My Best Friend Is Actually The School Diva Dressed As A Man - Chapter 25

Chapter 25 Could Such a Genius Actually Exist in This World?

Tang Feng took another two sips of tea before continuing with his explanation.

“It’s very simple. Mr. Dongpo’s calligraphy is elegant, free, and does not adhere to any form.”

“Although this piece of work is deliberately imitating such a style, their tactic has actually backfired on them. Every stroke in this piece of calligraphy feels restricted.”

“Although this piece has managed to imitate Su Dongpo’s style, it has failed to capture his spirit…”

As he gave his reasoning, Tang Feng suddenly noticed that both adults were wearing expressions of great surprise.

“Did I get something wrong?” He looked at Master Zhang with a puzzled expression.

Master Zhang snapped back to his senses and looked at Tang Feng with a complicated expression. “You could tell just by taking a single glance at this piece?”

Tang Feng raised his eyebrows. “It should be rather obvious, no?”

The corners of Master Zhang’s mouth twitched a few times.

Back when he first received the piece, Master Zhang had studied the piece for days on end. In the end, he had to consult a few big shots in the antique circle of Zhonghai to determine the piece’s authenticity.

And yet, this brat dares to say that it’s rather obvious?

It was precisely because of how casually Tang Feng had given the conclusion that it had surprised Master Zhang.

Just his ability to identify these nuances alone had proven that he had a way keener eye than himself.

What was even more unbelievable was that Tang Feng had possessed this ability at such a young age. Usually, it took decades of experience for appraisers to gain such an ability.

Tang Feng had a bright future ahead of him!

Even Qin Yanan, who was standing at the side could only stare at Tang Feng in disbelief.

Of course, Qin Yanan was also aware of the nature of the piece. It was for this reason that she felt that Master Zhang was making things difficult for Tang Feng.

However, never in her wildest imaginations would she have thought that Tang Feng was able to identify the piece’s flaw in just mere moments, when it had taken Master Zhang several days despite the help of several experts.

This was simply unheard of!

“So, you think this calligraphy piece is a fake?” Master Zhang was the first to come back to his senses, and he looked at Tang Feng without batting an eyelid.

“I didn’t say it was a fake.” Tang Feng waved his hand repeatedly.

Master Zhang’s expression became confused. “Didn’t you say that this calligraphy piece isn’t Mr. Dongpo’s authentic work? Since it’s not authentic, shouldn’t it be a fake?”

Tang Feng waved his hand once more. “It’s not an authentic piece, but it’s not entirely fake either?”

Master Zhang became more and more confused. “If it’s not real and not fake, what is it actually then?”

“It’s an imitation.” Tang Feng immediately gave his answer. “This is a copy of the original work. Judging by how dated it looks, it was probably a copy done around the Qing dynasty.”

Master Zhang’s eyes immediately lit up. “Then can you tell who the imitator is?”

Tang Feng was momentarily stunned. “You’re making things a little difficult for me. The Qing dynasty has existed for nearly three hundred years, and its population is in the trillions. Don’t you think that identifying the imitator is like looking for a needle in a haystack?”

Master Zhang was immediately amused by his words, “I see, so this is the extent of your abilities. It’s okay, the fact that you managed to answer this many questions has already far exceeded my expectations. Even if you can’t guess the identity of the copycat, it’s not a big deal. So, in case you were wondering, he’s…”

“I only said that it was a little difficult. I didn’t say that I have no guesses on the person’s identity though,” Tang Feng suddenly interrupted him.

“What? You have an idea of who the copycat is?” Master Zhang had gone beyond surprise this time. He was well and truly shocked.

Just as Tang Feng had mentioned said, the history of the Qing dynasty lasted for more than three hundred years. Forget the number of scholars they had, just the number of calligraphers alone was already at an

Finding out the copycat’s identity was indeed like looking for a needle in a haystack.

It was truly unbelievable.

“Then tell me… Who do you think the copycat is?” Master Zhang picked up his teacup with trembling hands in an attempt to calm himself down.

“Xu Yuanli!”

Tang Feng’s prediction had shocked Master Zhang so much that his tremors worsened even further. The Teacup fell to the ground with a crash and shattered into several pieces.

“How did you know?” He stood up abruptly, looking as if he had seen a ghost.

Qin Yanan, who was standing at the side, also opened her mouth wide and looked at Tang Feng in disbelief.

Tang Feng took in the expressions of the two of them, and the corners of his mouth curled up into a faint smile. “So, I guessed correctly?”

“Let me ask you, how did you come to this conclusion?” Master Zhang’s expression was very anxious at this moment.

One had to know that although this Xu Yuanli was very skilled in calligraphy, his reputation was not.

Only the most avid of calligraphy scholars would know of his name.

As such, it was hard to believe that Tang Feng had actually knew of him.

“Ahem, about this…”

Tang Feng also came to realize that he had gone too far, and thus, he quickly came up with a random excuse. “About that, I happened to study Xu Yuanli’s calligraphy a while back. From what I recall, his handwriting is steady, elegant, and his personal style is very strong.”

As Tang Feng spoke, he pointed at the scroll on the table. “And in this scroll, although he made a deliberate attempt to hide his personal style, I still feel his personal touch in it. That is how I came to the conclusion. I wonder if it’s right?”

Master Zhang looked at him blankly and muttered to himself, “Genius, simply genius! Could there really be such a genius in the world? It’s simply unimaginable!”

Tang Feng blushed from his praise and asked despite knowing the answer, “So, I was right?”

Qin Yanan hugged Tang Feng excitedly. “That’s right. After master Zhang’s research, he also concluded that this painting was an imitation from Xu Yuanli. Tang Feng, you’re really amazing.”

Tang Feng’s arm was rubbed back and forth between her gentle embrace. His heart suddenly felt hot. He hurriedly grabbed the teacup and took a sip. Only then did he feel

“I didn’t expect Master Zhang to be able to see who copied this calligraphy. As expected, the older the ginger, the spicier it is!”

He gave a thumbs up, feeling a little guilty.

He was relying on a cheat. His appraisals did not come from true skill.

On the other hand, Master Zhang did not have a system of his own, and yet, he was able to determine the imitator’s true identity. Now that, was true skill.

Master Zhang immediately shook his head in shame, “I don’t have the same skill as Mr. Tang. I only started to study Xu Yuanli’s calligraphy after learning that this antique had come from a descendant of Xu Yuanli.it took me half a month of research and comparison to finally determine that Xu Yuanli was the imitator! Compared to Mr. Tang, my abilities are barely worth mentioning!” Tang Feng was speechless upon hearing Master Zhang’s explanation

It was over. The title of genius was now pinned on his head, and he was afraid that he could never take it off.