Chapter 19: Ye Xian Exposes the Forgery

  “As everyone knows, Xia Hewan is an Impressionist painter renowned for her ndscapes. Before she paints, she usually visits the scene in person and paints based on what she observes. At different times and in different seasons, the sunlight casts different shadows, even when the sun is in the same position.

  But in this painting, the light and shadows on both the ‘spring’ and ‘autumn’ sides are almost identical in length and intensity. It’s clear the forger only copied the surface without grasping the true artistry and essence of the original. It’s obvious at a gnce whether it’s real or fake.”

  She spoke with conviction and solid reasoning, leaving the guests stunned and speechless.

  These were people from prominent families — lords and dies, young masters and misses — all with some degree of artistic knowledge. What she said... actually made sense.

  “There’s some truth to that~”

  “Looking closely, this painting really isn’t as refined as Xia Hewan’s other works…”

  “Could it really be a fake?”

  The crowd whispered and murmured among themselves. Even Bo Tingshen raised his eyes to look at Ye Xian.

  Sensing the gaze of the powerful and unreadable man, Ye Xian quickly pstered on a fawning smile.

  “You…” Seeing the crowd start to believe her, Cheng Jingshu began to panic. “Stop talking nonsense. You don’t even understand painting — how can you presume to interpret the artist’s intentions?”

  Ye Xian crossed her arms. “I may not understand painting, but even an outsider like me can see the mishandling of light and shadow. Are you saying that a nationally renowned painter like Xia Hewan wouldn’t notice this?”

  “That—That’s because…”

  Cheng Jingshu’s eyes flickered, anxiety welling up inside her as she scrambled for words to refute this outrageous theory.

  But then, Bo’s father interrupted her. “Jingshu, you may have really been duped and bought a fake.”

  “What?” Cheng Jingshu looked at him in disbelief, eyes full of innocence. “Uncle, that’s impossible, I…”

  Before she could finish, Bo’s father held his phone in front of her. On it was a voice message from Xia Hewan’s assistant.

  > “...‘Spring Blossoms and Autumn Harvest’ is a token of affection I gave my husband. How could it possibly be sold? And to create it, I waited from spring to autumn — it took a full year to complete. It's like my most beloved child. Oh right, Mr. Bo, who was it that pointed out the error in the shadowing?”

  When the voice message ended, Cheng Jingshu’s face turned green.

  How could this happen… how could it be like this…

  “Afraid you were being scammed, I had someone contact Xia Hewan’s studio earlier. Sure enough... But it’s alright. Today is Grandpa’s birthday — it’s the thought that counts. But we must recover the money. We can’t let the swindler get away with it.”

  “I... I...”

  Cheng Jingshu lowered her head in shame, her face completely disgraced. Her teeth ground furiously in frustration. She wished she could tear Ye Xian to pieces.

  Now Bo’s father, mother, and grandfather must all think she lied and brought a fake painting as a birthday gift.

  She had bought the painting from a collector, never suspecting it was a forgery. And now look what’s happened...

  It was all Ye Xian’s fault! That disgusting little gay freak completely humiliated her! Just wait!

  Ye Xian looked at her humiliated and angry expression, her tongue lightly pressing against her cheek.

  The original body’s grudge — having been tricked into drugging Jiang Wanze — had finally been avenged.

  “Miss Cheng, don’t forget to get your money back from the scammer. Twenty million is no small amount — hardly worth paying for a lesson~”

  You…!

  Cheng Jingshu gred at him, wishing she could carve a piece of flesh from his body.