“That’s true. You’ve been busy with the mid-term exams recently, haven’t you?”

Yu Pingchuan was at the Xijing Academy of Fine Arts. Although he was on a different campus from Shen Li, he was still aware of her recent mid-term exams.

Mei Yanqing could not help but say,”Ah Li, I don’t think you need to worry too much about the courses that you’re studying now, right?”

When the semester started, she had already obtained full marks for the exemption exams for fourteen courses. He still remembered it clearly.

In any case, she had never been someone that anyone needed to worry about when it came to studying.

Shen Li smiled.

“I took a leave of absence earlier, so I missed some courses. That’s why I’ve been busy.”

She was talking about the week she had attended the fashion week in Bai City.

Mei Yanqing felt a little regretful.

“Originally, I had wanted to help you by holding an art exhibition for you, but you haven’t produced many paintings, and most of them have already been put up for auction…”

Even he had only one of Shen Li’s paintings hidden here.

That was something she had brought along when she had come to the Capital to attend university.

Only then did Shen Li turn around, the corners of her lips curving slightly.

“Thank you, Master, but the art exhibition isn’t that urgent.”

Mei Yan could not help but shake his head when he saw her lazy smile.

“You…”

It was the dream of many painters to be able to hold a personal art exhibition.

With Shen Li’s fame, she could have held one a long time ago.

In the past, when she had been preparing for the college entrance examination, no one had known that she was Tree’s Shadow. That had been fine. Now that she had come to the Capital and her identity had been made public, it would only be natural for her to hold an art exhibition.

In fact, he was not the only one. Many people in the art world were also looking forward to it.

As for the fans of Tree’s Shadow, it went without saying.

“Those paintings of yours were quickly bought the moment they entered the market. However, if they are not displayed and circulated, many people would not have the chance to see them even if they wanted to.”

When Mei Yanqing actually broached this matter in a very delicate manner.

After all, this confirmed the value of Shen Li’s paintings, proving that her paintings were highly appreciated. However, on the other hand, this also caused the vast majority of people to not have the chance to see her paintings with their own eyes.

“I remember that “The Seventeenth Night” is with Lu Huaiyu?”

Shen Li nodded.

Mei Yanqing suddenly snorted.

“I believe there should be more than one painting of yours in his hands, right?”

At that time, after her identity as Tree’s Shadow had been made public, Lu Huaiyu had admitted that he was the one who had bought “The Seventeenth Night.”

Although he had not said it explicitly, Shen Li speculated that he should have more than one painting with him.

However–

Shen Li’s eyes flickered. “I didn’t ask about this in detail.”

When Lu Huaiyu had bid for her painting at a high price, he had not known that she was Tree’s Shadow.

He had genuinely liked her painting. To a certain extent, it seemed to be a kind of subtle fate.

Therefore, Shen Li had not asked about this matter in detail.

“At that time, he got the news from god knows where. When he found out that your “Summer Cicada” was with me, he came to me several times to ask for it.” Mei Yanqing placed his hands behind his back, as if he had already seen through everything, “I definitely wouldn’t believe that he only has one painting of yours.”

This was the first time Shen Li had heard him mention this matter. She was a little surprised.

“Is that so?”

Mei Yanqing had been annoyed by Lu Huaiyu during that period of time. Now, he could not even be bothered to talk about it. He waved his hand.

“Forget it. It’s all in the past anyway. However, if you are going to produce a painting in the future, don’t release it for auction immediately. Save it for the exhibition first. What do you think?”

Yu Pingchuan drained the vegetables that he had washed. He shook off the water droplets on his hand and added, “That’s right. It’s not like you’re not short of money now, are you?”

In the past, Shen Li had been really short of money. Hence, every time a painting came out, it had been sent to the art association for them to bid on it.

Now… He also hoped that Shen Li could hold a proper art exhibition.

“Speaking of which, even I haven’t been able to take a good look at those paintings of yours.” Yu Pingchuan was rather regretful as he mentioned this.

Shen Li thought for a moment and nodded.

“Alright, I’ll consider this matter carefully.”

Although she was not very enthusiastic about holding an art exhibition, her master and senior brother had already said that she should. Furthermore, the art gallery that her third uncle had built for her in Hong Kong City could not be left empty.

Mei Yanqing suddenly thought of something.

“Oh right, Ah Li, when you went to Bai City previously, did you meet with Ronai?”

Shen Li nodded.

Mei Yanqing’s tone was strange.

“I heard that he’s an admirer of yours?”

Ronai was an oil painting master who was on par with Mei Yanqing. The two of them knew each other.

Shen Li replied.

“Mr. Ronai is the president of the Bai City Fashion Association. He has seen several of my previous shows.”

Mei Yanqing said,”If he saw your paintings, he would probably like them even more.”

Shen Li’s expression changed slightly, but she did not say anything.

“But you’re my disciple anyway.” A hint of pride appeared on Mei Yan’s face. He snorted lightly. “Let him be envious!”

Shen Li stayed silent.

…

At the dining table, Yu Pingchuan asked about another matter.

“How’s the progress on the matter of the fake painting in the gallery?”

Shen Li shook her head.

“I only heard that the fake painting once appeared in Leland, but because the store had already been demolished by that time, there was no follow-up.”

Later, she had asked someone to investigate, but they had not found any useful clues.

Mei Yanqing put down his chopsticks, and his expression became more serious.

“This is not as simple as someone copying one of your paintings. One Gallery has collaborated with the art association many times and is also a first-class gallery in this country. Logically speaking, such a mistake should not have happened.”

This was also why he had left this matter for Shen Li to deal with.

It was very likely that there were problems within the art association as well.

Shen Li nodded in agreement.

“You’re right. I’ll urge them to start from other aspects and see if they can find anything.”

Mei Yanqing’s expression relaxed slightly.

Yu Pingchuan changed the topic.

“Ah Li, the Capital Art Center will be holding a traditional Chinese art exhibition in the near future. The works on display are all top-notch traditional Chinese artworks in the country. Would you like to go and see it?”

He remembered that Shen Li’s mother, Gu Tingyin, had studied traditional Chinese art before.

Shen Li was stunned for a moment. She recalled the “Mountain Tea” painting that she had seen at the Art Institute.

She nodded.

Yu Pingchuan smiled.

“Alright, then I’ll give you the tickets later.”

“Thank you, Senior Brother.”

…

The midterm exam results came out very quickly. Shen Li scored full marks in all eleven subjects.

The people at the Institute of Physics were already used to this.

After all, when people received too many hits, their hearts would go numb.

However, it was worth mentioning that this time, the average scores of all the specialized subjects in the institute had reached a new high.

This was especially true for Shen Li’s astronomy major, which directly trampled over the other majors of the same level in atmospheric science and physics, firmly occupying the first place among the five common specialized subjects.

When the counselor, Xia Rui, announced this news in the chat group of the whole grade, Shen Li was having dinner with He Xiaochen in a small restaurant outside the west gate.

He Xiaochen sighed.

“Tsk, is this the mysterious power of the god of learning?”

As she was speaking, her phone suddenly rang.

She took out her phone from her pocket.

Shen Li unintentionally looked at it and her gaze froze.

On He Xiaochen’s phone case, there was a drawing of a cartoon girl.

She had long wavy hair, and she wore a smoky gray shaded dress with a small crown on her head.

She was very cute, very girly.

Very much… like her.