Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 212: Chapter 209 Planning Matters Chapter 212: Chapter 209 Planning Matters Everyone turned their gaze towards Liao Song, and indeed, the smile that had been on his face disappeared.

He looked at Xie Daoyuan seriously and asked, “Professor Xie, this Guanyin was sold to me by a friend. May I ask, what problem have you noticed?”

“If I dare to say there’s a problem, of course I’m not without evidence.” Perhaps sensing the confusion and skepticism in the room, Professor Xie’s expression changed as he explained, “There are quite a few flaws in this porcelain sculpture, and just take the gesture of the Guanyin, for example. Look…”

As a professional, Professor Xie certainly wouldn’t make baseless claims, pointing at the Guanyin porcelain sculpture as he spoke.

If someone else had mentioned a problem, perhaps people would have remained dubious, but Professor Xie was a professor at the S University College of Cultural Heritage. Once he spoke out, it immediately made everyone suspicious.

Professor Xie had immersed himself in the appraisal of antiques for many years and represented a certain authority in the field of antiques; his opinion carried much more weight than that of those so-called experts.

Moreover, the doubts raised by Professor Xie naturally weren’t limited to just the gesture of the Guanyin but also included the base marks and the flaws in the carving of the porcelain, the level of appraisal was so convincing that one had to admire it.

Comparing Professor Xie’s words with the porcelain sculpture, the more they listened, the more they felt that what Professor Xie said made sense.

Liao Song’s expression indeed turned extremely unsightly. Without waiting for the rest to react, he immediately picked up a paperweight and smashed it viciously against the porcelain in front of everyone.

In just a few strikes, the Guanyin sculpture was smashed to pieces.

With the situation escalating to this point, people who had come to admire the antiques naturally lost interest in staying any longer; one by one, they found excuses to leave.

Huo Sining didn’t miss the expressions of sympathy, regret, schadenfreude, or delight that showed on the faces of those leaving. She couldn’t help but lower her head and slightly curve her lips.

The crowd was unaware of the trap, but Huo Sining was very clear.

Liao Song had made such a fuss with the intention of making a scene, ideally, one that everybody would come to know about.

However, as the saying goes, good news seldom goes beyond the gate, while bad news spreads far and wide. With so many witnesses, she believed that by today, the news would quickly spread like the wind to certain people’s ears.

Next, what Liao Song needed to do was to wait for the fish to take the bait.

Not two days later, the news of Liao Boss from Xi Shan’s grand banquet, where he proudly presented his treasure only to have it exposed as a fake right then and there, had spread throughout the entire circle.

Each person, whether present at the event or not, described the scene of Liao Song being humiliated as if they were on a stimulant, embellishing the story with each retelling and vividly depicting the event.

Particularly, they focused on describing Liao Song’s reaction upon learning the porcelain was a fake; his face turning dark as he smashed the Guanyin statue in front of all the guests became a gleefully recounted story, turning into a joke that was indispensable for leisurely chats in the circle.

As the controversy arose, the subject of the talk, Liao Song, perhaps because he had lost face in front of everyone at the banquet, feigned illness and hid at home, avoiding the storm. He didn’t leave the house for several days, and even close friends from the circle who wanted to visit were refused under the pretext of feeling unwell.

After several days of silence, the impatient Liao Song, confined at home, even began to doubt his actions, but Huo Sining remained as calm and composed as Mount Tai.

Indeed, on the morning of the fifth day, the “friend” whom Liao Song had mentioned as missing for several months suddenly turned up unannounced, carrying a gift with him as he arrived at the door.

Liao Song hated this person to death in his heart, but in order to carry out the act fully, he had to forcibly compose himself and pretend as if nothing had happened, letting the other party come in.

As soon as Liu Weijie entered, he saw Xu Deqing sitting leisurely on the sofa, which startled him for a moment. However, thinking of his upcoming purpose, Liu Weijie relaxed and thought to himself, it’s even better with an outsider present. After all, you’ve smashed my Guanyin statue. Soon, you’ll be at a loss for words and won’t be able to shirk responsibility!

Having this thought, a calculation flashed in Liu Weijie’s eyes, but his face was all smiles, as if he knew nothing, making small talk for a bit before getting straight to the point about his visit.

“Brother Liao, I’m here to collect my Droplet Guanyin.”

Liao Song was surprised by the sudden visit from an old friend whom he hadn’t seen for a period, to begin with, and upon hearing Liu Weijie’s words, his face turned green instantly, silently staring at Liu Weijie for a long while without saying anything.

Liu Weijie became more certain of his guess upon seeing Liao Song’s expression.

The antique collection circle in S City wasn’t large, and in the past few days, he had heard that Liao Song had broken a fake Droplet Guanyin at a banquet. He immediately suspected that the Droplet Guanyin he had given to Liao Song was involved.

The world of swindlers is full of lies and greed, with not a hint of shame.

For them, as long as they can scam people out of money, they will stoop to any despicable means necessary.

So Liu Weijie quickly thought of a plan – to turn the tables on Liao Song in his own home and force him to take Huanglian as though he were mute, to make him willingly pay compensation.

“I’m really thankful for the five hundred thousand you lent me previously, which allowed my child to pull through a tough time.”

Liao Song’s face was very unpleasant, but as if Liu Weijie didn’t see it, he went on to say, “Brother, I’m not ungrateful. As the saying goes, it’s not hard to borrow again when a loan is repaid. I just closed a deal and happen to have some spare cash, so I hurried over to repay the loan to you.”

Liu Weijie spoke as if he had fulfilled all moral obligations.

Liao Song waited for a cheque from Liu Weijie’s hand, remaining silent.

Liu Weijie knew well that Liao Song must hate him to death right now, but the more Liao Song hated him, the more he delighted in it.

He couldn’t help but look at Liao Song with pride, sighing with fake helplessness, and said apologetically, “The thing is, a collector took a liking to my Droplet Guanyin a few days ago, insisting on buying it at all costs, eventually offering eight hundred thousand.”

“I was hesitating because I put a lot of effort into acquiring that porcelain sculpture from out of town, and really didn’t want to sell it. But my friend kept saying his mother is devout and badgered me to sell it to him, so I had no choice but to come over to Brother Liao’s to retrieve the item.”

Liu Weijie’s words seemed heartfelt, and his look towards Liao Song was a mix of embarrassment and difficulty, as if he truly wasn’t eager:

“Brother Liao, please trouble you to give me that porcelain sculpture.”

Seeing the swindler’s pretense of benevolence right in front of him, Liao Song felt an overwhelming urge to tear off this man’s mask of goodness.

He really was blind to have made such a person his close friend and had soft-heartedly lent money to him!

Fire seemed to burst from Liao Song’s eyes, but thinking about what he needed to do afterward, he had to suppress his fury.