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Chapter 631 My Girlfriend, Gu Ning

Some women also walked into the store to be near to them.

Seeing the effect of those handsome men, Gu Ning said half seriously half jokingly, "You may attract many customers for me today by simply standing here."

"My pleasure to help." Xu Jinchen smiled. He didn't feel embarrassed at all, neither did Xin Bei.

Leng Shaoting followed Gu Ning the entire time.

Once Xu Jinchen smiled, a group of women screamed with excitement.

"Oh, I'm dead now."

"His smile is killing me."

"Me too!"

"Hey, ladies, why don't you come on in and have a look? You may try things before buying it," Xu Jinchen said to those women who were still standing outside hesitating to walk in.

Hearing that, a lot of them ran inside at once, not for the skincare products, but because of the irresistible charm of handsome guys. Afterwards, more and more women were attracted by this popular store.

Before long, Xu Qinyin came with her mother with bunches of flowers in the car.

When Mrs. Xu saw Leng Shaoting standing with a girl, and they seemed quite close, she rounded her eyes in shock, and couldn't believe it.

"Qinyin, is the man standing by the girl in black Shaoting?" Mrs. Xu asked with doubt, because she couldn't believe that Leng Shaoting would stand so closely to a girl and he was even carrying a female backpack in his hand. Since it was a female backpack, it couldn't be Leng Shaoting's. And there was only one girl beside Leng Shaoting, so it must be the girl's.

"Yeah!" Xu Qinyin said.

"Who is the girl?" Mrs. Xu asked again.

"Shaoting's girlfriend. Her name's Gu Ning, the boss of this store," Xu Qinyin said with pride.

"What? Shaoting's girlfriend? He has a girlfriend?" Mrs. Xu was shocked to hear that, because she knew that Leng Shaoting never seemed to be interested in women, and Master Leng had even turned to her for help introducing a girl with a good reputation to Leng Shaoting. However, Leng Shaoting never showed much interest in blind dates. Therefore, Mrs. Xu was really surprised to hear that he had a girlfriend now.

Xu Qinyin finally understood why her mother seemed so astonished, because her mother had no idea about it.

Xu Qinyin and Mrs. Xu walked to Leng Shaoting and Gu Ning later. Leng Shaoting greeted Mrs. Xu with respect, "Nice to see you, Aunt Tan."

Mrs. Xu's surname was Tan, so Leng Shaoting called her Aunt Tan.

"Shaoting, it's been a while!" Mrs. Xu said with a smile, then looked to Gu Ning. "What a pretty girl! Why don't you introduce her to me?"

"This is my girlfriend, Gu Ning," Leng Shaoting said with happiness. Whenever he introduced Gu Ning to his friends or relatives, he felt proud and happy.

Mrs. Xu also noticed Leng Shaoting's love for the girl. It seemed that Leng Shaoting loved her a lot.

"It's so nice to meet you, Aunt Tan!" Gu Ning greeted Mrs. Xu with great respect.

"Nice to meet you too," Mrs. Xu said. Although it was the first time that she met Gu Ning, she somehow already liked her.

"Oh, I heard from Qinyin that you're the boss of this store?" Mrs. Xu asked.

"Yes. Aunt Tan, please look around as you like, and you can have 20% off no matter what you want to buy," Gu Ning said kindly.

"Well, I came here to shop. To be honest, the facial masks you sent Qinyin are really good! My skin is much better now after using the skincare products than it was before," Mrs. Xu said with excitement, like a young girl who just got her favorite candy. In fact, Mrs. Xu couldn't wait to look around the store. Women all cared about their appearances.

"It's my honor to have your approval, and I do hope that people will like this brand," Gu Ning said with sincerity.

"Of course they will! Is this brand new?" Mrs. Xu asked.

"Yes, It's a newly-established brand by myself and all the skincare products are produced by my own medical factory," Gu Ning said.

"What?" Mrs. Xu was surprised again. In the beginning, she thought that Gu Ning was just running this small store. To her astonishment, Gu Ning established this brand on her own and she also had a medical factory! She was so unbelievable! Most importantly, Gu Ning looked so young.

"Wow, it's amazing! You seem even younger than Qinyin, but Qinyin has achieved nothing at all!" Mrs. Xu complimented Gu Ning right in front of her own daughter.

"Mom, please," Xu Qinyin said with a resigned look on her face. Although she hadn't achieved anything yet, it didn't mean that she wasn't working hard to achieve something. She just wanted to do something on her own, and not to rely on the Xu family's influence, but she failed till now. Fine, Gu Ning relied on herself to build her business empire, and Xu Qinyin had to admit that Gu Ning worked much harder than her, but she wouldn't give up.

Chapter 632 Fall in Love at First Glance

"Why don't you do something to prove it?" Mrs. Xu said to Xu Qinyin.

Xu Qinyin felt embarrassed and remained silent.

"Hey, darling, I'm coming!" At this moment, Gu Anna dashed over, followed by three young women with fresh flowers.

"Hi, Aunt Xu!" Gu Anna greeted Mrs. Xu.

"Nice to see you, Anna," Mrs. Xu said with a gentle smile.

"I heard from Qinyin that Kouzi is a great brand, so I won't miss it. I also came here with my friends!" Gu Anna said.

When the other three women saw those handsome young men in the store, they were all stunned. They didn't get their mind back until Gu Anna mentioned them; they then greeted Mrs. Xu at once, "It's so nice to meet you, Mrs. Xu, Lord Xu!" They only knew Mrs. Xu and Xu Jinchen, so they only greeted them.

Among these three women, two were born in normal rich families, while one was from a political family. However, their families were still barely comparable with the Xu family, so they felt a little uneasy in front of Mrs. Xu and Xu Jinchen.

"Nice to meet you." Except Leng Shaoting, the others all greeted them.

Two young women kept giving Xu Jinchen and Xin Bei the eye, hoping they would pay attention to them. The reason why they didn't make eyes at Leng Shaoting even though he was the most outstanding one among them was because there was a girl standing beside him, and they were obviously a couple. If they dared to make eyes at him in front of his girlfriend, they would be criticized by others. They loved handsome, strong young men, but they weren't idiots.

Even though they didn't know Xin Bei's background, he couldn't be an ordinary guy since he was standing with Xu Jinchen. In addition, they somehow felt that Gu Ning looked quite familiar.

"Don't you think that the girl standing over there looks quite familiar?" a woman said to her friends.

