Chapter 85

"Grab him, he’s a scammer, deceiving international friends!"

The crowd was in an uproar, but the man ultimately managed to escape. Yang Bo even saw someone shouting and pushing, yet covering his escape in the chaos.

Since the scam had been exposed, beating him up would be pointless, so Yang Bo let him go.

The two girls walked over, speaking with a stiff accent, and thanked Yang Bo, "Thank you!"

Yang Bo smiled, "You're welcome!"

Yang Bo then learned that the two girls were from the United States. The girl with freckles was named Lina, and the other pretty girl was named Cheryl. They were extremely grateful to Yang Bo for helping them, and they invited him and Luo Yaohua to have dinner.

Luo Yaohua had already made a reservation at a Beijing duck restaurant, and adding two more people was no problem. The four of them entered the restaurant together.

The two girls praised the roasted duck, saying it was delicious.

Yang Bo had difficulty communicating with them, but Luo Yaohua chatted with them continuously, laughter filling the air.

After the meal, the two girls paid the bill. They were planning to climb the Great Wall next and invited Yang Bo and Luo Yaohua, but Yang Bo declined, much to Cheryl's disappointment.

Before leaving, Lina took off a necklace made of seashells from her neck and gave it to Luo Yaohua, while Cheryl took out a small, exquisite metal ball from her bag and gave it to Yang Bo. Each of them received a gift and, in return, gave the other the calligraphy set they had bought earlier.

Luo Yaohua watched the two girls leave with a dazed expression, then his face suddenly changed. "That was a huge loss. I wanted to follow them, why did you hold me back?"

Yang Bo had an indifferent look, "So, you should have followed them?"

Luo Yaohua's expression froze, "Then why did you hold me back?"

Yang Bo rolled his eyes, "I just wanted you to think carefully, nothing else."

Luo Yaohua shook his head and pinched the seashell, "Why do I feel like the value of these two small items is very different?"

Yang Bo weighed the metal ball in his hand and laughed.

Luo Yaohua glanced at the hollow metal ball in Yang Bo's hand, noticing many small holes on it, making it look very light. He couldn't help but ask, "What is that?"

Yang Bo didn't speak but brought the metal ball close to Luo Yaohua's nose.

Luo Yaohua exclaimed, "It actually has a fragrance! What is this? Is it an incense ball?"

Yang Bo was somewhat proud, "It's an incense ball! The small holes are for the fragrance to spread, and the key is that this incense ball is from the late Qing Dynasty!"

Luo Yaohua cried out in pain, "That's not fair! Why did you get something so valuable, while I got a handmade seashell necklace?"

Yang Bo raised an eyebrow, "Didn't you notice that Lina had a crush on you?"

"Look, Lina took the necklace from her neck, which means she values it a lot. Cheryl just took something out of her bag casually, giving Lina a chance. Sigh, you just didn't seize the opportunity!" Yang Bo shook his head and sighed.

Luo Yaohua was so angry he almost went mad, "Get lost! It was you who held me back!"

Luo Yaohua wandered for a while before calming down. He reached out to Yang Bo, "Let me see the incense ball!"

Yang Bo held the incense ball like a treasure, "No way."

"Are you in love with Cheryl? Holding her gift like a treasure?" Luo Yaohua said.

Yang Bo glanced at him, "Don't try to provoke me; it won't work on me."

Luo Yaohua couldn't get what he wanted. Yang Bo, holding the incense ball, secretly peeked at it and made a decision.

Next, they bought another set of calligraphy supplies. Luo Yaohua would still pick up two antiques and ask Yang Bo to help evaluate them.

Yang Bo analyzed each one, pointing out their pros and cons. He was very curious and couldn't help but ask, "Have you always been into collecting?"

Luo Yaohua laughed, "I'm not a collector; I'm just an antique dealer. I send the antiques I buy to familiar auction houses to be auctioned, making a profit from the difference. Of course, when I find good antiques, I keep them, like the incense ball you have!"

Yang Bo shook his head, "Don't be unreasonable; this isn't yours."

"I'm just curious, what's the secret?" Luo Yaohua couldn't help but ask.

"Tomorrow, you'll know tomorrow!"

Next, Luo Yaohua took Yang Bo to an art gallery, where they found and bought three works by young artists he liked.

Unable to resist Luo Yaohua's persuasion, Yang Bo spent several thousand yuan to buy two pieces.

Then, they listened to Luo Yaohua's chatter all the way back to the hotel.

In the evening, Yang Bo visited Cao Yuande's home for a while, while Luo Yaohua left the hotel and went somewhere unknown.

The next day, Yang Bo walked out of the hotel, intending to call Luo Yaohua to gather for the exchange meeting, when he heard a car horn.

He looked up and saw Luo Yaohua waving at him from the car window.

As he got closer, Yang Bo realized the car was a Mercedes!

"How did you get such a nice car?" Yang Bo asked curiously.

"Didn't you see the address on the invitation? It's a famous high-end club in the suburbs. We might not be able to show off, but at least we shouldn't embarrass ourselves!" Luo Yaohua said.

Yang Bo didn't quite understand but didn't say more.

When they arrived at the parking lot, there were indeed many nice cars, but also many ordinary ones. Yang Bo didn't feel there was much difference.

They took their invitations and entered. The hall was already filled with people.

Cao Yuande was already there. Seeing Yang Bo walk in, he waved and introduced him, "This is a young friend I met in Nanjing. He has a lot of talent and is very good at appraising, so I brought him here to broaden his horizons!"

He then introduced Yang Bo to the others, "This is Professor Chang, this is Professor Li, and that is Professor Han!"

Yang Bo quickly greeted them, "Hello, Professor Chang! Hello, Professor Li! Hello, Professor Han!"

"Hello! Hello! Hello!" everyone praised.

Yang Bo knew that in such situations, everyone would compliment and flatter each other. The reputation within the circle was at least half built in such settings. To get along well in the circle, one had to perform well in such situations.

However, Yang Bo was at a loss when it came to the topics of conversation. Everyone talked about interesting stories and experiences of certain people, which he knew nothing about, so he could only sit there and listen.

Fortunately, the time didn't last long. Luo Yaohua soon came over and whispered, "The program is about to start!"

"Program?" Yang Bo was confused.

Luo Yaohua smiled, "I found out yesterday. This is an internal exchange meeting. Many collectors will bring typical high-quality replicas or unusual antiques. Those who receive the invitations are not simple people!"