Why didn't you tell me earlier that my little sister is still waiting for me?

Lin Bufan's "my time is precious" expression made many people in the audience secretly roll their eyes. Just then, a gentleman in his fifties, dressed in a simple Chinese-style long gown and exuding a refined air, calmly walked to the front of the crowd, accompanied by a young assistant. He didn't rush to speak, but first carefully examined the two wooden carvings for a while, his eyes revealing genuine appreciation and amazement.

After examining them, he turned to Lin Bufan with a gentle and wise smile, and said, “Mr. Lin, my name is Zhou Wenyuan, and I currently work at the Provincial Museum. I came here because of your reputation and was truly amazed to see ‘Quiet Moon’ and ‘Flowing Wind’ in person. Not only has your skill reached a state of perfection, but what is even more remarkable is that you have endowed your works with this mysterious quality of… spiritual interaction with the viewer. This has transcended the scope of traditional handicrafts and touched upon the exploration of art and psychology, and even a certain philosophical level. It can be called a unique phenomenon in contemporary art.”

Lin Bufan was quite pleased with the praise, and his casual expression softened, replaced by a more attentive demeanor.

As Zhou Wenyuan observed Lin Bufan's changing expression, he became even more convinced of his judgment. This young man might not be particularly interested in huge sums of money, as the rumors and online portrayals suggested, but his flamboyant, attention-seeking, and satiating personality traits, as revealed in his previous live stream and his current behavior, were unmistakable.

He smiled slightly and continued to cater to the artist's interests: "Such groundbreaking and topical works would be a great loss to the art world and the public if they were merely kept in private collections and left untouched. Our provincial museum is currently preparing a special exhibition on the innovation of traditional crafts called 'Craftsmanship and Rebirth,' which aims to showcase contemporary works that boldly innovate on the basis of inheritance and achieve outstanding results."

Zhou Wenyuan paused, raised his voice slightly, and swept his gaze across the crowd before finally settling on Lin Bufan's face. His tone was sincere and enticing: "I believe that 'Quiet Moon' and 'Flowing Wind' are fully qualified—no, should be—as the core exhibits of this special exhibition! Placing them in a professional museum setting, coupled with detailed explanations of their creative background, techniques, and unique interactive effects, will undoubtedly spark broader and deeper social discussion and academic attention. This is not only the highest recognition of your personal artistic achievements, but also an excellent opportunity to promote this innovative woodcarving art, and even the woodcarving culture of Yunmiao Village, to the national and even global stage! At that time, audiences, scholars, and art lovers from all over will have the opportunity to personally experience this magic and appreciate Mr. Lin's extraordinary creativity. This is the true value of art—to inspire thought, evoke resonance, and be seen, remembered, and even celebrated by more people."

Zhou Wenyuan's words struck a nerve with Lin Bufan. Imagining his work displayed on a gleaming exhibition stand, receiving countless admiring, worshipful, and analytical gazes, accompanied by a plaque proclaiming it "A Masterpiece by the Genius Artist Lin Bufan"... this scene perfectly suited his ultimate hobby: showing off!

Lin Bufan's eyes lit up instantly, and the corners of his mouth began to turn up uncontrollably, his expression of "this plan is exactly what I wanted" almost overflowing.

However, just when Zhou Wenyuan thought things were about to go smoothly, Lin Bufan's expression changed. His upturned lips froze, and the excitement in his eyes was quickly replaced by annoyance and regret.

Lin Bufan smacked his lips: "Director Zhou, your suggestion... is quite good! Putting the works on display in the museum so that more people can see them is indeed a great thing, but... please forgive me, I cannot agree!"

Zhou Wenyuan's smile faltered slightly, clearly not expecting such a response. He opened his mouth, wanting to try again: "Mr. Lin, please reconsider. This is truly a rare opportunity, very beneficial for promotion..."

"Hey—stop!" Lin Bufan raised his hand in a "stop" gesture, decisively cutting off Zhou Wenyuan's words. His face returned to that social, slightly aloof smile: "Director Zhou, I appreciate your kindness. Well, there are indeed some special reasons for this, which are not convenient. As for the specific reasons, that falls under the category of personal privacy, so I won't go into details here. In short, your suggestion is excellent, but please don't make it again. Thank you again for your and the museum's approval!"

