Closer to Revealing My True Self
Chapter 651 - 421 What the Hell is That_1

Chapter 651: Chapter 421 What the Hell is That_1

After hanging up with Feng Chi, Feng Yi specifically went online to do some digging and indeed found the stories Feng Chi had mentioned.

The buzz was pretty intense, reposted over and over again, and looking at the screenshots, they had already invaded the circle of friends.

Feng Yi picked a few of the hottest posts, clicked in to read them, and then, patience straining, closed his eyes and logged off.

The taste was too pungent.

If he weren’t the person involved, Feng Yi could actually applaud the stories they spun.

Such ebbs and flows, heart-stirring, worthy of marketers who know the secret codes to traffic—they really had a high level of deception!

But...

It’s freaking outrageous!

I’m a law-abiding citizen! Don’t write about me like I’m part of the mob!

Feng Yi didn’t hesitate and immediately logged into his social media to issue a denial statement.

He stated that the rough diamond was merely an accidental find during a trip and had no intention of trading it.

Across the ocean, in the office of a luxury jewelry brand company.

Two executives were discussing the matter of the massive blue diamond.

On the computer screen they’d opened was the new post that Feng Yi had just shared on social media.

"Heh, not selling?"

See if I believe that!

The so-called "no intention of trading" must mean the price isn’t right.

"Keep a close eye on the diamond market. As soon as we find a buyer making contact, we’ll block them immediately!"

"You mean, Feng Yi will sell the rough diamond?"

"Of course! That’s a ton of money!"

"Emmm... But he’s a shareholder of Ancestral Factory."

As everyone knows, Ancestral Factory’s shareholders are wealthy, the very wealthy kind. Just from this incident, one could tell the strong backing Feng Yi has to be able to bring such a national treasure level rough diamond back home safely.

"Is it possible that he really has no intention of selling it and prefers to keep it for himself?"

"That could be a possibility... Keep a close eye on the trends of masters in jewelry design and diamond cutting!"

"Maybe we can collaborate with him. We do have legendary genius designers and hall-of-fame craftsmen!"

Good design and cutting can grant a diamond a second life.

"Exactly, let’s see if he can resist that!"

"OK, I’ll make contact."

An hour later, the two met again.

"Did you get in touch?"

"Yeah, he refused."

"Fu..."

"He mentioned that there might be opportunities for collaboration in the future. For now, he’s invited multiple institutions and renowned companies to a valuation job, asking if we’d like to participate."

"Feng~ Oh dear Feng, my friend whom I’ve never met! Of course, we’ll participate! I believe we can become very close partners!"

In the residential area by Cui Lake.

Feng Yi ended another call and massaged his face.

Heart weary, why doesn’t anyone believe what he said on social media?

Why do they all think he’s just waiting for a better offer?

There’s no shortage of big stars and big entrepreneurs calling him privately to negotiate a purchase.

Jewelers were even more eager, with a very famous jewelry designer calling to offer his services just a while ago.

Of course, Feng Yi knew that if a piece was carved by a top-tier master, it would be worth a fortune.

Even auction houses had come knocking, some even implicitly offering to help him hype it up:

"It possesses an enviable carat weight, a soul-capturing color, but it lacks deep history. It needs more storytelling..."

These suggestions from the other party were not something Feng Yi had considered.

Picking up the blue diamond that had everyone going crazy.

He truly had no intention of selling it, but he couldn’t tell people the real reason.

It wasn’t like he could say, "This thing was worn smooth by my ancestor’s feet. I’m busy researching my forebears and don’t want to part with it just yet?"

Feng Yi sighed.

Putting down the diamond, he picked up his phone to continue browsing the internet, especially the comments under his most recent status update.

Luckily, netizens had now shifted the topic to the diamond itself.

[Such large diamonds are rare, yes, but I think there must be more of them in the deep vaults of the wealthy and powerful, with no records of their existence on the market.]

[There are also large diamonds that have been cut, which might have come from particularly large rough stones. Apart from the small portion that is public, we have no idea how big the original uncut diamonds were.]

[Blue diamonds? I recall a very famous blue diamond that carries a curse, bringing misfortune to anyone who wears it. That giant shipwreck movie featured a necklace with a huge blue gem based on it!]

[By saying this, collectors will go even crazier, they love collecting all sorts of oddities with peculiar features.]

[A curse? What’s a curse, many objects dug from tombs are said to carry malevolent spirits, and people still fight over them.]

[Quick, put it in a museum to quell it!]

[Ah, if it’s in a museum, we could see it up close. It’s not clear at all in the online videos.]

Feng Yi, reading those netizen comments urging him to place the diamond in a museum, couldn’t shake the feeling that some of the accounts were backed by certain museums.

"Tsk."

Feng Yi logged off the social platform and looked at the message Yi had just sent him.

He had said online that he would present a pertinent assay report to prove this rough diamond’s legitimate provenance.

Now, Yi has already contacted authoritative professional institutions for appraisal and research, and they will issue world-class certificates of authenticity.

