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Chapter 106: Yu Nian cheating
Upon receiving a response from Yu Nian, the production team of ‘Treasure Hunt’ quickly replied and initiated the contract negotiation process. Since Yu Nian didn’t have excessive demands regarding appearance fees and was highly cooperative with scheduling, both parties agreed swiftly and settled the terms.
As usual, Meng Yuan expressed his feelings, saying, “If it were the artists I used to manage…”
Yu Nian teased him, “Brother Meng, you’re like a class teacher, talking about how your previous students were.”
Meng Yuan glanced at Yu Nian sideways and said, “Nian Nian, let me tell you, you’ve become quite arrogant. When you talk to your Brother Meng, you’re losing your sense of propriety more and more!” He then chuckled and added, “But seriously, if it weren’t for your own desire to go, I wouldn’t have let you participate in a show that has neither popularity nor money.”
“But I really want to go.”
“Exactly, all considerations aside, if you want to go, then go,” Meng Yuan said. Suddenly, he noticed, “Why have my standards for you become just about making you happy?”
Shi Rou entered the room, heard the last sentence, and placed the purchased coffee and milk tea on the desk. She then handed Yu Nian his freshly squeezed fruit juice and replied, “Brother Meng, haven’t you noticed? Other managers treat their artists as money trees and their means of survival, but you are different. You are not following the ordinary path.”
Meng Yuan looked pleased again, “Of course, I’m different. Can other artists win six Golden Melody Awards in just one year after their debut? Can they? No, they can’t! The artist I manage is a prodigy; of course, I won’t follow the ordinary path!”
Ignoring Meng Yuan, Shi Rou looked at Yu Nian with sparkling eyes, “Nian Nian, what you wrote on Weibo was really well said!” She then continued angrily, “Who is Zhao Chunming anyway? The things he said on ‘The Grand Lecture’ really infuriated me!”
Meng Yuan held his cold coffee, “Well, he got mocked online, so Professor Zhao should be quiet for a couple of days.”
After finalizing the contract with the “Treasure Hunt” production team, the show started recording within a week.
When Yu Nian brought Shi Rou to the TV studio’s broadcast hall, he saw Gu Yiyan being escorted by several staff members, slowly approaching. Yu Nian quickly walked a few steps and greeted him with a smile, “Grandpa Gu, long time no see.”
As soon as Gu Yiyan saw Yu Nian, a smile appeared on his face, “You’re here so early, Nian Nian?”
Yu Nian shook the hand held out by Gu Yiyan, slowed his pace, and replied with a slightly lowered head, “Yes, I feel a bit nervous about recording the show with Grandpa Gu.”
“Nervous? Don’t be! You’ve grown up now, already a big star. What’s there to be nervous about with an old man like me?”
The staff members nearby were surprised to see Gu Yiyan and Yu Nian looking so familiar and friendly with each other. They found their conversation odd but didn’t dare ask inappropriate questions.
Gu Yiyan patted the back of Yu Nian’s hand, “The production team wanted to invite you, and Gan Zhou even said that you might be too busy to come. But I told them that if they approached you, you would definitely come.” He had a satisfied expression on his face, “See, I was right. You came.”
Yu Nian smiled and said, “Even if Director Gan didn’t invite me, I would have taken the initiative to ask for this opportunity.”
Gu Yiyan smiled back, then sighed, “Your grandparents would be so happy to see how well you’ve grown and how good you look now.”
Yu Nian widened his eyes playfully, pretending to be dissatisfied, “Grandpa Gu, I was quite good-looking when I was a child too!”
Gu Yiyan paused for a second and turned to the others, “See, even if you think he’s good-looking, don’t say it out loud. This child can’t handle praise; if you compliment him, he’ll get conceited and think he can reach the sky!”
Everyone burst into laughter.
Once they reached the rest area, Gan Zhou had already arrived. He was wearing a black Zhongshan suit, and his hair was neatly groomed, giving him an elegant appearance. When he saw Gu Yiyan entering, he quickly stood up to greet him, “Lao Gu!”
