Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 565: Chapter 562: Meeting Watanabe Yasu Again

Huo Sining and her entourage, accompanied by Hong Si, stepped into the row of bungalows and realized once inside that this was no ordinary bungalow—it was a makeshift conference hall.

From the outside, these row houses were unremarkable, but once inside, it became apparent that the walls of several rooms had been knocked through, creating an interior with a rudimentary finish, clearly intended as a temporary auction venue.

Huo Sining understood that the people who selected this location must have thought about their escape routes in advance, which explained why the police had never been able to catch them.

The site was near a national highway in the front and bordered by mountains in the back, offering escape routes in every direction. With any sign of trouble, they would withdraw.

Upon entering the room, Huo Sining immediately spotted Ma Liwen and Ji Kun sitting not far away, albeit in the back rows; Qin Lianshan, however, was seated at the front. It seemed that the antique traffickers had sharp eyes to place Qin Lianshan so prominently, showing they clearly understood the risks of offending someone like him.

”Huo Sining, what are you doing here?!”

She had only taken a few steps inside when a mocking voice suddenly came from one side.

After asking the question, the speaker turned his head and saw Su Qingqing, causing his eyebrows to raise: ”Oh, what’s this, you’re also here to attend the black market?”

Turning her head, the sarcastic and disdainful person sitting there was none other than Zhou Zhen.

Huo Sining had not expected to encounter such a scumbag in this kind of place and couldn’t help but frown.

Su Qingqing also seemed a bit stunned, but she quickly collected herself, appeared ready to speak with a stern face, only to be stopped by Wu Jun tugging at her sleeve.

Wu Jun shook his head at her, and Su Qingqing took a deep breath, swallowing the anger that had surged within her.

If it weren’t for the fact that this was not a place to speak her mind, Su Qingqing would have certainly lashed out verbally.

Damn it, are we that close to you? Must you constantly assert your presence in front of us? Do you really think you’re so important?

Hearing what Zhou Zhen said, Hong Si, who was leading the way, couldn’t help but turn his head back as well, his brow furrowed with apparent displeasure.

In their line of work, even though they were aware of the illegality, they disliked it when others blatantly referred to their auction as a black market in front of them. Zhou Zhen’s remark had touched on Hong Si’s taboo, and therefore Hong Si’s look towards Zhou Zhen was anything but friendly.

”Sir, the auction is about to begin. Since you know this lady, you can save your reunion for after the auction,” Hong Si glared at Zhou Zhen, his tone containing both warning and displeasure, ”Miss Huo, please come with me, you and your companions.”

Zhou Zhen felt both awkward and irritated by Hong Si’s rebuke.

However, given the situation, he didn’t dare to make a scene. This was Hong Si’s territory, after all, and provoking these sorts of people was sure to lead to no good end.

But thinking back on his previous setbacks involving Su Qingqing and Huo Sining, as well as the changes in his grandfather’s attitude towards him recently, a hint of sinister intent flickered in Zhou Zhen’s eyes.

These two malicious cheap skates will one day fall into my hands!

Huo Sining wasn’t concerned about Zhou Zhen’s unexpected appearance, as Zhou Zhen was not a particularly clever character, and so Huo Sining didn’t consider him a rival.

However, when Huo Sining’s gaze shifted, she caught sight of two Dongyang men sitting beside Zhou Zhen. They were clearly accompanying Zhou Zhen, and coincidentally, Huo Sining knew both of them and had past grievances with each.

One of them was Hattori Keiko, with whom she had previously clashed over a shop issue. Huo Sining had seen Hattori Keiko with Zhou Zhen in Ruili, gambling on stones, so she wasn’t surprised;

But the other person took Huo Sining somewhat by surprise; it was Watanabe Yasu, the president of a corporation who, two months prior, had attempted a secret trade of research results with Zhu Xingwang at the Hilton Hotel.

The attendance of the two Dongyang men at the black market auction struck Huo Sining as odd, but she felt it was just odd and didn’t take it to heart.

While Huo Sining might not mind, that didn’t mean others felt the same. Zhou Zhen thought he had concealed himself well, but the malevolent look in his eyes did not escape the keen senses of Wu Jun, Huo Sining, and Hong Si, who was walking ahead.

A chill passed through Wu Jun’s eyes. He knew very well the entanglement between Zhou Zhen and Su Qingqing; he had disliked this scumbag for a long time. Now that Su Qingqing was his girlfriend, he was naturally protective of her and would not hesitate to teach Zhou Zhen a lesson if he dared to cause trouble in his presence!

Hong Si was unaware of the past between Zhou Zhen and Huo Sining’s group, but by instinct, he felt that Zhou Zhen was no good and couldn’t help but whisper a warning, ”Miss Huo, you should be careful with that man from before.”

Huo Sining was somewhat surprised, not by Hong Si’s ability to judge character, but that he would actually be kind enough to warn her, which improved her impression of him. A sincere smile appeared on her face, ”I understand, Mr. Hong, thank you for the warning!”

The black market was a mixed bag, with buyers who were almost all unfamiliar strangers. To conceal their identities, these clients usually didn’t cozy up to newcomers.

Therefore, the entire room was eerily quiet, everyone waiting for the auction to begin.

People like Hong Si always chose their actions based on whom they dealt with, and seeing Huo Sining as an emerging figure in the jade circle with a lot of money in hand, he naturally viewed her differently.

Thus, he directly led Huo Sining to the front row, and by sheer coincidence, her seat was next to Qin Lianshan.

Hong Si led Huo Sining to the first row, and Qin Lianshan felt somewhat surprised as well.

However, since they had to pretend not to know each other at the moment, Qin Lianshan said nothing.

Hong Si was very cautious, so the two of them didn’t even exchange glances.

There were seventy to eighty people sitting in the room, with all four connecting rooms filled. Only the display stage at the front remained empty, and it was at this moment that Huo Sining noticed several foreigners among the crowd sitting behind.

Huo Sining quickly understood why Ji Kun and the others were so frustrated; nationality didn’t matter at a black market auction—as long as one had the money, one could participate.

Moreover, being close to the Myanmar border, those with some ability could easily transport cultural relics out.

It was precisely for this reason that Qin Lianshan and the others were so eager to rush to Tengchong; once the antiques fell into the hands of those foreigners, they would be gone for good, like a meat bun thrown to a dog.

In each trade, there are unwritten rules, such as offering sacrifices to Lord Guan before starting a movie shoot, placing a Sky Lantern at the southeast corner of a tomb when tomb raiding, and similarly, the black market auction had its rules—once inside, one must play by its rules.