The next morning, when I woke up, Liu Zaixi had already left. A note was placed on the table: "Mr. Xiang, I've left. This is my phone number… Tonight at eight, I'll be waiting for you."
My head was still a bit fuzzy. After washing my face, I gradually came to my senses.
What did that Liu Zaixi want me to appraise?
In other words, what did she want to buy?
I couldn't dwell on these questions. Since I had agreed to help her, I would deal with it when the time came.
Today was the second round of the Appraisal Convention. Was Yang Hanxue going to show up?
And Sister Ying…
Actually, if Zhao Wei's men hadn't taken me away last night, I might have already seen Sister Ying.
Since Sister Ying was here for the Appraisal Convention, she should appear again today.
Thinking this, I perked up.
When I arrived at the hotel lobby, Fatty had been waiting for me for a long time. He had a big smile on his face.
"Mr. Xiang, good morning!" Fatty approached me solicitously, greeting me. "Should we grab something to eat first, or head directly to the Appraisal Convention?"
"You last night..."
"Tsk! We don't need to talk about things like that, do we?" Fatty raised an eyebrow, looking at me with a knowing smirk.
I knew that guy was definitely thinking of something improper, and I didn't want to continue this topic.
"Let's eat something first," I said.
After we finished eating and arrived at the venue for the Appraisal Convention, there were clearly fewer people today than yesterday. It was likely that many had been eliminated.
I saw Yan Yuhe again. She was dressed the same as yesterday: "Mr. Xiang."
"Miss Yan, what are we competing with today?" I asked.
Yan Yuhe began to introduce today's competition to us. The second round was called: The Decisive Blow.
The rules were simple. Each participant would enter the "Appraisal Room" in turn, observe an item, determine its authenticity, and ultimately, the time taken for appraisal would determine the top ten qualifiers.
In other words, only ten people could advance in this round. Compared to yesterday's "Keen Eye for Gems," today's "Decisive Blow" was even more ruthless.
"Mr. Xiang, I've spoken to my father about yesterday's incident. He asked me to apologize to you. We never expected something like this to happen at the Appraisal Convention, and we are very grateful that you didn't make a fuss about it," Yan Yuhe's attitude was very sincere.
I smiled and said, "It's nothing. I just hope nothing like that happens again today."
Yan Yuhe gave an embarrassed smile. "Mr. Xiang, don't worry. All the items today have been strictly screened and there will be absolutely no problems."
I pointed to several "appraisal rooms" that seemed to have just been set up nearby and asked, "Will each participant appraise different items later?"
Yan Yuhe nodded: "Yes, everyone will be appraising different items."
"That's good."
I looked around the venue hall distractedly. I hadn't seen Sister Ying since I entered, which made me a bit disappointed.
Could it be that Sister Ying wouldn't appear today?
She shouldn't…
Just as I was feeling anxious, a familiar figure caught my eye. Sister Ying was wearing a black, slit dress, carrying a brown handbag, and wearing white high heels.
In the crowd, she was still as dazzling as ever, as if her presence made everything else fade into obscurity.
Fatty saw me staring over there and sidled up to me. "Mr. Xiang, are you looking at a beauty?"
I glanced at him. He continued, "I noticed this woman yesterday. I must say, she's really not ordinary…"
"You saw her yesterday?" I asked.
Fatty nodded. "Indeed. Not long after you entered that corridor yesterday, she went in too."
I was surprised. "Then does that mean she's also here to compete?"
Fatty nodded. "Do you see the guy next to her?"
With his remark, I noticed a man with a goatee, around forty years old, standing next to Sister Ying.
Yan Yuhe had introduced him to us. He was the current head of the Cao family, named Cao Yuan.
Among the four major families in Guangbei – Kong, Cao, Yan, and Hua – I had met people from three of them. The Yan family goes without saying, and I had met people from the Kong family just yesterday.
Sister Ying being with the Cao family, she must be an external aid hired by the Cao family…
But why would the Cao family hire Sister Ying as an external aid?
Didn't Sister Ying know nothing about antiques?
How could…
My mind was a complete mess. I took a deep breath and walked towards them.
"Mr. Xiang, where are you going?" Fatty asked, startled.
I didn't answer. With every step I took towards them, my mood became more complex.
It had been many days since we last met. During this time, I had never forgotten her.
Now that I had finally met Sister Ying again, I felt that no matter what, I had to talk to her properly.
Not just to confirm those things, but more importantly, I wanted to know what had happened to her.
Her presence at the Appraisal Convention clearly had a purpose. To avoid disrupting her plans, I didn't approach her directly but walked up to Cao Yuan.
"Mr. Cao, hello." I said with a smile.
Cao Yuan looked at me, his eyes darting. "You must be Xiang Fei, right?"
"En," I replied.
He grinned. "Your name is truly well-known. I've heard it many times since last night."
"Oh?" I chuckled. "Is that so?"
"I heard that you took over An Yuan Tang in Guangling belonging to the Yan family?" Cao Yuan asked.
I nodded and glanced at Sister Ying beside him. She was sitting there with a slight smile, her eyes calm.
I nodded and smiled. "I've heard that Mr. Cao collects quite a few ceramics. May I have the honor of seeing them?"
"Oh? Brother Xiang is also interested in ceramics?" Cao Yuan said. "Since Brother Xiang is interested, you are always welcome to visit my home. I do collect quite a few ceramics, and I'll need Brother Xiang to help me appraise them then."
"Mr. Cao is too kind. I am just a junior. I hope Mr. Cao will look after me in the future." I said.
After exchanging pleasantries, Cao Yuan was very enthusiastic. He even gave me a business card and told me to look him up anytime.
Seeing that we had chatted enough, I then shifted the topic to Sister Ying. "And who is this beautiful young lady?"
"This is the daughter of a friend of mine," Cao Yuan said with a smile. "Allow me to introduce Zheng Shuxuan, Miss Zheng."
I smiled and said, "Xiang Fei."
Sister Ying nodded slightly at me. Although she had a smile on her face, her eyes revealed a sense of unfamiliarity.
I had expected Sister Ying to be surprised to see me, but she wasn't.
Her every word and action was so calm and distant, as if she didn't know me at all.
Could it be… she really had amnesia?
Thinking this, my heart skipped a beat. Suppressing the disappointment in my heart, I said, "Miss Zheng, have we met somewhere before?"
Sister Ying's eyes showed more confusion. "Have we? Mr. Xiang, where did you see me?"
"Has Miss Zheng been to Guangling?" I asked.
Sister Ying… no, Zheng Shuxuan, hesitated. "I've always heard that Guangling has a rich heritage, but unfortunately, I've never had the time to visit. If I have the chance to go there in the future, I hope Mr. Xiang will look after me."
Hearing her words, I took a deep breath, trying to find any clues from her expression, but I was quickly disappointed.
She… seemed to truly have amnesia.
In this world, there was no longer Sister Ying. Instead, there was Zheng Shuxuan…