After shaking hands with Gu Yiyan, he turned to Yu Nian with a smile, “Nian Nian, you look even more handsome now!”
Gu Yiyan smiled and walked inside, “Don’t praise him too much. If you really think he’s good-looking, keep it to yourself. This child can’t handle compliments; as soon as you praise him, he thinks he can go to heaven!”
Yu Nian remained silent but smiled.
The three of them sat on the sofa in the rest area. The chief director of the show hurriedly approached them, exchanged some pleasantries, and then hurriedly left to prepare for the show.
After the door to the rest area closed, Gu Yiyan leaned on his cane and asked Yu Nian, “I heard from the news that you bought the Chang Fang Zun back from Italy?”
Yu Nian nodded, “Yes, the Monti family in Italy was collecting the Chang Fang Zun, and there was a power struggle within the family. Just after I left with Chang Fang Zun, an explosion and gunfire occurred there. Fortunately, there were no casualties, but the items up for auction suffered varying degrees of damage. At that time, I felt lucky.”
Even from just these two sentences, it was evident that there must have been some dangers involved. Gu Yiyan pondered for a moment and said, “It was quite an ordeal. The older generation used to say that ancient artifacts have spirits that tend to seek advantages and avoid harm. They might even save their owners in times of danger. Who knows, it might be true.”
Yu Nian smiled, “Whether ancient artifacts have spirits is uncertain, but since they can’t move, ultimately, they still need people to protect them.”
“You make a valid point,” Gu Yiyan looked at Gan Zhou, “That’s what museums are for.”
Gan Zhou nodded, “Speaking of the auction of Chang Fang Zun, we didn’t get any news about it. Fortunately, you brought it back, or else we would have missed it again.”
Gu Yiyan nodded, “When Chang Fang Zun was stolen and taken out of the country, Mr. Xiu Ning was so upset that he couldn’t even eat or sleep for a long time.”
Yu Nian chuckled, “If Grandpa knew that I brought it back, he would probably be so happy that he’d lift me up and spin me around!”
At that moment, a staff member knocked on the door and reminded them that the stage was ready. Following the staff’s guidance, the three of them took their seats at the appraiser’s position.
For both Gu Yiyan and Yu Nian, as well as Gan Zhou, authenticating antique artifacts and understanding the stories behind them came naturally, making the recording process very relaxed.
When an elderly man in his sixties placed a brush wash on the appraisal table, revealing the mark on the bottom, Gu Yiyan examined it for a couple of seconds and said with a smile, “Teacher Yu Nian, it’s your turn to appraise this treasure.”
Yu Nian nodded respectfully, adjusted his microphone towards the stage, and began, “The brush wash is an essential item in the ancient study room, used to hold water for washing brushes, and its daily use was quite frequent. Porcelain brush washes are more common, such as the scarce Ru kiln sky-blue glaze brush wash, of which less than ten pieces are known to exist. Yours, however, is made of jade.”
The elderly man nodded, “That’s correct.”
Yu Nian continued, “This brush wash is a carved jade brush wash in the shape of autumn cicada and paulownia leaf. It is vivid and exquisite, with the body of the vessel carved into a rolled-up paulownia leaf held by branches. The veins of the leaf are clear, and an autumn cicada is perched on the surface, making it lifelike.”
The elderly man held the microphone, “Little teacher, you have a keen eye, and you’re absolutely right. This pen wash has been passed down as a family heirloom since our ancestors. However, I’d like to test your knowledge.”
The host, a well-known figure from the national TV station, quickly laughed and said, “Our little teacher is ready, here comes the exam question!”
The elderly man asked, “Do you know the origin of this brush wash?”
Yu Nian smiled and replied, “Grandpa, this exam won’t stump me.” With a focused expression and clear words, he continued, “This brush wash has an imprint on the top, which reads ‘Fuguang Study.’ The only person known to use ‘Fuguang’ as a study room name was the former Crown Prince’s tutor, Yu Huainan. When Yu Huainan signed his name, he was accustomed to sealing half of the mouth of the character ‘Nan.’1The last character in the name Yu Huainan. If you look closely at your brush wash, the character ‘Nan’ must be written in this way.”
