Chapter 120 - Chapter 120: Chapter 118: Can’t Say I’m Cheating, Right? (Please Subscribe!) (1/2)

Chapter 120: Chapter 118: Can’t Say I’m Cheating, Right? (Please Subscribe!)

In the rental.

The warm morning sun shone through the window, claiming a few floor tiles for its own, and the fine particles of dust were undeniably visible in the light.

Little Landlady Zhang Xinxin looked at Lin Chuan and nodded seriously, “Yes, it’s the one Aunt Liu gave me. She seemed to say it was worth tens of thousands of yuan.”

“Wait for me a moment.”

Lin Chuan immediately turned around to wash up quickly in the bathroom, perked himself up, and then took the century-old red agate bracelet from Little Landlady’s hand.

This bracelet consisted of 16 red agate beads.

Each bead was deeply hued and warm like blood, their surfaces had become smooth and round, the touch was delicate with no grainy texture, as if they had been bathed and sedimented by the years.

Lin Chuan took it to the window, placing it in the sunlight.

The red agate beads emitted a charming luster, their patterns like flowing flames dancing within the golden sunlight, occasionally clinking against each other, producing a crisp and pleasant sound akin to a quietly trickling stream.

“Chairman, can you appraise agates?”

Little Landlady leaned in to look but couldn’t understand, a puzzled look appearing on her lovely face.

Lin Chuan, seeing the expectation on Little Landlady’s small face, smiled, “A little.”

“That’s great!”

Little Landlady’s eyebrows instantly bent into crescents, revealing a delighted smile.

Lin Chuan tapped Little Landlady’s forehead with his finger and thought to himself, luckily I worked overtime last night to learn a new technique, otherwise you really would have stumped me.

But this string of century-old red agate…

“Fake.”

Lin Chuan took another look before concluding.

“Fake?” Little Landlady furrowed her brows, a look of surprise on her face.

Lin Chuan nodded and gave a light ‘hm’.

Actually, Lin Chuan spotted the giveaway immediately, but because the giver was Old Zhang’s partner—Aunt Liu—he took several more glances, very careful to ensure he was not mistaken.

Otherwise, with Lin Chuan’s status as a ‘grandmaster level master’ in the virtual world’s antiques circle, he only needed to hold it in his hand, touch it lightly, and take one look, and no falsity or deceit could hide from his ‘fiery eyes and golden pupils.’

When it came to antique forgery, no one could claim kingship before him.

“Chairman, how did you tell it was a fake?” Little Landlady Zhang Xinxin asked in a daze.

Lin Chuan smiled, placed the ‘century-old red agate bracelet’ in Little Landlady’s hand, and then pointed at the patterns, “Look here.”

Little Landlady pursed her lips and said in a soft voice, “I can’t tell. Can you teach me, Chairman?”

Lin Chuan, a good head taller than Little Landlady, used his right hand to gently tousle her hair and teased, “Who taught you to speak so coyly?”

“The strategies taught me.”

Little Landlady beamed, her eyes filled with a dazzling starry sky.

“You don’t actually need any strategies.”

Lin Chuan chuckled, then continued to look at the century-old red agate bracelet, “The craftsmanship of this bracelet is very good. It’s a replica of Southern Red Agate, altered in color through heat treatment, and this aspect is done quite well; you can clearly see the cinnabar spots accumulating, resembling the cinnabar red in century-old Southern Red Agate.”

Southern Red Agate, also known as ‘cinnabar jade’, has a fine and oily texture and originates from the Yundian region, highly valued as collectible art.

Little Landlady listened intently, her clear eyes fixed on Lin Chuan.

“Why are you looking at me? Look at it,” Lin Chuan stopped.

“Okay.”

Little Landlady grinned and said, “Keep talking, I’m listening.”

Lin Chuan tapped Little Landlady’s head and continued, “Whether it’s the color or texture, this bracelet is one of the better fakes amongst replicas, but the patterns still give away subtle clues. Look here,” he said, pointing.

Little Landlady followed Lin Chuan’s finger to examine the beads.

On the agate beads, there were very fine granular patterns.

Lin Chuan remarked, “Cinnabar Southern Red Agate should have patterns almost like flames, very enchanting, but this imitation, the patterns are not fine enough, and its antiquing technique still lacks some level.”

Little Landlady earnestly used Lin Chuan’s method to carefully scrutinize each bead.

Ultimately, with a pout, she placed the beads on the table.

Each one was a replica.

“Little Landlady, what’s this about someone wanting to buy your bracelet?” Lin Chuan sat at the table, eating the beef noodles Little Landlady had packed, while asking.

Little Landlady pouted.

As it turned out, yesterday a customer wanted to have a look around the company and Little Landlady agreed.

During the visit, the customer noticed the century-old red agate bracelet on Little Landlady’s wrist and greatly admired it.

At the time, Little Landlady had thought it was just mutual business flattery.

Unexpectedly, this morning, the customer messaged Little Landlady wanting to purchase her century-old red agate bracelet at a high price.

Little Landlady found it strange and couldn’t decide on her own, so she immediately ran to get Lin Chuan’s opinion.

Unconsciously, she had become somewhat dependent on Lin Chuan.

“How much is he willing to pay for it?” Lin Chuan asked with a smile, his mouth corner raised.

Little Landlady stretched out her slender index finger, “One hundred thousand.”

Lin Chuan’s eyebrows raised, and he paused in his eating, “In that case, he’s quite interested in this bracelet, huh? One hundred thousand yuan, offering a high price for a replica of the century-old red agate bracelet, that’s interesting.”

Little Landlady clearly didn’t understand Lin Chuan’s words, her eyebrows knitted together, “Chairman, what does that mean?”

Lin Chuan smiled and said cheerfully, “Have you heard of the Antique Scam?”

Little Landlady shook her head.

Previously engrossed in short videos and after starting a company with Lin Chuan recently, she was busy planning the company’s development and researching ‘what 24-year-old men like’—how could she know anything about the Antique Scam?

“I think you might have encountered an Antique Scam,” Lin Chuan said with a smile, and then explained the Antique Scam to Little Landlady.

The Antique Scam is actually one of the deceptive practices from the Cheating Sect’s ‘Eight Generals’.