Chas Cretan might not care about their opinion, but he was not going to stand by and let them falsely accuse him, so he retorted coldly, “Don’t you know what Charles is capable of? He has offended plenty of people while he was alive. You should know we are mafia, so we have a lot of enemies. We get assassinated all the time. If I were the one who wound up dead today, would that mean Charles did it?”
“You…” Chas Cretan’s parents wanted to explode, but they had to admit that Chas Cretan was right and he might not be the murderer.
In the end, Chas Cretan’s grandfather stepped forward, so they stopped arguing for the time being.
…
An hour after Lisa and Jungkook left City Wei, they removed their disguises and went to the biggest mall in town. The two of them acted as though they were tourists and shopped happily.
Jungkook called Bambam earlier to tell him that Charles Cretan was taken care of and that they would be taking the 6:10 pm flight back to the capital.
They were going back to the capital, and not City J since there was only one day left for the National Day holiday.
Lisa was not worried about school. Even if she were, it was too late. The flight was at 6:00 pm on the 6th, which meant it was 12:00 pm on the 7th back home. After flying for 17 hours, they would arrive at the capital on the 8th around 4:00 to 5:00 pm, and most of her school day would be over.
She could just apply for leave and miss school for a day. Lisa simply wanted to make it back home before the 10th, so that she was in time for the auction.
If she went right home now, she had a day left before the auction. However, if she went to Country J, she would be too late for the auction.
Jungkook had already told Bambam to go back home on his own.
As for the reason he contacted Bambam and not Mark directly… If the Cretan family investigated the Zi family for Charles Cretan’s death, and they discovered records of calls from City Wei in Country Y to Mark, it would attract suspicion and unnecessary trouble for the Zi family.
The Zi family was delighted to hear this. Although they had incurred a lot of loss from Charles Cretan’s ambushes and paying Lisa for killing him, they were happy that he was dead. They did not even care about the deals they had lost thanks to Charles Cretan.
The Zi family seemed accustomed to having fights in the underworld over territory. There was always competition and losses in the trade. Hence, even though they paid a high price for Lisa and Jungkook to take out Charles Cretan, they were deeply grateful for Lisa and Jungkook’s help.
Their family would have made even more losses if not for Lisa and Jungkook.
In the family, only Mark, Tzuyu, and their father knew about this matter. They would not let a fourth person know about it out of fear that someone might leak the news about their involvement with Charles Cretan’s death.
Since Lisa and Jungkook were going back home, Bambam did not linger. Unless he was on a mission, he could not stay. Unforeseen missions might happen anytime, so it was inappropriate for him to stay abroad for long periods of time.
However, Bambam was reluctant to leave since he did not know when he would get to see Tzuyu again.
Although they were not officially dating, they knew of each others’ interest. However, no one spoke of it openly since no such opportunity arose.
Just as Bambam was about to book his tickets, Mark suddenly told Bambam to take Tzuyu over with him so that she could help thank Lisa and Jungkook personally on the family’s behalf. Also, Tzuyu could pass the reward to Lisa while she was there.
Although the reason came off unconvincing, Tzuyu was keen on going. Also, Bambam wanted Tzuyu to go as well. Hence, she pounced on the opportunity and flew over.
Nevertheless, everyone knew that Mark was simply giving them an excuse to spend more time together.
…
Lisa and Jungkook’s flights were at 6:10 am. So they arrived at the airport at 4:30 pm since they needed time to get through customs checks. Otherwise, it would take too much time to get past customs checks because of the huge crowd at the airport.
The Cretan family had already swiftly sent men to the airport with photographs of Lisa and Jungkook in disguise to monitor the crowd and see if they made an attempt to flee the country by air.
Many men were sent to a lot of places in search of them, especially hotels and restaurants.
They had retrieved photographs of them from the surveillance footage last night. Lisa and Jungkook had dumped the car at the racetrack parking lot after they left. So they learned that the killer had driven to the circuit in the car and located their hotel and obtained photos of Lisa and Jungkook through the hotel surveillance.
Since Lisa and Jungkook looked completely different from their disguises, they managed to walk right past them undetected. Even though they saw Lisa and Jungkook in the crowd, they could not link them to the photos.
Hence, Lisa and Jungkook got past the customs check without getting stopped while the Cretan family continued hunting for the murderer.
Despite their anxiety, they knew it was hard to find people in a large city like City Wei.
Before they investigated the murderer, they started by checking the people whom Charles Cretan had offended recently.
Naturally, they were unable to uncover everything since Charles Cretan often kept his tracks covered like he did when he ambushed the Zi family.
The Cretan family found out about the Zi family suffering from ambushes, losing a lot of arms deals, and Charles Cretan visiting the Zi family, but they did not realize Charles Cretan was behind the ambushes.
Even the Zi family was unable to provide hard proof of Charles Cretan’s participation since all evidence pointed to some other important family.
The Cretan family simply assumed Charles Cretan was acquainted with the Zi clan and was asked to help when their trades in Country Y got into trouble. Hence, the Zi family was eliminated from their list of suspects.
Could the other family be behind it? However, they did not find any evidence of Charles Cretan helping out the Zi family, so they decided it was unlikely that the family behind the ambushes had attacked Charles Cretan in retaliation.
The family they suspected might have a lot of power in City Wei, but they held some degree of respect for the Cretan family, so it was impossible for them to kill Charles Cretan so publicly.
Meanwhile, the true culprit, the Zi family, ended up avoiding suspicion altogether.
They proceeded to investigate the people Charles Cretan had a conflict with recently.
Charles Cretan had conflicts with three groups of people in the past month and one of them seemed a likely suspect.
They were not locals. Instead, they were tourists from Country M. They got into a fight with Charles Cretan and were highly skilled fighters, but they lost since they were outnumbered.
Based on their investigations, these tourists from Country M seemed somewhat mysterious. They were unable to come up with more information about them, so the Cretan family suspected they were behind Charles Cretan’s death.
…
By the time Lisa and Jungkook made it back to the capital, it was 5:00 pm on the 8th.
The moment they arrived home, Lisa received a lot of news. Some were good while others were bad.
The good news was that Xiangyun Antique-store was packed with guests since the recent promotion of the bronze chimes caused a furor in the antiques and music industry.
Although most of the people were there to see the bronze chimes, none of them got to see it. Even then, business was brisk in the store, and a lot of customers purchased things while they were here.
Even though most of the products in the store were imitation goods, half the authentic antiques were sold. That meant 17 to 18 pieces of antiques. After all, Lisa had displayed just slightly over 30 pieces of antiques in the store.
For an antique store, this was a fantastic performance. Barely any other antique shops had as many authentic pieces of antiques with most of their products being imitations.
The sales of imitation products at Xiangyun Antique-store added up to one to two months’ worth of sales. As for the authentic antiques, it was worth half a year of sales.
Genuine antiques were hard to sell, but they were able to make a lot of profit on every single one of them.
As the saying went in the antique industry, people often went on for years not selling a single piece of genuine antique. However, the moment they did, they made enough profit to keep them in operation for three years.
That was provided the stores carried good antiques.
