The auction was forcibly halted, and everyone remained at the scene, waiting for news.
While Luo Qiu was deep in thought, a staff member approached him.
Accompanied by the staff member, Luo Qiu and You Ye arrived at a side entrance of the venue, where they found several people already waiting.
There was Zhang Qingrui, whom Luo Qiu knew, along with a slightly overweight man in his early thirties and a woman around fifty.
"Luo Qiu, this is Miss Dong, the owner of the auction house, and this is Manager Han, who was in charge of the event." Zhang Qingrui quickly explained the situation. "I'm very sorry. The item your friend bid on was snatched away in the middle of the auction. No matter what, we'll recover it as soon as possible."
"...So that means you still haven't found it?" Luo Qiu asked after a moment of silence.
Miss Dong looked Luo Qiu up and down. During the auction, they had watched everything through the backstage video feed. Naturally, they had been deeply impressed by the person who had bid such a high price for the first jade token.
Zhang Qingrui seemed to know her, which gave them some personal consideration. Since the item someone had purchased had been snatched away, they also felt somewhat guilty. Thus, Miss Dong had no choice but to speak politely. "Mr. Luo, please rest assured. We've already called the police. That thief definitely won't get away."
Luo Qiu was startled and asked without considering the occasion, "Don't tell me he already left the venue?"
Zhang Qingrui looked somewhat embarrassed. "That fellow was probably prepared. We discovered that the lock on one of the fire-exit doors had been broken. Someone then saw the thief ride away on a motorcycle from the east wing. He must have planned it in advance."
Luo Qiu shook his head. If he had been in his own city, he could probably have reached that man's side with a single thought. But he was in another place, so he couldn't be as nimble. For the moment, he had no particularly good idea.
Besides, he hadn't actually suffered any loss—the bid had succeeded, but he hadn't paid yet.
"I don't care what method you use. We're taking a flight out tonight. You'd better give us an explanation before evening."
You Ye suddenly said calmly, "Your security's negligence is your responsibility. We liked that jade token and genuinely wanted to buy it. There's an Eastern saying: 'A thousand pieces of gold can't buy what the heart desires.' This isn't something that can be resolved with casual compensation."
"We understand, we understand." Manager Han hurriedly smiled apologetically. "Even if you guests have to leave tonight, the Supreme Treasure Auction House won't simply let this matter drop! Once we recover the jade token, we'll deliver it to you, no matter what method we have to use."
Miss Dong and Zhang Qingrui both thought privately: This woman has such a powerful presence. She actually makes people feel as if they can't even hold their heads up.
This was not something any random rich man's daughter could accomplish.
Zhang Qingrui couldn't help looking at Luo Qiu with some difficulty. Luo Qiu could only turn to You Ye and say, "Since the item was snatched away, there's nothing we can do. We're not interested in the remaining items, either... Oh, Zhang Qingrui, you should have my phone number. Just notify me if there's any news... You Ye, there's still some time. Let's look around somewhere else. We rarely come here."
The club maid puppet, who obeyed Luo Qiu unconditionally, obediently nodded. But when she looked at Zhang Qingrui and the other two, her gaze was as sharp as the cold wind sweeping across the Siberian Plateau.
Watching the two of them walk toward the exit, Miss Dong subconsciously let out a sigh of relief. "Qingrui... what exactly is this girl's background? I've seen quite a few formidable women in my life, but I've never felt so oppressed that I didn't even dare breathe."
Zhang Qingrui smiled bitterly. "Aunt Dong, honestly, I'm just as confused. I only know that she's Luo Qiu's friend... His girlfriend, probably?"
"Then... what about the man?" Aunt Dong asked curiously.
Zhang Qingrui was unwilling to say more. "He's my classmate... Though we're classmates, we're not actually close."
Aunt Dong nodded. They were all shrewd people; how could she not tell that Zhang Qingrui was being perfunctory? Yet that only made her even more curious about the identities of the young man and woman.
Aunt Dong shook her head. "For now, let's recover the stolen item first. I, Dong Minghua, am not the kind of woman who lets people bully me without saying a word... Hmph!"
