Kayson declared clearly:
"An Anderson suit takes no less than 50 hours and no more than one week to make. It is always finished within seven days!"
The crowd stared wide-eyed, listening intently.
"If their order list is full, they simply decline new commissions. They never take longer than seven days!
Furthermore, Anderson only tailors for British nobles and the royal family. They do not serve clients outside the UK.
Most importantly, every real Anderson suit has special copper buttons engraved with AD!
The buttons on your suit are acrylic plastic. It's a knockoff worth at most three thousand dollars!"
Kayson then turned on the large screen on the wall,
typed "Anderson Suit," and pressed enter.
Snap!
The official Anderson website appeared—exactly as Kayson had described.
The close-up of the AD-engraved button was crystal clear.
A British designer on the site confirmed:
"Anderson never takes more than seven days per order, and we do not operate outside the UK."
The crowd gaped.
Color drained from Shawn's face.
He had indeed bought the suit online for just 3,000 dollars.
He only knew Anderson was famous but had no idea about these details.
Shawn stammered: "I was cheated by the seller!"
The crowd realized at once: it was a fake!
Hahaha!
After a short silence, laughter erupted.
Shawn was furious. A useless live-in son-in-law had outshone him!
He was supposed to be the center of attention!
He shouted: "Everyone look at the gift I prepared for Mother-in-Law!"
Shawn pulled out a scroll from his sleeve and unfurled it.
"Wow! Peony at Noon!"
Squeals broke out again.
Everyone's eyes locked onto the ancient painting.
Shawn boasted proudly: "This cost me three million dollars! It's for Mother-in-Law!"
Boom!
The room exploded in excitement.
"Three million?! That's incredible!"
Crowds gathered around the aged, yellowed painting with faded writing.
The worn look only made it seem more authentic.
Shawn glanced at Kayson contemptuously. "Loser! I gave a three-million-dollar painting. What about you?"
"Fake," Kayson said flatly.
"Kayson, you idiot! This cost me three million! How dare you talk nonsense?
Shut up if you don't know anything!" Shawn sneered.
Kayson remained calm. He was used to such insults and felt nothing.
He said: "This Peony at Noon is a forgery. Look here!"
Kayson pointed at the cat's eyes in the painting.
"The cat under the peony has round, bright eyes."
Everyone leaned in.
Shawn said: "Exactly! That shows the painter's skill! Cats have round eyes!"
Kayson explained:
"A cat's pupils are round in the morning and evening. As the sun climbs to midday, they narrow into slits. At true noon, a cat's pupil is just a thin line.
The cat in this painting has wide round eyes—this is not a noon scene!
This painting is definitely a fake. I'd value it at… three hundred dollars."
Shawn was apoplectic. His fake had been seen through again!
But he ground his teeth and shouted:
"Who do you think you are? Your words aren't law!"
The room erupted in argument.
Just then, Liu Yun walked in on high heels, linked arm-in-arm with Su Haiyang.
She waved like a queen:
"Hello, everyone! Thank you all for coming!"
It felt like a military inspection.
Liu Yun was clearly enjoying acting like royalty.
Since it was Mother-in-Law Day, she had arrived last,
fully ten minutes after everyone else—
all to show how important she was.
Susan saw the argument going nowhere and handed the painting to her father.
"Dad, you collect antiques. You're an expert. Tell us if this is real or fake."
Sharon Su quickly stepped forward:
"Dad, Shawn paid three million for this to honor Mom! Kayson is talking rubbish. Please judge for us!"
Su Haiyang took the painting with a smile, studied it briefly,
and whispered a few words to Liu Yun.
Liu Yun's expression flickered for a moment, then she beamed brightly:
"Your father and I have seen it. This painting is authentic!"
"What?!"
Everyone in the room froze.
Immediately, they all turned to blame Kayson.
Aunt Liu was the loudest:
"Your father has years of experience in antiques. If he says it's real, it's real!
Who do you think you are, Kayson? You have no right to speak!"
No one believed Kayson. He was too lowly to be listened to.
Shawn had only paid 300 dollars for the fake, but Su Haiyang and Liu Yun had declared it genuine. He was overjoyed.
He walked close to Kayson and whispered only for him to hear:
"Kayson, what's the point of you knowing the truth? You're a loser! No one cares what you say!
You can scream all you want—no one will listen!"
Kayson's mouth twitched. Su Haiyang had clearly seen it was fake.
But he was famously afraid of his wife.
He had told Liu Yun the truth, and she had decided to call it real anyway—
simply to keep Kayson from looking better than Shawn.
Shawn gloated:
"Loser! You keep criticizing my gifts. Where's yours?"
Aunt Liu and the others stared at Kayson.
"Yeah, you run your mouth about everyone else. Where's your gift?"
Susan quickly handed a bracelet worth over fifty thousand dollars to her mother.
"Mom, this is from Kayson and me—"
"No!"
Shawn pointed at Kayson.
"Today is Mother-in-Law Day! The gift must come from the son-in-law! The daughter's gift doesn't count!"
The crowd joined in the jeering.
Liu Yun's face twisted with disdain.
Kayson pulled a piece of yellow paper from his sleeve, picked up a brush, drew several coil-like patterns on it, and handed it to Liu Yun.
"Mom, this is my gift. Carry it with you, and it will ward off evil."