Huayu 1995

Chapter 286 I Bet on You... (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
Identification is a meticulous process, progressing from simple to complex, and requires the assistance of some scientific methods.

If it looks fake at first glance, then there's probably no need to look further.

However, as Lin Zhimeng studied the painting more and more seriously, the probability that it was an authentic work increased.

"Mengmeng, you're sweating. Don't let it drip onto the painting. Let me help you take off your coat."

Lin Zhimeng wore an extra coat when she went to greet Su Chao.

"Hmm~"

Lin Zhimeng opened her arms, letting Su Chao help her take off her clothes.

His eyes never left the painting.

"Take off your coat now, and you can take off your inner layer next time."

Su Chao hung up his coat.

"Then just wait."

Lin Zhimeng, unusually good-natured, still kept her eyes on the painting.

She discovered that she couldn't find any evidence that the painting was a fake.

The same thing happened for the next hour and a half.

Lin Zhimeng had no choice but to stop.

Now there are only two possibilities: either she's not skilled enough, or the painting is genuine.

Her art appraisal skills were passed down from a master, and she has exchanged ideas with many experts in the field.

And I've seen a lot of good things.

She has seen several forgeries of national treasure-level paintings that are so realistic they could be mistaken for the real thing.

In the field of authentication, having seen good things is more important than experience.

Some appraisers have been in the industry for many years, but they have never seen anything of value. Their knowledge is limited to the theoretical stage, and they may not be as knowledgeable as someone like her.

"Mengmeng, is it real or fake?"

Su Chao saw that she had been frozen there for several minutes, with a very interesting expression, and couldn't help but pinch her cheek.

"It really is! It seems real!"

Lin Zhimeng grabbed Su Chao's arm and pounced on him.

Her eyes shone brightly; she was incredibly excited.

Even his voice trembled slightly.

"You're too close to me..."

Su Chao kissed her without any hesitation.

Unlike his usual light touches, this beast stuck out his tongue.

Lin Zhimeng was dizzy and almost suffocated. It took her a long time to realize what had happened.

She was kissed by Su Chao.

And it was a real, solid kiss.

It seems... it took quite a while; I almost kissed her unconscious.

As for "The Scenic Spots of Jinshan", it was completely banished from her mind.

"Su Chao!"

Lin Zhimeng pushed Su Chao with one hand and covered her mouth with the other.

My first kiss... is gone!
In the past, if Su Chao kissed her on the cheek, she might have thought of it as being licked by a dog.

Now... there's no way to deceive myself anymore.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it, sis, why don't you slap me!"

Su Chao released Lin Zhimeng and then closed his eyes.

His face was full of sincerity and a willingness to die for his cause.

I bet you won't be willing to part with it.

"How can you be so shameless? Next time... don't do that."

Lin Zhimeng's voice trembled slightly. She felt like she was speaking in a coquettish tone, even though she was clearly very serious and earnest.

If this continues, things will become a tangled mess.

"Sis, then just hit me, I can't do it!"

Su Chao had a scoundrel-like appearance.

My life is at stake; I have to give it to my relative.

"Sigh, I really don't know what to do with you now."

Lin Zhimeng knew she should be angry, but unfortunately she couldn't bring herself to be.

Moreover, she was already used to Su Chao's physical contact.

They kissed each other on the cheek no less than ten times.

We've kissed before.

But none of them have been as... in-depth as today.

She really couldn't bear to hit Su Chao.

If it were anyone else, let alone kissing her like that, they would all be thrown over each other's shoulders if they even touched her.

How did their relationship turn out like this?
"You have feelings for me, that's why you can't do anything about it~"

Su Chao made a cheesy comment.

I thought Lin Zhimeng would deny it vehemently, but to my surprise, she remained silent.

"This painting should be genuine. Even if it is a fake, if it is so well made that I can't tell the difference, its value is more than 128 million."

Lin Zhimeng turned around and began to talk about the painting.

After being kissed by Su Chao, the excitement of discovering the authenticity of the artifact had vanished.

Her mind was filled with that kiss from earlier.

I didn't feel anything at the time, but now the aftereffects are starting to kick in, and all my senses are beginning to return.

The tingling sensation made her want to lick her lips.

"What will happen next? It'll be difficult to monetize, right?"

If this kind of thing were sold abroad, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it treason.

Even if they were sold in Hong Kong, they would most likely end up in the hands of overseas collectors.

Many national treasures are kept in foreign museums, with no end in sight for their return. Su Chao can't afford to sell them abroad.

Business cannot be simply business.

"Do you want to cash it out?" Lin Zhimeng asked Su Chao for his opinion: "We can go through a private transaction with a collector. If the buyer believes it is genuine, it can sell for at least five million."

"The items are yours now, so you can make the decisions."

This painting wasn't of much use to Su Chao.

Donating it to the country would indeed add another layer of prestige to him, but too much prestige is useless, and he can't explain the origin of the painting.

"We agreed to split it 50/50."

Lin Zhimeng would not be greedy just because it is an authentic work.

I was especially excited at the very beginning.

After being kissed by Su Chao, she returned to her usual self.

Of course, only she knows what was churning inside her.

I'm probably going to have trouble sleeping tonight.

"Keep it for yourself. Things like this are rare finds. Keep it as a treasure in your private museum."

Su Chao wasn't sure if he'd ever have the chance to see such an ancient painting, lost to the annals of history, in a random shop again. "You can come to me anytime to deal with this painting."

