The group of girlfriends immediately began to chatter: "She's so shameless! If that's the case, why did she hold an art exhibition in the first place?"
Ding Muyun sneered. "She's really shameless. So, what should we do now? We can't just let her deceive the public like this!"
They huddled together and discussed. Someone spoke up, "Since you're sure her works must be copied from somewhere else, let's find an expert to appraise them and figure out the original artist. Then we can expose her right on the spot!"
Ding Muyun thought this was a good idea and a faint smile curved her lips.
Another person said, "I don't think she'd be so reckless as to directly copy others' works. It's too easy to get caught. If we can find out, others might too. Maybe she hired ghost painters!"
After hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement.
"It's very likely she hired some ghost painters! After all, she can ask Mu Yuze to spend money. She can pay some unknown painters to create works for her and buy them out. It's a win - win situation, and no one can find out!"
Ding Muyun frowned and thought for a while. This scenario was indeed more plausible. Directly using others' works would easily lead to exposure. Lu Xue might have hired someone to paint for her.
She said, "Even so, we still need to find evidence that she hired these painters! She just paid them off, right? I can also pay them to tell the truth. Then we'll bring them to the scene for a confrontation. Let's see how Lu Xue can get out of this!"
"Some of us should quickly investigate the origin of these paintings. The others should find out who Lu Xue has been in contact with recently and how she found those ghost painters. Try to dig out all her information. I want to make sure she loses for good!"
...
When Mu Yuze returned to the old mansion, he looked up and saw that the door on the second floor was tightly shut.
He asked Aunt Chen, "Is Lu Xue still in there?"
Aunt Chen poked her head out from the kitchen and nodded. "Yes. Miss Lu went in this morning and hasn't come out yet. I called her to have lunch, but she didn't answer. I'm worried she might have fainted in there."
The more Aunt Chen thought about it, the more she felt it was possible. "Miss Lu had a bit of hypoglycemia before. If she misses two meals, she might faint from hunger!"
Mu Yuze was a bit worried. He got up, walked up the stairs, and knocked on the door of Lu Xue's studio. There was no response from inside.
Mu Yuze stood outside the door and said in a deep voice, "Lu Xue, I'm counting to five. Open the door right now!"
Lu Xue inside mumbled, "My hands are covered in paint! I don't have time to open the door for you. Wait a little longer!"
Mu Yuze's voice brooked no argument. "Open it now!"
After waiting for a while and seeing no sign of Lu Xue opening the door, he started counting.
"Five, four, three, two..."
He paused for a moment and said, "If you don't open the door when I count to one, I'm coming in!"
Lu Xue inside mumbled, "Can you even get in?"
She didn't take it too seriously and continued to fiddle with the paint in the palette.
After Mu Yuze counted to one, the lock clicked, and the door opened.
Lu Xue, with paint on her hands, turned around in surprise and saw Mu Yuze standing at the door of her room.
Backlit, he was surrounded by a faint golden halo. His expression was calm, and most importantly, he was holding a bunch of keys in his hand.
Lu Xue was completely stunned. Pointing at the keys, she asked, "When did you get the keys?"
Mu Yuze said calmly, "I made a spare not long ago. It's always good to be prepared."
Then he walked in boldly with the keys in his hand, showing no sign of guilt on his face.
Lu Xue quickly washed the paint off her hands and walked up. Mu Yuze gently put his arm around Lu Xue's shoulder and led her downstairs.
Lu Xue struggled and said, "I haven't finished yet!"
Mu Yuze said calmly, "Go downstairs to have dinner first and then come back up."
Without giving her a chance to refuse, he dragged Lu Xue downstairs. Aunt Chen was overjoyed to see them come down and quickly brought out a bowl of rice from the kitchen.
Lu Xue was forced to sit down at the dining table, and a large pile of dishes was placed in front of her.
At the dinner table, Mu Yuze asked a few questions about Lu Xue's current creative progress.
Lu Xue answered briefly and then asked, "Where's Mu Ziyue? Why haven't I seen her recently?"
Mu Yuze glanced at the empty seat beside him and said, "Maybe she's busy helping you with the art exhibition."
Lu Xue just said "Oh" and didn't say anything else. In fact, the employees in Mu Yuze's company could handle these things, but Mu Ziyue just couldn't stay idle and always wanted to get involved.
After they finished the meal, Mu Yuze suddenly looked at her.
"What are your plans after this?"
Lu Xue asked in return, "What plans?"
She didn't understand what Mu Yuze meant. Mu Yuze sighed softly and made his question clearer.
"What are your plans after the art exhibition?"
Lu Xue thought for a moment and answered honestly, "I haven't decided yet. I should probably create some new works, finish that published collection, and attend some promotional events in other places."