I am a Big Player
Chapter 391 - 386, I am completely unmoved inside, I even feel like laughing a little (second update).

Chapter 391: 386, I am completely unmoved inside, I even feel like laughing a little (second update).

The latter half of the class was mostly focused on discussing the Knight, and it was only when the Knight’s Chinese identity came up that everyone subconsciously glanced at Ren He, though it was simply because he was also Chinese.

Nobody thought that this low-key international student could be the Knight, who was so dazzling that the whole world would take notice, whereas Ren He barely had any presence in the classroom.

Ren He found it amusing. When everyone looked at him, he initially thought he was about to be exposed, but later realized it was just wishful thinking on his part—this group of people didn’t associate him with the Knight at all.

In the class, the most significant impression of Ren He was that there was no impression...

At noon, Ren He ate alone. When he wasn’t in class, he would go to the sports field to join in on basketball games; that was his student life.

He might not have had much of a presence in the class, but he had made several friends while playing basketball. He didn’t use his physical capabilities to dominate others, but his athletic prowess was undeniable. Occasionally, Ren He would get into the mood and perform moves like dunking, which he could never do in his previous life.

Back in high school in his previous life, Ren He often played basketball, but later he became a complete homebody, with his reclusive nature overshadowing everything else...

Everybody in the school knew there was a Chinese international student who played basketball well, especially notable was his impressive physical fitness.

In the eyes of American students, Chinese international students rarely exercised, but this one seemed different.

But playing basketball was just a minor episode in Ren He’s life, its priority even less than playing Dota.

Just when he had not enjoyed a few carefree days, one morning while Ren He was in a sketching class, just after he had finished drawing the model on his sketch paper, Richard suddenly appeared at the doorway of the studio and gestured for him to come over.

All eyes instantly focused on Ren He. Everyone was very clear about who Richard was—a master-level contemporary artist who could sell his paintings for sky-high prices while still alive, and whose art status was very high across North America.

Moreover, part of the reason many students came to Columbia University’s art school was precisely because Richard was there, who typically would hold one or two public classes every semester.

Many people wanted to become Richard’s students, but the problem was that Richard was quite particular. He chose his students based on their assignments or examination works, hardly ever meeting with the students and spending his days immersed in his own studio.

So, Columbia University’s art school had a very positive culture... assignments and exams were taken seriously by everyone...

Just in the hope that one day Richard would also notice one’s work and accept them as his student.

But the reality was, catching Richard’s eye was extremely difficult! Even a face-to-face meeting was hard to come by!

Yet, there he was, Richard standing at the doorway of the studio, gesturing to the most invisible, least noticeable Chinese international student in the class?!

What was the meaning of this? At that moment, Ren He became the focal point of everyone’s attention, as if they all wanted to glean something from his face.

They were all thinking several questions. Firstly, this international student was from China and couldn’t possibly be related to Richard.

Secondly, could it be that this international student caught Richard’s eye through a recent assignment submission? Was Richard about to take on another direct disciple? The last one was so obscure that no one even knew who it was; they hadn’t even seen him! And to speak of him was aggravating; not only had he snatched everyone’s opportunity, but he also produced two sketches that were nauseating, to say the least—one wondered what he was thinking!

Some began to envy Ren He, as being taken in by Richard as a student was like ascending to the heavens in one step. Arts students knew all too well that the adage ’Good teachers produce good students’ was always proven true; self-taught artists were a minority, having a renowned teacher was the norm for reaching high levels.

Ren He was taken aback to see Richard there; he was in the middle of drawing a sketch, and today’s model was a beauty. But hadn’t he heard that models were supposed to strip down? Why was she still dressed so conservatively...

Thumbs down!

After washing his hands, he followed Richard out. Now, someone wanted to see the sketch he was working on, to gauge the level of skill that had caught Richard’s attention. Ren He’s drawing board and tools were still left in the studio.

One look at the drawing was all it took to astonish them—the model in the sketch seemed alive, every frown and smile vividly captured; the sketch had essentially reached the quality of a photograph!

The onlooking students were stunned; no wonder he had been called away by Richard, it turned out that this international student was a master hiding in plain sight! They couldn’t produce anything near this level!

As Ren He followed Richard outside, he asked cheerfully, "What’s up? It’s rare for you to venture out of your studio—did something big happen?"

Richard replied irritably, "You’d better hurry up and move your painting out of here, it’s not safe in my place anymore."

"What’s the situation?" Ren He was genuinely surprised. What did he mean by ’not safe’? It didn’t seem like Richard was joking—could something have happened?

"Someone tried to pry open my safe. They didn’t manage to open it, but I think it’s very likely they will come back. I haven’t had a theft in over ten years, so it’s not like we suddenly have thieves now. Moreover, it wasn’t just one person—it must have been for your painting," Richard said seriously. ’Stubbornness’ had been brought back from the exhibition to Richard’s studio and locked in the safe. The reason it was targeted was quite simple: two of his finished paintings were drying nearby and hadn’t been touched, clearly showing they weren’t after his work!

He felt a complex emotion; his own pieces, which could be worth hundreds of thousands at minimum, were all left untouched. So they came, and they came for nothing of his. Were they looking down on him?!

Without comparison, there’s no hurt, and Richard felt these thieves were outright insulting him!

Ren He knew about the large safe in Richard’s studio; after all, Richard himself was worth a fortune, with any finished painting being able to sell for hundreds of thousands, if not millions, on the black market.

So it made sense for him to have a safe.

Some people in our country who admire everything foreign often say, "Ah, the public security abroad is so good, the society so peaceful..."

Peaceful my foot! In New York, you can’t even walk alone in the wilderness, and one trip abroad will make you realize that our country truly has better public safety!

And in some magical lands like India, oh my god, a woman’s safety doesn’t depend on whether she goes to secluded places or whether she has companions, but entirely on luck!

Leaving one’s life in the hands of fate, there’s nothing more absurd than this...

However, the way Richard described it seemed a bit off—the safe was tampered with... but not opened?!

Ren He internally felt utterly unmoved, and even... somewhat amused.

Richard’s old safe was bought over a decade ago. It might be large, but technologically, it was outdated. Someone who was stumped by this kind of safe could only be someone who never expected there to be a safe there at all...

He could even imagine a group of amateur thieves excitedly arriving at Richard’s studio and then facing utter despair upon seeing such a huge safe...