After the mock exam, there was a three-day mini break.

Xu Fan lay on his bed in a lazy sprawl, truly not wanting to do anything at all.

But before he could lie there until the end of time, there came a knock at the door from outside.

Zhou Keren and Qin Mengyue had gone out early to shop, so there was no one else to open the door, forcing Xu Fan to get up and answer it.

Bare-chested and wearing only a pair of briefs, he walked to the door.

"Who is it?"

Yawning, Xu Fan muttered as he opened the door.

"Ahem, Sister Lan?"

The knock at the door turned out to be the beautiful landlady, Xiao Lan. She was dressed in a long dress and made up nicely, looking very formal.

After giving Xu Fan's scar-riddled, muscular torso a few more glances, she got straight to the point, "Xu Fan, your sister needs a male companion, are you interested?"

"Hehe, I definitely am."

Xu Fan readily agreed. He owed her a favor for the mock exam incident, and Xiao Lan probably needed a male companion for some social engagement. Accompanying her would mean paying back the favor.

Besides, being with a mature and sexy woman like Sister Lan, any social engagement was pure enjoyment for Xu Fan.

After getting washed and changing clothes, Xu Fan came down with Xiao Lan.

Once at the garage, Xu Fan gentlemanly opened the car door for Xiao Lan before taking the driver's seat.

"Sister Lan, what kind of engagement is it? It's not a blind date, is it?"

As they sat in the car, Xu Fan couldn't help but ask.

According to Xiao Lan, her husband had passed away three years ago, and with her looks and figure, she could easily find someone new, but she had never done so. It wasn't impossible that her family was pushing her to go on blind dates.

"Blind date my foot!"

Xiao Lan gave Xu Fan a playful poke on the forehead and chided, "Are you so eager to see me married off to someone else?"

"Hehe, no, I'd rather have Sister Lan with me all the time."

"Hmph, you're such a smooth talker."

Xiao Lan rolled her eyes at Xu Fan and smiled, "If you had the skills, it wouldn't be a problem for Sister Lan to be your girlfriend."

As she teased, Xiao Lan couldn't help but take another look at Xu Fan, but a bitter, helpless smile quickly flashed across her lips as if some thought had struck her...

"Alright, stop guessing. This time, it's one of my uncles' birthday, and I need to go and wish him well, so I've brought you along as a strong man for the event."

Seemingly afraid that Xu Fan would notice something off, Xiao Lan quickly added.

Xu Fan curled his lips and didn't ask further. After getting the address, he drove off towards their destination with Xiao Lan.

The birthday celebrant today lived in the Chang Le Du Villa District, near Jian Zixiang in the Qinhuai District.

With its unique architectural style blending elements of the Ming and Qing dynasties, and its proximity to the Jinling ancient city district, the villas here were incredibly valuable. That the birthday celebrant lived here was a testament to his extraordinary status.

After Xu Fan found a place to park, as directed by Xiao Lan, they headed towards the Confucius Temple area.

This direction was not towards Chang Le Du, and Xu Fan couldn't help asking, "Sister Lan, where are we going?"

Xiao Lan gave him a look and said, "Silly boy, we're going to wish someone a happy birthday, I can't just go empty-handed, can I?"

"I asked someone to prepare a gift, and I need to go pick it up first."

"Alright..."

Xu Fan grinned, realizing he had forgotten about that.

Now, under Xiao Lan's lead, they arrived at a curio shop near the Confucius Temple called Qing Zhu Zhai.

This curio shop was the largest on the street. Given that the birthday celebrant lived in such a historically rich place like Chang Le Du, Xiao Lan's choice to give him a curio was indeed playing to his tastes.

"Sister Lan, you've arrived."

As the two of them stepped into the store, a man dressed in a linen robe greeted them with a smile.

Xiao Lan nodded and smiled, "Shuyan, I appreciate you preparing the item for me this time."

"Not at all, it's my job to do such things, a mere trifle. Please wait, I'll bring out the painting for you."

Shuyan replied politely and then went inside the shop.

A moment later, he emerged holding an ancient painting.

"Sister Lan, here you are, the authentic Tang Yin that you asked for."

Shuyan, holding the painting, walked over to Xiao Lan and unfurled the scroll.

It was a Peach Blossom Landscape Painting. After a brief glance, Xiao Lan nodded in satisfaction, murmuring, "Uncle Yao's favorite is Tang Yin's work. I believe this painting will make him happy for several days."

"Please wrap it up for me."

Xiao Lan trusted Shuyan quite a bit, so after a brief inspection, she asked him to wrap up the scroll.

However, Xu Fan couldn't help feeling that something was off about Shuyan...

Maybe it was just being overly suspicious, yet Xu Fan couldn't help but take a closer look at the Peach Blossom Landscape Painting that Qin Lan was holding.

In his right eye, a nearly imperceptible flash of golden light twinkled.

This painting, with its old appearance and long history, had brushwork and style that matched exactly with that of Tang Yin, and to the average person, it appeared flawless.

But now, with his Perspective Eye activated, Xu Fan noticed details within the layers of the painting that made him frown.

In the inner layers, the painting was clearly a product of modern craftsmanship...

However, the aging technique was so masterful that it was very difficult to spot any deception.

"Why would this guy want to deceive Sister Lan?"

Xu Fan deactivated his Perspective Eye and silently wondered. This man should have a good relationship with Sister Lan, so why deceive her?

For money?

"Sister Lan, how much is this painting?"

Xu Fan then asked Qin Lan about the price of the painting. Xiao Lan mentioned a price of two million, which would indeed be normal if the painting were truly an authentic Tang Yin.

Only, what Xiao Lan was holding was in fact a skillfully aged forgery...

No matter how high the price, it wouldn't be worth two million.

"Sister Lan, that's quite expensive. Don't you think you should have someone verify the authenticity of the painting?"

Xu Fan casually reminded Xiao Lan. Two million might not be a big deal for her, but since he accompanied her here, he couldn't let her be deceived.

"Silly boy, I trust Shuyan, this painting couldn't possibly be fake."

But Xiao Lan had no intention of inspecting the painting, as she had immense trust in Shuyan.

She glanced at the antique painting and explained, "To celebrate Uncle Yao's birthday, I specifically asked Shuyan to find me an authentic Tang Yin. Shuyan is regarded as a connoisseur in the Jinling area. If it were a counterfeit, he would surely have noticed. Xu Fan, you don't need to worry about this."

"..."

Xu Fan just shrugged his shoulders, as clearly Xiao Lan trusted the appraisal expert more than him...

He couldn't help but laugh.

If Shuyan truly were a connoisseur, he should have been able to tell that this painting was a fake.

The fact that he runs an antique shop here means that he's unlikely to lack this two million.

So, what could be the reason that he'd risk damaging his relationship with Xiao Lan for a mere two million?

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