Chapter 2 The Gift
Chapter 2 The Gift To the surprise of everyone, No. 23 did not leave the room angrily, but went to the auction platform and turned to face the audience directly . The front desk was too far from the penultimate row, so he couldn't see the appearance of Tang Jing. He turned toward the direction and made a bow with his hands folded in front to him. "Little brother, we must have some misunderstanding. Since this set of Flower God Teacups was won by you at a high price, letting go is the most suitable choice for me. How about we go to the backcourt and have a chat?" Everyone in the audience had clamored for No.23’s gentle demeanor and applauded for him, lamenting that he was the vice president of a listed company, who had experienced a lot in life, and had easily solved this crisis. On the contrary, it was Tang Jing, who looked like an inexperienced child. "Ahem...." No.23’s reaction did not take Tang Jing by surprise. He had known that this person was scheming, and did not expect to be able to retaliate against the eye-rolling and loathing. His purpose to say such words was to irritate him and draw attention to himself. He had achieved this. To Tang Jing, it was a deliberate slap in the face, something he would have expected from a spoiled rich, second–generation youth. He and stood up and grinned. "That's it. I will give you another chance next time." Everyone laughed and Tang Jing took the opportunity to leave the auction. Just outside the venue, two burly men in black surrounded him. Their eyes were sharp, and one of them looked at the backcourt cafe, and then said to him, "Please take a trip with us." No doubt, they were the bodyguards of No. 23. Although Tang Jing still hadn't figured out why No. 23 had killed him in the past life, when he had been kidnapped, there were two Taoist priests in the room. Presumably, No.23 was not some evil murderer without any reason; it was likely he was the wrong person who had been mistakenly taken by No. 23. What's more, Tang Jing's parents were not nobodies. He guessed that before the auction, No. 23 had conducted a private search of his background, and thus he tolerated his behavior and was willing to reconcile with him. Therefore, Tang Jing was not afraid of being killed again. He calmly followed the two bodyguards to the backcourt. There was no one in the backyard cafe, but the two bodyguards took Tang Jing through the cafe and went to a private office deeper inside. Tang Jing deliberately pretended to be a hard-working yet newly wealthy person who had taken the two bodyguards as his own servants. He instructed them to go to a distant store where he used to buy coffee and sweets, and made a lot of weird demands on them. The two were not angry. They called some person directly to buy it, but they did not follow his instructions. It was nothing more than a takeaway Starbucks and a brownie that had just been taken out of the freezer. With complaints from time to time, Tang Jing drank the popular American coffee, and ate the rich chocolate desert bar. The cup of coffee was not yet finished when Tang Jing began to pretend being bored and looked around. No. 23 has already come with the auctioneer, Liu Ying. Liu Ying was following a slight girl, estimated to be his assistant. At first glance, she looked like she just graduated from college, with her thin body and pure face. Her hair was cut in a plain fringe, with the rest tied up in a bun, and she wore a cheap T-shirt and jeans, with canvas shoes. She looked like a street model for a cheap clothing brand. In her hands she held a Chinese gift box, about the size that would fit the Flower God Teacups that Tang Jing had just bid on. The three men sat opposite Tang Jing. Tang Jing feigned disdain and shifted his body in another direction, letting his shoulder face the three. "Mr. Tang, this is the No.38 collection you just ordered. You can take a look and then pay. After paying the full amount, you can take them away." Liu coughed twice and took the lead in breaking the silence. Liu Ying’s assistant respectfully placed the gift box on the table in front of Tang Jing as if she was holding something holy. Then, she took out a card reader from her bag and placed it before Tang Jing. "Mr. Tang, we recommend that you swipe your card now and complete the payment. You can also transfer the money to our account later, but you will have to trouble yourself to come by our office again, and to a busy person like you—" "You certainly know how to persuade!" Tang Jing gave them a sardonic smile. He raised his thumb and then turned it upside down. "You read my psychological vibes very much. Hope I will not embarrass myself in front of you." The assistant did not deny it. She just smiled. "Mr. Tang is joking with me. This is our normal payment process. We do this to all customers. Of course, you can also cancel the deal, but the sixty million deposit that has already been paid will be kept by our company. Although Mr. Tang will not care about such a low amount, it is a waste to give it to us, right?" Tang Jing smiled again, took out a black credit card, and brushed it on the car reader machine. The assistant looked nervously at the machine. After a while, she heard the sound indicating of money transfer. Seeing Tang Jing sign on the payment slip, the assistant’s anxious heart finally stopped beating so wildly. Liu Ying’s smiled a bit indifferently. "Then we will leave. No. 23 collector still has something to talk to you about. I guarantee you, that as a customer with our company, he will not do anything unfavorable to you. If there is any unpleasantness, you can always call my mobile phone, and the security staff of our auction company will arrive immediately." Liu Ying stood up and prepared to leave with the assistant. "Wait!" Tang Jing shouted, addressing the assistant. The assistant pointed at herself. "Me?" "Yup!" Tang Jing nodded. She went to Tang Jing, not understanding what he wanted. Tang Jing pushed the set of the Twelve Flower God Teacups to her. "Now it is yours. Take it. No need to thank me!" Upon hearing this, No. 23 looked shocked. The assistant, however, had a calm face. She had probably heard about Tang Jing’s story at the auction. There was really nothing to be surprising about. The assistant's eyes swept over Tang Jing's face, with a look of "You fight with him; why let me take the blame?" Tang Jing’s expression stayed the same. “I just wanted to have some fun.” Liu Ying had never encountered such a thing. He turned to look at his assistant, and for a moment, he was too speechless to give instructions. Letting her accept it was not appropriate, but not letting her accept it as a private gift was questionable. When you wanted to make a friend in the antique circle, you always gave away your own precious collection. This was routine when two collectors met, and no one was to break the rule. The assistant walked up to Tang Jing and stared at his eyes. She said confidently, "Thank you, Mr. Tang, but I don't know how to accept it. It doesn't make sense to keep this set of treasures. If I want to take this set for money, I have to give the company an astronomical number to let them be auctioned. If Mr. Tang is sincere to give me a gift, it is better to directly give me the cash directly, remitting to my account. No need to give me cash at the same high price, according to the private market among collectors. Ten million is enough." Tang Jing silently gave her kudos. This reaction, coupled with her cleverly worded reply, actually distracted him from No. 23. When the maneuvering was over, Tang Jing did not want to continue any more. He gave a sly look, and said charmingly, "It’s yours already. As for how you to handle it, that's your business. However, if you'd like to wait for me at the back door tonight, I can consider your suggestion about cash." Neither of them looked at No. 23, who was already outraged, his face turning from green to white. He gave a cold look to Liu Ying and even the assistant. Liu Ying quickly took the assistant arm, indicating they were going to leave. He planned to make a phone call to apologize to No.23 later. The assistant unceremoniously picked up the Flower God Teacups and went around him, fleeing from the battlefield. "Wait!" Tang Jing once again called to the assistant. "What is your name?" Xia Bing, the assistant, turned her head and really wanted to kill him with a brick. "Xia Bing, my name is Xia Bing." "Remember to wait for me after work, ice cream," Tang Jing said with a goofy smile. Not only did he continue joke with her, but had also given her a nickname in such a short time. Xia Bing gave him a cold look. Even the bodyguards could hardly bear Tang Jing anymore, giving him gruff looks. Xia Bing no longer cared about Tang Jing’s efforts to make No. 23 feel awkward. She quickly trotted away a few steps, followed by Liu Ying, and closed the door. Only Tang Jing and No. 23 and the two bodyguards were left in the room. They looked at him in an imposing manner. A face-to-face confrontation was inevitable.