Chapter 25
Chapter 25: The Partner Was a Cringey Man-Child
With the plan settled, Dai Heng Xin offered to treat Xiao Ying Chun to a meal.
Xiao Ying Chun insisted on paying. “I said I’d treat you last time. Let’s do it today.”
Dai Heng Xin looked a little surprised by how precise she was, then smiled and agreed.
They had barely reached the entrance of Hai Di Lao when they ran into a group of young men dressed in loud colors, hair dyed in a mess of reds, greens, yellows, blues, and purples.
Xiao Ying Chun instinctively stepped aside. She’d always kept her distance from that kind of crowd.
But the boy in front suddenly yelped, “Old Dai? What are you doing here? Who’s this?”
Dai Heng Xin laughed when he saw him. “Young Master He? I was just thinking about looking for you. Didn’t expect to run into you here.”
He gestured toward the restaurant. “I have something to discuss. Want to eat together?”
Not long after, He Liang Cong was sitting with Dai Heng Xin and Xiao Ying Chun on the outdoor balcony of a music tavern.
He Liang Cong leaned in, eyes glittering. “Sister, the boss here is my friend. They run nightlife—during the day, there are basically no customers. We booked the whole place. Private. Easy to talk.”
The moment Dai Heng Xin clarified that Xiao Ying Chun wasn’t his girlfriend, He Liang Cong’s expression brightened even more.
He was interested. Too interested.
Xiao Ying Chun forced a polite smile and refused to sigh.
If she’d known Dai Heng Xin’s “reliable partner” looked like this, she might’ve refused on the spot. A grown man with rainbow hair and a teenage attitude didn’t exactly inspire confidence.
Still, she kept her manners. “Thank you for your thoughtfulness, Young Master He.”
“Don’t call me that,” He Liang Cong said, grinning. “Just call me Brother Cong.”
Xiao Ying Chun let out a small breath. “I might be older than you.”
“No way,” he said, laughing like it was impossible.
“How old are you, then?” Xiao Ying Chun asked.
“Twenty-six.”
Xiao Ying Chun stared at Dai Heng Xin.
Dai Heng Xin nodded. “He’s twenty-six.”
Xiao Ying Chun couldn’t hide her disbelief. With that face and that energy, he seemed more like sixteen.
He Liang Cong caught it instantly and jumped to his feet. “Hey, hey, hey—why don’t you believe me? Want me to show you my ID?”
Xiao Ying Chun waved a hand, her smile not quite reaching her eyes. “No need. I believe you.”
He Liang Cong looked wounded. “I know. It’s my outfit, right? Fine—wait till next time. I’ll clean up, and I’ll make your eyes light up!”
“No, no,” Xiao Ying Chun said quickly. “You don’t have to. Just be yourself.”
He Liang Cong froze, then looked between her and Dai Heng Xin, unsure whether she was sincere or mocking him.
Dai Heng Xin didn’t rescue him. He simply changed the subject. “I asked you here today because I want to discuss something…”
Once Dai Heng Xin laid out the plan, He Liang Cong nodded so hard it was almost comical. “This is perfect! I always said you had it, Old Dai. Look at you—how long has it even been? You’ve already upgraded!”
Dai Heng Xin pointed at Xiao Ying Chun. “The company includes her. She has the goods. She can support an auction company.”
He Liang Cong looked at Xiao Ying Chun again, surprise flashing across his face. The girl in plain clothes—pretty, calm, and quiet—was the real foundation?
Even if he had doubts, he had the sense not to challenge it out loud.
Food arrived. Steak and dishes filled the table, and He Liang Cong immediately played host, urging them to eat.
They didn’t discuss the partnership again during the meal.
Afterward, Xiao Ying Chun tried to pay, but He Liang Cong threw a fit. “Sister, are you trying to slap me in the face? This is my turf—how can you pay?”
Even the boss laughed and waved her off. He Liang Cong had shares here.
Xiao Ying Chun didn’t argue. She drove home.
The moment she left, He Liang Cong’s expression shifted. He turned to Dai Heng Xin with open doubt. “You really mean it? She has goods behind her?”
She didn’t look like someone with backing. No luxury brands. No flashy accessories. Head to toe, she couldn’t have cost even a thousand yuan.
Dai Heng Xin sighed. “I’ve bought goods from her more than once.”
He Liang Cong still looked unconvinced. “But she’s so… plain. She looks like a normal girl.”
Dai Heng Xin deliberately looked him over, slow and pointed. “Sure. You spend your time in circles where every girl is vain. No wonder you can’t handle someone who isn’t.”
“Hey!” He Liang Cong snapped, like his tail had been stepped on. “Are you insulting me?”
In the end, he still believed Dai Heng Xin.
Because Dai Heng Xin said, “Even if she’s fake, what’s the worst that happens? We start an auction company and there’s no business. Are we going to lose much money?”
He Liang Cong considered it, then shrugged. “True.”
For a “crown prince” like Brother Cong—someone who could burn through hundreds of thousands on booze in a single night—that kind of money was nothing.
He agreed without even asking his family.
Dai Heng Xin wasn’t worried. Once Xiao Ying Chun put real auction items on the table, He Liang Cong could take the materials home for his elders to review.
After parting ways with He Liang Cong, Dai Heng Xin called Xiao Ying Chun and told her the result.
“You don’t need to worry about anything,” he said. “During registration, you just provide your documents.”
“What you need to prepare next is the auction items.”
The gold jewelry inside the agarwood mother-of-pearl inlaid jewelry box could go to auction. And the most common auction categories were famous calligraphy and paintings, and porcelain.
“If you have anything else,” Dai Heng Xin added, “bring it to me. I’ll look and tell you whether it can go up.”
“The agarwood mother-of-pearl inlaid jewelry box itself can’t,” he warned. “It’s too precious. It’s dangerous.”
He sighed. “Overseas, there wouldn’t be that risk.”
Xiao Ying Chun smiled softly into the phone and agreed.
By then, she had already opened the shop and was back to minding the counter.
With the supermarket sorting system, cleaning was effortless. The counter, floor, shelves, and glass doors were spotless—so clean they looked freshly polished.
All she had to do was sit and wait for customers.
She sold a little over five hundred yuan that afternoon—mostly cigarettes, alcohol, ice cream, and water.
In the past, she would’ve been thrilled. Summer afternoons like this were decent business.
Now she felt almost nothing. When you were dealing in millions, a few hundred yuan barely registered.
Uncle Liang came again with more food, looking unusually uneasy. He blurted out, “Ying Chun… did Wei Xiang come looking for you?”
Xiao Ying Chun nodded. “He did.”