Poached Again!

Lin Fan nodded with satisfaction.

Actually, he knew nothing about cultural relics. However, Su Yanmo had a strong preference for ancient paintings, and since ancient paintings were rare here, this landscape set depicting the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter caught his eye. He decided to purchase it as a gift for her.

Next was the gift for Zhou Jiayi.

He had previously consulted Su Yanmo and learned that Zhou Jiayi preferred jade artifacts.

Lin Fan intended to acquire the one-meter-tall white jade carved elephant on the second underground floor and present it to her. He had been thoroughly captivated by the jade elephant when touring the exhibition earlier.

Without delay, Lin Fan walked over to a nearby attendant and expressed his intention to purchase the four-panel screen.

Here, one did not simply "buy" items; instead, purchases were made through bidding, though the entire process mirrored a standard auction.

After the attendant added his contact information and Lin Fan completed the transfer on the spot, the attendant immediately instructed others to carefully pack the four-panel screen. It would be loaded onto his vehicle or delivered to his residence upon his departure.

Following this, the two of them made their way to the white jade elephant carving.

Just then, a young man and woman were also examining the same piece.

The white jade elephant stood about three feet tall. Rather than being solid, it was hollowed out. The elephant as a whole was crafted from a single piece of suet white jade, with its interior meticulously excavated.

The surface decoration was fashioned from gold and silver, the tusks were made of genuine ivory, and several rubies and sapphires were embedded in its eyes and legs.

The entire jade elephant exuded an aura of grandeur and nobility. According to the descriptive placard, the piece had been acquired from abroad, qualified as a national treasure-level item, and carried a staggering price tag of sixty million!

He had not noticed the price during his initial tour, and upon seeing its value now, he could not help but gasp inwardly.

A jade carving less than half the height of a person was worth sixty million?

Could it be that this Professor Wu made his fortune entirely by preying on people like these capitalists?

Even without any expertise in antiques and jade, Lin Fan felt that the markup on the items here was excessively high.

Even Lin Mu expressed her doubts.

"Isn't the value of this white elephant a bit... unimaginable? If it were solid, it might be somewhat justifiable, but being hollow inside makes it feel a bit unworthy of the price."

As her voice trailed off, the woman in the qipao standing beside them suddenly let out a disdainful huff.

"What do young people know? The value of cultural relics here lies not in the objects themselves, but in whether one can establish connections with the owner of the estate. If you can't afford it, stop looking!"

At this, both of them cast sideways glances at her.

It was obvious that the woman had mistaken the two of them for socialites trying to mingle and gatecrash the upper-class circle.

Earlier, Lin Fan had noticed quite a few young visitors like himself. None of them were here to bid; instead, they treated the venue as a networking event, using various means to forge connections with the wealthy.

These people shared one distinct characteristic: they all brought female companions whose looks and figures were exceptionally striking.

The reason for this was self-evident.

Yet, this type of person was deeply resented by other visitors, and even Lin Fan had no desire to interact with them.

However, the woman seemed to view the two of them as social climbers desperately trying to curry favor.

This was because Lin Mu was not wearing a mask at the moment.

When the two of them approached, the man beside the woman was instantly captivated by Lin Mu's beauty, staring at her repeatedly.

"What a coincidence. I actually do intend to buy it. It's just a mere sixty million, after all."

Lin Fan replied with a hint of irritation.

Whether it was his tone or something else, the moment the qipao woman heard his remark, her expression darkened instantly, and she eyed him with utter contempt.

"Do you really have sixty million? You aren't just putting on a front, are you? You probably don't know this, but every bidder must undergo verification of their qualifications and assets. If you're here to launder money, you'll be escorted out immediately. Young man, don't meddle in things you don't understand, and certainly don't put on airs here. There are plenty of wealthy people around..."

As she spoke, the qipao woman folded her arms across her chest, tilted her chin up high, and wore a look of supreme arrogance.

Lin Fan frowned. He understood why the qipao woman was being so patronizing.

He and Lin Mu looked to be in their early twenties, which meant they hardly looked like wealthy elites in this setting; they could only be rich second-generation heirs or social climbers. Neither group was perceived as genuinely wealthy, so the woman suspected he was just bluffing.

Even if he did have money, he might simply be here to launder it.

After all, the vast majority of visitors were older, mostly in their forties and fifties. Younger visitors were rare, let alone those who genuinely appreciated cultural relics and collected them out of passion.

Lin Fan chose silence as gold and said nothing more.

He had no desire to argue with this self-righteous woman.

Furthermore, this was Kyoto, a place crouching with hidden dragons and crouching tigers; he had no wish to stir up unnecessary trouble.

The qipao woman stopped paying attention to him as well, but the man by her side kept his eyes fixed on Lin Mu.

"Pardon me, beautiful lady, what is your surname?"

Lin Mu was momentarily taken aback. Though she had no wish to engage with the man, she felt it awkward to act overly aloof, lest the woman beside him start lecturing them again.

With a polite smile, she answered, "My surname is Lin."

"Ah, Miss Lin, I'd love to make your friend. May I? Here is my business card."

With that, the man extended a gold-stamped business card.

Lin Fan glanced at it quickly. True to form, this man also possessed no small background. His name was Fang Jinyuan, and he was the thirty-four-year-old general manager of Jingshang Environmental Protection Company.

Anyone using gold-stamped business cards in Kyoto belonged to a company valued at no less than one billion.

Moreover, anyone capable of participating in high-end artifact auctions here was undoubtedly a person of consequence.

At that moment, the qipao woman reached out and pinched his arm to signal her displeasure.

The man, however, completely ignored her, turned a blind eye to Lin Fan, and smiled ingratiatingly at Lin Mu.

"Miss Lin, I think you're even more breathtaking than this white elephant jade carving. The very first glance at you made my heart skip a beat, and I couldn't help but want to know you better. I'd love to give you a small gift—would you care to join me for a late-night snack later?"

Hearing this, Lin Fan's expression instantly darkened.

"Mr. Fang, what is the meaning of this?"

It was his first time encountering someone attempting to poach his partner right in front of him. A wave of intense jealousy washed over him, leaving him feeling deeply stifled.

He had poached others' partners in the past, but he had never understood how frustrating it must feel for the boyfriend left behind.

Today, he finally experienced it firsthand.

Fang Jinyuan turned back to look him up and down, asking bluntly, "Are you her boyfriend?"

Lin Fan furrowed his brow, a surge of irritation rising within him. He thought to himself, could this fellow tell that he and Lin Mu were not a couple, and that was why he was boldly trying to muscle in?

"No, I'm her older brother."

Lin Fan answered righteously.

To his surprise, the man's expression only grew more disdainful.

"You don't look like it. If I may be frank, based on your appearance, you look much more like her chauffeur."

Lin Fan's brows knitted tightly together. Why did this man seem to be deliberately targeting him and picking a fight out of nowhere?

Could there be someone behind the scenes?

He couldn't help suspecting that this person might have been sent by Wang Yu to target him.

After all, he had just arrived in Kyoto, and the Wang family was his only enemy.

It was hard not to suspect that the man had followed him here, given how close they were to a conflict right upon their first encounter.

Therefore, he exchanged a detective card prop from the system mall to investigate the man's background.

Yet, after reviewing the detailed information about the man, he found nothing out of the ordinary.