It was a fluffy little tiger.
"Senior sister, you..." Li Chonglou felt his throat stick, holding the little tiger, which was no bigger than his palm, and looking at Lin Ying.
"Surprised? Delighted?" Lin Ying smiled mysteriously.
Li Chonglou's eyes instantly turned red.
In his memory, there had always been such a tiger at home since he was little.
But unlike the one in his hands, it had no fur.
It was just a bare plastic body.
This was the only gift his father had left him, because his zodiac sign was the tiger, or so his mother had told him.
That tiger originally had skin, just like the one he was holding now.
But when he was young and mischievous, he had peeled off the tiger's skin.
That tiger was long gone, but it had always been etched in his memory.
He hadn't expected Lin Ying to buy such a thing for him.
In an instant, his emotions surged like a flood, and he was on the verge of tears.
"How did you know my dad gave me an identical tiger?" Li Chonglou, being no ordinary person, swallowed hard and suppressed his emotions before asking.
"That toy was bought in Chang'an, and it was what your father was preparing to bring back to you," Lin Zhendong's voice came from afar. "Unfortunately, he disappeared in Kunling, and all I could bring back was that tiger toy."
"On the way from Zhonghai to Xihai, I told Xiao Ying a lot about you, including this."
Swish...
Li Chonglou's held-back tears instantly slid from his eyes.
A man does not shed tears lightly, only when his heart is truly broken.
Bleeding or bone fractures meant nothing to him; he remained calm even when facing death.
But this little tiger toy had pierced through the softest part of his heart.
He broke down in tears on the spot.
Xu Lie was stunned. He had never imagined that Li Chonglou would hold a small tiger toy and weep uncontrollably.
This...
For a moment, he was dumbfounded and at a loss.
Even Lin Ying, the instigator, froze in her smile, a trace of panic in her beautiful eyes as she prepared to comfort her junior brother.
But Lin Zhendong stopped her, saying softly, "Don't disturb him. Let him vent for a while. He's been suppressing it for too long."
Then he led the two of them out of the room.
Outside the room, Lin Ying complained with a hint of责怪, "Dad, you insisted on me finding the little tiger toy, look how upset little junior brother is."
"I've never seen him like this before."
Xu Lie nodded in agreement.
Lin Zhendong took a slow breath and shook his head, saying, "He carries too many burdens."
"Although he is not an ordinary person, his current body is only in his early twenties. If he continues to hold it in, his obsessions will only deepen."
"Ordinary methods won't affect him. That toy was a last resort."
"Let him cry for a while, and he'll be fine."
Inside the room.
Li Chonglou let his tears flow like a bursting river, gazing blankly at the little tiger.
His master had seen through the heavy burdens and deep-seated obsessions beneath his outward calm.
He wanted to use this method to help him release his emotions.
Did he himself not want to?
However, tears were something he hadn't shed since the day he learned of his mother's death in prison in his previous life.
Now, he let them flow freely.
A man remains a boy until death; his strength is merely a disguise to ward off and cope with reality.
From a protected youth to a pillar of responsibility.
How could the hardships endured in between be described in words?
All of it was contained within his tears.
Finally, half an hour later, his tears gradually subsided.
Li Chonglou put down the little tiger, a brilliant smile appearing on his face. "Dad, I know you're not dead. No matter what, I will find you!"
Tears were the means by which people released their emotions at their most vulnerable.
Similarly, while crying, he had become extremely sensitive.
It was as if he could feel a pair of eyes watching him from the unseen depths, and a voice in his heart told him that it was his father, whom he had never met.
He was still alive, waiting for him somewhere.
This belief was incredibly firm.
At the same time, in a villa in Beijing.
A middle-aged man leaned back in a soft armchair, gently put down the phone in his hand, and said lightly, "This child's eyesight and courage are not low. The evidence in his hands is like a nuclear bomb."
"He is confident that I will not kill him now, so he wants to buy himself time to grow through these words."
"Not an ordinary person."
The middle-aged man's face was not visible as he turned his back, his voice 평淡 yet carrying a power that sent chills down one's spine.
His mere narration was enough to convey what dignity was.
"Leader, should we take some measures?" a solemn and capable-looking man asked from not far from the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man waved his hand. "No need."
"I am too preoccupied myself right now. Besides, aren't you curious what kind of person this young man will become if he grows up?"
"It would be great if he could be of use to me."
"Give him some time to grow. When we are free, we can then gauge his true strength."
His words conveyed extreme confidence and an air of disdain for everything, which was chilling.
Although Li Chonglou was troublesome, in his eyes, he was still just a child with some insight and courage.
He was not yet enough to warrant his full vigilance.
Moreover, he was confident that he would not let anything detrimental to him surface, even if the other party were an eagle.
"Yes!" the man replied respectfully without objection.
The night passed uneventfully.
Li Chonglou slept more soundly than ever. Although the tears hadn't completely lifted the burden from his heart, he felt much lighter.
Even the injuries he sustained in Xihai had recovered somewhat, allowing him to walk freely.
The next morning, he went to his master's room to express his gratitude.
"Master, I promised a friend yesterday that I would accompany her to a cultural and historical exchange meeting today," Li Chonglou explained his plans. "I'll take Brother Xu with me."
Lin Zhendong nodded. "Go ahead."
With Xu Lie around, there was nothing to worry about.
