Fringe artists in the entertainment industry

Chapter 206 204. Everyone has their own agenda

The black car was driving on the streets of Paris. Even though he had seen these scenes, Li Dabai still lay on the car window and looked out.

This time I visited two places in Paris for three days, but Li Dabai never fully appreciated the scenery here.

After watching for a while, Li Dabai turned to look at Chen Li'an and asked: "Teacher Chen, can I go shopping by myself?"

"Okay." Chen Li'an opened his eyes, and then said to the driver in front of him: "Leon, can you help me find a Chinese student in Paris to be a guide?"

Leon is Ji Fa's exclusive driver, and he has been delivering Chen Li'an directly for the past two days. After hearing Chen Li'an's words, he immediately said: "No problem, when will you need it?"

"Just today."

"OK."

After Chen Li'an communicated with Leon, he said to Li Dabai: "I asked Leon to help find a Chinese student to be your guide. You can go and play by yourself in the afternoon. Don't forget to book a flight."

"Really? There is also a guide?" Li Dabai immediately said happily to Chen Li'an: "Thank you, Teacher Chen, you are so considerate!"

After the driver sent Chen Li'an and Li Dabai to the villa, they immediately went to find the international students.

Li Dabai was calculating his savings and planning how to spend them later. He would definitely bring some gifts to his family when he went abroad.

It was already past one in the afternoon. Chen Li'an took a rest, made a pot of tea and sat in the living room waiting for Ji Fayue's reporter to come over. There was an exclusive interview in the afternoon.

Li Dabai, who had packed up and was about to go out, looked at Chen Li'an hypocritically and asked: "Teacher Chen, you have to be interviewed in the afternoon, wouldn't it be bad if I went out to play?"

"Okay, then don't go out." Chen Li'an raised his eyelids and looked at Li Dabai and said.

Li Dabai's face suddenly fell. He took Chen Li'an's arm and blinked at him, looking pitiful.

"Okay, go quickly. Pack your wallet and don't lose it. If you need anything, call me." Chen Li'an waved his hand angrily.

"Thank you, Teacher Chen!"

After Li Dabai finished speaking, he ran out quickly. Seeing her excited look, Chen Li'an couldn't help but laugh, she was just a child.

Not long after Li Dabai went out, reporters arrived.

The interview ended more than two hours later. Chen Li'an sent the reporter out and breathed a sigh of relief. After drinking a cup of tea, he went to change clothes.

The cocktail party is a more formal social occasion. Dressing too casually will be considered disrespectful. After changing into formal clothes again, Chen Li'an adjusted the scarf on his chest and looked at himself in the mirror. He felt that he might be suitable for playing a nobleman.

However, there are too many aristocrats in China. They are all over the streets. Whose ancestors are not aristocrats several generations ago?

The most important thing is that Chinese nobles do not wear suits. These days, those who wear suits in China are either bosses or business people.

After Chen Li'an tidied up his image, he went out to pick up Liu Xiaoli.

It was still early, so Chen Li'an set out so early because he was worried that Liu Xiaoli didn't bring a suitable dress, so he could buy one while it was still early.

If Li Dabai knew about it, he would definitely secretly say that Teacher Chen was too proactive! There is something wrong with you, I want to report it to the Queen!

Chen Li'an's feelings towards Liu Xiaoli are a little complicated. He is a little proactive, not entirely because he wants to raise a good-looking person, but mainly because he wants to experience the joy of being a godfather.

Anyway, they both have the surname Chen, so there’s no difference.

Of course, this is just a joke. Godfather and other things are not important. It is just to make people look good and dance.

Just making friends, keep it simple! Don’t have so many purposes!

The car quickly arrived at the place where Liu Xiaoli was dropped off last time. At this time, Chen Li'an took a closer look at the apartment. It seemed to be an apartment affiliated with the university.

Chen Li'an rolled down the window and took a closer look before taking out his cell phone and dialing Liu Xiaoli.

After a while, Liu Xiaoli came out of the building next to the apartment. When Chen Li'an saw it, he asked the driver to drive forward.

After the car stopped in front of Liu Xiaoli, Liu Xiaoli took the initiative to open the door and get in, without giving Chen Li'an a chance to show his gentlemanly demeanor.

After Liu Xiaoli sat down and closed the car door, Chen Li'an looked at her still gentle and charming appearance without makeup, and said with a smile: "You are very beautiful today. You must have encountered something happy, right?"

Liu Xiaoli smiled, pulled her hair, looked at Chen Li'an and said, "Guess."

"Well" Chen Li'an touched his chin and pretended to think for a while and said: "Either you settled the divorce, or it was because you were dating me at night. Although the first one is more likely, I prefer to believe it is the second one. Reason, which one is it?"

Liu Xiaoli looked at Chen Li'an's slightly aggressive eyes and pursed her lips slightly. She felt that Chen Li'an was very cunning and good at attacking, so she went around and asked the question to herself again.