"Yes, but I can't remember where I've seen her," another woman said. They had met so many people in the past, so it was reasonable that they suddenly forgot where they had seen a particular person.

Hearing their discussion, Gu Anna said, "Didn't you send me the most popular news? Didn't you tell me you admire Goddess Gu? She's standing right there." Gu Anna had precisely heard of Gu Ning from her friends.

"What?" Hearing that, they were all surprised, and looked at Gu Ning at once.

Gu Ning and the others already heard their conversation, so they knew why they looked so astonished.

"What Goddess Gu?" Mrs. Xu asked with curiosity.

"Mom, Gu Ning is the girl who rescued Haoran." Xu Qinyin explained.

"What? Gu Ning did that?" Mrs. Xu was also shocked.

Gu Anna's friends asked her without delay, "Anna, please help us ask Goddess Gu whether she's willing to take photos with us." Although Gu Ning wasn't a star, she was a heroine.

"No problem," Gu Anna said, then walked to Gu Ning.

In fact, she felt a little nervous because Leng Shaoting was standing right by Gu Ning's side.

Gu Ning heard their conversation but remained quiet.

"Gu Ning, my friends want to take photos with you after they found out that you are Goddess Gu. Are you willing to do it?" Gu Anna asked.

Although Gu Ning was reluctant to do so, she would seem arrogant if she rejected, so she agreed.

With Gu Ning's permission, they immediately walked to her with excitement, and Leng Shaoting also stepped away to leave them some space.

They didn't bother Gu Ning for too long, and only took two photos with Gu Ning together.

Afterwards, they posted the photos on their moments.

Woman A: Don't you think this beauty in black looks familiar? Guess who she is!

Woman B: Finally met Goddess Gu in person!

Woman C: Goddess Gu is sooooo beautiful even without any make-up!

Once they posted the photos, many people left comments below. Some of them recognized Gu Ning and asked them where they met her. Some didn't and asked them who Goddess Gu was.

"Should we tell them?" a woman asked.

"I think we better not. It'll bother Goddess Gu."

"I agree." Therefore, they didn't reply to the comments.

After a short while, another four young women arrived; they were Xu Qinyin's friends. When they walked over, they noticed Gu Ning at first glance. Three of them got excited, but one seemed jealous. They also shared common friends with Gu Anna, so they already saw the photos.

Three of them admired Gu Ning, but one of them disliked her. She hated Gu Ning's beauty and ability, and even thought that she was better than Gu Ning.

When their sight moved away from Gu Ning, they saw several extremely handsome young men, and were all stunned. When the woman who was jealous of Gu Ning noticed Leng Shaoting, her heart skipped a beat. She had never seen such an extraordinarily attractive young man before. She fell in love at first glance.

Chapter 633 The Woman Who Tries to Grab Leng Shaoting Away

However, when she noticed that Leng Shaoting was standing very close to Gu Ning and even had a girl's backpack in his hand, her eyes turned malicious, staring at Gu

Ning

Gu Ning, of course, noticed the woman's admiration for Leng Shaoting and the woman's hatred towards her. She knew clearly that the woman fell in love with Leng Shaoting. Gu Ning was slightly displeased, but didn't say or do anything for now.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Xu, Lord Xu and Miss Gu!" they greeted them.

They only knew Mrs. Xu and Xu Jinchen, and just found out Gu Ning's name.

Except Leng Shaoting who remained silent as usual, the others also greeted them politely.

Two of the women who came had boyfriends, while another two were single, so the single women wanted to attract Leng Shaoting and the other men's attention.

Although they wanted to do that, they didn't dare strike up a conversation with them, because they were afraid to embarrass themselves in public. Instead, they would pretend to casually walk by them and approach them to see whether they would pay attention to them. Unfortunately, none of the men gave them a glance.

When it was 10:10 am, the opening ceremony began.

Afterwards, the store was officially open.

There weren't as many important figures at the opening ceremony in the capital as there were in City G. Xu Jinchen and Leng Shaoting had planned to invite some members of the Xu family and Shengshi Group to attend it, but was declined by Gu Ning.

It was just a pharmacy and aimed at curing illnesses as well as rescuing people, so there was no need to do a publicity stunt. Gu Ning decided to promote Kouzi at the right time.

With the help of several extremely handsome men, many girls were attracted to shop in the skincare products store too.

"Kouzi? I've never heard of this brand. Is it effective?" the woman who admired Leng Shaoting said with disdain.

"Why don't we have a try?" another woman said.

Since the females all went to shop for skincare products, Leng Shaoting and the others didn't follow them, but went to sit in the lounge.

The woman who admired Leng Shaoting didn't have much interest in Gu Ning's skincare products, and walked to Leng Shaoting later.

"Hi, may I have a seat here? There are too many people over there and I need a rest," she said politely, then sat down on a vacant seat. "Oh, please allow me to introduce myself. My name's Di Runa. I'm Qinyin's friend."

"Nice to finally see you, Miss Di!" Xu Jinchen, who was always a gentleman, kindly greeted Di Runa. However, Xin Bei and Leng Shaoting stayed silent and didn't give her a glance at all.

The Di family was a super-rich family in the capital too. Although it wasn't among the richest families in the capital, it was a well-known family.

"Oh, I'm surprised that you know me!" Di Runa didn't expect that Xu Jinchen would have heard of her, and felt flattered.

Although the Di family was a super-rich family in the capital, it was barely comparable with the Xu family. The Xu family owned one hundred billion yuan in wealth, while the Di family only had less than fifty billion yuan. There was a huge gap between them.

Nevertheless, Di Runa felt quite disappointed seeing that Leng Shaoting didn't even bother to give her a glance.

"Qinyin has mentioned your name many times," Xu Jinchen said.

Di Runa smiled, then glanced at Leng Shaoting and Xin Bei. "May I know these two gentlemen's names?"

"Mr. Leng and Mr. Xin," Xu Jinchen said, but didn't tell Di Runa their full names.

In fact, Di Runa wanted to strike up a conversation with Leng Shaoting, but Leng Shaoting focused on the screen of his phone and didn't give Di Runa a glance.

Leng Shaoting wasn't addicted to mobile phones, but he just got to know something about Gu Ning from their previous talk, so he searched it on the Internet when he was free now. He knew a little about what Gu Ning had done, but not clearly.

Although Gu Ning was fine now, he blamed himself for not having helped her by her side when she had been in danger. Luckily, Gu Ning was safe.

