Chapter 201: Looking Down on People? An Antique Scare, but You’ve Met an Expert

Gu Shengsheng also got up and walked toward the restroom.

When she returned, she didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary, except that Zhao Han’s snores had grown louder.

Gu Shengsheng said helplessly, "Do all kids these days love to drink this much?"

Zhao Han immediately sat up and looked at her, as if ready to glare. "Sister Gu, I’m not drunk."

"Alright, alright." She wasn’t in the habit of arguing with drunkards. ’In the end, I’ll just be the one getting angry. You can’t do anything about someone who’s just going to black out and forget everything anyway.’

Then, perhaps because he sat down too abruptly, his elbow knocked a small bowl off the table.

A jarring CRASH echoed through the room.

Gu Shengsheng had barely warmed her seat when a waiter came in. "Miss, I’m so sorry. We’ll come clean this up. We apologize for disturbing your meal."

Then, with practiced efficiency, they prepared to take the broken pieces away.

Gu Shengsheng said, "Wait. Don’t we need to pay for this? How much is the compensation for this bowl?"

The waiter hadn’t expected Gu Shengsheng to ask so many questions. Normally, most people would agree to let them clean up first and then discuss compensation afterward.

That way, the final price would be much easier to negotiate.

The waiter looked at Gu Shengsheng and presented a bill. "Miss, this is one of our hotel’s special features—imperial tableware, once used by the Emperor himself. We use these valuable antiques to ensure our customers have the most comfortable dining experience."

"And?" Gu Shengsheng asked.

Mainly, she found it all rather pointless. ’Once something is broken, you can claim it’s worth the sky. Gu Shengsheng was familiar with most of these deceptive tactics.’

’Antiques, though... Don’t they know they’re trying to scam an expert?’

Gu Shengsheng looked at him and said, "You’d better state the price and specific details of this bowl. If you don’t even know them yourself, how do you expect us to compensate you?"

But he only understood half of what Gu Shengsheng was saying.

He was inwardly delighted. ’She really is nouveau riche, reeking of money. People like this are the easiest to fool.’

The waiter explained, "This is Ru porcelain. A Ru Kiln Sky Blue Glaze Sunflower Bowl from the Northern Song dynasty. Our restaurant is the only place that has it; this one-of-a-kind set of tableware was provided for your use."

"But Young Master Zhao Han has truly done us a disservice. Miss, you’re a consumer yourself, so you must understand how difficult this makes things for us."

Gu Shengsheng found it amusing that they were already trying to play the sympathy card. Playing it this early was completely meaningless.

But this Ru Kiln Sky Blue Glaze Sunflower Bowl... weren’t those the fragments she had been collecting recently? Not only was this waiter trying to scam an expert, but he was also posturing in front of her with the very artifact she collected.

’This just got a lot more interesting.’

Gu Shengsheng asked again, "Are you certain that’s what this is?"

The waiter nodded. "It’s not just me saying it; this comes straight from our boss. The standard is correct, and it has to be real. With so many people watching, how could I possibly deceive you?"

Those in the business of scams are best at pity plays. Combined with a facade of sincerity, many still make a fortune because even more people get psychologically manipulated.

Ordinary people have no money, so what’s there to scam? Then there are the young people who are into ACG and use anime profile pictures.

They get filtered out directly by criminal groups. After all, there’s a saying in scamming circles: "Guys and girls with anime profile pics are reliably broke."

Thinking about it now, Gu Shengsheng couldn’t help but chuckle.

The waiter was bewildered. "Miss, I just quoted a compensation of 3.3 million. If you have no objections, please sign the compensation agreement."

Gu Shengsheng said, "Priced at 3.3 million? That’s too low."

"Huh?" The waiter looked at Gu Shengsheng as if she were an idiot, wondering if there was something wrong with this Miss Gu.

’I’m giving her such a cheap price, and she wants to change it?’

But she was the one paying, so no one else wanted to get involved.

"Then what price does Miss think is appropriate?"

Gu Shengsheng said, "Around a hundred million. How could a Ru Kiln Sky Blue Glaze Sunflower Bowl be worth less than a hundred million?"

The waiter couldn’t hold back any longer. "Miss, don’t worry about such things. It has nothing to do with you."

"I wouldn’t mind if you wanted to compensate me for that much more."

By now, a crowd had gathered to watch the drama, knowing a scene was being made.

As for Zhao Han, he was trying his best to sober up and help Gu Shengsheng, but his head still felt fuzzy and out of sorts.

Gu Shengsheng met the waiter’s mocking gaze with a pleasant smile. "What I mean is, this isn’t a Ru Kiln Sky Blue Glaze Sunflower Bowl at all. Because that particular item hasn’t appeared in public for years. If it suddenly showed up at your Sea View Restaurant, your doors would have been beaten down by visitors long ago!"

"Miss Gu, making such baseless claims is a waste of time. You just don’t want to pay, do you? We’ve seen plenty of people like you. You’re just trying to stall, right?"

Gu Shengsheng shook her head. "No, I was just filing a complaint against you. I didn’t have time to listen to what you were saying."

The waiter wasn’t concerned about a complaint. ’After this job with Gu Shengsheng is done, I’ll go straight home! Easy money.’

The waiter said, "Young Master Zhao is the one who broke it. What’s wrong with us demanding compensation? Now, Miss, please give me the payment."

"If you’re just going to insist it’s fake, there’s nothing I can do. All I can say is, unless this thing happens to be yours, or you’ve at least seen the real one, your baseless claims mean nothing. Who are you to say what’s what?"

"As a matter of fact, this Ru Kiln Sky Blue Glaze Sunflower Bowl is mine."

"I know this is a fake because I own the real one."

Everyone present began to murmur amongst themselves.

"Has this young lady been pushed to the brink? How could she say something like that?"

"Who even knows where the real one is!"

"Don’t listen to her nonsense. She’s just a poor wretch who can’t afford to pay her debt."

"..."

But Gu Shengsheng picked up on their comments.

"This piece was last seen at the end of the last century before it was stolen, after which all trace of it was lost. Its price was approaching two hundred million back then. If this were real, and you’re asking me for a few million, are you trying to..."

"I’ve explained the details on my livestream before. Perhaps you can go watch the replay?" Gu Shengsheng looked at the waiter.

"You... you’re an appraisal streamer?" The waiter had seen how beautiful she was and assumed she was some kind of starlet—the pretty, brainless type who wasn’t very famous.

He never thought that by some bizarre twist of fate, his cockiness had led him to target the worst possible person.

Without anyone noticing, Gu Shengsheng had opened her livestream. "My name is Gu Shengsheng," she said. "I’m a streamer on the Douyin platform. Everyone is welcome to connect with me."

The waiter watched, growing anxious.