Chapter 99: Birthday Banquet

Although Xi Jun looked reluctant and his eyes were full of resentment, he ultimately completed the transaction with Chen Feng.

Two paintings for 2.3 million.

In reality, for Xi Jun’s current worth, this price wasn’t a loss.

After all, these two paintings were landscapes that he himself didn’t particularly care for. Especially the second one; if Chen Feng hadn’t dug it out from a pile of old works he was about to discard, it might have been truly worthless.

The reason Xi Jun was reluctant was mainly that he felt he had fallen for Chen Feng’s bargaining tactics and sold them a bit too cheaply.

But he also knew that if he tried to back out, a rare patron like Chen Feng would likely just walk away. In the past, when he wasn’t short on money, he wouldn’t have cared if a buyer left. He was confident that his fame and value would skyrocket in the future, and he wouldn’t have to worry about selling his works.

But now, he was in urgent need of money. Although this price was a bit low, it was still barely within his acceptable range.

As for Chen Feng, he certainly felt he had gotten a good deal.

These were two magical paintings that brought gratifying changes to his body and mind.

Chen Feng didn’t believe that works that had such a magical effect on him were just ordinary pieces. Without a doubt, they had to be Xi Jun’s true masterpieces.

It was just that ordinary mortals, with their fleshly eyes, simply didn’t know or couldn’t see the inner substance of these two paintings, including Xi Jun, the creator himself.

Xi Jun, as the creator of these two paintings, didn’t even pay special attention to them himself. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have sold them so “cheaply.”

This was very interesting.

Of course, on the other hand, many people would probably think Chen Feng was a fool for spending so much money on these two paintings.

Only Chen Feng himself knew the truth.

Although the hospital seemed to have confirmed that his terminal illness had not improved, just as the expert said, hadn’t it also not worsened?

Perhaps it was precisely because of the contribution of the “Orchid Pavilion Preface” and “Autumn Sky” that this was the case.

Otherwise, many people in the late stages of a brain tumor would experience rapid deterioration, even extreme pain, until death.

But now, Chen Feng could eat, sleep, and even play with women. His body felt even stronger than before.

If you tried to explain it with science, it was completely inexplicable.

Just like the previous lottery wins and his luck with women, could they be explained by science? Obviously not.

And the fact that he could get a feeling similar to taking some illegal substances from calligraphy and paintings, and it even strengthened his body without any side effects, could this be explained by science? Also no.

But it was a fact.

So, even if it was just a very slim chance, Chen Feng still wanted to continue collecting artworks that could benefit his body.

At the very least, it wouldn’t harm his body, and who knows, a miracle might happen in the future. His terminal illness might be cured without medicine.

This was his current thought and hope.

A person living always needs to have some hope for the future, even if that hope is very slim.

Besides, in the long run, this was also a good investment project. He probably wouldn’t lose money.

Chen Feng happily brought the two paintings back to Red Villa Bay.

Originally, he had wanted to take them to the East Lake villa, but he felt there was no place to put them there.

And, not putting all his eggs in one basket, he decided to put them in the villa here at Red Villa Bay instead.

When he got back, it was about four in the afternoon. At this time, Xiao Ya was not off work yet.

Chen Feng placed the two paintings in two separate empty rooms on the second floor, both in the closets.

Xiao Ya was usually busy with work and wouldn’t go into the other empty rooms.

As long as Chen Feng locked the doors, she would be even less likely to go in.

There was still time before Lin Wan’s birthday banquet in the evening. Chen Feng stared at the painting “The Beach” and soon entered a “trance.”

When he came to his senses, he checked the time. About half an hour had passed.

Although he had already expected it, he was still somewhat disappointed with this result.

However, this could also prove that the young painter Xi Jun’s artistic skills were actually not weaker than that of the European-based Song Yi.

But the commercial value of their works was vastly different.

So, if he were to buy some of Xi Jun’s works now at a low price, he would definitely make a profit in the future when his fame grew.

But Chen Feng wasn’t very interested in this. The reason was simple: such speculation was not his original intention.

Besides, this kind of investment was long-term, possibly taking several years, and Chen Feng didn’t have that much patience.

More importantly, it was really too easy for him to make money now.

If he wasn’t afraid of attracting too much attention, he could easily win the grand prize by casually buying lottery tickets.

Furthermore, with his current “emperor’s luck,” making money by trading stocks was much easier and more convenient than investing in these artworks.

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Chen Feng arrived at Fumanlou at around six o’clock.

