On the next day, the three of us arrived at Lu Baoqiang punctually. The person that went with us was an expert from a reputed appraisal center.
âMr. Lu, this is Mr. Yang, an expert from Yanjing cityâs XX Antique Store,â I said to Lu Baoqiang.
âHello, Mr. Yang!â Lu Baoqiang was someone belonging to the upper class, so he naturally heard of Mr. Yangâs name previously.
âOkay, Mr. Lu, can you take out the fragments for Mr. Yang to appraise it?â I asked.
âSure, sure! Naturally!â Lu Baoqiang said calmly, showing a completely different expression from the vigilance one the previous day.
Lu Baoqiang took the box out and placed it in front of us. Mr. Yang took out his magnifying glass, and started to carefully examine the fragments.
Meanwhile, Lu Baoqiang acted naturally as if he was completely confident.
On the other hand, Xu Erâs face displayed his nervousness and unease.
âMr. Yang, how is it?â Lu Baoqiang asked with a smile.
âItâs real! This is a vase used by officials during the Qing Dynasty!â Mr. Yang put down his magnifying glass and said confidently.
âMr. Yang, are you sure?â I intentionally asked.
âYes, Iâm sure!â Mr. Yang nodded.
âHaha! How is it? I didnât lie to you guys, right? I told you that thereâs no need for the appraisal!â Lu Baoqiang smiled, while his heart bled! That was a vase worth a fortune! But, it is worth it if he could get a flower-like beauty in return!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âOh, since itâs like this, we should fulfill our end of the promise...â I received the box with the fragments and took a look before turning to Lu Baoqiang. âHowever, I coincidentally received a video, I wonder if Mr. Yang is interested?â
âVideo? What video? What do you mean?â Lu Baoqiang asked in confusion.
âHehe, this video is naturally related to you, Mr. Lu. Of course, it is also related to this vase! How is it? Mr. Lu, donât you want to have a look!?â I asked with a smile that wasnât completely like a smile.
âHeh! What kind of tricks do you want to play? Mr. Yang aready appraised the fragments of the vase, what use is a video?â Lu Baoqiang said in dissatisfaction.
âThis video naturally has its use, it might even be the key! Du Xiaowei, bring the notebook over!â I said to Du Xiaowei.
âOkay!â Du Xiaowei answered, then took out a laptop from his backpack and placed it onto the tea table.
âJust what are you guys doing! Iâm telling you, my time is very valuable, I have an important meeting to get to later! A single minute is worth several thousand yuan, can you afford to pay that much!â Lu Baoqiang said unhappily.
âDonât be so anxious. Mr. Lu, youâll understand after we watch it together, why be in such a hurry?â I said.
âHeh! Since Xu Xueyun is already mine, what use is you doing all this!â Lu Baoqiang snorted.
âPerhaps not, right?â I pressed play and said coldly to Lu Baoqiang.
âWhat did you say...!?â Lu Baoqiang was completely stunned before he finished!
That was because the person on the screen was him! And the background was this very living room!
In the video, Lu Baoqiang picked up the vase and smashed it onto the floor!
At that moment, Lu Baoqiangâs expression had already turned very dark. He couldnât believe that what he did actually appeared on the laptop screen in front of him.
âImpossible!â Lu Baoqiang exclaimed. âHow did you guys get that? Oh... I know, you guys placed a surveillance camera in my room!â
âMr. Lu, donât care about how we got the video for now. Hehe, it seems like you smashed your own vase?â I asked calmly.
âSo-So what if I smashed the vase? I just like to smash vases for fun when I have nothing to do. Itâs my own vase, I can smash it however I like. So? I like it!â Lu Baoqiang roared out his defense. âWhatâs more, what proof do you have for saying that the vase I smashed is the fragments you see?â
âHehe, I knew you would say that. Then, please have a look at the following photos. I got Xiaowei to take photos of the fragments yesterday!â I clicked open a photo album.
âWhat does this prove!â Lu Baoqiang could feel that something wasnât quite right.
âLook carefully! The sizes of the fragments in the photo is different from the fragments you showed us today! For example, look at the photo of the fragments of the vase bottom. The crack is in between the characters, but it isnât cracked there at all with the fragments you brought out today!â I replied.
âYou-You guys plotted against me!â Lu Baoqiang stood up and shouted angrily.
âWe plotted against you? Are you serious? You smashed the vase yourself and youâre saying we plotted against you?â I laughed coldly. âSay, Lu Baoqiang, how do you want to handle it? Do you want to sue us, or do you want to just let it go?â
âYou...â Lu Baoqiang stuttered in anger. However, the other side had proof on hand, so he wouldnât win in a lawsuit at all. He looked furiously at the laptop screen, then sat down on the sofa weakly. After a while, he finally spoke up. âFuck, I give up! Brat, I remember you now! You better be careful from now on!â
âHehe, Iâve always been careful,â I said. âThen weâre off. Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, although your vase shattered, Mr. Yangâs antique store is willing to buy it too. You can talk with him about it.â
âFragments can be sold too? How much is it worth?â Hearing that, Lu Baoqiang immediately asked Mr. Yang. At that moment, he was regretting everything way too much! Why was I such an idiot? Now only did I smash the real vase, I didnât even get anything. He merely wanted to see how much the fragments can be sold for to hurry up and minimize his losses.
Mr. Yang nodded.
âThen have a look to decide?â Lu Baoqiang asked impatiently.
Mr. Yang thought about it and reached out five fingers.
âFifty thousand? So little?â Lu Baoqiang said in disappointment.
Mr. Yang shook his head.
âFive thousand? Fuck, it canât be! I spent several thousand yuan just to get someone to get the fake vase made!â Ast that moment, Lu Baoqiang no longer cared as he spoke out the truth of the incident.
âFive hundred!â Mr. Yang said. âThatâs it!â
âWhat? Five hundred!?â Lu Baoqiang nearly fell down onto the floor! A vase worth tens of millions instantly turned into something that was only worth five hundred! However, just who was to blame?
When we walked out of Lu Baoqiangâs home, Xu Er laughed like a crazy person the moment he thought of Lu Baoqiangâs look when he realized that he was screwed. Xu Er raised his thumb, âThis method was too smart! However, he wonât take revenge on my little sister, right?â
âJust tell your little sister not to work here anymore!â I said. âYou can support your little sisterâs school fees already, canât you?â
âHehe, thatâs true! But my little sister is very stubborn, she always wants to support herself!â said Xu Er.
âOh yeah, the name Xu Xueyun sounds so familiar. Where does your sister study?â I asked.
âHuaxia University!â Xu Er said proudly. After all, Huaxia University was one of the best universities within our country!