Chapter 37

Following Gu Ni's guidance, they arrived at the third floor of the auction house; compared to the bustle of the two floors below, there were basically no customers to be seen here, save for the guards standing on both sides of the corridor and Xiao Yan and his group who had just come up.

"This is the area where our Mittel Auction House entertains distinguished guests; generally, only VIPs like the City Lord or the heads of the three great families would be brought here for meetings." As he spoke, Gu Ni led Xiao Yan to a door that appeared extremely luxurious, located right next to the innermost room.

Knock, knock, knock—Gu Ni tapped lightly on the door a few times.

"Please, come in!" Soon, a clear and elegant voice drifted out from the room.

Pushing the door open and entering, one could see a bewitching woman wearing a vibrant red, tight-fitting silk robe sitting upright behind a desk in the innermost part of the room on the right.

The bewitching woman, who had been concentrating on processing the documents on her desk, seemed to notice that the person who entered was not her usual secretary, and she lifted her autumn-water-like eyes to look over gently.

"So it is Master Gu Ni. And this is?" Ya Fei offered Master Gu Ni a polite, friendly smile, then looked at Xiao Yan, who was following behind Gu Ni, with a hint of confusion in her eyes. In her memory, there was no such person among the young masters and misses of the various families in Wutan City.

However, before Gu Ni could explain, Ya Fei had already guessed the identity of the young man before her.

Swaying her nearly perfect body curves, she stood up from her seat and moved with lotus steps; her snow-white thighs appeared and disappeared within the slit of her silk robe, stirring the deepest desires in one's heart.

"I presume this must be Young Master Xiao Yan of the Xiao family?" The clear and elegant voice rang out again, mixed with a fleeting trace of charm that made one's heart itch.

On her slender willow waist sat a pair of proud peaks, and the trembling motion as she walked tugged at a young man's pure heartbeat. It was no wonder the men in Wutan City both loved and hated her, for she could truly snatch the gold from a man's pocket with a mere smile or frown.

What a vixen! Xiao Yan couldn't help but sigh inwardly. He then looked at the pretty face that seemed to exude charm from its very bones. Master Gu Ni, who was by his side, should logically have been past the age of being easily moved, yet every time he saw Ya Fei, he would immediately lower his head to avoid making a fool of himself by accident.

However, Xiao Yan had just had a full meal yesterday, so he was naturally not that famished at the moment, and years of training outside had also honed a firm state of mind in him; at the very least, he would never show the look of a lovesick fool when it was time to get down to real business.

Still, the fact that Ya Fei had recognized his identity so quickly upon their first meeting did make Xiao Yan feel a trace of curiosity.

"You know me?"

Seeing that Xiao Yan was not affected by her beauty in the slightest, Ya Fei couldn't help but think more highly of him. One had to know that in Wutan City, even the City Lord and the heads of the other three families would subconsciously avoid eye contact with her, just for fear of accidentally making a fool of themselves.

Regarding Xiao Yan's question, Ya Fei laughed softly: "Of course. Young Master Xiao Yan is a genius rarely seen in our Wutan City in a hundred years; to have broken through to the Fighter realm at only twelve years old, such talent is very rare even in the Imperial Capital of the Jia Ma Empire~ Of course Ya Fei would know."

It had to be said that Ya Fei's words, combined with that charming voice and alluring gaze, could indeed greatly stimulate a man's sense of satisfaction, and even Xiao Yan couldn't help but feel a bit intoxicated. However, he wouldn't be fooled so easily. To win a girl's heart, one must first not let the other party keep wearing a mask; otherwise, if she keeps her guard up against you, what is there to talk about regarding feelings!

"Well said, but what is the specific reason?" Xiao Yan asked with a smile, his eyes narrowed.

Ya Fei was stunned upon hearing this. I know what I said isn't entirely credible, but wouldn't people usually just tacitly let it go? Who actually insists on getting to the bottom of things? And shouldn't you be here to discuss business? Why keep dwelling on this?

"What does the young master mean by this? Everything Ya Fei said is true," Ya Fei blinked and said, feigning ignorance.

Xiao Yan smiled after hearing this and continued to stare at Ya Fei's pretty face.

Facing Xiao Yan's persistence, Ya Fei ultimately did not hold out; she sighed, not intending to remain deadlocked on this issue—she was very busy!

"Fine. When I was transferred to Wutan City, I sent people to collect portraits of the figures from every faction in the city, and Young Master Xiao Yan was among them. Although that was two years ago and there is some discrepancy between the collected portrait and Young Master Xiao Yan now, considering the news that spread yesterday about the young clan head of the Xiao family returning home, it is not hard to guess your identity." Ya Fei said with some helplessness.

"Hmm, that's more like it. Although I know most people like to say empty words that no one believes when talking, I don't really like that." As he spoke, Xiao Yan found a sofa meant for guests and sat down on his own.

"So that's how it is. Young Master Xiao Yan is truly a man of character! But such things should still be stated clearly in advance; otherwise, forcing a girl to answer questions right from the start is lacking in gentlemanly conduct!" Ya Fei said with autumn-water eyes, looking pitiful.

"Lacking in gentlemanly conduct? That's right, I've always been a rough man!" Xiao Yan said as a matter of course.

You! Ya Fei was suddenly a bit angry. She turned her head to look at Gu Ni, who was standing to the side in a daze, and whispered: "Why did you bring this person over? What exactly is the matter?"

Gu Ni came back to his senses, his expression somewhat awkward, and whispered back: "This—he said he had something to discuss, so I brought him here."

"What? You brought someone here without even knowing what the matter was?" Ya Fei widened her eyes and looked at Gu Ni in disbelief, her voice rising so much that even Xiao Yan heard it.

Gu Ni knew that what he had done was indeed a breach of protocol, but there was no helping it; Xiao Yan's Tier 3 medicinal pill was simply too attractive, and he had lost his head for a moment, so he brought the person over.

"Alright, Miss Ya Fei, don't make things difficult for Master Gu Ni." Xiao Yan also saw Gu Ni's embarrassment and, feeling bad about it, spoke up to smooth things over. He then tossed a jade bottle to Gu Ni and said: "Alright, Master Gu Ni, let me discuss the rest with Miss Ya Fei myself. You take this; it's what we agreed upon earlier."

You still have the nerve to say that? The culprit is you! Ya Fei cursed inwardly, but her eyes couldn't help but glance toward Gu Ni. She had seen clearly how nervous Gu Ni was when Xiao Yan tossed the jade bottle just now, and she was very curious about what was inside.

Gu Ni naturally would not hide it; he leaned his head over and whispered into Ya Fei's ear.

"What! A Tier 3 Qi-Returning Pill!"

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