Chapter 2353: Chapter 662: The Playboy Vanishes, Heading to Country Zi (6)
Stepping out of the taxi, An Yiqing followed the map and walked deeper down this street. Gu Tingting had said that the girl’s antique shop was at the very end of the street. Indeed, after walking for a long time, An Yiqing finally saw an antique shop at the street’s end, without even a sign at its door.
Gently knocking on the door, An Yiqing stepped inside. The shop felt a little dark, with doors and windows shut tight, and only some sunlight sneaking in through the gaps. As she walked past the door, in front of her were rows of shelves. On the shelves were many strange and peculiar items, some were antiques, others were things An Yiqing had never seen before.
"Why are they so odd? Could it be the wrong place?" Fatty Mao Er glanced at the dust-covered shelves, muttering softly.
An Yiqing did not respond; she walked down the aisle between the two shelves closest to her, "Is anyone here? Is the owner in?"
No one answered.
The shelves were large, the aisle was long. An Yiqing walked along the aisle towards the inside, where a gray wall came into view. Hanging on the wall were several large hats, seemingly for decoration. At the innermost part of the wall, there were two small doors. The small doors were tightly shut, and she didn’t know if anyone was inside.
An Yiqing was about to step in to knock on the door, but suddenly, she stopped at one of the hats hanging on the wall.
Turning her head slightly, she lifted the hat, revealing a pattern.
"Don’t move!" A sharp voice suddenly rang out.
An Yiqing’s eyes flickered slightly, she put the hat back in place and turned her head. A blonde girl in a black dress came into view, her skin was very pale, almost sickly white, while her lips were blood-red. Her green eyes were ocean blue, and the golden strands of hair slightly off-white, making the skin look even paler. In such a dark antique shop, the sudden appearance of a white-faced, red-lipped girl in a black dress was certainly not a pleasant sight to see.
"Sorry, that was my mistake. Miss, do you know Louise?" An Yiqing asked with a smile.
"You’re looking for Louise?!" The girl raised her delicate eyebrows, examining An Yiqing, "Who are you? What do you want with her?"
An Yiqing took out a letter of introduction from her bag, "I am a friend of Gu Tingting; she said Louise is an expert in jade antiques. So, I’ve come to seek her help."
The girl glanced at the introduction letter, her expression softened a bit, and her eyes turned more gentle.
"Ah, dear Gu sent you. How is she doing these days? Is she well?"
An Yiqing nodded with a smile, "Tingting is doing great; she’s currently in a passionate romance with my older brother and should soon become my sister-in-law."
"Oh my god! She’s getting married?!" The girl exclaimed in surprise, then turned and knocked vigorously on the small door inside, "Qiao! Come out! Gu is getting married!"
As soon as her words fell, the small door opened, and a handsome man in a black shirt walked out from the room. Seeing the girl so delighted, he raised an eyebrow, "Louise, you weren’t this excited when we got married."
The girl playfully stuck out her tongue, turning to look at An Yiqing, her eyes brimming with enthusiasm, "Hello beautiful, I’m Louise. Sorry about earlier, I don’t like dealings with strangers. But since you’re Gu’s friend, you’re my friend too."
An Yiqing wasn’t surprised by the girl’s identity; she extended her right hand, "Louise, nice to meet you. I’m An Yiqing, you can call me An."
"Okay, An, nice to meet you! And you’re beautiful! More beautiful than any other woman I’ve seen!" Louise’s heart was very warm, and a blush appeared on her pale face.
An Yiqing generously accepted her praise and warmly embraced Louise in a friendly greeting. After a bit of small talk, she turned her attention to the man.
"Louise, who is this gentleman?"
Louise pulled the man over, smiling with joy, "An, this is my husband, Qiao. Qiao, this is Gu’s friend, also my friend, An."
Qiao raised his eyebrows and looked teasingly at Louise, "Darling, being your friend seems quite easy." Saying this, he turned to look at An Yiqing, wearing a smile, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes.
"Miss An, hello." He extended his hand.
An Yiqing glanced at the slightly pale right hand, giving a slight smile, "Mr. Qiao, hello."
She extended her right hand, and when she shook hands with Qiao, the skin contact was chillingly cold.
The two quickly disentangled, An Yiqing withdrew her right hand, eyes slightly lowered, a hint of deep thought flashed through.
"An, what kind of antique are you looking for this time?" Louise asked enthusiastically, leading An Yiqing to the sofa nearby.
"No, I’m looking for some jade," An Yiqing sat down and took out a small piece of Jade Spirit from her bag, "Louise, I’m searching for this transparent jade, but in purple and blue."
"Oh my heavens! This jade is so beautiful!" Louise exclaimed, reaching to hold the Jade Spirit, "I’ve never seen such beautiful jade before! It’s just like liquid! An, is it really jade?"
"Of course, it is the finest existence among jade, called Jade Spirit. Louise, I’ve searched all over Xuanjin and found no purple or blue Jade Spirit. So, I thought I’d try in Country Zi." An Yiqing said as she looked into Louise’s eyes.
Louise nodded repeatedly, "I understand, An, I’ll definitely do my best to help you find it! Describe the purple and blue Jade Spirit to me, I’ll have Qiao investigate right away!"
An Yiqing sighed in relief; she could tell Louise and Qiao were not ordinary people. Maybe they really had the connections to help her find it.
Putting away the green Jade Spirit, An Yiqing shared some interesting stories about Gu Tingting. The two equally beautiful girls shared laughter. Qiao was not interested in such things, sitting beside Louise, looking gloomily at An Yiqing and Long Zixuan, questions flitting through his mind.
At this moment, the antique shop’s main door suddenly opened, and a series of footsteps could be heard. Qiao signaled to Louise to keep chatting, and then he himself got up and went out.
An Yiqing didn’t pay attention, nor did Louise, both assuming it was just a regular customer. However, a few minutes later, An Yiqing’s face suddenly changed. At the same time, the front hall echoed with Qiao’s scream and the sound of porcelain breaking.
"Qiao! What’s happened?!" Louise’s face changed immediately, she rushed out. An Yiqing and Long Zixuan hurriedly followed.
Passing through the aisle between the shelves, they entered the front hall. The floor was in disarray; expensive antique vases were shattered everywhere. Qiao lay in the corner of the wall, face pale, blood at the corner of his mouth.
Louise hurriedly rushed over, trying to lift Qiao up. But Qiao seemed too injured, unable to muster any strength.
"Why are you so seriously injured?! What did they hit you with?!" Louise was on the verge of tears, raising her head to glare at the intruders with fury in her eyes.
Five people had intruded, the one who struck Qiao was the tall middle-aged man standing in front. His build was imposing, wearing a black tailcoat, appearing somewhat out of place in this old antique shop. The man also had blonde hair, skin sickly pale. In his left hand, he held a gilded cane, looking at Qiao with contempt and disdain.
"Charlie! Why did you harm Qiao?! He’s my husband!" Louise, consumed with rage, stood in front of Qiao, wishing she could devour the middle-aged man.
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