The bronze chimes were both good news and bad news for Xiangyun Antique-store.
Shortly after Lisa had boarded the flight, Chen Darong got abducted. Someone wanted to get their hands on the bronze chimes through illegal means.
K checked the surveillance and located Chen Darong. He did not call the cops right away and instead got Seunggi to send assassins to save Chen Darong.
However, even though they managed to save Chen Darong, he was gravely injured.
Chen Darong was pushed by his abductors when he attempted to retaliate, so he hit the back of his head badly on the ground. Although the injuries were not life-threatening, he was badly hurt and had to be hospitalized.
Hence, Lisa and Jungkook headed to the hospital the moment they got out of the airport.
Since Jungkook had parked at the airport, it made things a lot easier.
…
Bambam and Tzuyu had taken a flight just an hour after Lisa and Jungkook. And because there was only one car parked at the airport, they planned on leaving together.
No, correction. Lisa and Jungkook were only expecting Bambam since they did not know that Tzuyu was on the flight as well.
Now that Lisa and Jungkook had to leave right away, Jungkook made arrangements for someone to pick up Bambam before he sent him a text message. Bambam would see the message after he got off the flight.
Inside the car, Lisa called K and asked for details.
“Some people from Country R were behind Chen Darong’s kidnapping. Even though the ones who actually did it were locals, the mastermind was from Country R. A lot of foreigners have come to see the bronze chimes, but foreigners are banned from bidding for them, so they can only admire them. Some of them wanted to get locals to help them auction for the bronze chimes. However, these people from Country R went straight for Chen Darong and wanted to get their hands on the chimes through illegal means,” said K.
“Someone from Country R…” Lisa instantly looked annoyed when she heard who the mastermind was. She felt even angrier when she learned they were not locals. However, no matter who was behind it, she was infuriated that someone had touched her employee.
“Who are these people from Country R?” asked Lisa.
“He is a renowned musician from a concert hall located in Country R’s capital, Harada Honichi” said K.
“Where are they?” asked Lisa.
“They currently reside at Shengshi Hotel,” said K.
“Okay. That’s all for now. I will get in touch with you if I need more information,” said Lisa.
“Okay,” acknowledged K before hanging up the phone.
“Do you need me to do anything about it?” asked Jungkook after he overheard the conversation Lisa had with K.
“Are you planning to make a move in the hotel?” asked Lisa teasingly as her mood lifted slightly.
“Don’t worry. I am not stupid enough to make trouble in our hotel. Even though I can’t do anything about it while they are in the hotel that doesn’t mean I can’t touch them outside!” said Jungkook.
“Of course we have to do something about it, but now is not the right time. Let’s wait until they are ready to leave,” said Lisa. It was impossible for her to overlook their crimes, but it was just a bad time to take care of them now.
Since she had already sold the bronze chimes to the National Palace Museum, it would be the same regardless of people’s interest in them.
Lisa and Jungkook arrived at the hospital about 40 minutes later and headed straight to Chen Darong’s hospital ward. Even though Chen Darong was not in a VIP ward, he had an ordinary room to himself.
Chen Darong’s wife was at the hospital with him. Although the company did not make arrangements for someone to stay with Chen Darong, he felt it was enough to have his wife around since it did not feel right to have someone staying with him in the ward. If he had any problems, he could approach the doctor directly or give Taecyeon a call. Someone from the company would send a representative to check on him occasionally as well.
The moment Chen Darong’s wife saw Lisa come in, she stood up and greeted her politely, “Director Gu, Mr Jeon, welcome.”
“Director Gu, Mr Jeon, thanks for coming,” said Chen Darong. He saw the fruit in Jungkook’s hand and he instantly felt bad. “You didn’t have to come with gifts.”
“It’s just some fruit, so it’s no big deal,” said Lisa before she asked, “How are you feeling?”
“My head hurts a little. The doctor says I need to stay for a few days of observation,” replied Chen Darong with a disappointed look on his face. The auction was happening the day after, but he would be stuck in the hospital and was unable to go, so he could not help feeling dejected.
Lisa knew what he was thinking. However, she could take care of his injuries anytime.
“Don’t worry!” said Lisa as she retrieved a bottle of power crystal and handed it to Chen Darong. “After you take this medicine, you will recover in no time and can be discharged tomorrow. You will definitely get to go to the auction.”
In reality, he could even get discharged today, but Lisa told them he could leave tomorrow so as to make them feel assured.
“Really?” Chen Darong looked delighted at the news.
Chen Darong had complete trust in Lisa, he simply questioned her as a knee-jerk reaction out of joy. The moment he heard what Lisa said, he took the power crystal from her without hesitation and took them without waiting for her to respond.
“Thanks,” said Chen Darong before he took the medicine.
Even though Chen Darong’s wife was a little concerned, she did not stop him as she had faith in Lisa as well.
After taking the power crystal, Chen Darong sensed the pain in his head easing. Two minutes later, most of the pain disappeared.
“My head feels a lot better,” said Chen Darong in amazement. He initially thought it would take some time for the medicine to take effect, but he shockingly recovered in a matter of minutes.
“R-really?” Chen Darong’s wife was elated.
“Uh huh,” said Chen Darong.
A few more minutes later, Chen Darong stopped feeling any pain altogether. He even touched his head to confirm it was okay.
“Okay. Go have some rest! You can get discharged tomorrow and join me at the auction. Also, I will seek revenge for you,” said Lisa.
“Since I am fine now, there’s no need to….” He was very touched by Lisa’s gesture, but he did not want to make trouble for her.
Before Chen Darong could finish his sentence, Lisa interrupted him sternly, “If you want me to let off the culprit, don’t bother. Even if you can bear it, I can’t. Hurting my subordinates is as good as giving me a slap in the face. If I do not seek revenge after this provocation, everyone is going to start thinking I am some pushover!”
Chen Darong did not know what to say. Although Lisa said the culprit was insulting her for moving in on her subordinates, so she had to do something about it, he knew that Lisa was doing it for him.
Lisa and Jungkook left before long.
Meanwhile, Bambam and Tzuyu had gotten off their flight. Mark sent Mengda and Nan to come along with Tzuyu. He could not help feeling worried for her safety even though he was the one who suggested she come, so he sent them to come with her.
After the flight landed, Bambam turned on his phone while the plane was taxiing to see a text message from Jungkook. He did not take it to heart when he learned they had to go. Since Jungkook was busy, he probably could not eat with them, so Bambam did not bother calling him.
“Jungkook might be busy, but Lisa is probably free. Let me give her a call and ask if she has eaten. Otherwise, she can join us,” said Tzuyu as she pulled out her phone and called Lisa.
Lisa had just gotten into the car when she answered.
“Lisa, I am in the capital. I know Jungkook is busy, but you are probably free, right? If you are, let’s go eat! I want to give you the reward,” said Tzuyu.
Lisa was somewhat surprised to hear Tzuyu had come to the capital with Bambam, but she did not think too much of it and felt this was a great idea.
“My subordinate got injured, so Jungkook and I went to visit him at the hospital. I’m on my way out now,” said Lisa before she asked, “What do you want to eat?”
