Chapter 15: Pei Heng Wants to Pursue Her

After speaking, she casually brushed off the nonexistent dust from her clothes and then walked toward the park’s exit.

Of course, she was well aware that the Jiang family was not heartless toward her, but to her, their familial affection felt more like shackles.

She didn’t want every action she took or every word she spoke to be maliciously misconstrued. Nor did she want to continue explaining herself to people who never truly intended to trust her from the start.

It was just too exhausting.

Jiang Qingyan was willing to put in the effort to charm the Jiang family members, and the affection she received was what she deserved.

At the park entrance, she saw Pei Heng holding an adorable handbag, surrounded by a group of enthusiastic aunties.

The moment Jiang Zhiyue appeared, Pei Heng grinned broadly, raised his hand, and waved vigorously with a radiant smile.

Then, without hesitation, he pushed through the eager aunties and strode toward Jiang Zhiyue.

But before he could get close, he suddenly tripped, performing an ungraceful fall to the ground. Even as he fell, he carefully steadied the bag in his hand.

“Little Jiang Jiang, I brought you some milk tea and a little cake,” he said.

Jiang Zhiyue stepped back a little, her expression thoughtful.

Nothing comes without a price—she seriously suspected Pei Heng was trying to trick her with the treats.

In that brief moment, Pei Heng had already gotten up swiftly and dusted his pants off.

“Little Jiang Jiang, you’re amazing! Look, today I wore the talisman you gave me, and everything went smoothly. Although I did have a little car accident on the way, I wasn’t hurt at all! See?”

He then spun a full 360 degrees, beaming excitedly.

Jiang Zhiyue glanced at him, then looked toward a luxury car not far off, which was now half wrecked.

She understood—Pei Heng was definitely sending her a message.

He used her talisman but still got into a car accident. This time it was the car that was damaged; next time, what would it be?

The little cake was a warning not to forget that he had paid a price.

Realizing this, Jiang Zhiyue felt enlightened. She was getting smarter and could now unravel even the most complicated schemes.

No wonder it was her.

She stepped forward, took the bag from Pei Heng’s hand, gave him a reassuring look, and then tugged his sleeve, heading toward the car.

Today, she intended to prove her capability. With her around, no more accidents would happen.

After getting into the car, Pei Heng still felt a bit dizzy.

Just moments ago, Little Jiang Jiang had actually taken his hand voluntarily. Even more delightful, she didn’t disdain his beat-up old car.

And yes, it was truly a wreck.

He’d had several accidents on the way here; the front and rear bumpers were completely smashed off.

One of the doors was dented inward, the front headlights were missing—only two bare sockets remained.

Even the hood had been knocked off. At a glance, it looked like a scrap heap.

But Little Jiang Jiang was so beautiful and didn’t mind riding in such a lousy car—she was really wonderful.

The bag emitted a sweet aroma, tempting Jiang Zhiyue to eagerly open it and enjoy the treats.

A cup of warm milk tea and a soft fruit cake, with the sunlight outside just right.

“What’s this good thing you mentioned in your message?” she asked.

Straightening up, Pei Heng unconsciously leaned closer to Jiang Zhiyue and pulled an invitation card from his jacket pocket.

“This is an invitation to an auction from my dad. He said there are things inside you might be interested in and asked me to take you to see. Buy whatever you like—we have the money.”

Jiang Zhiyue almost bit her tongue. She glanced casually at the invitation, which only formally invited the Pei Corporation’s CEO to the auction, with no other details.

Pei Heng explained, “It’s an underground auction exclusive to the upper class. Besides rare treasures rarely seen outside, anything you want can appear.”

Jiang Zhiyue stared at him blankly. Feeling his gaze burn into her, Pei Heng elaborated, “Like national treasures, cultural relics, and even…”

“What?”

“People.”

“What? People too? Isn’t that illegal?”

“That’s why it’s underground. Where there’s demand, there’s a market. If the profits are enough, they have ways to commercialize and legitimize almost anything.”

“For example, the one we’re going to today. The items on auction were recently excavated from an ancient tomb. You know, burial goods from ancient emperors or noble families are usually exquisite and valuable for research—they’re favorites among historical romance enthusiasts.”

For the first time, Jiang Zhiyue felt her knowledge of the era was insufficient.

“But aren’t those things supposed to go to the national museum? If they can be sold, how is that different from grave robbing?”

“That’s normal. Once excavated, the items are recorded and documented, then replicas are made for museums. The originals are secretly brought out and sold through underground auctions to collectors who love antiques.”

Jiang Zhiyue was shocked.

Are rich people really that reckless?

Bringing all sorts of old things home only harms themselves.

Having money makes collecting antiques no big deal, but to not even spare burial goods from ancient tombs—that’s true ignorance.

Pei Heng continued, “The tomb owner this time was an ancient Taoist master. They found a large number of ancient talisman papers and exquisite magical artifacts in the burial goods. My dad usually doesn’t attend such events, but this time he accepted the invitation hoping to get some ancient talismans and artifacts to ward off evil and keep me safe.”

Hearing “Taoist master’s tomb,” Jiang Zhiyue suddenly became alert.

In her time, Taoist masters were indeed buried with many talismans and magical tools. If the tomb was old enough, the owner might even have been someone she knew well.

After all, a thousand years ago, demons and monsters roamed rampant, and Taoist disciples often cooperated to protect the world. Most well-known disciples were at least somewhat familiar to her.

Thinking of this, she began to look forward to the auction.

Old things were genuine treasures, unlike nowadays, when fakes were rampant.

Finding a piece of authentic cinnabar now required endless effort, and worse, people could even fake thunderstruck wood.

If she could find one or two authentic magical artifacts, she would be truly satisfied.

With that thought, she gave Pei Heng a pleased smile.

Grateful to her new benefactor!

If not for him, she wouldn’t even know that rich people had such good taste in food.

Soon, the car stopped in front of a luxurious hotel.

The entire hotel facade was adorned with colorful lights forming a tiger that seemed to stroll through the forest, circling the building several times.

Wherever the tiger passed, brilliant fireworks blossomed.

Seeing her pause, Pei Heng looked over as well.

“All these flashy things… Every time the tiger comes out for a walk, it means someone here has spent a hundred million yuan. Let’s go, I’ll take you inside.”

Just as they stepped through the door, it was maliciously blocked.

“Hey, isn’t this Jiang Zhiyue? Didn’t expect you’d stoop so low as to come here with a guy driving a junker, huh?”