Chapter 776: Not Like

Chapter 776: Not Like

“Lin Nuo? Boss, are you sure about this?”

“Absolutely, no doubt about it.”

The owner of the art shop said this with great confidence. In this area, his paintings were the best, the most authentic, with no fakes in sight.

Of course, he had memorized Lin Nuo’s true appearance and painted it directly. There was no way it could be a fake!

“You’re lying!”

Ling Meng shouted angrily, ripping the painting apart right then and there.

The owner of the art shop stood there dumbfounded. This young girl, though dressed plainly, was quite beautiful, and her demeanor didn’t seem like that of a rude person.

Yet reality had surprised him.

How unreasonable! He really hadn’t lied; that was indeed Lin Nuo’s portrait! What was she complaining about??

Even if it wasn’t Lin Nuo’s portrait, she hadn’t bought it, so it couldn’t be called lying!

Seriously, could this girl be Lin Nuo’s fangirl? Perhaps she had really high standards for Lin Nuo’s portrait and couldn’t tolerate even a small mistake?

This seemed overboard. There would certainly be some discrepancies between a painting and reality; wanting it to be exactly the same was simply impossible.

This girl was too obsessed!

“Miss, what’s the meaning of this? I know you admire the great hero Lin, and you hope to buy a painting that closely resembles him. If you’re not satisfied with this one, you can check out others; tearing the painting is unreasonable!”

“There are others?”

Ling Meng, still angry, flared up even more. “Other paintings? That’s outrageous! And you think I admire Lin Nuo? That’s absurd! It’s slander against me and my Master!”

I, Ling Meng, admire only my Master, Wu Ying Ge! How could I possibly admire that hero??

To have Lin Nuo’s portrait painted in the likeness of my Master was already a grave sin. To slander my admiration for my Master added insult to injury!

I genuinely considered burning down this art shop, annihilating every portrait, and even roasting the owner!

Realizing something was off, Lin Nuo rushed over to stop Ling Meng.

“What’s going on? Why did you tear the shopkeeper’s painting?”

“Senior Brother, this shop claims to have Lin Nuo’s portrait, but when I looked, the product didn’t match the promise. It’s ridiculous!”

“It’s ridiculous? So what? Why did you have to tear his painting?”

Of course it was ridiculous! This scammer probably just slapped together some portraits, claiming they were Lin Nuo’s real ones to make money. He knew all too well how that worked.

Maybe the painting really was bad, but Ling Meng found it hard to believe, especially with the rumors of Lin Nuo being charming and handsome; it was normal for the artist to miss that vibe.

“Not true. Look, he has another one right there, take a look.”

Ling Meng spotted a portrait nearly identical to the previous one and immediately pointed it out to Lin Nuo.

Lin Nuo took a glance and thought, “What the heck? This is absurd!”

This was not just a poor-quality portrait; it was an incredibly faithful rendition, capturing his likeness perfectly!

If it weren’t for his disguise, one could recognize him right away!

Absurd, truly absurd.

But I must admit, the painting looked handsome; I really wanted to buy a few for my collection.

However, it would be inappropriate to buy one on the spot.

No good, if this portrait made Ling Meng believe it was real, his hidden identity would be exposed.

Honestly, this situation was complex; if he got exposed, it would be hard to explain.

Best to go along with it and disguise the truth.

“Look! Isn’t this ridiculous? This is not Lin Nuo’s portrait at all! This is too much! How can they paint it like this? Senior Brother, this is slandering you!”

“Yes, I think it’s very excessive; it’s definitely not Lin Nuo’s portrait.”

Lin Nuo rubbed his chin, seemingly deep in thought, and agreed with Ling Meng.

But the owner wouldn’t back down and argued:

“Both of you, don’t slander me! Everyone around knows my paintings are the closest to the real Lin! If you don’t want to buy, fine, but don’t defame me! If you don’t compensate, I’ll have to report you!”

“It’s not that your painting isn’t good; it’s just that it’s not appropriate. Let’s do this: I’ll buy them all.”

Lin Nuo said earnestly, but Ling Meng panicked. “How could we buy this painting? Just tear it up!”

They were out on covert business; causing a scene would attract too much attention and definitely lead to trouble.

So, whatever could be resolved privately, should be resolved quietly.

“Senior Brother, how could you…”

“I’ll buy it, and then I’ll tear it up. Don’t worry; we’ll obey the law and not act recklessly.”

He even admired himself a bit for spouting such words as a great villain.

Obeying the law? That would surely have the dog from the neighboring village laughing!

As soon as he mentioned buying it, the owner’s expression brightened. As long as there was money to be made, everything was negotiable. Since you bought it, you could tear it apart as you wish.

But these paintings were expensive, and with so many on the spot, the total was quite a lot. Lin Nuo didn’t have that much cash on hand at the moment.

Damn it! This doggone owner is profiting off my handsome face without even letting me have a say in it, and he’s trying to charge me this high price?

Seriously, what a nerve!

But mainly because he didn’t have enough money, Lin Nuo was now thinking of tearing these paintings and running away.

“Young Master, please pay up!”

The owner squinted and smiled cheerfully, while Lin Nuo was clenching his fists, wanting to punch him and then rip everything apart while making a run for it.

Just then, a poised and elegant young lady stepped in.

The owner, upon seeing her, instantly changed from squinting with a smile to grinning like an idiot, rushing to attend to her.

“Oh, it’s the illustrious Liu Young Lady! Liu Young Lady, what a surprise! I sincerely apologize for not welcoming you properly. Please, please, have a seat!”

The owner hurriedly prepared tea and pastries, attending to her as if she were the elite of the elite.

“Liu Young Lady, no need for such courtesy. I heard there are portraits of my junior brother Lin Nuo here, so I came to take a look.”

Liu Shuqin entered with a smile, exuding elegance and class, every detail showcasing her noble aura.

However, just as she turned her head, she made eye contact with Lin Nuo and froze for a moment.

What a small world! Meeting again!

But this time, it wasn’t just Lin Nuo; there was also someone else beside him.

It was someone she had met before—this girl named Wu Dong Mian, Lin Nuo’s disciple.

What could this junior brother be up to this time?

Lin Nuo was taken aback. Couldn’t this happen at a worse time?

The key issue was that this woman could recognize him!

That was awkward! Just when he insisted it wasn’t his portrait, someone who could recognize him popped up?

Was the universe trying to make him explode right here?

As Lin Nuo thought about making a run for it, Liu Shuqin spoke up:

“Wu Young Master, Wu Young Lady, what a coincidence! It’s been a while. I hope you both have been well?”

“Mm?”

Has Liu Shuqin not revealed my name?

What’s going on?

“Oh, Liu Young Lady! Long time no see.”

Lin Nuo responded smoothly, playing along.

The owner, seeing Liu Shuqin, quickly asked:

“Liu Young Lady, you’ve come at the right time! They say my painting doesn’t look like the great hero Lin. You are the senior sister of the great hero, so please take a look and tell us, does it look like him?”

The owner handed the painting to Liu Shuqin. After she took a look, she confirmed that it was indeed a portrait of Lin Nuo, skillfully painted.

But she knew what to do. Since Lin Nuo had denied it, she couldn’t blow his cover.

“Not like.”

Liu Shuqin uttered two words.

—

Belated blessings: May everyone’s wishes come true in 2022!