After speaking, Lin Bufan, without waiting for Zhou Wenyuan to speak again, turned to the still noisy crowd below the stage and raised his voice: "Alright everyone! That's all for the introduction of 'Quiet Moon' and 'Flowing Wind'. You are free to visit the exhibition at your leisure and also take a look at other works by Master Xie and his apprentices, all of which are excellent traditional crafts! If you have any questions, you can also ask my art consultant, Brother Biao! I'll be leaving now, please make yourselves at home!"

He waved to the audience and then kicked Sang Biao in the backside. Sang Biao immediately understood, puffing out his chest and giving them a "leave it to me, don't worry" attitude!

Lin Bufan left the noisy and scorching gazes behind him, strode over to Huang Xinxin who was maintaining order, and pulled her to a slightly quieter corner.

"Director Huang, I'm entrusting you with a glorious but arduous task!" Lin Bufan lowered his voice, but his expression was serious.

Huang Xinxin was taken aback by Lin Bufan's sudden seriousness: "Mr. Lin, please speak."

Lin Bufan pointed towards the exhibition booth, where Sang Biao was already sitting upright and looking quite like a human being next to two wooden sculptures. Facing a few curious tourists who came up to ask questions, he was barking a few times, nodding his head, and waving his paws in a serious manner.

"See that? My brother Biao is now serving as the special art consultant and guide for this appreciation event," Lin Bufan said without changing his expression. "Later, there will definitely be a lot of people surrounding it with questions, and it will need a translator when it answers. This important task is entrusted to you!"

Huang Xinxin's eyes widened instantly. Pointing to the tip of her nose, she exclaimed in disbelief, "Me?! Mr. Lin, you must be joking! I... how could I possibly understand what it was saying?"

"Do you think I understand?" Lin Bufan rolled his eyes, speaking with righteous indignation: "It's right that you don't understand! Art criticism is inherently subjective, a matter of opinion and profound mystery! Just take into account the context, the environment, the questioner's expression, Brother Biao's shouting rhythm and body language, um... and combine it with your own ideas, and speak freely, just say what you want!"

Seeing Huang Xinxin's still "Are you crazy?" expression, Lin Bufan patted her shoulder and comforted her, "Don't worry, Brother Biao is very smart. It will cooperate with you. Just say whatever you want, and it will nod, shake its head, and bark a couple of times to match the mood. It will make sure you have a great performance and the artistic atmosphere is full! This kind of improvisation best reflects the simplicity and wisdom of our Yunmiao Village, right?"

Huang Xinxin opened her mouth, looked at Lin Bufan's "just like that, it's decided" expression, and then looked at the four-eyed dog by the booth that had already started "explaining" to the tourists, wagging its tail. For a moment, she felt her head buzzing and could only nod stiffly.

"Okay...okay, I...I'll try my best."

"Okay, good luck! I believe in you!" Lin Bufan gave her an encouraging look, then slipped away quickly towards where Xu Hongdou and Chen Nanxing were standing.

As soon as Chen Nanxing saw him coming, she immediately leaned forward, her eyes still glancing in the direction where Zhou Wenyuan had been standing, and whispered, "Hey, what that museum curator said sounded like a great opportunity. You're so eager to show off, why didn't you accept his offer?"

Although Xu Hongdou didn't speak, her gaze also fell on Lin Bufan's face, carrying the same question.

Upon hearing this, Lin Bufan's nonchalant expression softened somewhat. He looked at Chen Nanxing, then at Xu Hongdou, his tone becoming casual yet serious: "Didn't I already give those two statues to you two? You are now their rightful owners. They are yours, how can I overstep my bounds and decide their fate for you? What would that make me?"

These words, spoken so naturally, surprised both Chen Nanxing and Xu Hongdou. They hadn't expected Lin Bufan to refuse for this reason.

A wave of warmth and gratitude washed over Chen Nanxing, instantly softening her previous impression of him as someone who "despicable." Her eyes brightened, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up: "At least you still have some conscience!"

Xu Hongdou's eyes flickered slightly, and her gaze towards Lin Bufan softened considerably: "Then why didn't you just tell that Curator Zhou that the statue has already been given away?"

Lin Bufan looked at Xu Hongdou with the eyes of someone looking at a "rich man's silly daughter," his tone exaggerated and disdainful: "Dou'er, are you stupid? Are you stupid? If I were to say in public that I'm giving this thing to you two, those collectors and brokers who are green with envy, and those reporters who are just looking for a big story, would turn around and surround you two, calling you non-stop, breaking down your door, and finding all sorts of ways to pester you to buy it, borrow it, or interview you! Do you want to live a peaceful life?"