Di Runa was eager to leave a good impression on Leng Shaoting, but she failed to seize a good chance to do that. Actually, Di Runa was very suitable for Leng Shaoting according to her appearance and family background, but love wasn't a business deal.

At the other side in the store, women were looking around for skincare products.

A woman had worked overnight for many days, so she had heavy dark circles under her eyes. She had used eye masks, but they were useless. Even makeup couldn't cover her dark circles now. Therefore, a saleswoman immediately took out a piece of Kouzi eye mask for the woman. In order to convince everyone, the saleswoman took a picture of the dark circles beforehand. The eye mask should be laid on the face for 10 minutes.

Afterwards, another woman said that she recently had some acne on her face, so the saleswoman told her to remove her makeup first, and apply a piece of Kouzi facial mask after taking a photo of her face. The facial mask should be laid on the face for 10 minutes too.

Mrs. Xu and Gu Anna, however, didn't try anything at all, but directly bought ten boxes of facial mask and a piece of every other skincare product. Xu Qinyin, of course, wouldn't leave with empty hands.

In the pharmacy, a man said that he had knocked his knee on a corner of the table yesterday by accident, and there was a bruise around his knee now. A salesman gave him the trial medicine in the store and applied it to his knee. After a few minutes, half of the bruise faded away!

Someone who had a cold also recovered soon after taking the medicine of Colaine.

Seeing that, many people who hesitated to buy medicines here bought a lot without delay, especially cold medicines. Colds was a very common illness, so almost everyone bought cold medicines.

Ten minutes later, the woman removed her eye mask, and her dark circles faded a lot, which was quite obvious compared to the photo she had taken. Accordingly, the woman bought five boxes of eye masks without hesitation, because she always worked late.

Not only her, but many women in the store bought many eye masks as well.

Chapter 634 Cao Wenxin Comes

There were few people who slept early now and most people were used to sleeping late, so it was very easy for them to have dark circles.

Since Leng Shaoting wouldn't talk to Di Runa, she felt bored and walked over to see what they were doing.

The other woman removed the facial mask ten minutes later too, and more than half of the acne on her face disappeared, which was a miracle in the women's eyes. No matter how expensive the facial masks they had used before, it took a long time to get rid of acne. However, Kouzi was different, and was able to remove most of the acne after only ten minutes! There was no reason for them not to buy it.

Although Kouzi facial masks were a little expensive for common white-collar workers, it was very effective after all. In those rich ladies' eyes, however, this brand was very new and cheap, but they wouldn't mind its level as long as it was effective. Therefore, more and more women bought many facial masks.

As for the woman who had removed the facial mask, a saleswoman directly helped her apply some emulsion along with face primer and BB cream. After that, the woman felt very good and bought the whole set at once which included an emulsion, face primer, BB cream, together with a facial cleanser. It cost over ten thousand yuan in all, but she didn't lack that amount of money.

Other women also bought a whole set after witnessing its surprising effect.

Seeing that Gu Ning's products were so popular, Di Runa was quite displeased. No matter if it was effective or not, she wouldn't buy it, but she couldn't stop others from doing so.

Among Gu Anna's friends, a woman was a famous fashion blogger, and she had recorded everything before posting it on the Internet. She was used to posting good products, and wasn't advertising for Gu Ning. Some thought that it was an ad, and she explained that it wasn't. If her followers had doubts, they could check it in the store themselves.

Many of her followers really came to the store of Kouzi to see whether it was as effective as she said. And the result was that most people believed that it was very effective, but some still wondered whether it contained chemicals which could harm the human body.

Facing their doubts, Ning Changkai explained to them that all the products had passed the drug test, so they were safe. In that case, sales of Kouzi increased rapidly within a short time.

During the morning, basically in two hours, Kouzi already made over two hundred thousand yuan.

Medicines were much cheaper than skincare products, but Colaine pharmacy was still able to make over twenty thousand yuan during the morning

Many people were used to posting everything on their social media now, so they helped Gu Ning advertise her brands to some extent.

When it was almost 12 am, Gu Ning and the others left for lunch, and left Ning Changkai in charge of the stores.

Gu Ning invited her friends to dine together in a hotel. She also invited those females friends of Gu Anna and Xu Qinyin to join them. They, of course, wouldn't reject the chance to dine with so many super-rich and powerful people.

Di Runa was the happiest one among them. In fact, she planned to invite them to dine together after the opening ceremony, because she didn't want Leng Shaoting to leave.

Mrs. Xu, however, went home after shopping, and there were 13 of them left. Gu Ning booked a luxurious large private room in the Huangdeng Hotel, which could accommodate 20 people.

When they walked inside and sat around the table, Leng Shaoting pulled a chair for Gu Ning to sit down, which upset Di Runa. She wished that Leng Shaoting would do that for her. She also wanted to sit next to Leng Shaoting, but Xu Jinchen occupied the seat before her.

It wasn't because Xu Jinchen found out that she was paying special attention to Leng Shaoting, but because it was their habit. They knew that their boss disliked sitting with women, so they would separate women from him by sitting in the middle.

Since there were so many women in the private room now, he had to be quick, in case any of them sat by Leng Shaoting. Accordingly, Xu Jinchen sat by Leng Shaoting's right side, and Xin Bei sat next to Xu Jinchen, while Gu Anna sat by Xin Bei's side.

Gu Ning was sitting on Leng Shaoting's right side, and Xu Qinyin sat next to her so that the other women in the room had no chance to approach Leng Shaoting.

Not only Di Runa, but the other women who were interested in Xu Jinchen and Xin Bei also felt disappointed, but they couldn't show it.

During the meal, Leng Shaoting kept putting food into Gu Ning's bowl, and didn't care how many people were staring at them. He even peeled shrimp for Gu Ning, which made others feel quite jealous. Seeing the scene, Di Runa lost her appetite.

Gu Ning didn't feel uneasy at all, but enjoyed the meal.

"I'm so jealous of you and I can't eat anything," Xu Jinchen complained.

"Then put down your chopsticks," Gu Ning said directly.

Xu Jinchen felt so hurt in his heart.

At this moment, Gu Ning's phone rang, and the caller was Cao Wenxin.

"Ningning, I heard that you're in the capital now. Where are you? I'm in the capital too!" Cao Wenxin was excited.

