Cara Preston hurriedly said, "Since this painting holds such Apex significance for you, Mr. Nathan, then please accept it as a gift from ."
"I never accept gifts from strangers," Master Nathan said flatly. "My offer still stands. I’ll pay you whatever you paid for it."
Zachary Preston, watching from the side, simply couldn’t take it anymore. An upright man by nature, he couldn’t tolerate such a thing. He took a step forward, intending to explain the whole situation.
But before he could, Vera Xavier beat him to it. She walked over, rolled up the scroll, and said, "My apologies, this painting belongs to one of our family’s elders. Cara heard you enjoy calligraphy and paintings, Mr. Nathan, so she brought it from ho hoping to bring you so joy. We’ve made a fool of ourselves in front of you!"
A flicker of understanding crossed Master Nathan’s eyes. "I genuinely wish to buy this painting. How about this? You ask the family elder if they are willing to sell it, and then you can co find . Vera, what do you think?"
How could the onlookers not understand what was happening? It was obvious now: Cara Preston had taken a painting from her family, but she was too ignorant to tell it was a fake. She had tried to use it to curry favor with Nathan, only to discover that Master Nathan himself possessed the authentic masterpiece.
Vera Xavier smiled and nodded. Hearing Vera’s words—which had completely exposed her—Cara Preston was practically bursting with rage. When she saw the onlookers pointing and staring at her, her face flushed crimson, and she imdiately tried to set a trap for Vera. "Sister, weren’t you just saying you had prepared a gift for Master Nathan? So where is it?"
’This girl is so young, how can her heart be so venomous? It’s one thing to embarrass yourself, but to try and drag Vera down with you!’ The mont Master Nathan heard Cara Preston, he ntally put a large black mark next to her na.
He imdiately said, "I’ve always believed it’s quite shaless for soone who doesn’t earn their own money to be giving gifts bought with their parents’ money or with family heirlooms."
His words were another slap in the face to Cara Preston. But by now, she was in too deep to back down. She could only grit her teeth and say, "This is just a token of affection from us sisters for you, Mr. Nathan. My sister said earlier that she was preparing sothing. I’m sure she can give you a wonderful surprise."
At this point, her only option was to drag Vera down with her. She was certain that Vera couldn’t possibly have any money left after buying that radio for her grandparents. She was deliberately trying to make Vera look like a fool.
So, her gaze towards Vera Xavier was filled with unconcealed provocation.
However, she was dood to be disappointed today. Vera Xavier took a small box from her backpack and handed it to Master Nathan. "I was passing through Cobble Street a while ago," she explained, "and feeling the pressure from my studies, I bought a rough stone on a whim and had it cut. The shop owner said what was inside was worth a little sothing, so I had it carved into a seal. I hope you don’t mind the humble gift, Mr. Nathan."
Master Nathan was familiar with Cobble Street. The stones there were essentially the leftovers from jade quarries, the pieces that others had already picked through and discarded. Under normal circumstances, it was impossible to cut any good jade from them.
He gave a slight nod, intending to simply have Lana Cheney put it away.
How could Cara Preston let an opportunity like this slip by? She imdiately chid in, "My sister is always so modest. If she says it’s valuable, then it must be *very* valuable. Open it and let us see! Let’s broaden our horizons!"
Elise Langdon imdiately chid in, "That’s right."
Vera Xavier hesitated for a mont. Elise Langdon, thinking she was bluffing, imdiately jeered, "What’s wrong? You don’t dare? You didn’t just pick up so worthless rock from the side of the road to give to Mr. Nathan, did you!"
*PS: As we get to the second round of face-slapping, I think I can ask for a few votes...*
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