Chapter 368 Bluffing

Words : 1822 Updated : Oct 9th, 2025

"I can't be bothered to argue with you dead poor ghosts!" the middle-aged woman snorted angrily, also feeling quite humiliated. "You have money? If you were rich, would you need to eat here?" Hao Jian sneered. "Exactly, stop fronting!" At this point, some of the onlooking crowd couldn't stand it and chimed in, questioning whether the middle-aged woman really had money; otherwise, why would she be eating fast food here like them? Upon hearing this, the middle-aged woman instantly exploded like a lit keg of gunpowder, cursing, "You don't know shit! This gold chain alone costs tens of thousands, not to mention the bracelet and earrings. The whole set of jewelry is worth over a hundred thousand. Do you dead poor ghosts have any right to compare yourselves to me?" The middle-aged woman pointed arrogantly at the moralizing crowd, "Any of you can bring out something worth over a hundred thousand on the spot, and I'll apologize to this poor ghost's family right now. If you can't, then shut your mouths!" Unfortunately, the faces of the crowd turned sour; if they really had money, they wouldn't be eating here. After all, they were working class and couldn't afford fancy restaurants, which is why they ended up at fast food joints. "What's the matter? Can't do it? You can't, so what now? Am I fronting? I am fronting, so what? I am rich! Are you?" the middle-aged woman said disdainfully, growing even more triumphant as she saw everyone wilt and fall silent before her. At this moment, Hao Jian couldn't help but laugh and said, "It's hilarious that you're bragging about some few hundreds worth of knock-offs, you really do have a thick skin!" "Knock-offs? Are you brain dead? Spouting nonsense just like that, you say it's a knock-off, so it's a knock-off? Where's your proof?" said the middle-aged woman, laughing angrily. Knock-offs? Her set of jewelry was a gift from her husband, complete with receipts and invoices. How could it be fake? The crowd was also puzzled, looking at Hao Jian and wondering how he could tell that the middle-aged woman was wearing knock-offs. Hao Jian gently put Tongtong down and said to the middle-aged woman, "Would you dare to let me inspect your necklace?" "Inspect it? I think you covet my gold and jewels because you're a deadbeat," replied the middle-aged woman, looking at Hao Jian with disdain, as if wary of a thief. Hao Jian rolled his eyes in frustration, "Auntie, are you the one who's brain-dead? With everyone watching here, if I were to steal your necklace and you called the police, couldn't they catch me? Or is it that you already know your jewelry is fake and you're afraid I'll find out, so you dare not let me check?" "Bullshit! My necklace is real, go ahead and check! But if you can't prove anything," the middle-aged woman snickered, "then you'll have to kneel and apologize to me, and then let my son spit on your face!" How dare he call her "auntie"? This kid was really asking for trouble! Hao Jian chuckled helplessly; he finally realized where Big Head got his arrogance from. "Fine, I accept your challenge!" Hao Jian said with a light smile. The middle-aged woman hesitantly removed her necklace and handed it over to Hao Jian. Hao Jian took the gold necklace and then directly used his lighter to bring the flame under the necklace. "What are you doing?" the middle-aged woman cried out in panic, seeing Hao Jian's intentions to burn her necklace. "True gold fears no fire, Auntie, haven't you heard that before?" Hao Jian said contemptuously. The middle-aged woman was taken aback and momentarily halted her attempt to stop Hao Jian, then coldly commanded, "Check it! Just check it!" "Snap!" Hao Jian lit the lighter and brought it under the necklace, starting to burn it. One minute. Two minutes. Three minutes... After a full five minutes, the gold chain showed no change. "It seems it's real." At this time, someone whispered, as there were no changes for such a long time, it must be real gold indeed. Seeing this, the middle-aged woman became exceedingly smug, "So, what now, you dead poor ghost? My necklace is real, isn't it? What have you got to say now?" Hao Jian said nothing but smiled and kept heating the necklace when suddenly, the chain emitted a wisp of black smoke followed by a pungent smell, like burning plastic. "Ew, what's that smell? Why is it so disgusting?" A young girl expressed her discomfort. People stepped back a few paces, evidently choked by the smell. The middle-aged woman was also stunned; how could her own necklace emit such a foul stench? That was impossible! It was then that Hao Jian stopped and sneered, "Auntie, I must say, your gold chain's fake plating was done quite well, taking five full minutes to burn off the coating. Your husband must have spent a few hundred on this chain when he bought it." "It's really fake?" "Of course, it's fake. True gold is not afraid of fire; this chain emitting such a foul odor under the flame