I'm drawing all the firepower away for you guys, understand? That's called selfless dedication!

cut--

Xu Hongdou and Chen Nanxing rolled their eyes in unison!

Lin Bufan paused, then softened his tone slightly: "Of course, if you really want to exhibit it and let more people see it, that's no problem. If you nod your heads, I can help you make the arrangements in no time, and I guarantee everything will be arranged perfectly so you can become the honorable lender, the kind whose name hangs on the museum wall."

Xu Hongdou's eyes darted around: "Then... what if I want to sell it?"

Lin Bufan swung his hands, not seeing it as a problem at all: "Sell it. I've given it all to you, so it's yours. You can keep it to look at, display it, sell it for money, or even chop it up for firewood to warm Nanxing's feet—of course, I don't really recommend that, since it's quite valuable—that's all your freedom as the owner, it's up to you."

He spoke casually, as if the two wooden carvings that had just been bid up to hundreds of millions, or even higher, were no different from the cat and dog wooden ornaments he had casually given away before. Once they were given away, the right to dispose of them was completely transferred, and they had nothing to do with him anymore.

Xu Hongdou stared at him for a few seconds, her gaze seemingly trying to dig out something else from his nonchalant appearance, but Lin Bufan's face showed only the frankness of "Does this even need asking?" and the impatience of "Hurry up and decide, stop dawdling."

Finally, Xu Hongdou took a deep breath, looked away, and gazed at Sang Biao, who was being "translated" by Huang Xinxin at the booth in the distance, busy with his work. A faint smile curved her lips, and her voice was so soft it almost dissipated in the night breeze: "I understand."

She neither said she would sell, nor that she wouldn't sell, nor did she say whether she would exhibit or not.

Lin Bufan didn't press the matter, as if the conversation had been casually mentioned. He turned to Chen Nanxing and Da Mai and said, "Alright, there are too many people here, it's giving me a headache. Let's go back, I'll treat you to my treasured tea, it's infinitely better than Master Ma's!"

The two women naturally had no objection to Lin Bufan's suggestion!

As for Da Mai, needless to say, she was already a bit socially awkward, and if it weren't for Chen Nanxing and Xu Hongdou pulling her along, she probably wouldn't have come at all.

The group quietly slipped away from the edge of the crowd and walked along the moonlit path toward the windy courtyard. They left behind the noise, exclamations, arguments, and Sang Biao's melodious barking.

Back in the quiet courtyard, only a few warm yellow wall lamps illuminated the common area below the attic. To their surprise, they found Nana sitting alone at the stone table, playing on her phone.

"Nana?" Da Mai walked over in surprise. "You didn't go to the open space to watch the appreciation event? It was so lively!"

Nana looked up at the sound and smiled somewhat awkwardly: "Ah... I didn't go. There were too many people, it felt too noisy, I don't really like those kinds of occasions."

Lin Bufan's gaze lingered on Nana's face for two seconds, and he immediately understood—Nana wasn't afraid of making a scene, she was afraid of being recognized.

Clearly, although Nana was persuaded by Lin Bufan, she was not ready yet!

However, Lin Bufan didn't point it out, but simply raised an eyebrow knowingly, then put on his usual carefree demeanor: "It's better not to go, so as not to get a headache from all the noise. Our little courtyard is much quieter. Perfect timing, everyone's here, come on, try my treasured tea, it's definitely much better than Master Ma's pretentious teas!"

With that, Lin Bufan went straight back into the house to fetch the so-called good tea!

Lin Bufan didn't keep the girls waiting for long before he came out of the room. However, what he was carrying was not an exquisite tea canister, but a plastic bag containing several bottles of common iced tea.

Lin Bufan slammed the bottle down on the stone table with a thud, showing no embarrassment whatsoever, but rather a smug sense of self-righteousness.

"Here, the collector's edition, chilled!" He twisted open a bottle, gulped down a large mouthful, and let out a satisfied sigh: "Let me tell you, don't underestimate this stuff. In the dead of night, when all is quiet, you need something sweet and icy cold like this to refresh your mind and soothe your soul. It's so much more refreshing than those bitter teas that Master Ma makes, which require half a day of careful water temperature and brewing techniques! This is the true meaning of life: simple, direct, and joyful!"