You Can’t Show Up Empty-Handed to a Birthday Party

Tang Ao shook his head repeatedly, "Stop it, I'm going to the party to present a gift. You don't even know her. It would be awkward for you to go."

"Who says I don't know her!?" Hearing the implication in Tang Ao's words that he wanted to attend the birthday party alone, Zhou Qiao'er stared intently at Tang Ao, "Li Shiyun, your high school classmate, your childhood friend, she became a police officer because of you, didn't she?"

Tang Ao firmly shook his head as he looked at Zhou Qiao'er, "You only learned all this yesterday. She doesn't even know you, and besides, you don't have an invitation. The Li family is very strict. Without an invitation, you won't be able to get in!"

Zhou Qiao'er smiled smugly and pulled out a bright red invitation from her dress, "I heard that I, Zhou Qiao'er, was in Longquan City, and the Li family sent me an invitation overnight. You didn't think... I went out late last night just to take a walk, did you? I wouldn't have gone out at night if I didn't have something important to do."

Tang Ao didn't have time to process Zhou Qiao'er's words. He glanced at the invitation in her hand, then at her elaborate dress, particularly the dazzling diamond...

Zhou Qiao'er had planned this all along!

She had already decided last night that she was going to accompany Tang Ao to Li Shiyun's birthday party!

And her outfit must have been approved by Tang Ao's mother, otherwise, she wouldn't have been eavesdropping at the door earlier!

Beautiful women are cunning creatures!

Tang Ao felt a chill in his heart as he envisioned the scene of Zhou Qiao'er becoming the center of attention at the Li family's event...

But, Zhou Qiao'er had her own invitation, and she was already dressed to the nines. Clearly, she was fully prepared. No matter what excuse Tang Ao came up with to stop her from going, Zhou Qiao'er would have an answer for it.

Zhou Qiao'er was that kind of nearly perfect person. She never left any loose ends in her plans.

Since he couldn't refuse her...

Tang Ao could only go with the flow and handed Zhou Qiao'er the keys to his Bugatti Veyron.

To be fair, Zhou Qiao'er's driving skills were the best Tang Ao had ever seen. If Tang Ao were holding a cup of coffee, no matter how long Zhou Qiao'er drove, not a drop would spill. Riding in her car was a rare pleasure.

Tang Ao gradually dozed off.

In his dream, Li Shiyun was feeding him peanuts, Lin Ruoxue was kneeling on a durian, looking pitiful as she kept apologizing, and Zhou Ling'er was washing his feet. Suddenly, Zhou Qiao'er appeared out of nowhere, grabbed Tang Ao, and was about to kiss him...

Spring... no, nightmare!

Tang Ao woke up with a start, drenched in sweat. That dream was terrifying. Tang Ao felt his whole body heat up.

This kind of treatment was something only the protagonist in a novel would experience!

How could he have such a strange dream?

Before he could fully reflect on the dream, he suddenly felt warm breath on his right earlobe:

"What were you dreaming about? You were smiling so much."

It was Zhou Qiao'er's voice, and Tang Ao's skin prickled with goosebumps!

When he opened his eyes, he saw that Zhou Qiao'er, who was supposed to be driving, had somehow climbed on top of him. Her left hand rested on his chest, while her right hand was placed on his abdomen, both hands wandering around!

Hiss~!

Tang Ao gasped and quickly pushed Zhou Qiao'er away, "Zhou Qiao'er, stop being a pervert! If you keep this up, I'll call out!"

Instead of getting angry, Zhou Qiao'er smiled seductively and ran her tongue over her lips, "Really? Is that supposed to be a good thing?"

Tang Ao's brow furrowed deeply, and he quickly looked outside the window...

There were rows of shops with small vendors setting up stalls. All of the stalls, without exception, were selling various antiques!

Most importantly, the place was packed with people. There wasn't even room to stop and rest!

Tang Ao instantly realized where they were—Antique Street!

As the largest antique market in Longquan City, and indeed the entire country, this was the site of the most extensive and complex antique trading in the world. Every year, there were stories of treasure hunters changing their fortunes here. As a result, this market attracted more and more buyers and sellers, becoming the busiest place in Longquan City!

The foot traffic here was so high that the five tea houses on this street made hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales every day!

If Tang Ao called out here...

The news that Zhou Qiao'er had caught him and turned the tables on him would spread across Longquan City by nightfall.

Tang Ao looked at Zhou Qiao'er with confusion, "Why... did you bring me to this place? We're still several dozen miles away from the Li family estate!"

Zhou Qiao'er replied with a playful look, "Of course, we're here to buy a gift. You can't show up empty-handed to someone's birthday party."

"A gift? Can't we just grab some roadside weeds as a present?"

Zhou Qiao'er treated Tang Ao's words as a joke. People outside the car were already casting curious glances their way. Her face reddened slightly as she pulled Tang Ao out of the car.

Looking at the vast array of items on display, Tang Ao glanced at Zhou Qiao'er, "Do you know anything about antiques?"

Zhou Qiao'er shook her head, "Not a clue. I've never been interested in them."

"Then why bring me here? Are we going to get fleeced?"

Zhou Qiao'er snorted softly, dragging Tang Ao to the first stall, "Boss, how much for all of these?"

"Which one?"

Zhou Qiao'er pointed at the entire stall, "All of it."

"Huh?"

Both Tang Ao and the stall owner were stunned. Zhou Qiao'er smiled, "Only kids make choices. I want them all. Swipe the card."

Tang Ao trembled:

[This... this line sounds so familiar!]

[Oh my god, this woman is insane. No matter how rich you are, you can't waste money like this. There are only a few genuinely valuable antiques in this market, and this stall has none of them. The prices are outrageous, and buying everything would be throwing money down the drain—it's a total IQ tax!]

The stall owner had initially thought they were just messing around, but seeing Zhou Qiao'er's expensive outfit, he skeptically pulled out the POS machine.

"Eighty thousand, are you sure?"

Zhou Qiao'er chuckled and shook her head, quickly retracting the card she had just handed over, "Forget it, I don't want them anymore."

"What the hell, are you messing with me!?"

Ignoring the stall owner's glare, Zhou Qiao'er led a baffled Tang Ao to the next stall. Looking at the display of items, Zhou Qiao'er frowned slightly, "Tang Ao, what do you think of these?"

Tang Ao glanced up and suddenly noticed a white teapot:

[Holy crap, that's a one-of-a-kind glazed white jade teapot from over 3,000 years ago. According to the storyline, Ye Chen was supposed to find this hidden gem. It's the only one of its kind in the world, and it's priceless! Ye Chen wins over the Li family's elder with this and a few other antique tea pets from over 2,000 years ago!]

[No way, this is a crucial plot item for Ye Chen. I can't let Zhou Qiao'er buy it!]

Thinking quickly, Tang Ao decided to lead Zhou Qiao'er away from the stall. He pointed to a porcelain plate at the neighboring stall, "Look at that plate! It's so beautiful. It must be incredibly valuable. Let's go buy it first!"