Chapter 117 An Amateur


    After the party, Emily managed to get Queena''s number. She had nned to start hanging out with


    Queena to get closer to her.


    With Yulia''s help, it didn''t take long for Emily to make Queena fall in her trap.


    Queena quickly changed her clothes after lunch and headed downstairs. She saw that Melinda was


    sitting in the living room, reading a book.


    "Mrs. Lin ising here today. I''m leaving now because I''ve got important work to do. Make her feel at


    home and don''t cause any trouble."


    Although Queena despised Melinda, she couldn''t deny that she was the smartest of them all. However,


    Yulia''s constant mind games made her believe that Melinda was devising cunning ns against her.


    "I know, Mom. Don''t worry, I''ll take care. Have a good time."


    Melinda closed the book and smiled. She wondered why Queena was leaving the house when her


    friend was going to meet her at home but she didn''t dare to ask her.


    Once Queena left, Melinda asked Gavin to tell her about Mrs. Lin, her likes and dislikes. She wanted to


    well-prepared to receive her.


    Emily had invited Queena to an art exhibition that was held by a young, popr painter.


    Yulia had informed Emily about Queena''s love for painting and calligraphy. Therefore, Emily decided to


    bring her here.


    "This young man has done a pretty good job,"


    Queena said, arching an eyebrow in appreciation. She went in circles and inspected all the paintings.


    The paintings were beautiful with hidden meanings that only people who truly loved art could decipher.


    Whereas, in theyman''s eyes, they were just pieces of art with beautiful strokes. Queena could


    understand the meanings and couldn''t take her eyes off the paintings. Emily couldn''t understand


    anything and decided to break the silence.


    "Aunt Queena, I remember that you were good at painting and calligraphy. I used to admire all your


    works. They were out of the world,"


    Emily said, looking at the majestic piece of art before her. It was a painting of a serenendscape. The


    vivid red figure in the corner seemed to lure the attention of the viewers.


    "Oh, I draw pictures and write calligraphy just to pass the time. My work is nothingpared to the


    paintings of this artist,"


    Queena said, shaking her head with disappointment. Emily''s eyes were gleaming with excitement.


    "Well, I don''t know if I''m lucky enough to see your work." She pouted.


    "I''ll ask the driver to pick you up tomorrow. You cane to my house and take a look at my artworks."


    Queena shrugged casually. They strolled across the art gallery before leaving. The next day, Queena


    kept up her promise and arranged the driver to pick Emily up.


    Queena''s paintings were in the drawing-room of the Gu''s mansion. She had always been fond of art


    and calligraphy, and therefore, the walls were covered with her works.


    Although Emily didn''t know much about art, she could tell that Queena wasn''t as good as the painter


    was.


    "Oh my God! Aunt Queena, your paintings are simply fantastic. I can see that you''ve paid attention to


    every stroke. They are very realistic and when I look at the paintings, I feel like I''m in these picturesque


    ces, admiring their beauty."


    Emily was an eloquent tterer and Queena fell for her words.


    "Really?"


    she asked, her face beaming with joy. Queena couldn''t believe Emily''s words but she was excited to


    hear someone praise her and recognize her talent.


    "Yes, of course. Although I don''t know much about art, I can still tell whether it''s good or bad, and


    you''ve done a brilliant job."


    Emily smiled. She was afraid that Queena would see through her lies and continued to praise her


    further to gain her trust.


    "Aunt Queena, you need to trust your skills. You''re gifted and I think you should conduct an exhibition,"


    Emily said sincerely. Queena was tempted. She had always wanted to exhibit her artworks but she was


    skeptical about her talent. She felt that she wasn''t good enough and didn''t want to make a fool of


    herself.


    Emily''s words encouraged Queena to reim her passion. Her wavering mind firmly rested on the idea


    of holding an art exhibition.


    At dinner, Queena announced that she was going to conduct an art exhibition. Everyone fell silent and


    looked at her in shock. They didn''t know what to say.


    "You want to hold an art exhibition?"


    N?velDrama.Org content rights.


    Nelson put down his chopsticks and looked at her in confusion. He wondered how she hade up


    with such ame idea.


    "Yes, I want to hold a painting and calligraphy exhibition."


    "Bullshit!"


    Nelson bellowed. Everyone''s eyes widened and Melinda almost choked on her food. Queena''s face


    fell, her cheeks turned red with embarrassment.


    "You''re just an amateur. You''re not talented enough to hold an exhibition. Your painting and calligraphy


    have no artistic value."


    Queena''s face turned pale. Melinda felt sorry for her and opened her mouth to say something but


    Jonas put a shrimp ball into her mouth.


    "Dad, are you telling me that I shouldn''t hold an exhibition?" she croaked.


    "I just want you to understand your potential and not make a fool of yourself. If you''re too bored, take


    care of the family for me instead ofing up with stupid ideas,"


    Nelson said coldly. Queena''s confidence began to crumble but she wasn''t ready topromise.


