Chapter 86: Is This a Coincidence?
“Huh? Xiao Fan, you remembered something? Okay… then let's take a look here!”
When Su Yixue heard that there was a possibility of Ye Fan recovering his memories and intelligence, her face immediately lit up with joy.
Nothing else mattered to her compared to this!
In the middle of the hall, Sun Desheng had five porcelain bottles brought over. They were already lined up neatly on the table.
Sun Desheng looked smugly at Manager Wu.
He had come prepared today. He wasn't afraid of how many appraisal methods Manager Wu might have. What he feared was that Manager Wu wouldn't accept the challenge.
If that happened, aside from satisfying his urge to mock him, he wouldn't be able to inflict any real damage on Manager Wu.
“Manager Wu, these five bottles are antiques I picked up from the antique market! However, their exact ages are unknown. I'd like to trouble you to examine them for me…”
Sun Desheng glanced at several of his men beside him, their eyes filled with smugness.
“But how about this? As long as Manager Wu can correctly determine the age of three of these five bottles, I'll consider you the winner. What do you say?”
These five porcelain bottles had been made at great expense by top craftsmen overseas, who had spent three months creating the replicas.
Calling them fake wasn't entirely accurate, because every fragment of porcelain used in them was genuine.
But calling them genuine wasn't accurate either.
Each porcelain bottle had been assembled from dozens of fragments, after which an extremely sophisticated restoration technique had been applied to the outside. From the exterior, it was impossible to tell that the bottle had ever been broken.
In reality, however, the fragments in each bottle had been taken from porcelain vessels belonging to five different dynasties and then pieced together!
No matter how skilled Manager Wu was, if he identified the age of one porcelain fragment and used that to determine the age of the entire bottle, Sun Desheng could immediately use another fragment to refute him.
Therefore, from the moment Manager Wu agreed to this bet, Wanbao Pavilion had already lost.
It was like the two of them playing rock-paper-scissors, except one person had to reveal his choice first while the other could change his choice afterward based on what he saw.
How could the first person possibly win?
Manager Wu was a grandmaster of the antique world, and his reputation wasn't undeserved.
The moment the five porcelain bottles were placed on the table, he began examining them carefully, even smelling them.
But after smelling just one of them, Manager Wu's expression changed.
He discovered that the scent of the porcelain was somewhat chaotic and unstable.
It seemed to have the characteristics of the Song Dynasty, yet also those of the Tang Dynasty. There were even traces resembling the Ming and Qing dynasties!
What was going on?
Manager Wu was instantly bewildered.
Normally, it was perfectly reasonable for a porcelain bottle to contain traces of restoration.
But who would restore a bottle by piecing together fragments from multiple different dynasties?
More importantly, Manager Wu picked up the porcelain bottle and examined it carefully. He even used a magnifying glass.
Yet he couldn't find the slightest trace of restoration.
The first porcelain bottle was like this.
The second was the same…
He examined all five porcelain bottles, spending more than ten minutes on them.
Yet Manager Wu remained completely silent, not daring to make a single judgment.
In fact, he already had a rough idea of what was going on.
The porcelain bottles Sun Desheng had brought were probably expertly fabricated. There wasn't even the slightest trace of restoration.
They had been assembled from fragments belonging to different dynasties precisely to create a trap for him.
No matter which dynasty he identified, Sun Desheng could easily use another fragment to refute him.
He had fallen into the trap!
Manager Wu had already realized what was happening.
But this was a trap he couldn't escape from even after seeing through it.
Even if he exposed the scheme in front of the hundreds of thousands of viewers watching the livestream, nobody would believe him.
“How is it, Manager Wu? Have you figured it out yet?”
Seeing that Manager Wu hadn't spoken for such a long time, Sun Desheng proudly paced back and forth in front of him.
“Come on, let us witness Manager Wu's profound knowledge. Why don't you explain the origins of these porcelain bottles to everyone?”
