The atmosphere in the banquet hall felt like the calm before a storm, with all eyes now focused on Master Zhang and Master Chen. The two antique experts exchanged glances and almost simultaneously shook their heads, their faces filled with humble smiles.
"I'm not very skilled in jade identification, so I'll avoid embarrassing myself in front of everyone," Master Zhang spoke first, his tone carrying a hint of evasion.
"Yes, my experience is limited, and I really can't tell," Master Chen quickly followed suit.
Both men were old hands in the business world, and they knew very well that no one wanted to offend powerful people. Whether they were to declare Maggie Jiang's jade teapot fake or Bella Yang's, they would either anger the wealthy Jiang family or provoke the mysterious Yang family. It wasn't worth the trouble.
However, the guests weren't satisfied with this answer. They began urging the two to step up.
[Oh, this is stressing me out!]
[Hurry up and do something!]
[It's not like you can't tell, you're just stalling!]
Maggie Jiang, maintaining her composed demeanor, took a step forward and offered a polite smile to give them a little push: "Uncle Zhang, Uncle Chen, please don't worry. Even if the jade teapot in my box turns out to be a fake, the Jiang family won't make things difficult for you."
Bella Yang also spoke up confidently: "I feel the same. Both of you, please don't hesitate to make an honest judgment."
But Master Zhang and Master Chen remained unmoved. "Ah, forget it. My eyesight has been declining a lot recently, and such valuable items—it's better not to make a rash judgment."
According to the usual script, these two would make several more excuses, and then when they could no longer refuse, they would reluctantly take a look, likely not able to determine the authenticity. Eventually, someone would suggest bringing in Chase Jiang, who had a reputation for identifying antiques, and the fake jade teapot from Maggie Jiang would be revealed, causing her to be humiliated.
But no one expected the situation to take a sudden turn. Chase Jiang unexpectedly stepped forward! His voice was clear and playful: "Since you can't identify it, let me take a look!"
The guests were all surprised, turning to look at him with confusion. "Sir, who are you? This isn't a joke, is it?"
Chase Jiang smiled, showing a couple of cute little tiger teeth: "I'm Chase Jiang."
"Chase Jiang..." someone in the crowd murmured, suddenly realizing, "Isn't he the one who helped Nathan Su solve a problem last month?"
"That's right, it's me." Chase Jiang nodded in acknowledgment.
At that, the crowd erupted in exclamations. "So it's him!" "Chase Jiang should be able to give it a try!"
Master Zhang and Master Chen, seeing someone else stepping up to "take over," were thrilled and quickly voiced their support: "Everyone knows Chase Jiang's abilities. With him handling it, we can all be at ease. His skills are much better than ours!"
The crowd was discussing fervently, while Maggie Jiang stood frozen.
[This doesn't feel right!]
[This isn't part of the script!]
[Chase Jiang shouldn't even be interested in this! Why is he volunteering now?]
Hearing these thoughts, Chase Jiang couldn't help but smile inwardly. "You're anxious, aren't you? Don't worry, I'll help you out! Big liar, womanizer, let's see what you do now!"
"Well, since everyone agrees, it's up to you, Chase Jiang! Please help us identify it."
Chase Jiang maintained a composed demeanor as he nodded and confidently stepped forward. He picked up the two jade teapots, his expression serious and solemn on the surface, but his mind was far from focused on identification. He didn't care which one was real and which one was fake. His decision to step forward was purely to amuse himself with Maggie Jiang.
Chase Jiang took what seemed like five minutes to examine the teapots, which was enough to make Maggie Jiang anxious.
[Young Master, it's great that you've decided to step in, but please make sure you're careful with your identification. Don't delay the protagonist's moment of showing off!]
[You can improvise all you want, but the plot can't go off-track!]
A sense of unease gradually began to grow in Maggie Jiang's heart. During all those dungeon runs, nothing like this had ever happened before! With the protagonist present, the plot always followed a specific path and never strayed.
[Could it be... he picked up the wrong script?] Maggie Jiang's eyelids twitched, and her ominous premonition grew stronger.
Just as this thought crossed her mind, Chase Jiang finished his evaluation. He extended a finger and gently tapped the jade teapot on the left, speaking with certainty: "This one is real."
At his words, everyone crowded around, and the atmosphere immediately exploded.
"This is Bella Yang's jade teapot!"
"So Maggie Jiang was right—it really is a fake?!"
"Now the Su family's completely embarrassed! They offended the Jiang family over a scammer, how miserable!"
Everyone's opinion of Bella Yang shifted instantly, and the air of mystery she had carefully cultivated vanished. If she were really someone of great stature, how could she have presented a fake?
"Ah~" Chase Jiang blinked innocently. "So this is Bella Yang's? I was so focused on distinguishing the real from the fake, I didn't even notice..." He said this with a subtle glance toward Maggie Jiang.
Of course, Chase Jiang knew the jade teapot identified as fake belonged to Bella Yang. Not only that, but he also knew Bella Yang's jade teapot was the real one, and Maggie Jiang's was the counterfeit. But Chase Jiang didn't care; he was just curious to see how Maggie Jiang would handle the disruption to her "script." It should be entertaining! He didn't know Bella Yang and didn't particularly care for her, so if she got wrongly accused, so be it! The Jiang family wasn't afraid of making enemies.
"This is impossible!!" Bella Yang stood up in fury, her face flushed with anger. "My jade teapot is definitely not flawed! I demand a re-evaluation!"
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。