The CEO’s Substitute Wife Is A Genius
Chapter 280: Accident, Assassinated

Chapter 280: Chapter 280: Accident, Assassinated

"This is fluorite, not jade," Jiang Man said gravely, furrowing her brows.

Chen Anna was astonished and truly admired Jiang Man’s ability to discern. Just by taking one look, she could actually tell the material?

"Fluorite? What’s the difference between it and jade?" Chen Anna asked earnestly.

Jiang Man began to teach on the spot, hands in her pockets and the tips of her eyebrows raised, "Fluorite is crystalline in formation, has cleavage, no impurities. Colors include purple, green. It comes in both transparent and translucent. It has a vitreous luster, a specific gravity of 3.2, a hardness of 4, and is brittle. Jade is generally found in dense block form, it’s delicate, ranges from slightly translucent to semi-translucent, with a vitreous, greasy, or semi-greasy luster, a specific gravity between 2.6-2.98, and can be brittle, tough, or slightly tough, with a hardness ranging from 4.5-6.5."

"Impressive, sis! You even have the precise numbers? You’re like a walking encyclopedia!" Hu Ming couldn’t help but exclaim, considering it an eye-opening experience.

He wasn’t interested in gambling on stones, but after truly engaging with it today, he discovered the joy within it that could only be understood by being a part of it.

Take for instance this underground auction; it couldn’t guarantee the authenticity of the auction items one hundred percent.

Even the pair of earrings he had just won, he couldn’t actually guarantee they were the very pair Napoleon III had given the queen.

Gambling, and high-stakes gambling at that, was thrilling!

"So, according to you, sis, it’s hard to distinguish between fluorite and jadeite in a small number of cases, right?"

"Yes," Jiang Man replied calmly, her gaze intense as she stared at the stone in the center of the stage.

Someone nearby overheard their conversation and couldn’t help but interject, "Little sister, you haven’t been playing with stones for too many years, have you?"

This person eyed Jiang Man up and down, with scorn in their eyes.

Jiang Man glanced at him but didn’t take the bait.

"Ignoring me? How rude," the man complained and then puffed up, "In my opinion, this is jade. The Thousand-Year Spirit Jade is a rare variety, it’s no surprise for those who haven’t seen it before to confuse it with fluorite."

With that, he raised his hand pompously, "I bid 10 million, the Spirit Jade is mine!"

Before the auctioneer could announce the starting price, someone from the audience had already made a showy bid.

"Sir, please, don’t rush. I haven’t announced the reserve price for this Spirit Jade yet."

The crowd echoed the sentiment, discussing the impulsive bidder noisily.

"80 million!"

When the price was finally announced, the whole place was astounded.

The price was exceedingly high!

With a reserve price creeping towards a small hundred million, the final sale price was beyond imagination.

"80 million? That expensive? Jiang Man, do you think it could be real? Who would dare to sell fakes at such high prices?" Chen Anna began to waver.

If it really had the effect of aiding sleep, she could afford it at 80 million, even if she had to grit her teeth.

The fear was buying a fake.

"They don’t guarantee authenticity, right? ’Buyer beware’ once it leaves the counter," Jiang Man said with a derisive laugh.

She looked up alertly, glancing towards the second-floor railing.

When she saw the elegant lady standing by the railing, she hesitated for a moment.

"Manman, what are you looking at?" Lu Xingzhou followed her gaze.

By that time, Madam Lan Xiang had already turned and left, and he only saw a group of figures from behind.

Jiang Man felt disoriented for a moment and shook her head, "Maybe it was just my eyes playing tricks on me."

...

Half an hour later, after a prolonged bidding war, the thousand-year spirit stone was ultimately won by the man who had ridiculed Jiang Man.

At 160 million, he became the most noticeable figure of the night’s auction.

Finally, the mysterious Madam Lan Xiang took the stage, greeted those present, and expressed her gratitude.

"Tonight’s auction is a charitable sale, and I will donate the proceeds to the Red Cross. That concludes the auction part for tonight; next comes the cocktail party! Everyone, please enjoy the fine wines to your heart’s content!"

As Madam Lan Xiang’s words came to an end, cheers filled the room.

Exceptional wines from a four-hundred-year-old French vineyard were uncorked one after another.

The red liquid swirled in the decanter, emitting waves of rich fragrance.

"Don’t you all think Jiang Man looks a lot like Mrs. Lan Xiang?" Chen Anna helped herself to a glass of wine and glanced at Hu Ming.

Hu Ming also took a glass of wine and clinked it with hers, "She does look quite similar."

"It’s normal for people to look alike." Jiang Man did not mind and asked the waiter for a juice.

Lu Xingzhou accompanied her and ordered one for himself as well.

"You two don’t want to try the Bordeaux wine from this century-old vineyard?" Hu Ming was surprised.

His cousin looked like a rebel, not smoking or drinking alcohol?

Didn’t that clash with her image a bit?

"Manman can’t drink alcohol," Lu Xingzhou smiled, recalling the times when Jiang Man would be knocked out after just one drink.

When she got drunk, she acted like a hooligan; when it came to that, only they could lock the room and let him alone bear witness, forbidding anyone else.

"Hard to tell," Hu Ming sipped his drink, thoroughly satisfied, "Are you two going to greet Mrs. Lan Xiang?"

Many celebrities gathered to toast to Mrs. Lan Xiang.

Jiang Man was listless.

She was here for the Thousand-Year Spirit Jade, but that Spirit Jade turned out to be not jade but fluorite.

"There’s no fun in that, after I finish my juice, Lu Xingzhou, shall we leave?"

"Sure."

"Ah? You’re leaving now? Mrs. Lan Xiang’s personal jewelry show is coming up, don’t you want to see it?" Chen Anna tried hard to keep them.

It wasn’t until Jiang Man heard about the jewelry show that she showed a bit of interest.

While the waiter was handing her the juice, she was about to drink when suddenly she heard a commotion nearby.

"I want compensation! This is not jade at all!"

"Ahhh—"

"What are you doing?"

The crowd around Mrs. Lan Xiang scattered in fear.

Jiang Man turned her head and saw the man who just bought the Thousand-Year Spirit Jade holding a fruit knife, threatening Mrs. Lan Xiang.

The knife’s tip was aimed at her, ready to kill if negotiations failed.

A waiter tried to calm him down: "This is an underground auction; you should know the rules, sir."

Security was already approaching lightly.

But because the guests were so frightened they began to escape, some ran behind the security, alarming the man.

The man turned around and saw a dozen uniformed, burly men encircling him.

The man panicked, took a quick step forward, and went behind Mrs. Lan Xiang, pressing the knife against her neck.

"Give me back the Thousand-Year Spirit Jade, and give me the money, I want the money!!!"

He roared like a mad beast.

The onlookers stepped back in fear, and no one dared to move closer.

Mrs. Lan Xiang, seeing such a scene for the first time, tried to control herself and to remain calm.

But when the cold tip of the knife lightly touched her tender neck, her body involuntarily shivered.

"Go, give him back the money..." she immediately ordered.

The butler obeyed, fearing any complications: "Please remain calm, sir, the money will be transferred back to your account shortly."

The man calmed down a bit.

And just then, Jiang Man noticed something strange in the surroundings.

A swift figure was weaving through the crowd, dagger in hand, about to stab towards the back of Mrs. Lan Xiang...