Chapter 12

Watching everyone causing a commotion, Wynn felt like she was sitting on needles. Although she did not know what Philip had prepared, he had told her that it was a painting. Philip was not a complete idiot, so he had brought the painting that Russell had given him. But sadly, Wynn did not know. She only thought that Philip had simply bought a random decorative painting. Now that Aiden had brought out his famous Chinese painting and received great comments from everyone, the painting in Philip’s hand paled compared to a treasure like that. He would be humiliating himself if he took it out. “It’s just a gift. There’s nothing to see.” Wynn chirped in for Philip before shooting him a vicious look. If he humiliated himself in front of everyone today, she would hate him forever! She would never be able to lift her head up again in front of Aiden. “Sis, you’re just rude now. We can’t ignore Cousin Brother-in-law’s regards,” Lynn giggled as she said. She then walked over and snatched the long gift box from under the table that Philip had kept hidden. “Hey, it’s also a long gift box. Could it be a painting as well?” Lynn deliberately dragged her tone as she filled it with sarcasm. Philip did not know what to say, so he just kept quiet. “You didn’t buy this from a two-dollar shop, did you?”Lynn shook the gift box and taunted. “I bought it from an antique market,” said Philip. As soon as he said that, the people in the room glanced oddly at Philip. An antique market? How shameful! They were looking at Philip with laughter in their eyes. Charles, however, relaxed a bit, changing his views on Philip. This son-in-law at least knew of his hobbies, so it was already good enough. But that was all. Compared to the treasure that Aiden had gifted him earlier, something from an antique market was not worth mentioning. “Hahaha! How amusing! Did you buy this from an antique market? Aren’t you just being disrespectful to Uncle?” Lynn mocked. “I’ve heard that goods from an antique market are all counterfeits, and most of them are just dirty.” This term ‘dirty’ struck a nerve. Charles’s expression immediately fell dark. He could understand the usage of that word in the inner circle. It was true that a lot of goods from the antique market were ‘dirty’. If one was not careful when buying, it would bring about misfortune. Charles then snorted while the positive view he had for Philip earlier disappeared. Wynn quickly stood up to snatch the gift box back from Lynn’s hand. “Then, don’t look at it.” “That won’t do. We have to look at it. I’m curious to see what he has bought.” Lynn turned around and hastily opened the gift box to take out the painting scroll inside. A painting? When the crowd saw this, their gaze alternated between Philip and Aiden. It was no wonder Philip did not want to take it out. What painting could compare to that treasure earlier? Lynn was amused to see the mocking looks on everyone’s faces and then Wynn’s dark eyes. She unreeled the scroll with a swift movement, and the painting appeared in front of everyone’s eyes. The crowd craned their necks to look at it and was first captivated by the exquisiteness of the painting. The character portrayal was rich, the colors bright, and the lines were soft and delicate. It was a great piece! But the more they looked at it, the more confused they got. “This… Isn’t this the exact same painting as Aiden?” A young lad among the crowd exclaimed with wide eyes. In an instant, everyone came to realize that this was the exact same painting, ! With a turn of their heads, they looked at Philip. Was this a joke? He just bought a ? This was clearly a counterfeit! The moment the painting was exposed, Aiden already recognized that it was the same painting as his. He was initially stunned, but after that, he laughed coldly. Even the heavens are on my side, hahaha! Oh, Philip, you’re done for! To bring a counterfeit for the old man as a birthday gift is a brave move! Lynn purposefully shrieked loudly, “Cousin Brother-in-law, why is your painting the exact same one as Brother Aiden’s? Could yours be fake?” Everyone had the same first thought. Philip’s painting had come from an antique market, so it must be fake! “How do you know that it’s fake?” Philip’s voice suddenly rang through the whole room. The crowd was first stunned, and then they stared incredulously at Philip. Was this guy nuts? Among these two paintings, one was by Aiden, who had spent a few hundred thousand to get it while the other was bought in an antique market. It was easy to tell which was real and which was fake. Wynn nervously kicked Philip under the table, signaling him to stop saying nonsense. She had already told him before they came here, asking him to tolerate, so why did he not listen? He was really embarrassing! Lynn immediately laughed out loud. “Philip, are you saying that your painting is the authentic one? That Brother Aiden’s is fake?” Hilarious! “Maybe,” Philip added, completely ignoring Wynn, who was pinching him under the table. “Hahaha!” The crowd laughed out loud, shaking their heads helplessly as they looked down on him even more. Charles, at the head of the table, snorted coldly, completely giving up on this son-in-law of his. “If that’s the case, why don’t we get Uncle Johnston and the uncles here to take a look at it?” asked Aiden, looking very pleased with himself. He was confident. He had spent around two million to buy it from a friend. To think Philip was trying to steal his spotlight with a counterfeit that cost about ten bucks from an