CH 045

TL: Moonlit

Qi Fenghua felt inexplicably anxious.

Yue Hong had a good reputation in the industry, and his personality was known to be straightforward. His credibility was at least 50%. He had just released a video, and the Spring Breeze Art Exhibition followed suit with a post…

Qi Fenghua suppressed his overthinking and consoled himself that the message was about the handling of Qi Yuyu’s case.

He had prepared himself mentally for a long time, but in the instant he clicked on the message, he was stunned.

Spring Breeze Art Exhibition: After receiving reports from the public, our exhibition has conducted an investigation into the possibility of Qi Yuyu plagiarizing Yi Wusheng. It has been confirmed that Qi Yuyu did not engage in any plagiarism, and his ranking will be maintained.

Upon verification, it was found that Yi Wusheng’s artwork submitted to the Spring Breeze Art Exhibition exhibited plagiarized content, and his gold medal ranking has been revoked.

Spring Breeze Art Exhibition has a long history, supporting originality and opposing all forms of plagiarism and imitation. Once discovered, participants will immediately have their eligibility revoked for selection and exhibition. We urge all participants to cherish their reputations and not trample upon the boundaries of original art.

Qi Fenghua widened his eyes and read through the announcement multiple times, recognizing every word, yet they formed a sentence he couldn’t comprehend.

Yi Wusheng… plagiarized? Qi Fenghua felt like this whole incident was absurd, like some cheap comedy.

Ordinary netizens who saw this announcement also didn’t believe the result and left comments.

⌈”No way, no way. Can Qi Yuyu really cover up everything like this?”⌋

⌈”They didn’t address the plagiarism issue and instead punished the one who was plagiarized… Great, this is so typical of our country.”⌋

⌈”The Spring Breeze Art Exhibition is not worthy of Yi Wusheng.”⌋

⌈”This is so infuriating. Is it really impossible for Yi Wusheng to seek justice because he’s being bullied?”⌋

⌈”…I’m starting to have conspiracy theories. Was Yi Wusheng’s cause of death really a car accident?”⌋

As Qi Fenghua looked at these comments, his worries eased slightly. Fortunately, the public wasn’t deceived; otherwise, Yi Wusheng’s lifelong reputation would be ruined.

But Qi Yuyu’s slanderous actions against Yi Wusheng were unbearable for Qi Fenghua. He couldn’t sit still any longer and immediately stood up.

He hastily got into his car and rushed towards the address of the Spring Breeze Art Exhibition, running several red lights along the way. Qi Fenghua was filled with anger, and he was determined to ask the judges why they were turning a blind eye and protecting Qi Yuyu!

The office of the judging panel was in a state of chaos, and nobody even noticed Qi Fenghua as he walked in. Just as he was about to question them, he spotted Yi Wusheng’s parents in the crowd.

“I didn’t plagiarize! It’s impossible for my son to plagiarize!”

“How much did the Qi family bribe you? You’re tarnishing my son’s reputation just because he’s dead!”

“I demand a reinvestigation…”

The hot blood rushing to Qi Fenghua’s head gradually cooled down, and he remembered that he didn’t have any special relationship with Yi Wusheng on the surface. He didn’t have the standing to question on behalf of Yi Wusheng.

Especially since he had been married to Yi Qinglou, he was even less qualified to speak up for Yi Wusheng.

Qi Fenghua looked at Yi’s parents arguing with the members of the judging panel and slowly retreated from the office.

At this moment, Qi Fenghua thought he would regret the illusory marriage with Yi Qinglou, as it meant he could never see Yi Wusheng’s affection again.

But to his horror, he realized that he didn’t regret it at all.

Lin Hanchuan looked at the announcement and casually scrolled through a few comments, all of which questioned the handling of the case. He clicked his tongue lightly and put down his phone.

“These people don’t know anything. Why do they speak so harshly!” As an outsider, Yue Hong was more indignant than Qi Yuyu himself.

