Miss Wang choked but refused to give up. "You're just guilty and trying to shift everyone's attention! I'm talking about plagiarism, don't bring up anything else."
"Calling it plagiarism left and right, are you a judge? Convicting someone without sufficient evidence is too biased," Su He couldn't hold back any longer.
If she didn't fight back, others would just treat her like a pushover.
"Also, you say this painting is by Zhou Yingzi, so it is? You believe everything she says?"
Just then, the painting was brought over.
Su He signaled for the person to hold the painting up high, placing it next to the one on the wall for comparison. "I believe anyone with an eye for art can see that this painting is indeed from the same artist."
"See, she's indirectly admitting to plagiarism!" Miss Wang seized the opportunity to attack.
However, this time, no one echoed her.
Everyone was too busy examining the painting.
Su Ying gave Su He a thumbs-up.
That last sentence was brilliant! By offering a compliment about having an eye for art, many people started putting on airs of being artists and pretended to study the two paintings, ignoring Miss Wang completely.
This way, there were fewer voices targeting Su He.
Seeing that no one was paying attention to her, Miss Wang was almost furious enough to warp the nose she had just gotten done abroad.
"These two paintings are indeed from the same artist." Mrs. He was the first to voice her opinion.
Then, several painters expressed the same view.
This was the evaluation Su He had been waiting for.
Next, it was time to witness a miracle.
"Every artist has their own habits when they paint, and I'm no exception," Su He stepped forward slowly, pointing to the bottom right corner of the painting. "If you shift the painting at a certain angle, you can see two letters, which are my surname, Su."
As soon as she finished speaking, someone actually moved the two paintings and found the letters "su" in the same spot.
Who would write someone else's surname on their own artwork?
It was obvious that the painter of this piece was Su He, not some Miss Zhou.
The truth was self-evident!
"So that's how it is!"
"My apologies, I was too hasty and spoke without understanding."
"I knew it, how could Lao Hong's apprentice do something like this!"
"It seems to have been a misunderstanding!"
Upon learning the truth, the people present either marveled, admired, regretted their earlier actions, or even apologized to Su He on the spot.
"I'm sorry, Miss Su, I spoke out of line earlier. Please overlook my mistake."
The one who apologized to Su He was the older gentleman from before.
He was upright and righteous, and detested plagiarism. He believed that Su He, being so young and holding an exhibition, must have benefited from the Lu family and Ms. Hong, and it was not impossible for her to have plagiarized. Thus, he had lost his composure and severely reprimanded Su He without verification.
The old man's apology was sincere, and Su He's displeasure quickly vanished.
"You're too kind. You were simply misled, not acting out of malice." Su He still had to make a living in this circle, and it was best to avoid offending elders like the old man, and even better to befriend them.
Ms. Hong took the opportunity to speak, smoothing things over and putting the matter to rest.
The rest of the crowd praised Su He for her broad-mindedness and promising future.
However, Su He knew when to be magnanimous and when to be petty. For instance, she had no intention of letting Miss Wang, who was attempting to sneak away, off the hook.
Miss Wang had even brought up the deceased Zhou Yingzi and falsely accused her of plagiarism at her exhibition; this matter could not be easily dismissed. Furthermore, there was something she didn't understand.
She had not invited Miss Wang, so how had she gotten in?
Lu Yanbei seemed to have anticipated her actions, as he had summoned the security manager beforehand. He hadn't intervened when Su He was being attacked by the crowd because he knew she was capable of resolving the issue. If he had stepped in, it would have only diminished others' good impression of her.
Now that the truth was revealed, he could exercise his rights as a husband.
"Find out how Miss Wang obtained her invitation."
Upon receiving the order, the security manager immediately accessed the surveillance footage and cross-referenced the information of everyone present. After about ten minutes, the problem was found. "Miss Wang was brought in by a Mrs. Ye. At the time, guests were allowed to bring their families, so..."
"Which Mrs. Ye?" Most of the invited guests were selected by Ms. Hong, so it was normal for Su He not to recognize many of them.
Ms. Hong pursed her lips, feeling a pang of guilt. "She's a distant relative of mine. Last time she visited, she saw me preparing invitations and impulsively said she wanted to come and take a look, and buy a painting if she liked one to honor her elder. I didn't think much of it and gave her an invitation..."
Little did she know that her carelessness had caused such trouble and nearly ruined her precious disciple's exhibition.
"Is Mrs. Ye an acquaintance of Miss Wang?" Su He had a rough idea of the crux of the matter.
"Mrs. Ye's cousin is a close friend of Miss Wang's mother, and their families have a lot of interaction." Therefore, Ms. Hong was not surprised when Mrs. Ye brought Miss Wang.
She just hadn't expected them to pull such a stunt.
At this moment, Mrs. Ye was not present, perhaps having left early for fear of Ms. Hong's repercussions.
"Miss Wang, do you owe my wife an apology?" Lu Yanbei said coldly, his eyes fixed on the woman surnamed Wang, a chilling glint in them devoid of warmth.
Miss Wang was so frightened she dared not look up, stammering for a long time before finally squeezing out the three words, "I'm sorry!"
"Sorry for what? Be more specific," Lu Yanbei had no intention of letting her off the hook so easily. Daring to slander his wife in public was like provoking him directly.
Did he seem so easy to bully?
"Yes, I'm sorry, Mrs. Lu! I was ignorant and foolish, I believed others and wrongly accused you. Please be magnanimous and forgive me this once." Miss Wang's face turned bright red. Despite her reluctance, she had to bow her head to Su He for the sake of her family.
The scene suddenly became very quiet, and Miss Wang felt increasingly embarrassed, wishing she could disappear into the ground.
Su He pursed her lips and said, "Besides this 'Night Scene of Lotus Pond,' Zhou Yingzi also took another painting of mine, 'Sunflowers.' Did Miss Wang happen to see it?"
Miss Wang's heart skipped a beat. She had been planning to get rid of that painting once she got back. Now Su He was asking about it. If she told the truth, she would have to return the painting. But she had spent a hundred thousand yuan to buy it from Zhou Yingzi, and if she returned it, her money would be wasted!
But could she refuse to return it? Absolutely not!
So many people were watching.
Especially Lu Yanbei; she couldn't afford to offend him.
Why had she been so impulsive and come to seek justice for Zhou Yingzi? She had truly lost both the prize and the battle.