Chapter 26: Wearing Polyester—How Is That Any Different from Being an Egg? (Please Keep Reading and Vote!)

Xu Ruyin’s smile stiffened, and she said with a hint of ingratiation, “Miss Qin, we met at a wedding banquet just the other day. I am the bride’s cousin.”

Qin Zhengyu was impatient. “I don’t know you! I’m not the groom; do I have to recognize every single relative of the bride?”

For a moment, it wasn’t just Xu Ruyin who felt awkward; even Cheng Ziyu was mortified. Zhao Hanyang’s old face could hardly hold its composure.

An Ling didn’t miss the chance to kick them while they were down, clicking her tongue lightly. “Xu Ruyin, your skin is truly as thick as ever. People have already said they don’t know you, yet you’re still scrambling to cozy up to them?”

Chu Miaojing frowned as she looked at Qin Zhengyu, maintaining a polite but wary demeanor. “Miss Qin, it has been a while. We are here to participate in the bidding today.” She did not wish to clash with Qin Zhengyu at such a time and drag her team down.

Qin Zhengyu clicked her tongue, observing her with curiosity. “I heard you were kicked out of the Chu family?”

Chu Miaojing’s face turned unsightly.

Lin Qiongqiong pulled her behind her and said to Qin Zhengyu, “Miss Qin, does this have anything to do with today’s bidding?”

Qin Zhengyu’s expression darkened. She looked at Lin Qiongqiong with displeasure, sizing her up. “Who are you? I’m talking to Chu Miaojing; why are you interrupting?”

Lin Qiongqiong’s attitude was neither humble nor pushy. “I am the lead representative for Gu Xizhu’s team, Lin Qiongqiong.”

Upon hearing this name, Qin Zhengyu’s expression suddenly turned to one of realization. “So you’re the jewelry appraiser who sent He Fangfeng to prison.”

As she spoke, she glanced at Chu Miaojing, who was being shielded by Lin Qiongqiong, and clicked her tongue. “Chu Miaojing, your fiancé was bankrupted by her, yet you’re still friends with her?”

Chu Miaojing clenched her fists. “Miss Qin, the legal trouble He’s Jewelry fell into was due to their own mismanagement and others exploiting their loopholes. Qiongqiong merely pointed out that the jewelry was counterfeit. Even without Qiongqiong, they would have struggled to escape this disaster.”

Qin Zhengyu raised an eyebrow with an ambiguous expression. “Is that so? Wasn’t it a trap she set up together with the Jing family?”

Saying this, she pulled a brilliant gemstone brooch from her bag. “I don’t believe anyone can truly tell at a glance that so many pieces of jewelry are fake. Why don’t you take a look and tell me if the gemstones on this brooch are real?”

Lin Qiongqiong smiled. “I’m sorry, Miss Qin, that would be an extra fee.”

Qin Zhengyu: “If you guess right, I’ll give you this brooch.”

Lin Qiongqiong took the brooch from her hand and laughed. “Thank you for your generosity, Miss Qin. The diamonds and jade on this are genuine, with natural textures. Given your status, Miss Qin, I’m sure you wouldn’t deign to use fakes, right?”

Qin Zhengyu snorted. “You’re quite clever, I’ll give you that.”

Lin Qiongqiong then asked, “Are there any more activities like this?”

Qin Zhengyu: “...”

An Ling also said greedily, “Yes, Miss Qin, are there any more activities like this? A fifty percent chance of winning—that’s a much higher probability than winning the lottery.”

Chu Miaojing couldn’t help but chuckle at this. Even someone as cold as Gu Xizhu took another look at Qin Zhengyu, her brow furrowing with slight concern as she looked at Lin Qiongqiong.

Lin Qiongqiong actually understood what her mentor was thinking: *Can this person in charge of the Qin Group’s project really be trusted?*

It was only then that Lin Qiongqiong realized the project they were bidding for might just be a whim of this young lady.

