Chapter 78: I Truly Am Not as Foolish as Young Master Meng!

Chu Fei could not tolerate even the slightest grievance.

Ignoring Shen Miaoyu’s attempt to hold him back, he burst out in a tirade.

“You old hag, the earth’s already covering your head—how are you not dead yet?!”

This was not simply a fit of temper. Chu Fei had noticed that the old woman was suffering a chronic illness, already deeply terminal, with not much time left. He had not intended to squabble with someone practically a corpse already, but she had gone too far, so it was time to give her a lesson!

Chu Fei’s outburst instantly enraged everyone present.

To utter such words at someone’s birthday celebration—could anything be more unlucky?

“You useless good-for-nothing, you dare insult me!” The old Madam Shen’s face flushed red with fury. “Shen Miaoyu, you really brought this fool here today just to infuriate me to death, didn’t you?!”

“No, Grandmother, I truly came to wish you a happy birthday,” Shen Miaoyu hurried to explain.

Then she turned to Chu Fei and pleaded, “Could you say less? Today is Grandmother’s birthday—how can you speak so harshly? At least be a bit more tactful!”

Though her words sounded like a scolding, on closer thought, they cut even deeper. Shen Miaoyu realized she was only pouring oil on the flames. Just as she was about to change her tone, Chu Fei replied:

“I can’t be tactful at all!”

“There are some people who only understand you’re talking about them if you point at their nose and curse them out!”

“And I’m not cursing her—I’m reminding her! This old woman will probably be gone within a month. I’m just telling her to make her arrangements early!”

Chu Fei, when he flattered people, it might be hypocrisy. But when he insulted someone, he was utterly sincere. Especially that last sentence—he was speaking nothing but the honest truth. Only, no one was willing to believe it!

“You wretch, you dare curse me!” Old Madam Shen shouted, her anger boiling over. “I get a physical every year, and nothing has ever been wrong! Stop spreading your nonsense!”

“You think you can scare me and I’ll think better of you? No, I’ll only look down on you even more!”

Shen Qiushan chimed in, “Exactly! Just because you got lucky and cured Cheng Wen, you really think you’re some miracle doctor? You’re nothing but a joke!”

Faced with their ridicule and abuse, Chu Fei was about to retort and shut them up for good, but Shen Miaoyu tugged at his sleeve. For her sake, he decided to let it go—for now. After all, the day would come when they’d beg him for help.

On the Shen family’s side stood Meng Xinghe, who was now glaring at Chu Fei with malice. He had not forgotten how he’d been swindled at the auction.

In truth, his visit to the Shen family was only incidentally to offer birthday wishes. The real reason was to seek revenge, and the middle-aged man behind him, Uncle Zhao, was his greatest backup.

Just as Meng Xinghe was about to ask Uncle Zhao to teach Chu Fei a lesson, Shen Linglong whispered to him, “Xinghe, it’s too easy on him to just cripple him like that. Let’s humiliate him first, then finish him off—it’ll be so much more fun!”

“What would you suggest?” Meng Xinghe asked.

Shen Linglong’s smile was sly. “You’ve prepared a gift, right? That idiot can’t possibly come up with anything good. When the time comes, we’ll use that as an excuse to trample him underfoot!”

Meng Xinghe nodded and produced the Mingfeng landscape painting he’d bought at the Lin family auction for 150 million. He handed it to Old Madam Shen.

“Grandmother, Linglong told me you love antiques and calligraphy,” Meng Xinghe said smugly. “I bought this authentic piece at the Lin family auction for 150 million. I hope you like it!”

Old Madam Shen’s mood brightened instantly, and her face broke into a delighted smile. Accepting the painting, she beamed, “Xinghe, it’s enough that you’re here—no need to bring anything!”

The rest of the Shen family were also stunned by the price of the painting.

“I heard the Lin family auction broke a record the other day—so it was Young Master Meng who set it!”

“One hundred and fifty million—truly worthy of Young Master Meng’s reputation for generosity!”

“It’s clear he’s sincere about Linglong, unlike a certain country bumpkin who comes only to freeload!”

As the crowd showered him with praise, Meng Xinghe waved a hand dismissively, “It’s just a bit of pocket change—as long as Grandmother likes it!”

“I like it very much, Xinghe—you’ve gone to too much trouble!” Old Madam Shen could not stop smiling. The painting had been hyped to such a price—if she resold it, she’d make a huge profit. Rather than say the old woman loved antiques and paintings, it would be more accurate to say she simply loved money.

“See that, Sister?” Shen Linglong seized the opportunity to mock. “That’s what a real gift looks like—nothing like the cheap junk you have. Not even in the same league!”

The gift in Shen Miaoyu’s hands was far more valuable than the painting, but she hadn’t even had a chance to present it before it was dismissed.

This was Meng Xinghe’s first time meeting Shen Miaoyu. Seeing such a beauty matched with a fool, he couldn’t help but comment, “You must be Linglong’s sister, Shen Miaoyu, right?”

Out of politeness, and as she worked under the Meng family, Shen Miaoyu nodded. “Yes, Young Master Meng.”

“You’re very beautiful, but your taste is dreadful,” Meng Xinghe sneered. “What could you possibly see in that idiot? He has no money, all he does is mouth off—unless his only skill is running his mouth?”

His words drew laughter from those present, making Old Madam Shen even more ashamed of Shen Miaoyu and eager to throw them both out. Shen Miaoyu looked at them with a chill in her heart; she had thought at least her grandmother would be different, but they were all cut from the same cloth.

“Sister, Young Master Meng is right—you have terrible taste in men!” Shen Linglong taunted. “You should learn from me and find someone outstanding like Young Master Meng, instead of losing face with him!”

“I just want to ask: in what way is he better than Young Master Meng?”

Shen Miaoyu clenched her fists, about to reveal Chu Fei’s true identity and put them in their place, but Chu Fei spoke first.

“I truly am not as good as Young Master Meng.”

Shen Miaoyu looked at him in astonishment—that was not like him at all!

Meng Xinghe thought Chu Fei had surrendered and said smugly, “At least you know your place!”

But Chu Fei’s next words stunned the entire room.

“After all, no other idiot would spend 150 million on a fake painting. In that sense, I truly can’t match Young Master Meng’s stupidity.”

Yes, the painting was a forgery. Chu Fei had known from the beginning, which was why he had purposefully tricked Meng Xinghe at the auction!

“Impossible! I paid real money—one hundred and fifty million—for this painting. How could it be fake?” Meng Xinghe was flustered. He’d already been seen as a fool for spending so much; if it turned out to be a fake, he’d be a laughingstock for generations.

“Young Master Meng, he’s trying to trick you!” Shen Linglong sneered. “He’s just a country bumpkin—what could he possibly know about such refined things? He’s only jealous and trying to smear you!”

Meng Xinghe relaxed a little and sneered at Chu Fei. “Almost fell for your nonsense, country bumpkin! You say this painting is a fake—do you have any proof?”