Private Dealings and an Unexpected "Reunion"

The voice outside the door startled Lin Chen. He hurriedly stuffed the dark blue chip and the pile of parts back into the metal box and quickly hid it at the bottom of his suitcase.

"Coming, coming!"

He called back, then took several deep breaths and tried to calm his excitement before going over to open the door.

Yan Qingyue had changed into a champagne-colored satin evening gown that outlined the perfect curves of her figure. Her long hair was swept up, revealing a graceful swanlike neck. Her makeup was exquisite, and her commanding presence was on full display.

She looked Lin Chen over. He was visibly flustered, and there were even tiny beads of sweat on his forehead. She raised an eyebrow slightly:

"What were you tinkering with in your room? What took you so long to open the door?"

"N-nothing!"

Lin Chen hurriedly denied it, his eyes darting about. "I was just tidying up my things. They were a bit messy."

I can't exactly tell her I was studying a mysterious chip that might change the world, can I?!

Yan Qingyue's eyes flickered, as though she had heard an interesting phrase, but she did not press him. She merely said in a detached tone:

"Hurry up. It's almost time."

"Okay, okay, right away!"

Lin Chen quickly slipped on his suit jacket and followed Yan Qingyue out.

In the car on the way to the private meeting, Lin Chen's heart was still pounding from his discovery. His mind was full of the chip and the words "impossible to estimate."

The system said its technological level far surpassed the current one? What did that mean?

Alien technology? A product of the future?

How was he supposed to sell this thing? Who could he sell it to?

Ordinary people definitely wouldn't recognize its value, and he might even bring trouble down on himself...

Maybe... there would be someone at the private meeting who recognized its value? But the risk was too great...

He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he did not even notice the occasional probing glances Yan Qingyue cast his way.

The private meeting was being held in the top-floor banquet hall of a luxury hotel.

The setting was elegant, the lighting soft. Finely dressed guests mingled and conversed in low voices, a world apart from the noisy auction house Lin Chen had imagined.

There were not many exhibits, but each was displayed in its own glass case, with professional descriptions and lighting that made it look especially precious.

The moment Yan Qingyue entered, she became the center of attention.

People kept coming up to exchange pleasantries with her. She handled them with composure, her words and manner displaying all the sharpness and charm of a female president.

Lin Chen followed behind her, doing his best to play the part of her assistant. But his gaze kept sweeping uncontrollably around the room, his Golden Eye quietly activated in the hope of finding more undervalued treasures.

After making a circuit, however, he found that although most of the exhibits were worth a great deal, none produced any special reaction in his Golden Eye's field of vision. Clearly, their value was already fully recognized.

The few that occasionally gave off a faint glow had such staggering prices that they were completely beyond the reach of his seven hundred thousand.

Sure enough, it wasn't that easy...

A little disappointed, Lin Chen turned his attention back to Yan Qingyue.

She seemed very interested in a pair of famille-rose lotus-patterned vases with brocade grounds from the Qianlong period of the Qing dynasty, and was speaking quietly with a foreign collector.

Lin Chen focused his gaze on them. The Golden Eye reported, "Genuine, value matches price." It seemed there was no bargain to be had.

Just then, a somewhat familiar and irritating voice cut in.

"Qingyue! What a coincidence! I didn't expect you to be interested in this pair of vases too!"

Zhang Weiming!

Dressed in a flashy white suit, his hair slicked and gleaming, he walked over with a wineglass in hand. His gaze roamed unabashedly over Yan Qingyue, completely ignoring Lin Chen at her side.

Yan Qingyue's brows knitted almost imperceptibly, and her tone was distant:

"Director Zhang."

"Oh, calling me Director Zhang is so formal."

Zhang Weiming smiled ingratiatingly. "These vases are nice, but I know of something better.

"I heard tonight's final treasure came from some ancient family in Europe. It's very mysterious, and supposedly has something to do with some kind of lost technology... Qingyue, are you interested in taking a look together?"

Lost technology?

Lin Chen's heart gave a sudden jolt!

Could it be...

Yan Qingyue also seemed interested in the words "lost technology," but remained cold:

"No need. I'll look for myself."

Gently rebuffed, Zhang Weiming's expression soured. Only then did he act as though he had just noticed Lin Chen, his voice thick with obvious contempt:

"Oh, Assistant Lin is here too?

"You brought an assistant to an occasion like this to broaden his horizons?

"Qingyue, you really do look after your subordinates."

Lin Chen cursed inwardly, but could only keep a smile on his face:

"Hello, Director Zhang."

That damned fly just won't leave us alone! He's everywhere!

Yan Qingyue could not be bothered to deal with Zhang Weiming any longer. She said to Lin Chen, "Let's go take a look over there."

With that, she turned and walked away.

Lin Chen hurried after her.

Zhang Weiming watched the two of them leave. In particular, Yan Qingyue's seemingly casual yet familiar manner toward Lin Chen made his gaze darken, a flash of jealous resentment passing through it.

He took out his phone and quietly sent a message.

Halfway through the private meeting, the host announced a short break. An important collection piece would be displayed half an hour later.

Yan Qingyue was surrounded by several collectors she knew, so Lin Chen took the opportunity to slip over to the refreshment area for a drink.

He had just picked up a glass of juice when someone dressed as a waiter accidentally bumped into him, spilling the juice all over him.

"I'm sorry, sir! I'm terribly sorry!"

The waiter apologized repeatedly and offered him a tissue.

"It's all right, it's all right."

Lin Chen frowned as he wiped the stains on his suit, cursing his bad luck inwardly.

"Sir, how about I take you to the lounge to clean up? We have spare suits you can change into for the time being."

The waiter made the suggestion with solicitous attention.

