Chapter 10

Yvonne paused for a while. Then, she exclaimed in surprise, "I've always wanted to be in the Traditional Painting major at Creydia University! "But, I haven't met a good teacher to guide me along my journey. I think my painting skills can be improved." She knew that the more humble she seemed in front of Charlie, the more he would develop a better impression of her during the art discussion later on. "It's fine. If you want to attend the art exam, you can call me anytime." Charlie seemed to like Yvonne a lot and gave her his name card. "Thank you, Mr. Sullivan!" Yvonne smiled sweetly and took the name card with both hands. After that, they arrived at the last painting in the art exhibition. This was the most expensive painting in the gallery. Since Yvonne did her research in advance, she knew where this painting came from. Thus, she immediately told Charlie whatever she'd memorized earlier on. "This painting was done by Havaria's best traditional painter, Jess Harrington. "Ms. Harrington kept a low profile and only had three public paintings in her collection. Those paintings are kept by a private collector now. "This is one of her paintings! The Great Country is 120 inches long. Previously, many artists tried to replicate this. The famous traditional painter, Mr. Carter, tried to replicate it last year. "Not only is this painting magnificent, but it is also novel and broke a few rules in the traditional painting world back then. "When this painting was published back then, a few critics said that this painting lacked elements from traditional painting. "However, a perfect art piece can withstand the test of time. Two years later, those who critiqued her painting relentlessly changed their minds about it. "Ms. Harrington became a legend in the traditional painting world later on," Yolanda said. Many guests were attracted to Yvonne's speech immediately. "Though she's very young, this girl is so knowledgeable about traditional painting. She's so talented!" "Yes. She's different from my child. He gave me the silent treatment after I signed him up for a traditional painting class." "She's talented and hardworking. This girl will be successful in the future!" When Diana heard those praises, she straightened up proudly. No matter where she went, so long as she brought Yvonne with her, she would become the center of attention and the envy of many. Diana enjoyed being admired by others, which was why she was willing to spend so much money on Yvonne. Yolanda, on the other hand… Diana looked at Yolanda and thought, "Having one daughter is enough! Why did the heavens give me another useless child?" In the meantime, Charlie's eyes lit up. "How did you know about Ms. Harrington?" Although Jess was a legendary artist, those who didn't know traditional painting well weren't familiar with her work. Besides, since her painting skills were rather erratic, beginners couldn't copy her style. As such, traditional painting teachers wouldn't usually introduce Jess' works to them. They were afraid that their students wouldn't be able to deal with it. After all, if they tried to imitate her, it would only cause more trouble for them. None of Charlie's students knew who Jess was, and they didn't know about her art pieces at all. "I only know a little bit about her." Yvonne smiled humbly and continued, "Besides, I'm not that skilled yet. I have to improve my foundations first. As such, I can only admire Ms. Harrington's works, and I can't copy her art style." After hearing that, Charlie became even more pleased. "It seems that you know your abilities well!" Once the people around her heard that, they started clapping, and Yvonne became the center of attention. Meanwhile, Yolanda observed the art piece in a small corner and quickly lost interest in the painting. After Yvonne finished her speech, Yolanda said slowly, "This painting is an imitation." Though her voice wasn't very loud, she spoke when no one was talking, so everyone heard what she said. Immediately, all of them looked very serious. It was rude to claim that an artwork was an imitation without sufficient evidence. Not only would this offend the organizers, but it would also disrespect the guests there! After all, she suddenly claimed that it was fake after everyone else praised the painting. Wasn't that utterly humiliating for everybody? As expected, someone said coldly, "This exhibition is an important event in Riverdale's Cultural Festival. Why would there be fake paintings over here?" "Don't pretend to know everything! You must be a high school student, right? Even if you want to attract attention, you should do so at an appropriate time!" The guests looked at Yolanda's face in disgust. Since she said that The Great Country was fake, they disliked her even more. "You're just a young girl. There are many experts here, so how can you interrupt this conversation?" "Can't you see the traditional painting expert here? He didn't notice a problem in this art piece, so why would you be able to notice it?" "Haha, do you think that you're better than Mr. Sullivan?" Everyone started laughing. Most of them mocked Yolanda for being too arrogant, while a small section of guests looked at Charlie in anticipation. If Charlie debunked her claims, Yolanda would be forced to shut up. When Charlie realized that everyone was looking at him, he looked at Yolanda and his face turned serious. "You're spouting nonsense! This painting is done by Ms. Harrington! Who is your teacher? Let me talk to him!" "I'm sorry, Mr. Sullivan. She's my older sister. Though she likes traditional paintings, she isn't skilled in them. So, she accidentally made a mistake. Please don't blame her…" "Yolanda! You can just keep quiet if there's nothing you know of. There are so many famous painters here, so why are you talking now?" Diana badly wanted to slap Yolanda. But because she cared too much about her reputation with everyone surrounding them, she held back and controlled herself. "Yolanda, I know you just came back, so you aren't very confident in yourself. You must be eager to prove your abilities, but I think you should do your research first before speaking up!" Yvonne approached Yolanda and held her hand affectionately. "I'm sorry, everyone. My older sister was just spouting nonsense. I'll apologize on behalf of her!" This made everyone even angrier. "What's going on? Why is the older sister less obedient than the younger one?" "It's not your fault! You don't have to apologize…" Yolanda moved Yvonne's hand away as she approached the painting and observed it. Her voice sounded intimidating and confident. "The Great Country is fake because the original artist, Jess, had a habit of leaving a unique signature on her paintings. Her signature is in her art pieces, and can't be seen by outsiders. "When she drew The Great Country, Jess hid her signature on the mountains at this spot. However, this painting doesn't have her signature!" "Haha!" Everyone started laughing. They stared at her like she was a fool. "I've never heard that Ms. Harrington has done that before!" Charlie pointed at the painting angrily as he turned to look at Yolanda. "Besides, even if what you said was true, how did you find out about her habit? Even outsiders couldn't tell where her signature was!" "Mr. Sullivan, don't quarrel with this arrogant fool!" "She just wants to attract our attention. Let's ignore her and let her continue spouting nonsense by herself!" everyone said. On the other hand, Yvonne tugged onto Yolanda's sleeve. "Please stop talking, Yolanda… "I know that you want to prove yourself in today's exhibition so that you'll be able to enter First Academy. But, this will only make everyone have a poor impression of you!" Once Yvonne finished talking, everyone looked at Yolanda disdainfully. "What? Does she think that she'll be able to enter First Academy?" "How can she do that with her looks and intelligence? Does she think that First Academy will accept trash like her?"