Chapter 201: I Want to Pursue Responsibility
Backstage, Lin Xinghe and Hua Yao were extremely nervous. ’Has Xiaoyuan lost his mind?’
’Teacher Zhang has already admitted his mistake, so how does he still dare to argue?’
Hua Yao quickly nudged Lin Ruoxi’s arm. "Ruoxi, quick, go stop Xiaoyuan. Flat-out denial isn’t a good strategy—it will only destroy Yuanxi!"
Lin Ruoxi didn’t understand why Cheng Yuan was acting this way, but she had one hundred and twenty percent faith in him!
"Mom, Dad, don’t worry," she said. "I trust Cheng Yuan. He will definitely resolve this crisis properly! Besides, so what if Yuanxi is destroyed? Yuanxi is what it is today all thanks to Cheng Yuan."
Lin Xinghe and Hua Yao fell silent. ’That’s right,’ they thought. ’Yuanxi only exists today because of Cheng Yuan. So what if we have to start all over again?’
...
「The Lin Residence.」
Everyone in the Lin Family was laughing so hard their stomachs hurt.
"Hahaha, is this the shield Ruoxi found? So young and reckless. The more he denies it, the faster Yuanxi will die!"
"Eldest, you’ve really disappointed me. To think you lost to a brat like that. You’ve completely disgraced the Lin Family. Luckily, Second Brother managed to salvage some of our honor."
...
The viewers in the live stream chat were roasting Cheng Yuan alive.
"This young man looks handsome, but I didn’t expect him to be so spineless! Teacher Zhang already confessed, and he’s still denying it!"
"Wait, he calls himself the chairman of Yuanxi Auction House, so what’s his relationship with Miss Lin? That bastard! Get your hands off our Pearl of Luocheng! You’re not worthy of her!"
"With such a clueless chairman, Yuanxi is doomed to go bankrupt!"
...
On the main stage, Zhang Han was almost amused to laughter by Cheng Yuan. It took a great deal of willpower for him to maintain his ’utterly heartbroken’ expression.
"Do you all see this? This so-called chairman of Yuanxi is flat-out denying that Teacher Zhang made a mistake! He’s trying to make me suffer this loss in silence! Everyone, you must help me get justice! Are there any Antique Appraisers in the audience? Could you please come on stage and help me with an appraisal? Can you help me expose his hideous true colors?"
With a stir, several Antique Appraisers stood up.
"I can’t stand this kind of ruthless exploitation!"
"I am Chen Lin, the Vice Chairman of the Dongshan Ancient Culture Association. My expertise in ancient culture may not be on par with Master Zhang’s, but it’s not far off! I will certainly speak impartially!"
"We must fight against these predatory capitalists to the very end! The interests of us common folk must be protected!"
...
The several Antique Appraisers walked onto the main stage with an air of righteous indignation and began to carefully examine the porcelain shards.
Wang Liang, meanwhile, provided commentary from the side.
"Viewers, are you seeing this? Justice resides in the hearts of the people! These gentlemen are all famous Antique Appraisers from our very own Dongshan! With them appraising it together, there’s no way they can be wrong! Let’s hope these Antique Appraisers can bring justice for Mr. Zhang!"
While examining the pieces, the Antique Appraisers whispered among themselves, nodding frequently. They had clearly reached a consensus.
Wang Liang asked with a very serious expression, "Chairman Chen, may I ask you a few questions?"
Chen Lin nodded without hesitation. "Of course!"
"Can you swear on your professional integrity that what you are about to say is the truth?"
"I can! I swear on my character and my entire professional future. If I speak even half a false word, may I be scorned by the world!"
"Very well. Tell me, are these shards from an authentic piece of Yuan Blue-and-White Porcelain?"
An expression of profound grief appeared on Chen Lin’s face. "After our unanimous appraisal, this piece of Yuan Blue-and-White Porcelain is, without a doubt, authentic!"
After a pause, Chen Lin looked at Zhang Zhigang with an apologetic gaze.
"Teacher Zhang, you are the person I respect most! But a mistake is a mistake! This Chairman Cheng is just shirking his responsibility! If the chairman himself is like this, an auction house like Yuanxi is not worthy of our trust!"
With Chen Lin leading the narrative, the clueless viewers were easily swayed.
"Chairman Chen is right. If the chairman is like this, how good can a company like Yuanxi be? A company like Yuanxi must be shut down!"
"I won a ’treasure’ at Yuanxi’s inaugural auction a few days ago. This is unacceptable! I have to get it reappraised. I can’t just suffer this loss in silence!"
"What a pity. Miss Lin, the Pearl of Luocheng, grew up in an environment like Yuanxi. Can she truly remain untainted? Perhaps all her nobility and purity are just an act."
...
For a moment, whether online or at the scene, everyone began to look down on Cheng Yuan.
Zhang Han was feeling great. He believed he had the situation completely under control and was even thinking about how he had to ask Lin Xingyu for a bigger bonus when he got back.
Zhang Han looked menacingly at Cheng Yuan. "Chairman Cheng, are you trying to shirk your responsibility? With so many Antique Appraisers here to see justice done, don’t even think you can get away with it!"
At a signal from Wang Liang, the cameraman focused on Cheng Yuan, and the online influencers all pointed their cameras at him as well.
A normal person would have panicked in this situation.
But Cheng Yuan wasn’t flustered in the slightest. Instead, he took a powerful step forward and stared coldly at Zhang Han.
"You’re wrong," Cheng Yuan said. "I’m not trying to shirk responsibility. I’m here to assign it! To hold you—and these so-called Antique Appraisers—legally accountable!"
’Hold them accountable?’
’Legally accountable?’
Everyone was stunned, wondering if they were hearing things.
’It was clearly Master Zhang who made the mistake, so how does the chairman of Yuanxi have the nerve to hold someone else legally responsible?’
The guests at the event knew of Cheng Yuan’s power, so no one dared to make a sound, afraid of getting drawn into trouble. They knew very well that in Luocheng, Cheng Yuan had the power to call a deer a horse.
However, their silence didn’t mean they understood or supported Cheng Yuan. Alarm bells were ringing in every guest’s mind.
’From now on, we must never work with Yuanxi again, and we must certainly never work with this Mr. Cheng.’
’Otherwise, one day, he’ll be the one to turn on us!’
The internet completely exploded.
Everyone was verbally crucifying Cheng Yuan.
"This guy Cheng is so arrogant! His employee messes up, smashes someone else’s Yuan Blue-and-White Porcelain, and now he wants to hold *them* legally responsible? Someone needs to investigate this guy, seriously!"
"In this day and age, how can someone be so brazen? Making threats right in front of the media? Who does he think is backing him up?"
...
Zhang Han was now completely immersed in his role, to the point where he almost believed he was the one being bullied. He shouted, "Go on, hold me accountable! Do it! Hold me legally responsible in front of the entire province! I firmly believe that evil will never triumph over righteousness! I’d like to see if there’s any justice left in this world!"
Cheng Yuan was amused by Zhang Han. ’If it weren’t for my Double Pupil,’ he thought, ’I probably would have been fooled by his performance, too.’
’The Academy Awards really owes this guy an Oscar.’
"You’re absolutely right—evil will never triumph over righteousness!" Cheng Yuan said. "But you, with your crooked ways, may be able to fool everyone else, but you can’t fool me!"
As he spoke, Cheng Yuan strode forward and grabbed Zhang Han by his clothes!
RIIIP!
With a slight exertion of force, Cheng Yuan tore a large gash in Zhang Han’s carefully chosen outfit!