Lin Chen checked the time. There were still more than twenty minutes before the important collection piece was displayed, so he should have enough time.

He glanced at Yan Qingyue, who was not far away. She was absorbed in conversation, so he nodded:

"All right, please be quick."

The waiter led Lin Chen through the crowd toward a corridor at the side of the banquet hall.

The farther they went, the more secluded it became, and the people around them gradually thinned out.

A trace of wariness rose in Lin Chen's heart:

"Is the lounge this far away?"

"It's just ahead. We're almost there."

The waiter pointed to a door ahead.

Just then, the door to a room beside them suddenly opened. Two burly arms shot out and yanked Lin Chen inside!

The waiter quickly closed the door and stood guard outside.

"What are you doing?!" Startled and furious, Lin Chen struggled and looked at the men holding him.

They were two tall, powerfully built men with fierce faces. One look was enough to tell they were no pushovers.

One of them growled in stilted Mandarin:

"Kid, behave yourself! Someone told us to teach you a lesson, to make you stay away from the person you shouldn't be getting close to!"

The person he shouldn't be getting close to? Yan Qingyue?

It was Zhang Weiming! It had to be him!

Lin Chen's heart sank, and he inwardly cried that things were bad.

He tried to fight back, but they were enormously strong and pinned him firmly against the wall.

"Show him what's what. Don't hit his face. Give him some internal injuries so he remembers this!"

The other man raised his fist with a sinister grin.

Lin Chen's pupils contracted. He instinctively wanted to summon the system for help, but the system seemed completely unresponsive to this kind of physical attack!

I'm done for! I'm going to get beaten up!

At that critical moment—

"Bang!"

Someone kicked the door violently open from outside!

Yan Qingyue stood in the doorway, cold as frost, with the hotel's security manager and several security guards behind her.

Her gaze swept over the room like a knife before settling on Lin Chen, pinned against the wall. Her eyes instantly turned piercingly cold.

"Let him go."

Her voice was not loud, but it carried unquestionable authority and anger.

The two thugs clearly had not expected anyone to burst in, much less a woman with such a commanding presence. For a moment, they froze.

The security manager immediately stepped forward:

"Who are you? How dare you cause trouble in the hotel!"

Yan Qingyue ignored the two thugs. She walked straight up to Lin Chen, reached out and pulled him to her side, then looked him over:

"Are you all right?"

Her movements were natural and swift, carrying an instinctively protective air.

Still shaken, Lin Chen shook his head. "I-I'm fine."

He could smell the faint scent of Yan Qingyue's perfume and feel her hand tighten slightly around his arm. A strange feeling welled up in his heart.

She... how did she get here? And just in time?

Yan Qingyue seemed to have heard his thoughts. She shot him a cold glance and said in a low voice:

"You'd been gone a long time, so I thought something was wrong. That waiter was acting suspiciously. He gave himself away as soon as I questioned him."

So she had been keeping an eye on him all along?

Lin Chen's heart stirred.

The security guards quickly restrained the two thugs and the waiter at the door.

Zhang Weiming also came rushing over after hearing the commotion. When he saw what had happened, his face instantly turned deathly pale.

Yan Qingyue looked coldly at Zhang Weiming. Although she had no evidence, the meaning in her eyes was clear.

Zhang Weiming forced himself to remain calm:

"Qingyue, what's going on? What happened? Is Assistant Lin all right?"

Yan Qingyue could not be bothered with him. She said to the security manager:

"I expect a clear explanation from the hotel regarding this matter. For now, please excuse us."

With that, she took Lin Chen by the arm and walked straight out of the place of trouble, watched by all the guests with curious, astonished and probing gazes.

They returned to the hotel suite and closed the door, shutting out the world outside.

Yan Qingyue released him and went to the liquor cabinet to pour two glasses of water. She handed one to Lin Chen, then leaned against the bar and looked at him, her tone betraying no emotion:

"Tell me, what happened? Why is Zhang Weiming targeting you?"

Lin Chen took the water, had a sip and steadied himself before saying with a wry smile:

"I'm guessing... it might be because of you. He's never seemed to like the sight of me."

Yan Qingyue fell silent for a moment, seemingly agreeing with him.

She looked at Lin Chen's still somewhat pale face and disheveled collar, then suddenly asked, "Were you scared just now?"

Lin Chen nodded honestly. "A little."

Yan Qingyue looked at him, a little disheveled and a little pitiful, and recalled the flash of panic on his face when he had been pinned against the wall. The nameless fire in her heart flared up again, but it seemed... there was a little something else mixed in with it.

She put down her glass and walked up to him.

Lin Chen instinctively straightened.

Yan Qingyue reached out, not to hit him, but to... straighten his crooked tie and collar.

Her fingers inevitably brushed the skin of his neck now and then, carrying a faint coolness.

Lin Chen's whole body stiffened. His heart began pounding uncontrollably, and he even held his breath.

P-President Yan... what... what was she doing?!

Yan Qingyue also seemed to realize that the gesture was a little too intimate. Her fingers paused briefly, then she withdrew her hand as though nothing had happened, her tone returning to its usual coolness:

"Be more careful from now on. You won't be this lucky every time."

With that, she turned and walked toward her bedroom:

"Get yourself tidied up. We'll go downstairs in a little while and take a look at that 'mysterious collection piece' they're saving for last."

Lin Chen stood there in a daze, touching the collar she had just straightened. A trace of her warmth and fragrance seemed to linger there.

His heartbeat would not settle for a long time.

He suddenly felt that this trip to Macau really was not going to be simple.

And the relationship between him and Yan Qingyue also seemed, in the wake of this unexpected incident, to be quietly drifting in some unknown direction.