Chapter 417: Chapter 415: Hou Qi’s Threat
Qin Hao followed Hou Qi’s gaze and looked over. There were a few oil paintings hanging on the wall. They were all imitations of famous artists, and in Qin Hao’s view, the quality of the imitations was even inferior to that of art college students.
The banquet hall was decorated in an ostentatious and vulgar manner, without any sense of beauty. It didn’t belong to any style, just a modern hodgepodge of extremely tacky stuff.
Hou Qi turned his gaze to those oil paintings, then said, “Country bumpkin, do you recognize these oil paintings?”
Qin Hao glanced disdainfully and then said, “Sorry, I don’t recognize them. These things that are not worth ten bucks on the street, I really don’t recognize them.”
Hou Qi’s face changed immediately upon hearing this. He sneered coldly and said, “Arrogant! What are you putting on airs here for?”
“Not recognizing is not recognizing. Be honest as a person. After all, you’re just a little white-collar worker who trades life for money. It’s normal not to know about high art like oil paintings!”
Qin Hao coldly chuckled at his words and then said, “Oh? If that’s the case, then please go ahead and introduce them to me.”
Upon hearing this, Hou Qi’s face showed a proud expression, and he said, “Heh heh, that’s the attitude someone like you should take.”
As he spoke, he pointed with his finger, “This one, Van Gogh’s The Starry Night. Even a small corner of this painting is worth more than you can afford.”
“This one, Van Gogh’s Sunflowers!”
“This one, Van Gogh’s Self-Portrait.”
He pointed to each one, and Qin Hao’s smirk grew wider.
Then he pointed to another one, paused, and said, “This one is also by Van Gogh. And this one, they’re all works of the famous painter, Mr. Van Gogh. Have you seen them?”
Qin Hao responded immediately, “Heh heh, indeed I haven’t seen them. But Mr. Hou Qi, what are the names of those two you pointed out just now?”
Hou Qi was momentarily stunned upon hearing this, but after a moment of thinking, he realized he didn’t know their names either. So he said coldly, “Humph! You country bumpkin, even if I told you, what good would it do? With your status, you’d never reach this level of high art in your lifetime!”
“Know your place. I’m not here to school you but to show you just how vast the gap is between you, Xiaomeng, and me!”
As he spoke, his expression grew even colder, but Qin Hao just sighed lightly and slowly walked beneath those oil paintings, examining them as he continued, “You’re right, the gap between you and me is indeed measured in light-years.”
“Several clumsy imitations, except for content copied directly from Van Gogh’s works, how else do they deserve to use the master’s name?”
Qin Hao mocked and then pointed to the painting Hou Qi hadn’t named before, saying, “This is a Monet’s work. Although the imitation is average, the brushstrokes do catch some of Monet’s play of light and shadow.”
“And this one is by a Russian painter. Traditional rural themes. Russian artists hold a pivotal position in the history of oil painting development.”
As Qin Hao spoke, he pointed to the endless waves of wheat in the painting and a few poplar trees nearby, then casually continued to critique, “This imitation, the proportion of distance is quite accurate.”
Hou Qi was stunned with his mouth agape, never expecting a country bumpkin like Qin Hao to have such a deep understanding of an art form like oil painting. He felt embarrassed.
But Qin Hao just smiled slightly and said, “With people like you, I really don’t have much to say. What qualifications do you have to discuss high art with me? Aside from money, what else can fit in your brain?”
As he spoke, he glanced around the banquet hall and then said, “If you came today just to show me such an awfully tacky place, I’ve seen it, and I’ve also seen the gap between us. Someone like you doesn’t even deserve to hold a candle for me. So, if there’s nothing else, I won’t accompany you.”
“After all, staying in such a place even for a second more feels like an insult to my status.”
Having said that, he was ready to turn around and leave directly. But Hou Qi’s face turned sinister as he shouted coldly, “Stay where you are!”
As his words fell, two bodyguards at the door immediately blocked the entrance, staring at Qin Hao with unfriendly looks, ready to take action at any moment.
Qin Hao frowned slightly and then turned back around.
Hou Qi gave him a cold smile and said, “Humph! Thinking you can just leave so easily, you’re too naive.”
Seeing his arrogant look, Qin Hao found it amusing. Ignorance truly is the funniest thing in the world.
He raised an eyebrow and said, “Oh? What do you want then?”
Hou Qi slowly stepped in front of Qin Hao and said:
“Very simple, first. Yu Qianqian is my woman, and you dared to disrespect her, so naturally, I want to slap your face hard!”
“Today, kneel down and apologize to me, and I’ll let this matter go. But the second thing is more important.”
Qin Hao was momentarily stunned and then realized.
So, Yu Qianqian was actually Hou Qi’s girlfriend today. What a narrow-minded woman, holding a grudge over such a small matter?
Qin Hao was pondering this when Hou Qi continued, “I want you to call Zhao Mengke now. I’ve painstakingly prepared a candlelight dinner for Xiaomeng and me to enjoy together.”
Qin Hao immediately laughed mockingly and said, “Heh, alright. Since you want to invite her to a candlelight dinner, just invite her yourself. Don’t have her number? I can give it to you.”
Hou Qi’s face darkened immediately. If he could invite Zhao Mengke, he would have sent someone already. Precisely because he couldn’t, he wanted Qin Hao to call her.
But saying this made it extremely awkward. He waved his hand roughly and said, “Enough nonsense! If I say call, you call!”
As he spoke, the two bodyguards approached menacingly, surrounding Qin Hao.
Hou Qi sneered and continued, “Hurry up and call! If you don’t call today, I will hit you!”
As he spoke, Hou Qi felt pleased. As long as Qin Hao called Zhao Mengke over today, he believed that after a romantic candlelight dinner, the drug he’d secretly put in the wine would turn Zhao Mengke from a pure Jade Maiden into someone wild, climbing into his bed by night.
He sneered in his heart, pressing Qin Hao with an even more severe look.
Seeing this, Qin Hao sneered and laughed, saying, “For being so cocky, why don’t you call your girlfriend Yu Qianqian and tell her you’re inviting the goddess you’ve been pursuing to a candlelight dinner?”
“I find you two really well-matched. Your girlfriend Yu Qianqian wanted to invite me to dinner before, and now you want to invite my woman to a candlelight dinner. Quite amusing!”
Hearing the mockery in Qin Hao’s tone, Hou Qi said furiously, “Shut up! Hurry up and call!”
Looking at him like this, Qin Hao sighed softly.
Hou Qi was momentarily delighted, thinking he was going to compromise, but he didn’t expect Qin Hao to speak.
“I’ve been living leisurely these days, not in the mood to take action. But today, since you keep pushing, I’ll have to satisfy you.”
As he finished, the two bodyguards’ expressions changed. They reacted quickly and prepared to move forward to subdue him.
However, Qin Hao leisurely extended his hand, directly grabbed the necks of the two bodyguards, and forcefully knocked them together.
Bam!
A heavy sound echoed, and the two men instantly crashed their heads together, blacking out and collapsing softly to the ground.
Immediately after, Qin Hao gently rubbed his fist and slowly walked towards Hou Qi.
Hou Qi stood there dumbfounded. These two bodyguards were both retired special forces soldiers. He had seen their skills with his own eyes. Stacking five bricks on top of each other, they could chop them off with one palm.
Yet, these formidable bodyguards appeared like sitting ducks to Qin Hao, knocked out effortlessly as if they were nothing.