A high-resolution image of the bottom imprint appeared on the big screen, and as Yu Nian had said, the character ‘Nan’ indeed had half of the mouth sealed.
Yu Nian continued, “Yu Huainan used only three brush washes in his lifetime. The one you have in your hand is the second one, made by the renowned jade carving master Xia Shu. After using it for eleven years, he gave this brush wash to a person named Gong Jiyang, instructing him to be as pure and clean as the brush wash, cleansing all the impurities in the world. This person later became a high-ranking official in the Grand Court of Judicial Review, and you can find this name in historical records.”
The elderly man’s face showed unmistakable astonishment as he exclaimed, “You’re absolutely right! You even provided more details than I knew! Indeed, my ancestor’s surname was Gong, and his name was Jiyang! This brush wash has been passed down through the generations. When my father was a child, he heard my grandfather tell this story. When I was young, my father also told me this story.” He looked at the host and said, “I must admit, I’m truly impressed by our little teacher’s knowledge and ability!”
After the recording, Gan Zhou laughed and said, “Yu Nian, is this considered cheating?”
Yu Nian felt a bit embarrassed and said, “I memorized the family history when I was young, and this story was recorded in it. I deeply admired Gong Jiyang’s actions in purging evil and upholding justice.”
Two days later, the show was aired on the national TV station, and thanks to Yu Nian’s performance, the discussions on Weibo kept increasing.
[Is it true that Yu Nian has genuine talent and knowledge? It’s just a script provided by the production team, and all he needs to do is memorize and recite it. Even those who can read can do it! Honestly, for the sake of fan service, he put in a lot of effort, and I’m willing to watch this kind of show just for him.]
[Aaaaaaah, Yu Nian looks so handsome in the white Zhongshan suit! When he sits there telling the stories of these ancient objects, I can’t help but feel dizzy! I originally watched it for Yu Nian, but as I continued watching, I genuinely started to enjoy these stories about antique artifacts! Can’t wait for the next episode!]
[The production team really chose the right person. Yu Nian is truly the closed-door disciple of Zeng Hongying. In terms of historical foundation and antique authentication, he’s admirable. Even if he earns money through investing in antiques, it’s all thanks to his talent and knowledge.]
After reading the various comments, Meng Yuan went to the dance studio to find Yu Nian, who was in the middle of class. He greeted him with a big smile, “Nian Nian, the show turned out to be quite good!”
Yu Nian was wiping sweat from his forehead with a white towel and smiled, “Yes, Director Gan seems to have gained some fans too. Suddenly, my Weibo gained thousands of new followers. They said they were startled by the show.”
Meng Yuan laughed heartily, and then remembered something, “There’s some annoying news. In the next episode, Zhao Shuya will be on the show.”
Without pausing for a moment while wiping his forehead, Yu Nian continued, “The production team initially considered inviting you, but they didn’t hold much hope because of your high status. So they hesitated whether to invite Zhao Shuya or not. Zhao Shuya naturally wouldn’t miss any opportunity that favored his bookish and noble image, but he didn’t expect that once you took the show, he had no chance. So, I guess he’s feeling uncomfortable and trying to get in your way, making you uncomfortable.”
Yu Nian took a sip of water and closed the cup, “It’s okay, Brother Meng, don’t worry, I can handle it.”
Seeing Yu Nian packing up to leave, Meng Yuan was surprised, “Are you leaving? Weren’t you supposed to practice dance until 8 p.m.?”
Yu Nian lifted his water cup, “Yeah, I won’t practice today. My boyfriend is coming to pick me up after work.” He thought for a moment, smiled with squinted eyes, and said cheerfully, “If my dance skills decline in the future, it’ll definitely be all Xie You’s fault!”
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