Chapter 325 – The Uninvited Young Master

“Oh, oh, I’ve been looking for you for a long time, Chief Qin!”

With an exaggerated exclamation, several figures stepped into Su Ming’s private chamber.

Leading them was a man dressed impeccably in formal attire, so meticulously put together that he could rival even Su Ming in his decorative robes—as if heading to a masquerade ball. He was quite handsome, appearing around thirty years old with a vibrant demeanor that made him look younger than his actual age. If not for his deep, resonant voice, one might mistake him for being in his twenties.

The moment Su Ming saw this man, his eyebrows arched slightly.

The reason was simple: Su Ming had seen this man earlier at the main entrance.

He was the very same man whom Liu Zai had accompanied, the one who had the Commander of 『Heavenly Grandeur』 bowing and scraping obsequiously by his side.

At this moment, Liu Zai was still accompanying the man, along with several guards following closely behind as they entered the chamber.

The man’s gaze first fell upon Su Ming but quickly shifted away, adopting a meek and subservient expression—a stark contrast to his arrogant and domineering demeanor when he had been insolent at the Talent Market, making one doubt if it was even the same person.

Clearly, the man didn’t recognize Su Ming, who was currently disguised under the identity of “Wang Yue,” which was why he only glanced briefly before turning his attention to Qin Qing.

Then, his eyes locked onto her, filled with astonishment and a hint of concealed desire.

Not only Liu Zai, but even the guards were staring intently at Qin Qing, subtly swallowing their saliva.

The leading man, however, wasn’t as crude as Liu Zai and the others, though his eyes seemed to hold only Qin Qing, completely ignoring Su Ming beside her.

Unfortunately, Qin Qing’s response was quite cold.

“It’s been a while, Young Master Zhang.”

Qin Qing spoke indifferently.

“Zhang?”

Beside her, Su Ming’s mind stirred slightly.

The surname Zhang was no ordinary name in Tianfeng City.

Just like the Wang and Mo Families, among the only eight Super Families in Tianfeng City, one of them bore the surname Zhang.

A young master with the surname Zhang inevitably raised suspicions that he might be a direct descendant of the Zhang Family, one of the Eight Great Families.

Moreover, from what Su Ming knew, the Liu Family, to which Liu Zai belonged, was a vassal of the Zhang Family—a top-tier family backed by the Zhangs.

Now, Liu Zai, the young master of the Liu Family, was standing beside this Young Master Zhang with a meek and subservient attitude.

Given that, this Young Master Zhang was likely the young master from that very Zhang Family.

Sure enough…

“This is Zhang Chen, the young master of the Zhang Family, one of the Eight Great Families.”

Qin Qing introduced the man’s identity to Su Ming.

But Zhang Chen’s eyes remained fixed solely on Qin Qing, not even glancing at Su Ming.

“What are you doing in a place like this, Chief Qin?” Zhang Chen asked with a cheerful expression. “I went to your lounge but couldn’t find you. I thought you had gone somewhere else.”

The tone of this young master from the Zhang Family was quite familiar, as if he and Qin Qing had been acquainted for years. Anyone unaware might think they had a close relationship.

In contrast, Qin Qing’s attitude was much colder.

“That truly troubles Young Master Zhang to have found your way here.”

Qin Qing’s words clearly carried an underlying meaning.There was no other way; Zhang Chen definitely didn’t know she was here.

In that case, how did this young master of the Zhang Family find this place, and why did he act as if he already knew Qin Qing was here?

Just moments ago, Zhang Chen had knocked on the door, called out Qin Qing’s name before even seeing her, and pushed the door open without hesitation, as if he had no fear of being in the wrong place.

This clearly indicated he had prior knowledge of Qin Qing’s whereabouts.

And where did that information come from? Did it even need guessing?

Most likely, he had bribed someone at the auction house to feed him the news.

“Could this young master of the Zhang Family have planted informants around Qin Qing?”

Su Ming somewhat understood why Qin Qing was acting so aloof.

In contrast, Zhang Chen appeared completely unfazed.

“The auction won’t start for a while yet. I arrived far too early and am utterly bored, so I thought I’d come chat with Chief Qin,” Zhang Chen said with a hearty laugh, seeming open and unrestrained, though it came off as somewhat self-absorbed.

His overly familiar demeanor made Su Ming feel rather uncomfortable.

If even Su Ming, a grown man, felt this way, how much more so for Qin Qing, who was accustomed to keeping her distance from others.

“You have so many people accompanying you, Young Master Zhang. How could you possibly be bored?” Qin Qing replied coolly. “I don’t have much time to spare, I’m afraid you’ve sought out the wrong person.”

Her words, clearly laced with rejection, did nothing to deter Zhang Chen.

“How could you not have time? Aren’t you just passing the time here right now?”

Zhang Chen’s remark caused Qin Qing’s expression to grow increasingly frosty and made Su Ming narrow his eyes.

Well, well, was this guy subtly taking a jab at him?

By saying Qin Qing was just “passing the time” here, wasn’t he implying that accompanying Su Ming was a waste of time?

