Is it possible that all these coincidences are being manipulated by Xie Ci?

But Gu Yufeng quickly dismissed that thought. Xie Ci was at most just taking advantage of the situation to push his work to a high price. After all, he was just a high school student with no background. There were some aspects of this whole affair that he simply couldn’t manage at his current stage.

For example, the fact that his dad liked Jian Yan’s works. His dad had a wide range of artistic tastes and wasn’t fixated on any particular style or artist; whether he liked something depended entirely on his mood at the time. So, it was possible that even his close friends didn’t know he was so fond of the works of this little painter, Jian Yan.

So how did Xie Ci know about it? If he didn’t know this, then the premise for designing this whole scheme would be gone. But if Xie Ci had been in contact with Lei Qiliang early on, Gu Yufeng had to overturn his previous speculation and suspect that Xie Ci might have really been certain from the start that his dad liked Jian Yan’s works.

The only one who could know this and manipulate the situation wasn’t the seventeen-year-old Xie Ci; it could only be the Xie Zong he knew.

This thought flashed through Gu Yufeng’s mind, making him feel a rush of excitement. He thought he would never see him again, but suddenly he was given hope.

Gu Yongnian pondered for a moment and found it somewhat ridiculous: “Who told you that? Even if that boy gave a piece to Lei Qiliang, what does that prove? How could he know I would definitely like it? Besides, Jian Yan’s paintings are so rare; how could he possibly have two? I only have two myself.”

As he spoke, his tone inevitably carried a hint of resentment.

Lin Ying shot him a glance and continued, “Because Jian Yan is that boy’s dad.”

“His dad?”

This information spun around in Gu Yongnian’s mind a couple of times before he suddenly stood up and looked at Lin Ying, his voice rising by eight degrees, “Jian Yan is his dad?!”

After receiving Lin Ying’s affirmative answer, Gu Yongnian excitedly turned to Gu Yufeng: “Xiao Feng, did you know about this?”

But Gu Yufeng was lost in his own thoughts and didn’t hear what he was saying at all.

The only thing he wanted to do right now was to confirm the authenticity of this news immediately.

Gu Yufeng recalled that day at the gathering when Xie Ci mentioned to his grandpa that they had met at a temple, and at that time, Xie Ci said he was there to pray for his dad.

The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed; Xie Ci was not the type to pray to gods or buddhas, so how could he possibly go to a temple to pray?

The next day, Sunday, Xie Ci met with Lei Qiliang at Dahua Temple.

By the time he arrived, Lei Qiliang was already there, burning incense and praying.

It was a cloudy day, and in this season, it was quite cold whenever there was no sun. The wind in the temple carried the dampness from the mountains, making it chillingly cool.

Xie Ci found a sheltered corner to wait and didn’t go into the main hall.

After more than ten minutes, Lei Qiliang came out with his secretary, and the three of them went to a meditation room in the temple that was available for guests to rest.

“What does this mean?” Xie Ci’s gaze swept over the project documents placed in front of him. “Is this what you were talking about?”

Lei Qiliang poured tea and placed it in front of Xie Ci: “I need you to take a look and see if this project is worth pursuing.”

Seeing that Xie Ci didn’t move, he added, “Don’t worry, I won’t take your opinion for free; the compensation will still be according to the last time’s standard.”

Xie Ci found it somewhat amusing, picked up the teacup, took a sip, and then slowly said, “You’re the CEO of a listed company, asking a high school student for investment advice? Is your company about to go under?”

Lei Qiliang felt a bit embarrassed, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw his secretary trying not to laugh, so he shot him a glare: “Be serious!”

The secretary straightened up, tucking his neck in, and continued to be his background support.

“I have my reasons for asking you; you just need to say what you think. Whether I listen or not is up to my judgment.”

Lei Qiliang earnestly persuaded, “This is free money; you wouldn’t want to pass that up, would you?”

Xie Ci thought to himself that his image as a money-loving person was firmly established with Lei Qiliang, so he reluctantly picked up the document and opened it. After glancing at the project name and core content, he tossed it back.

