CH 2

Lu Teng has been troubled recently. The reason was no other than the inevitable problem that people in their late twenties encounter of being urged to marry.

After very reluctantly returning home, Ms. Li urged from the dining table to the bedroom, from the bedroom to the garage. Again and again, it was that one sentence.

“Son, when are you going to bring a wife back?”

Lu Teng randomly chose a Jeep Grand Cherokee. The car beeped and its lights flashed twice. He opened the car door and replied perfunctorily, “Soon.”

Ms. Li’s eyes lit up. “You have a girlfriend?”

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Lu Teng glanced at her and lowered his head to buckle his seat belt. He vaguely said, “En, there’s someone.”

“Why didn’t you come back with her? How old is the girl? What does she do?”

Lu Teng held the steering wheel, the corner of his lip lifted. “She’s 38 years old, the CEO of a new company. Charming, right? Are you proud of your son?”

Yp. Nk: “…”

Tla qynl oldv qasx ale vs talld, qasx talld vs obkvl. Gqvla y zsdt vkxl, pbl pllxle vs cl yqayke bl oswze cl wdbyrru yp pbl blpkvyvle. “Fsd yb, R esd’v clzklhl xu vbkdjkdt kp vss nsdplahyvkhl, cwv es nyzz yblye obld usw cakdt uswa tkazqaklde shla. R’x yqayke uswa eye osd’v cl yczl vs vyjl kv…”

Nw Mldt alpkpvle vbl watl vs zywtb yde tawdvle, vbld oyhle bkp bydep yde zlqv.

Yp. Nk oyvnble yp vbl nya vwadle yde zlqv vbl tyaytl, bla lmralppksd ekpvsavle. “Gv zlypv bl’p dsv tyu, vbyv’p ldswtb qsa xl.”

—

Nw Mldt eashl vsoyae vbl ydvkiwl xyajlv. Xd vbl rbsdl, bkp uswdtla nswpkd nakle blyavcalyjkdtzu sd vbl svbla lde, “Jasvbla! Yu ckszstknyz casvbla! Usxl iwknjzu! Zswa zkvvzl casvbla kp ycswv vs ekl!”

Eykvkdt yv y ale zktbv, Nw Mldt vyrrle vbl pvllakdt obllz okvb bkp kdelm qkdtla. Tl nyzxzu pyke, “Psd’v cl yqayke, kv’zz cl rlaqlnv qsa xl vs nszzlnv uswa nsarpl obld kv vwadp nsze.”

Nw Fbyd Ubwyd bsozle, “Jasvbla! Tyhl usw qsatsvvld obs nshlale yde plahle yp y xlyv pbklze qsa usw kd vbspl ulyap? Zswa zkvvzl casvbla’p blyav qllzp ckvvla! Zswa zkvvzl casvbla kp nswdvkdt sd usw!”

At noon, the intersection was bustling. There was no way the car could make its way in.

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Lu Teng parked his car in a side street, closed the door, and made his way toward Lu Shan Chuan’s store.

Amidst the noisiness of the streets, the howling in his ear retained its ear-piercing power.

He tsked. “I’ve recorded the audio. Send it to your girlfriend tomorrow, are you happy now?”

There was howling from the phone briefly, then it immediately stopped and became as quiet as a little chick.

Lu Teng was very satisfied. He put his phone away and squeezed through the crowd.

Lu Shan Chuan had just graduated from college last year. He desperately wanted to start a business and got a shop on this street after begging his parents. Usually, he’s dressed in a black magua and sells some little things.

Because of this, Lu Teng’s aunt and uncle shower him with plenty of bitter complaints.

Just a few days before, Lu Shan Chuan met a bankrupt collector and happily received a shipment of goods for a low price. There was also a supposedly valuable item dug up from the late Tang dynasty. It was such frivolous spending.

As a result, someone suddenly came to the door yesterday saying that he was cheating people with fake goods and both person and shop were beaten and smashed into disarray.

Lu Teng couldn’t do anything in the face of his persistent crying and agreed to come take a look today.

The moment he entered, a figure rushed up and hugged him with a loud cry. “Dad! You are my dad from now on!”

Lu Teng: “…”

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This dog has probably finished its time as a human.

Lu Teng peeled the person off, glanced at his simple and elegant shop, and took off the pair of Western style sunglasses that looked out of place here. “Where are the goods?”

Lu Shan Chuan flatteringly pulled out a long box from under the counter, opened it, and took out five or six porcelain works. There were plenty of celadon and white porcelain varieties.

Lu Teng examined them individually. Even without professional equipment, he already knew.

Lu Shan Chuan perched on the side, blinking his puppy eyes in bitterness.

Lu Teng knocked on the table with his finger and pointed at the “unearthed Tang dynasty” wide-mouthed bowl of celadon porcelain. He asked, “How much did you spend on it?”

Lu Shan Chuan shook. He raised three fingers. “They claimed it was Guan ware1 and asked for $28000.”

Lu Teng stared at his three fingers in silence.

