"Yes."
Lin Xinlan, dressed in a long blue evening gown, looked at Wan Yunting and smiled, "The charity auctions in the past were never as lively as tonight, especially with your participation and the personal presence of Mr. Huangfu. It has attracted widespread attention."
Wan Yunting was taken aback and said, "Are you referring to Mr. Huangfu Xueyi, the contemporary master of the Lingnan School of Painting?"
"That's right."
Han Shumei, wearing a slip evening gown, her dark hair elegantly draped over her shoulders, revealed fair, creamy skin. The delicate collarbone and the hint of cleavage between her snow-white peaks were striking. Her mature aura, combined with elegance and intellect, made her superior to Lin Xinlan in both temperament and beauty.
"Mr. Huangfu also donated a painting, attracting many people," Han Shumei said, her beautiful eyes fixed on Wan Yunting. She couldn't resist linking her arm with his and whispering with a smile, "But I think most people here are drawn by the two calligraphy pieces you donated."
"Haha, Sister Shumei, you jest."
Wan Yunting didn't mind Han Shumei holding his arm. He shook his head and said humbly, "Mr. Huangfu is one of the representative figures of the Lingnan School of Painting. His artistic achievements are peak; I can only admire him. With his fame, how dare I say I can compare?"
Han Shumei smiled and said, "Regardless, I'm very happy you came to participate in the auction."
"Oh, Xiao Wan..."
At this moment, Fang Guowen hurried over and called out, "Why are you only arriving now? Quickly, quickly, the auction is about to begin. Ms. Han, please arrange his seating."
"Right, right..."
Han Shumei and Lin Xinlan came to their senses. It was exactly nine o'clock, and the auction was starting on time. On the venue's stage, a middle-aged woman in a professional suit and an elegant female celebrity in a red cheongsam, serving as tonight's hosts, had already appeared to deliver the opening remarks.
Han Shumei and Lin Xinlan personally escorted Wan Yunting. His seat was arranged in the front row, near Huangfu Xueyi. However, upon seeing an empty seat next to Kang Hongwen and Ling Wei, Wan Yunting told Han Shumei that he could sit anywhere...
Han Shumei and Lin Xinlan had to go backstage to arrange work and naturally couldn't accompany Wan Yunting.
"Xiao Wan is here, come over and sit here quickly..."
Kang Hongwen saw Wan Yunting approaching and immediately got up to greet him. The business magnates around them also stood up, greeting him with smiles.
Only Ling Wei remained seated. Her exceptionally beautiful face and alluring eyes cast a sideways glance at Wan Yunting. Her bright red lips curved into a smile. Her not standing indicated her displeasure with the man.
Wan Yunting was a little surprised to see her, not expecting this enchantress to be here. The empty seat happened to be between her and Kang Hongwen, so Wan Yunting sat between them. Everyone then settled down.
After greeting Kang Hongwen and the other business magnates, Wan Yunting turned to Ling Wei beside him. Seeing her alluring eyes fixed on him, he couldn't help but smile and ask, "Why are you looking at me like that? Are you also interested in my calligraphy?"
"Hehe..."
Ling Wei chuckled charmingly, gave him a playful glare with her alluring eyes, and said, "I'm not interested in your calligraphy; I'm only interested in you!"
Wan Yunting smiled at her words and said nothing more.
On the auction venue's stage, the elegant and beautiful actress was named Jiang Xiaoying. Holding the microphone, she first introduced the charitable organizations hosting tonight's charity auction, and then introduced the prominent figures from the arts and literary circles present, with a particular focus on Mr. Huangfu Xueyi!
Immediately, Huangfu Hongfang helped his grandfather stand up and signal to the guests. Thunderous applause erupted from the audience...
Jiang Xiaoying, holding the microphone, looked towards Wan Yunting's seat, raised her hand, and smiled, "Let us grandly introduce again, the recently acclaimed figure in our art world, known by everyone as the new generation calligraphy master, Mr. Wan Yunting, also known as Wan Shuxian. Let's have a round of applause..."
As soon as she finished speaking, a spotlight directly shone on Wan Yunting. The surrounding guests immediately erupted with applause, even stronger than the welcome for Huangfu Xueyi. Some even shouted loudly, "Wan Shuxian, Wan Shuxian..."
"Thank you..."
Wan Yunting stood up, smiled, and bowed courteously to the guests. He then noticed Huangfu Hongfang and Gao Jiaxu in the front row casting him unfriendly glances. Wan Yunting chuckled inwardly, not taking them seriously at all.
However, when he saw the elder Mr. Huangfu Xueyi looking at him, Wan Yunting immediately became respectful and bowed deeply to the elder to show his reverence.
Seeing this young man, Huangfu Xueyi also smiled and nodded slightly in greeting.
This scene, however, caused Huangfu Hongfang, who was sitting beside him, to immediately darken his expression, thinking coldly, "False sincerity."
After finishing these gestures, Wan Yunting sat down, ignoring Huangfu Hongfang's provocative and hostile gaze.
From beginning to end, he had never paid any attention to Huangfu Hongfang, nor did he bother to engage with his provocations...
"Alright, enough said. The auction begins tonight. Please welcome the first auction item..."
