The vendor stopped in his tracks upon hearing Mr. He’s threatening words.
His face turned an ashen gray, fists clenched as he turned around and glared at Mr. He with a cold laugh:
"My uncle must have been blind to have made friends with someone like you! Rest assured, even if I can’t sell these cups, I won’t be coming to you again, Mr. He. You might as well give up!"
After saying this, Zhao Yuliang turned and walked away without looking back, leaving Mr. He standing there, face alternating between green and white, the very picture of awkwardness.
However, at this moment, Huo Sining was too concerned to care about that; seeing the vendor leave, she hurriedly called out, "Zhao Yuliang!"
Zhao Yuliang, hearing someone call his name, thought it was Mr. He who couldn’t take a hint. He couldn’t help but sneer silently and continued walking ahead without turning back.
At this time, he was somewhat worried. His mother was waiting for him at the hospital to raise money, but now this deal had fallen through.
As the saying goes, "Do not flaunt wealth." He had foolishly revealed the origin of the Luminescent Cup in a moment of anger, and now that so many people knew the value of his cups, it was possible that someone might harbor crooked thoughts.
As these thoughts flickered through his mind, Zhao Yuliang felt a twinge of regret and unease, unconsciously quickening his pace.
Huo Sining, pulling Su Qingqing, had finally squeezed through the crowd, thinking that Zhao Yuliang would be waiting for her after hearing her call out, but instead, he hadn’t paid any attention to her and had walked even faster.
This infuriated Huo Sining to the point of almost spurting blood, and she couldn’t help but stomp her foot as she chased in the direction of Zhao Yuliang, calling out, "Zhao Yuliang, wait a moment!"
This time Zhao Yuliang finally sensed something amiss; the one calling him seemed to be a woman. He stopped and turned back to look at Huo Sining running towards him, partly curious, partly wary, as he asked, "Miss, may I ask what you want?"
Hearing this, Huo Sining’s expression froze for a moment.
She had been focused on the pair of Luminescent Cups and hadn’t paid special attention to the vendor, and although she felt he looked familiar, she hadn’t been too concerned about it.
It was only after Mr. He had blurted out the vendor’s name that she realized it was him!
Because she had seen Zhao Yuliang anxious to leave, she had called out his name in a hurry, and only now, upon being asked by Zhao Yuliang, did she realize that this wasn’t her previous life, and she had never met Zhao Yuliang before.
Huo Sining’s expression was somewhat embarrassed and a little sheepish. She forced a smile and said, "Zhao Yuliang, hello, my name is Huo Sining."
Confusion flashed in Zhao Yuliang’s eyes, but out of politeness, he still nodded his head.
He thought back and was sure that he did not know any girl named Huo Sining, which made him increasingly baffled. He couldn’t help but ask, "Miss Huo, I’m sorry, but may I ask if we know each other?"
Huo Sining smiled and replied, "No, we don’t, but I know your uncle, Zhao Mingcheng."
Indeed, the youth before her resembled Zhao Mingcheng to some extent. He was the scumbag ex-boyfriend from her past life who had drugged Huo Sining and sent her to the operating table of Wu Jingyi, leading to her being cut open, her heart removed, and her body buried at the sea floor.
In her past life, because of her passionate love affair with Zhao Mingcheng, Huo Sining had also met Zhao Yuliang several times in the Imperial Capital. At that time, Zhao Yuliang was in a very wretched state, alone, seeking refuge with Zhao Mingcheng in the Imperial Capital.
Although he was seven or eight years younger than Zhao Mingcheng, Zhao Yuliang’s face looked even older than Zhao Mingcheng’s, almost leading Huo Sining to mistake him for Zhao Mingcheng’s older brother rather than his nephew.
This was the reason why Huo Sining couldn’t recognize Zhao Yuliang upon seeing him again. The Zhao Yuliang before her now seemed well-groomed and suntanned, a stark contrast to the haggard man from her past life.
Even though she had met a tragic death due to the scumbag Zhao Mingcheng in her previous life, this did not hinder her appreciation for Zhao Yuliang. Having interacted with him a few times, she knew quite clearly that Zhao Yuliang was different from Zhao Mingcheng—Zhao Yuliang was a straightforward and extremely sincere person.
Upon hearing Huo Sining say she knew his uncle, Zhao Yuliang was somewhat skeptical, "How do you know my uncle?"
Huo Sining smiled and said, "My boyfriend works at Shengtang Company, and your uncle holds a position there. We’ve met a few times. Just now, when I saw your familiar face and thought you resembled Mr. Zhao and then heard Mr. He mention your name, I guessed you might be Mr. Zhao Mingcheng’s nephew."
His uncle did indeed work at Shengtang Company, so upon hearing Huo Sining’s explanation, Zhao Yuliang dispelled most of his suspicions and a smile appeared on his face:
"I see, my uncle and I do look a bit alike and we’re not far apart in age. People who don’t know us might think we’re biological brothers."
Huo Sining’s face wore a smile, but inwardly she sneered. People from the same family could be so different; although both were from the Zhao family branch, Zhao Mingcheng was so much more deceitful and disgusting than Zhao Yuliang.
"I also haven’t seen your uncle for a while. I’m studying in S City and just happened to have some free time today, so I came to stroll around Antique Street. By the way, I saw you seemed to be selling something earlier; what’s that about..."
Upon hearing Huo Sining’s question, Zhao Yuliang knew she wanted to ask about selling the Luminescent Cup. He couldn’t help revealing a bitter smile on his face, his eyes filled with a touch of sadness.
Huo Sining couldn’t help but sigh inwardly, recalling Mr. He mentioning Zhao Yuliang’s mother needing surgery. She could guess the direness of Zhao Yuliang’s situation to some extent.
No wonder she had seen Zhao Yuliang in such a sorry state in her previous life. It seemed that his current circumstances were quite bad.
"Mr. He earlier mentioned that your mother needs surgery. Is your mother’s illness serious?"
Surgery that costs hundreds of thousands is by no means a minor operation. And seeing Zhao Yuliang’s worried face, if he wasn’t in a hurry to raise money for treatment, he probably wouldn’t have sold the valuable Song Dynasty jade cup at a discount.
Looking at it this way, Zhao Yuliang’s mother’s illness appeared to be very urgent.
Zhao Yuliang nodded sadly, even though he was not very familiar with Huo Sining. Seeing her deeply concerned expression, he felt a bit warmed and didn’t keep it from her, speaking frankly:
"It’s a cerebral hemorrhage. The doctor said the surgery must be performed within a week, or there will be a risk to her life."
Huo Sining frowned upon hearing this. It was another case of a cerebral hemorrhage; Gan Lijun had also been hospitalized for the same reason. If it weren’t for the timely intervention of her spiritual energy, Gan Lijun would probably be paralyzed in bed by now.