Regardless of Chen Ke's feelings, judging from the current situation, the two seemed to be a young couple. Seeing this, he didn't plan to stay and witness their affection. Just as he was about to give Chen Zhu a few words of advice and leave, he saw the girl nod obediently, "Oh, right, I also have an older brother, but he's always busy in Anhui and hasn't been home for a long time."
Chen Ke's eyes flashed, as if he had remembered something, but he couldn't quite grasp it.
"Then I'll go say hello to your brother. He's already seen me. If I don't go and say hello, wouldn't that be... impolite?" the girl asked Chen Zhuo shyly, her eyes sparkling with a hint of expectation.
Having heard the girl say all this, Chen Ke thought Chen Zhuo would agree, but he was wrong once again.
Chen Zhuo simply said no, then turned and led the girl back to the bookstore without looking back. The girl kept turning back, her face showing disappointment and apology.
Xu Manling, who had been standing to the side, elegantly opened her folding fan and clicked her tongue, saying, "No wonder they're brothers, they're not ordinary people either. If that girl really likes your brother, she's going to be heartbroken later."
Chen Ke: "Miss Xu, it's already dark. Aren't you going home?"
Xu Manling closed her fan. "Boss Chen wasn't speaking to me like this just now. Why the sudden change of attitude?"
“When it comes to face-changing, can I compare to Miss Xu? If you don’t reveal your identity soon, I’ll have reason to suspect that Miss Xu is a master of Sichuan opera face-changing.”
The two began scrutinizing each other, neither willing to give in, until Li Gang drove up and couldn't help but honk his horn.
If her husband and the young lady were having a pleasant conversation, Li Gang wouldn't have honked the horn at all. But seeing that the two of them looked unhappy, Li Gang felt it was time for him to show up.
"Sir, are you going home now?"
Xu Manling opened the car door and got in before Chen Ke could speak. Li Gang looked at Chen Ke in utter shock. Chen Ke sighed helplessly, walked around the car, and got in from the other side.
Hearing the door slam shut, Li Gang drove off without looking back...
"Chen Zhuo, Chen Zhuo?" Lin Ling called Chen Zhuo several times before Chen Zhuo finally turned his gaze from the rear of the departing car to Lin Ling. "What's wrong?"
"What are you looking at?" Lin Ling pressed her face against the glass to try and see, but she saw nothing strange on the street. Even Chen Zhuo's brother and that pretty lady were gone.
"It's nothing, I just suddenly remembered something and got distracted."
Lin Ling's eyes suddenly reddened with grievance. "Chen Zhuo, do you know that just now, in front of your brother, he spoke to me most gently, and most like a lover..."
Chen Zhuo suddenly felt annoyed, feeling like he must have lost his mind to think of asking Lin Ling's brother to introduce him to the Beiyang Army.
"Lin Ling, let's call this deal off. I don't have the patience to play this kind of dating game with you."
Lin Ling panicked immediately and quickly wiped away her tears. "No, Chen Zhuo, I won't cry anymore. You promised to be my lover for seven days. This is already the second day, and there are only five more days left. Didn't you want to join the Beiyang Army? I've already told my brother. In five more days, you'll be able to fulfill your wish."
"Lin Ling, this is not good for you. Don't let those romantic love stories in the literary society influence you. They are written by idle people who love to fantasize. They are not relevant to your lives. They have romanticized love too much, which is why you girls are thinking about these things all the time."
Chen Zhuo's feudalistic, paternalistic manner startled Lin Ling, tears welling in her eyes, as she asked blankly, "...Then, what should I think about?"
Without hesitation, Chen Zhuo said, "You're a girl. We don't need you to fight on the front lines, but you can study literature and medicine. If you study literature, please don't write those sentimental, melodramatic stories about love and romance. If you're going to write, use your pen as a weapon—"
"Chen Zhuo!" Lin Ling interrupted Chen Zhuo, crying, before he could finish speaking.
Chen Zhuo looked at Lin Ling's tears falling like they were free and felt a little helpless. "See? We're really not suitable for each other. You cry no matter what I say."
"You, you, you've really gone too far!" Lin Ling said, then swung her braid and ran out of the bookstore.
As Chen Zhuo watched Lin Ling run away, he felt a sense of relief, though he felt somewhat apologetic.
God knows, ever since he impulsively agreed to Lin Ling's so-called "love deal," he hasn't been able to sleep through the night. For two consecutive nights, he even had to get up so often that Zhou Shanhuai subtly asked him if he was under too much stress and experiencing frequent urination...
But Chen Ke, feeling only relief at that moment, had no idea that after the unexpected turn of events, when he saw the naive, tearful girl again, she had become an exceptionally skilled doctor. She dared to carry her medical kit through hail of bullets, could calmly reattach the severed body of a fallen soldier, and could wield a scalpel with unwavering composure amidst the chaos of battle…
——
In the car, Xu Manling and Chen Ke sat side by side.
"Tell me, Mr. Chen, who owns thirteen antique shops in Beiping, didn't you deliberately use me to get close to Hebrew today just to sell antiques?"
Chen Ke was surprised that Xu Manling knew this, but he wasn't worried. He could afford to open those thirteen antique shops. Besides, as long as he successfully infiltrated the upper echelons of Shanghai's foreign community, who cared whether he actually owned any antique shops or not?
"What's wrong, Mr. Chen? Did I hit the nail on the head? But Hebrew isn't like Matsumoto; he's not interested in antiques. I'm afraid Mr. Chen's treasures won't sell." Xu Manling's tone turned sarcastic as she said this.
Hearing this tone, Chen Ke felt more at ease, knowing that Xu Manling probably also didn't want to see national treasures fall into the hands of foreigners. He didn't need to care who she worked for, as long as he knew that they shared the same opinion on cultural relics.
So Chen Ke didn't hide it anymore, "That rabbit fur teacup is fake."
Xu Manling was indeed taken aback, then gave a mocking smile, "Boss Chen, if that rabbit fur teacup is really fake, do you think Matsumoto will let you off easily?"
"Miss Xu, you don't need to worry about that. You just need to know that the real rabbit fur teacup is safe and sound in our country."
After listening to Chen Ke's words, Xu Manling suddenly fell into deep thought.
a long time.
"What is Mr. Chen's purpose? Is he just trying to sell fake antiques and swindle money?"
"I just wanted to do my part for the protection of cultural relics," Chen Ke said casually.
"That's all? Mr. Chen is really modest. Right now, warlords are in power, the country is divided, and foreign powers are entrenched in our territory, bullying and oppressing us. Ordinary people are too busy taking care of themselves, while high-ranking officials, wealthy gentry, and local tyrants are busy indulging in pleasure. There are very few people who still think about sharing the burden of the country."
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