Top Soldier Pursued by a Beauty

Zhang Wei frowned as he examined the watch and the painting. He also dabbled in collecting and immediately spotted that something was wrong. He roared, "Fuck your mother! You damn bitch, how dare you try to fool me? This is a fucking fake watch! And this painting isn't even worth two thousand yuan! Damn you!"

Infuriated, Zhang Wei slapped Li Mujing across the face again.

Li Mujing was stunned, as was Wang Han. Both of them turned to look at Zhou Chongming.

Li Mujing's face was livid with rage. "Chongming, what is the meaning of this? You gave us a fake watch and a fake painting?"

Zhou Chongming forced himself to explain, "I... I had no idea! I might have been tricked, too!"

Li Mujing was so angry she felt dizzy. She gritted her teeth and said, "I don't care. You'd better pay the bill first!"

"I... I don't have any money, Auntie. Could you pay for me first? Consider it a loan. Besides, you took a lot of that liquor, didn't you?" Zhou Chongming stammered, his tone tinged with resentment.

Li Mujing was so furious she could have spat blood. With so many people watching and the bottles of expensive liquor in her hands, she couldn't afford to lose face. Helplessly, she reluctantly paid the bill. After paying, Zhou Chongming was too ashamed to stay any longer, so he made an excuse and slipped away.

Having drunk too much, Wang Jianguo had no idea what had happened. It wasn't until he got home and sobered up that he learned about the fiasco.

Li Mujing cursed vehemently, "That Zhou Chongming! I always thought he was an honest and conscientious kid. To think he was just full of hot air! He gave us counterfeits! He's going to be the death of me!"

Wang Jianguo grunted from the side, "I always thought that kid was only honest on the surface, just as I suspected. If it weren't for his family's money, I reckon he couldn't even compare to Zhao Dong!"

Wang Han pouted, about to argue, but after a moment's thought, she fell into a sullen silence. It seemed her father had a point.

Li Mujing said disdainfully, "Zhao Dong isn't fit to be compared to Zhou Chongming. No matter what, Zhou Chongming's family has a company; they have money and a solid foundation. What the hell does Zhao Dong have?"

Wang Han suddenly wrinkled her nose, a puzzled look on her face. "Dad, Mom, I just remembered something. If Zhou Chongming didn't arrange for the private room today, who did?"

At her question, all three of them fell silent.

Wang Han then whispered, "And... did you notice? Right before Zhao Dong left, he said the room wasn't arranged by Zhou Chongming at all. After he left... the hotel staff's attitude completely changed. Do you think... Zhao Dong could have been the one who arranged it?"

Li Mujing's expression flickered, but she quickly retorted with disdain, "Impossible. Where would Zhao Dong get the connections to arrange something like that? He's a useless ex-soldier. He's not even fit to shine the hotel owner's shoes."

Wang Han nodded. "That's true. I don't think it could have been him either, but maybe he knew something we didn't."

A look of realization dawned on Li Mujing's face. "That must be it. If he really had that kind of ability, would he have given us fakes?"

Speaking of fakes, Wang Han suddenly said, "Right, Mom, didn't you send photos to your group for an appraisal? Did they say anything?"

Li Mujing froze, then hurriedly pulled out her phone. A moment later, her expression changed dramatically.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Wang Han asked in surprise.

Li Mujing's face was ashen, and her voice trembled. "Han, Jianguo, someone in the group says... the things Zhao Dong gave us are real!"

"What?!"

Li Mujing swallowed hard. "An appraisal expert is on their way right now. She wants to take a look in person."

No sooner had the words left her mouth than there was an urgent knock at the door. Li Mujing went to open it.

Standing at the entrance was a tall, slender woman of about twenty-six or twenty-seven. She had an elegant demeanor, delicate features, and was wearing gold-rimmed glasses and professional office attire.

Li Mujing quickly welcomed her. "Professor Xia, you're here! Please, come in and have a seat."

The visitor was Xia Ruyan, an antique appraisal expert from East Sea. Though young, she held a Ph.D. and possessed profound knowledge and outstanding ability, making her a well-known figure in East Sea's collector circles. When she saw the pictures Li Mujing had posted in the group chat, she had clicked on them out of curiosity and was instantly shocked. The painting in the photo appeared to be an authentic work by the Tang dynasty artist Yuan Hu, at least from the picture.

Thus, she had rushed over immediately. Upon seeing Li Mujing, she got straight to the point. "You must be Ms. Li Mujing. I saw the pictures you posted in the group, and I wanted to see the items in person. Would that be convenient?"

"Yes, yes, of course! Please, come in and take a look," Li Mujing said hurriedly.

As soon as Xia Ruyan stepped inside, Li Mujing suddenly remembered something and cried out, "Oh no! I tore up the painting!"

Xia Ruyan was taken aback. "What? You tore it?"

