Gu Weiwei dragged her suitcase, opened the door, and followed Fu Shiqin downstairs.
Downstairs, an elderly gentleman nearing seventy was talking to Fu Hanzheng and the others.
"Mr. Ming, Assistant Xu has already told you the purpose of our visit. We'd like you to take a look and determine whether this painting by Priyan is genuine or a forgery."
"A painting by Priyan?" Ming Zongyuan was astonished.
He took out his reading glasses and put them on. "His paintings are very rare these days. How did you manage to find one?"
"We bought it at an underground auction house," Fu Hanzheng pointed to the painting on the table. "You're an expert on Priyan's works, so we invited you to take a look."
Upon hearing it was a Priyan painting, Ming Zongyuan excitedly got up and walked to the table. After a close look, his face fell.
"Well, is it real?" Fu Shiqin impatiently leaned closer to ask.
The elderly Mr. Ming Zongyuan took off his glasses and turned to look at Fu Shiqin and the others with displeasure.
"Are you young people deliberately trying to make fun of me?"
Fu Hanzheng's sharp eyes narrowed slightly. "Mr. Ming, are you saying this painting... is a fake?"
Fu Shiqin didn't believe it, and leaned closer to examine the painting before pulling Ming Zongyuan aside.
"Mr. Ming, take another look. Or I can get you a magnifying glass. This painting cost tens of millions to buy; how could it be fake?"
"Tens of millions?" Ming Zongyuan didn't even bother to look at it again, as if the painting would offend his eyes.
"Who's crazy enough to spend tens of millions on such a fake painting?"
Meng Ruya looked at Fu Hanzheng, somewhat flustered.
"Mr. Ming, take another look. You only glanced at it once and you're already saying it's a fake?
That's too hasty." She was the one who facilitated the purchase; if it were fake, she would be held responsible.
In the end, instead of causing Mu Weiwei any trouble, she actually benefited.
Ming Zongyuan sighed impatiently and waved his hand.
"I don't need to look closely. I've seen countless paintings by Priyan; I can tell the real from the fake at a glance."
"Besides, the original of this painting is the most cherished possession of one of my friend's art collections. I saw it with my own eyes in their home; they're not short of money, they wouldn't sell a painting."
He cherished Priyan's works, and seeing these forgeries, his face immediately fell.
Fu Shiqin had been holding back a lot of things to say, waiting for Ming Zongyuan to come and authenticate the painting so he could berate Gu Weiwei.
But now that the painting was fake, he had to swallow his anger.
Meng Ruya, who had spent tens of millions to buy the fake painting, was now in the wrong and dared not say another word.
Fu Hanzheng looked up at Gu Weiwei coming downstairs, his eyes somewhat dark and unfathomable.
"Weiwei, how did you know this painting was fake?" Old Madam Fu asked curiously.
She knew that she didn't study painting at all; this copy had dared to be put up for auction, it must have fooled countless people. How could she recognize it as fake at a glance?
"My mother used to love oil paintings and often took me to art exhibitions abroad. She saw other paintings by Priyan and noticed they were different, so she thought it was a fake," Gu Weiwei explained simply.
The truth is, the original painting, *Rose*, was secretly purchased by the Gu family eight years ago and has been hanging in their living room ever since.
Gu's mother is a huge fan of Priyan's paintings; the family has a large collection of his works. Ming Zongyuan, a fellow artist, was once invited to the Gu family home and saw the original painting in person.