Chapter 24: Tyrant CEO F1
Old Man: “…”
The old man was afraid.
Both Jiang Xinian and Shen Chuimian were tall as mountains, with broad shoulders and straight backs, their figures imposing. They surrounded Shi Huaibai in a protective stance, saying they were just “taking a look,” yet their hands picked and chose critically, occasionally letting out a light sneer: “Heh…”
The chemical smell of cheap counterfeits hadn’t yet dissipated.
The scent of anxiety in the air was inexplicable.
The old man looked at Jiang Xinian, then at Shen Chuimian, and then, suddenly, Shi Huaibai seemed to radiate boundless light in his eyes.
Shi Huaibai: [See? I knew I was the Chosen One.]
All elderly street vendors will always like him.
System: […]
Aotian, you are a bit too innocent.
The old man takes you for a sucker!
Jiang Xinian picked up a shoddy bronze incense burner. He seemed amused by the terrible craftsmanship. His eyes curved into crescents, but the hostility within his expression couldn’t be hidden at all. He blocked the space between Shi Huaibai and the old man with a protective gesture, saying to the old man, “Come on, introduce it. Tell us about it.”
He was not someone to be trifled with.
Rich people aren’t all fools.
Who couldn’t this old man scam? Why did he have to scam Shi Huaibai!
Did he think Shi Huaibai was stupid?
Shen Chuimian also spoke sarcastically: “These things really have cumbersome craftsmanship and complex ingredients.”
Cumbersome artificial aging processes.
Complex chemical soaking ingredients.
Shi Huaibai critiqued internally: [Look, disrespecting an old man like that won’t earn them the grandfather’s regard.]
System: […]
Besides you, who else loves old men this much?
Shi Huaibai had his own plan: [First, we need to point out an item to make F1 and F3 fight over it. While the sandpiper and the clam fight, we, the fisherman, will take advantage of the chaos to sneak back and buy the real treasure.]
System: […]
As long as you’re happy.
So, Shi Huaibai pointed dramatically at a puzzle ball on the tattered blue cloth. His voice pitched up sharply as he covered his mouth and let out a small gasp: “This ball looks so beautiful. It must be real!”
The ivory-white sphere rested on a sandalwood base. at first glance, it looked no different from a genuine antique.
It was a layered ivory ball, where each concentric layer could rotate independently, carved with intricate chi dragon patterns. Sunlight passing through the layers could cast an exquisite picture on the ground.
Shi Huaibai was itching to touch it.
Jiang Xinian immediately slapped his hand away, lecturing him like a pet puppy: “Don’t touch.”
“It’s dirty as hell.”
Unbearable.
Just touching this ivory puzzle ball would leave a layer of white dust on one’s hand, carrying the scent of poverty, like something picked up casually from a landfill.
Jiang Xinian had to watch whether Shi Huaibai washed his hands before eating every day. Later, he learned to be smarter—it was safer to just watch whether Shi Huaibai touched anything dirty in the first place.
Compared to Jiang Xinian, Shen Chuimian was much more shameless. After Jiang Xinian slapped Shi Huaibai’s hand away, Shen Chuimian, like a calculating white lotus, gracefully grabbed Shi Huaibai’s hand and said pityingly, “Eh, why is it slapped red?”
Jiang Xinian: “…”
Shen Chuimian’s despicable hand rubbed against Shi Huaibai’s inner wrist, intimate and suggestive. His fingertips glided over the wrist bone, causing Shi Huaibai to tremble slightly.
Jiang Xinian found it unbearable again.
The Empress in his brain screamed once more: Even if you tell us the things Shen Chuimian does behind people’s backs, We would never do them!
Seeing that they had little interest in the puzzle ball, Shi Huaibai immediately switched targets to continue muddying the waters.
He reached out again to touch an “ear-lidded pot.” This item had relatively fine craftsmanship among the pile of scrap metal in front of him; it looked decent. If bought just to play with, it would be fine.
Jiang Xinian sighed and asked for the price: “How much?”
He hid a dagger behind his smile, tilting his head at the dishonest shopkeeper. The gaze hidden under the baseball cap was full of cold light: “This broken thing can’t be more than 200 yuan, right?”
Shi Huaibai spoke up for the old man against the injustice: “Before you guys came, the grandfather already introduced it to me. This ear-lidded pot is 3,000 yuan. Do you understand or not?”
Shen Chuimian couldn’t help but let out a light “Pfft,” rubbing Shi Huaibai’s head. These art students really spoke artistically: “3,000 yuan? With 3,000 yuan, you could buy a whole truckload at the wholesale market.”
Shi Huaibai was filled with righteous indignation: “That’s enough from you two!”
Hmph, F1 who arrogantly slashes prices will just wait to be hated by the street vendor grandfather.
A righteous Long Aotian like himself, who speaks up for the old man, is the grandfather’s final destination.
To demonstrate his respect for the old and love for the young, his reverence for teachers and morals, and his kind, simple, and rebellious nature, Shi Huaibai slammed the table (metaphorically) and rose: “What are you saying?”
“Didn’t you see that the grandfather is injured and has trouble moving his legs? Do you have no hearts? Pressuring the price to bully an old man! Leave a line in everything so you can meet on good terms later. If you bully an old man now, think about it—will you be happy when you are old and treated so rudely?”
System: [Good acting… Worthy of a Long Aotian who can deliver a manifesto anywhere.]
