Chapter 1469 - 755: Appraisal
Zhou Yun was roasting him in her heart, but of course she couldn’t say it out loud.
After all, he was a well-known rich heir here in France; it wouldn’t do to offend him.
But she also didn’t want to have too much contact with William Stanthorpe; after all, they’d only met for the first time last night and there were already rumors swirling—definitely a bad sign.
In her mind, Zhou Yun had already drawn a big X over William Stanthorpe, yet on the surface she still had to politely chat and laugh with him.
"Do you usually go to exhibitions too?" William Stanthorpe asked.
"I don’t really know much about painting; I only vaguely know about different categories like Impressionism and Modernism, but if you want me to actually say anything meaningful, that’d be hard," Zhou Yun said frankly.
No sooner had Zhou Yun finished than Gilan Stuer immediately said, "William, I’ve already told you, those actresses from China don’t have much knowledge; they’re very vulgar and completely clueless about art."
Zhou Yun was instantly furious.
But William Stanthorpe didn’t seem inclined to deny it.
So—
William Stanthorpe agreed with what Gilan Stuer said?
Zhou Yun sneered inwardly.
She said, "I am me, and other people are other people. You’ve met a few Chinese actresses and that’s enough for you to declare that Chinese actresses are utterly clueless about art? Do you really know that much? Do you know Qi Baishi or Chinese landscape painting? Do you know the Qingming River Painting?"
Gilan Stuer said, "What are all those? I’ve never even heard of them."
"Just because you’ve never heard of them doesn’t mean they don’t exist. You don’t even know China’s greatest painters and works, yet you dare to stand here and spout off that Chinese actresses are clueless about art. What exactly do you know? Ignorant."
Being so rudely and head-on mocked by Zhou Yun, Gilan Stuer was so angry her face practically turned green.
"Those are just painters and paintings from your country; why should I have to know them?"
"Then the so-called art you’re talking about is nothing more than Western art; why should I have to know it?" Zhou Yun shot her own words right back at her, "If you’re ignorant, just calmly admit your ignorance. Humility is a virtue."
The two of them were at each other’s throats.
William Stanthorpe just smiled the whole time, as if he were watching a comedy.
Zhou Yun calmed down.
There was no point arguing back and forth with Gilan Stuer here; even if she came out on top, so what?
Besides, there was still an unknown-factor William Stanthorpe standing here watching the show.
Zhou Yun took a deep breath and stopped looking at Gilan Stuer’s enraged, greenish face. She said to Wen Xi, "Let’s go over there first."
This clearly meant she wanted to split off from William Stanthorpe and the other two.
Only then did William Stanthorpe say, "Shall we go together?"
Zhou Yun declined tactfully: "Too many people draw attention. Let’s enjoy it separately."
Gilan Stuer rolled her eyes at Zhou Yun and said to William Stanthorpe, "William, why do you want to walk around with them? Didn’t you promise me you’d spend the whole afternoon with just me?"
Seeing this, Zhou Yun shot Wen Xi a look; the two of them didn’t say anything more and turned to leave.
Trouble was trouble; if it couldn’t be resolved immediately, it was better to avoid it as soon as possible.
William Stanthorpe watched the backs of Zhou Yun and Wen Xi, lost in thought.
Seeing that nothing she said was getting into William Stanthorpe’s ears, Gilan Stuer’s face showed her displeasure.
She gave a little snort, apparently no longer interested in coaxing William Stanthorpe, and turned off in another direction.
William Stanthorpe didn’t take Gilan Stuer’s fit of anger to heart at all.
From start to finish, it was Gilan Stuer clinging to him.
Of course, she was a stunning beauty; when she clung to him, he was happy enough to accept it when he had nothing better to do—but now things were different.
His gaze once again lingered on the already distant figure of Zhou Yun.
Zhou Yun was a very beautiful woman.
And she was also a widely renowned actress who had been nominated for Best Actress at the Golden Ball.
William Stanthorpe was actually a bit full of himself.
A man from a big family like him is either a wastrel or a textbook product of elite education.
William Stanthorpe was the latter, and those of the latter type tended to hope that a woman had brains and wit to go with her beauty.
In his eyes, Gilan Stuer was just a very shallow pretty woman, no different from all those other women constantly vying for his attention.
The only difference was that she was more beautiful, more seductive, and more famous.
William Stanthorpe knew some basic facts about Zhou Yun; he also knew she wasn’t single, that she already had a boyfriend, and that her boyfriend was also a very famous actor in China.
However, William Stanthorpe carried that same aristocratic disdain toward the acting profession that many from wealthy noble families had.
In their presence, everyone else seemed to lack a certain depth.
But he also knew that a woman like Zhou Yun was actually harder to pursue.
She lacked nothing.
Of course, this didn’t make him feel that the situation was particularly difficult.
Right now, William Stanthorpe was just somewhat interested in Zhou Yun—in this Chinese actress he had a bit of curiosity, a desire to get to know her better.
Especially because when she saw him today, her first reaction was actually to avoid him; that stirred up his desire to conquer.
...
"William Stanthorpe has already taken on the responsibility for the jewellery design side of his family’s business, and his reputation in the industry is pretty high. He’s very capable, and under him their family’s jewellery design arm has produced some fresh new things. Even Meryl wore their new earrings when she attended the Oscars last year."
Wen Xi was introducing him to Zhou Yun.
"So don’t be fooled by how he’s been hanging around with Gilan Stuer these last couple of days; he’s actually a very competent rich heir," Wen Xi said. "That’s why Gilan Stuer keeps hanging on to him. Lots of women want to nail him down."
Zhou Yun said, "A golden bachelor—those have always been popular, ancient or modern, at home or abroad. Mr. Darcy was the same, wasn’t he?"
Wen Xi laughed.
"Yeah. What I’m trying to say is, I think William Stanthorpe has a pretty good impression of you—it’s not the way he treats other women," Wen Xi said. "You haven’t seen how he treats other people. If you ask me, when he’s seen you these past two days, he’s even shown a few unofficial smiles. That’s rare."
"What’s so rare about that? It’s not like I’m going to date him," Zhou Yun said. "Never mind that I already have Song Chi—even if I were single right now, I wouldn’t be interested in that kind of man. Don’t be fooled by his smile and gentlemanly manners. In reality he sees everyone around him as beneath him, thinks far too highly of himself—your typical so-called elite."
Wen Xi looked at Zhou Yun in some surprise; she hadn’t expected Zhou Yun to have that kind of assessment of William Stanthorpe.