"We apologize for the unpleasant exhibition experience."
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw a large screen slowly descending on the main stage. Qian Yixuan stood next to Dalifu, holding a microphone.
The staff member typed a couple of times on the computer, and soon Meng Zhiyao's painting was projected onto the screen.
"The main purpose of this exhibition is to provide a platform for more children to showcase their work. Their paintings are lively and creative, and they often amaze and inspire me."
Dalif would say a sentence, and Qian Yixuan would translate it. The two were old friends, so they had this kind of tacit understanding.
"As everyone knows, whenever I hold an exhibition in a country, I hold a children's selection event in advance. Children under 12 years old and over 3 years old can participate. There will be three rounds of selection, and in the final round, I will judge the winner's painting. The winning painting will be displayed at each of my exhibitions, and all proceeds from the auction will go to the winner."
“I want the competition to be fair, just and transparent, which is why I set the final round to be judged by one person. A thousand people have a thousand Hamlets, and I can accept that everyone has a different understanding of the painting. However, I cannot tolerate anyone breaking the rules I set and bribing my staff in order to win.”
As Dalif spoke, his beard swayed with his movements, making him look quite angry. Qian Yixuan patted him on the shoulder to comfort him.
"Therefore, this time I will display all the selected paintings and let the audience vote. Good art can resonate with people and touch their souls. I will open the voting system later, and the paintings will be presented to everyone. You can choose your favorite painting to vote for, and the whole process will be anonymous."
As soon as he finished speaking, some people whispered among themselves, while others applauded.
Unexpectedly, things had taken this turn. Qin Huai'an, leaning on his cane, tried his best to hide his unease. What if Yangyang's painting didn't win first place? What if word got out about what happened today…
No! Yangyang will definitely win! Damn it, if he had a break, he could bribe these people!
Qin Huai'an eliminated all the solutions that flashed through his mind, while Qian Yixuan continued to act as a reliable temporary translator.
"Furthermore, regarding the matter of bribing judges, I will issue an announcement after a thorough investigation to provide an explanation. If the bribery is true, I will dismiss the relevant staff and permanently blacklist the person who bribed the judges!"
Qin Huai'an gripped his cane tightly, forcing himself to calm down. They had taken the money, so they certainly wouldn't betray him. Besides, even if they confessed, it wouldn't benefit them at all. Who would be so foolish as to court death?
"No need to wait until later, don't you need evidence? It's right here."
A familiar voice rang out from the gate, carrying a hint of arrogance. Meng Wan looked over and, sure enough, it was Yan Nian.
While Qin Huai'an was still trying to comfort himself, Yan Nian's words brought the situation to a new climax.
All eyes turned to Yan Nian, who was walking in through the main gate. Every step he took felt like stepping on Qin Huai'an's heart, making him tremble involuntarily.
Qin Huai'an swallowed hard, his fingers gripping the cane turning white. He forced himself to remain calm, tilting his head back with an air of composure.
Yan Nian deliberately paused as he passed by him.
Faced with Yan Nian's ambiguous smile, Qin Huai'an snorted lightly, seemingly extremely disdainful of Yan Nian.
Yan Nian wasn't annoyed. He tossed the USB drive to Qian Yixuan and stood beside Meng Wan, taking her hand as an absolute guardian.
Qian Yixuan caught the USB drive steadily, his gaze lingering on Yan Nian's face for a second before quickly looking away. He exchanged a glance with Dalifu, who nodded. Qian Yixuan understood and plugged the USB drive into the computer.
There was only one file inside. When you opened it, you found several pictures and three audio recordings.
"How did you get here?" Meng Wan asked softly.
Yan Nian remained silent, but placed his index finger on Meng Wan's lips with a slightly smug expression.
Meng Wan looked somewhat helpless, picked up his index finger and put it down, then turned to look at the stage.
Qian Yixuan clicked on it and saw a series of remittance records.
Qin Huai'an's expression changed. Others might not know who this account belonged to, but as the instigator, he knew it all too well.
Seeing that things were going badly, Qin Huai'an tried to slip away with Qin Yang, but Meng Wan and Yan Nian seemed to have anticipated this and stood firmly behind them with identical smiles. Although they looked harmless, they made Qin Huai'an feel a chill down his spine.
"Why is Grandpa Qin in such a hurry to leave? Did he forget to turn off the gas?"
Qin Huai'an glared at Meng Wan resentfully, and had no choice but to give up his idea of sneaking away.
Qian Yixuan closed the last picture and opened the first audio recording.
"I don't know who it was, but they just told me to select Qin Yang's painting and submit it. I saw there were so many spots available, so I put it in."
A murmur rippled through the crowd as everyone turned to look at Qin Huai'an. Qin Yang seemed to sense something as well, grasping Qin Huai'an's hand and whispering, "Grandpa."
Qian Yixuan ignored the noise from the audience and continued playing the second and third recordings. Apart from the different voices, the content was almost the same.
"Dalif, that's how it is." Qian Yixuan walked up to Dalif, who was so surprised he couldn't speak.
He couldn't believe that his men would actually do such a thing for money! He didn't even dare to think about whether the previous exhibitions were truly fair and transparent.
“Mr. Dali, this must be a misunderstanding. How can you judge based on just a few recordings? It’s all a frame-up!” Qin Huai’an stepped forward, his tone anxious.
Dalifu has considerable influence in the industry; if someone were to be blacklisted by him, the consequences would be unimaginable!
"Whether it is or not, I believe Mr. Daliev will have his own judgment. Whose account the remittance was from can be easily found out. Putting that aside, Mr. Qin seems extremely confident in his grandson's paintings, even to the point of believing there's something fishy going on. Why not have the names removed and a new vote held to rank them? Or perhaps..."
Yan Nian paused, and Qin Huai'an's heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason.
"Or does Old Master Qin also believe there's something fishy going on this time?"
Qin Huai'an's lips twitched. "How could that be? It was just a child's slip of the tongue."
Each word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth.
“In that case, let’s put all that aside and vote again. What do you think, Mr. Dalif?” Yan Nian had a unique charm when he spoke French.
Dalifu nodded. "To be fair, I accept Meng Wan's suggestion to start an online vote. This way, we can prove whether Meng Zhiyao's first place is well-deserved, and we can also know whether Qin Yang's painting was truly a mistake by me, Dalifu."
Things gradually spiraled out of his control, leaving Qin Huai'an in a difficult predicament.
"Grandpa, it hurts! It hurts!" Qin Yang's cries brought Qin Huai'an back to his senses. He quickly let go of Qin Yang's hand and rubbed Qin Yang's red wrist with a pained expression.
"Good boy, Grandpa didn't mean it."
"Grandpa, I want to go home! I don't want to stay here anymore!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com