Chapter 283: [283] Is this over?_1

In fact, Tang Feng looked quite handsome when he smiled.

But to the livestream host, it seemed rather chilling.

“Haha, I truly came here out of admiration. It seems I’ve misunderstood, Mr. Tang’s appraisal skills are beyond doubt. It’s just that such a scoundrel in the store has implicated you, and for that, I apologize.”

After he finished speaking, he bowed respectfully to Tang Feng, then cleared his throat twice, “That… I have something else to attend to, so I must be leaving first.”

“Don’t be in such a hurry to leave, the matter isn’t resolved yet.”

Tang Feng grabbed him, his smile unwavering as he stared at him, “Whatever the reason might be, since you’ve bought a fake from our store, we must give you an explanation.”

“No need, I… I really have urgent matters, I need to rush back.”

The host shook off his hand in a panic and then left without looking back.

The onlookers at the scene were left scratching their heads as they watched his retreating figure.

“The antique store caught a traitor, so why is he the one panicking?”

“Right, didn’t he insist on a satisfactory explanation earlier? Now the matter isn’t settled yet, why is he leaving?”

“He hasn’t even gotten his money back for the snuff bottle, that’s over six hundred thousand! He’s just leaving it behind?”

“What on earth is going on?”

There were also more astute people on the scene who started to think things through a bit.

“Could it be that this host was in cahoots with the insider, deliberately trying to scam the antique store?”

“Now that you mention it, that does seem possible. The store clerk swapped the snuff bottle just last night, and this host comes to buy it today—too much of a coincidence.”

“Is that how it is? I’ve been completely fooled by them, and I was even feeling sorry for the host just now.”

“Such people are truly despicable. If it wasn’t for Mr. Tang’s keen eyesight, they might well have succeeded in scamming us this time.”

As everyone gradually realized they’d been duped, they began to vehemently denounce the host.

The more they had supported him before, the more they hated him now.

Zhang Jicheng had also begun to piece together the sequence of events and hastily pulled Tang Feng to one side, “Feng, that host is very suspicious, why did you let him go?”

Tang Feng shrugged helplessly, “We don’t have any evidence. What could we do, keep him here by force?”

“But…”

“Don’t worry, Master, I know what to do.”

Tang Feng patted his shoulder and winked at him.

Seeing Tang Feng’s confident demeanor, Zhang Jicheng had no choice but to accept his explanation, “Alright then, you handle it.”

As the two of them were speaking in hushed tones, Qin Yanan also hustled over upon hearing the news.

“Mr. Zhang, I didn’t catch everything over the phone. What exactly happened?”

Qin Yanan burst in, and due to her rush, she even twisted her high heel, but she still hobbled over.

“Don’t worry, Feng has already resolved the matter.”

Zhang Jicheng promptly explained the whole story to her in detail.

Relieved, Qin Yanan grabbed Tang Feng’s arm, “Tang Feng, I really have to thank you this time. Otherwise, our Ya Garden Antique Store’s reputation would have certainly been seriously damaged.”

Tang Feng originally wanted to tease her a couple of sentences.

But since they were in the store, he had to preserve her image as the boss, so he swallowed what he was going to say and simply replied lightly, “It’s all part of the job.”

Qin Yanan was not in the mood to joke with him now, turning to confront Liu Ping with a cold stare, “Who instructed you to do this?”

She was usually carefree around Tang Feng.

But now, showing such assertiveness indeed took people by surprise.

Even Tang Feng, standing aside, could feel the strong aura emanating from her.

Liu Ping looked up at her and couldn’t help but shudder, “I got greedy on a whim, I’m willing to take full responsibility.”

Qin Yanan clearly did not believe his excuses, scoffing, “Do you think I would believe your lies?”

“You’d better come clean, or else, I’ll make sure you understand the consequences.”

“Mrs. Qin, I’m telling the truth. I really got greedy suddenly—if you don’t believe me, there’s nothing I can do.”

Liu Ping took on an attitude of a dead pig not fearing boiling water, taking all the blame no matter who questioned him.

Qin Yanan was about to become angry.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

It was at this moment that Tang Feng suddenly stepped forward and stopped her, “Mrs. Nan, there’s no use asking these questions now that it’s happened.”

Qin Yanan felt he was trying to smooth things over and was about to argue with him.

But then, she noticed Tang Feng subtly tugging her sleeve.

She became alert immediately.

Knowing Tang Feng, he was not one to easily compromise.

The fact that he was now actively pleading on Liu Ping’s behalf surely meant there was a deeper reason.

Trusting him, she shifted her approach, “Then what do you suggest we do with this matter?”

“Mrs. Nan, if you trust me, leave it to me to handle this matter.” Tang Feng was taking charge now.

“Fine, I’ll leave it to you.” Qin Yanan stepped back, handing over the decision-making power to him.

Tang Feng walked up to Liu Ping, stroking his chin in silence as if hesitating how to deal with him.

Liu Ping, meanwhile, put on a defiant look, even prepared to go to prison.

But Tang Feng did not immediately make a decision. Instead, he inquired about the whereabouts of the snuff bottle, “Where is that snuff bottle now?”

“At my home.” Liu Ping was initially stunned, but quickly responded.

“Have your family send the snuff bottle here, and then write a letter of resignation. We won’t be needing someone like you in our store anymore.”

“What?”

Liu Ping thought he heard wrong and looked incredulously at Tang Feng.

It wasn’t that the punishment was too severe—quite the opposite, it was too lenient.

He had stolen a snuff bottle worth over six hundred thousand, replaced it with a fake, nearly ruining Tang Feng’s reputation and livelihood.

And yet, he was let off so lightly.

All he needed to do was to return the snuff bottle, and that was it?

And it wasn’t even a firing, just a request for him to resign voluntarily.

Meaning, after leaving Ya Garden, he could still look for work at another antique store.

This was far too generous.

Perhaps even a real father would not be so kind, right?