On Friday morning, Shen Qiang made an early call to Wu Guoxi asking for a half-day off before receiving a call from Xin Xiaoting, and they agreed to meet in front of the antique market.

Sitting in the car, Shen Qiang pulled out his mobile phone to check the chat history in the WeChat group.

He found that his uncle had said in the group last night, "Shen Qiang could work himself to death and still not afford to buy a house in Provincial City."

Turning off WeChat at the touch of a button, Shen Qiang felt inexplicably nervous.

After all, whether he could fulfill the promise to buy a house in Provincial City within a month depended on the smooth outcome of today's auction.

Upon reaching the antique market, Xin Xiaoting was already there.

Today her attire was very simple: a Bohemian-style long skirt with high-heeled strappy sandals, making her look pure and beautiful.

At the moment, there was still some time before the Wanxin He Sheng auction.

Considering they hadn't had breakfast since the early morning, Shen Qiang took Xin Xiaoting to the street behind Wanxin He Sheng for breakfast.

There was a very famous dumpling shop here.

Now, as the early morning hustle of the old goods market was ending, the place was crowded, and the shop had no empty seats.

Shen Qiang thought about taking Xin Xiaoting to another place.

But Xin Xiaoting casually pulled Shen Qiang, ordered two bowls of dumplings, and sat down with him at a table outside the shop.

This made Shen Qiang feel somewhat embarrassed, "Eating here is a bit beneath you."

With a coy smile, Xin Xiaoting said, "Look at you, what's there to feel beneath about? I'm not some greenhouse flower that can't face wind or rain. I've seen plenty of cafeterias in school and at the hospital, ones teeming with flies."

Seeing Xin Xiaoting laugh so happily, Shen Qiang laughed too.

Xin Xiaoting was beautiful and pure, and what's more, in all the days she had been with Shen Qiang, she never gave him the slightest sense of pretense.

Whether in the fast-food area of the shopping mall or now at this streetside stall, Xin Xiaoting had never complained, always managing to smile sweetly.

Before long, the dumplings were served.

Xin Xiaoting handed chopsticks to Shen Qiang with a playful tone, "Here you go, I'm going to start eating."

Shen Qiang smiled as he took the chopsticks.

Just then, a black sedan parked not far ahead of them, the driver honked the horn twice vigorously, and Shen Qiang and Xin Xiaoting turned their heads, instantly seeing the rear window of the sedan roll down.

To their surprise, it was Zhang Liwei who had once pursued Xin Xiaoting to no avail and, after Shen Qiang called out his ring as fake glass, had left the hospital and had not appeared since.

Today, he was dressed quite flashily.

Wearing a white shirt with a light blue blazer, his hair also meticulously styled, and beside him, a woman with heavy makeup, whose face somewhat resembled Xin Xiaoting, was leaning on his shoulder.

After a disdainful glance at Shen Qiang, Zhang Liwei in the car turned his head towards Xin Xiaoting and mockingly said with a smile, "Oh, isn't this the department flower of Medical University's clinical medicine, the pure goddess Xin Xiaoting?"

"How have you fallen on such hard times? If you don't have money for food, just call me. I'll take you to Da Fuhao, and you can order anything you want."

Shen Qiang's face turned cold, but just at that moment, Xin Xiaoting's hand gently rested on the back of his hand. Then she giggled, "Let's eat, after all, we still have things to do later."

Looking at Xin Xiaoting's blossom-like charming face, Shen Qiang suppressed the anger in his heart and picked up his chopsticks.

Yet, what he hadn't expected was that Zhang Liwei was not willing to let things go so easily.

He smiled as he wrapped his arm around the heavily made-up woman beside him and said cheerfully, "See that pretty girl? Acting all high and mighty just because she's beautiful, thinking she's something special, believing she's above money."

"And what about now? She can only sit at a roadside stall and eat a bowl of noodles that costs a few yuan, living so pitifully yet still pretending to be proud."

The heavily made-up woman by Zhang Liwei's side immediately giggled coquettishly, "A woman being beautiful is an advantage, but living beautifully requires skill, making the right choices, and being with the right people. That's what really counts."

Zhang Liwei laughed, looking at Xin Xiaoting and called out, "Xin Xiaoting, you're supposedly the Goddess of Medical University, sitting here at a roadside stall eating, don't you feel ashamed? I feel ashamed for you. Come on, come over here."

Zhang Liwei took out his wallet from his bosom, pulled out a stack of cash, and extended it out of the window, saying, "Go have something better, and call me if you ever need money to eat."

Upon hearing this, Shen Qiang instantly stood up.

And at that moment, Xin Xiaoting pulled on Shen Qiang forcefully and spoke softly, "Don't mind him, talking to someone like him is a disgrace itself."

Shen Qiang was seething with anger.

Right then, Boss Ma came over with a few others, and as soon as he spotted Shen Qiang, his eyes lit up. He rushed over to Shen Qiang in a few quick steps, excitedly exclaiming, "Boss Shen, haven't seen you for several days, where have you been making your fortune?"

Hearing this, Zhang Liwei inside the car burst into laughter.

"Hahaha, such a poor sucker and still called Boss Shen, pretending without even enough money to eat."

Then he changed his tune and said, "Xin Xiaoting, aren't you proud? Don't you like Shen Qiang? Let me tell you, following him, the hard days are still to come. Remember to beg me when you're too poor to carry on."

Upon hearing this, Boss Ma took another look at Shen Qiang, who was wearing an expression of anger, and immediately understood what had happened.

Then, after taking a good look at Zhang Liwei, Boss Ma couldn't help but chuckle. Raising his voice, he said, "Oh, driving this piece of junk car, isn't even worth as much as old Tang's belt buckle, yet you dare come here to show off. The young people these days, they sure are bold."

Hearing this, Zhang Liwei responded with a proud smile, "Oh, a belt buckle worth over eight hundred thousand, really? I had no idea."

The plainly dressed middle-aged man by his side lifted his shirt, revealing a belt buckle encircled by rubies, with jade at the center, and with a sly grin said, "Qing Dynasty jade and ruby, one million two hundred thousand, just bought it a few days ago."

Zhang Liwei in the car was taken aback.

Boss Ma, looking at Zhang Liwei's astonished face, grinned and said, "Young man, remember this, this is Antique Street. Anyone who can be called a boss here has at least tens of millions in assets. To try and show off to Boss Shen with just a crappy car and a few banknotes, you're not qualified."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Liwei felt defiant, but just as he was about to retort, he saw Boss Ma smilingly twisting the large ring on his finger, with the green light shining from it, causing Zhang Liwei to swallow his words.

"Fine, you're impressive. I've got to go to an auction; I don't have time for you. Drive."

Having said that, the car window rose, and Zhang Liwei left.

After he left, Boss Ma looked at Xin Xiaoting and laughed heartily, "My lady, you have a good countenance, a perfect match for our Boss Shen."

The remark made Xin Xiaoting blush.

Then, seeing that the anger in Shen Qiang's eyes had not wholly subsided, Boss Ma patted Shen Qiang's shoulder and said with a smile, "There's an auction on Ancient Street today, if your anger hasn't dissipated, big brother will avenge you later."

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