However, the eldest sister’s experience is not something that can be overshadowed by just a few words. She chuckled and said, “Trust your intuition.”

Hearing Liu Xiaoli's words, Chen Li'an smiled. My sister is really good at pulling things off. But since she didn't object to Chen Li'an's second guess, it was enough. The key information was already obtained.

If you don't object, you are acquiescing to Chen Li'an's temptation. If you have a good impression, you can go further even if it is not natural.

Soon the car arrived at a luxury dress shop on the Champs Elysées. Chen Li'an's eyes suddenly lit up when he saw Liu Xiaoli who had just changed into a dress.

She is dignified and elegant with the style of a mature woman, and her slim-fitting dress sets off her graceful figure very well.

"It's so beautiful." Chen Li'an admired sincerely.

Liu Xiaoli stood in front of the mirror and turned around, looking at Chen Li'an with a bright smile and said, "Really?"

"Of course, I never lie about beauty." Chen Li'an walked up to Liu Xiaoli, looked into her eyes and said, "This is the ethics of an artist."

Liu Xiaoli covered her mouth and chuckled, her beautiful eyes flashing, she turned her head slightly and looked at Chen Li'an and said, "Are you artists so good at talking?"

"I don't know if others are like this, but I always speak out and heartily when faced with good things."

Liu Xiaoli's smiling eyes were curved, and the corners of her mouth were obviously curved. Her praise for Chen Li'an was very useful.

After coming out of the dress shop, Chen Li'an put Liu Xiaoli in the car and suddenly said: "Wait for me here, I forgot something."

After saying that, Chen Li'an gently closed the car door and disappeared into the crowd. Liu Xiaoli watched the passers-by through the car window and guessed that Chen Li'an had forgotten something.

More than ten minutes later, Chen Li'an came back empty-handed. After sitting back in the car, Liu Xiaoli asked curiously: "What did you forget?"

Chen Li'an looked at Liu Xiaoli and smiled, raised his hand and opened it gently in front of her, and a sparkling diamond necklace hung down.

Looking at the necklace in front of her, Liu Xiaoli's eyes lit up and she looked at Chen Li'an in surprise.

"I think you are missing a necklace. Do you want to try it?" Chen Li'an gently shook his palm, and the diamond necklace also swayed, and the crystal diamonds exuded dazzling light.

Liu Xiaoli looked at Chen Li'an's serious look, pursed her lips and hesitated for a moment before nodding lightly.

Chen Li'an raised his eyebrows slightly, then approached Liu Xiaoli with the necklace and said, "I'll put it on for you."

"Yes." Liu Xiaoli leaned forward slightly and cooperated with Chen Li'an.

Chen Li'an looked at Liu Xiaoli's slender swan neck, reached out to brush the hair from her neck, and wrapped his hands behind her to put on the necklace for Liu Xiaoli.

The two of them were so close that they could smell each other's scent. The distance between their cheeks was less than ten centimeters, and they seemed to feel the warmth of each other's bodies when they breathed.

Chen Li'an put it on very slowly, seemingly clumsily. He couldn't get the buckle of the necklace to close with his fingers, and his fingertips inadvertently touched Liu Xiaoli's fair skin several times.

But even so, Liu Xiaoli didn't urge or evade. She seemed to acquiesce in Chen Li'an's "clumsiness" and waited patiently for him to put on the necklace.

After feeling that Liu Xiaoli was not repelled, Chen Li'an smiled slightly, quickly put on the necklace, then sat back, looked at the necklace hanging on her collarbone and said, "It's perfect, it suits you very well."

Liu Xiaoli raised her hand and lightly touched the diamond on her collarbone. She felt a little strange and contradictory in her heart. She came here for a divorce, and it was not officially divorced yet. She always felt an inexplicable sense of betrayal.

It's quite exciting.

At the cocktail party in the evening, when Chen Li'an and Liu Xiaoli arrived, they immediately attracted a lot of attention. Although there are differences in aesthetics between the East and the West, you can conquer both aesthetics after your appearance reaches a certain level.

Liu Xiaoli held Chen Li'an's hand and looked at the appreciative and appreciative glances at the reception. She seemed to be back on the stage again, and her hand holding Chen Li'an's arm tightened slightly.

Tonight's cocktail party was attended by famous artists or businessmen and politicians in Paris, and most of the topics discussed were related to art. Chen Li'an and Liu Xiaoli chatted and laughed with everyone in the crowd, as if they were surrounded by the halo of the protagonist, who would always be the center. .

But the real center of the reception is tonight's host, Bernard Arnault, who invited Chen Li'an to the reception.

A super collector, he is also the owner of Phillips Auction House, the third largest auction house in the world, and the largest auction house in France.

Many people may not know about collectors, but when it comes to LV, everyone should know that the real super rich control almost half of the world's luxury brands.

