Chapter 304 – Oil Painting
"The last time I saw you in Beijing, I didn't even know you were married. Now you told me you were married, but you're not even bringing me to have a look!" The Old Man was staring at Xian Zihao with a look of displeasure on his face.
Xian Zihao laughed softly and casually, "I plan to take her to see you in the evening, but who knows that you will come on your own."
The Old Man glared at him: "What's the difference if you show her now. Since when did you learn to shoot in the back!? Also, this girl…"
All of a sudden, the Old Man pulled Jiang Ruolan towards him. "Look at her. She has an average figure and average buttocks, and a flat chest! How can she become your wife so easily! She didn't even pass my stage! Kid, since when did your eyesight get so bad?!"
Jiang Ruolan sighed. Forget it.
Xian Zihao smiled and leaned against the wall lazily. "I'm the one who got married. Look at you. Because of your high-standard, you still don't get married until now."
The Old Man was immediately choked by his words. He glared at Xian Zihao with a flushed face.
On the other side, Jiang Ruolan lowered her head and slyly said, "Hubby, this Old Man really has a strong sense of humor!"
"Stinking brat! After not seeing you for a few months, your mouth is getting sharper and sharper!" The Old Man was furious. He glanced at Jiang Ruolan with an ashen face.
Jiang Ruolan looked eagerly at him. In the end, the Old Man glanced at her lower abdomen.
"Forget it, since you are someone my disciple likes, I will reluctantly accept you as my disciple's wife."
Jiang Ruolan sweated and touched her belly. She didn't expect her baby to be treated as a trump card before it was even born. Once this child was born, she probably wouldn't be able to have one.
With that, the Old Man said to her in annoyance, "Little girl, don't be happy too soon."
Jiang Ruolan immediately laughed, "Aiya, since you are my husband's master, then automatically you will become my master too. Master, you can't scare me like this, otherwise my legs will go soft, and I might even fall."
The Old Man let out a heavy snort and grabbed on Jiang Ruolan's arm. "Before my grand-disciple is born, why don't I take you to me, and when the baby is born, I'll take care of him! Don't you have heard of saying 'natured the kid since he was a baby'? Under my care, he will be a good boy."
"Sure." Xian Zihao said indifferently, "You are in charge of the child's eating, drinking, and taking care of everything else."
The Old Man suddenly made a sound as if he regretted boasting.
With just this sentence, Xian Zihao had dispelled the Old Man's thoughts of robbing the child.
Only later, Jiang Ruolan found out that the Old Man's surname was Zhong. He was indeed the Asian free-for-all champion from forty years ago and had been the champion for six consecutive years. He was now a martial arts coach at the national level and was about to retire.
From the age of seven or eight, Xian Zihao had been abused by this strange Old Man. Fortunately, he was a person with a very easy-going personality and a strong heart; otherwise, he would have definitely been driven mad by this Old Man.
The Old Man was still unhappy. He said that he wanted to talk to Old Man Xian and complained about this to him. Jiang Ruolan didn't say anything and just let Xian Zihao and Old Man Zhong deal with each other.
Xian Zihao's ability to remain calm was beyond Jiang Ruolan's imagination. This eccentric Old Man was coaxed into leaving with satisfaction. Before he left, he even patted Jiang Ruolan on the shoulder. "Little girl, train your body more. Look at your tiny physique — tsk, tsk!"
Jiang Ruolan's mouth twitched as she smiled and nodded in agreement.
It wasn't until the Old Man had left that she couldn't help but ask, "Was he like this to everyone?"
Xian Zihao nodded calmly and then looked at the phone in her hand.
"Did you take a photo of the purple crystal necklace?"
He seemed to know that she had secretly taken a photo of the necklace in the stands when no one was paying attention to her.
Indeed, no matter what she did, everything couldn't escape from his eyes. Or rather, every single action of hers was within his range of concern.
Jiang Ruolan paused for a moment, then smiled at him as though they were in sync, "Yes."
"No one is allowed to take any pictures in the venue. One is enough." With a touch of gentleness on his handsome face, he guided her back to the private room.
That purple crystal necklace was the last item on auction. At the moment, the price had been raised to fifty million.
Actually, it was just a collection item. Those who bid were usually wealthy merchants, while the political leaders only watched from the sidelines. Xian Zihao was one of the political leaders who was invited to watch.
Jiang Ruolan looked back and saw a rich merchant she had never seen before. She couldn't help but exclaim in her heart. '70 million, isn't it a bit too much to buy such a piece of purple crystal jade?'
So if the white crystal necklace in her hand was really the one previously worn by the wife of Brazil's President, then how much would it be worth? Could it be that she had always been hiding this precious treasure by her side, yet she hadn't discovered it at all?