Although the reservation was for seven, it was Lin Wan’s birthday banquet after all, and he was the one who initiated it, so he definitely had to come early to confirm and make arrangements.

He paid the deposit, had the restaurant decorate the private room a little beforehand, and also ordered a large birthday cake.

He didn’t have many friends now. Although Lin Wan had many flaws, she was one of the friends he got along with better now.

Therefore, as a friend, he took her birthday banquet quite seriously.

He made sure everything that needed to be done was done.

Fumanlou was an old, established restaurant. It was very common for people to hold birthday banquets there, so as long as you paid, it was quite convenient and quick to decorate the private room with a birthday atmosphere.

The restaurant had a team they cooperated with from the outside, specializing in this kind of business.

With one phone call, the private room Chen Feng had booked was decorated in advance. In less than half an hour, it was adorned with birthday ribbons, balloons, blessing banners, a special tablecloth for birthday banquets, fresh flowers, and other props, including a person-sized teddy bear.

Chen Feng had asked them to buy the teddy bear on his behalf. They quoted 2,000 yuan, and Chen Feng didn’t haggle. He even added another thousand yuan and asked them to buy some other cute dolls that girls liked.

As a result, they also bought Hello Kitty, Doraemon, and Yoci Monkey dolls. They had indeed put in the effort; each doll looked very cute and adorable, and none of them were just there to make up the numbers.

He didn’t know if they were genuine, but they all looked very nice, and the workmanship was decent. Girls would generally like them.

The reason he had them buy these as gifts wasn’t a random decision. It was because he had happened to overhear Wu Mengting mention that Lin Wan liked dolls. She had already collected quite a few, but they were all small ones. After all, working away from home, it wasn’t easy to carry large dolls.

This time, Chen Feng helping her get such a big one, along with several other small ones, was considered catering to her tastes.

This team was indeed very professional and efficient. They got everything done in about half an hour.
Chen Feng was very satisfied. Although it cost him several thousand yuan, it was really worth it.

Not long after the private room was decorated, Lin Wan and the other three women arrived. It was about twenty minutes before the agreed-upon time of seven, which was just right.

When they entered the private room filled with a birthday banquet atmosphere, they were of course all a little surprised. Lin Wan was especially surprised and moved.

She immediately asked Chen Feng, “Brother Feng, did you go to all this trouble to set up my birthday because you want to pursue me? If so, I’ll agree. This is the first time in my life I’ve had such a grand birthday party.”

Chen Feng just smiled and replied bluntly, “Don’t be delusional. I’ll forever be the man you can’t have.”

Lin Wan could only sigh, half-jokingly, “What unfortunate timing. If only I had met you earlier.”

Wu Mengting and the other two women burst out laughing at her words.

Next, Lin Wan briefly introduced her two friends to Chen Feng. They were actually her college roommates.

One was named Li Li, a bit chubby, wore glasses, and had average looks. The other, Wu Bingyao, was quite good-looking, but still a bit inferior to Lin Wan and Wu Mengting, probably a solid 80 out of 100, still considered a beauty.

Both women looked at Chen Feng with curiosity, probably because Lin Wan had told them he was very rich.

However, they probably also knew they didn’t stand a chance, or Lin Wan had already warned them that Chen Feng was already “reserved” by Wu Mengting, so they didn’t show much admiration or ambiguity. They were both quite open and natural.

Therefore, Chen Feng didn’t dislike them. He chatted and laughed with them, answering some of their curious questions.

For example, was he really divorced? Was he currently trading stocks? Did he have a house in Xiuzhou? Did he have plans to buy a house and settle down in Xiuzhou in the future?
Girls in today’s society were all this realistic. The pejorative term was materialistic. A nicer way of putting it… there didn’t seem to be one, because that’s just how society was.

Which mother-in-law didn’t hope her son-in-law had a car, a house, and savings of at least six figures?

Conversely, which man didn’t hope his woman was young and beautiful?

Women love money, men love beauty.

This was reality!
People who entered society, not only did women become realistic, but men also became realistic.

That’s just how the world was; there was no way around it.

So, Chen Feng wasn’t particularly offended that Li Li and Wu Bingyao asked him these somewhat private questions right away.

At least they didn’t directly ask Chen Feng how much savings and assets he had now. Compared to such questions, the other questions were already quite subtle.

Fortunately, these two women still had a sense of propriety. After initially probing Chen Feng’s situation, they changed the subject and started talking about the decoration of the private room tonight.

Next was ordering food. The birthday girl went first. Lin Wan started ordering, and she wasn’t polite, ordering five dishes in one go, all of which were quite expensive, adding up to over three thousand yuan.

