Qin Youbei clutched the bowl, caught between eating and not eating, tangled in indecision for a while. Then looking at Gu Xiao, who picked up the spoon leisurely, his movements graceful as if he were a noble trained in ancient court etiquettes, it was pleasing to the eye just to watch him.
Qin Youbei froze momentarily then quickly snapped back to reality. Handsome men are pleasing to the eyes, but they're poisonous—one must never fall for their trap.
And then... unwittingly admitting something.
Forget it, she had better finish eating quickly and get out of here, hoping that everything would go smoothly afterwards.
Huh? This actually tastes quite good. Qin Youbei took a small sip, not yet swallowing, when suddenly she heard Gu Xiao's voice beside her ear, "The porridge is poisoned."
Pfft! Qin Youbei was startled and began coughing violently.
The bowl in her hand slipped from her grasp, and as she quickly tried to catch it, she was too late—the bowl crashed to the floor and shattered!
Her face was a picture of shock and confusion as she looked up at Gu Xiao, her heart still racing.
Gu Xiao looked relaxed, leaning on one arm, lazily watching her with a slight curve to his lips, an air of nonchalance about him, "Just kidding."
Qin Youbei felt a lump stuck in her throat, nearly choking herself.
After a pause, he added another line, "However... about that bowl..."
"How much?" It's just a bowl, even if it were made of gold, it would only cost tens of thousands. She was willing to compensate, hoping that after paying she could leave,
"It's an antique bowl from the late Qing dynasty, not very expensive... thirty million..."
Nani?!
Qin Youbei looked at the shattered pieces on the floor with a face full of horror, then at Gu Xiao who seemed expressionless, confirming he wasn't joking.
She pointed to the bowl on the floor, asking incredulously, "How... how... how much?"
"To be precise, it's thirty-six million." Gu Xiao wiped his mouth leisurely, placing his interlocked hands on the table, the epitome of grace.
What kind of international joke is this! This broken bowl costs that much.
Hearing the noise in the dining room, the butler dashed out. Seeing the broken bowl and hearing the young master mentioning the price, he froze for a moment.
This bowl was indeed an antique, but it didn't seem that expensive, did it?
Why deceive this young girl?
Could it be that the young master fancied this girl, but she didn't return his affections, so the young master used this as an excuse to force her to stay?
Robbery by force?
If that were the case, it was justifiable. Who was his young master that this girl dared to look down on him, what terrible taste.
Thirty million was already an understatement; he should ask for a higher price, and it would be best if she had to sell herself to pay the debt.
The butler, shamelessly harboring such thoughts at his old age, took a glance at the stunned Qin Youbei, secretly vowing, Young master, I will definitely help you trick her into bed.
The young master was merciless when trapping others.
As the young master's most loyal butler, he couldn't fall behind.
The butler took a quick stride and suddenly approached Qin Youbei.
"Oh my, this, this bowl! To think it has been broken," he crouched, cradling the fragments of the bowl with a pained expression, "This set of porcelain was collected by the Empress Dowager of the Qing dynasty. During the Eight-Nation Alliance invasion, many treasures were taken away, including this exquisite set of porcelain."
Qin Youbei's mouth twitched slightly, thinking that back during the invasion by the Eight-Nation Alliance, this bowl wasn't even considered an antique yet.
They actually took a bowl with them, how poor were they!
Gu Xiao looked on with an odd expression, shooting a glance at the butler.