Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 398: Chapter 394 Are We Close?

Su Qingqing followed Huo Sining out and asked curiously, ”I just heard you talking about Elder Zhou Zhen, Zhou Shitao, with Professor Ji. What’s up with Mr. Zhou?”

”Nothing much. Ji Kun just wanted me to meet his teacher and said he wanted his teacher to take me as a disciple, but I turned him down.”

Huo Sining explained nonchalantly, seemingly unconcerned.

However, Su Qingqing was utterly disordered by his words. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at Huo Sining, ”What did you say, Elder Zhou Zhen taking disciples, and you--re--ject--ed?!”

Huo Sining nodded, and Su Qingqing’s smile froze on her face. After a long moment, she ground her teeth and managed to squeeze out a few words, ”Damn, Huo Sining, you really have some nerve!”

Huo Sining was taken aback, ”What’s wrong?”

Su Qingqing looked at Huo Sining in frustration, as if lamenting his ignorance, and gave him a look, ”Are you stupid? Do you even know who Zhou Shitao is?”

Huo Sining shook his head, ”I don’t know him. Who is he?”

”This man is a colossus in the martial arts world, a master of Chinese painting whose pieces sell for sky-high prices. He also has a great attainment in antique appraisal; there’s hardly a field he’s not familiar with!”

Huo Sining looked at Su Qingqing in surprise, ”That impressive? Even more so than Professor Xie?”

”Old Xie is only really good at archaeology; he’s just so-so in other areas. He’s far from being on the same level as him, and when it comes to age, he can’t compete. In the presence of Mr. Zhou, Old Xie has to respectfully call himself a student.”

Huo Sining nodded and asked with a grin, ”So that means, if I had taken this person as my master, I would have been on equal footing with your Professor Xie?”

Su Qingqing didn’t get angry at his words. Instead, she nodded very earnestly, ”That’s right. If you really became his final disciple, your status would rise with the tide, and you would be entirely on par with Professor Xie.”

”Not to mention others, just look at Ji Kun. He’s not even forty years old yet, he’s about the same age as the PhDs that Professor Xie supervises, right?”

”But despite his young age, he’s able to hold a professorship and has even become part of the expert team at the Forbidden City Museum. Do you think that’s all because his appraisal skills are top-notch?”

”If he wasn’t Mr. Zhou’s disciple, with his age, he would have to be just an ordinary appraiser and work his way up slowly, only able to shine after reaching a certain age.”

”That’s the difference between having a famous teacher and not. They say a great teacher produces outstanding students, but it’s mainly because of the teacher’s fame!”

Su Qingqing was deeply regretful about Huo Sining’s refusal to meet Zhou Shitao at Ji Kun’s suggestion, wishing she could go in his stead.

The chance to be taken as the final disciple by Zhou Shitao was something one couldn’t even beg for, but Huo Sining had casually turned it down with disdain—how could Su Qingqing not be exasperated?

But after listening to Su Qingqing’s words, Huo Sining didn’t show much of a reaction; she had no intention of taking a master.

Having another master was like having an additional strict father, and Huo Sining had her own plans. The apprenticeship model would only hinder her development, and besides, she didn’t feel like she needed to learn any treasure appraisal knowledge, because to her, it was superfluous.

”Forget it, it’s useless to tell you this. Opportunities are fleeting, and you’ve already declined. People have their pride, too. They won’t go out of their way to chase you. So even if you regret it now, it’s too late.”

Su Qingqing shook her head emphatically, feeling that Huo Sining was wasting a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

But what Su Qingqing didn’t know was that even though Huo Sining had directly refused Ji Kun, the man was not willing to give up after she left Yucailou.

He stared at the ten broken porcelain fragments on the table, conflicted, as two little figures battled in his mind. One was saying, ”Forget it, she’s not interested,” while the other was shouting, ”Such a promising seedling, if missed, would be a lifelong regret, not only for him but for his teacher as well.”

Ji Kun’s eyes were filled with struggle, and he was extremely conflicted. After much deliberation, he decided to tell his teacher about it, hoping to make one last effort.

Located near the other end of Chang’an Street, Wangfujing housed Huo Sining’s shop on the Wangfujing Street. When her grandmother, Huang Chengxiang, bought it twenty or thirty years earlier, it was just a small shop. Later, due to redevelopment and construction by property developers, the small shop was compensated by the property developers into a large shop with four frontages.

This shop had been leased by a Dongyang jewelry company. Since the Huang Family had negotiated with the property developers, the lease was not given away cheaply. The contract was signed every three years, and the expiration of this term was also this May.

As Wangfujing was the most famous commercial street in the Imperial Capital, boasting the saying ”where gold is earned daily,” Huo Sining, of course, did not want to rent it out for others to make money. Just like the shop in Liulichang, she had decided not to renew the lease after it expired.

What her plan was, however, was a question. Although she could source jewelry and jade materials, manufacturing them was a problem. Yan Feng was skilled, but he couldn’t support a whole jewelry company by himself; he also had to work for Jade Beauty. That guy had a foul temper, and definitely wouldn’t help her out.

Huo Sining furrowed her brows, thinking if push came to shove, she would try to list with Su Jinyuan’s Donghua Company. Then she would supply the raw materials herself and have Donghua help with the jewelry production.

However, when she entered the Dongyang jewelry store, Huo Sining didn’t even get a chance to speak before Su Qingqing’s face immediately darkened.

Following Su Qingqing’s gaze, Huo Sining saw several people walking out from the back of the store, among them were the trio that Su Qingqing found extremely distasteful: Zhou Zhen, Ye Zixin, and Zhou Mei.

It appeared that Zhou Zhen and Ye Zixin hadn’t expected to bump into Su Qingqing here either, as their faces stiffened. Zhou Mei, however, brightened up upon seeing Gu Xu and approached them with a familiarity that was borderline presumptuous:

”Qingqing, what a coincidence! Are you here in the Imperial Capital for a trip? This gentleman looks somewhat familiar. Would you mind introducing us?”

As she spoke, Zhou Mei flashed what she believed to be a seductive wink at Gu Xu, her intentions far from subtle.

Huo Sining looked at Gu Xu with a smirk, thinking to herself, ”Look at you, attracting bees and butterflies so effortlessly! Daring to flirt with you right in front of your wife!”

Immediately, Gu Xu flashed an innocent look at Huo Sining, his eyes saying, ”Honey, I swear it’s not my fault. I didn’t do a thing, and this woman just threw herself at me. Just look at my pure, innocent eyes!”

Seeing Zhou Mei’s behavior, Su Qingqing knew exactly what her intentions were and let out a cold laugh, asking bluntly, ”Miss, who are you? Do we know each other that well?”