As soon as the words fell, a young, handsome man walked out of the shop.
Upon seeing him, Shen Yaoyao's expression changed slightly. "Lu Junze, what are you doing here?"
Lu Junze was good-looking, with a pair of very attractive eyes. When he smiled and gazed intently at someone, his eyes seemed incredibly affectionate, as if she were the only one he loved in the world. However, the moment he spoke, that feeling would be completely shattered.
"That doesn't seem to concern you."
Shen Yaoyao was choked with anger. "Where did I offend you that you have to treat me this way?"
Lu Junze put an arm around Shen Qingqing's shoulder, looking at Shen Yaoyao as if she were an idiot. "Because she's my friend."
A friend's friend was naturally an enemy.
Shen Qingqing brushed his arm away, giving him a sidelong glance. "Don't take advantage of the situation."
"Ok, ok." Lu Junze good-naturedly released her. "You're still so stingy. What's wrong with me putting an arm around you? We've been friends for years."
His rambling complaints, delivered with such patience, formed a stark contrast to his earlier attitude towards Shen Yaoyao.
"Boss, where's the boss?!"
Shen Yaoyao didn't want to waste any more time with them and tried to enter the shop, only to be blocked by Lu Junze. She took a deep breath, her anger barely suppressed.
"What else do you want?"
"I'm the boss of this shop. What do you need?"
"You're the boss?" Shen Yaoyao couldn't believe it, instinctively looking at the young man selling goods. He shrugged helplessly, his gaze shifting to Lu Junze.
"Boss, I didn't know this jade bracelet was already sold..."
"It's fine." Lu Junze waved his hand. He had sent the young man to eat because he had arrived. It was normal for him not to know about Shen Qingqing's visit. Now, he needed to deal with Shen Yaoyao. "I am the boss. I'm not selling anything to you. You can get lost."
"Why should I listen to you?" The word "get lost" made Shen Yaoyao's anger explode.
"If you don't leave, don't regret it."
"You're threatening me? Do you think I'm afraid?" Shen Yaoyao didn't believe that a young master who had only recently returned from abroad could control this antique market.
As it turned out, Lu Junze really could.
He walked to the roadside and declared loudly, "Everyone, from today onwards, Miss Shen Yaoyao is a blacklisted customer of my shop. I will no longer serve her, nor will I sell anything to her."
As soon as he finished speaking, the young man immediately stepped forward, took the bracelet from Shen Yaoyao's hand, and gave it to Shen Qingqing.
Shen Yaoyao was furious. "Do you think I can only buy from your shop?"
Lu Junze gave a knowing smile. "Then you can try."
Shen Yaoyao didn't believe him. She glared fiercely at Shen Qingqing and turned towards the adjacent shop. However, as she reached the entrance, she was stopped by a plump man.
"I'm sorry, I can't let you in, and I can't sell you anything."
"Why?"
The owner merely smiled, but his stance at the doorway was clear: he wouldn't budge.
Shen Yaoyao looked back at Shen Qingqing and Lu Junze, who were standing at the entrance, watching her like she was a spectacle. Disbelieving, she tried several more shops.
However, there were only four or five shops along the road, and she was refused at every single one, unable to even enter.
Furious, she returned to Lu Junze's shop and saw that he had set up a small canopy at the entrance with a table and two lounge chairs.
He and Shen Qingqing were lounging there, leisurely watching the passersby, while the shop staff were busy inside.
In stark contrast, Shen Yaoyao, nearly suffering from heatstroke under the sun, was miserable. She angrily confronted Lu Junze, "What exactly did you do?"
Lu Junze smiled mischievously. "Guess."
Shen Qingqing couldn't help but chuckle. Shen Yaoyao's angry glare immediately turned towards her. "You know what's going on, don't you? Are you deliberately getting revenge on me?"
"You truly are..." Shen Qingqing paused. "...stupid."
Shen Yaoyao gritted her teeth and lunged at her, raising her hand to strike. Lu Junze stopped her, his face stern. "Do you believe I can have security escort you out of here?"
Shen Yaoyao was terrified. She now realized Lu Junze's capabilities.
He wasn't as carefree as he appeared. Without saying a word, his mere attitude was enough to make others refuse to serve her.
She retreated a step, a strange fear gripping her.
Lu Junze sneered, "With such little courage, you dare to come looking for trouble with us."
Shen Yaoyao didn't dare to be aggressive towards him, so she glared at Shen Qingqing.
Shen Qingqing narrowed her eyes slightly and mused, "Let me guess. You're here to buy a gift, likely for an elder. An elder you'd actively try to curry favor with... it must be Grandma Fu."
"So what if it is, and so what if it isn't?" Shen Yaoyao's expression was foul. "Does it have anything to do with you?"
Shen Qingqing didn't want to waste her breath. "I advise you to hurry and look elsewhere, otherwise, if you're too late, you won't find a suitable gift."
"You just wait!"
Shen Yaoyao spat out a threat and turned to leave.
However, she was still furious. As she was about to leave the market, she suddenly spotted a jade ruyi displayed on a nearby stall.
The luster of the jade indicated it was a fine piece.
She couldn't help but pick it up to examine it. The staff member beside her said nervously, "Please put my item down quickly. I'm not selling it to you!"
In less than half an hour, the news of the young master of the Lu family blacklisting a woman had spread throughout the entire antique street.
Even Shen Yaoyao's appearance and attire were being circulated.
Upon hearing this, Shen Yaoyao refused to let go. "You say you won't sell it, won't sell it? I'm buying it today. If you don't sell it to me, I'll report you!"
But the owner didn't care about a complaint. Was a complaint more troublesome than the young master of the Lu family?
He stepped forward to snatch it. Shen Yaoyao, unwilling to back down, struggled with him. During the scuffle, the jade ruyi slipped from her grasp and shattered on the ground with a loud crack.
The owner immediately wailed, "Ah, my jade ruyi! It's worth over three hundred thousand!"
When Shen Yaoyao heard it was priceless, she panicked and stumbled backward, trying to escape, but the owner grabbed her.
"Pay up, pay me!"
"Do you know who I am?"
In her panic, Shen Yaoyao blurted out her identity. "I am Ye Tianbao's wife, the mistress of the Ye Corporation!"
She thought this would intimidate everyone. Instead, after a moment of stunned silence, the crowd erupted in an uproar.
People pointed at Shen Yaoyao, their eyes filled with disdain.
The owner became even more enraged. "Good! So you're Ye Tianbao's wife. Then you should pay even more! Triple the price! One million!"
Shen Yaoyao was stunned.
She had exactly one million in her card, but that was for buying gifts!
The owner was relentless and even threatened to drag her to the police station. The surrounding people continued to gossip, pointing fingers at her, making her feel utterly disgraced.
In the end, the million yuan was paid.
She left the antique market in a sorry state and returned home. She thought she could escape the humiliation and distress, only to find Ye Tianbao sitting on the sofa, his face ashen.
"One million, what did you do with it?"
"I..." Shen Yaoyao suddenly remembered that Ye Tianbao would receive a text notification after the card was swiped. Afraid of being exposed, she finally dared not lie. "I heard that Grandma Fu's birthday banquet is tomorrow, and I wanted to buy a gift, but I accidentally broke something at a shop..."
"Crack!"
Ye Tianbao slammed a cup at her feet.