Hearing that, Gu Ning was slightly surprised, then subconsciously gave a glance at Xin Bei. She had a feeling that something was going to happen.

"I'm in the Huangdeng Hotel now," Gu Ning said.

"Really? I'm here too! Today's Xinyu's birthday, and we're having a birthday party now. Have you eaten?" Cao Wenxin asked.

"In the middle of it. Why don't you come over? We're in room No.888," Gu Ning said.

"Sure, I'll be there in two minutes," Cao Wenxin said.

"Who is it?" Xu Qinyin asked with curiosity.

"Wenxin," Gu Ning said, then gave Xin Bei a glance.

When Xin Bei heard Cao Wenxin's name, he stopped eating for a second, and a touch of nervousness along with happiness flashed by his eyes.

Seeing that, Gu Ning was sure that Xin Bei liked Cao Wenxin. It seemed like they could be a couple.

Gu Ning was right. Xin Bei couldn't help but think of Cao Wenxin all the time, but he refused to admit it because they didn't have a good first impression of each other.

Chapter 635 Cao Wenxin and Xin Bei

Before long, Cao Wenxin walked in. She didn't know that there were so many people inside, so she was a little surprised when she pushed the door open.

Once the door was open, everyone looked at her.

A touch a jealousy flashed by Di Runa's eyes when she saw another woman who was more beautiful than her show up.

"There are a few vacant seats. Sit wherever you want," Gu Ning said.

Cao Wenxin walked over. When Xin Bei appeared in her sight, she was obviously surprised and felt slightly nervous as well as excited.

However, she became quite displeased when she noticed that Xin Bei and Xu Jinchen were surrounded by so many women. "Wow, what a lucky day for you two single gentlemen to have so many pretty women to dine with you!"

Saying that, Cao Wenxin sat as far away as she could from the rest of the people in the room. There were seven continuous vacant seats, and Cao Wenxin sat right in the middle with three continuous vacant seats at both of her sides.

Hearing that, everyone frowned. Some women disliked her at once.

"They're all Qinyin���s friends, and I know none of them," Xin Bei said with annoyance. It seemed he didn't want to be misunderstood. However, it sounded a little impolite too.

Cao Wenxin, however, felt much better.

A woman disliked the way Cao Wenxin talked about them, so she pretended that she was just joking and said, "You're right. Although Mr. Xin doesn't know any of us, he's really lucky to dine with a group of beautiful women."

"Exactly! Mr. Xin, don't you think today is your lucky day?" another woman said.

Both of them said it in a joking tone, and didn't find fault with Cao Wenxin's behavior, so the others all thought that they were just joking, even Xin Bei didn't think that it was inappropriate. Nevertheless, Cao Wenxin sensed their strong hatred towards her, and was annoyed.

"Right! Today is Mr. Xin's lucky day, but I think Mr. Xin should deal with something else first before he starts to enjoy this meal with so many pretty women," Cao Wenxin said in an ironic tone.

Hearing that, Xin Bei frowned, looking to Cao Wenxin with confusion. "What thing?"

"The thing about Yu Wenjing," Cao Wenxin sneered. "Xin Bei, although we've already cleared up the misunderstanding, I don't want to take the blame for you."

"Yu Wenjing came to City B a while ago, and I encountered her in a shopping mall. She swore at me for no reason and even said that I'm a siren. She also insisted that we're dating. I denied it, but she wouldn't let it go and even harassed me by calling and texting me with different phone numbers many times. I seriously have no idea how she got my phone number, but please tell her to stop doing it or I'll punch her to disability," Cao Wenxin said with a serious face.

She had been harassed by Yu Wenjing for a long time. Although Yu Wenjing was hardly her match, she was quite displeased being harassed all day. Once Cao Wenxin blacklisted Yu Wenjing's phone number, Yu Wenjing would use another phone number to insult her.

She came to the capital this time in order to attend Ai Xinyu's birthday party and also to pay Yu Wenjing back.

Hearing that, everyone thought that there must be something going on between Cao Wenxin and Xin Bei, otherwise the woman called Yu Wenjing wouldn't keep harassing Cao Wenxin.

At this moment, several women who admired Xin Bei around the table had a bad impression of him. They disliked a man who dated several women at the same time.

Xin Bei, however, was astonished to hear that, and asked subconsciously, "How could she know that we're dating?"

Hearing that, the other women all realized that there was indeed something going on between them.

"I'm not dating you!" Cao Wenxin denied at once.

The others around the table watched the drama in silence.

Xin Bei immediately realized that he had said something wrong, so he explained it without delay. "Of course not. I meant, why did she insist that we're dating?"

"Her friend saw us hanging out together at the Lantern Festival and sent a picture of us to her," Cao Wenxin said.

Nonetheless, Cao Wenxin somehow felt that it was very wrong. She tried to explain that she wasn't dating Xin Bei, but her explanation proved that they did hang out together.

"We hung out together with our families. Why did she have to say that we're dating?" Xin Bei didn't understand it.

Hearing that, everyone realized that there was a misunderstanding.

"I don't know!" Cao Wenxin said with annoyance.

All of a sudden, Gu Ning opened her mouth. "Maybe she thinks you'll make a great couple!"

Both Cao Wenxin and Xin Bei were struck dumb for a second, but Cao Wenxin denied it at once. "It's not true! Ningning, Shaoting has peeled so many shrimp for you. Why can't you focus on eating!"

Xin Bei felt slightly disappointed when Cao Wenxin denied it. He thought that maybe she really hated him.

Gu Ning looked to Leng Shaoting and asked him with an innocent face, "Am I wrong?"

"You're right," Leng Shaoting said.

"Well, I do think Xin Bei and Wenxin will make a great couple," Xu Qinyin said. She suddenly had a feeling that it wasn't a bad idea.

"Their parents have the same idea," Gu Ning said again.

"Stop it!" Cao Wenxin flushed.

Xin Bei remained silent, like he agreed with it. He, of course, knew that Cao Wenxin's parents approved of him. However, it seemed Cao Wenxin disliked him.

Others around the table also noticed the chemistry between them.

Chapter 636 Punch Her If You're Angry

Maybe out of guilt or something else, Xin Bei said to Cao Wenxin gently, which had never happened before, "I'm so sorry for what she has done to you, but there is nothing between her and me now. She did it on her own initiative."

Cao Wenxin stopped eating, looking at him. "Anyway, tell her to stop harassing me, or I'll punch her the next time. I know the address of her place."