“I feel like having some signature roast duck. Do you have any suggestions?” asked Tzuyu. Bambam was born here, but Tzuyu did not ask him and asked a non-local like Lisa. Was it not a little dumb for Tzuyu to do this? Bambam looked at her speechlessly, but did not interrupt. However, Lisa happened to know about all the signature food in the capital.
“There is a roast duck restaurant at XX East Street in the eastern district. It’s the most famous roast duck restaurant in the city. However, since business is brisk, it is hard to get a table at this hour of the day, so we probably can’t get a table,” said Lisa.
“It’s fine. Bambam can take care of it,” said Jungkook.
He could get a table for them, but it would be better for Bambam to take care of it if Tzuyu wanted to try the roast duck.
Lisa told Tzuyu, “Get Bambam to take care of the table! Jungkook says he can.”
“Sure,” said Tzuyu before she hung up the phone and turned to say to Bambam, “She said there is a roast duck restaurant at XX East Street in the eastern district. Even though it’s peak hour, Jungkook says you can get us a table.”
Lisa had told her that Bambam could take care of it, but she overheard Jungkook telling Lisa the same thing, so she ended up saying Jungkook said so.
“Certainly. How can I call myself a local if I can’t get a table?” Bambam promptly felt smug when he heard this.
“Then get us a table! Lisa said the duck is really good,” said Tzuyu.
Before long, Bambam made a call and got them a table.
Although there were no empty seats at the restaurant, there were private rooms reserved for the owner’s close friends.
Bambam and Jungkook happened to be close friends with the roast duck restaurant owner. Also, Bambam and Jungkook did him a favor once.
Even though Jungkook and Bambam only visited occasionally, no matter how crowded the place was, the restaurant owner always had rooms reserved for them.
If Jungkook or Bambam’s friends wanted to patronize the restaurant, the restaurant owner would let them use the private room.
Lisa and Jungkook were already in the vicinity, so they arrived in slightly over ten minutes.
Lisa and Jungkook happened to bump into Jaebeom at the parking lot. He had just arrived as well.
“Hey! It’s such a coincidence! Is it just you two or are you expecting more friends? If you are alone, we can eat together since I only have a couple of friends with me,” said Jaebeom. He was not trying to be polite and genuinely asked Jungkook and Lisa to join him for dinner.
“I’ll pass. I’m meeting Bambam and a friend,” rejected Jungkook.
“Okay then! Which room did you get? I’ll come by and say hi. Also, I need to talk to Jinchen about something.” Since Jungkook had turned down Jaebeom’s offer, Jaebeom did not insist.
“Sure,” acknowledged Jungkook before he turned to part ways with Jaebeom.
After Lisa and Jungkook got to the private room, they ordered first. The restaurant was packed, so some time was needed before the food could get served. If they ordered now, their food would be ready by the time Bambam and Tzuyu got here.
Jungkook told Lisa about his encounter with vampires on his last mission while they waited for Bambam and Tzuyu.
Although Lisa believed they existed, she had never seen them before, so she could not help sounding surprised when she heard about them.
“What are vampires like?” asked Lisa. She wondered if they appeared just like the ones in movies!
“Vampires look no different from normal humans on the outside, but they resemble evil cultivators. They are just a different race. Their complexions are a lot fairer than normal people and they have an evil aura radiating from them,” said Jungkook.
In that case, it sounded like they resembled the ones she had seen in movies.
“We have certainly encountered quite a number of evil creatures! Oh yes. I forgot to tell you about something. I met some Country R ninjas while I was in City B. They knew about the existence of cultivators and came to investigate the matter. Although they did not even know what they were looking for, they knew that those people were capable of magic and could fly around. They were clearly talking about cultivators,” said Lisa.
Jungkook promptly looked stern. “The vampires I encountered while I was on mission also bumped into cultivators previously. They wanted to go back and tell their leader about it, so I had to kill them.”
Lisa immediately looked worried and serious. “From the looks of it, we won’t be able to keep the existence of cultivators under wraps for long. The news might even lead to war.”
Although it was hard for them to learn more about cultivators, it was unavoidable.
Even though they were in modern times and no one would wage war unless it was absolutely necessary, there was a lot of politics involved and all the countries wanted the best for themselves.
Since their country was developing well, a lot of the other countries could not stand by and watch, and secretly made moves on them. However, it did not work out as they anticipated.
Now that they had come to know about the existence of cultivators in their country, the other countries were bound to feel worried and the need to get rid of these threats.
“I have already told my superior about the vampires, but I may have to tell him about the existence of cultivators before it becomes public knowledge so that he is prepared. I hope you don’t mind,” said Jungkook. Although he had the right to decide on his own, he learned about cultivators from Lisa, so he ought to discuss it with her as a sign of respect.
“Why would I mind? Considering the situation we are in, it is necessary to tell him. However, it would be better to keep it from the rest of the public. Otherwise, we will have a hard time cleaning up the mess if it causes any chaos,” said Lisa.
Jungkook was relieved to hear her response.
…
Tzuyu and Bambam showed up 30 minutes after Lisa and Jungkook.
“Hi, Lisa and Jungkook.”
The moment Jungkook and Lisa showed up, Tzuyu greeted them. Despite her carefree nature, she could not help feeling awkward since Lisa and Jungkook knew about her interest in Bambam. Although they were not together officially, they had ambiguous feelings towards each other.
“Hi, Mr Jeon and Miss Lisa,” greeted Mengda and Nan courteously.
“Hi. Have a seat!” said Lisa as Tzuyu sat next to Lisa with Bambam sitting right next to her. Mengda and Nan proceeded to sit next to Bambam.
“Lisa, Jungkook, thank you. If not for you, I don’t know when my family would tide through the crisis!” Tzuyu thanked Jungkook and Lisa.
Her family would not have fallen due to the ambushes if Jungkook and Lisa did not offer to help. After all, her family had a lot of history and wealth. However, they did help to prevent the Zi family from losing more deals.
Whatever it was, Jungkook and Lisa had done the Zi family a huge favor, so they were naturally grateful.
Tzuyu handed a card to Lisa. “This is your reward.”
“Thanks! I won’t be shy about it.” Lisa took the card right away. Since they had agreed on rewarding her, Lisa did not hold back.
“You earned it,” replied Tzuyu.
Before long, the food was served and everyone started dinner.
“Oh yes. Tzuyu, how long are you planning on staying here? If you plan on making this a long trip and don’t like staying at a hotel, you are welcome to stay at my place while you’re here if you don’t mind!” said Lisa. She knew that Tzuyu was not going to leave so soon. And although Tzuyu came with Bambam, they were not dating, so it did not seem appropriate for Bambam to host Tzuyu.
Bambam felt the same way, so he did not interrupt when Lisa offered a room to Tzuyu.
If Tzuyu wanted to stay at a hotel, he could arrange for it and she could stay for as long as she liked at Jinlin Hotel. However, it was more comfortable to stay in a house.
He also owned several residential properties and Tzuyu was welcome to pick any of them. It was simply inappropriate for her to stay at his place, so he left Lisa to it when she offered.
