Before this, I had never had any private contact with Lin Jianghao. I heard that he was more interested in me, but I didn't know if he really appreciated my talent or if he was just trying to save face. I gave him an ambiguous answer: "Mr. Lin, you've gone too far with your joke. I've never even had a girlfriend. I can agree to whatever conditions you ask, but this is a bit too much. I'm so young, I can't be your concubine!"

"Haha, you're quite an interesting kid."

Lin Jianghao leaned back comfortably on the sofa: "You're right. My competition with Xiao Liuzi here today is just a temporary victory, but having a reliable friend by my side is what makes me invincible, and that's exactly what I value in you! If I'm not mistaken, this jade seal of yours should be something unearthed from the burial site, right?"

My jade seal looks too rustic; any expert could tell. So I nodded without hiding anything and said, "Mr. Lin has a good eye."

Lin Jianghao continued slowly, "The rule in the antique business is not to ask where it came from. I won't ask how you got this thing, but the person who can retrieve this thing from underground is definitely not an ordinary person. Although I have a grudge against Xiao Liuzi, it doesn't mean that you and I can't be friends."

Mr. Leng and I came to this tea party to expand our social circle. If we could meet someone as important as Lin Jianghao, that would be a great thing. "Of course, if Mr. Lin is willing to befriend me, I would be honored."

"In the antique trade, there is no distinction between superiors and inferiors, so don't be too polite."

Lin Jianghao pulled a business card from his pocket and handed it to me: "After today's tea party, I need to go abroad to handle some business matters. Give me your contact information later. When I return to China, come visit me and we can talk about making friends."

After hearing what Lin Jianghao said, I felt that he probably needed my help for something.

He wasn't confident of winning against Mr. Leng today, and the jade seal I revealed only made Lin Jianghao more uncertain.

Of course, his main purpose was to sow discord between me and Mr. Leng.

As he said, today's victory or defeat is only temporary. If he can win over the experts around Mr. Leng to his side, he can permanently increase his strength.

Besides attending these small tea parties, Lin Jianghao also frequently participates in major international auctions. When faced with collectibles worth hundreds of millions of yuan, having a reliable person by his side to appraise them is of paramount importance.

Everyone understood the unspoken agreement, and I readily agreed: "No problem. Mr. Lin has given me such a great deal of face today. I will do my utmost to help you in the future if needed."

"Okay, that's exactly what I wanted to hear."

Lin Jianghao looked at me with satisfaction: "You're quite clever, young man. I really like your personality. This isn't the right occasion for a chat, so let's end our conversation here. We can talk in detail next time we meet."

Seeing that Lin Jianghao had given the order to leave, I stood up from the sofa and said, "Thank you, Mr. Lin. I will have someone send the painting over to you as soon as possible!"

Lin Jianghao flatly refused, saying, "No need. You owe me a favor today, and a painting alone is not enough to repay it. I will give you a chance to repay your kindness in the future."

The hardest debt to repay in this world is the debt of gratitude, but if I want to get in touch with Lin Jianghao, I must strengthen our interactions. I'm not worried about getting entangled with him.

After agreeing on the terms with Lin Jianghao, I returned to the booth and had Monkey put away our painting, leaving the booth empty.

When there were only five minutes left in the break, I returned to Mr. Leng's side.

Mr. Leng was resting at his booth when he saw me return to his side and asked casually, "I heard you just went to Lin Jianghao's place?"

I wasn't surprised that Mr. Leng knew about this, and I readily admitted, "Yes, I just met with Lin Jianghao, but I went in a private capacity and didn't use your identity to discuss anything."

"You're a smart person, and I trust your judgment in handling matters."

Mr. Leng poured me a cup of tea: "What did you talk about?"

"Auction."

I didn't beat around the bush with Mr. Leng: "I advised Lin Jianghao to withdraw from today's competition, and he agreed."

Mr. Leng was somewhat surprised by this. Although his expression did not change, he slowly said after at least two seconds, "I thought you would suffer a setback with Lin Jianghao."

"In any case, I came with you. Although I'm not negotiating with Lin Jianghao in your capacity, I still have some of your influence. I wouldn't have gone to see him unless I was absolutely certain of victory."

I went to negotiate with Lin Jianghao for Mr. Leng's sake. Now that I've done what I needed to do, I should make him owe me a favor as well: "To persuade him, I showed him the jade seal and told him that if he continued to pester me, I would hand it over. That way, he would definitely lose today. We would lose a jade seal, while he would completely lose face, and you would become famous because of this auction."

I told Lin Jianghao, "Even if he withdraws today, the two sides will only be evenly matched. If he continues to fight, it will only end in a lose-lose situation. Once the competition reaches the point where we hand over the imperial seal, even if you win, you won't let him off easily."

Mr. Leng picked up his teacup: "Is it that simple?"

"It sounds simple, but first we need to be able to produce the item. Without this jade seal, it's difficult to intimidate him with words alone."

I paused for a moment: "You big shots have a common problem, which is that you think too much before you act. You often think many steps ahead for every one move. Rather than me scaring Lin Jianghao, it's more accurate to say that he's scaring himself."

Mr. Leng pondered my words for a moment, then a slight smile appeared on his lips: "I heard that the painting at your booth is gone?"

I replied with a smile, "Ah, too many people came to my place asking about paintings today, and I found it too troublesome, so I had Monkey put them away."

Mr. Leng didn't believe me: "Did you give the things to Lin Jianghao?"

I paused deliberately, then told the truth: "No, I gave it to him, but he didn't want it."

Mr. Leng continued drinking his tea: "If there's anything here that catches your eye, feel free to take it. Consider it a token of my appreciation for your hard work."

His saying that means he really believes that I gave that painting to Lin Jianghao as a gift. Given Mr. Leng's relationship with Lin Jianghao, it's impossible for him to confront him.

In this way, I owe Lin Jianghao a favor, but Mr. Leng also owes me a favor.

I'm just trying to build a good relationship, so I can't accept anything from Mr. Leng: "I'm already very grateful that you brought me out to see the world today. Besides, I've already accepted your dzi bead, so how can I take anything here?"

Mr. Leng was overjoyed to learn that Lin Jianghao had withdrawn from the competition: "Let's keep things separate. The dzi bead was a gift I gave you. The item you chose yourself is my reward to you."

I looked at Mr. Leng seriously and said, "The hardest debts to repay in this world, besides the debt of raising me, are probably the debt of being recognized and appreciated. I am already extremely grateful that you brought me here to broaden my horizons, so I really can't accept this."

"Slap! Slap!"

Mr. Leng pondered for a moment, then gently patted my arm without saying anything.

Through his actions, I knew in my heart that from this moment on, I had completely secured my ticket on Mr. Leng's giant ship.