Chapter 72 - 68: Bargaining

Lunchtime arrived, and Qiao Yuxian still hadn’t come downstairs. Gu Yanjing waited downstairs for a while, saw she wasn’t coming down, and thus asked Aunt Mei to go upstairs and knock on the door. Aunt Mei knocked on the door and said, "Madam, I’ve brought the food up, please open the door." Very soon, Qiao Yuxian’s voice sounded, "Okay, coming." A few seconds later, Qiao Yuxian opened the door, instantly meeting the gaze of Gu Yanjing standing outside. Aunt Mei’s figure was nowhere to be seen. Her small shoulders shook, the smile on her face froze, and she instantly wanted to close the door. Gu Yanjing’s hand pressed against the door, preventing her from closing it. "What, what do you want?" Qiao Yuxian first put on a fierce little expression, though internally only wanting to escape. "It’s lunchtime," Gu Yanjing said as he looked at her. "I’m not hungry yet," Qiao Yuxian replied, "I’m on a diet, not eating lunch." Gu Yanjing looked at her without speaking. Seeing he didn’t speak, Qiao Yuxian gave him a look, signaling for him to say something. Gu Yanjing paused for a moment, then said, "You plan to stay inside all the time?" "Can I?" Qiao Yuxian asked. "No." Gu Yanjing refused bluntly. Qiao Yuxian pouted, "Then I don’t want to go out today." "Impossible." Gu Yanjing rejected once more. Qiao Yuxian stared at him sorrowfully. Gu Yanjing faced her gaze and after a moment said, "One hour." "!" Shocked, Qiao Yuxian started negotiating, "No way, half a day." "Ten minutes," Gu Yanjing said again. Qiao Yuxian’s embarrassed and shy expression immediately vanished, her mind full of questions about this kind of bargaining. "One day," Qiao Yuxian said once more. "Five minutes," Gu Yanjing said coldly. Qiao Yuxian’s mouth twitched, "Two days!" Gu Yanjing looked at her without speaking. Qiao Yuxian, feeling uncertain due to his gaze, hesitated for two seconds before saying, "Three hours?" Gu Yanjing remained silent. Qiao Yuxian’s eyes moved, she thought for a moment and said, "Two hours." Gu Yanjing didn’t speak. Qiao Yuxian gritted her teeth, painfully shouting another bargain, "One hour! No lower!" "Half an hour or five minutes, choose one." Gu Yanjing said lightly. Qiao Yuxian crossed her arms, glared at him, and stood her ground with him. Gu Yanjing looked down at her for a moment, then reached out and held the back of her neck, bringing her out of the room. That motion was like a little fox revealing its true form, caught by the scruff and lifted up. The only difference was that Qiao Yuxian’s feet were still on the ground. "Ah." Qiao Yuxian turned and grabbed the doorframe behind her, refusing to go with him, "I haven’t chosen yet. I’m not going out, I’m not going out, not going out. I choose half an hour, half an hour." Gu Yanjing released her. Qiao Yuxian immediately ran back to the room, and once inside, felt unsatisfied and turned back to give Gu Yanjing a small kick on the leg. Shang Chen, who was carrying a potted plant upstairs, just happened to see this scene. He was shocked, his hand slipped, the potted plant was salvageable, but the vase... was not. Initially, he noticed the succulent being a bit yellow from the sun downstairs, intending to bring it upstairs for a change of scenery. Who would have thought, coming upstairs, a disaster occurred. Shang Chen froze on the spot. Hearing the sound of the shattered flower pot, Qiao Yuxian turned her head to glance at Shang Chen, then lifted her chin at Gu Yanjing, giving him a fierce look before retreating to her room, slamming the door. Gu Yanjing’s face remained emotionless throughout, only slightly raising his eyebrow when she kicked him. Completely indulgent. But Shang Chen wasn’t faring so well. He had not only witnessed his family’s Mr. Gu take a hit but also saw him being shut out. The main problem was his Mr. Gu... didn’t! Have! Any! Reaction! Wasn’t it supposed to be direct action, grab her neck, and then with one force let her suffocate? Why was there no reaction! Shang Chen couldn’t understand it, no matter how hard he tried. Over the years, there was only one outcome for those who acted against his Mr. Gu: misery! Half an hour passed, not a minute off, Gu Yanjing knocked on the door, calling Qiao Yuxian out. Qiao Yuxian kept her promise and didn’t cause any more trouble, following him out of the room. She just wasn’t speaking to anyone. After quietly finishing lunch, Qiao Yuxian sat on the living room sofa, her face gloomy and silent. Before returning to the study, Gu Yanjing went to her side, touched her small face, "There’s a jewelry auction tonight. Top-tier collection." Qiao Yuxian looked up at him, her expression seemed to say: I’m angry, don’t talk to me. Gu Yanjing’s thumb caressed her cheek, "I’ve prepared clothes for you." Qiao Yuxian frowned. Gu Yanjing said, "If you fancy any piece of jewelry, I’ll bid for it." Qiao Yuxian’s expression froze and she appeared dazed, then gradually a bit delighted, finally breaking into a smile, "Really?" She had heard about this auction long ago. It contained all sorts of wonderful things. She had been planning to take a look tonight. If not for this auction, her dormmates would have gone out today, but they postponed it a day to wait for her. "Mm." Gu Yanjing nodded. "Whatever I fancy, you’ll buy it for me?" Qiao Yuxian asked again. "Mm." "Then can I bid on several pieces?" Qiao Yuxian said. "Sure." Qiao Yuxian immediately felt thrilled, after a while, she asked, "Did you prepare beautiful clothes for me?" "Mm." Gu Yanjing replied, "Later, they’ll bring them over, you can choose." Qiao Yuxian lowered her head and smiled a little. The cold beauty was indeed meticulous. He remembered everything. ... In the afternoon, while Gu Yanjing was working in the study, Qiao Yuxian and Shang Chen fiddled with the potted plant. The two were sparring with each other. Shang Chen set the position of the potted plant right, and Qiao Yuxian took it and moved it to a different spot. She brushed the leaves to one side, he brushed them to the other side. Anyhow, the two ended up opposing each other the whole afternoon due to mismatched aesthetics. It escalated to the point of possibly becoming more intense. Aunt Mei, worried Shang Chen, being a straightforward burly man, might suddenly give Qiao Yuxian a hard time. Qiao Yuxian might not be able to handle it. Otherwise, her husband would end up being a widower. But Gu Yanjing just lightly dismissed, "The kids are playing, don’t mind them." Aunt Mei felt somewhat relieved. Until the designers arrived with clothes, they both finally settled down. And then... Qiao Yuxian clearly felt Gu Yanjing’s power and status. Three top-tier designers, bringing their most satisfied clothes and new pieces, arrived at Fenglin Villa. Allowing Qiao Yuxian to choose freely. Faced with everything in front of her, Qiao Yuxian paused for a few seconds, allowing them to rest in the living room first before going upstairs to find Gu Yanjing. Knocking on the study door, Qiao Yuxian first peeked her little head in. Seeing he wasn’t too busy, she entered the office. Just as she was about to speak, her phone in her pocket rang. She pulled out the phone to glance at it, it was Chen Hui calling. A moment of confusion passed through Qiao Yuxian’s eyes before she answered the call. As soon as the call connected, Chen Hui’s anxious and trembling voice came through, "Yu Xian, have you seen Le Chu today? Le Chu went missing, we haven’t been able to contact..."