Qi Yuyu didn’t pay attention to the online discussions. He packed up his art supplies and said to Linhanchuan, “There are still a few of my paintings left at the Qi family’s house. I plan to retrieve them.”

He wasn’t familiar with Yi Wusheng’s artworks. In the past, he had occasionally seen them but thought it was just a coincidence in style.

After learning about everything Yi Wusheng had done, Lin Hanchuan contacted the deceived victims and together they made an official report to the Spring Breeze Art Exhibition.

Qi Yuyu handed over several of his artworks from a few years ago. These paintings had a unified style, similar artistic conception, and were created even before Yi Wusheng’s paintings. They became the most compelling evidence for Qi Yuyu to prove himself.

After discussing for several hours, the judging panel of the Spring Breeze Art Exhibition finally determined that Yi Wusheng’s artwork had only a slight resemblance to Qi Yuyu’s Chinese paintings, but had a striking resemblance of eight or nine points to Qi Yuyu’s previous oil paintings.

Having obtained the result, Qi Yuyu no longer cared about the matter. After retrieving his artworks from a few years ago, he suddenly remembered that he had left many more paintings at the Qi family’s house.

“Do you need me to accompany you?” Upon hearing that Qi Yuyu wanted to go back to the Qi family’s house, Yue Hong immediately asked. He had a very negative impression of the Qi family and felt that it would be like entering the lion’s den for Qi Yuyu to go back now.

Qi Yuyu, without even raising his head, directly refused, “No need.”

Yue Hong wanted to persuade him further, but Lin Hanchuan spoke up.

“I’ll go with you.” He also didn’t feel at ease with Qi Yuyu going back to the Qi family’s house alone.

Qi’s parents were not human, and Qi Fenghua currently hated Qi Yuyu to the point of itching. Lin Hanchuan was worried that he would be mistreated at the Qi family’s house.

Qi Yuyu’s refusal was stuck in his throat, but he managed to say, “That works.”

A tinge of sweetness welled up in Qi Yuyu’s heart as he lowered his head to tidy up his things, a happy curve forming at the corners of his mouth.

Yue Hong, who was left behind to guard the gallery, was puzzled. Why did Qi Yuyu refuse him when someone else could accompany him?

On the way back, Lin Hanchuan observed Qi Yuyu’s mood and, seeing that he seemed fine, finally relaxed.

Upon arrival, Qi Yuyu asked Lin Hanchuan to wait in the car while he went back to the Qi family’s house alone.

In the past, every time Qi Yuyu returned home, the people in the Qi family would be doing their own things, completely ignoring his presence. He thought it would be the same this time, but as soon as he stepped through the door, both his father and mother’s gaze turned towards him simultaneously.

“So, you still remember to come back.” Mother Qi hummed and sarcastically said, “You only come back after facing setbacks outside. What do you consider this home?”

“I came back to retrieve something.” Qi Yuyu walked straight upstairs without glancing sideways.

Father Qi and Mother Qi only knew that he was involved in a plagiarism scandal, so they thought he would return home dejected. However, his complexion was now healthy, his eyes lively and spirited, and he seemed more vibrant than before.

There was not a hint of the dejected appearance they had imagined.

“You stop right there!” Father Qi slammed the table and stood up. The mahogany coffee table was heavy and sturdy, so the sound of the impact wasn’t loud. Instead, it caused his palm to ache severely, but he gritted his teeth and said, “You scoundrel, what kind of attitude do you have towards your parents?”

After saying these threatening words, Father Qi hid his palm under the table and kept rubbing it.

Qi Yuyu, who had already reached the stairs, paused his steps. He turned back to look at his father and mother, suddenly smiling. He walked back to them and said, “What do you want from me?”

Father Qi thought that he had softened. A gleam flashed in his eyes, and he immediately said, “I know you’ve been secretly buying artworks. That money belongs to the company, and you can’t keep it all to yourself!”

Father Qi knew that besides managing the Qi family’s company, Qi Yuyu also had a habit of collecting artwork from famous artists. Using his own private funds, he had bought many paintings, and it was estimated to be worth tens of millions. That amount would be enough to cover the twenty million deficit.