Even after everyone had left, Jiang Ruolan was still thinking about the white crystal necklace on her hand and her mother's involvement with the corruption incident 20 years ago.
Once they left the private room, Jiang Ruolan didn't expect that the rich merchant who just bought the purple crystal necklace would be waiting for them in the reception room.
"President Xian." That person respectfully greeted Xian Zihao.
Xian Zihao nodded. Jiang Ruolan immediately followed him inside and glanced at the rich man. She saw the respect in his eyes for Xian Zihao and also saw the names written on the card on his chest. Only then did she realize that he was vice president of the Xian Enterprise branch in Beijing.
"I've already asked some people to come here and have examined this purple crystal necklace with a special instrument. It is indeed the purple crystal necklace sent into the country by Brazil 20 years ago."
The vice president gave Jiang Ruolan a respectful bow when he noticed her presence.
Xian Zihao only took a glance at the purple crystal necklace, which had a charming luster under the sun. It was placed on the sandalwood pedestal in front of the reception room.
Xian Zihao then received the detailed information and test report about that necklace. Jiang Ruolan, who was standing beside him, also peeked her head out.
Xian Zihao turned his head to look at her, and when she looked up, their eyes suddenly met unintentionally.
Xian Zihao smiled, and his gaze was gentle. Jiang Ruolan's heart immediately skipped a beat.
She walked over and looked at the purple crystal necklace carefully, then turned her head and asked, "Can I touch it?"
The vice president was stunned for a moment, as if he never expected her to be so polite. Jiang Ruolan was not really used to her identity as Mrs. Xian and the Xian Group's President's wife. That's why when people saw her being polite like this, they were shocked.
For such a precious item, if an ordinary person wanted to touch it, it would probably be as difficult as ascending to the heavens.
"Can't I?" Seeing the vice president looking at her and smiling without saying a word, Jiang Ruolan put her hand down resentfully. She felt it would be better not to touch it.
Xian Zihao smiled. "If there is nowhere else to place this necklace, it will be deposited in the museum in the future. The most precious thing to us now is the test report in my hand. If you really want it, then it belongs to you now."
"Mine?" Jiang Ruolan was surprised. She looked at Xian Zihao's face intently, trying to find a sign of joking. He didn't seem like he was joking.
"However, this purple crystal has a large magnetic field and a small amount of radiation. You can't get too close to it for too long." Xian Zihao reminded softly as he flipped through the report in his hands.
Jiang Ruolan carefully touched the purple crystal and felt that this crystal stone was actually dug naturally. In addition to its beautiful luster, everything else was natural, without being artificially carved, but still very beautiful. The temperature under her finger was very cold, also a kind of familiar coldness.
She remembered that the white crystal necklace she possessed was still ice-cold. No matter how long she held it in her hand, it wouldn't warm up. After feeling it for a bit and testing her senses, Jiang Ruolan moved to the side so that she would not be exposed to the powerful force of the magnetic field. She walked further away and no longer looked at it.
Instead, she turned around and looked at the oil paintings hanging on the reception room's wall.
Although she was able to move freely, her ankle still hurt occasionally. After all, she was injured a few days ago.
Although Jiang Ruolan had recovered very quickly under Xian Zihao's meticulous care, her ankle would still be unable to withstand the pressure after walking around Beijing for two days.
Thus, she carefully steadied her steps. Not wanting Xian Zihao to find out that her ankle was in pain, Jiang Ruolan quietly sat down under an oil painting and stared at it without moving for a long time.
Inside the painting, a family of three sat happily in a garden filled with flowers and plants. A young woman hugged a cute little girl as they sat on the swing. Besides the swing, a man stood there with a doting smile on his face.
It was unknown who drew this painting, but it caused Jiang Ruolan's gaze not to be able to move for a long time. That man's clothes looked familiar, but for these three family members' faces, the painter could only describe them with lines and simple expressions, allowing others to feel the intentions of the person who painted the oil painting. The author of this painting had placed his hopes for happiness in the painting.
Just then, the hotel staff member came in and when she saw Jiang Ruolan sitting there, she quickly poured her a cup of warm water.
"I don't think I've ever seen this kind of oil painting before."
The staff looked up at the oil painting she was talking about, then smiled and said, "Miss Jiang, it's normal for you not to have seen it. Most of the paintings hanging in our hotel are not made by famous experts. They are all collected by the common folk, and during these twenty to thirty years. Our boss has been trying to find this beautiful painting and poster of the ancient people among the common folks. This painting seems to have been bought by our boss twenty years ago from a young and beautiful woman in G City."
"G City?" Jiang Ruolan mumbled in a low voice and looked at the painting without saying a word.