means that its outer layer isn't gold at all but merely a chemical coating," someone explained, as people nodded in agreement, accepting this explanation. The middle-aged woman's face turned sour; her own husband had bought her fakes to deceive her? And she had been foolish enough to treasure them as if they were genuine? At that moment, the middle-aged woman felt murderous. Being humiliated so publicly by Hao Jian, she was at the pinnacle of embarrassment. Enjoy exclusive content from My Virtual Library Empire "Ugly folks love to put on a show; scram with your rascal kid already!" "Seriously, wearing knock-offs and pretending to be rich, I can't even; how can your face be so thick?" The onlookers couldn't help but verbally attack the middle-aged woman, avenging the humiliation she had inflicted on them earlier. "Here, auntie, giving you back your fake goods!" Hao Jian mocked as he handed the "fake necklace" to the middle-aged woman. But the middle-aged woman didn't even try to catch it; instead, she furiously took off all the jewelry she was wearing, as though venting, and threw them at Hao Jian. In her eyes, if the necklace her damned husband gave her was fake, then the whole set must be fake too! The middle-aged woman glared at Hao Jian viciously, "My husband is the Captain of the Armed Police Battalion. I'll have him come over right now. You just wait! Don't you dare leave; this isn't over!" With that, the middle-aged woman stormed out with Big Head in tow. "Hey, auntie, you're littering your trash!" Hao Jian called out to the middle-aged woman, holding a bunch of jewelry in his hands. But the middle-aged woman wouldn't listen to him, running off even faster. As the drama came to an end, the gathering crowd started to disperse as well. "How did you know her necklace was fake? Are you an expert in appraising treasures too?" Ruo Lan finally voiced her doubts after everyone had left. "I have no idea," shrugged Hao Jian. "No idea? So everything you just said was made up?" Ruo Lan was shocked. But Hao Jian had clearly pointed out that the middle-aged woman's gold necklace was a fake. "I was just bluffing her. I snuck something in while we were burning the gold chain when she wasn't paying attention," Hao Jian said proudly. In truth, the gold chain was real. He had covertly added a Coke straw to it while burning so nobody could see it, like performing a magic trick—hence, no one noticed. At this revelation, Ruo Lan gasped, "So you mean, all these pieces of jewelry are real?" "Yep, they're all real!" Hao Jian chuckled and nodded in confirmation. "Doesn't that make you a scam artist?" Ruo Lan asked with a nervous face. "How is it a scam? She threw the gold chain to me herself; I didn't ask for it. If she's foolish enough to be rich, that's not my problem," Hao Jian said, spreading the pile of gold jewelry on the table and smirking, "Tsk tsk tsk, a few words and I get jewelry worth over a hundred thousand. Sweet!" "Ruo Lan, you don't wear much jewelry. How about I give it to you?" Hao Jian offered. "No way, you earned it, so it should be yours!" Ruo Lan shook her head vigorously, not daring to accept such a valuable gift. "But I'm a big guy, what use do I have for these things?" Hao Jian said with a wry smile. Several hundred thousands meant little to him now, and he didn't fancy going to a jewelry store to sell all the pieces—it would just be too much hassle. Hearing this, Ruo Lan pouted shyly, "Dummy, don't you know there's a special meaning when a man gives a woman jewelry?" "What meaning? Can't I give them to you as a friend?" Hao Jian asked, puzzled. "I don't want them!" Ruo Lan said angrily, glaring at Hao Jian with frustration. The idiot just didn't get it! "Huh?" Hao Jian was perplexed. Had he said something wrong? "Why not take it? It would be a waste otherwise," Hao Jian asked, confused. He had no idea why Ruo Lan was suddenly so angry. At that moment, seeing that Hao Jian still didn't realize, Ruo Lan grew even more annoyed, "I'm not in the habit of using other people's things!" "Daddy's so dumb!" Tongtong couldn't help but giggle. "Dumb? How am I dumb?" Hao Jian was even more baffled. What had he said wrong? "If you're ugly, at least you should talk less. Let's eat!" Ruo Lan delivered a ruthless jab. ".." ... After the three of them finished their meal and came out of McDonald's intending to get their car, they saw from a distance several burly men in camouflage uniforms furiously smashing their car, which was already twisted out of shape and on the verge of becoming scrap metal. The middle-aged woman and Big Head stood aside, watching coldly with a cruel smirk, and beside them stood a middle-aged man with a buzz cut, over six feet tall, and quite stocky—a clear sign of a soldier. It turned out the middle-aged woman was telling the truth after all; she really did have a husband who was an Armed Police Captain. Searᴄh the NôvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ...

Chapter 368 Bluffing

Comments (0)