Cui Mingyu invited Qin Su to inspect every piece of rough stone. Only after receiving her confirmation did he confidently instruct the experts on his team to begin selecting suitable stones.
While accompanying them, Qin Su also quietly picked out every stone rich in spiritual energy. She planned to buy as many as she could afford later.
She noticed that all the blood jade pieces that had reverted to their true forms had already been removed.
Although the stones were gone, the rumors surrounding them continued to spread.
Jewelry merchants from all over China were discussing the incident.
Since China had a huge appetite for jadeite, the jadeite auction was attended primarily by Chinese jewelers.
Considering the generous red envelope Cui Mingyu had given her, Qin Su thought for a moment before saying,
“I think Numbers 368, 3345, 1989…”
“Those stones are worth considering.”
All of the ones she mentioned had very high reserve prices. Qin Su only had a little over one hundred million yuan available, so she couldn’t possibly afford them herself.
She might as well do Cui Mingyu a favor.
Of course, to avoid making her abilities too obvious, she also recommended a few ordinary stones as camouflage.
Having personally witnessed Qin Su’s incredible luck when selecting rough stones, Cui Mingyu knew that some people’s instincts simply defied logic.
He carefully wrote down every number Qin Su mentioned, determined to secure them no matter what.
Although others might consider such blind trust reckless, if it paid off, the returns would be several times greater.
Qin Su already knew exactly which stones she wanted.
All she had to do now was wait until July 25.
The only reason she continued wandering around the venue pretending to inspect rough stones was because she wanted to meet Madam Jing in person and secretly leave a tracking mark on her.
Since such a major mishap had occurred, someone like Madam Jing would almost certainly come personally.
After wandering around for more than two hours, Qin Su finally saw Madam Jing.
Although they had never met before, Qin Su recognized her immediately in the crowd.
The reason was simple.
Madam Jing carried an enormous amount of karmic burden. At a glance, Qin Su could tell that countless lives had died by her hand.
Although she was already over forty years old, she looked only a little over twenty.
She possessed a mature charm that young women lacked, like a perfectly ripened peach. Every movement she made radiated allure.
The woman chatting beside her was none other than Tian Xiaoyuan.
Qin Su hadn’t expected the two of them to be together.
Tian Xiaoyuan’s voice drifted over from afar.
“Mrs. Pei, you’re amazing. I never imagined you knew so much about jewelry and jade. If I’d met you earlier, there would’ve been far fewer mistakes in my novel.”
Pei Jing smiled gently.
“I’m only older than you by a few years, so I naturally know a little more.”
Tian Xiaoyuan laughed.
“You look much younger than I do. No one would ever guess you have a son.”
Halfway through her sentence, the smile on Tian Xiaoyuan’s face froze when the corner of her eye caught sight of Qin Su.
She hadn’t expected to run into her here.
Admission to the exhibition alone cost ten thousand euros, plus a security deposit.
Although Tian Xiaoyuan had sold the adaptation rights to one of her novels, she had already spent that money on buying a house.
If she hadn’t happened to meet the generous and easygoing Mrs. Pei, won her favor, and had Mrs. Pei pay the entrance fee for her, she never would have been able to enter.
Although Qin Su disliked Tian Xiaoyuan’s personality, she didn’t want to watch her throw herself into someone like Mrs. Pei’s trap.
A faint smile played on Qin Su’s lips as her gaze swept over Mrs. Pei.
Without drawing attention, she used a secret technique unique to her sect to leave a tracking mark on her.
Then she said,
“Is this your younger sister? She’s much prettier than you.”
Tian Xiaoyuan’s face immediately darkened.
She had just complimented Mrs. Pei for looking young.
But hearing someone actually point out that comparison while implying she herself looked older inevitably stung.
Still, unwilling to argue with Qin Su in front of Mrs. Pei, she forced a stiff smile.
“I didn’t expect to see you here.”
Qin Su smiled lightly.
“Neither did I. I didn’t think you’d be able to come here, considering the admission fee isn’t exactly cheap.”
Tian Xiaoyuan dug her fingernails into her palms until they almost broke the skin.
She trembled with anger.
How could this woman be so infuriating? She always knew exactly where it hurt.
Forcing herself to remain composed, she asked,
“I’m just here to broaden my horizons. What about you? Have you found anything you like?”
Qin Su replied casually,
“I’ve already picked out a few rough stones. I’ll cut them open for fun later. If I find any jade I really like, I’ll have it made into bracelets.”
Tian Xiaoyuan thought Qin Su was just boasting.
She desperately wanted to mock her.
But worried about leaving a bad impression on Mrs. Pei, she could only swallow her words, nearly giving herself internal injuries from holding them back.
Qin Su continued,
“So, you really didn’t take what I told you at the airport to heart.”
Tian Xiaoyuan’s expression darkened even further.
Her trip had been perfectly smooth.
As long as she didn’t run into Qin Su, everything went just fine!
After thoroughly provoking Tian Xiaoyuan’s anger and quietly leaving a tracking mark on her as well, Qin Su leisurely walked away.
Watching her retreating figure, Pei Jing smiled inwardly.
As expected, she’s still just a young girl. Hot-blooded and always eager to compete with others.
She turned to Tian Xiaoyuan with a friendly smile.
“Was that your friend just now? She’s really quite lovely.”
Tian Xiaoyuan forced a smile.
“We’re just acquaintances. She even cursed me before.”
Pei Jing smiled.
“What’s her name? What kind of curse? Did the two of you have an argument?”
…
After leaving the exhibition hall, Qin Su was in a fairly good mood.
The only thing left for her to do now was wait.
Wait for Pei Jing to come to her of her own accord.
