Every time Jing Zhen waved hello, she had to tug at her skirt with the other hand to prevent it from riding up.
Just as Jing Zhen was pulling down her skirt, a suit jacket was draped over her shoulders. The jacket still carried the man's warm body temperature and a faint smell of tobacco.
Jing Zhen could guess whose jacket it was right away. When she turned her head, sure enough, she saw the proud Xu Yan pretending to be nonchalant.
"It's quite hot outside. You can wear it."
Jing Zhen's nose twitched, and she almost cried.
But in this place, how could she accept Xu Yan's kindness?
"Thank you. I'm not cold." Against her will, Jing Zhen stuffed the jacket back to Xu Yan.
"You..." Xu Yan got angry.
Jing Zhen was clearly shivering with cold. Why didn't she accept his kindness?
She would rather marry a man much older than her than ask him for help.
Did Jing Zhen always think he was unreliable and didn't trust him?
Seeing the atmosphere between them turn stiff again, Xu Qingqing quickly took off his own jacket and draped it over Jing Zhen.
"Sister Jing Zhen, you can wear mine first."
"Okay, thank you." Jing Zhen forced a smile and led them in.
"Come in."
The living room was luxuriously decorated, an exact copy of a show house. The huge crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling seemed to be on the verge of falling. Xu Qingqing felt as if it would drop on him when he walked under it.
After entering, Xu Qingqing explained to Jing Zhen, "Sorry, Sister Jing Zhen. I let it slip. My brother insisted on coming with me."
"I've caused you trouble."
"It's okay." Jing Zhen shook her head.
She didn't blame Xu Qingqing. Instead, she was a bit glad that Xu Qingqing had brought Xu Yan here. Maybe this would be the last time she would get to spend time with Xu Yan in her life.
When Song Yuanyuan saw Jing Zhen leading people in, she sneered, "Stepmom, are these the appraisal masters you've found?"
Song Yuanyuan sized up Xu Qingqing. She didn't know much about the archaeology field, so she judged solely based on Xu Qingqing's age. Could someone so young be reliable?
Then, Song Yuanyuan's eyes fell on Xu Yan, who was standing there with a gloomy face. Her heart skipped a beat.
This man was so handsome!
He had sword-shaped eyebrows and starry eyes, a tall stature, and an air of aloofness around him.
All these traits hit Song Yuanyuan's criteria for a potential partner!
Jing Zhen thought Song Yuanyuan had recognized Xu Yan as her ex-boyfriend, so she quickly stepped in front of Xu Yan.
"They're all my friends. I can entertain them myself."
"Stepmom, why are you so nervous?"
Song Yuanyuan kept calling her "stepmom", repeatedly crossing Xu Yan's line.
"I need to go to the bathroom." Xu Yan couldn't take it anymore.
Seeing the man leave, Song Yuanyuan showed a kind face to Jing Zhen for the first time. "Stepmom, who is this man? He's so handsome!"
Jing Zhen's heart tightened. She bit her lips, and there was a hint of jealousy in her tone that even she didn't notice.
"Song Yuanyuan, you shouldn't like this type. Don't bother about him. He has a really bad temper."
"I just like men with a bad temper." Song Yuanyuan curled her lips into a smile.
"Jing Zhen, do you want me to put in a good word for you in front of my dad? As long as you give me this man's contact information, I'll speak up for you."
"If we get together, I won't make things difficult for you in the future."
Hearing Song Yuanyuan's words, Jing Zhen turned pale and took a few steps back.
Seeing this, Xu Qingqing quickly came over and refused, "Sorry, my brother is already married and has two kids."
"Two kids?" Song Yuanyuan was stunned. She immediately lost interest and quickly changed her expression, glaring at Jing Zhen.
"He has kids, and you didn't even tell me. You just wanted to see me make a fool of myself!"
After saying that, Song Yuanyuan swayed away.
Jing Zhen let out a sigh of relief but also felt that she shouldn't have felt this way.
She was already married, and it was only a matter of time before Xu Yan got married too. But... why did her heart feel so uncomfortable?
"Sister Jing Zhen, are you okay?" Xu Qingqing supported Jing Zhen and looked at her with concern.
Just now, Xu Qingqing had detected a hint of jealousy in Jing Zhen's words.
It could prove that Jing Zhen still had feelings for his brother. Maybe there was still a chance to save their relationship.
"I'm okay." Jing Zhen shook her head, feeling that her actions just now were really embarrassing.
Jing Zhen forced a smile. "Xu Qingqing, this cheongsam is inconvenient for me. I'll go upstairs and change. You can play down here by yourself."
"Okay." Xu Qingqing sighed and watched Jing Zhen leave.
There was a middle-aged man beside Song Yuanyuan. He was fat, and the flesh on his face had squeezed his eyes out of shape.
He was actually wearing a gray Taoist robe and had several strings of wooden beads of different lengths hanging around his neck. It looked rather out of place.
The two of them wandered around, proclaiming everywhere that this was the appraisal master she had found.
"Master Huang is a well-known appraisal master!"
Seeing Xu Qingqing looking at her, Song Yuanyuan showed a provocative expression. She whispered something to Master Huang and then pulled the master over.
"You're the appraisal master Jing Zhen found, right? Do you want to have a competition with Master Huang?"
"No."
Xu Qingqing directly refused.
"You're scared, aren't you?"
Song Yuanyuan showed a look of contempt. "You're so young. You must not be very capable. Only a fool like Jing Zhen would believe in you."
Xu Qingqing put down his wine glass and smiled. "I'm not competing with him because I'm worried it will lower my status."
"You!"
Song Yuanyuan got angry. She grabbed a glass of red wine and was about to pour it on Xu Qingqing.
Xu Qingqing reached out and pushed her hand back, his face cold. "I'm a guest invited by your family. Are you sure you want to pour red wine on me?"
More and more people were gathering around. Song Yuanyuan didn't have the guts, so she put down the wine glass in her hand and left with the appraisal master.
The protagonist, Song Fuqiang, hadn't appeared yet. Everyone was chatting and exchanging stories about the treasures they had bought recently.
Among them, a small group with the most people was making the most noise.
"Master Jiang, what's your fan made of? It looks really good!"
Hearing someone's question, Song Yuanyuan thought it was time for her people to show off. She quickly pushed the Master Huang she had invited over.
"Master Huang, go and show your skills. Let me see your abilities!"
The appraisal master pushed his glasses and unceremoniously joined the group. He carefully looked at the fan in Master Jiang's hand.
Master Jiang had gray hair and a beard. He was wearing a red Chinese-style jacket and looked energetic. It was already autumn, but he was still fanning himself with the folding fan.
Master Huang took a few casual glances and then burst out laughing. "The painting on this folding fan is printed on ordinary A4 paper. It's not worth much."
Hearing the appraisal master's words, some people didn't believe it. Especially the man who had asked the question pressed on.
"Are you sure you're not mistaken? Master Jiang is a well-known antique collector. How could he use a fan printed on A4 paper?"
"If you don't believe me, ask him yourself."
Master Huang pushed his glasses and looked at Master Jiang, who was smiling and didn't seem to want to argue at all.