Qin Zhengyu also realized what a foolish thing she had done. She puffed up like a pufferfish in anger, glaring at Lin Qiongqiong. “You dare to play me? Do you believe I’ll cancel your eligibility to bid?”

The members of Zhao Hanyang’s team looked on with schadenfreude. They had heard that this Miss Qin was spoiled and capricious within the Qin Group, and since she had absolute authority over this project, Lin Qiongqiong and Gu Xizhu were truly digging their own graves by offending her.

Lin Qiongqiong was best at feigning compliance. “Miss Qin, you’ve misunderstood. I just think you are very generous; I didn’t mean that you were foolish.”

Everyone: “...” *Is this not a provocation?*

Xu Ruyin sneered inwardly; with Miss Qin’s terrible temper, Lin Qiongqiong’s sarcastic attitude would surely lead to her downfall!

However, to everyone’s surprise, Qin Zhengyu simply tossed her hair and snorted coldly: “You’re at least sensible!”

Everyone: “...”

Lin Qiongqiong was also a bit surprised. But she immediately understood: this young lady had likely been held in high regard her entire life, accustomed to the flattery of others, and had never been spoken to with sarcasm, so she couldn’t tell the difference.

“Miss Qin’s brooch is genuine, but it’s a pity that your handbag and the scarf tied around your neck are both fake.”

Ever since Lin Qiongqiong gained her “Counterfeit Crusher” buff, she found it hard *not* to notice fakes; they looked as if they had been highlighted in red.

Just as Lin Qiongqiong said, Qin Zhengyu would never deign to use fakes, so hearing her say her bag and scarf were fake, she looked displeased. “What, as a jewelry appraiser, you’re also an expert on designer bags and scarves?”

Xu Ruyin seized the opportunity to pile on. “Lin Qiongqiong, this bag clearly looks like high-end crocodile leather, and this scarf—the color and texture are clearly real silk. You’ve never used such expensive things, so don’t spout nonsense and make a fool of yourself.”

Lin Qiongqiong reached out and tore the scarf off Qin Zhengyu, then casually borrowed a lighter from a classmate in her team who was smoking. She set it on fire right in front of everyone.

Everyone was shocked by her bold move.

Qin Zhengyu’s face was gloomy. “Lin Qiongqiong, this scarf is a limited collector’s edition; money can’t necessarily buy it. You actually destroyed it?”

However, Lin Qiongqiong brought the charred part to her. “Real silk is a protein fiber. When burned, it smells like burning hair or feathers, and it forms small, brittle black balls that crumble at a touch.”

She pinched the charred part, but it didn’t crumble. “Polyester fiber, on the other hand, has a pungent, sweet, or chemical smell, and it forms hard, black, charcoal-like particles that are not easily crushed.”

Qin Zhengyu only then noticed that the smell from the corner of the burnt scarf was very pungent—clearly not protein.

Realizing it was indeed a fake, Qin Zhengyu’s expression turned ugly. “What is polyester fiber?”

Lin Qiongqiong casually picked up a bottle of mineral water from the table, opened it, took a sip, and handed the bottle cap to her. “Here, this is it.”

Qin Zhengyu’s eyes widened. “A scarf made of bottle caps? Then what’s the difference between me and an Eggie?”

Lin Qiongqiong: “...”

*How does a big-eyed, wealthy heiress like you play Eggie Party?*

She had never played it, but she had seen her relatives’ children playing it during the New Year; in that game, Eggie outfits were redeemed with bottle caps.

So, Lin Qiongqiong thought for a moment and said, “Eggie’s bottle caps are free, but yours... this was very expensive, wasn’t it?”

Qin Zhengyu felt a sudden pang of heartache. Even though she wasn’t short of money, it didn’t mean she liked being a fool.

She redirected her anger toward Chu Miaojing, who was standing to the side: “Chu Miaojing, what is wrong with your sister? Why would she send me a fake?”

—
Goodnight