The Sapphire Necklace Was Fake

Lin Xiaofei heard what they were saying and, for a moment, did not know how to comfort them.

Lin Xiaofei's family was wealthy, but they could not produce that much money at once to help the Cheng Family.

"I don't want to end up penniless. I got a lot of gifts at my birthday banquet. I'll sell them to raise money." Yang Su had to protect everything she had, so she chose to sell her birthday gifts.

Even after deciding to sell them, she still ruled out the Sapphire Necklace.

"It's not enough. Not nearly enough!" Cheng Hai shook his head.

Yang Su had received plenty of gifts, but few were valuable. Only the ones from her three sons-in-law were worth much, and even at their original prices, they would bring in less than 1.5 million. Besides, they might have depreciated.

"We have to include the necklace," Cheng Hai said through gritted teeth.

"No!" Yang Su insisted. She had coveted that necklace for ages and had finally gotten her hands on it. She had barely worn it for a few days. She could not bear to sell it.

"Fine. Then we'll wait until we have to sell the house and car, or sit around until the company goes bankrupt. In the end, we'll lose everything and wind up on the streets." Cheng Hai gave a bitter laugh. He had lost hope. He got up and trudged toward the bedroom, intending to go to sleep.

"Wait..." Yang Su called out suddenly.

Cheng Hai turned. Yang Su slowly raised her hands and reluctantly removed the Sapphire Necklace from her neck. She had wrestled with herself for a long time before making this choice.

Faced with losing everything, Yang Su finally chose to give up the necklace for now.

"But I won't sell it. I'll pawn it." Yang Su adored her necklace. She had finally agreed, but she still refused to sell it.

Selling it would mean taking a loss, and so would pawning it. If she sold it, the necklace might never be hers again. If she pawned it, she could redeem it later.

Cheng Hai considered this. It was the best option, and he had persuaded Yang Su after all. "All right. Let's have a lender or pawnshop appraise it first."

The argument was finally over. Lin Xiaofei did not come out to stop their decision. Some people needed to learn the hard way; she hoped they would learn from this mistake.

Exhausted from arguing, the two drank some water and went out.

Gong City Pawnshop.

It was Gong City's most established pawnshop, handling collateral ranging from land and forests to jewelry.

"We're here to pawn a Sapphire Necklace worth more than three million."

As the saying went, even a starving camel was bigger than a horse. Yang Su did not believe a word Zhang Yang had said. She was convinced her Sapphire Necklace was genuine. Though reduced to pawning it, she remained insufferably arrogant.

She entered the pawnshop without so much as a greeting, stated her purpose, and boasted that she owned a Sapphire Necklace worth over three million.

"Hello. Could you show me the necklace?" The receptionist followed the rules: customers had to go through her first.

"What's there to look at? Would you even know what you were seeing?" Accustomed to looking down on anyone she considered beneath her, Yang Su spoke with open disdain.

"I'm sorry, but that's our procedure." The receptionist gave a cold smile. She had seen few people like Yang Su. Today had been an eye-opener.

"Here!" Yang Su took an exquisite jewelry box from her bag and opened it for the receptionist. She snapped it shut again at once, as though another glance might diminish what was inside.

"Please come in, both of you." The receptionist couldn't judge the jewelry, but she could see that there was a piece of jewelry in the box. She gestured for Cheng Hai and Yang Su to enter the company, then immediately called ahead.

"Are you two here to do business with us?"

They had barely stepped inside when a capable-looking woman approached them. Dressed in a neat uniform, she welcomed them with a slight nod and held out her hand.

"I'm the manager in charge of the jewelry department. I'll be seeing you personally today," the woman said with a smile. "My name is Fang Fang."

Hearing that she was speaking to a manager of equal rank, Yang Su was satisfied and extended her hand. "Hello, Manager Fang!"

They went straight to Manager Fang's office and sat down. An assistant brought them tea.

"Please, make yourselves comfortable. Could you take out the Sapphire Necklace? I'll have a look first." Manager Fang nodded politely and got straight to business.

Although Fang Fang oversaw the jewelry department, she rarely saw necklaces worth over three million. She was eager to see this one.

"Here it is. I paid 3.99 million for it. It's fine jewelry, a genuine sapphire without a doubt." Even though she had come to pawn it, Yang Su could not resist showing off. She spoke proudly as she took out the jewelry box.

Manager Fang kept smiling. Whatever a customer said, she would not comment before seeing the item itself.

In fact, Yang Su had not paid 3.99 million for the Sapphire Necklace. She had inflated the price in hopes of borrowing more against it. She had paid only 3.6 million.

The moment the box opened, Manager Fang's brows rose in admiration. Inside lay a gleaming Sapphire Necklace that looked brand-new, without a trace of wear.

Before coming, Yang Su had taken it off, wiped it with a velvet cloth, and arranged it in the box as it had been before. Its enormous sapphire pendant, about the size of a pigeon's egg, was especially dazzling.

"There's definitely nothing wrong with it. I had a friend buy it for me. It only cost 3.99 million because of that connection. Otherwise, it would've been at least five million!" Yang Su continued flaunting her connections and wealth.

But as Manager Fang examined it, her expression gradually shifted from surprise to indifference. At last, she took out her tools, tested it, looked it over, and shook her head helplessly.

"I'm sorry, but our company won't accept this piece as collateral. Please try somewhere else. I apologize, but I can't help you. I'm very busy." Manager Fang put the necklace back in its box, stood, and handed it to Yang Su.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand." Cheng Hai was stunned. She had barely looked at the necklace. They had not even discussed a loan amount, yet she had rejected it outright.

Unease rose in Cheng Hai's chest as he remembered what Zhang Yang had said earlier. He had said the necklace was fake. Could it be...

Cheng Hai did not dare think any further. The possibility grew more frightening the longer he dwelled on it.

"What's wrong?" Yang Su was baffled too. Since the manager had examined it, she should at least name a price, whether high or low.

Seeing the shocked, confused expressions on Cheng Hai and Yang Su's faces, Manager Fang realized they clearly hadn't known. She sat down again, opened the jewelry box, and said to Cheng Hai and Yang Su, "This necklace is fake. The platinum and the small diamonds around the edges are real, but everything else is fake. The sapphire pendant is fake, and so are the stones set around it, so it's practically worthless."

"Ah!"

Cheng Hai and Yang Su stared at each other, their jaws dropping. It hit them like a bolt from the blue.

"How is that possible? I asked a close friend to buy this necklace for me. How could it be fake?" Yang Su refused to believe it.

Manager Fang shook her head with a wry smile. "The necklace never left your sight, so I couldn't have switched it. If you don't trust my appraisal, you can have someone else examine it."

With that, Fang Fang stood again, ready to see them out.