After Being Blackened All Over the Internet, I Ruled the Military Variety Shows
Chapter 340: The Initial Intention of Painting, Every Step Counts

Chapter 340: Chapter 340: The Initial Intention of Painting, Every Step Counts

"Who is this? A fan of that young master from the Chen Family?"

"It couldn’t possibly be the young master from the Chen Family himself, right?"

"Wait, I really didn’t pay attention just now, but you guessed right about that person speaking earlier!"

"Wow, is this going to be a confrontation on the spot? This is getting more and more exciting."

...

No one present expected that there was actually another central figure of the plagiarism incident sitting in the audience.

Lin Nuo had guessed that Chen Cheng would stand up, but he didn’t expect him to be so impatient.

At this moment, facing those eyes looking over angrily, Lin Nuo’s hand holding the microphone remained steady. With a mocking smile in his heart, he calmly said, "The inspiration for ’Under the Moonlight’ came from a chance meeting by the seaside under the moon. One is a little painter trapped in a bottleneck, struggling to find inspiration to break through. The other is a girl who is trying hard to prove herself. They met by the seaside under the moonlight. The little painter thought the girl was going to jump into the sea, and the girl thought the little painter was about to end his life. Both forgot their troubles and chose to first comfort each other."

After taking a tissue from Lu Zhengzheng, Arlene thanked her and started wiping the tears she couldn’t hold back. When she heard that piercing voice from the audience, she couldn’t help but glare over with disgust.

"I have no interest in hearing your love story. Just tell me, show everyone, the evidence. What’s the evidence that you didn’t plagiarize my ’Moonlight’? Do you really think moving everyone would make them side with you?"

"Then as you wish!"

With permission granted, three more pieces of artwork quickly appeared on the stage.

One of them was directly printed out, and many in the audience recognized it as the ’Moonlight’ that the young master of the Chen Family uploaded online.

The edges of the other two pieces of paper were a bit yellowed, indicating they had been there for several years.

Lin Nuo pointed to those two pieces, "These two are the first and second versions of ’Under the Moonlight’," then pointed to the printed one, "This is Chen Cheng’s ’Moonlight’. Everyone can compare it with the first version of ’Under the Moonlight’. Mr. Li, please take a look as well."

Under the direction of Chen Weiwen, the show crew quickly scanned all three pieces of artwork onto the big screen, so the audience in the back could also see clearly without craning their necks.

"I have to say, when you compare them like this, the first two pieces do look quite similar. But the third piece, the one entered into the contest, seems to have more feeling than the first two."

"Who’s to say he didn’t intentionally make them look old!" Chen Cheng strained his neck to glare fiercely at the person who spoke, raising his hand vigorously toward the host, "I request to come on stage!"

There was no way he was going to stand there and let Lin Nuo look down on him from above as if about to criticize him.

The host had not expected to be facing so many unexpected turns while hosting a show, and quickly turned a pleading look towards the director.

Chen Weiwen looked at the visibly flustered Chen Cheng, paused in thought for two seconds, and then nodded.

Although the audience didn’t have phones, he himself did.

Just now, he had already found out this person’s identity.

A second-generation rich kid and internet celebrity with nearly a million fans. So far, apart from the ’Moonlight’ on stage, whose authorship is in question, he did sell a few decent pieces in the past few years with the highest single transaction price being around fifty thousand—though it’s unclear if his family was behind those.

High-profile and ostentatious, the pieces he sold had all been uploaded to his profile, which he had opened one by one to look at.

Though the photos online didn’t allow for seeing the actual works, they did seem quite decent. Yet, he didn’t know if it was because he had been admiring the guests’ works for the past couple of days, but there was something about Chen Cheng’s paintings that always gave him an inexplicable sense of discord.

But beyond this, he couldn’t figure it out. Perhaps experts like Mr. Li or Mr. Zhang could discern something.

This was the main reason he agreed to let Chen Cheng come on stage.

With the microphone in hand, Chen Cheng eagerly took to the stage.

First, in a very theatrical manner, he introduced himself, "Hello everyone, I am Chen Cheng, known online as Young Master of the Chen Family. I’m also somewhat of a painter, although of course, I can’t compare to the gentlemen up here. But, I have sold a few pieces at auction for forty or fifty thousand each."

Seeing him display such confidence, many in the audience began to waver.

"If he really plagiarized, he couldn’t be that self-assured, could he?"

"Given his age, getting forty or fifty thousand for a painting suggests his skills aren’t low. Why would he need to plagiarize?"

"This is becoming more and more perplexing. Who would’ve thought watching a show live could be this exciting!"

"Which side are you on?"

"Let’s watch a bit longer!"

Qian Yiheng listened to the discussions around her, her gaze never leaving the three pieces of artwork.

Regardless of whether it was plagiarism or not, in her view, the brushstrokes in the first ’Moonlight’ were the weakest.

Even though it looked almost identical to the second, one glance and you could tell they were painted by two different people.

And the skill level between these two people was like the difference between a middle school student and a university student.

Let alone comparing it with the last piece.

But if ’Under the Moonlight’ really borrowed the inspiration from ’Moonlight’, no matter how well it was painted, it would still be unacceptable.

It must have been with this judgment that the judges of the competition initially formed their conclusion.

Cut through the confusion and quell the rumors before considering anything else.

Regardless, the integrity of the competition must be the priority.

As to whether there was any unknown backstory, that couldn’t be a concern at the time.

Since she could see the difference in artists’ skills, undoubtedly Mr. Li and Mr. Zhang, who were on stage, could as well.

Li Wanxuan coldly watched Chen Cheng finish his introduction, "Lin Nuo just talked about his motivation for creating ’Under the Moonlight’. Would you also like to explain what inspired you to create this ’Moonlight’?"

Chen Cheng could be rude and confrontational towards Lin Nuo, but facing Li Wanxuan, his tone diminished considerably. He blinked and replied, "I was vacationing at our beach villa, and one night the moon was just exceptionally beautiful, so I spontaneously painted this ’Moonlight’. There aren’t any twists and turns to it."

The last sentence was a clear jab at Lin Nuo’s earlier explanation of the creative motive.

Jing Huai, who had been quietly standing to the side, suddenly spoke, "It has always been that in determining who plagiarized whom, it’s a matter of whose creation came earlier."

Chen Cheng glanced at him and then looked provocatively at Lin Nuo, "Even before Lin Nuo submitted his plagiarized ’Under the Moonlight’ for the competition, my ’Moonlight’ had been online for many days. Everyone familiar with the timeline knows it clearly, and as for this copy, who knows if he purposely painted a duplicate to confuse things? In this day and age, anyone can fake an earlier date."

"Really," Lin Nuo responded calmly after Chen Cheng finished speaking, "I indeed didn’t have any defenses or recordings of the painting process back then, so I can’t rely on just these two paintings to make you admit the truth. However, some people, once they’ve tasted the benefits of something, won’t make just one mistake." He paused deliberately, watching Chen Cheng’s smile fade, "You mentioned that I deliberately copied your ’Moonlight’, right? Coincidentally, I have one of your works, which I bought for twenty thousand, using all my savings. I can replicate every piece I’ve ever created stroke by stroke, and I can even mimic your work with about eighty or ninety percent accuracy. But I wonder, can you?"

"Also, Leng Yuan, does this name ring any bells?"

"Bang!" The sound of a microphone slipping from someone’s grip, hitting the ground.

Seeing this, Jiang Lingxi shifted her gaze towards Lin Nuo, while everyone else stared at the visibly flustered Chen Cheng.

"Calculating each move."

"Yes, never underestimate the power of a person seeking revenge."

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