As Jiang Xiaoying's voice fell, a tall beauty in a cheongsam, wearing white gloves, brought up a tray. On it was an item covered with a red cloth. After placing it on a high table in the center of the stage, Jiang Xiaoying lifted the red cloth, revealing an exquisitely carved jade seal.
She introduced, "This 'Kingfisher Seal' is carved from top-grade jade. It is the work of our Chinese jade carving master Wang Shoushan. The jade used for this piece is of a vibrant green color, exquisitely beautiful, full, and rich. It's a full carving of a seal, with the knob being a realistic, lifelike carving of a kingfisher. The clever use of color is perfect, making it highly appreciated and collectible. What is the starting bid?"
Jiang Xiaoying faced the audience, holding the microphone high and shouting, "The starting bid is five hundred thousand, with increments of fifty thousand. Let the bidding begin!"
As her voice ended, some of the thousands of guests began to bid. The professional auctioneer stood on the left side of the stage, facing a table with an auction hammer. Her sharp gaze scanned the guests. The celebrity host Jiang Xiaoying, holding the microphone, relayed the bids from the bosses interested in the Kingfisher Seal: "Bidder number 80 bids one million, bidder number 460 bids one point one million..."
The price continued to rise, with each bid being ten thousand or fifty thousand. Wan Yunting, sitting with Kang Hongwen and Ling Wei, could tell that this jade seal would not exceed two million.
"Boss number 709 bids one point eight million, are there any further bids for one point eight million?"
Jiang Xiaoying pointed to bidder number 709, sitting far from the audience, whose card was raised, and shouted to others, while the auctioneer held the wooden hammer. The host announced, "One point eight million for the first time, one point eight million for the second time, one point eight million for the third time. Sold! Let us thank the boss of number 709 for successfully acquiring this highly collectible Kingfisher Seal..."
Applause filled the venue. Then Jiang Xiaoying continued to host, "Please welcome the second collectible item..."
The auction continued. Tonight's auction featured a total of forty-eight items, each being a highly collectible piece of art. Even Wan Yunting couldn't resist bidding and purchased a piece of modern blue and white porcelain.
Of course, it wasn't as valuable as ancient blue and white porcelain, but this modern piece, also from a renowned kiln in Jingdezhen, showcased the revival of modern porcelain craftsmanship. Wan Yunting bought it for two million...
In less than an hour, twenty-nine items had been auctioned. Kang Hongwen and other business leaders beside him had also gradually bid on the art pieces they were interested in, contributing to this charitable cause.
However, more anticipation from the audience was for the final showstoppers: Wan Yunting's two calligraphy pieces and Mr. Huangfu Xueyi's paintings!
Another hour passed.
Finally, host Jiang Xiaoying announced, "Please welcome the forty-sixth auction item!"
Here it comes, finally we've been waiting for it...
The guests, who were almost falling asleep, perked up upon hearing about the forty-sixth item, as it was either Huangfu Xueyi's painting or Wan Yunting's calligraphy. This was the highlight of tonight's auction.
A tall beauty in a red cheongsam, with a graceful figure, wearing white gloves, held a scroll with one hand, while a man brought a stand.
The beauty then hung one end of the scroll with its rope onto the stand and slowly unfurled the scroll, revealing a calligraphy piece written by Wan Yunting that very afternoon – in Slender Gold script!
"Wow, it's Wan Shuxian's Slender Gold calligraphy!"
As the scroll unfurled, the calligraphy piece, written in Slender Gold script, was displayed to everyone in the venue under the lights.
For those sitting far away and unable to see, a large screen displayed the work, ensuring everyone could see more details of the piece...
Huangfu Xueyi, sitting in the front row, had an even closer view of the calligraphy. His old eyes lit up, and he stared intently at Wan Yunting's Slender Gold calligraphy piece, exclaiming, "The strokes are slender and vigorous; though slender, they are not devoid of flesh. Graceful and elegant, the brush tip is like a sword, sharp and prominent, yet it contains its sharpness, achieving a realm of heavenly bones and elegant charm."
"Excellent writing, truly excellent writing! No wonder Elder Fan praised this young man's calligraphy. This Slender Gold script truly showcases his own style and is filled with kingly demeanor, not inferior to Emperor Huizong of Song!"
Huangfu Hongfang, Gao Jiaxu, Liang Hongda, and other local literati and scholars sitting beside him, upon hearing Huangfu Xueyi's high praise for Wan Yunting's work, felt unsettled.
Especially Liang Hongda and Wang Fuyi, local scholars from Huadu City, who were disdainful of the sky-high prices of Wan Yunting's calligraphy works in recent times.
They believed Wan Yunting had gotten lucky, meeting Fan Liren by chance in Shaoxing City, and receiving a few words of praise from the media, which made him famous overnight. Otherwise, he would never have had his current popularity.
As a contemporary master of the Lingnan School of Painting, Huangfu Xueyi possessed extremely high artistic attainments in both painting and calligraphy, making him the undisputed foremost figure in the Lingnan region.
Yet, even he praised Wan Yunting's calligraphy so highly, which made the proud Huangfu Hongfang feel uncomfortable.
"Hongfang, compared to him, you are indeed slightly inferior!"
What made him feel even more aggrieved was that Huangfu Xueyi turned to him and said this, making Huangfu Hongfang's expression extremely awkward.
This way of delivering a blow was indeed befitting of a biological grandfather...