Lei Qiliang pulled out a cigarette, handed one to Xie Ci, and began to explain: “This piece of land is currently being fought over by more than thirty companies. I have a significant advantage; it’s almost a sure thing.”

“Fighting over such a remote piece of wasteland? Fighting to lose money?” Xie Ci habitually took the cigarette, but before lighting it, he suddenly recalled the old face of Xiang Haibin flashing before him, and he waved his hand to refuse, just playing with it between his fingers.

“This area will be planned as a commercial district in the next five to ten years; it has a lot of potential.”

Lei Qiliang observed Xie Ci’s expression and tentatively asked, “Do you think it has no investment value?”

Xie Ci replied, “If you can afford to lose and aren’t short on cash, you can go for it without thinking.”

Lei Qiliang: “…”

“If you really want to buy land, you might as well consider a different piece.”

Xie Ci set the cigarette on the low table between them and traced an arc with his finger on the table, “Near the old city, there should be a piece of land near the original city government that is up for bidding. It will be re-planned in the next few years, and that land would be suitable for building office buildings or shopping malls.”

As soon as Lei Qiliang saw where he was pointing, he immediately knew which place it was and shook his head repeatedly: “It’s a good piece of land, but it won’t be available to me. Half the business circle is fighting for it, and the Xie family is also in the mix; they probably have everything sorted out already.”

“Since I mentioned it, of course, there’s a way for you to secure that piece of land.”

Xie Ci’s tone was light and casual, as if he were joking, which made Lei Qiliang look at him a couple more times.

If he hadn’t really secured the tech park project, he would definitely think Xie Ci was just boasting, but this cash cow in front of him might really have the ability to help him.

After pondering for a moment, Lei Qiliang looked at Xie Ci: “Are you helping me secure the land, or are you getting back at the Xie family?”

Xie Ci chuckled: “Of course, it’s to get back at the Xie family. Do I look like someone who would help others for no reason?”

At the entrance of the temple, a low-key Land Rover parked by the roadside. Gu Yufeng bent down to get out of the back seat, his baseball cap pulled low, covering most of his face.

He couldn’t wait any longer and decided to come here to try his luck first.

When Roberson parked the car, the two of them stepped onto the steps.

“You go find out if Lei Qiliang and Xie Ci were here that day.”

Gu Yufeng scanned the entire temple and said in a low voice, “Both of these people have very distinctive looks; anyone who has encountered them shouldn’t forget.”

Roberson: “Distinctive?”

Gu Yufeng replied flatly, “One is very good-looking, and the other is very ugly.”

Roberson: “…What a distinctive description.”

The two split up to take action. Gu Yufeng passed by a meditation room and vaguely heard voices, so he headed that way, only to unexpectedly see Xie Ci turning out from a small path on the opposite side.

The two of them made eye contact.

“Old Gu, what are you doing here?” Xie Ci glanced at the nearby meditation room and walked over.

“Accompanying my grandpa to fish.”

Gu Yufeng casually asked, hands in his jacket pockets, “What about you?”

“Praying for my dad.” Xie Ci casually made up an excuse.

The two chatted for a few sentences, but not a single word was true.

Suddenly, a shouting voice came from the yard on the right.

“Fish, fish, fish! All you ever do is ask me for fish, and I don’t have any!”

“Please, just give me one more, just one, the ugliest one will do.”

“How dare you complain that my fish is ugly? Get lost!”

“No, no, I mean you can give me any, I won’t be picky.”

A middle-aged man in a suit stepped out, repeatedly bowing in apology to the person inside.

“Get lost!” Accompanied by an angry shout, a basin of water was splashed out from inside the door.

The middle-aged man had been prepared and dodged to the side, but a whole basin of water splashed all over Xie Ci and Gu Yufeng.

The sudden turn of events made Xie Ci instinctively wrap his arm around Gu Yufeng’s waist and turn away, but he still couldn’t protect them; both of them ended up soaked from head to toe.

Gu Yufeng crashed into Xie Ci’s embrace, and in that instant, he only had time to catch a faint whiff of the light smoke scent on him before he was doused with a basin of water, which made him explode with anger.

“Smells terrible.”