Lu Shan Chuan: “How is it? Is it real?”

“What do you think? Did Aunt forget your brain in her belly when she gave birth to you? A broke little broken bowl with barely a thousand dollars and you spent $28000? Why don’t you just stick a sign on your forehead that says ‘dumb with too much money, come quick’ ?”

Lu Shan Chuan wanted to cry. “Then how would I know? Wasn’t he known as Jiang Nan’s porcelain guy? How would I know he was selling fake goods!”

Lu Teng put his hand on his forehead. He didn’t want to speak.

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“I’m done for, I’ve already poured the money I’ve saved up for a wife on this. Qiuqiu is going to run away with someone else.”

Seeing him crouching on the ground with an expression of hopelessness, Lu Teng’s long-stilled brotherly affection was stirred.

He muttered to himself for a moment, tapping the edge of the box. “How about this: six pieces for $20000, I’ll buy them.”

Lu Shan Chuan’s eyes widened. “Twenty thousand! Dad, hold your conscience and ask yourself, do you really have the heart?”

“If I had the heart, you wouldn’t even have the money.” He paused, then comforted him, “Put some heart into Aunt’s birthday next month, your savings for a wife won’t be any worse off. As for this broken little shop, the more trouble you’ll save the sooner you close it.”

Lu Shan Chuan whimpered.

After dawdling for half a day, Lu Shan Chuan finally succumbed to poverty. He unwillingly pulled out the store’s QR code. “Why do I have such a stingy dad like you!”

“I don’t want a stupid son like you either.”

“…”

When the notification that the money had been transferred popped up, Lu Shan Chuan suddenly thought of something. He straightened up. “Are you fooling me? It goes this way on TV all the time: you trick me that the priceless treasure isn’t worth a cent and then you buy it from me for cheap to resell it!”

He became more excited as he spoke and took the “late Tang dynasty artifact” away. “Ah! I never thought you were such a dad! I’m not selling!”

Lu Teng could almost laugh in his anger. He randomly took up a white jade porcelain bottle. “Fine, then see who else would be willing to spend tens of thousands to buy your cheap goods.”

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Lu Shan Chuan looked at the one being held up and muttered, “That one looks good, even Qiuqiu said she liked it.”

In the end, he still unwillingly helped him package it.

Lu Teng humphed and turned around to look at the other things in the shop.

He didn’t expect that there was actually a lady standing behind him. She wasn’t very tall and when he turned around, his elbow swiped her shoulder and sent her reeling half a meter back.

Lu Teng subconsciously reached out and grabbed her.

The woman wore a short windbreaker, a pencil skirt, and a pair of slender heels that made her legs look impeccably straight.

When she raised her head, Lu Teng unknowingly narrowed his eyes.

This woman, wasn’t she the one splashed with coffee at the book cafe yesterday?

Yesterday, Lu Teng had met up with a client to discuss matters there. Just as they began, a sudden disturbance came from the booth behind them.

It sounded like the woman wanted to break up, but the man didn’t and he splashed coffee at her in anger.

This was a situation Lu Teng had seen many times, but seeing such a calm woman was his first. In the photos scattered at his feet, the man’s face was handsome and gentle except his eyes were practically drilling into the chest of the woman beside him.

Your blind date is still entangled and unclear with his ex-girlfriend, such a matter is rather annoying. But apart from the perspective of virtue, there really wasn’t any other position to criticize him from. After all, they weren’t in that kind of relationship yet.

The woman calmly drew a clear line with the other party. Her cold voice was like pearls falling on a jade dish, very crisp and clear.

In the end, Lu Teng couldn’t resist. He turned around to take a look only to catch the figure of her back. Her figure was slim, her back straight, her temperament excellent.

When she pushed the door open, half her face was revealed.

Lu Teng raised an eyebrow. His first thought was, this man must be blind. His second thought was, a woman like this needs to go on a blind date?

Unexpectedly, after a glimpse, the two would run into each other again so soon.

But this time, she went from a calm and courageous woman to someone touching porcelain with clumsy acting skills.

He pursed his lips and harmlessly smiled. “Since you like it, then I’m willing to let you have it for the original price.”

The woman’s face didn’t change, only her eyes brightened. “How much?”

Lu Teng smiled more gently. “Twenty two thousand.”

Without saying another word, the woman added him on WeChat and sent the money over.

Lu Teng took the opportunity to glance at her Moments. She didn’t post very often and it was mostly some children wearing dance outfits.

Lu Teng had an idea of her occupation.

He scrolled some more until his finger couldn’t help pausing.

A woman wearing training attire stretched her legs on a bar, curvy and exquisite. A little girl sat on the ground in front of her with her head raised, watching.

Perhaps it was a sneak shot or a candid photo, the woman’s head was slightly lowered and her smile was very gentle.

Lu Teng pursed his lips. He actually felt that this woman was very charming in her element.

[1] Guan ware: high quality wares known for crackled glaze made from one of the five famous kilns of the Song dynasty (Wikipedia)