"Punch her if you're angry, and leave the rest to me," Xin Bei said. He was spoiling her, but even he didn't realize.

Some of the women around the table felt a little scared.

Cao Wenxin's heart, on the other hand, skipped a beat all of a sudden. She actually enjoyed the feeling of being spoiled. Her heart pounded fast, and she didn't dare look him in the eyes.

Damn it! Why did she suddenly feel like it wasn't a bad thing to have a boyfriend like Xin Bei? Thinking that maybe she liked Xin Bei now, Cao Wenxin felt uneasy. She moved her eyes away from him and focused on the food.

Seeing that, Xin Bei wasn't sure whether Cao Wenxin was being shy. If so, why did she feel shy? Thinking that maybe Cao Wenxin liked him too, Xin Bei was cheered up a little.

Just when they were about to enjoy the meal again, Cao Wenxin's phone rang a second. It was a message warning tone. Cao Wenxin read the message from a strange number and it was all bad language. She was mad at once, addressing Xin Bei, "I can't stand it anymore. She just sent me another message with dirty language. Do you want to clear it up with her, otherwise I'll go punch her right now?"

Xin Bei thought for a while, then said, "I'll go with you."

Cao Wenxin asked with confusion, "Do you want to clear it up with her or go punch her with me?"

If he was going to clear it up, she wouldn't go with him, in case it would cause more misunderstandings. In addition, was he going to punch a woman with her?

"To clear it up. If she won't let it go, you can punch her as you like," Xin Bei said, and didn't think that there was anything wrong with that.

Hearing that, some women around the table had a worse impression of Xin Bei.

"I agree!" Gu Ning said to Cao Wenxin. In fact, she thought Xin Bei probably just wanted to spend some time alone with Cao Wenxin.

Cao Wenxin and Xin Bei then stood up and left together.

"Ningning, you're setting them up!" Xu Qinyin blinked at Gu Ning with a knowing smile.

Gu Ning smiled too, but didn't say a word.

"Do you think Wenxin is really going to punch Yu Wenjing?" Xu Qinyin asked with curiosity.

"No idea," Gu Ning said, but Yu Wenjing asked for it even if Cao Wenxin punched her.

"Miss Gu, do you think it's a good idea to support the lady to punch another woman? Don't you know it's illegal?" Di Runa said, criticizing Gu Ning.

Actually, it was Cao Wenxin's idea to punch Yu Wenjing, but Di Runa purposely put it as if Gu Ning had incited Cao Wenxin to do it. Di Runa said it in order to show her kindness which would accentuate Gu Ning's cruelty so that Leng Shaoting would have a good impression of her and even start to hate Gu Ning. Di Runa was too naive.

Several other women also thought that it was inappropriate that Gu Ning had supported Cao Wenxin to punch another woman, but they knew that it was Cao Wenxin's idea after all.

Gu Ning understood that Di Runa was picking on her.

"Miss Di, I bet you must be very tolerant, and you'll accept any misunderstandings, dirty words and harassment, right?" Gu Ning said lightly. It was quite ironic.

Di Runa was displeased. Not only Di Runa, but other also knew that it was irony.

Gu Ning added, "In my opinion, I'll never treat others the way I don't want to be treated back, but I'll pay it back if anyone dares hurt me." It sounded like she was talking about Cao Wenxin, but she was also warning Di Runa.

Di Runa didn't think that Gu Ning knew about her affection for Leng Shaoting, so she had no idea that Gu Ning was warning her.

"I agree! Yu Wenjing asks for it herself," Gu Anna said.

"I can't stand it either!" Xu Qinyin said. Xu Qinyin had never been through such a thing, but she knew that she couldn't tolerate offensive words or behavior.

Since both Gu Anna and Xu Qinyin agreed with Gu Ning, Di Runa didn't know what to say now. In fact, she couldn't stand it either.

After the meal, they dispersed. No matter how unwilling Di Runa was to see Leng Shaoting leaving with Gu Ning, she could do nothing about it.

"Shouldn't you visit Grandpa Leng at home?" Xu Jinchen asked Leng Shaoting to remind him. Leng Shaoting would visit Master Leng first once he was back in the capital before. However, Leng Shaoting spent every second with Gu Ning now.

Xu Jinchen wouldn't judge, but thought that it was inappropriate that Leng Shaoting wouldn't visit his grandpa now even though he was back in the capital.

Leng Shaoting was struck dumb for a second, then remember that he hadn't visited his own grandpa yet. "Yeah, I'll go visit him later."

After that, Gu Ning and Leng Shaoting went back to their place.

Xin Bei called Yu Wenjing the moment he walked out of the hotel.

When Yu Wenjing received Xin Bei's call she was thrilled, and Xin Bei even invited her to meet at a café.

Yu Wenjing believed that Xin Bei must have changed his mind and wanted her to be back by his side.

"She's coming," Xin Bei said after hanging up.

Chapter 637 I Feel Disgusted Seeing You

"I think her love for you is already twisted. There is nothing going on between us, but she has to harass me again and again, which is so annoying!" Cao Wenxin said with annoyance.

"Do you have to overreact so much? It seems you really hate to have anything to do with me," Xin Bei joked. He expected that Cao Wenxin would deny it.

Hearing that, Cao Wenxin explained it at once. "I don't hate having anything to do with you, but I just feel displeased being harassed by Yu Wenjing."

Hearing that, Xin Bei cheered up and felt glad that Cao Wenxin didn't hate him.

Xin Bei and Cao Wenxin arrived at the café first, but they didn't share the same table.

Xin Bei would talk with Yu Wenjing first. If Yu Wenjing wouldn't stop insulting them, Cao Wenxin would show up and teach her a lesson.

If Cao Wenxin was really going to beat Yu Wenjing, Xin Bei, of course, wouldn't stand there watching. It wasn't Xin Bei's fault that he agreed with Cao Wenxin to punch Yu Wenjing, but Yu Wenjing asked for it herself. If she didn't learn the lesson now, it was possible that she would do something more annoying.

At this time, there weren't many people in the café.

Before long, Yu Wenjing walked in. She was excited to see Xin Bei. "Xin Bei, it's been…"

"Have a seat." Xin Bei interrupted her with a cold expression before she could finish the sentence.

Yu Wenjing didn't think further and sat down at once.

"Yu Wenjing, have you been harassing Cao Wenxin lately?" Xin Bei questioned her without hesitation.

