Al-Father

Ye Qing quickly gathered his thoughts and followed the two. When Ye Qing caught up, Madam Ye and Zi Rumeng had already ascended the elevator to the reception venue on the ground floor. Helpless, Ye Qing could only wait for the next elevator.

Ding!

Madam Ye and a somewhat nervous Zi Rumeng left the elevator. The latter was surprised that Madam Ye didn't wait for Ye Qing, even though she had the patience to wait in the car earlier. As for Madam Ye, she felt that it was unnecessary to lead Ye Qing around when they'd already made it into the building— she was simply standing guard for the young man in case some accidents happened while he was distracted.

When the two women stepped out of the elevator, quite a lively scene greeted them. The reception hall was bustling with people dressed in all sorts of high fashion brands. Glittering accessories, fine silk dresses, firm tuxedos, and heavy cologne perfume, but some people looked outright frightening with their street-style haircuts, silver chains, and bold bracelets.

These people constituted almost one-third of the crowd, and at least one of them was present in the circle of the decent, influential-looking people. Zi Rumeng looked around, and suddenly she felt as though the atmosphere was a bit off.

These influential people from massive corporations, some of which she recognized, simply looked over with odd expressions but had no intentions of coming to greet Madam Ye, even as she was the host of this auction.

Zi Rumeng, as someone who pursues a carrier in economics and finance, had always paid attention to places that constitute the majority of the city's cash flow in recent years. According to her research, in recent years, the Antique Night Auction House was very close to the center of economic rise if not at the center of it with its history of international currency exchange. She had expected many of the big shots in Haikou City to flock over and interact with Madam Ye, and by extension, providing her with the opportunity to interact with these people and leave a good impression on her future career.

Zi Rumeng was very smart and thus, she could immediately read something off about the mood in the room. One of the fierce-looking middle-aged men broke off from his social group and approached Madam Ye and Zi Rumeng, a transparent glass of golden liquor in his right hand, even as the wine swirled about like the surface of a golden sea.

"Haha, if it isn't Madam Ye— your little company is as flourishing as ever! Wow! Look at all these guests; dying to get the auction started!" As the man laughed, he reached into the inner pocket of his vest, seemingly pulling out a cigar even as the 'No Smoking Allowed' sign was in his backdrop.

Human minds can be very curious, especially the mind of a young girl like Zi Rumeng and hence, she instinctively followed the motion of the man's hand with her eyes— oh how she wished she had not done so. There, strapped to his chest, came the outline of a standard-modern handgun. It stuck out like a sore thumb, the intentions transmitted loud and clear.

Madam Ye didn't even bother breaking eye contact with the man, but he had expected so much from the cold beauty of the economic empire. However, he was glad his little trick pulled the rug from beneath this young girl's feet; he could see the horror and shock in her beautiful eyes.

He snickered. "Little miss, I wouldn't stick around this woman too long if I were you… Who knows, some of the friends over here aren't overly friendly— at least, not to a pretty little thing such as yourself."

This was yet another naked threat. The middle-aged man clearly thought that Madam Ye was trying to get the auction house back on its feet by inviting some fresh blood. However, he can't allow this to go on; he must obstruct this woman on every corner and every turn she makes.

"I… I…" Zi Rumeng stuttered to reply, her mind blank with fear. The middle-aged man had a grin on that almost split his face in two, even as he said, "Did you see who I was with just now? That group of people over there… They're big shots of the industry not only in Hainan bt multiple provinces of the prefecture. They can set you up straight, if you're really interested in this field."

The man gestured as he spoke, deviating Zi Rumeng's attention from Madam Ye.

As a high school student, Zi Rumeng's intelligence-gathering abilities weren't even qualified to be mentioned. Thus, she had no idea what mess she got herself into, but she was clear that there were two factions in this room; either with or against Madam Ye.

Obviously, Madam Ye only had two young, high school students on her side at the moment.

Zi Rumeng didn't want to turn back on Madam Ye the moment she received the latter's recognition, but she wasn't about to waste an opportunity of a lifetime either. Just as she was fumbling for a reply that wouldn't gnaw on her conscious in the future, another ding sounded.

The door to the elevator opened as Ye Qing stepped out with an exasperated expression on his lips, the notes and books still in his arms. "You two could have waited for me, you know?"

Just as he complained crumply, he noticed something was off about the atmosphere.

Quickly, he noticed the fierce man in the motion of showing off his handgun, he then noticed the fidgety Zi Rumeng, the silent Madam Ye, and the peculiar looks in the eyes of the crowd. With Ye Qing's current focus and acumen, he almost immediately proceeded to everyone's faces and postures, running a visual stimulation on what could have transpired.

When Ye Qing looked at the fierce man again, two words surfaced in his mind; South Side.

The man was a bit surprised to find yet another youngster, and he turned over to look at the trembling Zi Rumeng and asked, "Is he your friend, little miss?"

Zi Rumeng flinched a little as her mind raced. "N-no…Not friends— this is Madam Ye's…"

"We're under Madam Ye's supervision for today, Sir." Ye Qing immediately cut the girl off while taking a powerful step forward, bumping her right shoulder with his left to shake her up while he stood one step closer to the man. Ye Qing reflexively tightened his arms on the pile of study material, which brought the man's attention ever-so-slightly to the books.

He could see a book of economics in the pile, connecting with Ye Qing's earlier sentence.

When Zi Rumeng stumbled to the side, the man also had the chance to observe her entire body and not merely her face, immediately noting the school uniform she had on.

Even as the man's mind raced, Ye Qing continued, "I am Ye Qing from Haikou's Public High School, and this is my classmate and the Student's Council President, Zi Rumeng."

"Oh," the man suddenly gasped with understanding. "Students? Are you on some school project at the moment?" If these two weren't here as potential employees but merely running an errand for school, he didn't wish to waste time on them; he had more urgent things to do.

"Somewhat," Ye Qing replied vaguely. "Madam Ye had just picked us up from the school despite the risk of getting late, I'm sorry if we somehow disturbed your auction for the night."

The man felt like something was off, but he didn't know what was off exactly. As for Zi Rumeng, she just realized she had almost blurted out Ye Qing's secret relationship with Madam Ye even as she promised otherwise. Instantly, she felt her heart squeeze.

She timidly observed Madam Ye's expression, but the latter was as cold as always, only glancing down to check her wristwatch… About five minutes for the auction to start.

Zi Rumeng felt even worse; was she stupid? These people clearly had enmity with Madam Ye and yet, she almost tossed Ye Qing under the bus due to a lapse in judgment. Now, everything she worked up to establish was gone down the drain. She comforted herself with the fact Madam Ye's auction doesn't seem to be doing very well.

"Uh," the man was at a loss for words. Suddenly, someone rushed over and whispered a few words to the fierce man, the latter's expression faltered for a bit before splitting into a smile.

He laughed. "Good news! Madam Ye, I just got the news that Esteemed Al-Father will be attending the auction; perhaps he is here to determine whether it is worth it or not for this place to take shelter under the shadow of his children! Haha, don't we all love Al-Father?"

Madam Ye's expression finally changed for a split second. Then, she sighed and directly left the reception hall. At the moment, there were only two employees in the auction house.

Maid Ya managed the network while Madam Ye worked as an auctioneer. If Al-Father was seriously coming over, she would need to make ample preparations as the auctioneer; she had no time to waste on small fries. Zi Rumeng's eyes swelled with complicated emotions as she watched Madam Ye walk away.

Then, the fierce man left while laughing, leaving Zi Rumeng alone with Ye Qing…