Shi Zhuoqu was somewhat unable to see through Chu Qianli. She appeared playful and idle, always wandering around her companions aimlessly. Yet, when she casually reached into her pocket, she pulled out an expert work permit. He had no idea what her true level of expertise in divination was.
Shi Zhuoqu chuckled. “This doesn’t seem appropriate.”
Chu Qianli was quite enthusiastic. “Why not? Aren’t you single?”
Shi Zhuoqu hesitated. “…Not exactly.”
Chu Qianli laughed. “Then that’s settled. Just chatting casually. What did you study abroad? What are your hobbies? Do you just work at the auction house every day?”
Shi Zhuoqu declined politely. “I don’t work in the capital regularly.”
The underlying message was that he couldn’t accept a matchmaking setup.
“Then which city do you work in? Auction houses should all be in first-tier cities, right? There are policies now for returning students to settle down.”
“…Mm.”
Shi Zhuoqu took the initiative to ask about the workplaces of Chu Qianli and Tan Muxing. He originally intended to gather information about them, but he ended up stirring a hornet’s nest. Chu Qianli fired off a rapid barrage of questions, so relentless that he could hardly catch his breath.
She cheerfully chattered on about everything under the sun.
Tan Muxing bowed apologetically. He looked like a parent watching over a mischievous child, silently offering his apologies for the chatterbox beside him. This made it impossible for Shi Zhuoqu to lose his temper.
Unwilling to respond recklessly, Shi Zhuoqu found an excuse to leave. “I’ll go check on Master Mei.”
Tan Muxing watched as Shi Zhuoqu walked away. Once he confirmed that no one else was around, he asked, “Is there something wrong with that person?”
Chu Qianli never pestered people with questions for no reason—there had to be a motive.
Chu Qianli stroked her chin thoughtfully. “I can’t say for sure. He just feels strange. I don’t think I’ve met him before, but I really wanted to confirm his name.”
“I’ve told you before, right? Sometimes, even without performing a divination, information from the surroundings just floods in. There’s no way to control it.” Chu Qianli raised a finger and tapped her temple, explaining, “It’s like how Sister Ru Jing gets a bad feeling before something unlucky happens, or how some people experience déjà vu—it’s all just vague sensations.”
Some referred to it as an intuitive external response in divination, while the scientific explanation described it as an ability to precisely capture key external information. A skilled diviner had instincts akin to a reflex response.
“Does he have a problem?”
“I don’t know, but knowing his name and workplace means we’re prepared for anything.” Chu Qianli lowered her head to examine the business card. “But this is the first time I’ve met someone who works in an auction house.”
Shi Zhuoqu was likely from a wealthy family. The fact that he hadn’t gone into business or started his own venture but instead worked at an auction house was indeed unusual.
Tan Muxing took the business card from her hand. When he saw the name of the auction house, he was stunned. “It’s actually Christie’s.”
Chu Qianli was dazed. “What’s that?”
Tan Muxing patiently explained, “A world-renowned auction house that has been around since before World War II. They have offices in dozens of countries and hold multiple auctions annually. I think they rank among the top three in the world.”
“I can’t believe I don’t even know the top three.” Chu Qianli looked confused and sighed. “Xingxing, you always talk about things that the proletariat can’t understand.”
Tan Muxing often came up with random bits of trivia, especially regarding rare jewelry and expensive artworks.
“No, it’s just that I happened to attend a Joquier auction with my family…” Tan Muxing admitted somewhat sheepishly. “And Joquier is quite special, so I remember it more clearly.”
Thinking of her friend’s family background, Chu Qianli bluntly asked, “Is it because the things they auction are particularly expensive?”
“You could say that.” Tan Muxing scratched his head. “Or rather, their auction items are more diverse. Joquier Auction House is backed by an enormous financial conglomerate with extensive connections, so they have access to a vast range of items.”
“A conglomerate? Even richer than your family?”
Tan Muxing smiled wryly. “Of course. Our family is just okay; we don’t even count as a conglomerate. Conglomerates are at a global level.”
Chu Qianli: “?”
Chu Qianli’s expression turned subtle as she quipped, “Look me in the eyes and say ‘just okay’ again?”
Tan Muxing held up a business card and pointed to the emblem in the bottom right corner, trying to defend himself. “But compared to this, we really don’t count as much.”