Besides, several influential organizations in the gemstone industry have been invited to conduct high-standard, high-reliability appraisals on the biotic material associated with the surface of the blue raw diamond.

They have also traveled to the site where the raw diamond was found to collect samples.

The mine didn’t put up any barriers; Tama has been suppressed, and the new mine owner has been quite cooperative in this matter.

In the current situation, their obstruction wouldn’t change anything; it would be better to cooperate with the appraisal.

Moreover, such an appraisal is also beneficial for the mine. If the result confirms that it was indeed discovered there, the new owner of the mine could then decide to undertake larger excavation operations.

Even if, in the end, nothing is dug up, and there isn’t a second diamond like this one in the mine, at least the mine’s reputation will have been made. Once it opens up to the outside world again, it will attract even more tourists.

Due to the large impact of Feng Yi’s blue diamond incident, he didn’t just select one company or institution for the appraisal of the diamond’s associated biotic material.

This biotic material is not the "patina" that Feng Yi wanted to study, but rather some special substances produced because of the presence of the "patina."

By appraising the diamond and the special substances from the discovery site, it can be determined whether Feng Yi has falsified anything and whether the provenance of the diamond is legitimate.

After all, he is not concerned about this matter.

Yi has already compiled a list of companies and institutions to invite next.

"There’s a firm that’s not in the jewelry industry. We didn’t contact them, but they took the initiative to come to us, hoping they could participate in the testing and appraisal," Yi said.

"Not in the jewelry industry?" Feng Yi asked with curiosity, "Which one?"

Yi handed over a document.

Looking at the information, Feng Yi’s eyebrows raised slightly.

It was a very famous material conglomerate, founded by his great-grandmother, and now managed by his grandaunt.

"Did Grandaunt make an appearance?" Feng Yi asked.

"Not at all. As far as I know, they already had tasks in this area," Yi said, "Among the materials they are currently researching, one of them is derived from studying the biotic material on the surface of diamonds, which is absent on most diamonds. For this, they specifically formed a team responsible for seeking out their target work."

For them, it’s not so much about the size or value of the diamond, but about finding what they are looking for.

No matter how large a diamond is, without the substance they are looking for, it’s as mundane as any other diamond, glass, or stone.

Feng Yi understood what Yi was talking about.

That team, regardless of the diamond type, would first collect and test the samples. Finding something of interest, of course, would be great; otherwise, they just screen them out.

Yi said, "Whenever a large rough diamond is discovered, they go and test it. As for the smaller rough diamonds, it’s too much work, so they do random sampling."

A wide-net approach, not specifically targeting Feng Yi’s diamond.

Feng Yi nodded.

Indeed, if Grandaunt had been personally involved, she wouldn’t have discussed directly with Yi; she would have contacted Feng Yi instead.

"Since Grandaunt didn’t step in, treat it as a normal business interaction. Add them to the list."

In the following few days, the appraisal work, joined by multiple parties, started in full swing.

Feng Yi’s visitors remained constant.

Feng Chi, who had hurried back home to Yang City, didn’t immediately seek out Feng Yi.

With Feng Yi frequently visited and busy, Feng Chi didn’t want to be in the way, only going over when Feng Yi said he was free.

However, upon arriving at Feng Yi’s, Feng Chi only asked a couple of questions about the diamond and then handed over a box to Feng Yi with a serious expression.

"Brother, I just discovered this item. The evidence is inside; you have to take this seriously!"

Seeing this, Feng Yi became serious, too.

Opening the box, inside was a... figurine?

It was something Feng Chi stumbled upon while browsing online shopping platforms, very cheap, but crucially, a knockoff of the Q-version art models from Feng Yi’s collection!

The web page presentation looked okay, but Feng Chi didn’t expect much for the price; he just placed the order to probe on Feng Yi’s behalf.

To see if they needed to send the lawyers a greeting.

This morning, before leaving the house, Feng Chi received it and immediately brought it over.

This item, it’s fair to say, did not meet his expectations.

Feng Chi thought Feng Yi needed to be informed.

At this moment, the item sat in front of Feng Yi.

Feng Yi’s facial expression gradually tightened.

"This..."

Feng Yi tried hard to control the strength in his fingers as he pinched the figurine (?) in front of him.

This evil hairstyle, the retarded expression, and the face twisted to blurriness...

"What the hell is this?!"

Is this a figurine?

It’s an affront to god!

What kind of handicraft is this?!

Who in the hell made it?

Make it if you will, but why would you fashion it after me?

Even if you fashioned it after me, why would you make it look like this?!

I won’t mention the upper body, but that thing wrapped around the lower half, is that a tail?

A tail!

Not a pile of defenses!

The butler, who was brewing tea in the living room, wasn’t planning to disturb the conversation between the brothers in the tea room next door, but suddenly, he heard Feng Yi’s voice, clearly tinged with anger.

The butler, carrying a newly brewed teapot and a stack of pastries, walked into the tea room with a properly polite smile on his face.

Then, he saw the... monstrosity in Feng Yi’s hand.