Chapter 816

816 The Disgraced Academic
The guests‘ expressions would naturally be enhanced before the cameras. Bill was no exception, and his nervousness was on full display.
The audience exchanged glances and murmurs arose.
“Wait, could she be right?”
“Impossible! Why would a celebrity’s family know anything about antiques? She’s just making it up. How could such a valuable piece of antique from the Lumier era be undocumented?”
The stubborn will never admit their mistakes until confronted with the truth.
Naomi was also suspicious about Wynter’s analysis and wanted to defend herself. However, it was too
late.
The large screen lit up once again. The snuff bottle was placed in the glass case. A swirling ink–splatter painting detailed its tale through unfolding scenes.
Legend had it that during the waning years of the Lumier era, a foreign envoy arrived to pay tribute. He was fascinated with the exquisite craftsmanship of Cascadia.
At that time, the craftsmanship of Cascadia was top–notch in the world. Hence, a skilled master made a snuff bottle with the envoy’s appearance. It was indeed a product from the Lumier era!
A wave of murmurs swept through the crowd as everyone turned to Wynter. Those who had been. mocking Wynter earlier were not silent.
Bill’s expression darkened. He looked like he had been kicked in the stomach. Naomi clenched her fists and fumed internally. However, this didn’t dampen the audience’s enthusiasm in the least.
The camera zoomed in on Wynter while Lindsay exclaimed, “Wow! This is incredible.” She turned to Wynter and continued, “item two is authentic!”
Wynter nodded and smirked in response. The Kina fans online were going wild in the comments section.
“Wynter is so cool!”
“Hell, yeah!”
The show’s popularity had hit a record high.
Meanwhile, Shane clenched his jaw and glared at Bill. The silent demand for an explanation hung heavy in
the air.
he wasn’t that
Before the show, Bill had promised Shane that everything would go smoothly. Shane knew he capable, but he never imagined such incompetence. Were all his accolades just a sham?
In truth, that was how society works. It wasn’t always the most visible person who was talented; oftentimes, they were just good at building connections. Their expertise in antique appraisal might be mediocre, but they’d mastered the art of networking.
816 The Disgraced Academic-
Connections could trump actual competence , as evidenced by Bill’s meteoric rise. Even though he had a few missteps along the way, as long as he had the right connections, his reputation remained unscathed. Hence, Bill intended to make use of the Quinnell family to elevate his status.
In the past, there were reports of women using their charms to gain academic advantage.
Although Bill wasn’t one of them, he was well aware of the industry’s unspoken rules. He had gotten away with insulting many people before, so there was no way he was going to be embarrassed by a small–town girl. It didn’t matter if things hadn’t gone according to plan.
Bill knew he had to prevent things from spiraling out of control. If he didn’t act, his reputation would be
toast.
Feigning nonchalance, Bill said, “It’s hard to compete with the youngsters these days. They think a little theory is all they need to be experts. I never expected vibrant colors to be such a trend in the Lumier era.
“As veterans in the field, we need to take more caution with appraisals. We have to take responsibility for our words, unlike youngsters who can just take a wild guess.”
Bill was clearly implying Wynter had been simply lucky.