Lin Xiaotian, however, had a mischievous smile on his face and remained silent.
Chu Nianxue hesitated for only two seconds before lightly touching Lin Xiaotian's cheek with a peck.
A hint of shyness graced her beauty.
Her beautiful autumn-water eyes also held a clear hint of annoyance.
"Speak quickly!"
Lin Xiaotian chuckled, "The good news is that the stolen Zhong Kui Capturing Ghosts painting is a fake."
"I had already made preparations and discussed with Captain Ma to temporarily store the retrieved treasures in a safe in a corner."
"We then placed the fakes on display stands with extremely strict protection."
"These display stands appear to be extremely secure, but they have a major flaw: once the power is cut, the alarm system fails."
"If something were to happen to our security personnel, causing a power outage, then all the treasures in our company might be stolen before we even realize it."
"Once the items are gone, it will be difficult to find them again."
"After all, it's such a small item, and this city is so large; it's hard to discover where it's hidden."
Chu Nianxue breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, her eyes filled with gratitude.
Fortunately, Lin Xiaotian had a backup plan, otherwise, the peerless masterpiece would truly have vanished without a trace.
Let alone their company, even world-class paintings are difficult to recover once lost.
Moreover, such incidents are not uncommon in the antique world.
Her gaze held a touch of gratitude: "You always think more thoroughly than I do; I didn't consider everything."
"Will you come to the company to help me from now on?"
Lin Xiaotian's eyes lit up, "Wife, I can help you at the company, but you have to pay me a salary."
"No problem, I'll give you as much as you want, as long as I have it."
Chu Nianxue's greatest goal was to develop the Chu Group.
To fulfill her grandfather's dying wish.
At the very least, she couldn't let the Chu Group continue to decline, nor could she let the company become a fleeting memory.
If she could make the company a true overlord, that would be the realization of her efforts and dreams.
Lin Xiaotian smiled slyly, "Wife, don't agree so readily. The salary I want isn't money."
"You know, I'm not short of money at all. If I wanted to make money, I could just go out a couple of times, and having some pocket money would be easy."
Chu Nianxue had no doubt about this.
However, when it came to antique appraisal, Lin Xiaotian possessed extremely sharp insight. To this day, not a single antique he brought back had been a fake.
Especially when selecting treasures from the Gu Bao Zhai.
Even the top appraisal master had been fooled at times, yet Lin Xiaotian seemed to pick out the genuine items as if he were picking cabbage, all of them real.
This kind of discernment was likely something others couldn't learn in a lifetime.
"Then what exactly do you want?"
Lin Xiaotian chuckled and remained silent, staring directly at Chu Nianxue.
He was slowly leaning closer.
A hint of shyness appeared in Chu Nianxue's eyes. She had already accepted Lin Xiaotian in her heart, otherwise, she wouldn't have allowed him to sleep on the floor beside her.
But she was also a very conservative person.
Before they were married, she definitely wouldn't let Lin Xiaotian get too intimate.
"Wife, what I want is you!"
"And you are destined to be mine for this life. We've been like an old couple for so long, why don't you let me sleep in the bed tonight?"
Chu Nianxue bit her red lips slightly, "Okay, but you must go to the company on time every day."
An extremely brilliant smile spread across Lin Xiaotian's face, "Deal!"
"Then I'll go wash up!"
With that, Lin Xiaotian walked directly into the bathroom, wanting to take a nice bath.
When he came out, he found no one on the bed, but he could clearly hear breathing.
He walked over, puzzled.
He found Chu Nianxue already lying on his usual floor mat.
"Wife, are you deliberately playing with me?"
"You agreed to let me sleep in the bed, but you ran off to sleep on the floor mat yourself. How can I bear it?"
"They say that husband and wife are birds of the same forest, but they fly in different directions when disaster strikes. How can I bear to watch my wife suffer!"
"Husband and wife should share joys and sorrows."
"Tonight, I've decided to be with you."
Before Chu Nianxue could speak, Lin Xiaotian had already embraced her tightly.
Her small face flushed as she tried to push away the scoundrel.
Lin Xiaotian wouldn't give her the chance and kissed her directly.
Chu Nianxue's eyes widened, and the stiffness and shyness in her gaze gradually disappeared, transforming into a pool of tender affection.
They were destined to complement each other. Lin Xiaotian's physique was the Nine Yang Dragon Body, while Chu Nianxue was the Nine Yin Cold Body.
The moment they touched, it was like the mutual attraction between magnets.
Shyness was seemingly cast aside. Her hesitant response seemed to ignite a fire in Lin Xiaotian's heart, doused with gasoline.
Two minutes passed.
A brilliant smile appeared on Lin Xiaotian's face, "So sweet!"
Chu Nianxue buried her small face in Lin Xiaotian's embrace, her face burning hot as she thought about her actions.
"You scoundrel, are you satisfied now?"
"Behave yourself and go to the company tomorrow, or I won't let you off."
Lin Xiaotian chuckled, "Wife, have you forgotten? Tomorrow I have to go deal with the pawnshop matters."
"From now on, with your husband by your side, you can rest assured. Anyone who dares to cause you trouble will be beaten so badly that their own mother won't recognize them."
Chu Nianxue felt her heart filled with sweetness.
The night deepened gradually.
At this moment, in a suburban manor.
Chu Xionghui stood anxiously in the hall, his gaze constantly shifting towards Zhuge Liang. He had been waiting for about half an hour. The promised transaction had shown no signs of movement, and he hadn't even seen the person.
Had they decided not to buy his painting?
Finding himself miles away from any other residences within the manor's vicinity, he felt a sense of unease. Could they be planning to kill him and steal his treasure?
As he was pondering these thoughts, he suddenly heard footsteps from outside.
His gaze turned, and he immediately saw several people walking in.
The person at the very front, a middle-aged man in a suit with an imposing aura.
He recognized the other person; it was the renowned entrepreneur of Songzhou, Bai Wuji.
Bai Wuji's reputation wasn't particularly widespread locally, but anyone who knew a bit about him would understand that he was a truly hidden powerhouse.
He usually kept a low profile, but his influence was terrifyingly strong.
He was influential in both legitimate and illegitimate circles.
"Mr. Bai, you're finally here. If I had waited any longer, I would have suspected you were deliberately toying with me."