Chapter 1711: Beiping Old Dream: The Handsome Actor Overpowers the Big Shot 26

"This guy started in the curtain business, famous for being lecherous and hard to deal with." Yun Cunxuan gossiped, knowing the bosses of all trades in Beiping like the back of his hand.

"I'll go check it out."

Sun Fu likely feared dragging Pei Yinnian in, shielding him as he stepped back toward the center of the commotion to see what was going on.

"Sir, how could you steal someone else's belongings?"

Jin Chen was wiping his clothes, looking slightly confused as he pointed at himself, "Me?"

Hardly had his words finished when the bartender's voice drew a crowd; the boss, face flushed with anger, strode toward Jin Chen.

Jin Chen: "……"

Turns out he was waiting here.

But what's the point of this act?

He glanced at Pei Yinnian coming to intervene, shook his head slightly, lifted his hand and brushed the bartender's back, the wallet falling into his palm, which he slipped into the corner without a hint of emotion.

"It's you who stole my wallet!" Seeing Jin Chen's appearance, the boss's anger mixed with an ambiguous tease.

Jin Chen stood up, face stern, "Do you have any evidence?"

He was extremely tall, and as he approached he almost looked down on the boss, his presence instantly overwhelming him.

The boss choked, looking at the bartender who had just shouted, "Wasn't it you who said so? Where's the evidence?"

"I… I, while wiping this gentleman's clothes just now, saw a wallet in his pocket—yours."

The bartender pretended to reach into Jin Chen's pocket, but actually reached behind himself… and came up empty!

Where's the wallet!

He paused his motion, searched again, and the wallet hidden behind him suddenly vanished.

Jin Chen pulled his hand out, "What are you looking for? Did you find it?"

Bartender: "……"

Jin Chen exclaimed, took a few steps forward, and the wallet in the corner was kicked under a card table; he lazily stretched.

These days it's all too easy to frame someone, spouting nonsense without evidence.

As he spoke, his cold, gorgeous gaze swept over everyone present, locking onto the person walking in from outside, his eyes deepening slightly.

Hey, is this your wallet?

Soon the people at that table spotted the wallet underneath, picked it up and raised it, shouting first: "I found it on the floor—it's not like you dropped it yourself."

The boss muttered under his breath, "Damn, it really is."

Surprise nearly spilled from the bartender's face as he stared blankly at his own hand; suddenly realizing something, he looked at Jin Chen in terror, meeting that smiling, thinly cold gaze.

He nearly fled in panic.

The commotion ended; Jin Chen saw some people looking at him with suspicion and resentment, then instantly felt wronged as he walked toward Pei Yinnian, calling, "Brother."

Just as the boss was about to tease a couple of lines, he met Pei Yinnian's icy stare, turned and left, cursing silently.

In this dump, anyone dares to frame the bartender.

Jin Chen took Pei Yinnian's crystal cup, tilted his head, and planted a kiss.

Those who had guessed Jin Chen's identity withdrew their looks, suddenly realizing he was the performer Pei Yinnian kept nearby.

"Anything wrong?" Pei Yinnian accepted the kiss and asked softly.

"Nothing, I guess they just wanted to cause a disturbance and do something behind the scenes."

Jin Chen wrapped his arms around Pei Yinnian again, narrowed his eyes at Sun Fu, sniffed lightly, and felt reassured.

Taking advantage of the chaos to leave, then timing his return just right, he carried an extra scent—must have come from contact with some woman.

Could the traitor in the Chamber of Commerce be this vice chairman?

"Time's up." Yun Cunxuan reminded, "We should head upstairs for the auction."

Pei YiQing raised his hand to promise, "Brother, rest assured, I'll watch over you well—I'm quite skilled at appraising antiques!"

Jin Chen exclaimed, "You even have this skill?"

Of course, I've studied it specially.

The five headed upstairs; the Xiao family had poured huge sums into this casino, and even the rare elevators came in pairs.

At the main entrance of the auction hall, they happened to see Xu Nanchun as they came up.

Gone was his former haughty vigor; instead he showed a somewhat dazed exhaustion.