Su Ming had thought this young master of the Zhang Family was too arrogant to even glance his way.

But now it seemed Zhang Chen had not only been aware of Su Ming’s presence all along but had also learned through his informants at the auction house that Su Ming and Qin Qing had some dealings.

In other words, he wasn’t ignoring Su Ming out of obliviousness—he was doing it deliberately.

The reason for this required little speculation.

“So he’s bringing his petty jealousy to my doorstep?”

Once Su Ming grasped the situation, his expression turned amused.

Meanwhile, Qin Qing had already begun to usher Zhang Chen out.

“My apologies, Young Master Zhang, but I am currently entertaining an honored guest. Could I trouble you to step out?”

Her tone was no longer as polite as before.

However, Qin Qing had clearly underestimated just how thick-skinned Zhang Chen could be.

“No problem. Since he’s Chief Qin’s honored guest, he’s naturally mine as well. I can stay and help you entertain him,” Zhang Chen said, casting a fleeting, cold glance at Su Ming and Qin Qing seated together on the same sofa.

At that moment, the ever-obsequious Liu Zai shrewdly instructed the guards, “Go, bring in another sofa.”

His low-voiced command sent several guards hurrying out.

Without bothering to seek permission from Su Ming, the owner of the room, they acted first and reported later, swiftly having a sofa brought in.Whether intentionally or not, the sofa the other party moved was pressed right against Qin Qing’s side, separated from her only by an armrest.

Then, Zhang Chen unceremoniously sat down directly. If not for the armrest, the distance between him and Qin Qing would have been almost zero.

“Holy crap, I’m just gonna say it—holy crap.”

Su Ming couldn’t decide whether he should be angry or dumbfounded.

He truly hadn’t expected the young master of the Zhang Family to have such thick skin, to the point of pulling off something like this.

This was no longer something that could be explained away as being sociable—it was practically no different from acting like a rogue.

The only saving grace was that the armrest between him and Qin Qing prevented it from being overly rude, leaving Qin Qing no opportunity to call him out.

Qin Qing’s lovely brows were tightly furrowed, and without hesitation, she immediately shifted sideways, moving closer to Su Ming’s direction.

With this shift, the distance between Qin Qing and Su Ming instead became almost zero.

While Su Ming was still dumbfounded, the next second, he felt a wave of fragrant breeze. By the time he registered it, Qin Qing was already sitting pressed closely against him.

Su Ming could even feel the softness of her shoulder—they were clearly shoulder to shoulder, with virtually no distance between them.

“……”

Qin Qing also seemed to realize this only at that moment, her body slightly tensing.

Instinctively, she couldn’t help but glance at Su Ming.

Su Ming also looked back at Qin Qing, his eyes beneath the mask clearly conveying speechlessness. This caused a faint blush to inevitably rise on Qin Qing’s exquisitely beautiful face.

Fortunately, Su Ming soon averted his gaze, no longer looking at Qin Qing, acting as if he hadn’t noticed anything. He casually looked out the window at the venue scenery, allowing the awkwardness and discomfort in Qin Qing’s heart to dissipate considerably. She secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and even her tense body relaxed.

After hesitating repeatedly, Qin Qing ultimately chose not to create distance from Su Ming.

If she distanced herself from Su Ming, she would have to get closer to Zhang Chen.

Rather than getting closer to Zhang Chen, Qin Qing preferred to stay near Su Ming.

Thus, Qin Qing fell silent and stopped moving.

However, her behavior, as seen in the eyes of Zhang Chen and the others, was naturally as irritating as could be.

Watching Su Ming and Qin Qing sitting closely together, not only Zhang Chen but even Liu Zai’s eyes flashed with a trace of jealousy and resentment.

Especially Zhang Chen—his gaze finally shifted to Su Ming, staring at him unwaveringly.

After all, even when he sat with Qin Qing, there was still an armrest between them. But when Su Ming and Qin Qing sat together, there was nothing separating them—they were practically leaning against each other.

“May I ask your name, brother?”

At this point, Zhang Chen could no longer continue ignoring Su Ming and posed this question.

Su Ming glanced at Zhang Chen, a faint, ambiguous smile playing on his lips.

“I thought Young Master Zhang really hadn’t noticed me. So you were at least somewhat aware of my presence after all?”

This vaguely mocking remark didn’t anger Zhang Chen.

“Brother, you must be joking. I just haven’t had the chance to greet everyone properly,” Zhang Chen said with a laugh. “You look quite unfamiliar—I don’t think I’ve seen you in Tianfeng City before. Are you from out of town, brother?”Zhang Chen glanced at Su Ming, noting that his attire was in no way inferior to his own, and his demeanor was even more refined. He pondered this inwardly.

This young master of the Zhang Family seemed not just thick-skinned but also subtly perceptive—not someone easily fooled.

Su Ming sensed this and sighed inwardly.

However, Su Ming had no intention of giving Zhang Chen any face.

“Before that, shouldn’t Young Master Zhang offer an explanation first?” Su Ming said. “Showing up uninvited isn’t quite proper, is it?”

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the room took a sharp turn for the worse.

(End of Chapter)