65: Chapter 65 Receiving

When Liu Yanran finished changing and walked out of the master bedroom, Qiao Yichen was leaning on the sofa scrolling through his phone.

He heard the sound of the door opening and looked up—

Then his whole body froze.

Liu Yanran stood at the bedroom door, wearing a fitted black knit top. The black fabric outlined the curves of her waist, and the neckline revealed just a sliver of her collarbone.

On the bottom was a light pink short skirt, the hem a few inches above her knees, making her small calf look even fairer.

The collision of black and pink was both mysterious and reserved, yet carried a hint of sweet softness.

It was completely different from any Liu Yanran he had seen before.

Qiao Yichen almost stood up subconsciously, not even noticing his phone slipping onto the sofa.

He walked up to her, his gaze dropping from her shoulder line to the hem of her skirt, then moving back to her face.

Liu Yanran felt a bit uneasy under his stare, her eyelashes trembling slightly.

“What are you looking at…”

“Baby,” Qiao Yichen spoke, his voice lower than usual, “You look stunning.”

Liu Yanran paused for a moment, then turned her face away, a faint blush rising on her earlobes.

“...You flirt.”

She held out her hand to him.

Qiao Yichen grasped it and led her to sit down by the sofa.

After sitting down, his gaze still hadn't left her. From her neck to her waist, from the skirt hem to her calves, he looked repeatedly and without concealment.

Liu Yanran felt awkward under his gaze and gently pushed his shoulder.

“Have you looked enough…”

“Not enough,” Qiao Yichen replied righteously.

Liu Yanran pursed her lips and whispered, “Su Qing recommended this to me... It looks good, right?”

Qiao Yichen reached out and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer into his embrace, resting his chin on her shoulder.

“So sweet,” his voice was close to her ear, “This outfit was chosen really well.”

Liu Yanran didn't speak.

But Qiao Yichen could see that her earlobes were already completely red, and the faint blush had spread all the way to her cheeks.

Just as he was about to say something else—

His phone rang.

Liu Yanran slightly broke free from his hold, picked up the phone on the coffee table, glanced at the caller ID, and swiped to answer.

“Hello... Yes, okay, the access is open, you guys can come straight up.”

The call was short.

She put down the phone and looked at Qiao Yichen: “The cabinet has arrived.”

A few minutes later, the doorbell rang.

Qiao Yichen stood up to open the door.

Standing outside were three people: two young, strong movers, and a middle-aged man wearing dark work clothes and white gloves, who appeared to be the team leader.

Behind them, in the hallway, sat a giant custom wooden crate, as tall as a person, tightly bound with strapping tape.

“Mr. Qiao and Miss Liu, right? This is the transport arranged by Auction House.” The leader bowed slightly, “What’s in the box is the cabinet you purchased. Shall we bring it in now?”

Qiao Yichen stepped aside: “The second bedroom.”

The leader nodded and gestured to the two men behind him.

The two men lifted the wooden crate, moved in with excellent coordination and steady steps, walked through the living room, and headed toward the second bedroom. The leader followed behind, occasionally reminding them in a low voice: “Slowly... A bit higher on the left side... Yes, just like that.”

Liu Yanran stood in the living room, watching the huge wooden crate pass by her. Her gaze lingered on the box for a few seconds.

Qiao Yichen followed them inside.

In the second bedroom, the two men carefully set the wooden crate down steadily.

The leader looked at Qiao Yichen: “Mr. Qiao, please inspect it.”

Qiao Yichen nodded.

The leader took a crowbar from his tool bag and deftly pried open the retaining strips along the top edge of the wooden crate. The two movers stepped forward and worked together to dismantle the four walls of the crate.

Layers of high-density foam were peeled away.

The cabinet was revealed.

The huanghuali inlaid with hundred treasures flower and bird pattern square corner cabinet stood silently in the center of the second bedroom.

Qiao Yichen walked forward.

He circled the cabinet once, his gaze resting on several key areas—the mortise and tenon joints, the edges of the hundred treasures inlay, and the patina on the bronze hardware.

It was exactly the same as what he had seen at the Private Negotiation Fair.

He straightened up and nodded at the leader.

“No problem.”

The leader breathed a sigh of relief, a smile appearing on his face: “That’s good. Mr. Qiao, we will take the disassembled packaging materials back for disposal; it won't bother you.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

The three men swiftly gathered the dismantled wooden boards and foam, and carried them out the door. The door closed softly behind them.