The other three women were much more polite, each ordering only one dish. Finally, Chen Feng ordered two, making a total of ten dishes.

Then came the fruit juices that women love to drink. Chen Feng was driving, so he didn’t drink alcohol.

Among the four women, besides Wu Mengting, the other three were all chatterboxes, and the atmosphere at the banquet was very good.

During the meal, Lin Wan also received several calls from relatives and friends, all wishing her a happy birthday.

This made Lin Wan’s mood even better tonight.

However, as a hardworking streamer, as soon as the first dish was served, she immediately announced that she was going to start a live stream and got everyone’s consent.

It was her birthday, she was the boss. Even the reluctant Chen Feng and Wu Mengting, for the sake of her birthday, reluctantly agreed, but they asked her to try not to film them.

Chen Feng sat opposite her, so he was basically not in the shot. Wu Mengting sat next to her, so it was hard for her not to be in the shot.

Wu Mengting couldn’t deliberately sit further away, so she could only once again act as her human background.

Because it was Lin Wan’s birthday, the veteran fans in her live stream room definitely had to show their appreciation, and gifts quickly started flooding in.

Coupled with Wu Mengting, the beautiful editor, and Wu Bingyao, an 80-point beauty, the popularity of the live stream room was boosted quite a bit.

As for Chen Feng, the rich man who was paying for the meal, he also reminded many viewers in the live stream room of the recent “love triangle,” which also sparked some discussion.

Lin Wan was live streaming while eating and chatting with Chen Feng and the others. But because of the live stream, everyone certainly couldn’t talk too deeply.

Wu Bingyao and Li Li, however, cooperated with her, talking a lot with her and also appearing on camera.

Chen Feng was a little helpless about this. He had originally wanted to have a good meal with the four women tonight, but the reality was that Lin Wan was live streaming.

This way, not only was he not eating very happily, but the conversation was certainly even less enjoyable.

Fortunately, Lin Wan kept her word and didn’t frequently point the camera at him and Wu Mengting. She mainly interacted with Li Li and Wu Bingyao, and they chatted animatedly.

Thus, time passed quickly. After about an hour, more than half of the ten dishes had been eaten. Lin Wan also noticed the awkwardness on Chen Feng and Wu Mengting’s side and ended the live stream.

“I’m sorry!” Lin Wan apologized to the four of them. “Because I had already announced in the live stream room that today is my birthday. And I also thought I could take the opportunity to get some gifts from the fans, so I started the live stream. How about this, next time I’ll treat you all to a meal, a big meal, as a thank you for your support of this live stream.”

The chubby Li Li immediately responded, “Okay! Wan’er is so generous. Whenever you say, I’ll be there.”

Wu Bingyao also said with a smile, “Then I won’t be polite.”

Seeing this, Wu Mengting had to say, “Next time you want to do a live stream, you’d better tell us in advance. This surprise attack left us with no mental preparation.”

Lin Wan giggled and hugged her, “My dear Tiantian, it’s not the first time you’ve done a live stream with me. What mental preparation do you need?”

Wu Mengting said, annoyed, “Even if I don’t mind, others might.”

“You are all my friends. And I got your consent before I started the live stream, what’s there to mind?”

Lin Wan’s words were a bit tactless. It was unclear whether she really didn’t understand or was pretending not to.

Chen Feng said bluntly, “I mind. If it weren’t your birthday today, I definitely wouldn’t have agreed. You should know, I’m paying for your birthday banquet, not for you to do a live stream.”

“Alright, alright. Why are you, a grown man, being so petty? I barely filmed you just now. Besides, I’ve already apologized, and I’ll treat you all to another meal next time.”

“I’m not being petty. It’s just as Mengting said, if you’re going to do a live stream like this again in the future, you’d better tell me in advance. Otherwise, it’s very rude, you know?”

Chen Feng would not spoil her. He directly expressed his dissatisfaction.

“Alright, alright. I was wrong, okay?”

Since she was in the wrong, Lin Wan was able to be flexible. She immediately apologized again. Of course, Chen Feng couldn’t keep holding it against her.

“Alright, let’s eat, let’s eat. We can’t waste such delicious food,” Li Li, the standard foodie, changed the subject.

“That’s right. The food here really lives up to its reputation. The color, aroma, and taste are all perfect.”

“This sweet and sour mandarin fish is so delicious. I’ve had it elsewhere before, but none were as authentic and delicious as here. The taste is very different.”

The other two women chimed in, and the atmosphere at the table immediately became lively again.