The shop owner examined the item carefully before holding up five fingers.
Li Yingtang’s heart skipped a beat.
“Fifty thousand?”
The owner stared at her speechlessly. “What are you dreaming about in broad daylight? Fifty!”
Li Yingtang immediately snatched back her treasure and turned to leave.
“Hey, hey! Young lady, why are you so straightforward? I was just joking. Five hundred.”
Without wasting any words, Li Yingtang said, “Did you really look at it carefully? This white-and-yellow jade Pixiu has an even color throughout without a single flaw. Under the light, it reveals the rare reddish-brown hue prized in jade. The carving is exquisite—you can tell at a glance it was made by a master craftsman. The workmanship alone is worth over a hundred yuan, not to mention it’s carved from such a large, flawless piece of jade. And you’re only offering five hundred? Are you trying to send a beggar away?”
If this had been in her own era, she would never have sold such a fine piece of craftsmanship.
The owner fell silent.
He had assumed she was an easy mark.
Who would have thought she knew so much?
Looks really could be deceiving.
“How much do you want?”
Li Yingtang wasn’t sure of its true value. Asking too little would be a loss, asking too much might make him throw her out.
“You raise the price.”
“I’ll add another fifty. Your item doesn’t exactly have a clean origin. For all I know, it was dug out of a tomb. If anything happens, I’d be the one taking the risk.”
“Six hundred,” Li Yingtang said firmly. “Give me six hundred, and I’ll part with it.”
The owner looked constipated.
“Six hundred is expensive.”
Li Yingtang remained silent.
The treasure was in her hands. He was the one itching to buy it.
In the end, the owner gave in first.
“Fine. Let’s call it making a friend.”
After receiving the money, Li Yingtang planned to visit the department store and buy herself some decent clothes.
Looking rustic in the village didn’t matter.
But when she came into the city, she wanted to look presentable.
She couldn’t stand the way restaurant owners, shopkeepers, and bus conductors looked at her.
Contempt.
Disdain.
It made her uncomfortable.
As she walked down the street, a familiar figure entered her sight.
Before she could think, she blurted out,
“Ah Xian!”
Qin Xian turned around, disbelief flashing across his face.
“Tangtang? What are you doing in the city?”
“I missed you.”
Li Yingtang slipped her arm through his and leaned against him for warmth.
“I should be asking you. Why are you here?”
Please don’t tell me he’s investigating me…
Please don’t…
I haven’t won his heart yet.
Qin Xian explained why he had come.
Li Yingtang quietly let out a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness.
“I never realized you were so capable. You even know how to perform autopsies. Where are you staying tonight? Want to come home with me?”
A subtle glimmer passed through Qin Xian’s deep eyes.
“No. 66 Xian’an Road?”
“Where else?”
A faint smile curved the corner of Qin Xian’s lips.
“I won’t go.”
For some reason, Li Yingtang felt as though he was laughing at something.
Her scalp tingled.
She nervously brushed her hair back. A breeze lifted the ends, gently brushing across Qin Xian’s face, making his heart skip a beat.
“I’m staying at a guesthouse.”
“Which one?”
Li Yingtang suddenly panicked.
Please don’t be the same one as mine.
“The first one at the East Street intersection. Shall we split up here?”
She patted her chest in relief.
Fortunately, it was far away.
“Sure. If you’re looking for me, come during the day. If the neighbors see you visiting at night, they’ll start gossiping.”
Qin Xian smiled.
“Alright.”
Li Yingtang had completely lost interest in shopping.
Even after returning to the guesthouse, her heart was still racing.
She had to find a way to contact the owner and rent the house.
Once she did, she’d renovate it a little.
First, it would fool Qin Xian.
Second, she’d finally have a place to stay whenever she came into the city.
After making up her mind, she went to the Housing Administration Office.
After explaining her purpose, a staff member told her the homeowner’s name.
“Jiang Wanshu.”
“Do you have her contact information?”
“No.”
Li Yingtang decided she’d simply replace the lock.
If the owner ever came looking for her, she’d deal with it then.
The next day, she immediately hired a locksmith to change the locks, ordered a new front door from the building materials market, and hired workers to renovate the house.
Curious neighbors came over to watch.