    "I''m sorry. I''m going to conduct the art exhibition irrespective of what you say."


    Queena was always a stubborn woman. Once she put her mind to something, nothing could change it.


    She was always firm with her decisions and opinions.


    Nelson rolled his eyes and ate dinner in silence. Queena nced at Jonas and Melinda to see their


    response but their ignorance annoyed her even more. She stood up and left without finishing dinner.


    Although Jonas didn''t encourage Queena, he arranged the money to help his mother conduct her art


    exhibition. Melinda wanted to help her but Nelson stopped her.


    Queena was furious. She wanted to sessfully conduct the exhibition and prove that Nelson was


    wrong.


    She was new to all this and had never conducted an exhibition before. Therefore, she hired a nner


    to help her. The paintings were sorted and Queena wanted to pick a good venue and exhibit her works


    in a beautifulyout.


    Her artworks were an assortment of random paintings and calligraphy. Moreover, she couldn''te up


    with a theme for her exhibition. Questions were pouring in but Queena didn''t have the answers to any


    of them.


    "Aunt Queena, why don''t we split the paintings into different themes, so that it looks more


    professional?" Emily suggested as she couldn''t think of a good theme either.


    Queena was perplexed and regretted taking a hasty decision. She immediately agreed to Emily''s


    suggestion as she was ready to do anything to make things better.


    Conducting an art exhibition was not as simple and easy as Queena thought. After a week of hard


    work, all the details of the art exhibition were finalized.


    On the day of the exhibition, Queena went to the venue early in the morning. All the staffs were ready


    to wee the guests but unfortunately, the ce was empty. No one hade to attend the event.


    After a long time, some people entered the gallery but they were here to attend the book exhibition next


    door and had walked in by mistake.


    When Melinda reached the venue, she saw that it was empty. She understood that Nelson was right.


    He had only tried to save her from the disappointment.


    Queena was an amateur and didn''t have a fan base. Moreover, no one was aware of the event as she


    hadn''t promoted it on social media.


    "Mom, I''ve brought lunch. You must have been busy and I think you need to get some rest," Melinda


    said concernedly.


    Melinda was worried that Queena wouldn''t have had the time to have lunch because of her busy


    schedule. But she had overestimated Queena''s talent. Queena looked at Melinda with contempt and


    turned away. She wondered what she was doing here.


    The nner of the exhibition had ordered lunch for the employees. They were having lunch together,


    chatting happily.


    However, as time passed by, everyone began to discuss the failure of the exhibition to attract people.


    "Mom, please eat something. The weather is cold and no one would want to step out in the morning.


    I''m sure people would starting in the afternoon and you''ll have no time to eat then."


    Melindaforted Queena, which made her feel better.


    She felt that Melinda was right. Everyone would starting when it got warmer in the afternoon.


    Melinda was relieved to see the frown disappear from Queena''s face.


    After Queena went to have lunch, Melinda wandered in the gallery, took pictures of herself, and posted


    on Weibo. Her fans were thrilled as they finally got the opportunity to meet her.


    "An art exhibition? Share the venue!"


    "I''m dying to meet you!" Thements started flooding and Melinda patiently replied to all of them.


    She promoted Queena''s exhibition on her website. Kent was also kind enough to help her.


    Melinda knew that she had to be careful. It was Queena''s exhibition and she would lose her mind if she


    saw Melinda''s fans swarming around her.


    Melinda''s fans were enthusiastic. They started visiting the gallery one after another. Melinda felt that it


    wasn''t safe for her to be around and snuck out through the back door.


    After Melinda''s small-scale promotion, Emily decided to copy her idea. She also posted pictures of


    Queena''s paintings on Weibo.


    Despite the cold weather, the art gallery was filled with people. Queena was ecstatic to find that the


    people were stopping by, despite the cold weather. She was curious about the sudden crowd, so she


    asked Emily about it. Emily told her that they were her fans and that she had promoted her exhibition.


    Queena was touched by her thoughtful gesture.


    Queena couldn''t keep up with the knowledge of Melinda''s fans. They asked questions about the


    intricacies of her artwork and Queena almost couldn''t answer some of them.


    Most of the fans were sensible and didn''t want to hurt anyone''s feelings by openlymenting on


    Queena''s inefficiency. They shared their doubts and vented their disappointment through personal texts


    to Melinda.


    "It didn''t seem like an art exhibition. It was more like Emily''s meet up with her fans," a fan messaged.


    She also said that Emily''s fans knew nothing about painting and calligraphy but they continued to tter


    Queena.


    "Each one is entitled to their opinion but thank you foring by. I appreciate your support," Melinda


    said.


    "Are you willing to hold an art exhibition? Kent once said that you''re good at calligraphy," the fan said.


    She was excited that her favorite author had replied to her message. She admired Melinda and wanted


    to see her hidden skills and talents.


    "No, I''m just an amateur,"


    Melinda replied. A smile tugged at the corners of her lips when she typed the words.