Shi Huaibai pressed on. Clutching his chest, he looked at Jiang Xinian and Shen Chuimian with teary eyes, his lips trembling slightly, stubborn yet kind: “Do you know what you are missing?”
“It is… A. SINCERE. HEART!”
It is that eternally beating, fervent, kind heart!
The System knelt gently: [You…]
Let me go, and let the F4 go too.
You Long Aotians, stay away from the Noble Academy!
But F1 and F3 were not as sober as the System.
They were captivated by Shi Huaibai again.
Shi Huaibai: “So what if it’s fake? Being made so beautifully is already very, very amazing. The value of antiques is all hyped up anyway. It’s just a broken bottle; after a few thousand years, it suddenly became a hot commodity. If I were to buy a bottle, it would absolutely not be because of its value. It’s enough that it’s beautiful to me.”
It’s sincerity!!!
Jiang Xinian thought, Shi Huaibai could bet on stones and see jade through the crust; how could he not know that everything this old man had was fake?
Every family has its own difficulties. Shi Huaibai knew everything; he knew that what he bought here were fakes, but he accepted it gladly. He just wanted to help a pitiful old man.
Shen Chuimian was slightly stunned. A strange itch welled up in the tip of his heart. The world blurred before his eyes, and only Shi Huaibai remained clear.
Actually, he was different from everyone else in the Noble Academy. He was the child of a nouveau riche. Before he was six, his family had been poor.
For a poor child to want to study art was catastrophic news for a family. Almost everyone who heard his dream told him: You have no talent.
Little Shen Chuimian had truly believed it back then—that he was a child without talent.
He could never forget the days of copying with rough, inferior oil pastels in that small room.
Later, his father became rich, and he suddenly transformed into a symbol of talent and art. The rough lines of his childhood were touted as the reincarnation of Da Vinci.
The feeling of a piece of mud being lifted onto an altar was light and floating; to this day, he couldn’t truly adapt.
Everyone thought he should have become happier.
He luckily lived a noble, good life.
He could socialize in countless luxurious venues.
Only he knew that little Shen Chuimian’s young worldview had been shattered, reconstructed, and abstracted.
His world… had self-destructed.
Why… was there no fairness even in beauty?
“If I were to buy a bottle, it would absolutely not be because of its value. It’s enough that it’s beautiful to me.”
Does it not matter even if he knows how cheap the raw materials are beneath that beauty?
Shi Huaibai’s beauty was absolutely fair.
A madness flashed through Shen Chuimian’s stunned pupils. Almost immediately, he urgently reached out to grab that ear-lidded pot, as if grabbing a cloud that could save him.
“3,000, is it? I’ll buy…”
Before his voice fell, Jiang Xinian’s hand, knuckles distinct and strong as an iron clamp, also grabbed it. His grip was brute, emphasizing each word: “I. Offer. 4,000.”
The stall owner trembled.
Two grown men who had just been mocking him sarcastically were suddenly fighting to buy his fake goods.
Although the old man sold fakes, he knew the law. He knew that 2,000 yuan was enough to open a case.
“I’m not selling… not selling.”
Shi Huaibai let out a cold snort of anticipation. He was incomparable cold, pointing out the way to the System: [I knew it. An old grandfather like him doesn’t set up a stall for fame or money, but just to meet a destined person like me. Their attitude was bad just now, so now the grandfather doesn’t want to sell to them.]
Shen Chuimian believed that money could make the devil turn the millstone: “20,000.”
Jiang Xinian thought to himself that he absolutely could not lose: “30,000!”
The System felt both shocked and speechless. Just as the Host said, F1 and F3 were fighting over a piece of junk.
Shi Huaibai held his head high: [While they argue endlessly, they haven’t noticed at all that what I really want is the egg-noodle jade ring in the furthest corner of the stall.]
The System asked politely: [Is there anything special about that ring?]
Shi Huaibai said seriously: [Based on my experience, 80% of rings contain a dimension, and inside the dimension is a widely-read old grandfather.]
System: […]
The Host means he wants to buy a ring from the stall-setting grandfather that comes with a bonus grandfather.
His grandfather!
The Host really loves grandfathers.
F1 and F3 were still bidding against each other like fire and water. As the price continued to rise, Jiang Xinian ground his teeth: No, he looked a bit stupid.
Finally!
The two of them reached a consensus.
The two masters looked at each other and let go. The ear-lidded pot was bought by Shen Chuimian.
Shi Huaibai revealed a smile of foresight.
But then Jiang Xinian waved his hand like a tyrant CEO: “Wrap up everything remaining here. I’ll take it all.”
Shi Huaibai should be satisfied now, right? He bought everything from this old man. His image in Shi Huaibai’s heart must be kind and powerful now.
A mere Shen Chuimian couldn’t out-pretend him!
Jiang Xinian turned back affectionately, looking at Shi Huaibai like a cat reservedly waiting for praise.
Shi Huaibai: “Wait…”
The words “Wrap it all up” were like thunder piercing his ears!
Shi Huaibai, who had just been grinning foolishly, instantly fell apart. His lips trembled, his heart convulsed, and he felt unwell all over: “No…”
Wrap. It. All. Up?
What about picking up leaks at the street stall? If the stall is empty, what the heck is he supposed to pick up?
Shi Huaibai didn’t even look back. He let out a “Hmph” and said, “Jiang Xinian, I hate you!”
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