With a perfectly serious expression, she told them she had already rented the house from the owner.
After working all day, she returned to the guesthouse and suddenly remembered Qin Xian.
Under the moonlight, she went to his guesthouse.
The receptionist told her he had left early that morning and still hadn’t returned.
Guessing he was probably still at his friend’s workplace, she stopped by a pastry shop on the way and bought two packages of pastries.
Outside the Criminal Investigation Unit.
She lowered the scarf covering her nose.
“Hello, Uncle. I’m looking for Qin Xian—the new forensic examiner.”
“Forensic examiner? What’s that?”
Li Yingtang frowned.
Qin Xian had said he came to dissect corpses.
Wasn’t that called a forensic examiner?
“The one who performs autopsies. I’m his wife. I brought him something to eat.”
“Oh, you mean the autopsy specialist. I’ll go ask.”
“Thank you.”
She waited patiently.
Not long afterward, the guard returned, let her in, and pointed her in the right direction.
Following his directions, she arrived at a brightly lit office.
Through the glass window, she spotted Qin Xian.
He was wearing a white lab coat, standing tall and elegant, as cool and pure as fresh snow.
Holding a stack of documents, he read them attentively.
He looked especially handsome while working.
She knocked on the window.
Everyone looked over at the same time.
Qin Xian immediately walked over and opened the door.
Li Yingtang proudly lifted the oil-paper package.
“Delicious pastries.”
“Aren’t you cold? Come inside and warm up.”
He paused mid-motion before gently taking hold of her wrist.
Li Yingtang’s heart bloomed with joy.
He took the initiative to hold my wrist!
“So, Qin Xian, this is your wife?”
Xi Yue looked at her curiously.
He had seen a large dress hanging in the courtyard and assumed it belonged to a two-hundred-pound woman.
He never expected someone this slim.
“Yes. Hello, I’m Li Yingtang. ‘Ying’ as in reflection, and ‘Tang’ as in begonia.”
She removed her scarf, introduced herself generously, and extended her hand.
Xi Yue looked up.
The moment he saw her face, as radiant as peach blossoms, it felt as though the entire world had fallen silent.
Seeing him staring blankly, Li Yingtang nudged Qin Xian with her elbow.
Qin Xian frowned.
He lowered the documents in his hand between them.
“What are you looking at?”
Xi Yue snapped back to reality.
“Nothing. What did your wife just say?”
Qin Xian clenched his fist.
He’d been too busy looking at Tangtang to even hear her name?
Li Yingtang smiled, set the pastries on an empty table, untied the string, and invited everyone to eat.
Since they were all young people, no one stood on ceremony.
They each came over and took a pastry.
Li Yingtang picked one out for Qin Xian.
“I already tasted one. It isn’t very sweet.”
“I’ll wash my hands first.”
“I’ll feed you instead. That way you won’t have to wash them again after eating.”
She raised the pastry to his lips.
Qin Xian glanced up.
Everyone was watching him.
His face instantly flushed all the way to his neck.
Even Li Yingtang became a little embarrassed.
With her free hand, she pulled him toward the hallway beside the office.
“It should be fine to eat here, right?”
Qin Xian was speechless.
He had barely taken one bite when Xi Yue called out teasingly,
“You really kept this well hidden! You got married without even telling me. Sister-in-law’s from the south, isn’t she? My grandmother was too. Southerners like to put an ‘Ah’ before people’s names.”
“What a coincidence. My mother was from the south too.”
“So you’re from the city? Where do you live?”
Li Yingtang was just about to answer when Qin Xian suddenly coughed twice.
She immediately forgot the question and hurriedly patted his back.
Xi Yue was dumbfounded.
“You really take good care of your husband.”
Someone nearby laughed.
“When I get home, I’ll tell my wife to learn from you.”
Li Yingtang looked him up and down.
Average face.
Average build.
He was already lucky to have found a wife.
Instead of cherishing her, he wanted her to learn how to wait on him?
Who did he think he was?
“Why don’t you learn from Ah Xian first? His height, his looks, his calm temperament, and the fact that he never belittles his partner in front of others. If you could do that, I’m sure your wife would gladly take care of you.”
The man was left speechless.