Chapter 105: Take Control

Although Elder Pan was a modern painter, his works were incredibly rare. Christie’s had auctioned a few of his paintings in the past, and all of them had sold for hundreds of millions! Now, it seemed Lin Jian had... probably... most likely... stumbled upon one of Elder Pan’s lost masterpieces. Furthermore, this masterpiece had its identity concealed with hidden threads and an obscured name. Wouldn’t that make it even more valuable?

Even with their years of experience in antique collection, Elder Wang, Elder Gu, and Elder Ji were at a loss for how to price it. They simply weren’t qualified to evaluate Elder Pan’s work! A moment later, Old Wang from the Imperial Treasure Studio was the first to recover his senses. Trembling, he dialed Lin Jian’s number again.

The phone rang six or seven times before it was answered. Lin Jian was busy wrapping dumplings with Lin Jing and couldn’t free his hands.

"Boss Wang, what do you mean by this? What’s with all the rushing this early in the morning?"

Lin Jian and these old men were cross-generational friends. He and Old Wang of the Imperial Treasure Studio, in particular, would occasionally joke around with each other.

"You brat, I’m giving you half an hour to get over here, or you’ll face the consequences! Let me tell you, the three of us are ready to abscond with the money... no, abscond with the painting!"

CLICK.

Without waiting for Lin Jian’s response, Old Wang hung up the phone.

Lin Jian was completely baffled as to why they would abscond with the painting. Even if the painting had some background and hidden secrets, it was worth a few hundred thousand at most, right? He didn’t care in the slightest and continued wrapping dumplings with Lin Jing.

An hour later, after finishing his meal and packing a lunchbox full of dumplings, Lin Jian finally drove toward the Green City High-rise. He still had no intention of going to the Imperial Treasure Studio; he simply didn’t have the time.

At six thirty in the morning, when Lin Jian returned to his apartment on the twenty-fifth floor of the high-rise, Ye Ziqiu was already awake.

"So you still know how to come back."

The great beauty was far from pleased. On their very first day moving into the new home, Lin Jian hadn’t stayed the night, and she had barely slept. Perhaps it was because of the new environment, but she had tossed and turned all night. As a result, she now sported dark circles under her eyes!

"Were you losing sleep because you missed me so much?" Lin Jian asked as he changed his shoes. He then held up the lunchbox in his hand. "I went back to my mom’s place at dawn, and we wrapped some dumplings for you together. You have no idea—the moment my mom heard they were for her daughter-in-law, she couldn’t stop smiling."

Hearing Lin Jian’s words, Ye Ziqiu’s face instantly flushed with shyness, melting away the thousands of grievances and complaints she had harbored. Lin Jian was simply too good with his words. Anyone would be put in a wonderful mood after hearing that.

"You went home that early? What kind of filling?" Ye Ziqiu asked curiously.

"Pork and cabbage. Eat them while they’re hot."

Lin Jian took out the dumplings. He had even packed minced garlic and soy sauce! Ye Ziqiu didn’t act picky this time. She lightly dipped a dumpling in the sauce, popped it into her mouth, and immediately nodded repeatedly.

"Yes, yes, this is the exact taste! I’ve had this flavor before. Thank you, Lin Jian!"

She was thrilled. She remembered eating dumplings with this exact taste when she was a child. She hadn’t had them in years, but she had always missed the flavor.

"You’re not being very sincere. A simple ’thank you’ is all I get?" Lin Jian chuckled and leaned closer.

At that moment, Ye Ziqiu was wearing a silk nightgown. The collar wasn’t very high, so when she lowered her head to eat the dumplings, her cleavage was quite eye-catching. Moreover, her skin was incredibly fair, so tender and delicate it looked as though it would break at the slightest breeze.

While eating her dumpling, Ye Ziqiu looked up and asked, "Then how do you want me to thank— hey, hey, nosebleed! Why is your internal heat so high..."

Before she could finish her sentence, she saw Lin Jian’s drooling expression and the blood dripping from his nose. She hurriedly stood up, pulled out a tissue, and helped him wipe it. At this moment, her mindset had shifted. If this had happened the day before yesterday and Lin Jian got a nosebleed from looking at her, she definitely would have cursed him as a hooligan and a pervert. But now, she only wanted to help him stop the bleeding, feeling an extra layer of care for him.

As she wiped his nose, Lin Jian took the opportunity to wrap his left arm around her, pulling her into his embrace. His right hand slithered up like a snake along the silk nightgown! Before Ye Ziqiu could react, she was completely grasped by Lin Jian’s hand! She froze instantly, acting as if someone had pinched her vital spot.

Lin Jian lowered his head to kiss her. However, having just eaten minced garlic, there was no way she was going to let him. She dodged in annoyance, whispering softly, "Don’t push your luck. Let go, quickly..."

As she turned her face away, she also tried to struggle out of his embrace. But how could a frail woman like her possibly shake off Lin Jian’s powerful arms? Furthermore, being grasped by him and feeling the rough friction of his calluses made it difficult for her to control herself. She had almost cried out loud just a moment ago.

By this time, Lin Jian’s lust had completely taken over. With the great beauty squirming against him while pressed so tightly together, any man would lose his mind. Therefore, Lin Jian wanted to get down to business.

However, just as both of them were panting and breathing heavily, Lin Jian’s phone coincidentally rang again!

Lin Jian was about to lose it! It had to be Old Wang again.

"Stop messing around. I haven’t finished my dumplings yet. Answer the phone. Don’t cause trouble, be a good boy..."

At this moment, Ye Ziqiu’s rationality gradually returned. Although her body had betrayed her and was seeking release, her mind told her that this needed to stop—right now.

Having no other choice, Lin Jian pulled out his phone, placed it against his ear, and snapped, "Old Man Wang, are you done yet?"

"No, I’m not done! I’m about to have a heart attack! Are you coming or not? Do you even know how much your painting is worth?" Old Wang was going crazy. He had never seen such an unreliable young man. Tossing something worth over a hundred million at his place without asking a single question about it—what kind of person was this?

"How much is it worth?"

Lin Jian finally sensed that something was off. Old Wang was someone who had weathered many storms; even items worth ten or twenty million wouldn’t necessarily faze him. For him to be this anxious, could the painting really be that valuable?

"I don’t know the exact price either! All I know is that none of Elder Pan’s paintings have ever gone for less than a hundred million, and yours is probably worth even more! Let me ask you, kid, where did you get this kind of luck? Do you have the Eyes of Golden Flame, or are you the reincarnation of the Sun Monkey? Hurry up and get over here!"

"It’s worth that much?"

Lin Jian was utterly dumbfounded. To be honest, when he saw the painting last night, although he sensed a faint aura of age, it didn’t possess much Spiritual Qi, nor did it fall into the category of antiques. Therefore, he hadn’t held much hope for it. Yet now, Old Wang was telling him it was worth over a hundred million?

"Ahem... Uncle Wang, why don’t you, Uncle Ji, and Uncle Gu help me contact a buyer? I’ll head over after I drop my boss off at the company!"

"What the hell? You’re not coming straight here?" Old Wang was furious. Was this little brat completely out of his mind?

"I have to work! I’m driving my boss. I can only come over after I drop her off at the office!"

Old Wang shouted angrily, "Come over right now and fire your boss! With this money, you could be her boss!"

"My boss is my future wife! I wouldn’t dare fire her. I don’t even have enough time to suck up to her! Alright, that’s it for now!" Lin Jian hung up the phone with a grin.

Eating her dumplings, Ye Ziqiu waved her fist at Lin Jian, signaling that she knew he was just spouting nonsense again.