Hearing that, the smile on Yu Wenjing's face disappeared. She didn't expect that Xin Bei called her to meet here because of Cao Wenxin. Yu Wenjing was more certain now that Xin Bei was dating Cao Wenxin.

"You called me today just for this?" Yu Wenjing was disappointed and mad.

"Yes," Xin Bei said.

Yu Wenjing felt so hurt and said in anger, "She seduced you, so I punished her! What's wrong with that? Do you really like her? Are you really dating her? Why do you care about it so much?" She admitted that she had been harassing Cao Wenxin.

Cao Wenxin, who was sitting by a nearby table, rolled her eyes. It was ridiculous that Yu Wenjing jumped to the conclusion that she had seduced Xin Bei just because of a photo of them.

"It's none of your business!" Xin Bei coldly looked at Yu Wenjing. He had never despised himself as much before as he did now. How could he have fallen in love with such a selfish, snobbish and malicious woman?

"You are mine!" Yu Wenjing almost shouted. It seemed that she had totally forgotten that she had already broken up with Xin Bei years ago.

"I'm yours? Are you insane? We've been broken up for years, and you are the one who dumped me," Xin Bei said.

"I'm regretful now. I'm still in love with you and I want you back," Yu Wenjing said and took it for granted that he should accept her as long as she still loved him.

Hearing that, Cao Wenxin couldn't help but roll her eyes again. Yu Wenjing was so shameless!

Xin Bei was annoyed. "You're the most shameless person I've ever seen before! Who do you think you are? I feel so disgusted seeing you."

Cao Wenxin gave Xin Bei a thumbs-up in her heart.

Five years ago, Xin Bei joined the Red Flame. Because of his special identity, he couldn't tell anyone, including his family. When he met Yu Wenjing four years ago, he told her that he was just a common soldier.

At the beginning, Yu Wenjing admired him for his honorable job, but soon disdained it because he didn't make much money. Afterwards, Yu Wenjing had an affair with a rich man but didn't break up with Xin Bei beforehand.

Xin Bei didn't find out until he went to visit Yu Wenjing. However, not only had Yu Wenjing dumped him, but she had also humiliated him.

Yu Wenjing was dumped by the rich man after a few months, but she soon turned to another rich man and was dumped after a few months again. After a period of time, she heard from a friend that Xin Bei was actually a military officer of high rank in the army, so she did everything to find him.

Although Xin Bei didn't mind his girlfriend's rich experience in sex, he would never accept a betrayer. Besides, Yu Wenjing was so rotten and he felt disgusted seeing her now.

"You…" Yu Wenjing burst into tears and seemed innocent. "How could you say that to me?"

"Stop acting! I think you must clearly know what you've done during the past two years. Do you need me to help you point it out?" Xin Bei said with obvious disdain.

Cao Wenxin suddenly was curious about what Yu Wenjing had done during the past two years to make Xin Bei feel so disgusted now.

Has she been a mistress of another man? Cao Wenxin thought.

Yu Wenjing's body stiffened and her face turned pale. In fact, she also despised herself when thinking about what she had done during the past two years. During the past two years, she had maintained a sexual relationship with many rich men, but none of them treated her with sincerity. She had simply sold her body for money. Not long ago, she heard from her friend that Xin Bei held a high rank in the army.

Chapter 638 Hit with an Ashtray

A high rank meant that Xin Bei was a senior military officer in the army now! Therefore, she did everything she could to find Xin Bei and she really was still in love with him. However, he said to her face that he felt disgusted seeing her. Yu Wenjing was also an utterly selfish person.

"Yu Wenjing, stop harassing Cao Wenxin right away. She isn't someone you can mess with. Don't hurt yourself and involve your family too." Xin Bei warned her with a serious face. He didn't care about Yu Wenjing now, but he was unwilling to see Cao Wenxin being harassed again.

Yu Wenjing couldn't believe her ears. "Did you just threaten me because of her?" Yu Wenjing still believed that Xin Bei shouldn't treat her like that.

"Yu Wenjing, that's all I can say. If you won't stop, you're digging your own grave." Since Yu Wenjing wouldn't listen, Xin Bei wouldn't waste more time on her. After that, he stood up and was about to leave. He would leave it to Cao Wenxin now.

"Xin Bei!" Yu Wenjing stopped him and wore a malicious expression. "Since you care about her so much, I promise I'll ruin her!"

Xin Bei turned around and stared straight at Yu Wenjing in anger, which scared her. "Don't you dare!" he said in an extremely cold voice. Xin Bei had never been so angry before. Although he was really annoyed by what Yu Wenjing had just said, he curbed his anger. However, when Yu Wenjing said that she was going to hurt Cao Wenxin, he couldn't limit his anger anymore. At this moment, he was certain that he cared about Cao Wenxin.

Even though Yu Wenjing was afraid of him now, she lost her mind and threatened him. "Let's see! Not only her, I promise I'll ruin every woman who dares to be with you! I'll never let you live a good life!"

Cao Wenxin couldn't stand it anymore. She stood up and walked towards them. "Oh, what's your plan to ruin me?" she said coldly to Yu Wenjing.

When Cao Wenxin suddenly showed up, Yu Wenjing went crazy. Xin Bei was really with Cao Wenxin now! Yu Wenjing grabbed the ashtray on the table and threw it at Cao Wenxin without delay.

Seeing that, Xin Bei dashed over and protected Cao Wenxin in his arms with his back facing the ashtray. With a loud sound, the ashtray hit Xin Bei's head, and it immediately started bleeding. The blood dampened Xin Bei's hair and flowed down his neck and his gray shirt turned red within seconds, which was quite noticeable.

Hearing the noise, others turned to look at them, and were all shocked by the scene.

Yu Wenjing was struck dumb, so was Cao Wenxin. To Cao Wenxin's astonishment, Xin Bei protected her in his arms.

Actually, Cao Wenxin could avoid it herself, but Xin Bei pressed her to his chest before she could. Cao Wenxin felt touched as well as surprised by Xin Bei's behavior.

"What's going on here?" A waiter came over and was shocked by the scene too.

Hearing the waiter's voice, Cao Wenxin got her mind back and asked Xin Bei in trembling voice, "A-are you alright?"

Before Xin Bei answered her question, she shouted at the waiter, "Call an ambulance!"

"Oh, right-right!" The waiter made a call in a hurry.