Gu Yufeng sniffed his clothes, his face turning ugly, “It reeks of fish; where did this water come from?!”

Xie Ci turned his head to see an old monk walking out of the yard, looking confused, and he was speechless.

It was this old monk again.

“Are you guys okay?” The old monk, holding a basin, hurried over a few steps, “Quick, come into my yard; be careful not to catch a cold.”

Gu Yufeng shook off the water on his body, wrinkling his brow in disgust: “This isn’t toilet water, is it?”

“No, no.” The old monk hurriedly explained, “It’s the water from my fish pond; it’s clean.”

Gu Yufeng and Xie Ci glanced at the pond and turned green.

The pond was floating with a lot of water hyacinths, and the surrounding area was covered with moss, looking green and slimy; it was definitely not cleaner than toilet water.

The old monk led them into a guest meditation room: “I’m really sorry about earlier; you guys hurry and change your clothes; there’s a washing machine in the bathroom.”

After the old monk left, Xie Ci took off his jacket, preparing to take a shower.

“Are you going to wash?”

“Of course.”

Gu Yufeng tossed his jacket into the washing machine, “If I go back smelling like this, my dad might think I went out to kill someone and bury the body.”

“Then you go first—” Xie Ci started to say, but suddenly caught a strong fishy smell, and the words in his mouth changed, “No, I’ll wash first.”

“I’ll go first.” Gu Yufeng also didn’t want to give in, unable to stand it even a little.

There was only one shower room, and neither of them wanted to back down.

Xie Ci looked him up and down, hesitatingly said, “How about we—”

Gu Yufeng’s eyes flickered, and he immediately understood his intention.

They had shared showers plenty of times in their past lives, but the situation was different now, and the bathroom here was pitifully small; showering together would definitely lead to a fight.

“Let’s play rock-paper-scissors?” Xie Ci said seriously.

Gu Yufeng paused, looking at him in disbelief: “…Rock-paper-scissors?”

Xie Ci looked innocent: “What else do you suggest?”

Gu Yufeng snorted lightly, running his fingers through his soaked hair, feeling the fishy water on his hands, and urged, “Hurry up!”

Xie Ci won the rock-paper-scissors against Gu Yufeng, turned around to take off his shirt, and coldly issued an “eviction order”: “You wait outside.”

Gu Yufeng: “…”

Damn.

As soon as Xie Ci tossed his shirt into the washing machine, he felt a pair of hands wrap around his waist from behind.

“Don’t mess around, let go.”

Gu Yufeng pressed against his back, his long fingers gliding over Xie Ci’s abs, whispering in his ear, “Didn’t you say I just caught you and left you hanging?”

Xie Ci’s eyelids twitched, and he grabbed his wandering hand: “Whatever you want to say, wait until I finish showering.”

“I’ve reflected on it; this behavior is indeed extremely irresponsible.”

Gu Yufeng’s fingertips intentionally circled around Xie Ci’s waist, “If you want to talk, I’ll talk with you.”

“……”

Xie Ci restrained his hand and turned around, “Did you drink the fish pond water and get drunk?”

Gu Yufeng leaned in closer, skillfully moving his hand from Xie Ci’s abs to his chest, looking into his eyes at close range, and countered, “Do I look like it?”

Seeing Xie Ci staring at him deeply without saying a word, Gu Yufeng’s gaze dropped, and he smiled faintly: “Your color is deeper than mine; you do look a bit more mature. I wonder about the texture—”

Before he could finish, Xie Ci grabbed the hand that was causing trouble on his chest and resignedly said, “…Fine, you go first.”

A moment later, Gu Yufeng, with a triumphant smile, watched Xie Ci walk out of the bathroom, proudly whistling as he took off his shirt and swaggered toward the shower.

Xie Ci stepped out of the bathroom bare-chested and realized it was quite cold outside. As he turned to grab his clothes, a shirt flew out from the bathroom and landed perfectly on his head.

“……”

That little brat, making such a big deal over sharing a bathroom.

Xie Ci felt a bit of a headache.

He had just managed to suppress it for a few days; how did it fail so quickly?