The Tycoon's Enchanted Mermaid

Chapter 106: Chapter 106: The Thoughts of the Young

“Right, what about the incense burner?”

Wei Lan suddenly remembered the reason for his visit and asked, “Have you figured out anything special about it?”

“The incense burner? Oh, you mean the incense burner.”

Qin Hongyun said, “Well… what can you tell from a photo? You should at least bring it over for us to handle.”

Wei Lan squinted his eyes, sensing something wrong, and pointed at him: “Old Qin, tell me honestly, have you not looked at it?”

“You brat, what kind of attitude is that? I’m your elder. Don’t call me ‘Old Qin’ casually, it’s disrespectful.” Qin Hongyun tried to brush off the responsibility with a show of indignation.

Wei Lan was speechless. He had purposely waited a few days to come over because he wanted to know the results. It seemed this old man hadn’t made any progress at all, so he turned his gaze to Yu Yuan:

“Mr. Yu, don’t tell me you haven’t looked either?”

Yu Yuan put his fist to his mouth and coughed lightly before saying, “The incense burner is a good one and quite old. But Mr. Yu is right; we need to see the actual item to make a proper assessment. Moreover, as you know, we’re both old and our eyesight isn’t what it used to be. It’s difficult to be accurate when looking at something on a phone.”

Wei Lan chuckled: “If you haven’t looked, then you haven’t looked. You two are quite the characters despite your age.”

Qin Hongyun pointed at Wei Lan and said to Yu Yuan: “Look at this kid, so outrageous, he doesn’t even know how to show respect to his elders, all spoiled by you.”

Yu Yuan gave him a stern look: “As if you haven’t spoiled him yourself?”

Qin Hongyun was at a loss for words and turned away with a grunt.

These two old men were cheerful and had never married or had children. Their distant relatives were also not in Capital City.

There’s a saying that distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors. They had essentially raised and educated Wei Lan as if he were their own son, and naturally, Wei Lan didn’t really blame them.

Wei Lan spread his arms and put them around their necks: “No worries, you still have time to look at it now. As for the actual item, I’ve talked to Master Qin about it. If he says no, there’s nothing I can do.”

Upon hearing this, Yu Yuan thought of something else and couldn’t help feeling anxious: “If even the incense burner is not possible, how about the Jade Ring?”

Wei Lan stood up: “I don’t know, but I have time today. I’ll go and ask around for you.”

Saying this, he started to walk out. Just as he reached the door, he suddenly remembered something and turned back: “Right, there’s something else I just remembered. The bottom of the incense burner is engraved with the character for ‘tomb,’ and I was wondering if it might be related to the Xiling underground palace you guys are always talking about or even a relic from the underground palace.”

“Really?” Qin Hongyun stood up, nearly unable to restrain himself from rushing over and hitting him, “You little rascal, why didn’t you mention such an important thing earlier?”

“Because I only just remembered it,” Wei Lan said, his hands on his hips and smiling, “So, what do you think? Are you ready to dive into your research now?”

“Get out of here! You always have some trick up your sleeve. If you’re going to leave, then go. Don’t stand there and be a nuisance.” Qin Hongyun, unable to swallow his pride, turned and sat back down.

On the other hand, Yu Yuan was in a good mood and reassured him cheerily, “Don’t worry, Xiao Wei, Old Qin and I will take a good look at the incense burner. However, I hope you can persuade Master Qin to let us see the actual item. We don’t necessarily need it brought over; we can make a trip there.”

Both Qin Hongyun and Yu Yuan were considered national treasures in their field, and at this point, they had lowered their stance as much as possible.

The seriousness with which they regarded Xiling was evident.

Wei Lan made an ‘ok’ sign with his hands and smiled: “Okay, absolutely no problem. I’ll make sure he agrees. You two just relax.”

Qin Hongyun watched his retreating back and sighed: “This kid always talks so confidently; I really don’t know where he gets it from.”

“Xiao Wei and Master Qin have a pretty good relationship. You can’t be prejudiced against all Qin Family members just because of the behavior of some,” Yu Yuan remarked.

Qin Hongyun sneered dismissively, “The Qin Family is indeed formidable in the Capital City, covering the sky with one hand. But you’re right, you can’t generalize like that.”

“Master Qin is still not a bad kid, unlike his father, and not like his uncle either. Instead, he resembles Mr. Qin. He may be a bit overbearing in the business world, but at least he’s not entangled in romantic debts like his father. In this respect, Wei Lan truly should learn from him.”

Yu Yuan chuckled, “I actually hope Xiao Wei brings a girl over. He’s had no shortage of girlfriends over the years, just none that were serious. He can’t end up alone like you and me, right?”

“What’s wrong with the way we live? This is called being serious about love and not settling. Xiao Wei just doesn’t handle this well, but there’s no need for us to worry, not even the Wei Family is in a hurry.”

Qin Hongyun poured two cups of tea with a teapot and pushed one across to him.

“True, young people have their own ways of thinking.”

The two exchanged smiles, lifted their cups, and drank together.

After leaving the appraisal store, Wei Lan drove straight to Qin Group. At this time of day, the workaholic Qin Yu would only be in the office.

In the bustling and dignified commercial district of the Capital City, the towering skyscrapers of the Qin Group headquarters stood out conspicuously. The headquarters consisted of three interconnected buildings, with the chairman’s office located on the top floor of the central building. The gray marble flooring set against the white walls and ceiling gave off a stark feeling.

In the center of the room, an enormous desk was neatly arrayed with documents and office supplies. Qin Yu sat behind the desk, swiftly signing the documents with a steel pen.

Assistant Zhang Qian stood by quietly, the office filled only with the “shush” of the pen scraping across the paper.

On a real leather chair hung Qin Yu’s suit jacket, casually draped there. Inside the pocket, a small figure no larger than a palm was sound asleep, its delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed and small hands subconsciously clenched into fists, as if dreaming of something.

Ah Da dreamed that she was being chased by a tiger. She jumped across a stream, climbed over hills, and then stumbled over a stone and tumbled into a ditch. Just as she got up, she was confronted by a wide-open, gaping maw.

In the nick of time, Ah Da woke up from her nightmare.

Upon opening her eyes to darkness and a rectangular opening of light above her head, Ah Da stared blankly for a moment before remembering her current whereabouts.

She was inside Qin Yu’s pocket.

Last night, on a whim, she thought that since she didn’t have to attend classes the next day, it would be fun to tag along with Qin Yu to his workplace.

She had been curious for a long time, so that morning, while he was eating breakfast, she quietly hid in his pocket.

After Master Ting Chan temporarily repaired the gap in her soul, she no longer needed to absorb fragrance from the incense burner every night.

The Spiritual Power stored within her was also becoming more plentiful, and now she could control her size at will.

Everything was progressing smoothly, but the car ride had been too comfortable and Ah Da had accidentally fallen asleep, only now waking up.

Had they already arrived at Qin Yu’s workplace?

Ah Da gently sat up and put her ear to the pocket, hearing Qin Yu’s voice and another person’s, engaged in a conversation.

“Take these and distribute them,” instructed Qin Yu.

Zhang Qian stepped forward to grab a large stack of documents from the desk, then retreated two steps, turned, and left the room. Opening the door, he was met with a long-haired woman wearing an exquisite blue dress.

Holding a limited-edition global designer bag and wearing a refined makeup, she smiled warmly at the assistant, “Hello, I am Zhong Xiao’ai. Old Mrs. Qin asked me to drop something off for Mr. Qin. Is he still busy? I hope I’m not disturbing him?”