Chapter 416: Found the Right Person

After Wu An and Gu Anran came out of the first antique shop, they did not immediately go to look for the next one.

Gu Anran pulled him and first went to the small supermarket to buy two ice pops.

Eating while walking.

Wu An laughed and said, "Anran, you just owned him well."

Gu Anran said indignantly, "Just look at that boss's expression changing—he practically wrote 'play hard to get' on his face."

"What's more infuriating is that he even used me as the topic."

Gu Anran is not an ordinary girl; her parents passed away early, and she grew up with her grandmother.

Her grandmother's health was poor, and there was also a good-for-nothing great uncle; she had been supporting the household on her own since early on.

She couldn't rely on anyone else.

Forced to be independent.

Over time she became accustomed to it.

So even now that she's with Wu An, she doesn't rely on him for everything.

Going out to eat, drink, and buy snacks, she would casually pay the bill.

Even today's trip to the hotel.

It wasn't Wu An showing off.

To be honest.

It was also Gu Anran who paid.

For this sort of unintentional AA (going Dutch), Wu An found it rather interesting.

Especially today at the hotel.

When the front desk attendant saw Gu Anran paying, her shocked little gaze made Wu An feel thrilled.

Given Gu Anran's personality, the boss's earlier remark using her to manipulate Wu An accidentally hit her reverse scale.

She least wanted to become Wu An's weak point.

Wu An then understood the real reason Gu Anran was angry; although he didn't fully grasp it, he expressed respect, acknowledging that everyone's experiences and personalities differ, so their perspectives on issues naturally vary.

He noticed Gu Anran's hair had been slightly ruffled by the wind, like a few stray strands, and he reached out to smooth them.

He smiled and said, "He picked the wrong person to mess with."

"I'm not angry; you helped me vent, didn't you?" Gu Anran swatted away his mischievous hand and said, "That boss must be fuming."

Wu An smiled: "Was my comment really that powerful?"

Gu Anran snorted: "Don't play innocent with me; you're the worst."

"No, no, no—you're actually the more formidable one; I couldn't just turn on the spot like that."

"You're the worst!"

"Fine, we're a perfect match, our coordination is seamless."

"Pah, shameless—who… who would be with you…"

"What are you thinking? I'm just speaking literally."

"Even literally, it's shameless."

"Tell me what you just imagined."

"I won't tell you!"

The atmosphere was joyful, filled with the sour smell of lovebirds.

Wu An had said he'd go into another shop to look around, but Gu Anran stopped him.

Saying they should just stroll for a bit.

Walking while looking.

Gu Anran's big eyes rolled about, looking full of spirit, and Wu An really liked making eye contact with her.

Especially when making love, her gaze was full of affection, those silken threads…

Just looking at her is a kind of enjoyment.

Wu An gave himself a light slap with a "pah," clearing his head.

Gu Anran jumped: "What are you doing?"

Wu An frankly said, "I'm afraid he's thinking about things he shouldn't."

Gu Anran curious: "What things?"

Wu An: "That little thing in the hotel."

"Pah." Gu Anran rolled her big eyes and strode ahead.

Wu An watched, chuckling happily.

The more he watched, the more he couldn't stop.

Her figure was excellent, a definite back-view killer, and of course the front view is hard to top as well.

He leisurely followed behind her, his gaze fixed on Gu Anran's back.

Gu Anran seemed to sense it and suddenly turned her head.

Wu An embarrassedly lifted his head, humming a little tune.

He was speechless, asking the heavens.

"Am I really this kind of man?"

"Beast!"

"Damn it!"

Seeing him act crazy, Gu Anran hurried over to pull him, saying, "Let's try another shop; later I'll talk to the boss."

Entered the shop.

Gu Anran took out the ambergris, the shop owner picked it up and had a look, then tossed it onto the tray: "Pretty lady."

I'll just say it straight: your ambergris is of average quality, at most ten thousand.

Gu Anran turned and left.

After several shops in a row, either they offered a low price, or they had Gu Anran name her price first.

Gu Anran was very cautious.

She didn't know the exact value of the ambergris, and she simply didn't dare to name a price at random.

If she thought it was a sky-high ask, but actually it was a loss-making sale, and the shop owner readily agreed, then later she couldn't back out.

After all that trouble, she gained nothing.

Gu Anran's mouth was dry, she bought a bottle of water to wet her throat and said, "A An, it seems not working."

"You can't get a price here."

"We need to think of another way."

Wu An took the water Gu Anran handed over, took a big gulp, and said, "I just quietly noticed that after we left the shop, the shop owners all took out their phones to fiddle with."

Gu Anran blinked: "You mean these shop owners are colluding, teaming up to swindle us?"

Wu An nodded.

He was just guessing.

He knew this kind of trick because in his previous life a colleague liked to flip shoes.

When selling shoes, the colleague got taken in, complained to him, saying the city's tricks run deep, and wanted to return to the countryside.

Do antiques work the same way?

He wasn't sure.

Perhaps it's because ambergris is genuinely rare, which led these shop owners to join forces.

Good thing it's already 2012.

If it had been a few years earlier, these shop owners might not have been playing tricks, and it's not certain whether he and Gu Anran could have left the antique street unscathed.

Gu Anran thought it over, pulled Wu An to walk back, and when they passed the door of the first antique shop, she deliberately glanced inside.

Just then she made eye contact with the shop owner.

The other party smiled, not at all surprised, as if they knew they'd come back.

Gu Anran said, "Nine times out of ten."

"We either leave now, or we pick someone who won't join forces with that guy to swindle us."

Wu An asked, "How do we pick?"

Gu Anran smiled: "You weren't just contacting them with your phone earlier, were you?"

"Probably not a phone call, right?"

Wu An said, "No."

Gu Anran continued, "If it's a chat app, older people probably can't handle it."

Saying this, her steps paused and she stopped.

Following the direction Gu Anran was looking, there was a small shop front with its door ajar.

Called a shop front because the doorway was only a little over a meter wide.

Just a single door.

It was a bit worn, the door had a door knocker, the knocker's pattern was exquisite, somewhat like an antique.

Wu An had also noticed this little shop just now.

Inside the light was dim; through the carved lattice wooden window beside it, he could see an old man inside.

The shop front looked uninviting, giving no urge to go in, feeling not like a legitimate business.

The two went inside.

Upon entering,

It was another world—the doorway was small, but the interior space was not; Wu An was drawn to several rows of wooden shelves.

On the shelves were placed many antiques, dazzling to the eye, almost like entering a museum.

Gu Anran also curiously looked around.

She walked back and forth along the shelves, not in a hurry to strike up conversation.

The old man who was fiddling with a piece of wood looked up and greeted them: "Two of you, what do you need?"

Wu An raised an eyebrow: "Old sir, are you from Jinmen?"

"Oh, how could you tell?"

"Not by sight, but by hearing—your accent, I can hardly miss it." Wu An said with a smile; in his previous life he knew a Jinmen person, chatting was like doing crosstalk, and he kept being forced to play the straight man.

Through that friend, he also knew that the antique trade first took off in Jinmen, then gradually expanded.

This old man came from Jinmen, and Wu An inexplicably felt that he had probably found the right person.