Chapter 279: Why don't I dare show my face?_1

Tang Feng was still a bit groggy, but when he heard Ge Hui’s words, he immediately sat up in bed.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“What? A counterfeit? Appraised by me? Are you joking?”

The items he had appraised were all done with the help of a system.

How could the system possibly be wrong?

“The piece you acquired from the antique street last time, a Qing Dynasty snuff bottle, was also examined by Mr. Zhang just now, and he confirmed that the snuff bottle is indeed a fake,” Ge Hui said cautiously, afraid of angering Tang Feng.

Tang Feng immediately remembered the items he had collected from the antique street a few days ago, which indeed included a snuff bottle that the system had identified as a genuine piece from the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, with an estimated value of six hundred thousand.

He would never believe the system could make a mistake—there must be something else going on here.

“I’ll be right there.”

He hung up the phone then threw off the blanket and jumped out of bed.

Too lazy to wash up, he just threw on a T-shirt, slipped into a pair of large shorts, and stepped into a pair of flip-flops before leaving his house.

By the time he drove his Ferrari F8 to Ya Garden, there was already a crowd gathered at the entrance, noisy and lively.

He squeezed through the crowd and saw a man sitting inside the shop.

The man appeared to be about twenty-three or twenty-four years old, wore black-rimmed glasses, and looked like a student.

He was also holding a selfie stick, live streaming.

Meanwhile, Zhang Jicheng and several staff members of the shop stood by with anxious expressions.

“Folks in the live stream, you all can see that Ya Garden is deceiving consumers, using such low-quality fakes to scam people. If it weren’t for me exposing them today, who knows how many more people would be cheated,” the broadcaster said, holding a snuff bottle and talking to the phone.

Zhang Jicheng frowned and said, “Sir, I’m really sorry, we indeed made a mistake this time. I will refund your money right now.”

“Heh, scared? You use fakes to scam consumers, and you think just refunding the money is enough? I want the whole world to know how Ya Garden deceives consumers, to let everyone avoid this trap. What I’m doing here is meritorious,” the man retorted, sitting cross-legged with an air of confidence.

“What the hell is wrong with you? Isn’t a refund enough for you? What the fuck else do you want?” Ge Hui, who was behind Zhang Jicheng, couldn’t hold back anymore and was about to confront the man.

Panicking, Zhang Jicheng stopped him; they were already at a disadvantage, and any physical confrontation would only add fuel to the fire.

“Oh, now you want to hit people too?”

The man suddenly perked up, stood up with a swoosh, and pointed at Ge Hui’s nose, “Go ahead and hit me if you dare. Not only do you sell fakes, but you also have the gall to be so arrogant? You think I can’t deal with you? Everyone, see this clearly—this is how Ya Garden treats its customers. Isn’t this the big bullying the small?”

As he was berating Ge Hui, he didn’t forget to exaggerate the story to his live audience.

Tang Feng couldn’t stand it any longer and stepped forward, “Mr. Zhang, what exactly happened?”

Seeing Tang Feng arrive, Zhang Jicheng’s face showed a trace of embarrassment, “Feng, this customer bought a snuff bottle from our store and claims it’s fake.”

“I’ve just appraised it, and it does seem suspicious.”

He didn’t dare to declare it conclusively, only pointing out it’s “suspicious,” since after all, the snuff bottle was appraised by Tang Feng; he didn’t want to put him in an awkward position.

Tang Feng nodded slightly and turned to the man, “May I have a look at the snuff bottle, please?”

The man looked him up and down, “You’re Tang Feng, aren’t you? You even have the nerve to show your face?”

Tang Feng was amused by his words, “Why wouldn’t I dare show my face?”

“Heh, you have the gall to ask why? I heard that you have a very strong appraisal ability, so I came to Ya Garden specifically because of your reputation. I didn’t expect you to be just another pretender,” the man spoke rudely, just short of outright cursing.

Tang Feng tried to suppress his anger, remaining cordial, “Regardless, we still need to resolve this. Let me have a look at the snuff bottle first, then we can discuss how to solve this issue.”

The man gripped the snuff bottle tightly, “Do you think I’m a fool? I hand over the snuff bottle to you, and then you deny everything? Who would I go to then?”

Tang Feng shook his head with a smile and indicated towards his phone, “Aren’t you live streaming right now? In front of your viewers, would you really be afraid of me cheating? If you don’t hand over the snuff bottle, how can we help you solve the problem? Or is it that you came here deliberately to cause trouble?”

The man let out a snort of derision, “Alright then, let’s see you appraise it properly. I’d love to see how capable this ‘Number One Genius of the Antique Street’ really is.”

After saying this, he handed over the snuff bottle.

Tang Feng reached out to take it, examining it closely in front of his eyes. On the surface, it looked to be the piece he had acquired a few days back.

Still not confident in his own judgment, he immediately activated the scanning system.

“Item name: Snuff Bottle

The system has identified it as: A modern craft counterfeit

Estimated value: Ten yuan…”

When Tang Feng saw the information provided by the system, his pupils contracted slightly.

This was not the snuff bottle he had obtained a few days ago.

There were only two possibilities now.

Either this buyer had switched it after the purchase,

Or there was an internal thief in the shop.

He felt the former possibility was more likely.

“What have you found? Is this snuff bottle real or fake?” At that moment, the broadcaster started to press him impatiently.

Tang Feng gave him a glance, “Just a moment, please.”

Then, he pulled Zhang Jicheng aside, speaking in a low voice, “Mr. Zhang, this snuff bottle is indeed a fake.”

Zhang Jicheng nodded slightly; he had noticed that earlier.

Tang Feng then turned to look back at the broadcaster, raising a suspicion, “Mr. Zhang, did this person switch it?”

However, Zhang Jicheng’s answer was unexpected, “I’ve already had someone check the surveillance footage. He didn’t tamper with it; this snuff bottle really is the one that came from our store.”

Upon hearing this, Tang Feng immediately realized the gravity of the situation.