“Of course, I don’t mind. I’m just worried about inconveniencing you,” said Tzuyu as she glanced at Jungkook. She thought they were cohabiting, and she might get in their way if she moved in.
“It’s perfectly fine. I rarely go back to begin with and spend most of my time at school. Even if I don’t live on campus, I have other properties. Some of my friends just swing by occasionally on the weekends to hang out,” said Lisa.
“In that case, I won’t be shy.” Since Lisa was open to it, Tzuyu did not turn down her offer.
Lisa and Jungkook were both loaded, so they must have multiple properties.
Halfway through dinner, someone knocked on the door. It was none other than Jaebeom.
“How did you know we are here?”
Jungkook did not tell Bambam that Jaebeom was here, so Bambam was surprised to see him.
Tzuyu could not help feeling anxious when she encountered Jaebeom. It felt as though she was meeting Bambam’s elder even though they were not dating.
“I bumped into Jungkook and Lisa earlier. I invited them to join me for dinner, but Jungkook said he was eating with you and a friend. Since I had something to tell you, I came over after I was done with dinner,” said Jaebeom as he sat down beside Bambam.
“What is it?” asked Bambam.
“Do you remember Ji Zijing? She is the daughter of one of Mom’s friends. She has become a rather famous designer now and is tall and pretty. She has just returned home and plans on carving a career here. Mom wants you to see her and consider her as a marriage prospect,” said Jaebeom. Since he did not know about Tzuyu and Bambam’s relationship, he spoke bluntly.
The moment Bambam and Tzuyu heard about the woman, they looked uneasy. Bambam looked at Tzuyu right away and was clearly worried that she might get upset.
Tzuyu immediately composed herself when she caught Bambam looking at her and acted as though it had nothing to do with her. Despite her apprehension, she did not want anyone to know about it. Also, she was not dating Bambam, so it was none of her business.
Even then, Bambam noticed how angry Tzuyu was and could not help feeling anxious.
Jaebeom noticed his brother’s reaction and promptly looked at Tzuyu. He immediately noticed that something was amiss. Was Bambam already seeing someone? Was it this lovely girl in front of him? In that case, Tzuyu was bound to feel unhappy after she heard their mother’s plans to matchmake Bambam with Ji Zijing. It was not his fault! Served Bambam right for not telling him! He was just passing a message and had no intention of forcing Bambam to meet the woman.
“Who is Ji Zijing? I don’t remember who she is. Also, I will not go for any matchmaking. I am not that desperate!” said Bambam firmly. Bambam genuinely did not remember Ji Zijing. He never bothered to remember the people who were unimportant to him.
If Ji Zijing knew what Bambam was thinking, she would probably be heartbroken. Despite hardly seeing Bambam, Ji Zijing was in love with him. Bambam had looks, power and was a capable man, so he was popular with the ladies.
Although the Xu family had a far higher status than the Ji family, the Xu family and his mother supported the match, so status was not an obstacle.
“You know how worried Mom is. If you found yourself a girl sooner and let her know, she would not have done this.” Jaebeom did not dare go on talking. He did not want to give Tzuyu a bad impression of their mother, so he voluntarily explained the situation.
He did not know whether the girl was Bambam’s girlfriend. However, since Bambam did not voluntarily tell him about it, he was not in the position to ask now. He did not know if Bambam had feelings for her or if they just liked each other. If they were not officially dating, it would make things awkward if he blatantly asked.
“She has nothing better to do. Why is she worried? How can she look down on her flesh and blood?” said Bambam begrudgingly. In reality, he had always known about how worried his mother was about his love life, but he was not that old. He was still in his late 20s and not even 30 years old.
“Enough. She is just showing concern for you. If you don’t like it, just patronize her a little or ignore it. If she heard what you said, she is bound to get upset,” said Jaebeom. Even though Bambam spoke the truth, their mother was simply being concerned, so she was not to blame.
Bambam did not go on talking.
“Are you going to introduce your friends?” asked Jaebeom. Even if he did not plan on asking if Bambam was dating the girl, he ought to introduce his friends.
Bambam immediately introduced Tzuyu to Jaebeom, “This is my older brother, Xu Jaebeom.”
“Jaebeom, how do you do?” The moment Tzuyu learned he was Bambam’s older brother, she greeted him politely.
“Hi, Mr Xu,” greeted Mengda and Nan courteously as well.
“Nice to meet you,” replied Jaebeom politely.
Bambam introduced everyone to Jaebeom. Jaebeom was a little surprised to learn that Mengda and Nan were Tzuyu’s bodyguards.
From the looks of it, this young woman had a high status.
“Oh yes. Where are you going tonight?” asked Jaebeom. “If you guys aren’t doing anything special tonight, why don’t we head to the clubhouse so I can play host?”
“Sure,” said Jungkook. In any case, they had already planned on going to the clubhouse tonight.
Before long, they finished dinner and left.
Jaebeom deliberately pulled Bambam and walked behind the group. After putting some distance between Jungkook and the others, he asked quietly, “Tell me honestly. Is Miss Zi your girlfriend?”
“Nope,” denied Bambam. Bambam certainly wished she was his girl, but she was not, so he added, “For the time being.”
“Tsk! No wonder you looked at Miss Zi so anxiously when I told you Mom was trying to match you! Why aren’t you dating yet? Have you confessed your love to her? Or is she not interested in you?” asked Jaebeom teasingly.
Bambam and Tzuyu were a perfect match in terms of looks, but the Xu family was one of the most powerful clans in the country.
Although he did not know of Tzuyu’s background, status was probably not a problem! Hence, it all boiled down to whether she liked his little brother.
“She is not entirely disinterested in me. Thing is, I haven’t told her about it. It’s not the right time yet,” said Bambam.
“Fine!” Jaebeom knew what it was like to date. It was wiser for Bambam not to confess his love for her until he was certain of her interest.
“Tell me where she is from? What does her family do?” asked Jaebeom. He did not care about her background. Instead, it was pure curiosity.
“Stop asking me all these questions! If I manage to get the girl I will tell you about it.” Bambam was reluctant to talk about it at least for now. “Don’t tell mum about it yet. I will have no peace if she finds out.”
The moment he finished his sentence, he ignored Jaebeom and walked over to Jungkook and the others quickly.
“Hey you…” Jaebeom was infuriated. Was it okay for Bambam to dump his older brother?
Jaebeom shook his head before he swiftly followed behind them.
Jaebeom respected Bambam’s wish to keep the matter from his mother. Since Bambam was not officially dating the girl, Bambam would end up interrogated by their mother if she caught wind of it. She might even call her son useless for failing to get the girl!
Lisa and Jungkook left in the same car while Bambam, Tzuyu, Mengda, and Nan left in another. Jungkook had already sent away the chauffeur who had picked up Bambam at the airport, and Jaebeom drove a car on his own.
He did not invite anyone else to the clubhouse, so it was just them.
Lisa had a few drinks with Tzuyu that night.
“Lisa, do you have school tomorrow?” asked Tzuyu when she suddenly recalled that Lisa was still in school.
