The dinner begins.
Lin Fan, as the live-in son-in-law, was placed in the back corner, but he didnât mind at all, eating his meal happily.
Why not enjoy the free meal?
Wei Qingxue ate without any appetite, troubled by financial issues.
The Wei familyâs relatives all felt that Wei Qingxue could not accomplish this task; in their eyes, she was no longer part of the Wei family.
As for the vacant CEO position, it would definitely be snatched by Wei Tang.
For the moment, everyone went to toast Wei Tang and tried to cozy up to him.
"Once I become CEO, I promise everyone will have good days ahead!" Wei Tang said confidently after a few drinks, as if he were already CEO.
Wei Qingxue was speechless, but inside she grew increasingly anxious.
The girls in the family surrounded Wei Zihan, treating Wei Qingxue as invisible and leaving her aside.
"Wow!"
The girls suddenly exclaimed as Wei Zihan flaunted the engagement ring that Zhu Xiaolong had given her, with its huge diamond shining so brightly it was blinding.
"Sister Zihan, this engagement ring must be very heavy and expensive, right?" someone asked enviously.
Wei Zihan laughed pretentiously and said, "Not too heavy, just 8 carats, worth around a million."
This statement triggered a wave of amazement.
"Young Master Zhu is so generous, itâs enviable!"
"Young Master Zhu treats Sister Zihan so well, sheâs truly fortunate."
"This is real engagement. I heard that as for Lin Fan, the loser hasnât given Wei Qingxue anything, and she had to spend on him."
All the women burst into laughter.
Wei Qingxue felt uncomfortable, wanting to get up and leave immediately.
Lin Fan, who initially planned to eat quietly, looked over upon hearing people talk about him and saw the ring.
"What a beautiful ring, where did Young Master Zhu buy it? Iâd like to get one myself in the future," Lin Fan said cheerfully, activating his top-tier insight, immediately realizing the ring, like the vase, was fake.
Zhu Xiaolongâs face showed a trace of unease as he said, "I had this custom-made with a family heirloom diamond; itâs not available on the market."
Wei Zihan mocked, "Lin Fan, why are you asking? Can you even afford it?"
This comment elicited another round of laughter.
Lin Fan sneered internally as he previously wasnât sure, but now he could confirm that Zhu Xiaolong was a fraud!
Lin Fan said, "I can afford it."
Wei Zihan sneered, "Ridiculous, if you could afford it, would you still be a live-in son-in-law!"
Lin Fan said, "If I can afford it, what will you do? Will you kneel down and call me dad?"
Wei Zihanâs face darkened as she cursed, "You courier-delivering pauper, look in the mirror, what part of you is worth?"
Lin Fan said, "Ever since online payments, I rarely carry cash. I probably have about 100 bucks on me now, enough to buy your ring with some leftover."
Wei Zihan was furious, "What nonsense are you talking about? You say my ring isnât worth 100 bucks, youâre spouting nonsense!"
Lin Fan smiled and said, "Of course, because itâs a fake."
Wei Zihan was livid; Lin Fan had previously said her vase was fake, and now her ring too, worth less than 100 bucks!
"Claiming othersâ things are fake, this guy is just spouting nonsense!"
"Itâs envy, isnât it!"
"Heâs so bitter! He canât afford it himself, so he slanders othersâ belongings!"
Everyone began mocking him.
Zhu Xiaolongâs face turned red with excitement, pointing at Lin Fan and said, "How can you unjustly accuse and tarnish someoneâs reputation? How could I possibly give fake items!"
Wei Zihan became increasingly angry and said, "Grandfather, look at Lin Fan, heâs publicly defaming me, grandfather, you must support me!"
Elder Wei was very displeased; this Lin Fan was truly annoying. As a live-in son-in-law, he felt no shame and instead took pride, yet ruined the atmosphere everywhere.
"Lin Fan, you can eat whatever you like, but words cannot be spoken irresponsibly. Apologize to Zihan!" Elder Wei said coldly.
Lin Fan laughed and said, "Iâm just speaking the truth, why should I apologize? If Elder Wei doesnât believe it, you can certainly get someone to authenticate it."
"Why not let me authenticate it?"
Suddenly, an elderly voice said.
The crowd saw an old man with his hands behind his back walking in from outside.
The group exchanged confused glances; who was this old man? They hadnât seen him before.
To everyoneâs surprise, Elder Wei quickly stood up and said excitedly, "Mr. Zhang, youâve finally come, please take a seat! Let me introduce everyone, Mr. Zhang Mingshi, younger brother of the antique grandmaster Zhang Baishi, and also an authentication grandmaster himself!"
It turned out Elder Wei was very fond of antiques, with his greatest hobby being collecting them. Over the years, he had amassed quite a collection.
However, Elder Wei didnât know how to authenticate treasures; he always wanted to find a grandmaster to guide him, willing to spend generously for it. Initially, he aimed to invite the grandmaster Zhang Baishi, but Zhang Baishiâs standing was too high; given Elder Weiâs status, he couldnât invite Zhang Baishi.
He had to settle for the next best thing by inviting Zhang Baishiâs younger brother, Zhang Mingshi, who was also an authentication grandmaster.
Zhang Mingshi would be staying at the Wei family for two days to exchange ideas with Elder Wei about treasure collection.
Unexpectedly, upon arrival, he encountered an amusing situation and volunteered to authenticate the items!
Lin Fan had met Zhang Baishi before, at Liu Tingshanâs birthday banquet, when Lin Fan gifted a jade bracelet heâd purchased for 100 bucks to Liu Tingshan; Zhang Baishi was surprised to discover the bracelet was nephrite jade, worth over a billion!
Lin Fan was very impressed with Zhang Baishiâs authentication skills.
This Zhang Mingshi resembled Zhang Baishi slightly in appearance, but his authentication skills were unknown.
Upon hearing Zhang Mingshi was an authentication grandmaster, Zhu Xiaolongâs complexion changed, but he chuckled awkwardly and said, "No need to authenticate; everything I give is genuine!"
Zhang Mingshi ignored him and walked straight to Wei Zihan, reaching out to take the ring.
Zhang Mingshi scrutinized it carefully.
Suddenly, Zhang Mingshi threw the ring he held onto the ground.
With a snap, the ring fell to the floor, causing Wei Zihanâs heart to skip a beat, her face pale with worry; seeing the ring thrown like that made her heartsick.
Zhang Mingshi chuckled and said, "Fake goods, though carefully counterfeited, not worth more than a hundred bucks."
Wei Zihan trembled and said, "Fake? How is that possible?"
She looked towards Zhu Xiaolong.
Zhu Xiaolongâs face flushed, he remained silent, dare not look at Wei Zihan.
Zhang Mingshi regarded the ring with contempt and said, "Anything else?"
Lin Fan pointed out and said, "Thereâs the vase over there that they gave Elder Wei as a gift."
Zhang Mingshi then went over, circled the vase once, his expression darkened, feeling displeased, saying, "Ridiculous, such a careless counterfeit, simply insulting intelligence, utterly worthless!"
What?
The whole room went silent.
Air filled with awkwardness.
At this point, two servants were seen carrying a box into the room, wrapped in red cloth, obviously a congratulatory gift.
"Elder Wei, someone just delivered this gift from outside," a servant said.
Everyoneâs attention was drawn.
"Who was it?" Elder Wei asked curiously.
"It was me!"
An adult voice said, as a middle-aged man walked in from outside.