"I-I-I didn't mean to hurt you." Yu Wenjing trembled in fear and walked to Xin Bei. "Xin Bei…"

"F*ck off!" Cao Wenxin kicked her in great anger.

Yu Wenjing was a slim woman and was no match for Cao Wenxin at all. She was kicked in the stomach, and she stumbled backwards a few steps before she fell down on the sofa and hit the hard ground. Yu Wenjing was in great pain after the heavy kick, and couldn't move right now.

Everyone around was shocked again.

"I'm fine," Xin Bei said. Although he felt a little dizzy, it wasn't a serious injury.

Cao Wenxin, however, was mad and pushed him away. "What? Are you protecting her? I just kicked her once."

"Of course not…" Xin Bei said. He was just comforting Cao Wenxin to ally her concern.

"Then what do you mean?" Cao Wenxin wouldn't let him go.

"I just don't want you to be worried about me," Xin Bei said.

Hearing that, Cao Wenxin's heart skipped a beat.

"What happened?" The manager of this café came over in a hurry.

Seeing the blood on Xin Bei's collar, Cao Wenxin's heart ached for him. She ignored the manager and helped him sit down. "Have a seat." After that, she turned to the manager. "Give me a clean towel."

The manager immediately arranged for a waiter to do that.

Xin Bei suddenly enjoyed the feeling of Cao Wenxin worrying about him.

All of a sudden, Cao Wenxin thought of Gu Ning, because Gu Ning was good at rescuing people.

When Gu Ning received Cao Wenxin's call, Leng Shaoting was kissing her in the house. He was quite annoyed to be interrupted at this moment. Even so, Leng Shaoting wouldn't stop Gu Ning form answering it.

"Hi!" Gu Ning picked it up.

"Ningning, Xin Bei was hit with an ashtray in the head. Where are you now? Can you come over and help him?" Cao Wenxin's voice was trembling.

Hearing that, Gu Ning was slightly scared, and asked with anxiety, "Where?"

"A café on XX Road, but I think the ambulance is about to arrive. Please meet us at the nearby No.10 Hospital," Cao Wenxin said.

"Sure, we'll be right there," Gu Ning said, then hung up and left the house with Leng Shaoting at once.

About seven minutes later, an ambulance arrived at the café.

Chapter 639 Cut a Finger

Although the café didn't suffer any loss, they had caused trouble here, so Xin Bei took out eight hundred-yuan bills and gave them to the manager before they left.

The manager took the money, and let them go.

Yu Wenjing was alone in the hospital, so the hospital had to inform her family. She didn't want her parents to know, so she told the doctor to call her older brother.

Gu Ning and Leng Shaoting came a while after Cao Wenxin and the others arrived at the hospital. Many nurses' eyes lit up when Leng Shaoting walked by them.

A nurse even walked over and asked him, "Sir, may I help?"

However, Gu Ning coldly rejected her. "No need." Gu Ning had never seen a nurse being so gentle to a visitor in the hospital before.

At this moment, a doctor was helping Xin Bei deal with the wound.

Knowing that Leng Shaoting was on the way here, Xin Bei was in a panic, and he didn't dare look at Leng Shaoting when Leng Shaoting walked in the room. As a member of the Red Flame, it was an embarrassment that he had been hit with an ashtray.

"You were hit with an ashtray?" Leng Shaoting stared at Xin Bei with a serious face.

"I…" Xin Bei wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Cao Wenxin. "Shaoting, he was hit with the ashtray because of me." She also knew that it was very embarrassing that Xin Bei, as a senior soldier in the special forces, had been hit with an ashtray.

Leng Shaoting gave her a glance, then remained silent.

"Did Yu Wenjing use an ashtray to attack you?" Gu Ning asked.

"Yes!" Cao Wenxin said in anger.

"How is she now?" Gu Ning asked again.

"I kicked her with great force, and I bet she's seriously injured," Cao Wenxin said airily. She didn't think that it was inappropriate at all.

Gu Ning also thought that there was nothing wrong with it. If she were Cao Wenxin, she would beat Yu Wenjing to disability.

The doctor finished dealing with the wound on Xin Bei's head. Just when he was about to apply some medicine to it, Gu Ning stopped him, and took out a bottle of power crystal. She poured some water inside, and treated the wound for Xin Bei.

The external application of the power crystal was aimed at curing wounds. It could improve resistance by talking it and the power would spread to the wound to heal it from inside, but the wound on the surface would look the same. It took more pills to completely heal a wound. Given Xin Bei's outstanding physical fitness, there was no need for him to take the pill, so Gu Ning applied it to the wound on the surface.

The doctor tried to stop Gu Ning, because he thought that Gu Ning wasn't a professional. However, Xin Bei agreed to it, so the doctor gave up and let Gu Ning do whatever she wanted. Before long, the wound on Xin Bei's head stopped bleeding, which surprised the doctor.

"Wow." The doctor rounded his eyes in shock. He turned to Gu Ning and asked her with curiosity, "Miss, may I know what kind of medicine is this? It's so effective!"

"I have no idea. It was a gift from a friend." Gu Ning gave him a perfunctory answer.

Since Gu Ning said so, the doctor didn't ask further.

"Ningning, how's the wound now?" Cao Wenxin asked with concern.

"It's fine, but I think he better have a CT scan," Gu Ning said.

Afterwards, Xin Bei went to have a CT scan.

A while later, the result was out, and the doctor said that Xin Bei was fine, but he better stay in the hospital for a day. Therefore, Xin Bei stayed in the hospital.

Leng Shaoting had to go back to the Leng family's house, so Gu Ning and Leng Shaoting didn't stay in the patient room for long.

Gu Ning said, "He was injured because of you, so you should stay here to take care of him. Shaoting and I have to leave now."

"No problem," Cao Wenxin said.

"Here. Apply it once in the afternoon, and once in the evening." Gu Ning gave Cao Wenxin the bottle of power crystal.

"Thanks!" Cao Wenxin took it, and thought that this bottle of medicine was really important.

When Gu Ning and Leng Shaoting were gone, Cao Wenxin felt a little uneasy staying with Xin Bei alone. "Um, I'm not good at taking care of others. If you need anything, please directly tell me."

"Thanks," Xin Bei said.

"I should thank you for what you did," Cao Wenxin said.

"No big deal. I feel guilty that you've been harassed by her because of me," Xin Bei said, feeling embarrassed.

"Well, let's drop the topic. Do you want to have an apple? I can help you peel one," Cao Wenxin said.