Li Mujing scrambled to retrieve the pieces of the painting from the trash bin. She pieced them together, smoothed them out, and handed the damaged artwork to Xia Ruyan. "Professor Xia, please look. Is this real or fake?"

Xia Ruyan picked up a magnifying glass, examining the ink and the texture of the paper. As she did, her expression slowly changed.

At the side, Li Mujing picked the broken pieces of the bracelet out of the trash and placed them in front of Xia Ruyan. "Professor Xia, take a look at these, too. They must all be fakes, right?"

Xia Ruyan's expression shifted again. She carefully examined the texture of the bracelet fragments. After a moment, her body swayed, and she rubbed her forehead, nearly collapsing.

Li Mujing quickly asked, "Professor Xia, what's wrong? Have you figured out if they're real or fake?"

Massaging her forehead, Xia Ruyan looked at Li Mujing, momentarily at a loss for words.

"Professor Xia, please say something!" Li Mujing urged anxiously. "Are these things counterfeit?"

Xia Ruyan took a few deep breaths and finally spoke. "This painting, along with this bracelet, are both authentic treasures. If they were put on the market, a preliminary estimate would place their value at around one million yuan. But now... the painting is torn, and the bracelet is shattered. They're worthless."

Heaving a heavy sigh, Xia Ruyan added, "Ms. Li, these two items are extremely valuable collectibles. If you didn't like them, you could have donated them. To have them destroyed like this is an atrocious waste of precious artifacts."

Li Mujing collapsed onto the floor, staring blankly at Xia Ruyan.

Beside her, Wang Han was also stunned. She trembled as she spoke, "Mom, did you hear Professor Xia? The things Zhao Dong gave us... they were real! Worth a million yuan! And you just destroyed them!"

Covering her face, Li Mujing began to sob. "Professor Xia, I had no idea! I didn't know they were genuine. I thought they were worthless fakes! Professor Xia, can they be repaired?"

Xia Ruyan sighed and shook her head. "No, they can't."

Wang Jianguo's face was a mask of astonishment. He hurriedly handed the small amount of remaining tea leaves to Xia Ruyan. "Professor Xia, could you look at this tea? He said it was very precious..."

Xia Ruyan knew a thing or two about tea as well. She raised an eyebrow when she saw the leaves, a look of surprise on her face. Pinching a small amount, she brought it to her nose and sniffed. Her eyes widened in shock. "This... this is Da Hong Pao, aged for several decades! This is top-grade tea! My goodness, I've only ever seen this once, at the home of a top-tier collector in the capital. To think I'd see the highest grade of Da Hong Pao here! Even this small amount is likely worth hundreds of thousands of yuan."

Wang Jianguo's mouth fell open, and he nearly lost his balance. Standing beside him, Wang Han was completely dumbfounded, rooted to the spot.

The things Zhao Dong had brought today... were actually treasures worth millions!

My God!

Xia Ruyan suddenly spoke again. "Could you please give me the phone number of the gentleman who gave you these items? I'm quite interested in him and would like to find some time to chat."

His mind a complete blank, Wang Jianguo recited the number. Xia Ruyan thanked them and left.

A dead silence fell over Wang Han's home. Li Mujing hung her head, not daring to utter a word. Looking at her mother, Wang Han was on the verge of tears. "Mom, you... you destroyed millions of yuan worth of treasures!" she cried, her voice ending in a sigh of despair.

Wang Jianguo stared at the last bit of remaining tea and slumped onto the sofa, his blood pressure soaring. "Zhao Dong sincerely gave us such wonderful gifts, Li Mujing! You... you've made me so angry! That was millions! The company still has millions in debt. If we had that money... You wasteful woman!"

Li Mujing sat on the floor, wiping away her tears. "How was I supposed to know they were real? I couldn't imagine Zhao Dong could afford such expensive gifts. Does he look like someone who could?"

Wang Jianguo thought about it and had to agree. Zhao Dong certainly didn't seem the type. "Perhaps he met a benefactor in the army, and they were gifts," he mused. "I heard Zhao Dong was very popular in the military and was on good terms with several leaders. Maybe they gave them to him. In any case, this is your fault! You wasteful woman!"

With a grim expression and as if struck by a sudden thought, Wang Han stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

Wang Jianguo suddenly sighed. "If Han and Zhao Dong had gotten together, it might not have been a bad thing after all."

Meanwhile, Zhao Dong had taken his parents home. Zhao Kangyou had drunk quite a bit, and Zhang Cuimei was exhausted from the long day, so the elderly couple went to rest. Zhao Dong sat alone in the small courtyard, smoking a cigarette and planning to visit Zhao Qirou in a little while.

Just then, footsteps sounded from outside, and a graceful figure appeared at the courtyard gate.

Seeing it was Wang Han, Zhao Dong frowned. "Why are you here?"

Wang Han bit her lip and mumbled, "Zhao Dong, can you come out for a minute? There's something I want to ask you."