Chapter 40: Slapped in the Face Again

As soon as it was mentioned that Liu Lili’s father was an antique appraiser, the classmates present cast disdainful yet sympathetic glances at Ye Chen.

They thought Ye Chen was really unfortunate!

Trying to show off, he ended up facing an expert in the field—wasn’t that just slapping himself in the face?

If Liu Lili’s father, Liu Yuesheng, came down later, wouldn’t he be utterly embarrassed?

Xiao Churan also felt a bit awkward and whispered to Ye Chen, “Ye Chen, with so many classmates watching, you should just admit it. Otherwise, it’ll be so embarrassing!”

Before coming, Ye Chen had mentioned buying a painting, but he said it wasn’t worth much. Now he claimed it was worth several tens of thousands, and Xiao Churan suddenly felt uncertain, thinking Ye Chen might have lied for the sake of face.

However, Ye Chen didn’t care at all and said, “Since you all don’t believe me, let’s have a professional appraise it.”

He then added, “By the way, let’s not forget, Wang Tengfei is still unrepentant and has sworn to eat the table this time.”

Wang Tengfei, recalling that his car had just been burned, gritted his teeth and cursed, “Ye Chen, stop being so arrogant! The racing incident earlier was because you tricked me! I’ve already accepted my loss! This time, I’m still willing to bet and accept defeat! If that painting you gave is really worth several tens of thousands, I’ll eat the table on the spot! If it’s not worth that, will you eat it?”

Ye Chen nodded and said, “Sure, if it’s not worth that, I’ll eat it too.”

Although the painting wasn’t a famous piece, it was indeed a work by the Qing Dynasty painter Huang Shen, and the antique shop was a nationwide chain with a guarantee of authenticity—if it was fake, they would face severe penalties.

Xiao Churan wanted to stop Ye Chen, but before she could react, he had already agreed. Helpless, she could only sigh quietly to herself.

Dong Ruolin was also a bit surprised. How could Ye Chen be so confident?

If she looked closely, he was indeed quite mysterious. That day at Tianxiang Mansion, the renowned Hong Wuye had actually shown him respect—she had never figured out why.

However, she was sure that Ye Chen must have some secrets!

Wang Tengfei felt he finally had a chance to turn the tables and immediately blurted out, “Alright, everyone witness this! Let’s have Liu Lili call her dad down to help us appraise it!”

In front of everyone, Liu Lili directly made the call, saying, “Dad, can you come down for a bit? Dao Kun’s classmate brought a painting and wants you to appraise it.”

A minute later, an elderly man slowly walked down the stairs from the second floor.

This man was Liu Yuesheng, a well-known antique appraiser from Jinling.

Today was the opening ceremony of Liu Yuesheng’s daughter and future son-in-law’s restaurant. He had invited an old friend to gather in a private room upstairs. Hearing that there was an ancient painting needing appraisal, his professional instincts kicked in, and he hurried down to take a look.

Liu Yuesheng stepped forward and onto the stage. Liu Lili quickly handed him the gift box containing the painting, saying, “Dad, could you help appraise this painting? Someone said it’s worth several tens of thousands!”

As she spoke, she looked at Ye Chen with a face full of disdain.

A loser living off others, gifting a painting worth several tens of thousands—who would believe that?

It was obvious that the painting must be fake!

The others thought the same way.

No one believed that Ye Chen could really give a painting worth several tens of thousands.

Liu Yuesheng took the gift box and, under everyone’s gaze, carefully unrolled the painting.

The artwork was somewhat yellowed with age and looked quite unremarkable. Many of his classmates, who liked to judge by appearances, began to speak up: “Oh, it doesn’t look like anything good!”

“Yeah, I think it’s only worth fifty bucks.”

“Probably not even worth that box, right? That box might be worth seventy or eighty!”

Liu Yuesheng studied the painting carefully. After a few minutes, he smiled and asked, “This painting was given by Dao Kun?”

“Yes,” Liu Lili replied. “He’s a good buddy from college!”

As she said this, Liu Lili thought to herself, Ye Chen, you’re good friends with Wang Dao Kun, yet you gift a piece of junk worth less than a hundred bucks. I can’t wait for my dad to expose you in front of everyone!

However, no one expected Liu Yuesheng to exclaim, “It seems you really are good friends! Who would be willing to give such a valuable gift if they weren’t?”

Everyone was stunned!

What’s going on? Valuable? This piece of junk is valuable?

Wang Tengfei thought, “Valuable my ass! I could go to the antique street, buy a fake flower, and make it look old with some urine, and it would look more real than this painting!”

At this moment, Liu Yuesheng said seriously, “This is an authentic piece by the Qing Dynasty painter Huang Shen. Although Huang Shen isn’t a hugely famous painter, he is still one of the more outstanding artists, one of the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou!”

He continued, “I estimate this painting’s market value to be around two hundred thousand.”

“Two hundred thousand?!” Liu Lili was dumbfounded. She thought this thing wasn’t worth a hundred bucks; who would have thought it was worth over two hundred thousand!

Wang Dao Kun was also stunned and blurted out, “Wow! Ye Chen, how could you give me such an expensive gift? This is too much…”

Ye Chen replied nonchalantly, “Dao Kun, it’s just a token of my appreciation; don’t worry too much about the price.”

Wang Dao Kun felt deeply moved. He never expected that his good buddy from college would be so generous!

Wang Tengfei was completely bewildered.

What’s going on? This piece of junk is actually worth over two hundred thousand?

How can something that looks like this be worth over two hundred thousand? This is just ridiculous!

The classmates were also shocked.

This time, no one dared to look down on Ye Chen anymore!

After all, he was someone who could casually give away a painting worth over two hundred thousand!

Everyone was envious of Wang Dao Kun!

How impressive! Receiving such an expensive gift for the opening—what a huge profit!

At this moment, Liu Lili was also in shock, immediately changing her view of Ye Chen.

She knew very well what level her father was at. Since her dad said this painting was worth over two hundred thousand, it must be worth that much!

Oh my! Wang Dao Kun’s classmate actually gave such an expensive gift—this is not a small gesture!

Thinking this, she looked at Ye Chen with starry eyes.

Xiao Churan asked in confusion, “Ye Chen, how much did you actually spend on this painting?”

Ye Chen smiled slightly and whispered, “Actually, it didn’t cost much. The person who sold it to me is an acquaintance; he got it at a bargain, so he sold it to me at a low price.”

Xiao Churan couldn’t help but say, “A painting worth over two hundred thousand sold to you for a few thousand? How is that even possible?”

Ye Chen replied casually, “Many people don’t actually care that much about money. I’m the same way. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have given this painting to Dao Kun.”

Xiao Churan nodded gently. Ye Chen was right; if someone cared too much about money, they wouldn’t give such an expensive gift. It seemed that although her husband didn’t have much ambition, his generosity was extraordinary!

At this moment, Ye Chen stood up, looking at the flustered Wang Tengfei, and smiled, “Wang Tengfei, how are you going to eat this table? Are you going to gnaw on it directly, or should I get you a knife to chop it into pieces for you to eat one by one?”