Luo Qiu used a ride-hailing app to call a taxi.
While waiting outside the venue, You Ye asked softly, "Master, I failed to handle things properly... I'm sorry."
Luo Qiu was startled. "It's nothing. After all, no one could have predicted something like this happening. Besides, there are so many surveillance recordings at the scene. That fellow won't get away. And the deposit was refunded to you, so we haven't actually lost anything."
"But if that fellow hadn't caused trouble, the jade token would already be yours, Master."
Luo Qiu said quite cheerfully, "But isn't this more interesting now? Why did that man snatch the jade token? Does he know something about it that no one else does? That's far more valuable than simply obtaining the jade token."
The taxi driver had already begun pulling over. Luo Qiu smiled and said, "Let's go. I roughly know which direction that fellow fled in."
You Ye opened her mouth in confusion.
Luo Qiu took out the jade token he possessed. "This thing has been growing hot ever since earlier. When I touched it, I got a feeling."
He walked toward the taxi and muttered, "Perhaps I can find out what the hell this jade token is without losing any lifespan..."
Inside a remote cargo hold.
The man wearing black glasses held a white jade token in both hands, his expression vacant as he repeated over and over, "I found you. I finally found you... I found you... I found you..."
He rubbed the small jade token again and again. No one knew how much time had passed. It was as if only he and the White Jade Token remained in the entire world.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps. He abruptly raised his head and saw a man and a woman who had appeared in front of him from who knew where.
The man immediately panicked and clutched the White Jade Token tightly. He seemed to have some impression of this sudden newcomer.
He had seen this young man at the auction venue, so he instinctively said, "It's you?!"
Luo Qiu said somewhat disappointedly, "I waited here for half an hour, and apart from hearing you repeat 'I found you' over and over, I didn't hear anything else. I had no choice but to come out."
"You... what do you want? Are you trying to snatch it from me...?" The man grew even more tense, like a lion or tiger protecting its cub.
Luo Qiu took out his own White Jade Token and waved it. "Can you tell me what secret this thing holds?"
The man froze, then became ecstatic. "I knew it! I knew it! There's another one! When I saw you, I felt it—I knew it! As expected, as expected, it's with you! Give it to me!"
The man suddenly lunged toward Luo Qiu like a madman.
But before he could reach him, You Ye had easily put him on the ground. The man clutched his stomach in pain. The violent impact made him feel like vomiting.
"Master, he's just an ordinary person," You Ye whispered into Luo Qiu's ear.
Luo Qiu pondered for a moment, then crouched down. "Sir, I mean you no harm. I only want to know what this thing is. Likewise, I hope you understand that we purchased this item from the auction venue. In theory, it belongs to us. Yet you snatched it away."
The man gasped heavily and said with difficulty, "They... they belong to me! They don't belong to you, or anyone else!!"
Luo Qiu frowned. "As far as I know, the jade token you stole originally belonged to Gu Yue Zhai, which then sent it to the auction to be sold. As for the one in my hand, I'm afraid that one doesn't belong to you, either."
"It's mine!" The man suddenly opened his eyes. "They're all mine! Five hundred years ago, they were all mine!"
Luo Qiu froze... Five hundred years ago?
The man suddenly smiled bitterly. "Do you... believe in past lives and this life?"
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PS1: There really is a "Zigang" token. Historically, there was a very famous jade craftsman named Lu Zigang, probably during the Ming Dynasty. Well, this is an adapted fictional story, so although it's a "Zigang" token, please don't take it too seriously... After all, it's only a story. Any resemblance is purely coincidental~ Probably... heh~
PS2: I got up early this morning to write this. Aren't you going to cast a recommendation vote for me?
PS3: I can't afford to play the red-packet game, and I don't plan to play it. I feel that recommendations and collections gained that way lose their original meaning. Still, I hope everyone manages to grab plenty of other big red packets. After all, I'd pick up money lying on the ground too, heh~
PS4: So, it absolutely isn't because I'm stingy. I just feel that recommendation votes voluntarily cast by readers are more fulfilling. It's really not because I'm stingy (serious face).
Before you continue