"Thanks!" Xin Bei said with a smile.

Seeing his charming smile, Cao Wenxin flushed, and turned around at once, in case Xin Bei would notice it. Even so, Xin Bei still saw her red face.

Xin Bei wasn't an idiot in love, so he knew that Cao Wenxin flushed because she liked him now. Although he wanted to ask her directly, he was afraid that she would be annoyed, so he decided to take it slowly.

All of a sudden, Cao Wenxin cut her finger by accident and shouted in pain.

"What happened?" Xin Bei jumped out of the bed at once. Seeing that her finger was bleeding, he felt very sad.

"It's fine. I just cut my finger by accident." Cao Wenxin wasn't a weak woman, so she didn't care about it at all.

"It's bleeding!" Xin Bei was displeased.

"Where is the medicine Gu Ning gave you?" Xin Bei asked.

"I can ask for an adhesive bandage from the nurse, and it'll be fine. The medicine is for your wound." Cao Wenxin thought that the cut on her finger was barely comparable to the wound on Xin Bei's head.

Chapter 640 Search Your Body

"Give it to me yourself, or do you want me to search for it on your body?" Xin Bei asked staring straight at her.

Hearing that, Cao Wenxin couldn't believe her ears. However, she didn't feel offended at all, but flushed again.

Xin Bei waited for a few seconds. Seeing Cao Wenxin still standing there, he said, "You remain silent, so then I guess I'll search your body." Saying that, he stepped forward.

"I'll give it to you." Cao Wenxin gave up at once. She took out the porcelain bottle from her pocket and Xin Bei grabbed it at once, then applied the medicine to the cut on her finger.

Seeing Xin Bei being so cautious, Cao Wenxin's heart pounded fast and she enjoyed it very much.

Once the liquid medicine was applied to Cao Wenxin's injured finger, she felt the flow of coldness into it. Within seconds, the pain was reduced, the wound stopped bleeding and the cut healed too. There was only a light mark left on her finger, like a scar.

Although they knew that Gu Ning's medicine was very effective, Xin Bei and Cao Wenxin were still astonished.

However, right at this moment, the door was kicked open with a loud sound, and a man who was around 30 years old dashed inside with his face full of anger. Seeing Xin Bei being so close to Cao Wenxin, he was mad at once. "Xin Bei, how can you hurt my younger sister like that!?" He said that, and was about to punch Xin Bei. However, it was impossible that he could beat Xin Bei.

In case the man would hurt Cao Wenxin, Xin Bei caught the man and got control of him at once.

"Xin Bei, let me go!" The man struggled, but it was useless, which made him even angrier. "Xin Bei, are you a real man or not? How could you let another woman kick my younger sister? Although you broke up with my younger sister, you can't be so cold-blooded given that she was your girlfriend!"

"Yu Wenkang, I thought that you're a sensitive man, but unexpectedly you can't distinguish right or wrong. You only see that your younger sister is injured, but do you know what happened before that?" Xin Bei questioned him in anger.

Yu Wenkang was exactly Yu Wenjing's older brother, and he came here to cause trouble once he heard that his younger sister was hurt by a woman with Xin Bei.

"No matter what happened you shouldn't have watched another woman kick my younger sister and done nothing! My younger sister loves you so much, and you treat her like that?" Yu Wenkang argued, like Xin Bei should feel honored that his younger sister loved him.

"It was the worst decision I've ever made to be with Yu Wenjing," Xin Bei sneered. "Yu Wenkang, I bet that you must know what kind of person your younger sister is. I don't want to judge her, but please tell her to stop harassing my friend. She attacked my friend with an ashtray in a public place. If you were me, would you let a stranger hurt you and not resist at all?"

"What?" Yu Wenkang was shocked. He had no idea what Yu Wenjing had done. Yu Wenjing only told him that a woman who was with Xin Bei kicked her and she was badly injured now.

Yu Wenkang was actually aware of the fact that it was Yu Wenjing who had dumped Xin Bei. However, he also supported Yu Wenjing getting Xin Bei back after finding out that Xin Bei was a military officer of high rank. He was also selfish, but he wouldn't force Xin Bei if Xin Bei rejected.

In addition, he was so mad now only because he thought that Yu Wenjing was badly injured after arguing with the woman who were with Xin Bei. If what Xin Bei told him was true, it was Yu Wenjing's fault. When he calmed himself down, he saw that Xin Bei's forehead was wrapped in bandages. Xin Bei must have protected the woman when Yu Wenjing attacked her with an ashtray.

"Are you sure?" Yu Wenkang asked with doubt.

"You can go check the surveillance video of that café," Xin Bei said, then let Yu Wenkang go.

Yu Wenkang didn't say anything further, and turned around walking out.

"Wait a second." Xin Bei stopped him. "Tell Yu Wenjing to stop harassing my friend. My friend isn't someone she can mess with. She can't bear the result if my friend takes revenge, and your family will also be involved."

Hearing that, Yu Wenkang panicked a little. The woman with Xin Bei must be from either a rich or powerful family. He believed Xin Bei, and he knew that Xin Bei wouldn't lie to him. Moreover, Xin Bei was a military officer of high rank now, so he, of course, knew many important figures. Yu Wenkang, on the other hand, was from a very common family, and didn't dare annoy anyone with power or wealth.

After he left Xin Bei's patient room, he didn't go to the café, but went to visit Yu Wenjing, and told Yu Wenjing what Xin Bei had said to him.

Yu Wenjing didn't deny that she had attacked Xin Bei's friend, and Yu Wenkang was mad at her.

"Yu Wenkang, you'd better stop now. The woman is from a powerful family. If you annoy her, our family could be punished!" Yu Wenkang said in anger.

Yu Wenjing now got her reason back, so she was scared too and remained quiet. However, she was unwilling to give up now. Even so, there was nothing she could do about it.

Leng Shaoting drove Gu Ning back to his house, and then went to the Leng family's house.

Leng Shaoting told Gu Ning that he would dine with her later. Gu Ning, on the other hand, thought that he should share dinner with his grandpa.

Leng Shaoting finally agreed.

Before Leng Shaoting left, Gu Ning gave him eight gold bars and told him that it was a gift for Master Leng. Although gold wasn't worth much nowadays, an ancient gold bar was a precious collectible.

Leng Shaoting understood that Gu Ning got them from an ancient grave, so he didn't ask further.