He left the room and went to the garden with Xu Lie, waiting for Lu Xuan for a while.
Seeing her wearing a purple cotton dress, both warm and elegant, intellectual and generous.
She immediately broke into a smile upon seeing Li Chonglou and Xu Lie.
Li Chonglou stood up and greeted her.
Lu Xuan looked surprised when she saw him standing alone. "You... you're not disabled? I thought..."
Yesterday, when she saw Li Chonglou in a wheelchair, she thought heaven was jealous of talented people and felt pity for Li Chonglou.
She hadn't expected him to be completely fine today.
"That was just an accident, Sister Xuan don't mind," Li Chonglou replied with a smile.
In fact, Xu Lie had wanted him to use a wheelchair again today, as his injuries hadn't fully healed, but he had insisted on walking.
After all, it was a cultural and historical exchange meeting, and he would surely need to walk around and see things.
Chang'an, the capital of thirteen dynasties, had so many cultural treasures passed down through the ages.
How uncomfortable it would be if he couldn't move freely.
So, he would rather endure some pain to walk by himself.
Lu Xuan was relieved and invited them into the Bentley parked outside, heading for Shuahua Garden, the venue for the cultural and historical exchange meeting.
Many guests had already arrived at Shuahua Garden, with luxury cars lined up, many with license plates from out of town.
"This cultural and historical exchange meeting has invited famous wealthy merchants and antique experts from all over the country. It's unprecedentedly grand," Lu Xuan introduced to them. "Given Chonglou's discerning eye, you must also be in the antique business, right?"
"Once you enter the venue, you should get to know more bosses."
"It will also be beneficial for your future business."
She felt grateful to Li Chonglou, and they hit it off immediately.
That's why she invited him to the cultural and historical exchange meeting with her. Firstly, to help her appraise items, and secondly, to broaden Li Chonglou's horizons, as a way of repaying him for helping her avoid pitfalls.
Li Chonglou nodded in agreement.
Although he knew that this cultural and historical exchange meeting was just a place to fleece people.
Lu Xuan's intentions were still very heartwarming.
The building of relationships between people is always heart-to-heart, never profit-for-profit.
Exchanges based on profit are called transactions; if the profit disappears one day, the relationship also perishes.
But exchanges based on heart-to-heart can be pure and long-lasting.
For example, classmates from school days, or comrades with common interests, such examples are countless.
He and Lu Xuan were like that. In his previous life, their friendship remained unchanged even when faced with great profit.
"Oh, Ms. Lu is truly a rare guest. Coming all the way from the capital to Chang'an, are you here to pick up some bargains?" As they got out of the car, a sharp voice sounded from nearby.
A middle-aged man with a slicked-back hairstyle, a belly as round as a cauldron, and a face like a smiling Buddha, approached with a hypocritical smile.
Grinning, he extended his hand to greet Lu Xuan.
At the same time, his gaze lingered on Li Chonglou and Xu Lie for a few seconds, revealing a hint of contempt.
He said with unrestrained mockery, "But if you're coming, you don't have to bring two bumpkins, do you?"
"Or perhaps like attracts like?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Lie's eyes turned cold.
A trace of disgust also appeared in Lu Xuan's beautiful eyes, but out of business etiquette, she concealed it.
She replied with a smile, "Isn't President Zhong also coming to Chang'an despite the inconvenience? It seems our thoughts coincide."
"As for being country folk, our ancestors three generations back were farmers. Is there any difference?"
Her words were pleasant to hear.
It had to be said that Lu Xuan's emotional intelligence was indeed high, otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to establish herself and even grow in Beijing, a gathering place for celebrities.
This胖子 surnamed Zhong, named Zhong Liang, was her business rival in Beijing.
The two had been competing fiercely for six years, refusing to yield to each other.
Both were at a critical juncture, and whoever could secure that big deal would soar to success, while the loser would be forever suppressed, unable to recover for at least five years.
And the person with the deciding vote had a particular fondness for antiques, especially rare treasures.
For this reason, they had both come to this Chang'an Cultural and Historical Exchange Meeting.
"Heh heh, let's wait and see, Ms. Lu. I'll be waiting for you at my celebration party," Zhong Liang said with a cold smile.
Just then, a gorgeously dressed and alluring woman walked over.
Linking her arm through Zhong Liang's, she cast a defiant look at Lu Xuan and then, with a sway of her hips, pulled Zhong Liang into the venue.
As they entered the hall, Zhong Liang's hypocritical smile vanished, and he quietly instructed the woman beside him, "Immediately find out the background of those two men with Lu Xuan. Don't mess up my plans!"
The woman responded with a charming smile.
"Sister Xuan, do you have a feud with him?" Li Chonglou asked softly, sensing something.
"It wouldn't be considered a feud, just a competitor. However, he is much more knowledgeable about antiques than I am," Lu Xuan readily admitted her shortcomings.
Last night, she had come to a realization. She truly didn't have time to study antiques, and much of what she knew was hearsay.
Li Chonglou's appearance made her suddenly realize that applying business tactics to the antique world would only blind her.
Since that was the case, why not openly admit her deficiencies?
Why make things difficult for herself?
"With me here, he's nothing but a paper tiger!" Li Chonglou replied with a smile.
The innate confidence emanating from him shocked Lu Xuan.