The evil dragon has been released from prison; it will only kill, not save!

"That was given to you by Qin Hao?" Wang Chenghai raised an eyebrow.

Lin Siqi chimed in, "Yeah, it's some junk bought from some street stall. How dare they propose with something like this? It's hilarious."

Wang Chenghai chuckled, walked up to Lin Chutang, and extended his hand.

"show me."

Lin Chutang subconsciously clenched her left hand.

"Why should I show it to you?"

"Oh, you've got quite a temper." Wang Chenghai withdrew his hand, turned to look at the old lady Chen Guilan, and changed to a respectful expression.

"Grandma, it's not that I'm meddling, but surely we should know the truth about the Lin family's daughter's marriage? That Qin Hao is penniless, and suddenly he pulls out a ring that 'looks valuable'—who knows if it's real or fake? What if it's stolen? It could damage the Lin family's reputation, and that would be a serious matter."

"I know a master in the field of jewelry appraisal, Mr. Gu Heng. Why don't we let him take a look? Otherwise, Sister Chu Tang might get scammed and end up counting the money for someone else."

Chen Guilan hesitated for a moment, then looked at Lin Chutang.

"Chu Tang, take off your ring and let people see it."

Lin Chutang clenched her fingers, unwilling to take them off.

But the old lady had spoken, and she had no right to refuse in the Lin family.

She gritted her teeth, took the ring off her ring finger, and placed it on the coffee table.

Wang Chenghai took out his phone, dialed a number, and put it on speakerphone.

"Teacher Gu, I'm Wang Chenghai. I have something I'd like to ask you."

A middle-aged man's lazy voice came from the other end of the phone: "Speak."

"A silver-white ring with a simple, antique design, featuring a blue gemstone about the size of a thumbnail in the center. The seller claims it's a valuable item, but I'm skeptical and would like to ask you for your opinion."

Gu Heng paused for a moment: "Your description is too vague. Take a picture and send it over."

Wang Chenghai hung up the phone, picked up the ring, took a picture of it, and sent it over.

Then he leaned back on the sofa, crossed his legs, and looked at Lin Chutang with a confident expression.

"Little sister Chu Tang, don't blame me for being nosy, but that Qin Hao, after serving five years in prison, how much money could he possibly have? This kind of cheap stuff can only fool those who've never seen anything like it..."

Before he could finish speaking, his phone suddenly lit up.

It was a video call.

Gu Heng called back.

Wang Chenghai was a little surprised and answered the video call.

On the screen, Gu Heng's face took up most of the frame, and his expression was completely different from before—his eyes were wide open and his mouth was slightly agape, as if he had seen a ghost.

"Wang Chenghai! Where's this ring?!"

"It's right here in my hands, so what?"

"Quickly point the camera at it! Close-up! Focus on the gemstone!"

Although Wang Chenghai didn't understand why, he did as he was told, pointing his phone camera at the ring on the coffee table.

Gu Heng stared at the screen for a good ten seconds, his breathing becoming heavy.

"Cut surface...the direction of ice cracks...the forging texture of the metal base..."

He muttered to himself for a while, then suddenly looked up.

"Wang Chenghai, listen up."

"If I'm not mistaken, this ring is a 'hidden gem'."

"A hidden gem?" Wang Chenghai was stunned. "What is it?"

Gu Heng's voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement: "A priceless masterpiece that sold for 46 million at a Sotheby's auction twelve years ago! The sapphire in the center comes from the Mogok mine in Myanmar, weighs 6.3 carats, and is one of the most perfect cornflower blue sapphires on record in the world!"

"This ring was reported stolen seven years ago and has remained undiscovered ever since. The global jewelry industry believed it had been permanently locked away by a private collector!"

"How...how did it end up in your hands?!"

Wang Chenghai's smile froze.

The entire living room was completely silent.

Lin Siqi's mouth was open, and she couldn't close it for a long time.

Gu Heng continued, "Based on the current market conditions and its scarcity, this ring is conservatively valued at 50 million."

"Fifty...fifty million?"

Wang Cheng almost dropped his phone.

Chen Guilan's eyelid twitched.

The Lin family's collateral descendants looked at each other, those who had just been mocking the "cheap goods" were now speechless.

Lin Chutang was also stunned.

Fifty million.

The ring Qin Hao casually gave her was worth 50 million.

The man in simple clothes casually took out a ring worth fifty million.

"impossible!"

Lin Siqi was the first to recover, shrieking, "It's definitely fake! What 'hidden gem'? Where would a penniless wretch like him, who's been to jail, get something like that? It's definitely a counterfeit!"

Gu Heng, on the other end of the phone, spoke coldly: "I, Gu Heng, have been engaged in jewelry appraisal for thirty years and have handled more than 50,000 gemstones. Based solely on photos and videos, I can give a preliminary assessment—there is a more than 95% probability that this ring is genuine."

"If you don't believe me, you can send it to my lab for a full test."

After saying that, Gu Heng hung up the phone.

The living room was quiet for a while.

Lin Chutang slowly reached out, picked up the ring from the coffee table, and put it back on her ring finger.

She raised her head and looked at Lin Siqi through her veil.

"Sister, what did you just say? Street vendor goods?"

Lin Siqi's face turned a deep purplish-red.

"you--"

"Fifty million worth of cheap goods from street vendors." Lin Chutang said calmly, "It seems that your worldly experience is quite different from what I imagined."

"You! Lin Chutang, don't be so smug!"

Lin Siqi trembled all over and turned to look at Wang Chenghai, "Brother Hai, say something!"

Wang Chenghai's expression was also extremely unpleasant.

He came to the Lin family intending to show off and take a jab at Qin Hao, but ended up helping Qin Hao put on a huge show instead.

A ring worth fifty million.

Wang Chenghai could indeed afford that amount, but... it was just a casual gift from someone.

But he quickly adjusted his expression and forced a smile.

"What can a ring prove? It might just be stolen goods."

He turned to Chen Guilan and changed the subject: "Grandma, I'm here today on important business. I've already made connections with Haofan Group's Aozhu project, and as long as the Lin family cooperates, it should be finalized."

Chen Guilan's attention was indeed drawn back.

"Oh? How confident are you?"

"Seventy percent." Wang Chenghai held up one finger, full of confidence. "The vice president of Haofan has connections with me. As long as the Lin family can show sincerity, this deal is practically guaranteed."

Chen Guilan nodded, looked around at the younger members of the Lin family present, and cleared her throat.

"Since this matter has come up, I'd also like to take this opportunity to tell you something."

"The position of general manager of the Lin Group has been vacant for almost two years. Whoever can secure the cooperation for the Aozhu project will have that position."

Upon hearing this, the eyes of several members of the collateral branches of the Lin family immediately lit up.

The position of general manager of the Lin Group is a truly powerful one, with an annual salary plus bonuses that easily amounts to tens of millions a year.

Wang Chenghai smiled and put his arm around Lin Siqi's waist: "Don't worry, Grandma, I'll take care of this."

Lin Siqi raised her chin, glanced at Lin Chutang, and spoke with a tone full of smugness.

"When Brother Hai helped the Lin family secure a 5 billion yuan deal, where was your penniless husband who had been to prison? He probably didn't even know which way the door of Haofan Group faced, did he?"

Lin Chutang did not respond.

She lowered her head, looking at the ring on her hand, her fingertips gently tracing the surface of the gemstone.

He said he would pick her up in three days.