The moment the cabinet was successfully received, text appeared in Qiao Yichen’s mind:

[Intelligence One Verification Complete.]

[You have successfully purchased the 'Late Ming Dynasty huanghuali inlaid with hundred treasures flower and bird pattern square corner cabinet'. Purchase cost: 260,000 yuan. Current market valuation: 1.8 million - 2.5 million yuan.]

The text hovered in his mind for three seconds, then faded away.

What he was thinking was: The three pieces of intelligence for this month were now complete.

Liu Yanran watched the three men leave, then turned and walked in, stopping beside Qiao Yichen.

Her gaze fell on the cabinet, moving slowly from the flower and bird inlay on the top, to the bronze hinges on the cabinet doors, and finally stopping on the feet at the bottom.

“This is...?” she paused, “The cabinet worth over two million?”

Qiao Yichen nodded and turned his face to look at her: “It looks rather plain, doesn’t it?”

Liu Yanran looked at it carefully for a few more seconds, then slightly tilted her head.

“...It really doesn't look much different from an ordinary cabinet,” she said honestly, “It’s just made more exquisitely.”

Qiao Yichen smiled.

He reached out and draped an arm over her shoulder, pulling her closer to him.

“Yanran,” he said.

“Hmm?”

“Should we consider—what to eat for lunch?”

Liu Yanran’s attention was indeed diverted.

She looked up at him, her eyes holding a hint of inquiry.

Qiao Yichen said: “There’s a Cantonese seafood restaurant in City New World Plaza that has a great reputation. Want to go?”

Liu Yanran thought for a moment and nodded.

“Okay.”

Twenty minutes later, the two of them left the apartment.

Liu Yanran put on her high heels and picked up the beige chain bag. As she walked out of the building entrance, she naturally linked her arm through Qiao Yichen’s.

They arrived at the underground garage.

Qiao Yichen opened the passenger door, Liu Yanran got in, he closed the door, and walked around to the driver's seat.

The car started, pulled out of the garage, and merged into the Saturday morning traffic.

...

The car was parked in the B3 parking lot of the mall, and the two walked towards the elevator together.

Even though it was raining, the mall was exceptionally crowded on the weekend.

They didn't go directly to the Cantonese seafood restaurant on L5. Liu Yanran wanted to buy something, and Qiao Yichen accompanied her.

So the two took the elevator to B1 of the mall.

Liu Yanran’s objective was clear; she led him to the SK-II store.

Inside, she immediately asked someone to get the Facial Treatment Essence and the large size of the Skinpower Cream.

Then she said to Qiao Yichen: “I’m almost out of these, it’s convenient to restock here.”

Qiao Yichen affectionately patted her head, then told the staff to package everything and pay directly.

The two continued strolling, hand in hand.

At the entrance of the cosmetics store on B1 of the mall, Meng Zhi was testing lipstick shades with a classmate.

Just as she raised her wrist to compare the color differences, her peripheral vision inadvertently swept outward—

Across the way, twenty or thirty meters away, a familiar figure was approaching.

Qiao Yichen. He was wearing that familiar dark gray casual jacket, tilting his head and chatting and laughing with the person beside him.

Meng Zhi’s gaze naturally slid to the person he was holding hands with—

A black knit top and a pink short skirt.

Her gaze froze.

Not because she recognized the face. But because this person was the complete opposite of the 'Director Liu' in her memory.

At the company, Liu Yanran always wore a button-down shirt and trousers, or a sharply tailored dress. When she walked through the Planning Department in high heels, the air felt pressurized.

Meng Zhi had only been employed for a week and had only seen her a few times, but the impression was as deep as if it were carved into her mind.

But the person before her—

The knit top cinched at the waist, the skirt swaying above her knees, revealing a stretch of fair leg. Her hair was loosely draped, and she was smiling sideways at Qiao Yichen, a smile that carried laziness, and even a hint of sweetness.

How could this be Director Liu?

But just as she slightly turned her face, the complete profile hit Meng Zhi’s eyes—

The eyebrows and eyes, the contours, the lines of the profile.

Although she had only seen her a few times, she would never mistake her.

It was Liu Yanran.

The Director Liu who never smiled at the company.

Meng Zhi’s mind instantly went blank.