Chapter 35
Before everyone reacted, Alick’s cold gaze swept over them one by one, then landed on a small figure in the
corner.
It was only then that Selina realized that the man in front of her was the formidable CEO of the Hill Group. He was also the host who invited them over this time.
“Mr. Hill, did you come here because you were dissatisfied with the performances earlier?” Selina said, feeling very nervous. She was not sure why Alick suddenly appeared. She thought, ‘The two performances just now were obviously perfect. Could it be… he noticed something unusual?”
Seeing Alick staring at Helen, Selina’s heart was suddenly in her mouth.
“Is she the little girl who performed on the stage just now?” Alick asked.
Selina thought, “He really came for that angel!!
Then, she suddenly pinched her own thigh, forcing herself to stay calm.
“That’s right,” she said as she bit the bullet to nod and pushed Helen over to Alick. “Her name is Helen Churchill. She’s the youngest actor of our troupe.”
Helen sensed Alick’s powerful presence too. She timidly shrunk behind Selina.
A trace of surprise appeared in Alick’s deep eyes. He thought, ‘She’s totally different from how confident and smooth she was on the stage earlier. But I was some distance away from the stage earlier, so I didn’t get a clear view of her look while she was performing. Besides Helen, there’s no other little girl here… Looks like I was overthinking things.”
“You sang well,” Alick said as he glanced at Helen. He then instructed Clark, “Double their pay.”
Just as Alick walked out of the dressing room, he heard a burst of cheers and excitement behind him. Conflicted feelings suddenly appeared in his eyes.
For some reason, when he saw “Helen” singing on the stage just now, he felt a strong sense of familiarity, as if he had seen this girl somewhere before.
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Chapter 3.
He felt a sense of familiarity and closeness, but in the dressing room earlier, he was absolutely certain that he had never seen Helen before.
“Mr. Alick, let’s return first,” Clark said as he came out of the dressing room. “The performance is about to end.”
“Okay,” he replied indifferently. He then suppressed the conflicted feelings as he walked toward the front hall.
By
the time Alick returned, Summer and Sanford had already returned and taken their seats beside Jonathan.
“Where did you two go just now?” Alick asked.
“We went to the restroom,” Summer said, still having a piece of snack in her mouth. Her speech was somewhat
m u f fl e d.
“That long?” Alick said.
“We got lost,” Summer said. “Is there a problem with that?” She then swallowed the piece of snack, rolled her eyes at Alick, and continued, “Well, it’s your fault. Your house is huge.”
“You’ve stayed here for so long, and you still get lost?” Alick said, clearly not believing it. Lifting his eyebrows, he continued, “You can’t even come up with a more reasonable excuse when you lie.”
“I was the one who got lost, and it took Mommy quite some time to look for me,” Sanford explained.
He was displeased, thinking, ‘Why does this man always speak to Mommy in such a sarcastic tone?”
“You were gone for quite a while yourself, and you still have the nerve to criticize us?” he said.
Alick was left speechless.
He thought, ‘Alright. My son is taking sides against me again! I’ll remember this!’
After the performance ended, everyone went to the dining hall together. Jonathan and others naturally sat at the main table, while the rest of the guests sat below according to their status or how close they were to each other.
Soon after everyone was seated, Joan walked over.
Clark was about to stop her, but Alick spoke up, saying, “Let her come over.”
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Joan looked cheerful, thinking, ‘It seems that complaining in tears to Alick just now was effective.”
She walked straight to Alick’s side, took a seat, and smiled calmly, saying, “Jonathan, I wanted to come over and wish you a happy birthday just now, but I was stopped by those inconsiderate fellows. I’m really sorry.”
“It’s me who instructed them to stop you,” Jonathan said disdainfully. “Whom did you say are inconsiderate?”
He thought, ‘This woman is quite self-aware. I haven’t even spoken, and she has already taken a seat? She’s really shameless.”
“I misspoke,” Joan said. “Please don’t be angry, Jonathan.”
‘Useless old man!’ she cursed inwardly but kept smiling on the surface.
“I’ve prepared a gift for you,” she said. “I hope you’ll like it.”
Without waiting for Jonathan to speak, she took a gift box from a s e r v a n and opened it to reveal a painting
inside.
“This is George Gerald’s beautiful landscape painting,” she said. “I heard you like it, so I asked help from quite a few people to get it.” She carefully handed the painting to Jonathan, saying, “Take a look.”
