CHAPTER 313: CHAPTER 305: PORTRAIT OF A LADY

He Xuewen had already settled his family into a villa on Huashan Road. The He Mansion had been left unoccupied because Sisi said it was too large, and he specifically hired an old man to look after it and clean, though of course he himself would also visit every now and then to add some vitality to the house.

On a signboard that He Xuewen hung outside the villa on Huashan Road was inscribed ’Sisi Garden’, which clearly revealed the depth of He Xuewen’s affection for his daughter.

Sisi Garden is a two-story Western-style building with an attic. It has European-style architecture and gardens both in the front and the back, with a total area of over a thousand square meters. The surrounding environment is also very beautiful and much to Sisi’s liking.

The He Family had returned their other villas one after another; of course, this was with Mr. Yun’s help behind the scenes. Sisi knew that before her arrival in her previous life, there were still many garden houses in Shanghai that had not been returned to their owners!

Calculating this way, the He Family had about ten villas in Shanghai, and just the He Mansion alone was worth several ordinary villas!

He Xuewen had all these villas nicely restored. A few of them were tarnished due to the previous owners’ lack of care, with walls and floors stained, some windows and doors broken, and even some door panels stripped, which broke He Xuewen’s heart—these were all his family’s heritage!

Hu Weiwen and his brothers, along with Liu Qiqi, also followed to the villa. Liu Qiqi said she wanted to familiarize herself with the route, so next time she could ride her bike over to play with Sisi.

Having already experienced the luxury of the He Mansion, Hu Weiwen and the others were not too surprised by the exquisitely beautiful ’Sisi Garden’. However, Tian Shouhua and Mo Xiaomi were both shocked. Grandpa always said at home that Xinhua had gained a huge advantage, but now it seems it was not just a huge advantage—it was like striking a gold mine!

Although Zhong Anping and Zhuge Yun managed to keep a calm demeanor, they were already overwhelmingly affected on the inside. It seemed that the He Family was not an ordinary one indeed!

Mo Liu, however, didn’t show much reaction, just taking a quick glance at the living room before saying to Sisi, "Sisi, your living room is lacking some paintings, how about I paint a few?"

"Sure, should I change my outfit?" Sisi looked at her light green dress, dissatisfied. After sitting on a train for dozens of hours, the dress had become somewhat wrinkled.

"There’s no need."

He Xuewen did not recognize Mo Liu, but he felt that this boy was excessively handsome, almost as if he were on par with Ah Nan if he were a girl.

Moreover, with the surname Mo, being from Guangzhou, and also skilled at painting, He Xuewen understood that this handsome schoolmate of Ah Nan must be from the Mo Family.

The Mo Family was not an ordinary one. Although most of the family had moved abroad, they were still thriving. To his knowledge, Mou Ming’s several cousins had now become renowned industrialists!

It seemed the Old Man was right; Ah Nan indeed had deep-seated fortune, even a casually made friend had an extraordinary background!

At this moment, Mo Liu was already practicing calligraphy at the table. Now, Mo Liu condensed his breath and focused, displaying the demeanor of a master, entirely different from his usual shyness.

Mo Liu painted swiftly, with a few strokes, he roughly outlined a young girl, and with a few more strokes, a girl admiring flowers in the Plum Forest came vividly to life on the paper. Her skirt fluttered, and she had a sweet, charming smile—it was the beautiful Sisi.

It turned out that Mo Liu was especially adept at painting portraits of ladies and had even developed his own style. Despite his young age, he had already gained quite a reputation in China’s art world. His grandfather, Mou Ming, once publicly stated, "In painting chickens, I am not as good as Mori; in painting fish, not as good as Mo Yue; and in painting beauties, I am far inferior to Mo Liu!"

From this, one could see just how much Mou Ming esteemed his grandson’s lady portraits!

"So beautiful! Mo Liu, I had no idea you were such a hidden master!"

Except for Sisi, everyone was seeing Mo Liu paint for the first time, and all were marveling in amazement.

At this moment, Mo Liu had already painted several different images of Sisi: Sisi admiring flowers in the Plum Forest, Sisi on a boat trip on the river, Sisi playing the zither... all of them exquisitely beautiful.

"Mo Liu, will you paint one for me too? Please?" Qiqi, itching with envy, begged Mo Liu.

"No, I’m not feeling it!"

Mo Liu answered frankly. He only paints true beauties, and girls like Liu Qiqi, who could only be considered pretty, simply do not catch the eye of this esteemed gentleman.

Hahaha! Everyone laughed heartily, with Hu Weiwen even whistling, "Qiqi, do you even know what a beauty is? We’re talking about knockouts that would make fishes sink and geese fall, flowers blush and the moon shy away; you only qualify as so-so!"

Liu Qiqi, infuriated, stared at Mo Liu with eyes red with rage, her murderous intent practically dripping; Mo Liu, terrified, hid behind Sisi while muttering under his breath, "I really don’t feel it, how can I paint without feeling it!"

Liu Qiqi’s murderous gaze had turned into swords, ready to pierce Mo Liu with several bloody holes at any moment.

Sigh, this rascal Mo Liu has learned all of Shangguan’s blunt traits! Sisi sighed.

"Sister Qiqi, I’ll draw for you instead, and I can draw even better than Mo Liu!" Sisi consoled Qiqi.

Liu Qiqi, knowing what kind of person Mo Liu was, let go of her anger eventually. Now with Sisi offering her a way out, she took advantage of the situation to save face. But this meant, Mo Liu, the troublemaker, had just made an enemy out of Qiqi, who would make him suffer a lot in the future.

In the afternoon, Tian Mantong came to pick up Tian Shouhua and the two others. Sisi asked her uncle to tell her father that she would go home after returning from Guangzhou, so her father no longer had to wait for her at the village entrance every day.

The next day, Sisi and Mo Liu boarded the train to Guangzhou together, still accompanied by He Xuewen. Looking after one Ah Nan was nerve-wracking enough, and now with another beauty like Mo Liu, his heart was about to jump out of his throat; he wouldn’t rest easy at night unless he personally escorted them.

Sisi had arranged to meet with Brother Li on July 5th. They arrived in Guangzhou on the 3rd, giving them two days to visit Mo Liu’s family estate and for Mo Liu to show her around the city.

Although Sisi had been mentally prepared before coming, she was still astonished by the grandeur of the Mo Family estate upon entering their gates; it was like a real-life Suzhou garden!

Every five steps there was a pavilion, every ten steps a tower, winding corridors, and high eaves intricately carved; a true representation of the depth and complexity of an ancient noble family’s residence.

"Ah Liu, your home is so big!" After walking quite a while without reaching the drawing room, Sisi exclaimed.

"We’re almost there, just hang in there a little longer, Sisi!" Mo Liu took the gift from Sisi and pulled her hand to continue forward.

On this visit to the Mo Family, He Xuewen did not come along, although he was very interested in cultivating a relationship with the deeply-rooted Mo Family. However, he didn’t want his daughter’s friendship to be mixed with other motives, preferring that Ah Nan make friends in a pure manner.

After passing through eighteen corridor turns, they finally arrived at the main house. In the hall, a fat old man with white hair and beard was smiling at them. There were quite a few people sitting around, men and women, adults and children, as well as youths, all looking on with curious expressions.