Chapter 90

Feng Yi stood outside the hospital room, leaning against the wall, recalling the events of the day.

He thought it was just a routine appraisal, never expecting it to land a client in the hospital!

When appraising the erhu, Mr. Zou was so calm, and Feng Yi was happy that the job would be over early, allowing him to take the money and leave. He thought today’s job was pretty easy.

But he didn’t expect the skin that came out later to be fake too!

And he certainly didn’t expect that the python skin was even more important to Mr. Zou than the erhu!

Mr. Zou had just said he had seen many storms, and Feng Yi thought there was no need to be tactful with such a big shot. Who knew the big shot would be so affected that he fainted!

This is really...

Appraising can be risky too!

It seems he needs to be more careful in the future. No matter how much the client boasts, he shouldn’t be too direct and should ease into it. If he causes any problems, they might blame him. Such reactions are common.

Fortunately, Mr. Zou’s assistant and others were downstairs and more familiar with his condition. They provided first aid, gave him medication, and then sent him to the hospital.

He’s fine now, but he was already in a convalescent period and not fully recovered, so his body was weak. Today’s shock was quite significant.

Weakness + Shock

He fainted right away.

Now he’s awake, transferred to a different room, and has called his assistant and a few others to talk, asking Feng Yi to wait outside.

So Feng Yi didn’t leave.

They probably want to talk about the python skin.

Feng Yi played with his phone for a while before being called in.

Mr. Zou lay in the hospital bed, looking calm, but analyzing the emotional information from his scent, Feng Yi knew he was still furious.

What a good actor!

Seeing Feng Yi come in, Zou Fan smiled, just as he did at home, with a calm demeanor.

Feng Yi: “...”

Alright.

I’ll pretend I don’t know anything.

“Really sorry, my old injuries hadn’t fully healed, and my body was weak,” Zou Fan said.

Feng Yi nodded understandingly, “It’s fine as long as you’re okay.”

“Let’s continue where we left off.”

Zou Fan paused, took a deep breath, and then said slowly, “Since you could tell it was fake, you must have identified what kind of skin it was?”

“Medusa’s seventh generation,” Feng Yi said.

“Seventh generation...”

Zou Fan closed his eyes and fell silent.

His face showed nothing, but Feng Yi could sense the intense emotional fluctuations from his scent.

The scent information was quite complex, not just anger, but other emotions as well.

After a while, Zou Fan said to Feng Yi, “Thank you for telling me this. I’ll have my assistant transfer you 300,000. You did two appraisals today, so you deserve two payments. The extra 100,000 is a bonus for your hard work. I hope today’s events don’t get out.”

Feng Yi nodded, “Rest assured, I always respect client privacy.”

He didn’t refuse the money, not because he was greedy, but because accepting it would make Mr. Zou feel more at ease.

Seeing Zou Fan’s fatigue, Feng Yi took his leave.

Not long after leaving the room, Feng Yi received a transfer notification on his phone, 300,000 had arrived.

This big shot is quite efficient.

His work here was done, and he didn’t want to stay in the hospital any longer. The hospital’s scent was too complex, oppressive, and pungent.

Feng Yi always felt tense here, afraid someone might pull him in for a check-up.

His current state couldn’t withstand a check-up, not even a single cell!

Mr. Zou’s room was on a high floor, and there weren’t many people on this floor, so there was no need to wait for the elevator.

Feng Yi waited by the elevator.

The elevator arrived shortly, coming from a lower floor.

When the elevator door opened, Feng Yi looked inside.

An elderly man was in a wheelchair, and around him stood about ten people of various ages.

Feng Yi, who had already stepped forward, pulled back his foot.

The old lady inside saw him hesitate and waved, “Come in, there’s plenty of room!”

Feng Yi forced a smile, “No, thank you. I just remembered something, I’ll go down later.”

He stepped aside to let a mother and daughter enter.

...

Feng Yi thought that with so many people already in the elevator, it would be even more crowded on the lower floors. Even if it wasn’t, it would be hard to fit more people.

But then he thought, this hospital is usually crowded, especially this building.

So, he decided to take the stairs.

The high floor didn’t matter; his physical condition had improved.

Not in a hurry, Feng Yi walked down slowly, even taking a call from Lu Yue.

“Feng Yi, I heard Mr. Zou is in the hospital again?” Lu Yue said.

“Huh?”

“I have a relative who works at that hospital. They just told me they saw Mr. Zou being taken to the hospital. Is he okay?”

“He’s fine.”

“Was it because he found out the erhu was fake and got a shock? Didn’t I tell you to be more tactful during appraisals?” Lu Yue said.

Feng Yi found this hard to answer.

He couldn’t tell Lu Yue that, regardless of whether the skins were real or fake, how Mr. Zou got shocked, it was the client’s privacy. Feng Yi had his professional ethics.

Besides, he had just received an extra 100,000 as a gag fee, so he couldn’t reveal anything.

