Divine Eye Appraisal: Starting with a Lucky Pickup of a Beautiful CEO's Family Heirloom

Just as the head of the review panel was about to announce the end of the recess, the director on the left, who hadn't said much, suddenly spoke up.

"Wait a moment."

The entire room fell silent.

He adjusted his glasses, his voice low but each word clear: "I have a motion. Given that the evidence submitted by Wen Zhaoye involves issues of Qian Bohong's personal integrity, I suggest that Qian Bohong recuse himself from this hearing during the re-examination of the Warring States jade disc case." Upon hearing this, the hall fell silent; the hum of the fluorescent lights could be heard.

Qian Bohong's hand was still on the doorknob, his whole body frozen. He slowly turned around, looking at the director, his expression a mix of shock and anger: "What did you say?" "I said," the director repeated calmly, "you should avoid me."

Qian Bohong slammed his hand on the table.

With a "bang," the teacup jumped up, splashing tea all over the table.

"Me, recuse myself?" Qian Bohong's voice echoed in the hall. "I've worked for the association for twenty years, and you want me to recuse myself? Just because some young punk brought a few scraps of paper?"

"It's not just a few scraps of paper," the director said. "It's bank statements, communication records, and an independent expert report. Director Qian, you are a party involved, and you should recuse yourself according to regulations." Qian Bohong tapped his fingers three times on the edge of the table, heavily, as if he wanted to smash the table.

The other two judges exchanged glances.

Student A lowered his head, not daring to look at Qian Bohong. Student B's fingers tapped unconsciously on the table, the rhythm becoming increasingly chaotic.

The head of the judging panel took off his reading glasses, looked at Qian Bohong, and remained silent for a few seconds before saying, "Old Qian, why don't you go back and rest?"

Qian Bohong was stunned.

He stared at the head of the judging panel, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't.

The atmosphere in the audience changed completely. Someone took out their phone to take a picture, the flash going off. Someone stood up, leaning forward to see Qian Bohong's expression. The middle-aged female editor was writing rapidly in her notebook, the pen almost tearing through the paper.

Wen Zhaoye did not move.

He sat across the long table, his hand still on his canvas bag, watching Qian Bohong. There was no smugness, no mockery, he just watched.

That look seemed to say—you should go.

Qian Bohong's lips twitched slightly. He slowly straightened up, his fingers sliding off the edge of the table and hanging down at his sides.

"Okay," he said, his voice hoarse, "very good."

He turned around, put his hand on the doorknob, and twisted it hard.

The sleeve of her dress flipped over the teacup.

The teacup rolled halfway along the edge of the table before falling and smashing onto the floor tiles, spilling tea everywhere. The brown tea soup meandered like a snake across the tiles, creeping along the cracks to the corner of the wall.

Qian Bohong didn't turn around. He pushed open the door and strode out. The door wasn't closed, and footsteps echoed in the corridor, growing fainter and fainter until they disappeared around the corner of the stairs.

The hall was so quiet you could hear the dripping of water.

The head of the review panel put on his reading glasses and tapped the table: "The hearing is adjourned for now. The re-examination of the Warring States jade disc case will be jointly presided over by Lao Zhou and Lao Chen. Meeting adjourned."

He stood up and walked towards the conference room.

Student A and Student B also stood up, both with their heads down, and quickly followed, as if fleeing something. The people in the audience began to leave, but they walked slowly, looking back as they went, their gazes lingering on Wen Zhaoye.

Wen Zhaoye did not move.

He sat in the chair, slowly unpacked the canvas bag, and placed the application forms, account books, bank statements, and appraisal reports inside one by one. His movements were slow and steady, as if he were afraid of wrinkling the papers.

Old Zhou stood up, walked over to Wen Zhaoye, and patted him on the shoulder: "Young man, I'll take on the Warring States jade disc case."

Wen Zhaoye looked up and nodded: "Thank you, Teacher Zhou."

Old Zhou smiled and said, "No need to thank me, I'm the one who should be thanking you. I've been holding this in for Qiming for five years."

He turned and walked towards the door. Old Chen followed behind him, and when he passed Wen Zhaoye, he patted him on the shoulder without saying a word, but nodded.

Most of the people in the gallery had left. Only Wen Zhaoye, Sun Bo'an, and Yu Tinglan remained in the empty hall.

Wen Zhaoye was still organizing documents, tucking the last page into the ledger, zipping up his canvas bag, and standing up.

Then he heard applause.

It was a soft, slow sound, heard three times in the empty hall. He turned his head.

Sun Bo'an stood in the back row of the audience, his eyes red-rimmed, his lips trembling, and his hands clapping. Once.

Two times. Three times.

The applause echoed lonely in the empty hall. Sun Bo'an neither smiled nor spoke; he simply looked at Wen Zhaoye with red eyes and clapped his hands repeatedly.

Wen Zhaoye looked at him, his throat bobbed, and then he nodded. Sun Bo'an also nodded, lowered his hand, turned around, and slowly walked towards the door. He stopped at the door, without turning back, and said, "I'll be waiting for you at Jianzhen Pavilion."

Then he went outside.

Only Wen Zhaoye and Yu Tinglan remained in the hall.

Yu Tinglan stood in the back row, neither clapping nor laughing, nor approaching. She simply stood there, watching Wen Zhaoye's retreating figure. Wen Zhaoye slung his canvas bag over his shoulder, turned, and walked towards the door.

As he reached the door, he stopped and glanced back at the empty hall. On the judges' table, shards of a teacup lay on the floor; the tea had spilled, leaving a light brown stain on the tiles.

He looked away and walked out.

The door closed behind him.

In the corridor, sunlight streamed in through the windows, casting a warm glow on the floor tiles.

Yu Tinglan followed behind him, walked out the gate, and stood in the sunlight of the provincial capital.

She watched Wen Zhaoye's retreating figure, her fingers gently loosening, without saying a word.

Wen Zhaoye stood at the door, took out his phone, and sent a message to Qin Fei: "Qian Bohong has recused himself. Old Zhou has taken over the Warring States Jade Disc case."

After sending the message, he put his phone back in his pocket and walked towards the train station.

The wind from the provincial capital brushed against his face, carrying the warmth of early spring. He touched the family photo in the pocket of his wallet, pressed his finger on the photo, and then quickened his pace.