C19 The Ancestral Jade Pendant

Lee Wen cast a fleeting glance at Jiang Lan, a glint of coldness flashing in his eyes before he quickly concealed it again.

As he was about to speak, a rush of hurried footsteps approached from outside. Then, a striking figure caught everyone's attention.

Lee Wen's face suddenly stiffened, taking on an odd expression.

"Lee Wen, pay me back!" Liu Jiajia burst into the shop, fuming with anger.

Liu Jiajia felt incredibly wronged, her indignation nearly bursting from her wide eyes.

The previous night, after being scared, she had hurried back home, hoping for her mother's comfort. Instead, she was reprimanded for not behaving with proper decorum.

Her mother's words weren't harsh, but Wang Min's message was crystal clear. The more Liu Jiajia thought about it, the more suffocated she felt. Once she had learned Tingyu House's address, she made a beeline for it.

She claimed to be there to collect a debt, but it was really about venting her frustration.

"When have I ever borrowed money from you?" Lee Wen demanded, his face darkening.

"Hmph, have you forgotten that you had me cover your cab fare last night?" Liu Jiajia retorted, puffing out her cheeks and glaring at Lee Wen.

"For such a small amount of money, she's making a big fuss. Is she out of her mind?" Lee Wen thought bitterly to himself.

Of course, he kept these thoughts to himself. Instead, he pulled out his wallet and handed Liu Jiajia a crisp, new bill.

"That's not enough. That's just for yesterday. You owe me for several other times too!" Liu Jiajia snatched the bill from Lee Wen's hand, continuing to glare at him with her big eyes, still visibly upset.

"That's absurd. I've already taken you out to eat," Lee Wen countered, his face growing even darker.

Regardless of whether he had taken her out to eat, he had only asked Liu Jiajia to spot him for cab fare three times, which altogether didn't even total a hundred yuan. Clearly, this girl was just looking for an excuse to cause a scene.

"Calling a meal of spicy hotpot a treat? You have the nerve to say that, I'm embarrassed for you!" Liu Jiajia looked at Lee Wen with scorn.

Lee Wen's face grew darker still as he grumbled, "I wonder who gets more excited about spicy hotpot than seeing their own mother!"

Liu Jiajia's cheeks flushed a deep shade of red, the hue spreading to her ears, making her look irresistibly charming.

As a young woman, she only got to enjoy a bite of spicy hotpot when dining with Lee Wen. On her own, she was too shy to indulge. Lee Wen's comment had left her feeling incredibly self-conscious and embarrassed.

Especially with strangers around!

Just as Liu Jiajia was about to lose her cool, a discordant voice chimed in.

It was Dong Xiaofei, who was now posturing as a suave gentleman. With a smile plastered on his face, he approached Liu Jiajia and offered, "Miss, I'm not sure how much he owes you, but I'll settle his debt. A beauty like you shouldn't be troubled by such trivial matters!"

With that, he pulled out a wad of cash from his pocket and extended it towards Liu Jiajia.

The mood shifted instantly, as the expressions of the other three individuals present took a turn.

Lee Wen observed the spectacle with a detached curiosity, a peculiar glint in his eye. He knew Liu Jiajia well enough to understand that as the school's belle, she was no stranger to such overtures. Dong Xiaofei's antics were unlikely to faze her.

"Is this guy out of his mind? We're strangers; why is he offering me money? And he's so ostentatious about it, he's definitely up to no good!" Liu Jiajia thought, a defensive glint appearing in her eyes.

Normally, she wouldn't react this way, but after Lee Wen's teasing these past couple of days, her guard was instinctively up.

Meanwhile, Jiang Lan's expression was a complex mix of emotions. She was acutely aware of Dong Xiaofei's intentions. To say she didn't feel a twinge of envy and resentment would be a lie, yet she lacked the courage to express it.

Dong Xiaofei wasn't Lee Wen; he didn't harbor the same affection for her. If Jiang Lan dared to spoil the mood now, Dong Xiaofei would surely cast her aside without a second thought.

This much was crystal clear to Jiang Lan.

So, faced with the unfolding scene, Jiang Lan felt a surge of frustration and urgency, but was powerless to act. Instead, she forced a smile, feigning indifference to the entire situation.

Liu Jiajia pursed her lips and turned to face Lee Wen, clearly on the verge of refusal.

Lee Wen couldn't help but chuckle at her expression. "Jiajia, don't turn down Mr. Dong's generosity. To him, this money is a drop in the bucket, but for us, it's a significant sum. We could treat ourselves to a lavish meal with it!"

