Chapter 22: It's None of Your Business
Xu Yang glanced at some other items with feigned interest before fixing his gaze on the vase he had chosen. He pointed at it, saying, "This vase looks quite nice. I'll buy it, plant some flowers, and put it on the balcony. It should look good. Just this vase and the jade ruyi from earlier, together for five thousand, okay?"
The owner hesitated and said, "Young man, this vase was placed in Tang Bohu's own study..."
It was the owner's habitual phrase, uttered without thinking.
Xu Yang interrupted, "Can we be honest here?"
The owner grinned awkwardly and said, "Young man, look at this vase, the pattern is so beautiful. I bought it for three thousand. You'll have to give me a bit for the delivery. Let's say ten thousand for both, how about that?"
Xu Yang replied, "I need to go home and buy groceries. If my wife comes home and doesn't find me, I'll be in for a scolding. I won't beat around the bush. Eight thousand for both, take it or leave it."
The owner looked at Xu Yang's demeanor and realized he might be serious. He gritted his teeth and said, "Alright, young man, consider me your friend today. I'll give you these two items at cost price!"
The owner said that, but he was overjoyed inside. The jade ruyi only cost a hundred, and the vase cost two hundred. The total cost was three hundred, and now he sold them for eight thousand, nearly thirty times the profit. It was well worth it.
With the money the owner had earned today from these sales, he could earn as much as those office workers with a monthly salary.
"Great, pack them up for me," Xu Yang said, a satisfied smile on his lips as he promptly paid.
"Sure," the owner said, packing the vase and the jade ruyi, and handing them over to Xu Yang.
"Xu Yang, what did you buy this time? Did you stumble upon another treasure?" Zhao Yulu asked curiously, joined by Chen Guanglei.
Xu Yang replied without looking at them, "Did I find a treasure or not is none of your business."
In fact, Xu Yang had noticed Chen Guanglei and Zhao Yulu had been following him all along. He just hadn't bothered to acknowledge them since they hadn't spoken until now. He didn't expect them to pop up again after he had just made a purchase, and it was getting rather annoying.
"Why are you so arrogant? You just got lucky and stumbled upon a treasure by chance." Chen Guanglei sneered.
"Can you stumble upon treasures by luck? Can you?" Xu Yang retorted.
"You!" Chen Guanglei's face turned livid, but he couldn't come up with a comeback.
Chen Guanglei realized that he had jumped out to taunt Xu Yang and make him feel uncomfortable about finding the treasure, but it was a foolish move. When luck was not on his side, Chen Guanglei always tried to make fun of Xu Yang, which was not a wise move.
"Xu Yang, did you buy these two items because you saw something special in them?" Zhao Yulu, on the other hand, was genuinely curious.
"No, I just want to play with the jade ruyi, and I'll put the vase on the balcony for plants," Xu Yang replied casually.
"Play with a jade ruyi? Put a vase on the balcony for plants?" Chen Guanglei chuckled. "You really have a poor man's mentality. Instead of spending your time making money, you waste it on things that don't generate value. That's why you're poor!"
Xu Yang retorted, "I like it this way. What's it to you? Besides, I just made money, can you say the same? You, a rich heir, how much money have you made by investing in your entire time here at Antique Street? Have you made any money?"
A series of questions left Chen Guanglei speechless and with a dark expression on his face.
"Here you go, it's all packed up," the owner said, handing the vase and jade ruyi to Xu Yang.
"Thank you." Xu Yang took the items, didn't even spare a glance at Zhao Yulu and Chen Guanglei, and left.
Xu Yang planned to break open the bottom of the vase at home to see what was inside.
"That guy is really arrogant." Chen Guanglei muttered, watching Xu Yang's departing figure with gritted teeth.
"It's not that he's arrogant, he didn't say much. It's you who's been trying to make him feel uncomfortable," Zhao Yulu shook her head and commented.
Even though Xu Yang and Zhao Yulu had broken up, she tried to stay objective in this matter.
"You're taking his side, aren't you?" Chen Guanglei asked as his face looked somewhat unpleasant.
"I'm not taking his side, I'm just stating the facts. Besides, you brought me here, but I haven't seen you find any treasures. In contrast, Xu Yang just found a big one," Zhao Yulu said, her mood a bit sour.
In fact, finding treasures required luck. Even if Chen Guanglei didn't find any treasures today, Zhao Yulu wouldn't think much of it. She and Chen Guanglei had come to Antique Street to explore and gain some knowledge. However, Xu Yang had shown up and found a big treasure. In comparison, Chen Guanglei was beginning to look rather inadequate, which made Zhao Yulu feel unhappy.
"Yulu, Xu Yang was just lucky. Otherwise, he would not have picked up the loot." Chen Guanglei tried to defend himself.
"Even so, he has already earned fifty million yuan. This is money that many people won't be able to earn in their entire lives. As for me, I want to invest in Obsidian Tech, but I can't even borrow much money." Zhao Yulu sighed.
"Yulu, even if Xu Yang made fifty million yuan, he'll probably lose it quickly. Just do your best with your stock investment. If you can borrow some money, great. I couldn't lend you some money but I also need to invest," Chen Guanglei said.
In reality, lending a couple of million to Zhao Yulu wouldn't be a problem at all for Chen Guanglei. However, he just didn't want to lend it. He thought if Zhao Yulu asked for it, he could take the opportunity to make some demands and further their relationship. If Zhao Yulu didn't ask for it, it didn't matter. After all, he wouldn't lose anything.
Zhao Yulu said, "I understand, I'll do my best to borrow from someone."
Chen Guanglei's eyes shifted as he said, "Yulu, now that Xu Yang has money, have you thought about borrowing money from him?"
Zhao Yulu was taken aback for a moment, then shook her head. She said, "I asked him before. I wanted to borrow the money my sister gave him to buy a house, but he refused. He won't lend me any money."
Chen Guanglei said, "Before this, he didn't have any money. Now that he got fifty million yuan, things might be different."
Zhao Yulu was silent for a while, but she still shook her head and said, "It's better not to. I don't want to have anything to do with him anymore."
"That's true." Chen Guanglei nodded and added. "Now that he's with your sister, his money is essentially your sister's money. You don't need to ask him for a loan; you can ask your sister."
Zhao Yulu hesitated for a moment, beginning to consider it, 'He's right. When I had called Yuxin last time, she had been willing to lend me the money, but Xu Yang had used it to invest in gold futures. Now that Xu Yang had money, his money was Yuxin's money. I could definitely ask her for a loan.'
Thinking about that, Zhao Yulu said, "I'll think about it."