Because of the incident in the morning, Ah Da was so frightened that she didn't dare emerge from the incense burner. She filled three large chests with pearls, and looking at the rosewood and gilded chests that towered several times taller than herself, Ah Da fell into deep thought. How was she supposed to give these things to that man?
If she straightforwardly offered them to him, wouldn't that expose her identity? That was absolutely not acceptable.
Ah Da sat down, her chin resting on her knees, her beautiful brows slightly furrowed. Her jet-black hair, smooth as silk, fell loosely behind her, spilling over to either side as she leaned forward.
In the purely white space, she was the sole splash of color.
Qin Yu was invited to a private party and didn't return to the mansion until ten o'clock in the evening. After drinking hangover soup, he went upstairs and back to his room. As he was about to enter the bathroom, after unbuttoning his shirt, something flashed by in his line of sight.
Turning around, he walked over to the desk and stopped, then crouched down. Qin Yu slowly reached to pick up a pale pink pearl from the floor.
The pearl was polished and round, about the size of a thumb.
A smile played on Qin Yu's lips, and a ripple stirred in the depths of his black eyes. Sure enough, the "thing" lurking in the shadows couldn't resist showing its tail.
Clasping the pearl in his palm, Qin Yu stood up and walked into the bathroom, his eyes harboring a storm beneath his seemingly calm exterior.
Watching the bathroom door closing, Ah Da inside the incense burner was utterly dumbfounded, her big round eyes unblinking.
So he just accepted it?
He wasn't surprised at all?
It went a bit too smoothly. Ah Da didn't know what to say for a moment. She'd thought that the appearance of a pearl out of nowhere in the room would startle the man, but he simply took it.
Maybe he thought it was something from his room?
Possible, since the room was so big.
Ah Da turned her head to look at the pearls beside her and after a moment, reached out to grab a few and tossed them outside.
If there was anyone in the room at that moment, they would have been startled by the sight of pearls flying out from the incense burner, tracing arcs through the air before landing and rolling on the ground.
When Qin Yu came out of the bathroom again, half an hour had passed. His chest was bare, and a loosely tied white towel hung around his hips. Water droplets slid from his damp hair, trickling down his well-built chest, then followed the lines of his muscles before disappearing into the towel around his waist.
His tall, muscular frame was even more impressive in the steaming air, every move emanating a wild strength.
Ah Da inside the incense burner was already covering her eyes with her palms, her cheeks flushed. She had sneaked a look earlier, not expecting the man to come out shirtless...
It was rather embarrassing.
However, Ah Da hadn't forgotten that this was someone else's room, and she was an uninvited guest.
After a while, curiosity got the better of her, and she allowed her eyes to peek through the gaps between her fingers, wanting to see how the man would react to the scattered pearls on the floor.
Unexpectedly, the man continued to pick up each pearl, one by one, without any other reaction.
"..."
Until the break of dawn, Ah Da hadn't figured out what was going on and had only one hypothesis left, perhaps he still thought they belonged in his own room.
Ah Da brought her hands together, delighted, "In that case, this is good news. If I deliver the pearls in batches, I can avoid revealing my identity and indirectly repay the favor."
Having figured this out, Ah Da ran back to the chest to start throwing out the pearls, one by one.
Downstairs in the main hall, Uncle Wen looked at the pale pink pearls on the table, befuddlement in his eyes. He turned his astonished gaze to Qin Yu, who was sitting on the couch, and asked,
"Young Master, are you saying these things appeared in your room?"
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"How is this possible?"
Qin Yu gave a slight nod, leaning back on the sofa with a calm expression, his eyes lowered as if contemplating something.
Uncle Wen, however, looked deeply concerned; he was in charge of everything inside the villa, and now such a significant oversight had occurred.
"Young Master, please allow me to gather everyone right now to investigate the origins of these pearls!"
Having worked diligently for the Qin Family for so many years without fault, Uncle Wen felt uneasy within and ashamed to face others.
"Uncle Wen, you've been with the Qin Family for a long time, and I trust you. These matters are not related to you. Don't worry about them. I'll handle it. You may go now."
Qin Yu didn't plan to discuss the recent anomalies with outsiders.
Uncle Wen didn't feel any relief despite what Qin Yu had said. The Qin Family had strict rules, and Uncle Wen also set high standards for himself. Even if Qin Yu didn't blame him, he couldn't let the incident go. Hence, after leaving, Uncle Wen still gathered the villa's servants and questioned them one by one.
Suddenly, the staff felt they were walking on thin ice, panicked that they might lose their high-paying jobs.
Around noon, a black car pulled up outside the mansion, and a man in a black coat got out of the driver's seat, taking off his sunglasses as he looked at the entrance.
Wei Lan, familiar with the place, slipped straight into the hall and saw someone brewing tea near the tea seat. He walked over with a smile.
"Third Young Master, oh Third Young Master, this is unprecedented—you actually need my help!"
His voice arrived before he did; Wei Lan, not one for formalities, plopped down directly across from Qin Yu.
As Qin Yu filled the tea cups with the Zisha teapot, he pushed one of them in front of Wei Lan.
"Oh boy, tea brewed by Third Young Master himself. Looks like I have to taste it no matter what." Wei Lan picked up the tea cup that was slightly hot, took a sip close to his lips, and breathed in the aroma with a hint of sweetness. "Mmm, good tea."
Qin Yu gave him a sidelong glance, "You even know what good tea is?"
Holding the cup between his fingers, Wei Lan laughed, "Even though I find all tea to be pretty unpleasant, I can still distinguish what's high quality and what's low."
With that, he tilted his head back and finished the rest.
Without further ado, Wei Lan got straight to the point, "I'm really curious what kind of monumental problem it is that even you, the legend of Capital City, can't solve."
Qin Yu placed a pearl on the tea table.
Wei Lan bent over to take a closer look, his eyes almost touching the table surface. After a long while, he sat up and looked at Qin Yu with a strange expression, "Third Young Master, are you playing with me?"
"Traveling all this way during the New Year just to show me a pearl? You've gone a bit too far, don't you think?"
The Wei Family and the Qin Family didn't really interact much; in fact, the Wei Family wasn't even originally from Capital City. The reason Qin Yu and Wei Lan got along so well was absolutely due to fate. Wei Lan was sent to Capital City for school at a young age, and they met in kindergarten, became desk mates, and continued together in the same elementary and middle school, only parting ways in high school because of Qin Yu's superior grades.
Wei Lan wasn't a poor student; it's just that Qin Yu was extraordinary, and he could only trail behind him.
It's probably just the difference between a genius and an ordinary person.
Qin Yu looked at him and said, "The Wei Family mainly deals in antiques and also dabbles in jewelry. I remember you're an expert in this field."
Pride written all over his face, Wei Lan took the opportunity to praise himself, "Of course, my dad, my grandfather, and all those media out there say I was born to deal in antiques. No matter the antique, just give me a glance, and I can still tell the authenticity and age even if it's shattered to pieces. Jewelry? Even easier."
Qin Yu smiled, "Professional matters should be left to professionals. This time, I asked you here to take a look at this pearl."
"A pearl?" Wei Lan frowned, not understanding, but still picked up the pearl to examine it closely.
"A pink pearl, genuine and real. Looking at its size, quality, color, and luster, it doesn't seem to be cultured but natural, which could be quite valuable, worth collecting."
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