“It doesn’t matter if I turn up for class,” said Lisa. Lisa had a lot of freedom with school and could come and go as she pleased!
“That’s quite a lot of freedom you have,” said Tzuyu.
“I can’t help it that I am talented, so I have special privileges,” said Lisa smugly as she smiled.
“That’s true,” Tzuyu chimed in. She did not feel Lisa was being narcissistic since she was genuinely talented.
“Oh yes. Are you going to class tomorrow then?” asked Tzuyu.
“Do you want me to hang out with you?” asked Lisa. Why would Tzuyu ask about school if she did not want her company?
“Heheh! Uh huh!” said Tzuyu sheepishly as she laughed, “If you have school, or have something to take care of, don’t force yourself.”
“It’s okay, but I can only see you tomorrow around 1:00 to 2:00 pm,” said Lisa. Since Jungkook was heading back to the military base around that time, she wanted to spend the morning with him. They planned on going to the siheyuan to see Shangguan Yang with Taehee and have breakfast together.
They would not have the time to visit the Jeon family for now, so Lisa would go back to visit Master Jeon with Taehee some other time.
Jungkook was heading back tomorrow, but he gave Bambam permission to stay for two more days. Since Bambam had only brought Tzuyu over today, it did not seem right for him to dump her here and go back. More importantly, there was nothing important waiting for Bambam’s attention back at the base.
There was barely any interaction between Tzuyu and Bambam at night, but things did not seem awkward between them.
Instead, Jaebeom felt anxious for Bambam and secretly despised him. Bambam was trying to get the girl, but did not take the initiative to talk to her. How would she ever like a guy like that? Then again, he was not in the position to say more since he was an outsider.
They parted ways at 10:00 pm. Jaebeom went off on his own while Bambam took Tzuyu and the others and drove to Century City with Jungkook and Lisa.
Since it was late at night, there was barely any traffic and they got there before long.
After they arrived, Lisa showed them to their rooms. She gave Tzuyu a house key and keys for the cars in the garage after sorting out their living arrangements, so they could get around the city by car.
Then Lisa and the others left after making arrangements for them. Bambam did not go back to the Xu residence. Instead, he went to his apartment. Lisa and Jungkook went back to the villa.
The villa district was called Mid-levels and it was built around a mountain and not level ground.
Mid-levels was a posh villa estate, so only the rich and famous could afford property here.
Although Mid-levels was located in the suburbs and not as close to the city center as Mountain River Garden, its location allowed it to have a lot of greenery. Most villa districts were located in the suburbs, because since it was more centrally located, it was considered much better.
Although Jungkook and Lisa stayed in the same room in Country Y, nothing happened. They were simply not in the mood to do anything as the situation was tense. Now that everything was settled and they were home, there was nothing to hold them back.
The moment they made it back to Mid-levels, Jungkook let loose and made love to Lisa all night.
“I can’t stop…” Jungkook came close to Lisa’s ear and whispered mushy things to her.
“Then don’t,” replied Lisa. The sense of bliss made her want it to go on forever as well.
Lisa’s words sounded like an invitation to make love to her, deeply arousing Jungkook, so he made love to her even more vigorously.
They kept going at it until late at night before the two of them fell asleep with their arms circled around each other.
They slept in the next day. And since they were in bed, things got steamy and they could not resist having more sex before finally getting up at 9:00 am.
After Jungkook got out of bed, he called Shangguan Yang to tell him that Lisa, Taehee and he were going over to the siheyuan for lunch.
Shangguan Yang was happy to have them, so he told Lao Zhang to prepare more food for lunch the moment he hung up the phone.
Jungkook called Taehee and told her about lunch at the siheyuan and she naturally agreed.
…
Lisa and Jungkook went to Mountain River Garden to pick up Taehee before going to the siheyuan.
It was around 11:00 am when they got to the siheyuan. And since it was still early for lunch, they were in no hurry and chatted instead.
Jungkook told Shangguan Yang and Taehee about his encounter with the vampires and how they claimed to have met cultivators. Lisa also told them about the ninjas she bumped into who were trying to investigate cultivators. The both of them could not help looking worried the moment they heard the news.
“From the looks of it, cultivators have been very active in the mortal world lately. Also, they had conflict with people in the mortal world,” said Taehee.
Although there were no rules preventing cultivators from visiting the mortal world, they were not as active in the past. However, now there was an increasing number of cultivators entering the mortals’ world.
“What are mutants and vampires like?” asked Shangguan Yang. Even though he was a cultivator and knew of the existence of evil creatures, he had never encountered mutants or vampires before, so he was unaware of their characteristics and abilities. However, they had an inkling of what they were capable of just by hearing their names.
“Mutants are a result of long-term injections of certain drugs and the blood of a certain murderous animal, they then slowly mutate in a special radiation environment for a long time. After the mutation is successful, the subject takes on the appearance of the animal in question. Mutants possess superhuman strength, but also have self-healing ability. Pustules form on the skin due to radiation that turns into a horny layer of skin after recovery, which greatly increases its defense ability. They can recover ten times faster than an average human no matter how badly injured they are. However, the radiation destroys their brain, so they have no sense of pain and have a low IQ. They are fearless and do anything their master orders,” said Lisa. She knew more about mutants than Jungkook.
Lisa continued, “Vampires are neither human nor ghosts. They rely on sucking blood for their strength. Most of the time, they look no different than humans and resemble evil cultivators. They fear sunlight, so they are usually active at night. If they want to come out during the day, they need full protection. Even though they are extraordinarily strong, I think they are a lot weaker than cultivators in comparison.”
Even though Shangguan Yang and Taehee were cultivators and knew evil creatures existed, they could not help feeling shocked as it was the first time they heard about mutants and vampires.
“Are they up to something now for them to be coming to find out more about cultivators?” asked Shangguan Yang. Even though he was new to the mortal world, he was keenly aware of the hostility Country R and Country M had towards their country and their repeated efforts to stop them.
These enemy states might have felt cocky about possessing evil creatures like mutants and vampires, but now that they had discovered cultivators in their homeland, who could do magic and fly, they were bound to feel intimidated and had to do something about the threat.
Since Taehee had resided in the mortal world for over 20 years, she knew about the political situation. She also knew that Country R and Country M were bound to take action once they learned of cultivators’ existence. Otherwise, they would pose great danger.
“Country R and Country M were never on good terms with us and often tried to intimidate us. How could a mighty country like ours be afraid of them? No matter what it is, we simply don’t get along with each other,” said Jungkook. “Although I have killed the vampires who know of the existence of cultivators, we can’t be sure if the leaders of Country M already know about this. Even if they were unaware, Country R is bound to share the intel considering how close both countries are. Since they are unsure how powerful cultivators are, they would undoubtedly form an alliance. They always like to pull stunts like that.”
“Since some things are unavoidable, don’t try to handle them on your own. Just tell your mother and me. We can be of great help when the time comes,” said Shangguan Yang. Jungkook was a soldier and it was his job to defend the nation, so they could not selfishly force him to turn a blind eye on the mortal world for the sake of his well being.
