When everyone heard that Liu Lili’s father was a professional artifact appraiser, they looked at Ye Chen with disdain and pity.


They thought Ye Chen was truly out of luck.


Trying to show off, only to run into an expert—wasn’t this like digging your own grave? Once Liu Lili’s father, Liu Yuesheng, came down, Ye Chen was bound to make a complete fool of himself.


Xiao Churan, feeling embarrassed, whispered to Ye Chen, “Ye Chen, there are so many classmates here. Don’t push it, or it’ll be so humiliating!”


Before arriving, Ye Chen had mentioned buying a painting, but he said it wasn’t worth much. Now, he was claiming it was worth tens of thousands. Xiao Churan felt unsure and thought he might be lying for the sake of pride.


However, Ye Chen didn’t care at all. He said calmly, “Since no one believes me, let’s have a professional appraisal.”


He added with a sly grin, “Oh, and don’t forget, Wang Tengfei just swore to eat the table if the painting’s value exceeded all the gifts combined.”


Wang Tengfei, still furious about his burned car, cursed, “Ye Chen, stop acting cocky! You tricked me in the race earlier, and I already owned up to my loss! This time, I’ll do it again. If your painting is worth tens of thousands, I’ll eat the table right here. But if it’s not, will you eat it?”


Ye Chen nodded with a faint smile. “Sure. If it’s not worth it, I’ll eat it too.”


The painting wasn’t from a famous artist, but it was an authentic piece by Huang Shen from the Qing Dynasty. The antique store where he bought it was a reputable national chain offering guarantees of authenticity, so there was no way it could be fake.


Xiao Churan tried to stop Ye Chen, but before she could react, Ye Chen had already agreed. Left with no choice, she sighed inwardly.


Dong Ruolin was also surprised by Ye Chen’s confidence. The man seemed so mysterious—after all, even the notorious Hong Wu had bowed to him at Tianxiang Pavilion. She couldn’t figure out why, but one thing was certain: Ye Chen had secrets.


Wang Tengfei, seeing an opportunity to turn the tables, eagerly said, “Great! Everyone, be witnesses. Let’s have Liu Lili invite her father down for an appraisal.”


Liu Lili pulled out her phone and called, “Dad, can you come down for a moment? One of Daokun’s classmates brought a painting and would like you to appraise it.”


A minute later, an elderly man slowly descended the stairs. This was none other than Liu Yuesheng, a renowned artifact appraiser in Jinling.


Today, he was attending his daughter and future son-in-law’s restaurant opening and had been chatting with an old friend upstairs. Hearing there was a painting to appraise, his professional instincts kicked in, and he immediately came down to take a look.


As Liu Yuesheng approached the stage, Liu Lili handed him the gift box and said, “Dad, please take a look at this painting. Someone claims it’s worth tens of thousands!”


She glanced at Ye Chen disdainfully. A freeloading loser claiming to gift a painting worth tens of thousands? Who would believe that?


Most of the others shared her skepticism.


No one thought Ye Chen could genuinely gift a painting worth that much.


Liu Yuesheng carefully took out the scroll and unrolled it under everyone’s gaze.


The painting, slightly yellowed with age, appeared unimpressive. Judging by its appearance alone, several classmates couldn’t resist commenting:


“Just look at it—it doesn’t seem like anything valuable.”


“Yeah, I’d say it’s worth fifty bucks at most.”


“The box is probably worth more—maybe seventy or eighty!”


After examining the painting closely for a few minutes, Liu Yuesheng finally looked up and asked, “Did Daokun’s classmate give this to him?”


“Yes,” Liu Lili replied. “He’s supposed to be an old college buddy!”


In her mind, she was eager for her father to expose Ye Chen’s lie in front of everyone. A cheap piece of junk trying to pass as valuable? She couldn’t wait to see him humiliated.


However, to everyone’s surprise, Liu Yuesheng said, “He must be a very close friend. Who else would gift something so valuable?”


The room fell silent.


What? Valuable? This piece of junk?


Wang Tengfei thought to himself, Valuable, my ass! I could buy a fake painting from the flea market and make it look more convincing than this!


But then, Liu Yuesheng continued seriously, “This is an authentic work by Huang Shen, a Qing Dynasty painter. While Huang Shen isn’t the most famous artist, he’s one of the renowned ‘Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou’ and a very accomplished painter.”


He added, “I estimate this painting’s market value to be around 200,000 yuan.”


“200,000 yuan?!” Liu Lili was dumbfounded. She had thought the painting was worthless. Who would have guessed it was worth 200,000?!


Even Wang Daokun was stunned. “Ye Chen! How could you gift me something so valuable? This is way too much!”


Ye Chen replied calmly, “It’s just a token of appreciation, Daokun. Don’t worry about its price.”


Wang Daokun was deeply moved. He never expected his old college buddy to be so generous!


Wang Tengfei, on the other hand, was in utter disbelief.


What the hell? This ugly painting was worth 200,000? How could that be possible?


The classmates were equally shocked. No one dared look down on Ye Chen anymore.


After all, anyone who casually gave away a 200,000-yuan painting couldn’t be ordinary!


Everyone felt envious of Wang Daokun. What a windfall to receive such an expensive gift at his restaurant opening!


Meanwhile, Liu Lili, having seen her father’s professional evaluation, quickly changed her opinion of Ye Chen. She looked at him with newfound admiration. A man capable of such generosity was no simple person!


Xiao Churan, still in disbelief, asked, “Ye Chen, how much did you actually pay for this painting?”


Ye Chen smiled faintly and whispered, “It wasn’t expensive. The seller was an old friend who got it as a bargain and sold it to me at a low price.”


Xiao Churan frowned. “A painting worth over 200,000 sold to you for a few thousand? Is that even possible?”


Ye Chen replied casually, “Some people just don’t care that much about money. Besides, I’m the same—I wouldn’t have gifted it to Daokun if I were obsessed with its value.”


Xiao Churan nodded lightly, realizing her husband might not be very accomplished but had an undeniable charm and generosity.


At this moment, Ye Chen stood up, looked at the flustered Wang Tengfei, and asked with a grin, “So, Wang Tengfei, how do you plan to eat this table? Will you bite into it as is, or should I cut it into pieces for you?”