Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 213: Chapter 210: The Fish Takes the Bait Chapter 213: Chapter 210: The Fish Takes the Bait Forbearance in small matters disrupts great plans; he could not allow himself to fail so close to the finish line.

Liao Song’s eyes flashed with regret, annoyance, anger, and unwillingness, but in the end, his gaze at Liu Weijie was filled with hesitation:

“Are you sure you want to take that porcelain carving back with you today?”

Liu Weijie certainly didn’t miss the struggle in Liao Song’s eyes; he grew more certain that Liao Song had smashed the counterfeit porcelain and now simply had nothing to produce!

Liu Weijie sneered to himself. If I hadn’t said I was going to take the porcelain back today, how could I have tricked you out of your money? Do you think I’m as easy to deceive as you? I came here precisely because I expected you wouldn’t have anything to offer, just to deliberately pick a quarrel!

“In a couple of days, it will be the sixtieth birthday celebration of my friend’s mother. He has already given me the deposit, and he’s just waiting to take that porcelain carving back as a birthday gift. It’s also not right for me to keep dragging this out without giving him the actual item.”

As he spoke, Liu Weijie seemed to casually remind him, “I’m here today to redeem my item. That porcelain carving has been mortgaged with you, Brother Liao, for such a long time. I really should thank you for taking such good care of it.”

The subtext of these words was, when I mortgaged it to you, I didn’t say I wouldn’t redeem it. Even if you discovered the item to be a fake, to me, it’s still a highly valuable genuine piece. You smashed it without communicating with me first, so naturally, any loss would be on you!

Liao Song of course understood the implied meaning in Liu Weijie’s words; now he was really at loggerheads with Liu Weijie. You want to play a role? Fine, let’s see who has the better acting skills.

“Weijie, this is…” Liao Song’s face contorted with feigned difficulty, his mouth opening and closing as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself.

Seeing Liao Song’s expression, Liu Weijie felt secretly thrilled. Frowning, he looked at Liao Song, “What’s wrong, Brother Liao? Is there a problem with my porcelain carving?”

“No, no problem at all…”

Liao Song hastily shook his head in denial, but his evasive expression seemed to hide something, his words carrying a sense of trying too hard to conceal it.

Seeing this, Liu Weijie felt a surge of confidence, his lips unconsciously curling up:

“Since that’s the case, would Brother Liao please take out my porcelain carving? I’ve also made arrangements to meet with a friend, so I won’t delay any longer here. I’ll just take the item and be on my way.”

Liu Weijie was very adamant. As he spoke, he attempted to thrust the cheque into Liao Song’s hand.

Panic flickered over Liao Song’s face, his eyes complex as he stared at the cheque, and at last, he bit the bullet and spoke up, “Weijie, I’ve had The Droplet Guanyin for some time now, I’ve played with it every day, grown fond of it, and besides, I really like your porcelain carving. Could you consider transferring it to me?”

Liao Song’s tone sounded all the more unnatural, especially when he said he really liked that porcelain carving, it was almost through gritted teeth.

Xu Deqing, who sat to the side and had remained silent the whole time, kept to himself. If it weren’t for the inappropriate setting, he would have struggled not to laugh aloud.

Liao Song’s acting was just too convincing. If Xu Deqing hadn’t been in on the plan from the start, he might have genuinely believed Liao Song was acting this way because he had smashed the porcelain carving and couldn’t produce the item.

Liu Weijie had no idea he had fallen into a trap, still thinking his plan was perfect. He looked at Liao Song awkwardly:

“Brother Liao, as you know, in our circle, reputation and credibility are more important than anything. Having already made a promise to someone, how could I go back on my word? Besides, I’ve already taken a deposit and signed the sales agreement. If I were to back out now, I’d have to pay five times the penalty in damages. That would be a complete loss.”

“`

Liao Song’s face immediately darkened as he heard these words, disappointment written all over his face.

“Liao brother, this really puts me in a difficult position…”

Seeing Liao Song’s dejected expression, Liu Weijie hesitated for a moment, then fell silent as if reaching a significant decision. He looked at Liao Song with understanding and said:

“Well, Liao brother, you’ve helped me out before, and I cannot be too unkind. Since you truly like that porcelain sculpture, I’ll let you have it. However, the breach of contract fee I have to pay my friend…”

As he said this, Liu Weijie stared straight at Liao Song, the implication in his words clear as day.

You can have the porcelain sculpture, but you need to cover the tripled breach of contract fee for me.

Liao Song’s anger was not small, and he suppressed his rage before asking, “How much is the breach of contract fee?”

A triumphant gleam flashed in Liu Weijie’s eyes as he held up two fingers and said, “My friend paid me a deposit of eighty thousand. According to the contract’s penalty clause, five times that amount would be four hundred thousand.”

Four hundred thousand?!

Xu Deqing, sitting on the couch, nearly choked on his breath, his face turning crimson. It took him several breaths to regain his normal color.

This swindler is truly greedy as a snake trying to swallow an elephant—he already deceived us out of five hundred thousand and now he wants to swindle yet again!

A cold smile also appeared in Liao Song’s eyes. Four hundred thousand—Liu Weijie really had quite the gall to ask for such an amount. Was he not afraid that asking for too much would bite his own tongue?

Seeing Liao Song frown without speaking, Liu Weijie started to feel a bit nervous, wondering if he had priced it too high.

But then he thought, Liao Song comes from a rich boss’s background, with such a collecting hobby. He’s seen Liao Song casually spend a million on a pair of enamel color porcelain vases without batting an eye—what’s four hundred thousand to him?

With that thought, Liu Weijie calmed down and continued, “Here’s the thing, I’ve previously pawned this porcelain here without any other thoughts. Liao brother, if you could lend me five hundred thousand to help with my urgent need, The Droplet Guanyin is a piece of Song Dynasty white porcelain, and I don’t want to raise the price on you, so let’s settle it at five hundred thousand.”

His implication was that even if his friend was willing to pay eight hundred thousand, he would sell it to Liao Song for only five hundred thousand; however, Liao Song would still have to compensate the forty thousand breach of contract fee.

Liu Weijie had made a good calculation: first, he took five hundred thousand from Liao Song, and now he was adding a breach of contract fee of four hundred thousand, which totaled nine hundred thousand.

Moreover, he made it sound reluctant because if the porcelain sculpture was a genuine artifact, and he did have such a nonexistent friend who bought it, he’d be able to make eight hundred thousand for himself in an instant. By that calculation, he really was giving Liao Song a deal because he’d be making thirty thousand less!

Liao Song was nearly driven to laughter by the crook’s brazen logic!

Liu Weijie, seeing Liao Song’s bowed head in silence, took it as hesitation and decided to push further, saying:

“To be honest, I have a good relationship with my friend, and if you hadn’t helped me before, Liao brother, I truly wouldn’t agree to break the contract, as I’d have to explain it to my friend. It’s only because you like it, Liao brother, that I’m willing to make an exception just this once.”

“Of course, if you think it’s too much trouble, Liao brother, forget it. After all, it’s just a porcelain sculpture—we can always look for another set someplace else.”

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