Dong Xiaofei gave Lee Wen a dismissive glance, contempt flashing in his eyes. He silently scoffed, "It's no surprise Jiang Lan left this loser for me. He's certainly not much of a man." He kept these thoughts to himself, though, as Lee Wen's distasteful words were, in fact, playing right into his hands.

Dong Xiaofei had yet to meet a woman who could resist his financial allure and was confident Liu Jiajia would be no different. He was sure that once she accepted his money, she'd be easy to win over with just a little more persuasion.

Liu Jiajia shot Lee Wen a glare, her embarrassment and annoyance palpable. She had no interest in accepting money from someone who reeked of bad intentions—a clear scoundrel driven by lust.

But then, she caught Lee Wen giving her a covert wink, signaling something silently.

"Jiajia, don't be shy about accepting Mr. Dong's kindness," Lee Wen urged her with a smile.

He then shifted his attention to Dong Xiaofei, as if a thought had just struck him. "Mr. Dong, it just occurred to me that Jiajia isn't one to take favors lightly. But she did mention wanting to sell an ancestral jade pendant a few days ago. You were interested in purchasing some antiques, right? Why not take a look at what Jiajia has? If it's of decent quality, you could buy it from her. That way, it would solve her dilemma quite neatly. What do you say?"

Liu Jiajia stood there, utterly bewildered. When had she ever spoken of such a thing? And since when did she possess an ancestral jade pendant?

Dong Xiaofei's eyes sparkled with interest. If things were as they seemed, he would be playing the hero, rescuing the damsel from distress, all while preserving her dignity. It was a classic case of hitting two birds with one stone!

"Exactly, I did mention that earlier. I was planning to make a purchase at your shop, but now that Jiajia has something worthwhile, I must take a look!" Dong Xiaofei said with a playful tone.

"Jiajia, don't delay in showing your ancestral jade pendant to Mr. Dong. He's a wealthy man; price is no object for him. He's sure to give you a fair offer!" Lee Wen said cheerfully, then turned to Dong Xiaofei and asked, "Right, Mr. Dong?"

"Indeed!" Dong Xiaofei nodded subtly. Lee Wen's words irked him slightly. As the son of Dong Xuehai, he might not have been scholarly, but he had a keen eye for antiques and wasn't easily swindled. Lee Wen's comments seemed to corner him into a purchase, but with Liu Jiajia present, he couldn't let his annoyance show.

Besides, Lee Wen was flattering him, so he let it slide without further comment.

Liu Jiajia hurried over to Lee Wen, forgetting all about asking for car fare, and tugged at his sleeve.

"Jiajia, Mr. Dong is quite the connoisseur of antiques and certainly isn't short on cash. He'll make you an offer you'll be happy with. Go ahead and show him the ancestral jade pendant," Lee Wen encouraged with a grin.

"I don't have any ancestral jade pendant, Lee Wen, stop making things up!" Liu Jiajia protested under her breath, her teeth clenched.

Lee Wen just chuckled, not bothering to respond. He reached out and deftly flicked at Liu Jiajia's neckline, revealing a thin cord from which dangled a lustrous green jade pendant.

Liu Jiajia was taken aback, her cheeks flushing a deep crimson in an instant, making her look incredibly endearing.

She was indeed a very clever girl. A quick glance at Jiang Lan, who stood to the side, and the fleeting spark of insight in her eyes revealed her sudden understanding.

She had previously been in Lee Wen's room and had seen the photo on the wall, and she remembered him mentioning his ex-girlfriend. Piecing together the current situation with the memory of Lee Wen winking at her, she quickly grasped what was going on.

"You owe me a big meal!" Liu Jiajia whispered, her voice low.

"I'll replace it with a genuine jade pendant!" Lee Wen said, his eyes gleaming mischievously as he chuckled.

Taking the jade pendant from Liu Jiajia, Lee Wen's expression turned to one of amazement. He marveled, "A jade pendant from the Tang Dynasty! Jiajia, you claimed that this pendant has been in your family since the Tang Dynasty. I was skeptical before, but after being around Tingyu House, I'm starting to recognize its significance. This piece is extraordinarily valuable!"

With continuous admiration, Lee Wen passed the jade pendant to Dong Xiaofei, saying, "Mr. Dong, please assess the quality of this item!"

The pendant felt smooth and cool to the touch. As Dong Xiaofei took it, his expression shifted instantly. His expertise allowed him to see right through the so-called ancestral jade pendant—it was nothing more than a trinket one might find at a street market.

Clearly, it was a glass product, and of particularly low quality at that.