“Okay,” acknowledged Jungkook.
“Even though there are rules in the cultivation world that bars a cultivator from getting involved in the mortal world and hurting a mortal, an exception can be made when our country is in danger,” said Taehee. Although she had left the cultivation world for 20 years, the rule had been around for over 100 years and would never change.
“Then you have nothing to worry about,” said Shangguan Yang.
Cultivators were remarkably powerful, so there was nothing to fear if they got involved.
Jungkook and Lisa also felt cultivators would not stand by and do nothing if something befell the country. However, they could not help feeling even more relieved hearing it from Taehee’s mouth.
They started to eat lunch around 12:00 pm, leaving after they were done.
Since Taehee was around, Lisa did not sit in the front passenger seat and sat in the backseat with her.
“I am going out with my friends today. Why don’t you join us?” asked Lisa. She was not trying to be polite and genuinely wanted Taehee to go out with her. Otherwise, Taehee might feel bored staying on her own.
“Since you are hanging out with your friends, I think I will pass. I don’t want to make you feel awkward.” Taehee did not reject her because she was uninterested, but purely out of fear the presence of an elder would make her friends feel awkward.
“They will be perfectly fine with you around. I was more worried that you would feel uncomfortable about my suggestion. If you don’t mind, then you should join us!” said Lisa as she held Taehee’s arm sweetly.
Lisa and Taehee interacted incredibly harmoniously just like friends. Since they had similar personalities, they understood each other and were tolerant towards each other.
“Okay then!” Taehee hesitated for a few seconds before she agreed. She did not feel uneasy about going, but was simply worried that Lisa and her friends would feel uncomfortable. Now that Lisa had assured her it was alright, she decided to go since she had nothing to do.
Jungkook brought Lisa and Taehee to the commercial district as Tzuyu wanted to check it out and go to Gufan.
Jungkook left after dropping Lisa and Taehee there.
Since Tzuyu had yet to arrive, the two of them walked around on their own.
Tzuyu arrived around ten minutes later along with Bambam, Mengda, and Nan.
Before Bambam was due to head back to base, he was Tzuyu’s chauffeur and tour guide.
Although Bambam wanted to spend time alone with Tzuyu, she had made a date with Lisa, and he was not in the position to stop her. So even though he was somewhat begrudging, he came along.
After they met up, Bambam was briefly stunned when he saw Taehee. He finally greeted her uneasily after he snapped out of it, “Aunt Taehee.”
This was how he used to call Taehee, but he had neither seen her in over ten years nor called her name ever since, so it felt slightly unfamiliar to him.
Fortunately, he already knew that Taehee was still alive and was simply seeing her for the first time today.
“You must be Bambam, right?” asked Taehee. She did not recognize Bambam, but Lisa mentioned she was meeting Bambam and a friend of hers along with her bodyguards.
“That’s right,” replied Bambam.
“Now that you are grown up, you have become so good-looking. You were a lot shorter than your peers when you were a kid! Everyone felt it was impossible for you to be tall, but you are now over 1.8 meters tall,” said Taehee as she lamented about all the changes around.
Bambam could not help feeling moved when he realized Taehee remembered things about his childhood. “Uh huh! Girls might change a lot as they grow up, but so do guys. I only changed so much after joining the army with Shaoting.”
“Hey! What should I call her?” asked Tzuyu as she bumped Lisa’s elbow. Since Taehee was an elder, it was only right for Tzuyu to take the initiative and say hi to her.
“This is Jungkook’s mother, so you can call her Aunt Taehee just like Bambam and me,” said Lisa.
Tzuyu opened her eyes widened in shock. Weren’t Jungkook’s parents long dead? How could she be…
Since Lisa said Taehee was Jungkook’s mother, she must be right. Tzuyu composed her shock and greeted her, “Aunt Taehee, how do you do?”
“Nice to meet you too.” Taehee smiled at her.
“Aunt Taehee, allow me to introduce you. This is a friend of ours, Zi Tzuyu and these are her bodyguards, Mengda and Nan,” said Lisa.
After chatting briefly, they proceeded to walk off.
Life was full of coincidences. The moment they arrived at Gufan, they could sense someone staring at them. Lisa glanced around to see a beautiful trendy young woman whom she had never encountered before.
She was not looking at Lisa. Instead, she had her eyes on Tzuyu and Bambam. Did this woman like Bambam?
Bambam and Tzuyu were walking side by side and resembled lovers while the woman looked at them angrily. Was it not abundantly clear that she liked Bambam?
Bambam and Tzuyu naturally sensed her staring just like Lisa. They glanced around and quickly spotted the woman.
Tzuyu did not know her. So even though Tzuyu did not know why she was casting strange looks at her, she did not take it to heart.
Bambam found the woman familiar, but he did not know who she was and did not bother thinking. Since he was unable to remember her, she was probably unimportant.
Bambam merely glanced briefly before veering his eyes and continued entering the store with Lisa and the others.
The moment Bambam looked over, the woman immediately smiled gently. However, she promptly froze when she realized he merely happened to glance in her direction.
Lisa noticed Bambam and the woman’s reaction and could not help finding it hilarious. Bambam clearly could not even remember who she was.
Just as Bambam and the others walked over, a middle-aged woman standing beside her turned with a garment in her hand and asked, “What do you think of this, Zijing?”
This beautiful stylish woman was none other than the woman whom Jaebeom brought up yesterday. She was Bambam’s mother’s friend’s daughter, Ji Zijing.
Ji Zijing was a wedding gown designer and had participated in the last design competition in Paris. Despite making it into the top ten, she did not continue to advance into the top three. Also, she was overwhelmingly defeated by her competition.
She came to Gufan to check out Sunmi’s designs for Charm since she had walked away with two major awards.
She had to admit Sunmi was talented. All the details on Sunmi’s designs were perfect and carefully crafted and her designs were genuinely good. Then again, she must be quite the talent to catch Jason’s eye and for him to take her in as an apprentice since he was a famous clothing designer from Paris.
Ji Zijing snapped out of her daze when she heard her mother talking to her. Instead of replying, she said, “I just saw Xu Bambam in here. He saw me, but failed to recognize me.”
“Huh? Is Bambam here?” Mrs Ji promptly looked delighted. She was just wondering when Bambam was coming back home so that she could arrange for him to meet her daughter! Now they ended up bumping into each other here! Fate was certainly on her side!
Mrs Ji immediately comforted her daughter when she saw how disappointed she was, “You haven’t seen each other in ages, so it is normal for him not to recognize you. Don’t take it to heart. Considering how pretty and talented you are, I am sure Bambam will fall for you.”
“But there is some other woman with Xu Bambam! I think she might be his girlfriend…” She did not feel upset when Bambam did not recognize her. Instead, she was upset to see some other woman walking beside him.
“Huh? Didn’t Mrs Xu say Bambam was single? I think she probably isn’t his girlfriend!” Mrs Ji found this inconceivable and did not like hearing this. If Bambam was already seeing someone, her daughter would have no chance.
“Why would he go clothes shopping with her if they are not dating?” asked Ji Zijing. In her opinion, no man would shop for clothes with a woman if they were not an item.