However, this is a very low-key and calm person, but he is also an enigmatic businessman, but he also really loves art and has a collection of thousands of art pieces.

He had accepted Chen Li'an's previous works. He liked Chen Li'an's works very much, but it was not just a collection. The nature of a businessman could not be erased.

If the artwork is only kept at home, it will lose its meaning and will not fit his character. Chen Li'an's works are still being exhibited and operated in Ji Fa's hands.

All of this is Bernard Arnault's instruction. At the right opportunity, he will put Chen Li'an's works up for auction again and raise the prices through his own auction house.

Bernard Arnault admires Chen Li'an very much and feels that he has the most potential among young artists and is the most worthy of investment. Last year, Chen Li'an won the gold medal at the Venice Art Biennale, which proved his vision.

This is also the reason why he invited Chen Li'an to a cocktail party after he learned that he came to Paris.

If you want an artistic work to be more famous and valuable, you need someone to support it.

Bernard Arnault was happy to be that person because he now owns most of Chen Li'an's artwork.

Even the surreal sculptures created by Chen Li'an this year have been booked by him.

In addition to the oil paintings that Chen Li'an gave away and the installation art that cannot be removed from the capital, all other artworks are in his hands.

At the cocktail party, Bernard Arnault expressed his admiration for Chen Li'an to many people.

He also revealed that he intends to collect Chen Li'an's latest works, but unfortunately they are currently on display in the United States and Chen Li'an has no intention of selling them.

Normally, a young artist would be ecstatic when faced with the recognition of a super-rich super-collector like Bernard Arnault.

But Chen Li'an does not. Bernard Arnault is very rich. His wealth is now thousands of times that of Chen Li'an, but it does not mean that it will always be like this.

Chen Li'an's head was filled with too much knowledge that did not belong to his current situation, and he did not have any awe for the so-called rich people, so he acted very calmly when facing a room full of rich people.

Perhaps it is precisely because of this calmness that these rich people look at him differently.

Although artists are inseparable from the pursuit of capital, who would like an artist who is in awe because of wealth.

The more artists reject capital, the more they will be sought after by capital. Otherwise, how can we express the word art?

But Chen Li'an's calmness made Liu Xiaoli very uneasy, especially after she knew the identities of these people at the reception.

That's the boss of LV Group, the boss of Dior, Givenchy and other luxury goods, a super rich man with a fortune of tens of billions of dollars.

Liu Xiaoli thought of the bags that cost thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars on the Champs Elysées yesterday, and felt that everything that happened tonight was too dreamy.

After the reception, Liu Xiaoli looked at Chen Li'an with a different expression. It was like a Cinderella who suddenly broke into a noble reception and found out that the person dancing with her was a prince.

"What's wrong with you? I feel like you're a little absent-minded. Don't you like this kind of occasion?" Chen Li'an looked at Liu Xiaoli who was in a daze and said with a smile: "You are the same as my partner. She also doesn't like this kind of occasion. She thinks they are too tacky."

Liu Xiaoli turned her head and looked at Chen Li'an for a while before saying, "What about you, do you like this kind of occasion?"

"It's okay, but if you participate too much, it will become boring." Chen Li'an pulled off his tie and said, "It's like wearing a tie for a long time and it will feel boring."

Liu Xiaoli: "..."

Not knowing what was going on, Liu Xiaoli looked at Chen Li'an's indifferent expression and didn't know what to say. After a while, she asked, "Are your works valuable now?"

Chen Li'an touched his chin and said, "Probably. It depends on how much the next auction will bring. Last year's auction only fetched about two million US dollars."

In the quiet car, Liu Xiaoli no longer knew what to say. You know that a rich man is worth tens of billions of dollars. You may think it doesn't matter. It has nothing to do with you anyway.

But you know your friend, when a piece of work can sell for millions of dollars, you can't calm down.

Because this is the person around you, the person you know, or the man who may be interested in you.

Regardless of whether she was envious or shocked, it was difficult for Liu Xiaoli to calm down now.

The car fell into silence. Chen Li'an was a little tipsy and did not speak with his eyes closed. He just put his palm on the seat and unconsciously touched Liu Xiaoli's little hand.

Liu Xiaoli glanced down, then turned to look at Chen Li'an who was resting with his eyes closed, and touched Chen Li'an's fingers slightly with her little hand.

Chen Li'an subconsciously hooked his fingers and slid them in Liu Xiaoli's palm.

A numb feeling made Liu Xiaoli's palms curl up just enough to hold Chen Li'an's fingers.

Chen Li'an, who had his eyes closed, had a faint smile on his lips. Liu Xiaoli, who pretended that nothing happened, turned her head and looked at the scenery outside the car window, with a glimmer of light in her eyes.

The two people, who had different thoughts, had a tacit understanding and never separated their hands, and a faint charm came quietly...