On Shi Zhuoqu’s business card, not only was there Joquier Auction House’s logo, but also the emblem of the powerful financial conglomerate backing it—a golden snake coiled around an apple, forming a sinuous shape.
According to Tan Muxing, this was the insignia of the Monderson family. To use an exaggerated description from a novel, this family practically controlled the pulse of the global economy and had close ties with numerous national banks and enterprises.
Of course, information about Monderson family members was rarely made public, but the few who had been exposed in the past had all appeared on global rich lists.
To this day, the Monderson family owned vast amounts of land and real estate overseas. They might even be involved in infrastructure projects in some small countries—something unimaginable domestically.
Tan Muxing explained, “Conglomerates like this are involved in too many industries; it would be impossible for such an entity to exist in our country.”
No matter how wealthy the Tan family was, they still operated under regulatory oversight. They could never interfere in industries that could shake a country’s foundations—fundamentally different from the Monderson financial empire.
In a certain sense, the Monderson conglomerate was above some nations, with influence spanning the entire world.
“Socialism is still the best!” Chu Qianli joked. “Xingxing, you should also serve the people and build railways.”
Tan Muxing: “…You have to build them too.”
As they chatted, Mei Rujing returned after settling the final payment and curiously asked, “What are you two talking about? You seem to be having a lively discussion.”
Chu Qianli put the business card away and made no mention of matchmaking. Instead, she obediently replied, “I just learned something completely useless in a socialist country.”
Mei Rujing, in good spirits, didn’t press further. Instead, she said cheerfully, “Since I’ve just finished the payment, let’s have a nice dinner tonight—my treat!”
“After all, this is the first time I’ve hired my friends, so I might as well complete the process properly.” Mei Rujing laughed. “I think my luck is finally turning around; things are looking good.”
Now that the contract was complete and there was no need to travel, it was indeed worth celebrating.
At first, Mei Rujing had seen Chu Qianli and Tan Muxing as kids, but now she genuinely considered them friends. She didn’t even set a strict deadline for returning the Sanqing Bell.
During dinner, Mei Rujing ordered dishes while casually saying, “This has been passed down in my family, and we don’t use it often. Just take good care of it, and return it when you’re done researching.”
Chu Qianli and Tan Muxing hurriedly expressed their gratitude and promised to share any discoveries they made.
Meanwhile, at the hotel, Shi Zhuoqu finished handling matters related to Shi Tuyi and the others. He then found a quiet, secluded spot and reported his situation.
“They specifically asked about your Chinese name? Even wanted to know which exact characters?”
“Yes, but I told them. Mainly because they’ve had contact with my family before, so my name isn’t really a secret.” Shi Zhuoqu added, “Apparently, one of them studies Ziwei Doushu (Purple Star Astrology).”
Shi Zhuoqu knew the power of skilled astrologers. One’s birth date and time shouldn’t be casually revealed, especially the precise hour and minute.
“In general, just knowing your name isn’t enough for Ziwei calculations—unless you gave away other information.”
“…She asked quite a lot. I’m not sure now.”
Chu Qianli had bombarded him with questions, leaving Shi Zhuoqu unsure of what information had been incorporated into any calculations. He couldn’t tell whether she had been deliberately probing or was simply chatty by nature.
“No worries. As long as we know Mei Rujing has one of the items, it’s just a matter of money.”
“We’ve already recovered two overseas. One remains with a British occult researcher, who, for now, refuses to sell.”
“But he is indeed quite skilled. I negotiated with him recently, and he can be involved. There are plenty of experts in China, and some of them definitely aren’t short on money. If necessary, we can bring them in as well. After all, just collecting all seven items isn’t enough—we still need to find people who know how to use them.”
“There should still be some left within mainland China. Since they now know your name, avoid meeting with Mei Rujing for the time being. Return to the auction house in A City and investigate the whereabouts of the remaining pieces. I’ve already instructed someone to send the details of the recovered items to your email. You can use it as a reference.”
Shi Zhuoqu lowered his voice. “Understood. I’m sorry, this was my oversight. I’ve let you down.”
“There’s no need to blame yourself. These artifacts originate from ancient civilizations, and China has a long history—it’s only natural that there are hidden experts.”
After finishing his report, Shi Zhuoqu opened his email to check the documents. He clicked on an email titled New Era.