Even though other people were present, there was only one other man among them. The man was walking next to one of the women while the two other women were walking together. Bambam was the only one who kept walking with Tzuyu the entire time.
“Zijing, even if that woman was genuinely dating Xu Bambam, Mrs Xu likes you. As long as the Xu family does not approve of her, no other woman can marry him,” said Mrs Ji as she consoled Ji Zijing. Mrs Ji clearly felt the Xu family was the sort of family who cared about status. “Everyone dates around before they get married! As long as he settles down after marriage, it’s okay! Let’s go over and say hi. Don’t show your disappointment when we go over. After all, you are not dating yet, so it is important to leave a good impression. Got it?”
Ji Zijing composed herself when she heard what her mother said. “Got it.”
Mrs Ji led Ji Zijing over to see Bambam.
“Bambam, fancy meeting you here!” greeted Mrs Ji warmly after she walked up to Bambam.
Bambam turned when he heard Mrs Ji’s voice. His eyes landed on Mrs Ji before glancing at Ji Zijing standing beside her. It promptly dawned on him who Ji Zijing was.
Bambam looked a little annoyed when he realized it was Ji Zijing. However, he replied Mrs Ji politely, “Hi, Mrs Ji.”
He dismissed Ji Zijing altogether. In any case, he merely knew of her existence and they were not considered friends.
Lisa and Tzuyu were both standing next to Bambam when this happened, so they looked at Mrs Ji when she spoke to Bambam. The moment they heard Bambam calling her Mrs Ji, other than Taehee, all of them caught on to her identity. She was Mrs Xu’s friend whom Jaebeom brought up last night. In that case, the young woman standing beside her ought to be the one whom Mrs Xu wanted to matchmake with Bambam.
Lisa subtly glanced at Bambam and Tzuyu and noticed how tense things were getting between them, but she said nothing and watched quietly.
“You must have just gotten back, right?” asked Mrs Ji. She assumed Bambam had yet to go home. Otherwise, his mother would have told her about it. After all, his mother was very worried about his love life.
“Uh huh. I just got back in town,” replied Bambam.
“Oh yes. Is this your girlfriend?” asked Mrs Ji after glancing at Tzuyu.
The moment Mrs Ji got a close look at Tzuyu, she could not help looking worried. She was surprised by how beautiful this woman was and thought her daughter’s prospects of marrying him were in danger.
She could not help feeling worried about what kind of family and background the woman came from. If she hailed from a relatively powerful family, there was no reason for the Xu family to disagree with the match.
“Mrs Ji, you are mistaken. I am not his girlfriend. Xu Bambam is my older brother’s friend. Since I am in town, he acted as my tour guide.” Before Bambam said a word, Tzuyu interrupted. Her voice was cold and was clearly pissed off with Bambam.
Ji Zijing and her mother merely thought Tzuyu was upset about getting misunderstood. They were instantly relieved and happy to hear she was not dating Bambam.
Bambam felt a little upset when he heard Tzuyu say they were not dating. Since it was true, he could not deny it and say otherwise to retort Tzuyu.
“I see! My bad. I didn’t know. Sorry for the misunderstanding,” apologized Mrs Ji to Tzuyu.
“No worries. If you need to talk, be my guest! I am going back to shopping,” said Tzuyu before turning to walk away with Lisa, Taehee, Mengda, and Nan catching up from behind.
“Mrs Ji, I’m going to join them and play a proper host. See you around,” said Bambam before he ignored Ji Zijing and her mother and turned to leave altogether.
Even though Mrs Ji was a little upset that she was unable to introduce Ji Zijing to Bambam, she did not take it to heart. Since the woman was his friend’s younger sister, he naturally had to play a good host..
“Are you happy now? She isn’t his girlfriend,” said Mrs Ji teasingly to Ji Zijing.
She undoubtedly knew that her daughter fancied Bambam, and considering how powerful the Xu family was, she wanted her daughter to marry into the family.
An uneasy look swept across Ji Zijing’s eyes, but she undoubtedly felt better.
“I will give Mrs Xu a call so that she can make arrangements for you to meet him,” said Mrs Ji.
After the incident with Mrs Ji and Ji Zijing, the atmosphere between Bambam and Tzuyu altered. Tzuyu ignored Bambam and kept talking to Lisa. Bambam was keenly aware of Tzuyu’s anger, but he did not know what to say.
Mrs Ji and Ji Zijing did not stay in Gufan for long. A few minutes after talking to Bambam they left.
The moment they left Gufan, Mrs Ji gave Mrs Xu a call to tell her about her encounter with Bambam at Gufan.
“Huh? Is he back in town?” asked Mrs Xu in surprise before she continued angrily, “That boy didn’t come home after coming back to the capital.”
“Bambam said he only just got back and was busy entertaining a friend, so he probably didn’t have time to go home yet,” said Mrs Ji.
“I see.” Mrs Xu’s anger dissipated when she heard this. “I will call him later and find out when he is free so that we can make plans for them to meet. Oh yes. How did he react when he saw your daughter earlier?”
“They hadn’t seen each other in ages, so he naturally did not recognize Zijing. Since he had friends around, I felt bad about holding him up, so I didn’t introduce her,” replied Mrs Ji.
“Don’t worry about it. I will get in touch with you after we nail down a date,” said Mrs Xu.
“Sure,” acknowledged Mrs Ji before hanging up the phone happily and saying to Ji Zijing, “Mrs Xu said she will call Bambam and ask him when he is free. She will get in touch with us after coming up with a date.”
“Okay.” Ji Zijing could not wait to see him, but she had to wait for Mrs Xu to get back to them.
…
After Mrs Xu stopped talking to Mrs Ji, she immediately called Bambam. Although Mrs Ji mentioned Bambam was playing host to some friends, they were out shopping, so it ought to be fine to call him.
When she called, Bambam immediately knew that Mrs Ji must have called his mother. He could not help feeling annoyed, but he could only answer the phone.
“Bambam, when are you coming home?” asked Mrs Xu anxiously the moment the phone got through.
“I don’t know yet. I will head home if I am free,” replied Bambam impatiently since he already knew of his mother’s intentions.
“Oh yes. I need to talk to you about something! I…” said Mrs Xu. Before she made her point, Bambam interrupted her, “I know what you want to tell me. Can you stay out of my love life? I don’t even feel like going home because you keep doing this to me.”
“I am doing this for your own good. You are not getting any younger, but still haven’t found a girlfriend! Even Jungkook is seeing someone now,” said Mrs Xu as she instantly got upset.
“That’s because he met someone he liked! It only works if I meet a girl I like!!” retorted Bambam exasperatedly.
“When is that going to happen? Also, what’s wrong with Ji Zijing? She is pretty and has a great figure. Although her family isn’t at the same level as ours, they aren’t that bad. Our family doesn’t care about status and only cares about your girlfriend’s personality. Also, she is a highly educated woman and talented. It’s not like she isn’t good enough for you!” said Mrs Xu.