He deliberately turned toward the livestream camera and showed off.
“Everyone, take a good look. This is Master Wu of Wanbao Pavilion appraising the five porcelain bottles I brought…”
He sighed exaggeratedly.
“To be honest, it's a little disappointing. I didn't realize Wanbao Pavilion was only this capable…”
“Don't leave, everyone! Help us bear witness! We had a bet just now!”
Sun Desheng continued showing off.
The staff members of Wanbao Pavilion had gathered around, furious at what they were seeing. Yet there was nothing they could do. They didn't dare to do anything to Sun Desheng.
“Scammer! You're a huge scammer! How shameless can you be? You're actually using fake things to deceive Manager Wu!”
Just as everyone was at a loss about what to do and cold sweat covered Manager Wu's forehead, Ye Fan suddenly stepped out of the crowd and pointed at Sun Desheng's nose, cursing him.
His single sentence instantly attracted everyone's attention.
Especially in the livestream.
The viewers immediately exploded with excitement.
“Who is this guy? Why is he calling Sun Desheng a scammer?”
“I also feel like something's wrong. I still trust Master Wu!”
The atmosphere Sun Desheng had painstakingly created was instantly destroyed.
Furious, Sun Desheng pointed at Ye Fan.
“Who the hell are you? What the hell does this have to do with you? Someone, throw him out!”
Sun Desheng had come specifically to destroy Wanbao Pavilion, so naturally he wouldn't allow anyone to disrupt his plans.
Manager Wu had already taken the bait. Only the final step remained, and then he could drive Wanbao Pavilion out of Yuncheng.
Once Wanbao Pavilion left, wouldn't most of the antique market's business in Yuncheng fall into his Jewelry House's hands?
Several bodyguards immediately rushed out from behind Sun Desheng and moved to grab Ye Fan.
The corner of Ye Fan's mouth lifted slightly.
When the porcelain bottles had first appeared, his Demon Eye had already seen everything clearly.
Those bottles had undergone special restoration. They were assembled using porcelain fragments from different dynasties.
No matter how skilled Manager Wu was, how could he possibly identify all those fragments at a glance?
“No! I don't want to leave! I want to expose this huge scammer!”
Ye Fan smiled faintly.
His body flashed rapidly as he dodged the bodyguards trying to seize him.
The two burly men were embarrassed that they couldn't even catch such a skinny young man.
They immediately sped up their movements.
Ye Fan waited for the right opportunity.
As he dodged the two bodyguards, a strand of force quietly rippled from his wrist.
He gave one of the bodyguards a gentle push.
Perfectly coincidentally, the bodyguard staggered into the porcelain bottle at the very edge of the table.
The bottle toppled toward the ground.
Crash!
A crisp sound rang out.
The porcelain bottle hit the floor and shattered into countless pieces.
The sudden turn of events left everyone at the scene frozen.
The very object being used for the appraisal had suddenly shattered.
And it had been knocked over by Sun Desheng's own bodyguard.
Whose fault was this?
While everyone was still bewildered, Ye Fan suddenly snatched the livestream phone away.
He pointed the camera at the fragments on the ground, then picked up several pieces and deliberately exclaimed in surprise.
“Oh! I recognize this fragment. It's from the Tang Dynasty. This one is from the Song Dynasty, and this one is from the Ming Dynasty…”
He suddenly looked toward Manager Wu.
“Wait, Master Wu, how can there be fragments from so many different dynasties inside a single porcelain bottle?”
“Look here. There's a mysterious layer of material wrapped around the surface of these porcelain fragments. If you peel it away, you can uncover the secret inside!”
As Ye Fan spoke, he picked up one of the fragments.
With a surge of force, he tore it apart.
The fake outer layer was immediately ripped away.
The fragments hidden underneath were instantly exposed before the livestream viewers, Manager Wu, and everyone gathered around…
(End of Chapter)
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