Chapter 8: Artistic Genius

“What is it, Teacher? Is this one more valuable?”

On the copper coin was a dragon flying horizontally with outstretched claws, flanked above and below by two lines of inscriptions, dated to the Hongxian era.

“A flying dragon in the heavens—this is a commemorative coin issued under Yuan Shikai’s Hongxian regime in 1916. This one coin is worth more than a hundred of these chests.

However, the value is greatly diminished due to the damage, but it could still fetch around three hundred thousand.”

[Amazing! She even knows this. Is there anything she doesn’t know?]

[My friend recommended this stream, but I never expected to see something so rare here.]

[I have a buddy with a major piece, willing to pay tens of thousands to have the beauty appraise it.]

The man was visibly thrilled, his hands shaking as he prepared to wrap the silver coin in a tissue.

“Where did you get this whole chest of items?”

“Teacher, I dug them up in the field of my grandmother’s old house.”

Zhong Huayan pressed her forehead, pondering for a moment.

“Anything you dig up from the ground doesn’t belong to individuals. Unless—your family genealogy clearly records that it was buried by a family member.”

She deliberately emphasized the latter point.

The comment section erupted again.

[This streamer is too knowledgeable.]

[Don’t tell me this is something our guy just unearthed!]

[Should I tag the police? Looks like they’ve got work to do.]

The man expressed his gratitude repeatedly, hurriedly exited the video, and muted his mic.

She then selected another viewer, one who had been sending her a continuous stream of virtual gifts.

What met her eyes was a black jadeite Mahākāla, sitting upright with a fierce expression, adorned with a crown of wealth. When the light shone from behind, a faint green glow shimmered through.

“This Yellow Wealth God is quite beautiful; the jadeite’s quality and color aren’t the best, but the craftsmanship is rather fine. I’d estimate it at around twenty thousand.”

“Thank you, Teacher, you’re amazing. You even got the price exactly right.

I have another major item—would you like to see it?”

The livestream camera shifted to a colorful porcelain bowl. Though incomplete, the glaze gleamed darkly; the lotus-shaped bowl was carved and painted with a baby from Greek mythology amid blue and yellow floral patterns.

Zhong Huayan hesitated for a moment.

“What does your family do?”

“We’re just ordinary merchants. This was passed down from our ancestors, and there’s another one at my uncle’s house.”

He made a point of emphasizing the words “passed down.”

Zhong Huayan watched the video, hesitating a little longer.

[I think she can’t figure this one out either. I wouldn’t know, either. Why does this late Qing style bowl have Western elements?]

[Don’t choke now, sis!]

[Beauty, you’re already amazing. I wouldn’t recognize even one piece, let alone judge authenticity and value.]

The truth was, it wasn’t that she couldn’t identify it—she was recalling how she’d once accidentally broken a similar cloisonné enamel bowl from the same series.

It was a painful memory.

“This piece is worth at least a million. It’s made of copper-base cloisonné enamel, known as Jingtailan. Just by glancing at the mark on the bottom, I can tell it’s genuine.

These circulate quite a bit on the market. If it were painted enamel on copper, it’d be worth over ten million. The heavier, the more valuable.

Moreover, the depiction of Western figures and the gilded rim are still intact. Even though the edge is cracked and it’s a damaged piece, it’s still quite remarkable.”

The man on the other end was stunned.

“Thank you… Teacher. I was originally going to wait for the ceramics experts to come to town. I didn’t expect free appraisals online to be this accurate.

What you said is exactly the same as what the expert on my phone said—he called it a cloisonné enamel bowl, too.”

[Miss, my brother is offering a hundred thousand for your offline appraisal! If you’re not accurate, you don’t get paid!]

[I feel like I’m being enlightened. Suddenly, I understand so much more.]

[From now on, even though I’m older than you, I’ll still call you ‘sis’—you’re incredible!]

[Stop trying to take advantage of my goddess, you’re not worthy!]

The next few items were of little appraisal value—mere imitations: glass fakes of Paraiba Tourmaline, freshwater pearls masquerading as South Sea whites, colored stones pretending to be opals…

There were also some folk forgeries of antiques—obviously fake at a glance.

These imitations flood the market, dazzling the eyes. Without having seen the real thing, even amateur appraisers would struggle to tell real from fake.

Zhong Huayan felt that the genuine pieces in this live stream didn’t present much of a challenge.

