Chapter 21: But This Will Also Be The Last Time (1)
Chapter 21 - But This Will Also Be The Last Time (1)
“Oh, mi! This bracelet is beautiful!”
Li XinYun looked at the jade bracelet that her mother gave to her happily. “This is ice jade, right?” As the young mistress of the Li’s, she more or less has an appreciation for jewelries and gems.
Fang JunRong curved her lips a little and said, “Yes, it is.”
“I felt like this was better than even the regular kind of ice jade. This is almost glass jade quality.”
“I’ll get you an even better one for your birthday.” She was better of spending all the money instead of saving them for that father and son duo.
Li XinYun’s eyes were curved, making her look even more delicate than she normally did. “Thanks, Mom.”
Remembering what had just happened in the living room, Li XinYun frowned and asked, “Mom, what’s going on with Dad lately? He has been picking on me on just about anything ever since Jiang YaGe has arrived.”
Li XinYun wasn’t happy to be treated by her own father that way. But given her personality, being picked on wouldn’t make her back off, but to fight back even more aggressively. This wasn’t her first fight with her father. They have had several fights already over the last few days.
She felt that her home was feeling less and less like a home.
Fang JunRong said nonchalantly, “Don’t mind him. You still have me.”
Li XinYun thought about it for a little bit then said, “That’s true.” Then she carried on, “Mom has much better eyes. Zhong Yi is much better than Jiang YaGe. At least she doesn’t walk around looking like I have been bullying her day in and day out.”
She wasn’t particularly fond of Zhong Yi before, but now with Jiang YaGe as the contrast, her fondness toward Zhong Yi was on the rise steadily.
Fang JunRong smiled and said, “Okay, just don’t bully her.”
“I didn’t bully her. I have been very nice to her.” Li XinYun was halfway through what she was saying when she suddenly noticed that Fang JunRong looked different today. “Eh, Mom, did you switch to some new cosmetics? How come your skin is looking better and better? Your makeup seems so natural today.”
What a child!
She has no makeup on today at all!
Fang JunRong said nonchalantly, “No, not really. I went to have a facial done a few times, that was all.”
“Which place? I want to go try it out too.” Li XinYun’s attention was quickly diverted.
Fang JunRong coaxed her for a bit and was finally made to make her feel better. She planned to wait till her health report came back. If all was well, then she’d let her daughter try the Beautify Pills and make her the prettiest girl at her birthday party.
She also asked whether her daughter wanted to take a trip somewhere but Li XinYun rejected that idea right away. According to her, the sun was too strong lately. If she were to travel now, she might turn another shade darker. She didn’t want to be the black swan on her own birthday. Fang JunRong, after all, was going by Li XinYun’s preference, so she didn’t push the issue.
Fang JunRong then took a trip to White Crane to meet up with Xu WeiWei. Xu WeiWei was a competent person and was mostly done with the investigation in the last couple of days.
Sitting across from Fang JunRong, she jumped directly to the point, “The name of the artist who painted those paintings for Li WangJin was He Ming. He had been painting for Li WangJin starting ten years ago. Li WangJin would always transfer the money to He Ming; then the money would be transferred back to another card that belonged to Li WangJin. Other than He Ming, there was another artist as well, but he disappeared three years ago. He might not have disappeared-disappeared; it was possible that he had stopped dealing with these types of transactions. Li WangJin pays $50,000 for each painting.”
Fang JunRong’s eyes flickered. “What a frugal b*stard. He only paid $50,000 for each painting.”
Over the years, this He Ming had painted him at least 50 paintings.
Xu WeiWei pondered for a little bit and said, “Speaking of. The law in this area had changed a bit in the last several years. Now creating and selling counterfeits is also illegal.”
Fang JunRong nodded. “Even though in the antique circle it’s one’s own fault for failing to spot counterfeits, that's just the unspoken rules. Ultimately it's what the law says.”
With the amount that they were talking about, He Ming could be sentenced to life in prison.