Even though Jonathan was dismissive of Joan previously, his eyes lit up when she took out this painting.
Joan was secretly pleased, thinking, ‘I’ve put in quite a bit of effort to please this old man. It seems that I’ve finally played my cards right.”
“Is this painting really painted by George?”
“It has been many years since I last saw a genuine work by George…”
“The details in this painting are vivid, and the artistic style is grand. It must be authentic.”
Among the guests, there were quite a few collectors. As soon as Joan took out the painting, these people. gathered around Jonathan, carefully appreciating the beautiful landscape painting as if it were a rare treasure.
“Ms. Taylor, you’re really thoughtful. You must have gone through a lot of difficulties to find such a painting, right?”
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Chapter 35
Joan instantly wore a modest smile when she heard that. She smugly glanced at Summer across from her. A sense of superiority spontaneously emerged right away.
As Sanford noticed her provocative gaze, he said softly, “Showing off and bluffing.”
“Sanford, what did you say?” Summer asked.
She did not care about Joan’s provocation, but she noticed Sanford muttering.
“Mommy, that painting is a fake,” the little one whispered to Summer.
‘A fake?’ Summer thought.
A hint of surprise flickered in Summer’s eyes as Sanford could actually tell at a glance that the painting was a fake. But upon reflection, she thought it was not surprising that Joan would do such a thing.
“Sanford, how did you figure it out?” she asked.
Excitement flashed across her eyes as she thought, ‘She brought a painting here to show off and bluff. Isn’t she asking me to make her lose face?”
As Joan reveled in the praise from everyone, she started to feel somewhat full of herself. Even Alick’s attitude
toward her had turned much gentler.
She thought, “But that b i t c h and that son of a b i tc h on the opposite side don’t take me seriously at all. They’re still whispering to each other even at this point!’
“Summer, you don’t want to come and have a look, huh?” she said, feeling very angry, but her smile became.
even more radiant.
“I guess you haven’t seen a genuine work by George either,” she said. “Why not come over and expand art knowledge together with us?”
Jonathan frowned, thinking, ‘Even if Joan just gave me a gift I like, it doesn’t mean she can mock Summer right
in front of me.’
Just as he was about to speak, he saw Summer smile.
“I’ve got to say that I truly admire you,” Summer said. “When it comes to lying, you do it so convincingly.” She
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stared intently at Joan, her smile becoming even more pronounced.
“Calling it a genuine piece and not afraid of a guilty conscience,” Summer added.
Joan’s expression changed. “What do you mean?” she asked.
“Don’t you know what I mean?” Summer said in a casual tone. “You’re the only one who can be so shameless, Ms. Taylor. You’re holding a fake, yet you still claim that it’s authentic.””
Upon hearing Summer’s words, the gazes of the people around suddenly became strange as they looked at
Joan.
“This is clearly a genuine work by George,” Joan said. “Don’t talk nonsense if you know nothing!”
Her face flushed, but she dared not meet Summer’s stern gaze as she felt guilty.
“Everybody will know who’s talking nonsense at a glance after taking a look at the painting,” Summer said. She stood up and walked toward the painting. The onlooking guests made way for her without being told to do so.
“George’s paintings have always had a style that is traditional and grand,” Summer said. “Even though he occasionally creates works with a style that is intense and vivid like this, this beautiful landscape painting… It’s just so tacky and ordinary.”
Following what Sanford had just informed her, Summer pointed out one by one the issues with the painting, except the chaotic color coordination, which was the most crucial technique.
All artists had their unique painting techniques. Even though the person who painted this picture tried hard to imitate it exactly, there was still a lack of a certain essence.
“George usually finishes his landscape paintings with an upward stroke, but the direction of the stroke in this painting is downward,” Summer said.
The guests looked in the direction indicated by Summer’s finger, and they indeed noticed that the final stroke of the mountains in the painting went downward. Some among them were experts in this field. At this moment, they too noticed that something was off.
“This is indeed not a genuine work
genuine work by George.
The person who spoke was Brandon Johnson, a long-time friend of Jonathan. He was also a professional
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antique appraiser.
“But the painter of this picture is reasonably proficient, otherwise, that person wouldn’t have been able to imitate to this level,” he said. Then, he put away the magnifying glass in his hand, sighed, and added, “What a pity.”
Hearing Brandon’s sigh, Joan just wished the floor would open up and swallow her. She thought, ‘Da m n