After walking around all day, she was genuinely hungry.
She simply went to a nearby restaurant, ordered some takeaway, and prepared to bring it back to the hotel.
She had just picked up two packed meals when she saw Xu Xiao standing at the entrance.
Tall and straight, he held a cigarette between his long fingers. The drifting smoke blurred his features, softening his usually icy aura.
“Susu, let’s talk.”
The moment he saw her, he spoke.
Qin Su raised an eyebrow.
“What do you want to say?”
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I personally hate getting back together with an ex. Since we’ve broken up, we should make a clean break. Your existence has already caused me quite a bit of trouble.”
She spoke bluntly.
Since she couldn’t understand Xu Xiao’s way of thinking, she might as well make herself perfectly clear.
Xu Xiao fell silent.
Perhaps he had underestimated just how angry Susu was.
He shouldn’t have started dating another woman just to make her jealous.
Susu had always been extremely particular when it came to relationships.
But that wasn’t the main issue…
He realized that his biggest obstacle was actually Tu Qing.
As long as Tu Qing remained by Qin Su’s side, stirring things up, there was no possibility of reconciliation.
He spoke in a low voice,
“I came today only to warn you about Tu Qing. She’s absolutely not as harmless as she appears.”
Qin Su blinked.
“Qingqing is wonderful. You’re not allowed to say bad things about her.”
At that moment, Xu Xiao finally understood how an upright minister in ancient times must have felt when risking his life to remonstrate with the emperor.
The feeling was indescribably complicated.
He pulled a yellow talisman from his pocket, his tone carrying faint disgust.
“She even put this filthy thing on me just to harm me.”
He definitely hadn’t had this item before leaving.
Yet after returning, he discovered it on himself.
After thinking it over for a long time, the only possible suspect he could come up with was Tu Qing.
She clearly had ill intentions.
After seeing the talisman, he even began to suspect that this was how his ex-girlfriend had fallen under Tu Qing’s spell.
Otherwise, why would she trust Tu Qing so completely and even distance herself from him because of it?
Qin Su, who had kindly given him that talisman herself earlier: “…”
The only thing she could say was that overthinking was a disease.
One that needed treatment.
Just what criteria had the transmigrator used when choosing romantic partners?
Why were they all such masters of wild imagination?
Qin Su snatched the talisman back.
“Thanks! I drew this talisman. I gave it to you for protection.”
She should never have been kind that one time.
Xu Xiao looked unconvinced.
“You don’t have to cover for her. The writing on it is so ugly, it has to be her work.”
“Your handwriting is elegant and refined. Even if you wrote with your left hand, it wouldn’t look like this.”
Qin Su: “…”
Then I’m really sorry!
My handwriting is just like this. It can’t be changed!
No, wait! The real problem is that you’re illiterate. You can’t read the writing from another world!
Qin Su firmly refused to admit her handwriting was ugly.
She squeezed the words out through clenched teeth.
“Learn a few more foreign languages.”
Then she turned around and left.
She felt she couldn’t stay around Xu Xiao any longer.
What if his bizarre way of thinking turned out to be contagious?
…
Click.
Tian Xiaoyuan looked with satisfaction at the newly taken photo.
From this angle, Qin Su and Xu Xiao appeared remarkably intimate.
Anyone seeing the picture would inevitably question the nature of their relationship.
After spending some time on a film set, she had at least learned the trick of forced-perspective photography.
She couldn’t be blamed.
Qin Su had practically handed her this leverage herself.
Scrolling through her photo gallery, she selected the two pictures that looked the most ambiguous.
Then she opened China’s largest gossip forum, Haijiao Forum, logged into one of her alternate accounts, and made a new post.
I was organizing my phone and accidentally found some interesting photos. Can someone help identify them? Are these Qin Su and Xu Xiao? Have they gotten back together? If so, did Xu Xiao already break up with my Jiayi?
Jiayi’s Weibo posts from a couple of days ago were still so sweet. Xu Xiao better not have done anything to betray my goddess!
Pretending to be one of Xia Jiayi’s fans, she deliberately stirred up trouble and threw dirt on Qin Su’s name.
No matter the era, mistresses were always universally condemned.
Xia Jiayi was currently a rising actress with a large and highly combative fanbase.
Tian Xiaoyuan then logged into several more alternate accounts, pretending to be ordinary bystanders and anti-fans, adding fuel to the fire and boosting the thread’s popularity.
She had learned the entire routine from people in the entertainment industry.
She spent quite a while manipulating the discussion.
Unfortunately, the poor internet connection in the area limited how effectively she could carry it out.
Finally, Tian Xiaoyuan let out a sigh of relief.
After carefully checking that she hadn’t left any traces behind, she logged out of all her accounts.
Just as she was about to return to her hotel, she received a call from Pei Jing.
Pei Jing explained over the phone that there had been a power outage where she was staying, and she felt a little frightened being alone in the room.
Naturally, Tian Xiaoyuan wasn’t about to miss such a perfect opportunity to earn favor.
Although she still didn’t know Pei Jing’s exact background, her clothing, jewelry, and lifestyle clearly showed that she came from a wealthy and influential family.
If she could get on Pei Jing’s good side, perhaps she would never have to worry about selling the adaptation rights to her future works.
She answered warmly,
“Send me your address. I’ll come over right away.”
“No, it won’t be any trouble at all. You’ve already helped me so much during this trip.”
After hanging up, Tian Xiaoyuan looked at the address Pei Jing had sent and curled her lips into a smile.
Qin Su had claimed this trip would bring her bad luck.
It seemed she really had been talking nonsense.
Her luck was obviously excellent.