Lin Zhimeng was never a pretentious person.

"Sister, don't invite just anyone to appreciate this painting. Anyone can easily climb over the wall of our house. If someone has bad intentions, the consequences could be unimaginable."

Su Chao offered his suggestions very seriously.

These days, breaking into homes and robbing people is much more common than in later generations.

Especially small, detached courtyards like these.

If the wind picks up at night, you can't even call out to anyone.

"Aren't you here?"

Lin Zhimeng blurted it out, and then immediately regretted it.

She really wanted to slap herself.

Lately, he's been saying some strange things in front of Su Chao.

"makes sense."

Su Chao thought about it and realized that if he encountered someone climbing over the wall, he could handle as many as they came as long as he didn't have a shotgun.

After all, the robbers couldn't possibly bring siege ladders, and they couldn't possibly set fires within the second ring road of Beijing. All he needed to do was guard the staircase leading to the second floor.

"It's not cold anymore, are you still planning to stay here indefinitely?"

Lin Zhimeng took in Su Chao because Su Chao had nowhere to go.

But she knew that Su Chao was just pretending to be pitiful.

How could a pop star who has already released his second album not be able to afford rent?

"Isn't this for your safety?"

Su Chao is shameless.

"I really am too soft-hearted..."

Lin Zhimeng rolled her eyes at him and used the title of a song from his new album to mock herself.

"Too soft-hearted?"

Su Chao regretted that he had been so focused on kissing her earlier.

It tasted so good that I forgot to prepare the ingredients.

"Shut up!"

Lin Zhimeng turned away and ignored Su Chao.

The novel "Too Softhearted" has been discussed so much that even Lin Zhimeng uses it in her writing.

She is someone who rarely listens to pop songs, and even when she does, she prefers to listen to old songs.

The second album was clearly more popular than the first.

On one side are "Too Softhearted", "Faith", "Blue and White Porcelain", "The One I Love", "Summer Fruits", and "Flower Field Mistake".

On the other hand are the Japanese versions of "Friends", "Sudden Self", "Memories of the Forbidden City", "Super Star", "Summer Fruits", and "I Believe" (Korean version).

It has two fewer songs than the first album, but the quality of the album has increased significantly.

Almost every song is a good song.

It's no exaggeration to describe the fans' reaction as "completely captivated."

Because Su Chao was a newcomer, the sales of his previous album were not impressive during the chart period, so the songs performed poorly on the charts.

Just when you're almost at the top, the year is over.

This time it's different.

Within just a few days of its release, Su Chao's "Too Softhearted" has topped the charts on major radio and music stations across Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

On some popular charts, at least half of the top ten songs are by Su Chao.

On authoritative charts like the Golden Melody Chart, Su Chao's album also jumped onto the list, showing a strong momentum. No one could stop the album "Too Softhearted" from taking the top spot.

This momentum exceeded Chen Jiantian's expectations.

He had overestimated Su Chao beyond belief, only to find that he was truly naive and inexperienced.

While busy expanding into the markets of Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand to sell his albums, he also supervised the factory's three-shift work schedule.

Just as busy as him are the pirates.

Having been fans for many years, they've rarely seen an album this awesome.

Although Red Star Production Company has intensified its crackdown on pirates, the lure of profit means that even if it means going to jail, they'll still try to make a quick buck from such a popular album.

Outside the counterfeit factory, long queues formed to haul away the goods; they were taken away as soon as they were made.

Roughly estimated, in less than a week, Su Chao's new album has already sold over 300,000 copies.

Piracy far exceeds this number.

Richie Jen's album "Too Softhearted" reportedly sold 2600 million copies, which is obviously unrealistic.

It's obviously fake.

Some might argue that this data includes sales of pirated copies.

However, piracy cannot be statistically analyzed.

The figure of 2600 million has no authority whatsoever.

There are only a few standards for album sales; everything else is for promotional purposes.

However, Su Chao's new album will definitely sell 300 million copies.

He was destined to be the top-selling record seller in 96.

That's what Su Debiao said.

Even Jesus couldn't stop him.

Well, if we don't win the championship, then it'll be like Buddha and Jesus teaming up.

In addition, compared to his previous album, Su Chao's new album generated far fewer buzz outside of the album itself.

The previous album was touted as being highly recommended by Andy Lau and Princess Diana.

After the album was released, he attended two concerts by Princess Diana and one concert by Andy Lau, giving full play to his "strong recommendation".

Later, Hong Kong media hyped up the rumors between Su Chao and the princess.

The impact of the public opinion has spread across mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

This also significantly boosted album sales.

This new album is simply an album, with each song being widely praised.

Earn a living through your own abilities!
Moreover, all twelve songs on the second album were written by Su Chao himself.

Lyrics, composition, and arrangement—all done by one person.

Even the Japanese version of "The Fruits of Summer" and the Korean version of "I Believe" were both major productions by Su Chao.

Consider also the films "It's All Your Fault" and "The World's Number One".

One is Cantonese, and the other is Hokkien.

Able to fill in lyrics in one language.

This shows that he has at least a very deep understanding of this language.

Su Chao must know at least Japanese, Korean, Cantonese, and Hokkien.

No wonder Su Chao dared to announce that he had a girlfriend right after his debut; he was determined not to follow the idol route.

This is confidence!
Such a talented person certainly doesn't need to rely on their looks to make a living.

Although he is even more handsome than Leon Lai.

(End of this chapter)