antique market! Dream on! Lynn immediately took Philip’s painting to Charles and the few uncles who were all collectors. “Uncles, please take a look.” Charles took it unwillingly. After a few glances, his eyes widened! His other friends too quickly took up the magnifying glass to get closer looks after sweeping a few glances at it. The more they looked, the more surprised they felt. This… this drawing style definitely belonged to Tang Bohu! This painting looked genuine too. But that was weird. These two paintings looked so identical like they were printed from the same copier. Charles and his friends exchanged glances and then bent over the table to study it closely again, not letting go of even a single detail. At this scene, everyone was shocked. Could that useless Philip’s painting be the real thing? Aiden was starting to panic as well. Uncle Charles’s expression looked like he was seeing the real thing. But it was impossible! He had spent two million dollars. It could not be fake! Wynn’s heart had already leaped up to her throat. She looked at Philip to see that he was sitting there quietly, looking calm like there was nothing to worry about. “Philip, where did you buy this from? This counterfeit is really well made, it could almost be passed off as the real thing,” Charles said through narrowed eyes. “This counterfeit is really well made. If we weren’t here, this could have really been passed off as the real thing,” Charles’s other friends chimed in. To be honest, they were not sure themselves, but they impulsively leaned toward Aiden’s painting because his painting was expensive. Upon hearing this, everyone let out a sigh of relief as they looked down on Philip even more. It was a fake, after all! Aiden, too, felt relieved as he looked cheekily at Philip. Philip frowned his expression looking a little odd. Was the painting Russell gave him a fake? But that was impossible. Was he passing off the fake as a genuine piece? Philip immediately realized that the old men must have noticed that the two paintings were just too similar, but they leaned toward Aiden’s piece. The reason was probably because Aiden was from a wealthy family while he was the broke son-in-law, so how could he have afforded the real thing? At this, Philip shook his head helplessly and gave up. Lynn, however, laughed out loud and mocked, “Philip, you’re really something. Who were you trying to cheat with a counterfeit?” She then mocked her cousin, “Sis, your husband is really something. He thought he had actually gotten the real thing.” It was the first time, but Charles was speaking up for Philip. “That’s enough, Lynnie. Philip can’t be blamed for this. He was only buying it. He didn’t know how to check the authenticity.” The group of people did not continue, but they started distancing themselves from Philip even more, thinking that it was shameful to dine with such a person. Wynn could not take another bite. She pulled Philip away immediately. “Of all things, why did you have to give a fake painting? I’m completely humiliated by you!” Wynn accused him furiously. Philip could only lower his head. “I’m sorry.” “This is so frustrating! I get more annoyed whenever I look at you. Go back and take care of Mila!” Wynn bellowed through gritted teeth before returning to the private room. Philip stared after her disappointing silhouette and let out a soundless sigh. Oh, Wynn, my painting was the real one. But sadly, these people can’t tell. When Wynn returned to the room, everyone else noticed that Philip did not follow her in. Martha asked, “Where’s Philip?” Wynn forced out a smile and answered, “Mila’s still in the hospital, so he has gone back first.” Haha! Must have fled because he was too embarrassed. Just then, the door was pushed open, and Javier Morris led in several waitresses who were carrying various exquisite delicacies and fine wine. “You must be Mr. Johnston.” Javier walked over to Charles and politely shook his hand. “You are?” Charles was stunned. He did not know this man. “I am the owner of Virtuous Court, Javier Morris. Today is Mr. Johnston’s birthday, so I’ve specifically brought over some special dishes prepared by our French, German, and English chefs. Here are eight bottles of Lafite from 1982 and two bottles of Chinese National Treasure Liquor,” said Javier with a smile. The crowd looked at the plates of delicacies and fine wines being placed on the table and were all too shocked to speak! The owner of Virtuous Court had personally come to deliver gifts! This was too shocking. The 1982 Lafites were already extremely rare. There were even two bottles of China’s nationally treasured liquor! They were the most expensive liquors available in the market, and one bottle could go up to two million in an auction! It was a drink fit for a king! “Here is a platinum membership card as a little token of my regard for Mr. Johnston. You will have a specially reserved room the next time you dine here and a five percent discount.” Javier took out a membership card and ceremoniously handed it to Charles. By now, Charles was already too shocked for words. He could only reach his hand out shakily and asked, “Mr.- Mr. Morris, thank you so much, but we don’t really know each other. Who sent you here?” “Is Mr. Clarke not here?” asked Javier as he scanned the room. He did not see Philip anywhere. Mr. Clarke? Charles was stunned. No one in this whole room had ‘Clarke’ as the last name, and no one thought of Philip. Wynn was dumbstruck. She had immediately thought of Philip, but that was impossible.