I am a Big Player
Chapter 390 - 385. Unable to Recognize the True Face of Mount Lu (First Update)_1

Chapter 390: 385. Unable to Recognize the True Face of Mount Lu (First Update)_1

Richard arranged for Ren He to join the class of freshman undergraduates from the ’06 class, which amounted to setting him free to roam: "You enjoy the unrestrained campus life, so there you go, roam free."

Frankly speaking, it was because Richard himself did not know what to teach Ren He anymore.

The painting "Stubbornness" is currently on display in Richard’s office, and Ren He planned to take it back to his Courtyard House in China when he returned home.

The painting is very valuable. Previously, due to Richard’s influence, it had been evaluated with an initial price tag of 10 million US Dollars, and at the time, many people deemed this valuation inflated. Various businessmen, having low estimations of this previously unknown piece, didn’t think it was worth 10 million US Dollars.

But with Yang Xi ascending to the top of the North American music scene, the situation changed somewhat. Let’s start with the painting itself, whose craftsmanship is absolutely impeccable. Even Richard had to admit that it represented the pinnacle of skill in the realistic oil painting category, with no faults aside from having been created in haste.

Then consider its significance. It is an artwork by Knight, a globally influential figure, and it was painted by Knight for the world-class new Queen Yang Xi. Furthermore, all of Yang Xi’s songs were written by Knight, and the romantic drama between these two had been quite the spectacle for the public.

Indeed, its significance is extraordinary...

Moreover, to date, this is the only oil painting by Knight that has been made public. Before this, nobody had even seen any other artworks by Knight. That is to say...it’s unique?

At this thought, many merchants’ eyes lit up. Is Knight a professional painter? No!

How many works can you expect from someone who spends his days writing songs and engaging in extreme sports?

Definitely not many!

However, the fewer the works Knight produces, the more valuable his existing works become, and the greater their potential appreciation in value. There’s no doubt about this.

By that time, someone even offered 19 million US Dollars to buy the painting, but Richard hadn’t agreed since the ownership of the painting belonged to Ren He.

Ren He didn’t care for the other extreme sports manuscripts anymore; he could keep them for his collection, but this painting, Ren He wanted it for himself, therefore, Richard was obliged to respect Ren He’s wishes. Moreover, Richard himself wasn’t short on money.

Nowadays, many people talk about wanting to steal this painting. Just getting their hands on it would mean instant riches.

Nevertheless, Ren He maintained his stance and would not sell. He truly wasn’t short of money, and ownership of the painting didn’t really matter to him anymore, as he had gifted it to Yang Xi!

Yang Xi thought about this painting every day, and if Ren He were ever to sell it, she would probably beat him up!

When Richard was organizing the class for Ren He, he didn’t say much to the other teachers. He simply told them that Ren He was a new student, suggesting they shouldn’t bother him too much. If he wished to attend class, he could; if not, that was also fine.

Upon hearing this, everyone thought this was the treatment of a "connected" individual.

In fact, there were very few people who knew Ren He’s identity. At most, they knew he was Richard’s direct disciple and the author of that nauseating series of sketch portraits, but no one knew he was the creator of "Stubbornness," nor did they realize he was Knight.

If people found out, Ren He wouldn’t dare to come back to class. Knight’s fans were everywhere; Ren He himself, if he revealed his whereabouts, could be mobbed by Knight’s fans in a matter of minutes.

Looking at the timetable, Ren He attended class. He glanced at the schedule, with the first lesson being a theory class held in an amphitheater, where they would analyze some classic paintings and discuss techniques and knowledge related to them.

There were fewer students in the art school than he’d expected. Previously, Ren He had assumed that there might be more female students in the art school, but he was wrong. In Columbia University’s art school, the ratio of male to female students was an even split...

Ren He found a quiet corner to sit down, but he quickly caught the attention of some of the more active students in the class. A Caucasian guy came over to greet him, "My name is Jack, the class president. I haven’t seen you before. Are you in our class?"

"Uhm... I’ve just transferred to Columbia University," Ren He confirmed. That was the only explanation he could give without revealing why he had suddenly started attending classes with the others.

Jack smiled and said, "Well then, we’re classmates from now on. If you have any difficulties, you can come to us, and we’ll help you."

Ren He pondered whether this was the class monitor’s routine greeting to new students. Although Jack was friendly throughout, to be honest, he didn’t feel much enthusiasm. It seemed more like Jack was doing what he was supposed to do rather than actually wanting to be friends with him.

Of course, Jack had no obligation to be particularly enthusiastic about him. Ren He felt it was fine just to quietly attend classes and enjoy the leisurely campus life.

In fact, most foreigners share a common view of Chinese international students: they aren’t good at communication, they stick together, some excel academically while others just scrape by.

Chinese international students abroad tend to hang out with fellow countrymen more than participate in social events or join clubs—that’s the norm.

So it was probably what Jack thought too. It was likely Ren He wouldn’t become very close with them.

Indeed, because of this, after exchanging greetings with Ren He, Jack returned to his seat, and the rest of the students didn’t even seem interested in greeting Ren He.

Ren He was quite happy about this. Whether it was the junior high school he attended right after crossing over, or later on at Capital Fourth Middle School, he had very few real friends.

People often believe in their youth that the more friends you have, the more opportunities you’ll find, and they trust that friends will go through thick and thin with them. But reality often proves otherwise.

For some, time will show that at best they’re just a companion for when you’re lonely, not a friend.

Ren He deeply understood a lesson: you will often be thankful for the words you hold back when looking back on them, and most heart-to-heart moments, in hindsight, will bring regret.

Those friends aren’t as reliable as you might think.

Moreover, when Ren He made friends, he usually adhered to a principle of uselessness, which means he never considered what friends could do for him in the process of making friends; people came together simply because their souls vibed.

So even attending Columbia Graduate University, what he really wanted was to experience the leisure of college life. As long as he was on campus, he felt he could continue to carefreely splurge his youth.

In the art college, the arrival of a new student wouldn’t cause any ripples in the university at large, except for some girls who, due to Ren He’s +3 charm attributes, found him quite charming, and beyond that, there was no other impact.

However, Ren He was a bit surprised that today’s class critique was on his very own piece named Stubbornness.

He quietly listened to the teacher analyze from a technical standpoint, then the artistic movement, and eventually, the discussion derailed as the teacher began recounting various knightly legends and anecdotes...

Clearly, he was a fan of knights! And Ren He had to admit, he enjoyed listening to others praise him in person...

The teacher and the students chatted about knights for a good half-hour, and the students found the topic quite interesting. However, no one knew that the Knight was right among them, listening with great interest...

...

Time to get some food, today’s four updates, not sleeping until it’s done~ Aren’t you happy?

I clearly combined a 4200-word mega-Chapter into two parts yesterday, yet you called it one Chapter, why must you hurt me so!

On NovelFire, the payment rate is 200 words for 1 RMB, and that’s not something you can fake!

Heartbroken!