Chapter 1548 - 1550

Why is Zhao Xuran suddenly interested in auction affairs these days? Gong Ruini really finds it quite strange.

"What do you think about this?" Gong Ruini entered the bedroom and found Zhao Xuran studying the auction house catalog.

He’s reading this catalog—is he planning to buy something from the auction house?

Auctions can yield good finds, but if many people are interested in a good item, the price will rise.

"Mom and Dad have decided not to bring the money back home. They’re letting us buy antiques here, saying they can appreciate in value. When there are enough items, we can even hold a museum exhibition." Zhao Xuran really wants to bow down to his parents back home, just pleading not to add more tasks to his plate.

Even though he is in the United States, isn’t he managing the large operations back in the country?

Those plans require him to constantly reach out to people back home, step by step, while keeping an eye on the stock market in the United States.

Just because Zhao Guangran went to Europe doesn’t mean business in the United States should cease.

It’s no longer just about making a living; it’s about building a reputation.

If people are taking precautions against Zhao Guangran, they should know some people can’t simply be suppressed by defenses and pressure.

Aha, antique buying? Gong Ruini is not surprised Zhan Jing would say that. Antiques from prosperous times are great, but the problem is, "Do you understand?"

Don’t look at how Gong Ruini always said she’d collect antiques, stash them away for decades, and they’d turn into a fortune, later returning to Beijing with Zhao Xuran and others to buy secondhand goods.

It’s not that they didn’t fetch some nice items, but truly good ones were scarce, and when there were, the asking price was not cheap, which frustrated the then-poor Gong Ruini.

Eventually, she could only watch as many good items were snatched up by wealthy people.

Later, when Gong Ruini had money, unfortunately, fake antiques had appeared. With her amateurish skills, she certainly wouldn’t risk it.

The concern is that if the antiques are fake, spending money would be a real pitfall. If she pays a high price for phony antiques, that would be a huge loss.

"Auctions have fakes too," Gong Ruini stated seriously.

Zhao Xuran nodded, pulling Gong Ruini into his arms. Anyway, at this hour, the two kids were already asleep; it’s totally their own little world.

"I know."

"But I can spot them."

"Do you really think the valuable antiques are directly auctioned at auction houses?"

"Just because of what they say, along with some so-called certificates, people will bid on them?"

Aren’t things like this? Gong Ruini was utterly confused; she had never entered such upscale venues as an auction house before.

"But your capability?" Okay, she thought, spending so much money surely comes with checks, but Gong Ruini was genuinely worried.

"Trust me a bit," Zhao Xuran felt a bit uneasy himself—after all, if he misjudged, the loss would be considerable—but seeing his wife’s worried face, he absolutely had to assure her.

She should have confidence in him, but as Gong Ruini thought, while Zhao Xuran might know some things, claiming he really understands everything might be a stretch.

However, everyone learns through doing. Without giving Zhao Xuran the opportunity to learn, how can he improve?

"So shall we visit the auction house?" Gong Ruini suddenly thought she could actually go to an auction house, feeling super excited.

"Yeah, let me do some research first." Just going to the auction house, Zhao Xuran bet Ni Zi would definitely be thinking about seeing the sights, not so much about acquiring antiques.

Ah, this requires research, huh? Gong Ruini didn’t understand, giving Zhao Xuran a kiss, "Then you work hard on this. You can definitely handle it."

Such a challenging task, Gong Ruini admitted she genuinely couldn’t manage it; all she could do was stay quietly by Zhao Xuran’s side.

"Okay, shall we sleep?" It was late, and today was a good day; they shouldn’t spend too much time on dull material.

Plus, no matter how many documents you read, it doesn’t compare to seeing things firsthand.

The focus is first on seeing the items, gradually familiarizing themselves, and later back home they can learn from experts for more experience.

Zhao Xuran put down the materials he had been holding, cuddling Gong Ruini as they slowly walked to the bed.

Wow, Gong Ruini was truly thrilled, "Didn’t expect my charm to be greater than those materials."

Those materials, Zhao Xuran was likely only glancing through briefly. But when he asked her, he didn’t continue reading, making Gong Ruini very pleased.

"How could you think your charm isn’t greater than those materials?" Zhao Xuran was quite surprised.

"In my heart, your charm is the greatest."

"You’ve always been number one."

The sweet words made Gong Ruini’s heart flutter, although, in a different context, she’d be really happy.

But in the current situation, Gong Ruini wanted to say, "At this moment, anything a man says is a lie."

"Huh." Zhao Xuran didn’t understand—it was all genuine, yet why did his wife think otherwise?

"Why, I told you men’s words at certain times can’t be trusted."

Ah, "Who said so?" Zhao Xuran felt the need to talk things over with whoever spread such nonsense.

Who said so, well, Gong Ruini felt no burden, "It was Guang Ran."

"He also said men lie a lot, especially when they’re about to engage in intimate activities with women."

"Ah ah ah ah."

"Zhao Guangran." Zhao Xuran genuinely wanted to cry over his brother; this guy was really savvy at setting traps for his sibling.

"Of course, he says that; he is that kind of person, but I’m not." Zhao Xuran was as aggrieved as it gets.

"I don’t know." Gong Ruini admitted Zhao Xuran’s integrity was reliable, but some things weren’t hers to decide.

"Needs time to prove." Gong Ruini stated firmly.

"Also, you’re so excited—isn’t that exactly what Guang Ran said?" Occasionally, a reminder was necessary, but more importantly,

She hugged Zhao Xuran tightly, "Honey, you won’t betray me, will you?"

"We’ll certainly grow old together, won’t we?"

The room wasn’t illuminated, but the moonlight streaming in from the window allowed Zhao Xuran to see the tension on Gong Ruini’s face.

He leaned in and kept kissing Gong Ruini’s face, "How could I not love you."

"There’s no one else I love but you."

"Love you so much it hurts; you’ll never know all I’ve done for you."

"When you were in school, there were often people following you home; you can’t imagine how anxious I was back then."

"I was really worried you might leave with someone else."

"That fellow Guang Ran, too, was unreliable when he promised to watch over you..."

Stunned, Gong Ruini was truly stunned—she had never known this.

During her school days, no guy ever confessed to her. Gong Ruini originally thought it was simply not in vogue, given everyone was clueless in those days before the widespread internet and advertising bombardment.

Especially those young boys back then, they were really pure, but now it seems everything was artificially orchestrated.