In other words, these weren’t particularly impressive works of art.

With the current level of exposure, she expected to see more jaw-dropping items in the future.

After all, it was already 2026—pop music had changed, and surely many more rare treasures had surfaced.

She earned four thousand yuan today, mostly from online gifts.

Her follower count increased by ten thousand.

Zhong Huayan began planning her next steps. These days, she’d been slacking off at school as well.

From other students, she heard that Xu Yuan and Xu Chuyin hadn’t come to school because they were kneeling in the ancestral hall at home.

Thus, she could finally enjoy a few quiet days and carefully plot her revenge against the Xu family.

The Xu family was a century-old clan, with wide connections and branches deeply rooted. The old master was shrewd and calculating. To target the main members of the Xu family, she would need the right opportunity.

She decided to start with Xu Yaochuan and Xu Chuyin.

They were, after all, the youngest generation closest to the Xu Family Group.

As for Fu Yanyan?

Since their falling out, she and Fu Yanyan had not been in contact.

She took the exhibition ticket gifted by her art teacher.

Only upon opening the webpage did she realize it was indeed a rare ticket—to the nation’s first art viewing exhibition combining auction, gallery, and art acquisition.

The organizers were overseas Chinese, quite famous in North America.

So, she changed into a dark green dress and brought her ticket.

Zhong Huayan’s original intention was to appreciate recent works of art.

But from a distance, she heard lively discussions on the second floor—apparently people were praising some rare treasures.

Climbing the stairs, she realized it was a place where amateurs or lesser-known artists sold their paintings.

“This piece has the flair of the old masters—look at the colors, such a genius combination. No wonder the artist is so renowned today.”

From afar, she could see the painting well enough, even through the crowd.

It was likely another case of merchants hyping an artist for profit.

“This painting is mediocre at best, still not good enough.”

With her comment, everyone turned to look at her, their faces stunned with disbelief.

“Where did this little girl come from? Do you even know whose painting this is?”

“Master Xiao himself just critiqued it. This is the highest-priced painting here, and you question its quality?”

“This painting is truly excellent—even my teacher has nothing but praise for it.”

Zhong Huayan was well aware of Master Xiao’s reputation. She moved closer, examined the painting, and with an innocent yet audacious smile, pointed at it with her slender hand.

“The color combination is stiff; the water in this painting has no sense of movement at all.”

Amid the rising chatter, Master Xiao entered.

He was a veteran artist, his experience and eye surpassing most amateurs. He felt the girl’s critique was valid, but not enough to warrant a comment from him.

Seeing Master Xiao remain silent, the others began to hurl insults.

“Get lost! Stop pretending to know what you don’t. If this water isn’t lively, you paint something better!”

“Yeah, show us a painting with more lifelike water!”

“Exactly—if you do better, we’ll admit you’re right. If not, then get out!”

Zhong Huayan noticed a full set of art supplies on the table.

Her aesthetic obsession compelled her to show them what true painting was.

She tied her hair back, set up the easel, and began mixing the colors.

Before her death, thanks to her background, top-tier artists were eager to mentor her.

By middle school, she had published several painting collections and won national first prizes.

But her grandmother considered it a wasteful pursuit and suppressed her publicly.

Her movements were practiced, her profile graceful, her demeanor free and unrestrained. All eyes were on her, as if her very presence was the most priceless work of art.

It was surreal. The painting appeared chaotic, almost unrecognizable—just a riot of extreme colors.

Yet the river within the painting seemed to come alive in the sunlight!

Beneath the vivid, dazzling hues, the water was more lifelike and translucent than any photograph.

“Yes, the water is dynamic, but the rest of the painting lacks refinement.”

“I’ve never seen this style before—a blend of realism and abstraction.”

Master Xiao was clearly astounded by this impromptu work, speechless for a moment before finally speaking.

“Young lady, your style is identical to hers! That departed genius… I never thought I’d see such work again. This is an extraordinary talent!”

With such high praise from Master Xiao, everyone was dumbfounded.

“In the midst of chaos, the flowing water transcends the mundane, carrying profound significance. This image seems both real and unreal, yet is supremely realistic—such a demanding technique cannot be achieved without more than a decade of practice and guidance from a true master.”

“Master Xiao, you flatter me. It’s just a small gift.”

She wiped the cold sweat from her brow—she had accidentally revealed her hand once again.