Shen Family.
Shen Qinglan rarely made it ho, but unfortunately, except for Shen Qian, everyone else was there.
"Little sister is back." Shen Xitong said with a smile, no different than usual.
Shen Qinglan glanced sideways at her. Hadn’t she stopped even bothering with appearances during her last visit? Why had she resud?
Shen Xitong’s face was full of smiles, seemingly in a good mood, and she didn’t seem to mind Shen Qinglan’s usual disregard for her at all.
"Lanlan," Shen Junyu called her. Shen Qinglan looked at him, and Shen Junyu shook his head to indicate everything was fine, so she went upstairs to see Old Sir Shen, as she had co to visit her grandfather today.
"Grandpa." Old Sir Shen wasn’t in his study, so Shen Qinglan knocked on his room’s door.
"Co in." Old Sir Shen’s voice ca from the room.
Shen Qinglan pushed the door and entered, only to see Old Sir Shen standing in front of a cabinet, seemingly putting sothing into a drawer. She glanced and saw from the corner peeking out that it was an album, Old Sir Shen and Granny Shen’s album.
Shen Qinglan’s eyes dimd slightly, and she stepped forward to support Old Sir Shen’s arm, "Grandpa, let accompany you to see Granny tomorrow." It had been a long ti since she had visited Granny’s grave. In fact, since Granny Shen was buried in the cetery, Shen Qinglan had seldom visited, not due to a lack of longing, but rather due to caring too much. Even though she was accustod to seeing life and death, looking at Granny Shen’s cold tombstone still caused pain deep in her heart.
Old Sir Shen patted her hand, "Let’s not go tomorrow, don’t worry, I am fine. I just wanted to talk to your grandma. What brings you back?"
"It’s been a few days since I’ve seen you, so I wanted to visit." Shen Qinglan explained.
Old Sir Shen smiled gently, "Grandpa is in good health, no need for you to worry. Have you eaten yet?" It was past lunchti, and Old Sir Shen was worried his granddaughter might be hungry.
"I had lunch with a friend before I ca."
Old Sir Shen nodded, "That’s good, have you been going to school lately?"
"Mm, school matters are almost dealt with, I’ve been at ho recently."
The two chatted idly about family matters. Although Old Sir Shen asked only about trifles, Shen Qinglan still answered patiently.
Their conversation lasted until evening, and it was clear Shen Qinglan would stay for dinner.
"Qinglan, we made your favorite bass for dinner tonight, make sure to eat plenty," Sister-in-law Song said with a smile.
"Thank you, Sister-in-law Song." Shen Qinglan’s lips curved lightly.
The al was very quiet except for the occasional triumphant glances Shen Xitong shot her way.
After dinner, Shen Qinglan stayed a bit longer and was just about to leave when Shen Xitong called out to her.
"Little sister, don’t rush off. I recently got to know Leng Qingqiu through a friend’s connection and bought a painting from her. Take a look for ."
Shen Qinglan paused in her steps as she saw Shen Xitong go upstairs, then took down a painting.
Upon hearing the na Leng Qingqiu, Old Sir Shen, Chu Yunrong, and Shen Junyu also stayed.
"I just t her recently and I didn’t expect her to be so young," Shen Xitong said with a smile brimming across her face, as her eyes glead with triumph while looking at Shen Qinglan. "I heard that my little sister knows Leng Qingqiu’s agent and even asked her to paint a portrait for Daddy’s birthday. You must be on really good terms with her agent, right?"
Shen Qinglan didn’t know what dicine Shen Xitong was selling in her gourd, but she nodded politely anyway. If soone wanted to put on a show for her, as an audience mber, clapping was the least she could do. After all, just a few days ago, Daniel had ntioned soone using her na to paint, and now this person was acquainted with Shen Xitong. The coincidences were too many, and Shen Qinglan couldn’t help but be suspicious.
Seeing Shen Qinglan nod, the smile on Shen Xitong’s face deepened, "I even ntioned this to Qingqiu yesterday, but she seed not to know you. Should I introduce you to each other soti? I’ve t Qingqiu a few tis, and although she’s low-key, she’s easy to get along with. We’re in quite good terms."
As Shen Qinglan spoke, she took the painting out of her hands. This painting was almost the sa size as the one Shen Qinglan had given to Daniel to enter in a competition. She stepped forward to take a closer look. The imitator had indeed mimicked it very well, whether it was the style or the brushwork, nearly ninety-nine percent similar, clearly showcasing fine craftsmanship. But... Shen Qinglan’s gaze stopped at the lower left corner of the painting, and the corner of her mouth curved slightly.
"This doesn’t seem to be a painting by Leng Qingqiu," Shen Junyu suddenly spoke up, drawing everyone’s attention.
Shen Xitong’s smiling face stiffened as she looked at Shen Junyu, "How is that possible? This painting is a recent work by Qingqiu, specially gifted to . How could it not be painted by her?"
"Yes, Junyu, isn’t this a work by Leng Qingqiu?" Chu Yunrong also spoke up. She had followed Leng Qingqiu’s work and was familiar with her style and brushwork.
Old Sir Shen looked at the painting with a questioning look in his eyes but did not speak.
Everyone’s gaze fell on Shen Junyu, who frowned slightly, looking puzzled.
"Actually, I’m not very certain either, but I feel that this painting’s style doesn’t quite match with Leng Qingqiu’s."
Shen Xitong breathed a sigh of relief, thinking Shen Junyu really knew sothing, "Brother, an artist’s emotions can change, it’s not strange for different styles to erge in their work."
Her reasoning sounded plausible, and Shen Junyu had nothing else to say, but as he looked at the painting, he still felt sothing was off. His gaze settled on the signature in the lower left corner, the doubt in his eyes intensifying.
Shen Qinglan noticed his expression, a flicker of amusent crossing her eyes. She hadn’t expected her brother, with his keen attention to detail, to notice sothing off. She herself was Leng Qingqiu and naturally knew there was sothing wrong with the signature, but that Shen Junyu could spot it at a glance was sowhat surprising.
"Xitong, are you very close to Leng Qingqiu?" Chu Yunrong asked.
Shen Xitong smiled, "It’s alright. I t her by chance and we just chatted casually, discovering we got along well, and we beca familiar over ti."
"Then please invite her to our ho soti. Everyone here quite likes her work," Chu Yun offered invitingly.
Shen Xitong replied with a smile, "Alright, Mom, I’ll ntion it to her. It’s just that Qingqiu is currently busy participating in an international competition for young painters, and she has to prepare for an exhibition in Beijing next year. I guess she won’t have much ti recently."
Chu Yunrong expressed so disappointnt, "That’s really too bad, but we’ll definitely invite her over in the future."
Shen Xitong nodded with a smile, "I understand, Mom."
Shen Qinglan’s expression faltered—the other party even knew about this competition, as well as next year’s exhibition. It seed she was quite well-inford about her affairs.
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