“How much?” Gary was in the construction business; he had no clue about jade.
“At least ten million to start!” Nicola named a price.
“What!?” Gary was taken aback.
Reg’s expression turned extremely gloomy. He thought, “You, Gary, I’m even helping you secure projects in front of my old man, and you dare to bring two fakes to deceive me!”
This was a major loss of face.
The surrounding diners began to comment, this time not envying Reg but mocking him.
“Using fake goods to impress girls, this is the first time I’ve seen it. It’s really amusing.”
“No money but still showing off, let’s see how he handles this now.”
“I never thought that the beautiful lady was an expert in jade. I’ve been thinking of buying a jade bracelet for my girlfriend lately. Looks like I need to ask for some advice.”
Gary was cornered now. He looked at Nicola anxiously and said, “Miss, your words alone aren’t enough to prove that these two bracelets are fakes.”
Gary’s words echoed what everyone was thinking.
If they were so certain that the bracelets were fake, then evidence needed to be presented; otherwise, it would be hard to convince anyone.
Appraising jade was Nicola’s most professional and skilled expertise.
“If you want to prove it, fine! I won’t go into the very specialized methods; you wouldn’t understand even if I did. Try the simplest method: take a bracelet in each hand, gently tap them together, and listen to the sound.”
Reg handed the broken bracelet fragments to Gary with a grim face.
Nicola continued, “Genuine high-quality jade bracelets make a clear and pleasant sound when tapped. On the other hand, inferior jade that has undergone chemical treatment produces a dull and short sound. Give it a try.”
Nervously, Gary tapped the bracelets together.
After a light sound, just as Nicola had described, the sound was dull and short.
Gary felt a sense of despair and disbelief. He dared to tap them again, this time with too much force due to his nervousness. The two bracelets in his hands actually broke and fell to the ground.
Gary’s face turned completely blank as he stared down in disbelief.
Nicola seemed to have anticipated this situation. She chuckled and said, “Easily breakable – this is one of the defects of low-quality jade that’s been chemically treated.”
Bending down, Reg picked up a piece of the broken bracelet. After seeing the color of the fracture, he immediately confirmed that the jade bracelet was indeed fake.
The transition between colors in the fracture wasn’t natural at all; it was definitely the result of artificial treatment.
“It can’t be like this. How could my friend possibly deceive me?” Gary started muttering to himself in disbelief.
Six hundred thousand, though not a small sum, wasn’t enough to ruin Gary financially.
He was pained by the fact that he had been deceived, that over a decade of friendship could be shattered by six hundred thousand – truly pitiful and laughable!
Judging from Gary’s expression, Nicola knew that he was deeply affected. Since that was the case, she didn’t mind dealing him another blow.
“Want more proof? Fine! I won’t talk about the highly professional methods, which you wouldn’t understand anyway. Try the simplest test: take a lighter and burn a piece; you’ll see something interesting.”
Reg handed the remaining fragment of the bracelet to Gary.
Gary didn’t want to test it anymore, but since he was being watched, he went ahead and did it.
He took the fragment, pulled out a lighter, and began burning it.
As the temperature rose, white smoke emerged from the burnt section of the fragment, soon turning into black smoke, emitting a pungent smell of burning plastic that spread around.
In just a minute, after Gary withdrew the lighter, the burnt section of the fragment had turned gray-white, and the green color had disappeared completely.
“Indeed fake. I didn’t expect there’d be this method of identification. Learned something new today.”
“I never knew that fake jade would lose color under high temperatures. I should try burning the jade my wife brought back from Myanmar.”
“These guys actually wanted to impress girls with fakes. Don’t they have any shame?”
Reg couldn’t bear the comments from the crowd anymore. Pointing at Gary, he shouted, “Gary Stowe, I can’t believe I went out of my way to help you. You actually used fakes to deceive me. Your project on the Sunshine Coast is finished!”
For someone like Reg, reputation was everything. He couldn’t bear to stay here and suffer further damage to his reputation. After cursing at Gary, he left without looking back.
Retreating is the best strategy, especially if you might encounter acquaintances; otherwise, you’ll become the joke.
“Reg, please don’t be upset. Things aren’t as you think. Oh well, wait for me!”
Gary wanted to chase after Reg, but the waiter who had brought the wine earlier stopped him. “Sir, could you settle the bill for the meal and wine first?”
Gary’s vision blurred, and he nearly fell to the ground.
After paying the bill, Gary was about to continue pursuing Reg, but Leo appeared in front of him, smiling as he asked, “That guy called you Gary Stowe, right?”
“What do you want?” Gary had no favorable impression of this man.
“Don’t be nervous. I just want to ask, what’s your relationship with Scott Stowe?”
“Scott Stowe is my younger brother. Do you know him?”
Leo nodded. “We’ve crossed paths.”
“Cut the nonsense about knowing each other. I’m not buying it. Move aside!” Gary thought Leo was trying to establish a connection.
Leo stepped aside, and Gary chased after Reg.
While running, Gary remembered his unfortunate younger brother. He didn’t know who his brother had provoked to end up getting beaten up and lying in a hospital bed now.
After dinner, Nicola sincerely invited Leo to join her and Coral for some shopping.
Leo didn’t hesitate at all and promptly declined.
No joking around; all the experienced men online warned that when women started shopping, they would evolve and run rampant, becoming extremely terrifying creatures. What’s more, there were two women right in front of him!
Seeing Leo depart in a hurry, both Coral and Nicola couldn’t help but smile.
“By the way, Nicola, what do you think of Leo?” Coral suddenly asked.
Nicola furrowed her brows and pondered for a moment. “Well, he’s alright, an interesting person.”
“I think you should consider finding a boyfriend. Since you think Leo is good, maybe consider him.” Coral winked.
“Hey, Coral, what are you talking about?” Nicola was getting annoyed. “You’re still single, and now I’m officially telling you, if you’re not looking, then I’m not looking either!”
“What if I were to pursue Leo?”
“Then I’ll pursue Leo too!”
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Nicola realized she had been tricked. Just as she was about to grab Coral, Coral had already escaped with a playful laugh.