"Young Master Pei." Xu Nanchun called out to Pei YiQing, "Can we have a chat?"

Pei YiQing's steps halted, he frowned slightly and said, "If it's about Xiao Bo Feng, we have nothing to do with each other anymore."

"I'll just take a moment of your time—I merely… want to prove something."

Jin Chen glanced at Xu Nanchun and suddenly understood.

In the original plot, by this point Pei YiQing was already bewitched by Xiao Bo Feng, making it impossible for him to help Pei Yinnian.

Xu Nanchun came to stop Pei YiQing from joining the auction, after all the place is full of fakes.

Pei YiQing saw the poetry collection in Xu Nanchun's arms and sighed, "All right."

"Wait." Jin Chen grabbed Pei YiQing's arm, "What's so good about going?"

"Sister-in-law, just a moment—I also have something to say to him." Pei YiQing spoke unusually seriously.

Jin Chen: "……Fine, hurry back."

Looking again at Sun Fu, he indeed seemed to have relaxed.

He turned and muttered low into Pei Yinnian's ear, "Surely he doesn't mean well."

"Let him go; he has to grow on his own."

Pei Yinnian, however, wasn't really worried.

Jin Chen sighed.

Silly wife.

Pei Yinnian and Jin Chen exchanged glances for a moment, "Are you thinking about me?"

"No." Jin Chen wore a solemn face, kissed him, "Absolutely not."

"You two, stop flirting, we're going in."

Yun Cunxuan chuckled, "If I had known, I would have brought a little lover too."

By the time the auction started, it was already dark.

Pei Yinnian sat down leaning half on Jin Chen, his expression unchanged, only hearing Yun Cunxuan complain beside him.

"Could it be that some bastard let slip your poor condition tonight? Who schedules an auction at night like that?"

Sun Fu also sighed: "Fortunately, the chairman's condition tonight is still fine; others can't tell."

"You're still pretending? You're that bastard."

Jin Chen glanced at him, waiting to catch evidence.

The auction hall's lighting was particular, with genuine and fake items mixed, making it hard to tell anything; Jin Chen, bored, yawned, embraced his wife in a daze, then noticed Sun Fu two seats away seemed restless.

Jin Chen instantly perked up, leaning back slightly, his peripheral vision catching the corner where Sun Fu kept looking.

There, a person was crouched, right by the window between two rows of seats, a blind spot in the view.

【Evidence delivered to the door, Host, quickly expose it.】 Ling Gun Gun got excited.

Jin Chen looked thoughtfully into the darkness, but did not expose it himself.

Now, beside Pei Yinnian, someone still doubts his identity; this matter at least shouldn't be discovered by him.

Jin Chen, using the embrace as cover, spoke into Pei Yinnian's ear, "Brother, the vice-chairman next to you seems unwell."

Pei Yinnian withdrew his gaze from the auction items, looked dubiously at Sun Fu, then suddenly narrowed his eyes, sensing an unfathomable danger.

The person in the darkness was an unfamiliar face; Pei Yinnian was certain they weren't from the chamber of commerce, and Sun Fu was secretly colluding with someone.

Tonight's auction items…

He looked at Jin Chen, about to speak, but Jin Chen cut him off: "Don't think about letting me leave early, even if there's danger."

Pei Yinnian sighed, filled with mixed feelings.

"Do you know why today's auction attendees are mostly officials?"

Jin Chen shook his head; he was also wondering.

Pei Yinnian tightened his grip on Jin Chen's hand and said softly, "The final auction item is a Jin dynasty gold-thread gauze robe, inside which is hidden a military defense map of the capital, Jiangning."

Jin Chen immediately sat up straight, lifting his eyes to scan the auction hall swarming with British troops.

"Good fellow."

"The map must not fall into foreign hands; that is of utmost importance."

Half a month ago, Pei Yinnian received a call from Jiangning ordering the Beiping Chamber of Commerce to obtain the map at all costs and personally deliver it back to Jiangning.

"It's fine, brother."

Jin Chen saw someone already looking over, then embraced Pei Yinnian and kissed him, whispering, "I will help you."

Now, he knows what to do.