She frowned slightly in disgust, but was quickly soothed by the man beside her.
His voice remained calm, completely unaffected.
"It's okay. Just ignore them."
They didn't move until the organizer announced that they could leave. Standing up, they acted as if nothing had happened.
Yet, on their way out, they still received some malicious looks.
Only then did she realize that, just like her, her second brother was also subject to the inexplicable ridicule and criticism of those around him.
She gave a bitter smile. It seemed that her second brother and she were both in the same boat.
The bidding meeting had been quite long. By the time they came out of the venue, it was already getting dark outside.
A cool breeze blew from time to time. Xia Sanghuan's small suit was a bit thin, and before she knew it, she sneezed.
Leng Chuanjin glanced at her, then took off his coat and draped it over her shoulders.
Wrapping herself in the coat warmed by the man's body temperature, she instantly felt less cold.
Her ears turned a faint shade of red. To avoid being noticed, she pulled the coat up a bit more.
She looked back and found that most people were still in the venue, exchanging contact information with the young man who had won the bid.
Just moments ago, they had been indignant about not winning, but now they changed their attitudes faster than turning a page.
"Alright, let's go."
"What would you like to eat tonight? I'll treat you."
Hearing his words, Xia Sanghuan was taken aback.
"Didn't you say you'd treat me only if you won?"
"So, do you think I won?"
He turned around and looked her straight in the eye.
The lights behind him slowly came on one by one. The warm orange light softened the lines of his face.
He stared at her intently, his eyes as black as ink that could never be dissolved.
Fortunately, Yun Ye and another person had gone to the parking lot to get the car. Most of the others were either still in the venue or had already left, so there were not many people around them.
Even if there were, they wouldn't notice the two of them standing in the corner to avoid the wind.
The streetlights were reflected in his dark eyes. Although it was a fact that he had lost, for some reason, he just wanted to hear what he wanted from her.
Xia Sanghuan opened her mouth but couldn't speak. Her tongue seemed to be tied in knots.
Just then, Yun Ye shouted from a short distance away.
"Master Leng, Miss Xia, the car is ready!"
His voice brought them both back to reality. Leng Chuanjin felt that he might have scared the girl just now. He stiffly raised his hand and gently stroked her head.
"Alright, I'll still take you out to eat even if I lost. Let's go."
After saying that, he turned around and walked towards the car.
Xia Sanghuan watched his back and swallowed the words that were about to come out.
Actually, she wanted to say that ever since she fell in love with him, he had always been a winner in her eyes, no matter what.
Seeing that she didn't catch up, he looked back.
"Hurry up and follow."
After dinner, it was already late, so they could just go home.
After saying good night to the girl, Leng Chuanjin went to his study alone.
There was a document in his email, about Chen Jiayuan, the young man who had made his debut at the bidding meeting today.
It was a very clean resume, except that the family background section stated that he was an orphan.
For some reason, Leng Chuanjin always felt that this person was not as simple as he seemed.
At this moment, in a mansion.
Chen Jiayuan had just returned home and shouted at the man sitting on the sofa smoking.
"Dad."
The man turned around. It was Leng Qiuhua.
He looked at his son seriously.
"Jiayuan, I heard you participated in the bidding meeting today."
"Don't you know it's not the right time to confront Leng Chuanjin openly?"
Hearing his father's tone, he shrugged indifferently.
"Father, you're so afraid of that nephew of yours, but he still lost to me today, didn't he?"
Leng Qiuhua looked at him and sighed helplessly.
In order to regain what belonged to him and his son, he had secretly laid a long - term plan, waiting for Leng Chuanjin, the big fish, to take the bait.
The previous attempt to kidnap Xia Sanghuan had failed because of Leng Chuanjin's intervention, but that was just the first step to lure him.
It would be better if it succeeded, but it wasn't a big deal if it failed.
After all, he had many scapegoats at his disposal.
He looked up at the dark sky, and a flash of hatred crossed his eyes.
The people he had sent to kidnap Xia Sanghuan had all been dealt with cleanly by Leng Chuanjin. Although he had known about Leng Chuanjin's methods before, he didn't expect him to go to such lengths for a woman.
It seemed that they still had to keep a close eye on Leng Chuanjin's actions and find a way to strike a fatal blow!
The next day, Leng Chuanjin went to the company and Xia Sanghuan went to school as usual.
As soon as she arrived at the research institute, Jiang Zimo brought good news.
They were almost able to extract all the components of the Black - Boned Spiritual Treasure.
Because of Leng Jingzhan's illness, Leng Chuanjin had also dabbled in this area when he was in college, but unfortunately, there was no Black - Boned Spiritual Treasure for him to study at that time.
Now that they had the real thing, he quickly turned this technology into a reality.
The biggest obstacle had been removed, and the remaining problems were likely to be solved.
While the research room was filled with joy, the atmosphere on Leng Chuanjin's side was freezing cold.
He was looking at a record that Yun Ye had just brought him.
There were clearly photos of Chen Jiayuan going in and out of Leng Qiuhua's company.
His face darkened, and he remained silent for a long time.
Sure enough, it was right to send someone to investigate.
He took a deep breath, stood up, and said to Yun Ye, "Let's go."
"I have to go and have a good talk with my uncle."
His tone was cold, as if the temperature in the room had suddenly dropped a few degrees.
When he arrived at Leng Qiuhua's company, his dear uncle was already waiting for him in the meeting room.
"What's wrong, Chuanjin? Why are you so aggressive?"
Leng Chuanjin didn't bother to waste his breath. He directly took out the photos from his pocket and threw them on the table.
"Explain."
Seeing his terrifying look, Leng Qiuhua wasn't intimidated. He poured a cup of coffee and pushed it in front of him.
"Young people have such a fiery temper. Is there anything that can't be discussed calmly while sitting down?"
"Chuanjin, has anyone ever told you that you look really scary with a dark face?"
Of course, someone had told him.
Leng Chuanjin looked at him indifferently.
"Uncle, I'm not here to listen to your smooth talk."
"Tell me who he is."
It wasn't a question, nor did it contain any hint of pleading. It was simply a statement.
"I'm very busy."
These words were as cold as the wind blowing from the frigid zone in winter. Leng Qiuhua shivered involuntarily and almost lost his calm.
"He's an orphan I sponsored."
"I felt sorry for him at that time, and since he was willing to work hard in his studies, I gave him a hand."
"Chuanjin, uncle knows you don't like me, but you have no right to interfere in my actions, do you?"
"Moreover, this matter hasn't affected you."