Chapter 18: My Brother’s Memory Is Never Wrong

  “Ye Xian, do you have no sense of decorum—”

  Jiang Wanze was about to scold her when Old Master Bo raised a hand to stop him. “There’s no age or rank when it comes to art. Since this young dy has her own opinion, let her speak. It might be worth discussing.”

  Ye Xian gnced at Cheng Jingshu, raising her brows slightly. “It’s a beautiful painting, but unfortunately—it’s a fake. I’m afraid Miss Cheng’s twenty million just went down the drain.”

  “What?!”

  Everyone was stunned and broke into murmurs.

  Cheng Jingshu looked at her like she was crazy. “What nonsense… Ye Xian, if you don’t understand art, don’t comment carelessly. Art deserves respect.”

  “It’s precisely because I respect art that I’m pointing this out. Should we really let a fake pass for the real thing?”

  “And what makes you qualified to say it’s a fake?”

  Cheng Jingshu shot back sharply, seemingly unaware that the painting was a forgery.

  Old Master Bo pressed his lips together and looked at Ye Xian as well.

  Everyone had turned serious, waiting for her expnation. Ye Xian sighed, walked behind the painting, and said:

  “Spring Blossoms and Autumn Fruits is one of Xia Hewan’s early signature pieces. It’s extremely rare and precious. It was only ever exhibited once—at the 2008 Capital Garden Expo. Anyone who saw that exhibition would know: in the upper right corner of the painting—right here—”

  She pointed to the upper right of the painting.

  “There should be a circur shadow mark.”

  That mark came from when she was little—she’d accidentally dripped candle wax on the painting while goofing around. Xia Hewan had originally pnned to remove it using restoration techniques. But since the painting was created as a tribute to her love with her husband, and now had this little “careless touch” from their child, she found it meaningful and decided to leave it.

  “You’re joking!” Cheng Jingshu looked at her with disdain. “In 2008, you were just a kid. How could you have gone to that exhibition, much less remember this kind of detail? Stop making things up.”

  “It’s true I didn’t go—but I’m telling the truth. Whether anyone here attended it, I don’t know.”

  “2008, Garden Expo, Xia Hewan’s art exhibition?” Bo’s father seemed to recall something and thought for a moment before turning to Bo Tingshen. “Tingshen, I remember when you were little, your grandmother took you to that exhibition. Do you remember?”

  From a young age, Tingshen had an extraordinary memory. Everything he saw was engraved in his mind. If he remembered it, then it had to be true.

  Ye Xian looked at him in surprise. A top-tier elite really was different. He must’ve only been a teen in 2008, yet already attending elegant art exhibitions. Truly someone raised in the p of luxury.

  But to her surprise, the man didn’t even lift his head. He looked utterly disinterested. “I don’t remember.”

  Hmph.

  Cheng Jingshu was secretly triumphant. The president of the Bo Group had been called a genius since childhood among the elite families. If even he didn’t remember, it must be nonsense. Ye Xian must’ve tried to smear her and ended up humiliating herself instead.

  “Well? What else can you say?”

  “My brother’s memory doesn’t make mistakes.”

  Jiang Wanze gred at Ye Xian, clearly furious. If not for the people present, he looked like he might hit her. “Ye Xian, haven’t you embarrassed yourself enough? Sit down.”

  “It’s fine. Besides that shadow mark, I have other ways to prove it.”

  Ye Xian moved her finger to the very bottom of the painting.

  “Look here. Though the imitation is very convincing, if you observe closely, there are fws. For example, the lighting and shading on the ‘spring’ and ‘autumn’ sides are significantly different from the original.”