Chapter 801 Media Response

In fact, there is no need for that person to explain, Shi Lei has roughly guessed the whole process.

The reason why the painting was returned in such a complicated way was undoubtedly intentional by Mr. X, the incarnation of Black Card.

As for the purpose, you don’t need to think about it. Black Card is to thoroughly prove that the painting was made by Wu Daozi and not Liang Lingzan’s imitation of Zhang Sengyou.

At the same time, the auction was held, and the painting was completely legal. The source of the painting was very clear. It was obtained from the Osaka City Museum of Art in Japan, that is, from Miyamoto Genichi.

Shi Lei thought about it and knew that when the news on the Chinese side was overwhelming, the Japanese media must have exploded.

The more important reason for tossing out such an auction was to completely hide the fact that Shi Lei was the collector of this painting.

It’s not that he was worried about Miyamoto Genichi.

Even if Miyamoto Genichi knew that he was deceived later, the painting that Shi Lei gave him was not Yan Liben’s portrait of Wang Youjun at all, but just a fake, he couldn’t find trouble with Shi Lei. Antique and artwork transactions are a special existence in this world that can be regarded as not applicable to fraud in almost all countries, because antiques and artworks have no constant value, and there is a possibility of misjudgment. As long as Shi Lei himself does not admit that the portrait of Wang Youjun by Yan Liben was painted by him, and he also left the obvious ironic evidence of "One World, One Dream" in the painting, then no one can prove that he is committing fraud from a legal perspective.

A man is innocent, but he is guilty of possessing a treasure. When the world knows that the Five Stars and Twenty-Eight Mansions True Shape Map was written by Wu Daozi and is still in Shi Lei's hands, it will inevitably attract many covetous eyes.

With Shi Lei's current identity and status, it is very difficult to keep this painting.

The better result is forced buying and selling, the worse result is stolen and robbed, and the worst result is forced plunder by force.

But with this auction, whether the painting belongs to Shi Lei after leaving Japan, it has nothing to do with Shi Lei now.

As for the identity of the buyer? Not to mention that an auction house like Sotheby's would never reveal it. Even if it did, the buyer would have to be just a middleman.

Thinking of this, Shi Lei couldn't help but feel a little grateful to Hei Ka, because if Hei Ka hadn't done this, first of all, it would be difficult for Shi Lei to prove that the painting was Wu Daozi's original work, and secondly, the painting was in Shi Lei's hands, unless he donated it to the country, otherwise, it would be a very big trouble.

The potential trouble was solved by Hei Ka, so Shi Lei certainly had to feel a little grateful to Hei Ka.

Shi Lei called Liu Zhen again and said very seriously: "Ms. Liu, the painting has returned to my hands, but please keep it secret for me."

As a scholar who has been engaged in cultural research for a lifetime, Liu Zhen is well aware of the principle of being guilty of possessing a treasure. She was first surprised that the painting could really return to Shi Lei's hands, and then she vowed that it would never be spread.

Shi Lei still trusts the character of Liu Zhen and Liu Qian.

Later, Zhang Xiyue called to express her gratitude to Shi Lei, and the reason was self-evident.

She also said that when they meet next time, she might not remember all of this at all, and hoped that Shi Lei could understand.

Shi Lei was very interested in this and asked casually, "When we meet next time, you won't just not recognize me, right?"

Zhang Xiyue smiled and said, "No, the memory must be buried absolutely carefully. The part about the organization will be completely deeply rooted, but the rest of the interaction with you, Mr. Shi, will be retained. If nothing unexpected happens, I will remember that you and I met by chance in the imperial capital. When I was lonely and bored, I took the initiative to talk to you, but you politely refused. Then we met again in Wudong, and we became friends because of Titan."

Shi Lei also smiled and said, "Wouldn't it be a bit embarrassing for you to see me?"

"The misunderstanding has been over for so long, not to mention that it happened before Titan appeared. I should be able to face it calmly."

"Then congratulations, from now on, you can live the life you want."

"Well, I plan to resign from the company, then marry Titan, and help Titan manage some business."

"Take care of your future." Shi Lei said, and hung up the phone.

Ding Yu also called and expressed his gratitude to Shi Lei, and told Shi Lei that Dark Night Eyes had fulfilled the bet and returned the project to him intact.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Shi, since I am still the organization's contact person in Hong Kong Island, I can't go to Bao'an in principle. The agreement between us may require you to come to Hong Kong Island again to complete it."

Shi Lei smiled and said to Ding Yu on the other end of the phone: "Our agreement is a gentleman's agreement. There is no contract or text. Everything depends on the conscience of you and me. So, it doesn't matter whether we meet or not. Give me an account number, and I will inject 3 million RMB into your account, and the first step of our agreement will take effect."

Ding Yu hesitated for a moment and said: "Mr. Shi is really an extremely open-minded person, so please rest assured, Mr. Shi, I will never embezzle Mr. Shi's funds. Wait two days, I will find a law firm to register the institute, and then contact you after confirming the institute's account."

The two exchanged a few more polite words and hung up the phone.

It was already the afternoon of September 8th. After half a day of news media fermentation, the news that the Osaka City Museum of Art's collection of the Five Stars and Twenty-Eight Mansions True Shape Map had returned to China and was confirmed to be the work of the painting saint Wu Daozi, and at the same time, it was sold at a sky-high price of 163 million US dollars, finally began to explode in the Japanese media.

For a time, Japanese media reprinted the reports of Chinese media one after another. At the same time, many parties began to question Miyamoto Genichi, how could such a national treasure-level painting be transferred to others.

After the news began to bombard, Miyamoto Genichi received countless calls in a short period of time, and he himself was dumbfounded.

At first, he thought it was just a malicious joke. How could Liang Lingzan's imitation become the original work of the painting saint Wu Daozi?

However, the continuous calls, coupled with the various reports in the news, forced Miyamoto Genichi to pay attention to this issue.

He recalled all the conversations he had with Shi Lei that day. The only question that bothered him was why Shi Lei would exchange a painting by Liang Lingzan for a painting by Yan Liben. He remembered very clearly that Shi Lei did not give him any answer at all. No matter how he asked, Shi Lei just said that if you are willing to exchange, then exchange. If you are not willing, then forget it. As for the reason, I am sorry that I do not have it.

Miyamoto Xuanyi remembered that Shi Lei said that perhaps this painting was the original work of Zhang Sengyou.

At that time, Miyamoto Xuanyi sneered at this, because this painting had been in his hands and treasured for half his life. He had studied it countless times. How could he not know that the brushstrokes of this painting were actually more like Wu Daozi than Zhang Sengyou.

However, Miyamoto Xuanyi could never have imagined that this painting was actually Wu Daozi's.

Miyamoto Genichi could also see that the brushstrokes in the True Shape of the Five Stars and Twenty-Eight Mansions were a little immature compared to Wu Daozi's. However, the Chinese news clearly stated that this was Wu Daozi's early work, and scientific methods have confirmed that this was a painting by Wu Daozi when he was about 20 years old. And the 20-year-old Wu Daozi certainly looked immature compared to his mature self.

But no matter how immature it was, it was also the work of the painting saint!

3