Appreciation
Zhan Qing was stunned. As he searched his mind for the name Hao Yi, he only then realized that this young man was actually the infamous spoiled young master of Capital City.
Rumor had it that the Hao family’s eldest young master had poor character, no ambition, and a host of bad habits, and that the Hao family did not like him. Almost everyone loathed the eldest young master of the city’s foremost family.
It was said that some time ago, the Hao family’s eldest young master had even insisted, over the opposition of everyone in the Hao family, on marrying a man and bringing him back to the Hao family.
This man…
Zhan Qing looked again at Ding Xuan, who was sitting off to the side. That must have been him.
Thinking back to earlier, when he had come over, he had just happened to see Hao Yi massaging this young man’s knees. Those knees had been swollen and red, yet Hao Yi had still kneaded them with great care.
Would such a considerate person really be the vicious young master described in those rumors?
Zhan Qing had begun to doubt the rumors.
Just from Hao Yi’s generous words earlier, he already felt that this young man was quite good.
They had only just met, yet Hao Yi had already said he admired him. Even though he was short on cash, he still gave him a discount. If he really were as the rumors said, then Young Master Hao would not only have refused to give him a discount, he probably would have squeezed him for more instead.
Besides, when the young man seated earlier named a price of five thousand, Hao Yi did not object and seemed ready to sell it just like that.
Hao Yi had known he would take a loss and still gone through with the sale, and Zhan Qing did not believe the vicious young master of the rumors would really be such an idiot as to swallow that kind of huge loss.
At any rate, Hao Yi was still a member of the Hao family, a young master of noble status. Clearly, he had only refrained from stating the true value of that bracelet in order to preserve this young man’s dignity.
Thinking of this, Zhan Qing studied Hao Yi carefully again, as though a little puzzled by what Hao Yi had just said. “I know you. You’re the Hao family’s Eldest Young Master. But why did you say that just now?”
“Mr. Zhan probably doesn’t know, but I was already kicked out of the Hao family, just an hour ago,” Hao Yi said with a slight smile. He looked nothing like someone humiliated by being driven out of the Hao family, as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.
“Mm. Of course, it won’t be long before all of Capital City knows that I, Hao Yi, am no longer a member of the Hao family.”
For some reason, Zhan Qing felt that this young man was even more carefree than he had imagined, not the sort of act people put on, but true ease. It seemed that nothing could affect him. Even being kicked out was no big deal to Hao Yi.
“Sorry, I really didn’t know.” So he had really been driven out of the Hao family. Zhan Qing only then realized that Hao Yi truly was strapped for cash. No wonder Hao Yi had brought these things here to sell. It seemed it was not just to earn pocket money, but to make living expenses.
At that moment, an odd thought even surfaced in Zhan Qing’s mind. He actually felt that the Hao family driving Hao Yi out was a tremendous loss.
How strange. This was only their first meeting.
“It’s fine. Of course, if you really feel bad about it, why not buy another little trinket? The Zhan family shouldn’t be short on money, right!” Hao Yi said with a teasing look.
Zhan Qing could not help laughing as well. This kid was rather interesting.
With his good impression of Hao Yi, he actually bent down and looked through the box again. Then he spotted a thumb ring inside, emerald green in color.
He picked it up with some interest and asked, “How much for this?”
Seeing that Zhan Qing still wanted to buy more, Ding Xuan could not help shooting Hao Yi an admiring look. Young Master really was pretty good at business.
This time, Ding Xuan did not speak on his own. Who knew what kind of treasure this was? He would just watch quietly.
“When I bought it, it cost one hundred fifty thousand. I’ll give you a discount, one hundred twenty thousand.” Hao Yi stated the price he wanted.
Ding Xuan pouted, heart aching over that thirty thousand.
Zhan Qing nodded. “All right, I’ll take it.”
After saying that, he took out his phone to transfer the money, and after that, the thumb ring belonged to him.
Just then, Zhan Qing’s phone rang. When he saw the caller reminder, he frowned and quickly answered. “Did my mom get unwell again?”
Whatever the other side said, Zhan Qing’s expression turned even worse. “Mm, I’ll be back right away.”
After hanging up, Zhan Qing looked at Hao Yi and said, “I’ve got something urgent, so I’ll head off first. I hope all your things sell out.”
With that, he waved and quickly went to the car parked nearby and drove off.
Once Zhan Qing left, Ding Xuan stood up and walked to Hao Yi’s side, saying carefully, “Young Master, there’s an ATM deposit and withdrawal machine up ahead.”
“Hm?” Hao Yi did not understand what he meant.
Ding Xuan looked at the bank card in Hao Yi’s hand, hesitated for a long time, then spoke again. “Let’s go check how much money is in it.”
Hao Yi laughed. This kid was worried that Zhan Qing had not transferred the money to him, wasn’t he?
Then let him go check, put his mind at ease, and save himself the worry. So he handed the card to Ding Xuan and said, “Go check.”
Ding Xuan immediately took the card and left happily. The way he hurried off made it seem as if his knees no longer hurt at all.
Hao Yi did not follow. Instead, he continued squatting in front of the combination-lock case, waiting for the next customer.
In just a few minutes, Ding Xuan was back. His fair face was flushed red, and his usually timid eyes were bright and sparkling now, obviously thrilled by the numbers in the card.
“Young Master, there really are four hundred twenty thousand. My card has never had this much money before!”
Hao Yi looked at him, the corners of his lips carrying a faint smile, but said nothing.
Afterward, the two of them stayed there for nearly three hours before wrapping up. They did sell some items, but there were no customers as generous as Zhan Qing.
Seeing that night was about to fall, Hao Yi took Ding Xuan to fill their stomachs first, planning to find an inn to stay in.
But Ding Xuan stopped him. Standing in front of Hao Yi, he habitually kept his head lowered and said softly, “Young Master, if, if you don’t mind, you can stay at my place.”
“My place only has me,” Ding Xuan quickly added.