Reborn As Super Heiress

Huo Sining certainly didn’t miss the deep suspicion and inquiry in the eyes of these two people, but her expression remained unflustered. Instead, she smiled faintly and asked, ”I wonder, Director Zhu, are you asking about the painting itself, or the seal on the painting?”

Huo Sining spoke with a tone that was neither humble nor arrogant, and her demeanor was calm and composed, exuding confidence and certainty, which left Zhu Qingming and Liu Pengcheng momentarily stunned.

Once they understood the implication in Huo Sining’s words, Zhu Qingming’s expression changed slightly. He quickly lowered his head to examine the seal closely, then felt the paper of the ancient painting, and adjusted the scroll to view it from several angles. He didn’t forget to take out a magnifying glass and scrutinize the seal several times. After some contemplation, surprise unintentionally appeared in his eyes.

”Interesting, truly interesting. This is the first time I’ve encountered such a case.”

Liu Pengcheng didn’t understand what Zhu Qingming meant by that, but since Zhu Qingming said so, combined with Huo Sining’s earlier words, Liu Pengcheng already knew that there might be something peculiar about the seal on this painting.

Staring at the seal for a long time, Liu Pengcheng fell deep into thought and remained silent.

On the other side, Zhu Qingming’s eyes had already shown a hint of amusement. He smirked slightly and asked Liu Pengcheng with a smile, ”What do you think of this painting?”

Liu Pengcheng’s expression was somewhat conflicted, wishing to voice his suspicion, yet found the matter too absurd and perplexing. Because it defied logic, he didn’t dare to speak up.

Seeing Liu Pengcheng’s hesitation, Zhu Qingming didn’t press him, but looked at Huo Sining with curiosity and a hint of playfulness, ”Since Boss Huo put it that way, there must be more to say. I wonder what your insight might be on this painting?”

Huo Sining laughed, ”It’s not quite insight, just my humble opinion. If there’s anything incorrect, I hope Director Zhu would be indulgent and give guidance. This painting should be a replica; the person who painted it is very familiar with Shen Zhou’s style and imitates it with great skill, capturing eighty percent of Shen Zhou’s essence, almost indistinguishable from the real thing.”

”However, a forgery is ultimately a forgery. No matter how well it is imitated, it’s still fake. But this painting has a peculiarity compared to typical forgeries—its seal is indeed Shen Zhou’s personal seal, and the paper used for this painting is also a product of the Ming Dynasty, which is beyond doubt.”

Huo Sining candidly shared her views on the painting. The more she spoke, the more Zhu Qingming’s eyes sparkled. By the end of it, he was almost smiling at her with a look of surprise and admiration, as if he were looking at a treasure.

Clearly, Zhu Qingming also strongly agreed with Huo Sining. But her words hit a nerve, causing the usually calm fraud with the surname Kong next to them to explode. He furious jumped up from the sofa, shouting loudly:

”What? A replica? But Boss Huo, it was you who told me yesterday that this was an authentic piece by Shen Zhou, which is why I reserved this painting and even paid a deposit. Now you say it’s a replica, only the seal is genuine? Are you trying to scam me? I spent two million, did I just buy a seal that doesn’t even cover a handprint?”

Zhu Qingming initially had a smile on his face but frowned slightly at Boss Kong’s loud complaint. However, he understood that Boss Kong was the one who bought this painting from Huo Sining and had even paid a deposit. If Huo Sining was caught in a lie by Boss Kong, it wouldn’t be easy to resolve the situation.

Despite only a brief interaction of less than ten minutes, Zhu Qingming had a good impression of this young Boss Huo. She was straightforward, with a clear and proper demeanor, seemingly not the type of person to resort to such underhanded tactics. He didn’t believe Huo Sining would do such a thing.

But why would this Boss Kong accuse her of deception? This puzzled Zhu Qingming, and he couldn’t help but look at Huo Sining with a hint of doubt in his eyes.

”Boss Kong, your acting is too hasty. My sincere advice to you is to return to Beiying Factory for a few more years of practice. Otherwise, with your skills, you’re destined to remain an extra for life!”

Huo Sining looked at the fraud with the surname Kong, not a hint of tension or panic in her eyes, but instead said with a smile something that left Zhu Qingming and Liu Pengcheng bewildered.

What Huo Sining said was unintelligible to Zhu Qingming and Liu Pengcheng, but the fraud with the surname Kong understood it perfectly. Her words struck him like a thunderbolt, making his heart jolt with shock. He instinctively raised his head to look at Huo Sining, his eyes betraying anxiety and guilt.

Damn it, how does this woman know he works as an extra at Beiying Factory? Could she know about his deal with Mr. Liang?

The fraud with the surname Kong appeared uncertain and skeptical after seeing Huo Sining’s amused expression.

No, that can’t be. My dealings with Liang Ruicheng were done very discreetly. How could she possibly know? She must be trying to bluff me!

With this thought, the fraud with the surname Kong reassured himself and appeared much calmer, sneering as he said:

”Boss Huo, what do you mean by all this talk of acting skills and Beiying Factory? I’m a bit confused. I’m talking about this replica painting, and hope you don’t deliberately change the subject. When I came yesterday, you clearly told me this was an authentic piece. How come you’ve changed your tune in front of the experts now? Is it because Professor Zhu and Mister Liu came, and you know you can’t deceive them, so you’re trying to get ahead of the truth and avoid accountability?”

Huo Sining couldn’t help but shake her head and laughed, ”Boss Kong, we all know who’s trying to evade responsibility. From the moment you entered the store until you left, I recorded everything. I remember very well; you headed straight for this painting, determined it was an authentic Shen Zhou piece, and claimed you had studied ancient paintings for years, searching for a Shen Zhou piece for a long time. You couldn’t bear to let it go. But, which of your ears heard me say this painting was genuine?”

As she spoke, Huo Sining took a voice recorder out of her pocket and tossed it onto the coffee table.

Once Huo Sining took out the voice recorder, the fraud was stupefied.

Indeed, yesterday he went directly to that painting upon entering the store. He himself first stated that this was an authentic work by Shen Zhou, but he really hadn’t noticed whether this woman, surnamed Huo, had ever confirmed or denied if the painting was a genuine Shen Zhou piece. When he thought carefully, it seemed she hadn’t actually said it was.