking water nearby, nearly did a spit-take.

Fully... fully nude?

This arrogant genius female painter who looked down on everyone was actually publicly inviting this man to pose nude?!

Xia Lin's face instantly darkened.

Although she knew Su Bai had a great body since she had just used it last night, this was her private property! How could she let another woman, especially a female artist with eyes like a wolf, just look at it casually?!

"No way!"

Xia Lin acted like a lioness protecting her food, tightly gripping Su Bai's arm. "Miss Ye, buying a painting is one thing, but this man is mine. You want to see him? Not a chance!"

"I can pay," Ye Lan said earnestly. "By the hour. One hundred thousand an hour."

"Do you think we're short on your little bit of money?!" Xia Lin laughed out of anger.

Su Bai also didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

This female artist's brain really didn't operate like a normal person's.

However, being praised in public for having a perfect body wasn't a bad feeling at all.

"Miss Ye, I'll pass on being a model."

Su Bai politely declined, "I'm quite shy, and I'm not really used to taking my clothes off in front of strangers. But, if you ever have any inspiration regarding underwater light and shadows in the future, you're welcome to visit my club to gather material. There... you might find some new inspiration."

With that, he smoothly wrapped his arm around Xia Lin and turned to leave, walking away under the envious, jealous, and shocked gazes of the crowd.

Leaving Ye Lan standing there, watching Su Bai's retreating back and muttering to herself:

"Shy? Heh... the wildness hidden in those eyes isn't shy in the slightest."

"A perfect piece of material... I will paint him sooner or later."

Meanwhile, Zhou Dawei had completely faded into the background, becoming practically invisible. He stared at "Abyss," which now bore a "Sold" tag, feeling a burning, stinging pain across his face.

This time, he had truly hit a brick wall.

A diamond-encrusted brick wall, at that.