The little abacus in his mind rattled loudly. Father Qi made up his mind to make Qi Yuyu return all the money he took from the company.

“That’s my own money, and it has nothing to do with the company.” Qi Yuyu said expressionlessly.

Father Qi became furious, “How much money can you earn on your own? If it weren’t for the Qi family, could you live such a comfortable life?”

Mother Qi secretly pinched Father Qi’s arm and took over the conversation, coaxing, “Yuyu, we are your biological parents, and we have taken care of you since you were young. As you must have heard, the Qi family is going through a difficult time now. We hope you can contribute a little money to help the family through this crisis…”

They used both soft and hard approaches, offering a carrot and wielding a stick. Qi Yuyu fell into a daze.

This was the first time Qi Yuyu saw this gentle and amiable side of his mother. Previously, this face was only shown to Qi Fenghua, with only a hint of indifference cast upon himself.

Qi Yuyu wasn’t moved; he could only find it amusing.

Mother Qi’s words came to a sudden stop, and Qi Yuyu realized that he had actually laughed out loud. “I have worked for the Qi family for five years and brought in profits of no less than two billion. Yet, I only receive two million per year.”

Two million may be a considerable sum for an ordinary person, but for the Qi family and for a CEO, it was nothing at all.

Father Qi blurted out without thinking, “If you earn two million per year, then how can you afford to buy so many paintings?”

A single painting could easily cost several million or even tens of millions. Father Qi’s first reaction was that Qi Yuyu had embezzled company funds.

As soon as the words were spoken, Father Qi’s face changed. He looked at Qi Yuyu’s expression and indeed found that there was no trace of emotion.

“If you suspect me, you are free to examine the company’s financial records.” Qi Yuyu didn’t want to waste any more time. There were people waiting for him outside the door, and he said indifferently.

Watching Qi Yuyu go upstairs, Father Qi immediately went to his study. He didn’t believe that Qi Yuyu could really earn so much money on his own!

Mother Qi followed behind Father Qi, scolding, “If you have doubts, why not investigate privately? Why say it out loud? Now he has completely turned cold. Let’s see what you can do with those tens of millions…”

Qi Yuyu’s room was a small suite, clean and tidy. It was evident that there was a dedicated maid who cleaned it daily. Looking out from the window, one could see the towering buildings of Qingzhou City. Every sunset, the room would be bathed in sunlight.

During his free time, Qi Yuyu would sit by the window and use his paintbrush to depict the sunset he witnessed.

Today, as he looked out, he saw a car parked outside with someone waiting for him inside. Qi Yuyu’s gloomy mood improved slightly. He collected his old art supplies and took his previous artworks with him as he left.

“Did you paint these?!” A voice came from behind.

Qi Yuyu furrowed his brows slightly and turned around. “You never knock.”

Qi Fenghua had his own separate large bedroom, art studio, and study. Each room was his private domain, and no one was allowed to enter without permission, except for the cleaning staff. But there was no privacy in Qi Yuyu’s room. From childhood to now, Qi Fenghua would enter whenever he pleased.

“Did you paint these?” Qi Fenghua’s gaze fell on the painting in Qi Yuyu’s hand as he asked in a hoarse voice.

“What’s the problem?” Qi Yuyu retorted. He collected all his belongings and brushed past Qi Fenghua. “Excuse me.”

Qi Yuyu walked away without looking back, while Qi Fenghua remained unable to snap out of his daze.

When Qi Fenghua returned home and heard that Qi Yuyu had also come back, he had intended to interrogate him about the plagiarism incident. However, he saw the old paintings in Qi Yuyu’s hands.

His mind went blank.

These paintings were not well-preserved, clearly aged over time, and they were nearly identical to the artworks by Yi Wusheng.

Qi Fenghua subconsciously looked out the window and suddenly realized that from this angle, Qi Yuyu’s room displayed the exact scenery as depicted in Yi Wusheng’s painting!