The email was divided into two sections, detailing a total of four artifacts. The first two had already been recovered, while the last two listed their current owners: one was a Red Crystal Pendulum held by a British occult researcher, and the other was Mei Rujing’s Sanqing Bell.
The artifacts varied in age, country of origin, and cultural background, with no apparent connection—except for one common trait: they all contained a uniquely structured red gemstone.
Joquier Auction House had gathered extensive information and classified them as part of the New Era series, determining that the complete set consisted of seven pieces in total.
Shi Zhuoqu had been working at Joquier’s overseas headquarters for a long time. His primary reason for returning to China was to search for the New Era artifacts, and he might even participate in the subsequent New Era project.
In the office building, Chu Qianli was going through a period of busy yet stable work. She hadn’t been assigned any business trips recently and was mainly helping with various document processing in the office.
She and Tan Muxing had initially thought that returning to Beijing would allow them to spend a few extra days at school, but unexpected waves of new work flooded in. Other members of the expert team had sent back a large amount of information from different locations.
The expert team was organized by Pan Yicheng, consisting of Chu Qianli, Tan Muxing, and other individuals coordinated through the Religious Association. Team members were stationed along the project’s construction sites, collecting detailed on-site data and reporting back for group discussions.
Through this project, Chu Qianli and Tan Muxing met many people from different religious sects, including Daoist priests and Buddhist monks who had been brought in as consultants.
Chu Qianli’s recent daily routine consisted of studying, working, researching the red crystal artifacts, and… workplace bullying (?).
In the office, Tan Muxing was dutifully binding documents as another chaotic day unfolded.
A moment later, a miserable scream echoed through the room, followed by Yu Yi’s aggrieved voice: “Tan Muxing, are you just going to stand there and do nothing?! You’re letting her win every single day!?”
Caught off guard by the sudden call-out, Tan Muxing hesitated. “Yu-ge, I already told you not to gamble with her…”
Yu Yi was also part of the expert team, a certified Daoist of the Zhengyi Sect. However, he never wore traditional robes and instead dressed in flashy, trendy outfits. When he first arrived, he carried himself with a bit of arrogance, relying on his skills in divination and calculations. He didn’t take the high schoolers seriously and showed off quite a bit.
But Chu Qianli could not stand people who acted more pretentious than she did!
If they all put on a show, then she wouldn’t get the chance to!
It didn’t take long before Chu Qianli completely crushed Yu Yi using fortune-telling. She wasn’t particularly skilled at anything else, but when it came to putting down her peers in metaphysics, she was unmatched. She used her mastery of divination to utterly outmatch Yu Yi!
Recently, the two of them had been placing daily bets on fortune readings—whoever lost had to buy a meal or send a red envelope.
Yu Yi had never won once so far. Today, he finally came to a realization and exclaimed in disbelief, “No, this isn’t right—this doesn’t make sense! If this keeps up, I’ll end up spending my entire project salary on bets. There’s no way this should be happening…”
Seeing that her opponent was trying to back out, Chu Qianli quickly pursued, provoking him, “What, can’t handle losing? Trying to run away from your debt?”
“I can’t handle it, okay?! I just can’t!” Yu Yi gave up entirely and dodged behind Tan Muxing, complaining, “Tan Muxing, look at her! Just look at her!”
Tan Muxing watched the two of them circling around him, confused. “…Look at what?”
Yu Yi grumbled in frustration, “You’re just going to stand by and let her bully a colleague? You two are on the same side—shouldn’t you do something about her!?”
“Uh…” Tan Muxing’s face turned red as he awkwardly replied, “…I don’t think that’s my responsibility.”
He had no idea where Yu Yi got the idea that he was supposed to keep Chu Qianli in check.
“Yu-ge, you still don’t get the situation.” Hearing Yu Yi complain, Chu Qianli smugly put her hands on her hips and grinned like a villain. “There are three people in this office. We’re on the same side, so that only leaves you as the one we can bully!”
If she didn’t have backup in the office, how could she afford to be this brazen?
Tan Muxing: “…” What a classic villain’s speech.
I am just a novice translator and Chinese is not my native language. I try my best to translate the chapters as accurate as possible.
If there are any mistakes then kindly comment and remind me. Your support means a lot.
![Dissatisfied [e-sports]](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/4997572.jpg "Dissatisfied [e-sports]")