Seeing Feng Yi unwilling to say more, Lu Yue didn’t press for the reason Mr. Zou was in the hospital.

“Good thing he’s fine. Did you get scared? If I have a friend who needs an appraisal, will you take the job?”

“Of course!” Feng Yi said.

Why not? He still needed to earn a living!

Today, despite the shock, he made 300,000, enough to last for a while. This trip was worth it!

Hearing Feng Yi’s tone, Lu Yue knew Mr. Zou was fine. Getting the information he wanted, he chatted a bit more and then hung up.

Feng Yi continued down the stairs, thinking about Mr. Zou.

For Lu Yue to call and probe, Mr. Zou must be quite influential. It’s just not clear what he will do after this shock.

The erhu and the python skin in Mr. Zou’s possession were both certified. When they were certified, they were definitely appraised by experts and couldn’t have been fakes.

Today’s python skin was made from Medusa’s seventh generation, which has only been on the market for a short time, meaning it was recently replaced.

Now, with so many skilled people, new imitation skins are quickly followed by aging techniques!

To custom-make an imitation skin, find someone to age it, and know so much about Mr. Zou’s python skin, including its length and pattern, and the aging technique, this must have been a long-planned scheme!

It’s probably a high-level confrontation.

Fortunately, Feng Yi wasn’t involved. Maybe if the python skin is found, Mr. Zou will ask Feng Yi to appraise it again, but right now, Zou Fan definitely doesn’t want to see him.

Seeing Feng Yi would remind him of the words, “This skin is fake.”

An endless loop, blood pressure soaring.

So Feng Yi quickly left, not wanting to be a nuisance.

But he really didn’t expect Mr. Zou to be so attached to that python skin.

Upon closer analysis, the reason was clear.

The erhu was his grandfather’s, not his own. He was just a custodian.

What Mr. Zou truly wanted was a python skin erhu of his own, a kind of obsession. No matter how advanced the technology, how good the imitation, even if the sound quality surpasses the real thing, he wouldn’t accept it.

Just like Feng Yi couldn’t understand why someone with such skill would be so fixated on a real python skin erhu.

Maybe this is just human obsession.

A belief that, once ingrained, can’t be shaken. It becomes a spiritual support.

Losing that python skin, his spirit was half gone.

Seeing Mr. Zou’s pale face in the hospital, his condition was partly due to his illness, but also because he was deeply hurt, stabbed in the heart.

What comes next will likely be a storm.

But it can’t be publicized. The topic of wild python skin is too sensitive.

If it were exposed, Mr. Zou and his company would face public pressure.

Feng Yi was thinking, “Even big shots aren’t omnipotent,” when an old man bumped into him at a stairwell corner, cried out in pain, and fell to the ground. The bag of apples he was carrying also fell.

Feng Yi: “...”

The old man continued to cry out in pain.

Seeing people coming up from below, Feng Yi thought for a moment and asked, “Are you okay?”

The old man reached out, “Quick! Help me up! I need to take these apples to my grandson upstairs!”

He struggled to pick up the apples.

“You hold onto the railing, I’ll pick up the apples.”

Feng Yi helped him up, picked up the apples, put them back in the bag, and handed it to the old man.

“Thanks, young man. Be more careful on the stairs, don’t bump into people. If you hit an old man or woman, they might not be as nice as me. This is a hospital, they might take advantage of the situation.”

The old man, holding the apples, waved to Feng Yi and continued upstairs.

Muttering, “How do young people grow these days, bodies like stone pillars...”

Feng Yi stood there, took out a tissue, and wiped his hands.

Upstairs, the old man was just out of the stairwell when he was stopped by two people.

Seeing someone about to intervene, one of the young men showed a badge.

The person immediately backed off, looking extremely wary at the old man and telling others, “It’s the police, they’re probably catching a thief!”

The old man was unhappy, “Who’s calling me a thief! That’s slander! What did I steal! Search my pockets? Go ahead! If you find anything, I...”

Before he finished, a plainclothes police officer pulled a bottle of medicine from his pocket.

The old man, as if choked, eyes wide: “I... This... Just now... Not...”

The police officer said, “This bottle of medicine isn’t yours.”

The old man’s face turned ashen, staring at the bottle in the officer’s hand, as if he had suffered a great shock and psychological trauma.

This shouldn’t be!

He had just hidden this medicine bottle...

Feng Yi, hearing the commotion upstairs, continued down the stairs and went to the restroom to wash his hands.

He sniffed.

The medicine smell was mostly gone, not as pungent as before!

He didn’t drive to the hospital and would need to take a taxi to the parking lot near Mr. Zou’s neighborhood, then drive home.

Feng Yi thought about whether to take a taxi first or eat something.

He was hungry.

Before he could decide, he was stopped right outside the hospital.

Seeing the badge the person showed, Feng Yi: “...”

Damn!

He shouldn’t have taken the stairs!

Update~