Chapter 7620
Shattered
Xiao Chen nodded, his tone certain:
"It's true. The official kilns from Yongle, Xuande, and Chenghua are all in excellent condition, without any flaws or signs of repair. Boss Fang didn't try to fool us with fakes, and the price is reasonable; he didn't overcharge us."
"Then why didn't you let me buy it?" Yun Yuyan asked, puzzled, with a frown. "Although it's a bit expensive, it would definitely make a good impression as a gift for a client."
Xiao Chen glanced at her and asked in a teasing tone, "Can you afford it?"
Yun Yuyan paused, thought carefully, and slowly shook her head, a hint of helplessness on her face. Let alone fifty million, she couldn't even come up with thirty million…
The company's budget for her was only five million, which wasn't even a fraction of what she was looking for.
"Then don't watch it." Xiao Chen said calmly, with a hint of comfort.
"Seeing something you like but can't afford will only cause you more trouble and make you feel bad. Let's take a look at some folk kiln pieces later. They have a high cost-performance ratio, are suitable for gifting to clients, and are within your budget."
Yun Yuyan pouted, looking unwilling, but she knew Xiao Chen was right, so she stopped talking and obediently sat on the sofa, waiting for Boss Fang to return.
Boss Fang hadn't returned yet, so there were only the two of them in the VIP room, and the atmosphere was rather quiet for a moment.
Yun Yuyan couldn't sit still to begin with, and after less than two minutes, she couldn't help but stand up and wander around the room, curiously looking at everything in the room.
She walked to the antique shelf in the corner, her eyes lit up when they fell on a few pieces of porcelain on it, and she quickly called out to Xiao Chen, "Xiao Chen, Xiao Chen, come and take a look, this one is beautiful!"
Xiao Chen was drinking tea when he heard her call. Without looking up, he said in a slightly cautionary tone, "Don't touch them. Those are antiques, fragile items. If you break them, it won't be a small amount of money."
"Don't worry, I'm not a three-year-old anymore. I won't touch it carelessly, after all, I can't afford to pay for it."
Yun Yuyan didn't dare to touch them, and even kept a distance from the antique shelf. She bent over and carefully looked at each piece of porcelain. Although she couldn't tell the difference between real and fake, she could still appreciate art.
"It's so beautiful. This would look amazing in a villa's living room. It's a shame it's so expensive..."
"This one is also good. Look how exquisitely the magpie is painted; it's practically a work of art!"
"And this one, this painting must be a masterpiece by a famous artist."
"That one, and that one too, that person seems to have come to life."
As Yun Yuyan looked around, she kept praising the sights. Luckily, it was just her and Xiao Chen on the second floor at that moment, or they would have been laughed at.
Xiao Chen shook his head with a wry smile, and suddenly his gaze fell on a spot on the ground.
There was some shimmering light there, suggesting there was standing water.
If you don't look closely, you won't notice it at all, and at this moment, Yun Yuyan is about to step on it.
"Watch out, don't go forward!"
Xiao Chen called out, but it was too late; Yun Yuyan had already stepped on it.
"It's over!"
The moment she stepped on it, Yun Yuyan felt her foot slip, and she lost her balance, crashing into the antique shelf.
Her face changed.
There are at least a dozen pieces of porcelain on this display shelf. If one of them were knocked over, how much money would I have to pay for it?
She gritted her teeth, disregarding everything else, and forcibly changed the direction she was falling, preferring to be hurt herself rather than have the porcelain broken.
Boom!
Yun Yuyan crashed heavily to the ground, but thankfully, she didn't hit the antique display shelf.
Before Yun Yuyan could even breathe a sigh of relief, a porcelain vase at the top of the display shelf suddenly crashed to the ground without warning. "Crack!"
A crisp shattering sound rang out, instantly shattering the quiet second floor.
Yun Yuyan swallowed hard, looking at Xiao Chen with a somewhat innocent expression: "No...it wasn't me..."
She was completely stunned, her mind went blank, and she felt as if her whole life had lost its color.
After all, everything here is genuine, each item worth tens of millions. She's improved her life with Xiao Chen's help, but she can't afford to lose that much money.
Xiao Chen didn't speak, but looked at the top of the antique shelf.
His eyes instantly turned cold.
That porcelain vase was clearly halfway out of the display shelf; this was a conspiracy…
He glanced at the broken pieces on the ground again, his expression turning even more grim...
Just then, Boss Fang came up with two employees and brought several brocade boxes.
Upon seeing the fragments on the ground, a cunning glint flashed in Boss Fang's eyes, which quickly turned into anger.
"What...what's going on..."
He rushed over like a madman, picking up the shards from the ground, almost crying out, "What a tragedy! This is our shop's prized possession, a Ming blue-and-white porcelain worth fifty million! Who, who did this?!"
Upon hearing that the item was worth fifty million, Yun Yuyan's face turned even paler. Even if she sold herself, it wouldn't be enough to pay off the debt.
The problem is, she didn't even touch that thing, so how did she fall down?
She still doesn't understand what happened or how this could have happened.
"I...I didn't touch it...it fell down by itself..."
Yun Yuyan tried her best to explain, but no one listened to her explanations.
After all, she fell there, and the bottle broke on the ground; it was like catching her red-handed.
Mr. Fang's expression instantly turned icy cold: "Ms. Yun, I invited you upstairs for Mr. Xiao's sake, but I didn't expect you to not only break my prized possession, but also try to deny it. Tell me, who else could it be but you?"
"Don't tell me the bottle fell down by itself, okay? Do you really think I'm a three-year-old? That easily fooled?"
"Even if we argue until the end, you have to pay for this. Fifty million, not a penny less. Besides, I'm the one who's at a disadvantage. This good stuff is worth far more than fifty million; it can attract so many customers if it stays here!"
Yun Yuyan opened her mouth, but ultimately didn't know how to explain.
She began to hate herself for being so curious, for insisting on buying antiques, and for coming to see antiques. If she had stayed at home, or even just sat there, none of this would have happened.
Even if she didn't break the bottle, would anyone believe her now?
She looked at Xiao Chen, feeling completely lost. Now, only Xiao Chen could help her.
Xiao Chen gave Yun Yuyan a reassuring look, as if to say that this was not a big deal and not to panic.
Yun Yuyan was stunned for a moment. She knew Xiao Chen was rich, but what right did she have to make Xiao Chen spend so much money to compensate her?
Xiao Chen didn't care about Yun Yuyan's thoughts. He got up and went to the vicinity of the fragments, picked up a piece and examined it carefully. The more he looked, the more obvious the cold smile on his lips became.
"Xiao Chen, I'm sorry, I...you...you pay for it first, I'll do anything to pay you back!" Yun Yuyan was truly desperate; she wasn't the type to renege on her debts. (End of Chapter)