Chapter 20

Sun Yi never thought Ye Chen would decline!

That was an invitation from Xia Ruoxue!

Aside from the fact that Xia Ruoxue was the president of the Magnificent Group, she was also the daughter of Jiangnan’s Xia family!

More importantly, she was one of Jiangnan Province’s Three Beauties!

Countless young masters from all the big families wanted to meet her, but they could not!

Now Xia Ruoxue was giving this guy a chance, and he actually declined it?

He did not even seem to consider it at all!

Did he have to be so decisive about it?

You beat up the security and roared about meeting Xia Ruoxue earlier, right?

So why have you changed so drastically today?

…

Pearl River Villas.

This housing area was at the center of the River City’s Pearl River New City. It was one of the rare few high-quality, low-density, personalized villa neighborhoods in River City.

The villas here had one special trait, and that was that they could not necessarily be bought with money.

Each unit cost over a billion.

The residents here were almost all descended from the richest families or the presidents of Fortune 500 companies.

Xia Ruoxue was also among their ranks. Her mother had secretly bought her a unit in the past, so that even if the group fell apart, she would still have property worth a billion bucks to fall back onto.

Just then, Xia Ruoxue was having a bath in the bathroom. This was something she did every day after work. She closed her eyes tightly, submerging her entire body in the bubbles and leaving only her head above water.

That was, until a phone call interrupted her thoughts.

She reached out a fair and slender hand to pick up the phone next to her.

“President, he declined.” As soon as Sun Yi said that, Xia Ruoxue’s expression changed.

She forced down the fury in her heart and said softly, “I understand.”

Then she hung up.

No one knew just how furious Xia Ruoxue was right now.

That was an invitation from her, the princess of the Xia family! How could anyone decline her?

This had never happened before in all her years!

She even felt a vague sense of defeat.

“Is it because I’m not pretty enough? Or are you not a man at all, Ye Chen?”

Xia Ruoxue stood up, and her perfect figure seemed to steal all the light from the room. Casually, she grabbed her bathrobe and put it around her, walking to the mirror.

Soon, her red lips curved. “Very well, Ye Chen. I grow more interested in you by the moment. Let’s see what kind of man you are to reject me, Xia Ruoxue!”

…

The next day.

Ye Chen woke from his cultivation.

The first thing he did was pick up the black stone and attempt to enter it.

However, the results were quite obvious. That presence sent him flying out again.

“At this rate, I’ll never be able to solve the mysteries within. No, I have to go check out the apothecaries nearby.”

It was a Saturday, so Sun Yi did not have to go to work. She was still asleep, and Ye Chen had no intention of waking her up, so he wrote her a note before leaving.

River City was not too big, and there were only three traditional Chinese medicine stores. Ye Chen chose the largest of the three.

It was called Virtuous Benevolence Hall.

When Ye Chen called a ride and arrived at this apothecary, he was stunned by its extravagant exterior.

It had a large scarlet-red door, and the words ‘Virtuous Benevolence Hall’ were written in majestic calligraphy over the frame.

Most importantly, those words were written by that renowned Huaxia leader from back then!

Although it was still early, there were already many people lining up to buy medicine. Their business was practically booming.

Ye Chen overheard the conversations of those around him, and he found out about this store’s history. Apparently, it was a hundred-year-old brand with branches all over the country, and no one had ever caused any trouble at any of the branches over the past hundred years. That just showed how terrifyingly deep its roots went.

Ye Chen walked into Virtuous Benevolence Hall and found that most of the people inside were elderly. He could not help but sigh; it seemed that only the older generation believed in traditional Chinese medicine these days.

Since there were too many people, Ye Chen had no choice but to wait at the side. As he was bored, he noticed an antique painting hanging on the wall.

This painting could very well have been considered the store’s priceless treasure and centerpiece, as it was decorated very lavishly.

While he was admiring it, in fact, Ye Chen noticed some others looking his way, clearly wary that he would destroy the painting.

Ye Chen gave it a few looks and shook his head helplessly. He was already certain that the painting was fake.

“What a shame.”

Just then, an old man and a young girl appeared by Ye Chen’s side.

“Hey, hey, hey, what are you shaking your head for? You act as though you’re an expert in paintings, but how much do you really know?” the girl said next to Ye Chen, her voice full of contempt.

Ye Chen looked at the girl who had spoken. She was about seventeen or eighteen, with white teeth and red lips. All of her clothes were branded, and perhaps because she was yet to mature into her looks, she looked only average. Still, her haughty words and forceful attitude made him frown.

Nevertheless, he was only here to buy medicine, so he was naturally disinclined against starting an argument with a girl like that. Instead, he walked away.

“Did I say you can leave? What did you mean by that? You look like you got dressed at a night market, so I bet you’ve never had the right to even touch treasures like these.”

When the girl spoke, she raised her fair white chin, her expression full of pride and contempt, as though Ye Chen’s very existence sullied the painting.

“Oh,” said Ye Chen mildly, and he made a move to leave.

He should stay away from this girl, he decided. She was practically unreasonable.

Ye Chen’s attitude only angered the girl even further, and just as she was about to pull Ye Chen back, the old man next to her finally spoke.

“Zixuan, don’t be rude!”

The girl immediately fell quiet, pouting as she gave Ye Chen an evil glare.

The old man was dressed in traditional Tang clothing. His hair was white and he even held a cane, so he came off as an extremely well-read gentleman. He looked at Ye Chen and said apologetically, “I’m so sorry, young man. My granddaughter has a bad temper because her parents have spoiled her rotten, so I hope you’ll forgive her.”

Ye Chen nodded. He did not want to continue wasting time with this grandfather-granddaughter duo, so he turned to join the line.

When the girl saw how her grandfather was so courteous with that punk and even berated her instead, she grew ever more dissatisfied.

“Grandpa, why are you wasting your breath on a country bumpkin like that? What does he even know? Look at his crafty face, he might even be here to steal something…”

The old man coughed at his granddaughter’s insolence, and her voice immediately turned quiet. After that, the old man called out to Ye Chen again, asking curiously,

“Young man, you seemed very disappointed in this painting. May I know why? Is it that the technical aspects are lacking? Or perhaps the inspiration? Or maybe…”

Before the old man could complete that sentence, Ye Chen said evenly, “This painting is a fake.”

As soon as he said that, the atmosphere in the entire hall changed.

The old man’s wrinkled face twitched, and the girl stared wide-eyed at Ye Chen before her, as though she was seeing a ghost!

That punk really said it!

He actually called Virtuous Benevolence Hall’s treasure a fake!

This was the very item Virtuous Benevolence Hall had paid a high price for at the Autumn Waters Auction five years ago!

Countless collectors had determined that it was truly the work of Tang Bohu 1 !

Over the years, many collectors from all over the country had flown here just to see it for their own eyes!

In fact, every mayor and secretary of River City would make a poem about this genuine masterpiece when they first took office!

Now, such a young man was saying that this work, admired by countless high-ranking officials and nobles, was a fake?

More importantly, he spoke as though it was the objective truth.

Was he a lunatic who had escaped from River City’s No. 7 People’s Hospital?