Chapter 85: Chapter 85: The Sent-Away Relic

“Sorry, sorry… We’re just following orders…”

The two security guards looked as if they were about to cry. Lu Yanchuan’s gaze was too oppressive, especially considering that he was Old Madam Gong’s eldest disciple and used to frequently visit Taikou Villa to accompany her.

Even though he hadn’t visited much in the past two years, these two security guards definitely recognized Lu Yanchuan’s face!

They were stopping Lu Yanchuan from entering because they were following orders from the Gong Family, but if they offended Lu Yanchuan, they wouldn’t have a good outcome either!

“Let them in.”

Just as the guards faced this dilemma, a voice from behind them came to the rescue, saving the two nearly kneeling guards.

Gong Ting? Why was she here?

The person speaking was indeed Gong Ting, who stood there smiling graciously, waiting for Lu Yanchuan and his companions to enter, while the people outside became more vigilant.

Gong Ting was being so genial to them?

Qiao Yi, frowning, took a careful look at Gong Ting inside the gate; when her gaze fell on her lips, Qiao Yi reached out and tugged Lu Yanchuan’s sleeve.

“That’s not Gong Ting; Gong Ting has a mole on the corner of her mouth, she doesn’t.”

Not Gong Ting?

Lu Yanchuan, looking at the woman inside who was nearly indistinguishable from Gong Ting, couldn’t tell whether Qiao Yi’s words were correct or not.

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Heaven knows he never paid much attention to women. He could only remember Gong Ting because of Old Madam Gong and because she once tried to harm Qiao Yi. Otherwise, even if Gong Ting stood naked in front of Lu Yanchuan, he wouldn’t bat an eyelid.

The woman inside seeing they were hesitating to enter, smiled helplessly and took the initiative to come over.

“Hello, I am Gong Yan, Gong Ting’s… twin sister.”

Gong Ting’s twin sister? Why hadn’t he heard about her before?

Not only had Lu Yanchuan never heard of her, but even Qu Luo, who was close to the Gong Family, hadn’t either. Qu Luo had been dealing with the Gong Family for many years and had never heard of Gong Ting having a sister!

“You must all be quite familiar with my sister. I grew up abroad, so it’s understandable that you wouldn’t know me. Don’t just stand at the door, let’s talk inside.”

Different from Gong Ting’s arrogance, Gong Yan’s words and actions gave a feeling like a refreshing spring breeze, making you feel very comfortable just by standing beside her.

Even after just a few words with Gong Yan, Lu Yanchuan’s furrowed brows relaxed a bit, not to mention Xiao Luo, who had no wits about him, he turned into Gong Yan’s ‘good little brother’ in just a few sentences.

Could it be that women naturally have opposing magnetic fields? No matter how Qiao Yi looked at Gong Yan’s smiling face, something seemed off.

If Qiao Yi had to describe it with an adjective, it would be ‘fake’, very fake.

Seeing that Lu Yanchuan seemed to be bewitched by this woman’s performance, Qiao Yi felt very displeased in her heart and slipped two fingers to Lu Yanchuan’s waist, pinching and twisting a piece of flesh hard.

Lu Yanchuan’s expression suddenly stiffened, and if you looked closely, you could even see a slight twitch in the corner of his mouth.

Such a dark move!

Gong Yan led everyone through the villa, past a row of residential buildings, around the hot spring, and finally, arrived at a few small houses at the very top of the villa.

“Please have a seat.”

Gong Yan acted very much in a way a host would entertain guests, except these rooms were clearly Old Madam Gong’s former residence. Technically, in this place, Lu Yanchuan and Xiao Luo should have been the hosts, while Gong Yan was the guest overstepping her bounds.

However, both Lu Yanchuan and Xiao Luo, one expressionless and unconcerned about Gong Yan’s actions, while the other was completely bought over by the gentle ‘big sister’, didn’t pay attention to these details.

Qiao Yi frowned and looked around the room, only to find that the decor here had completely changed into the style suited for a young girl’s dwelling.

Exquisite yet somewhat cramped, it completely lacked the composed and generous style of Old Madam Gong’s other residences.

“I was thinking of making some changes before the tourist season hits, but I forgot to inform the security guards that Mr. Lu would also be visiting, my sincerest apologies for the offense.”

Once seated, Gong Yan started with an apology; with her saying this, if Lu Yanchuan and the others had anything more to say, it would seem as if they were picking a quarrel.

Xiao Luo didn’t pick up on Gong Yan’s insinuation and repeatedly assured her it was fine, but Gong Yan’s attention wasn’t on him at all, she was focused on looking at Lu Yanchuan.

“I wonder what brings Mr. Lu to the villa this time?”

Pretending ignorance!

Xiao Luo had visited the villa no less than five times, and each time he had made it clear that he wanted to retrieve Old Madam Gong’s belongings. Now, Gong Yan seemed completely unaware and asked for their purpose in visiting the villa, which was either feigned ignorance or deliberately provocative!

Lu Yanchuan did not respond. Instead, Xiao Luo, slightly embarrassed, scratched his head and said.

“I asked my eldest apprentice-brother for help, we wanted to retrieve my teacher’s belongings.”

This naive kid. It was a righteous action, but his statement made it seem almost as if they were in the wrong.

Gong Yan seemed surprised, looking at Xiao Luo, then at Lu Yanchuan.

“Old Madam Gong’s belongings? I remember I already had them sorted out and sent to her old residence in Tian City. Why would you need to come and retrieve them yourselves?”

“This…”

The expression on Gong Yan’s face didn’t seem falsified, and indeed, when they had entered the room, they saw no traces of Old Madam Gong’s possessions.

But…

“The Qu Mansion hasn’t received the items.”

“Well, that is strange. My people brought back a receipt from the Qu Mansion, confirming that everything had been delivered, yet Mr. Lu says it wasn’t received. I don’t know whom to believe.”

Gong Yan helplessly shrugged her shoulders, pulled out a box from under the coffee table, opened it, and placed the topmost document from inside in front of everyone.

“This is the receipt from Qu Mansion’s butler.”

She had the evidence right there, leaving no room for Lu Yanchuan to refute.

The receipt detailed everything clearly: what Taikou Villa sent, when it was received on the other end, and who signed for it, every item was verifiable.

“But, but I really didn’t receive any message from the butler, if something was sent back, the butler would definitely have notified me!”

Xiao Luo could still maintain some sense when it came to matters involving Old Madam Gong and scrutinized the receipt carefully. He suddenly stood up, took out his phone, and made a call to the butler.

The group waited silently for Xiao Luo to finish the call, but after a while, they only saw Xiao Luo return with a gloomy face.

“It’s not good, eldest apprentice-brother, the butler’s phone is unreachable. People at Qu Mansion say the butler has been missing for three days! Moreover, before I initiated the call to them, they hadn’t been able to contact me at all!”