“Plenty of people are better than her. Why should I fancy her? I don’t like her, so stop trying to matchmake us. Don’t blame me if you end up getting embarrassed,” said Bambam.
“You…” Mrs Xu was exasperated. She scolded him, “Since plenty of girls are better than her, then why can’t you find yourself one?”
Would she have to be so worried if her son could find a girlfriend on his own?
Ji Zijing might not be the best girl out there and could not compare to Lisa, but Bambam did not even have a girlfriend to begin with! Mrs Xu felt Ji Zijing was perfectly fine.
“I will. Just sit back and wait. Enough. I am busy, so I have to go,” said Bambam before hanging up the phone altogether, making Mrs Xu so angry that she nearly threw her phone.
Minnie happened to come in from outside and entered the living room. She saw Mrs Xu in a foul mood, so she asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Bambam refuses to meet a potential girlfriend that I wanted to introduce. He kept blaming me for being a nosy parker. He also threatened not to come home if I kept doing it. For someone who can’t find a girlfriend, he sure has quite the temper,” complained Mrs Xu indignantly.
“Erm.” Minnie did not know what to say. She did not like getting matchmade either, so she could understand why Bambam refused to do it. However, she was not in the position to judge Mrs Xu, so she decided to stop asking.
…
In the afternoon, Chen Darong got discharged from the hospital after he was cleared by the doctor. After he left the hospital, he gave Lisa a call.
Lisa told him to make preparations before they went to the auction tomorrow.
The moment Tzuyu heard about the auction, she promptly took interest. After Lisa hung up the phone, she asked, “Can you take me to the auction with you?”
“Of course! However, I think you should get Bambam to take you there,” replied Lisa. It was not that she did not want to bring Tzuyu to the auction. She simply wanted to give the chance to Bambam.
Tzuyu frowned slightly and looked unhappy and was clearly annoyed with Bambam. “Why? Since you can take me inside, just do it!”
She did not want Bambam to take her there.
Bambam looked upset. “Would it kill you to come with me?”
“Humph! I am worried about bumping into your potential girlfriend. I don’t want her to misunderstand,” said Tzuyu ambiguously.
Bambam looked annoyed. “It was not my fault. My mother was the one who tried to match-make us.”
Tzuyu said nothing. She knew it had nothing to do with Bambam, but she could not help feeling upset..
“Well, I can bring someone along, but I’m only entitled to bring one person. Since I already have to take my subordinate there, I can’t take you. Bambam can get his hands on more invitations, so he can definitely take you inside,” said Lisa. It was naturally bullshit. She could bring as many people as she wanted.
“In that case, I am not going,” said Tzuyu. She was clearly resentful of Bambam.
“Are you really not going? This is a rare major auction. A lot of priceless antiques will be auctioned at the event. I am there to auction my antique and it is the hottest item at the auction. Its auction has already caused a furor in the antique and music industry!” said Lisa. Even though it was unwise to get involved in their relationship, Tzuyu clearly wanted to go and simply refused since she was angry with Bambam.
“What are you auctioning? How could it cause a major commotion in the antique and music industry?” asked Tzuyu curiously.
Tzuyu was not alone, Bambam and the others were equally curious. Since they did not dabble in antiques, they were unaware.
“It’s an entire set of bronze chimes worth at least $5 billion!” said Lisa.
Even though Tzuyu and the others did not know what bronze chimes were and what they meant, they were startled to hear they fetched such an astronomical figure.
“Oh god! Is it really worth that much?” said Tzuyu in shock.
“Yes,” Lisa answered.
…
Auction items were typically sent over a day in advance, but the bronze chimes were simply too heavy and huge, so it did not make sense to bring them over and an exception was made for the bidders to view them using photos. The successful bidder could collect the actual bronze chimes after the event.
Since the auction was held at a national auction house, people were confident they would not get swindled. Also, they only needed to pay after seeing the antique and verifying its authenticity.
The bronze chimes would definitely go to the Palace Museum, so they were unconcerned whether these photos would raise doubts among the bidders. After the auction, the bronze chimes would be sent to the museum.
Tzuyu felt she had to go. She had just refused to go to the auction with Bambam, so she felt embarrassed to change her mind.
Lisa glanced at Bambam when she detected Tzuyu’s concerns and gestured for him to ask again. He was a man! If he gave in a little, the problem will be solved. If he liked the girl, he had to deal with the occasional tantrum.
Bambam instantly caught her drift and said to Tzuyu ingratiatingly, “Why don’t you just keep me company and come with me?”
“Fine! I will do you the favor.” Now that he made the offer again, Tzuyu did not continue turning him down.
The atmosphere between Bambam and Tzuyu eased up.
Taehee could tell that Bambam and Tzuyu liked each other, but she did not say it out loud.
She could not help remembering her life with Joowon. However, she could only keep memories of him.
Since it was almost time to eat, all of them headed to dinner, after which Lisa and Taehee headed back and Tzuyu was left in Bambam’s care.
“Where should we go now?” asked Bambam.
“I’m new in town, so I don’t know where to go,” replied Tzuyu. “Since you were born here, you ought to know where we can hang out.”
“Erm… Although I am a local, I rarely go out, so I am not sure where to go either,” said Bambam rather sheepishly. He usually went to the clubhouse. Since he usually hung out with men, men tended to drink when they were together. It was not like he could go sightseeing with a bunch of blokes!
“Since you don’t know where we can go, then let’s just go back,” said Tzuyu somewhat angrily.
Bambam got anxious. He was not keen on sending her home so early! He suddenly recalled a place they could go to and said, “Why don’t we go to the ancient town? I heard the scenery is pretty good at night.”
“Then let’s go!” Tzuyu did not want to go back early either. She merely said it in a fit of anger and did not mean it.
Mengda and Nan glanced at each other feeling speechless. Tzuyu was becoming increasingly proud and kept having mood swings.
They headed to the ancient town. It was more like a village located in the city and looked like it was from ancient times. Although some renovation was done to it, the basic structure and buildings were unchanged.
Even though it was not the weekend, the ancient town was packed, and all kinds of snacks and toys were available for sale.
Bambam and Tzuyu made a handsome couple, so a lot of people turned to look.
A girl holding a rose walked up to Bambam and Tzuyu and said, “Sir, why don’t you buy a rose for your lovely girlfriend?”
Girlfriend?
Bambam and Tzuyu automatically looked at each other before they swiftly averted their eyes uneasily.
Tzuyu was about to deny it, but Bambam stepped forward before she knew it and asked the little girl as he smiled warmly, “Why did you think she was my girl? Just because we are a man and woman doesn’t make us an item! We might have been friends or even siblings!”
Tzuyu wanted to deny they were dating, but she inexplicably felt angry at what Bambam said.
The little girl was instantly flustered and worried she might have said the wrong thing, so she said cautiously, “Then are you siblings?”
“We aren’t siblings,” replied Tzuyu automatically.
The little girl finally heaved a sigh of relief. Bambam looked equally relieved.
“Why aren’t you dating if you are not siblings and make such a handsome couple? Do you like some other girl? Do you like some other guy? If you were not interested in each other, you wouldn’t have hung out together!” said the little girl.