Closer to Revealing My True Self
Chapter 150 - 123 Visitor_1

Chapter 150: Chapter 123 Visitor_1

After breakfast, Feng Yi sat in the chair beside the scenic pond, lost in thought. Indeed, if he paid close attention now, there really was a sense that something imperceptible was about to change.

Perhaps, as the butler had said, one day when he woke up, the tail would appear before his eyes.

Feng Yi picked up the fish feed that Bing had handed him and began feeding the koi in the pond, all the while pondering what he would do if his tail did come out.

Chef Bing handed the fish feed to Feng Yi and was about to head to the kitchen to start preparing ingredients when the butler stopped him, and the two of them began a serious discussion about whether there was a need to adjust the proportion of ingredients in Feng Yi’s three meals.

Feng Yi absentmindedly finished scattering the fish feed, which Bing had always carefully measured out for him; all he had to do was spread it and that was it.

The phone rang, and Feng Yi wiped his hands before picking it up. The caller was Lu Yue.

"Brother Lu?"

"I’m in Yang City, hahaha!"

That laughter of Lu Yue, it was as familiar as if they were long-time friends.

Feng Yi’s antenna of wariness immediately began crackling.

Are we that close?

Business is business, but when it comes to personal friendship, surely we aren’t at that level, right?

Given what Feng Yi knew about Lu Yue, even if Lu Yue came to Yang City, just asking him out for drinks and a chat to maintain their relationship would have fulfilled Lu Yue’s objective. But with Lu Yue suddenly adopting this tone, Feng Yi couldn’t help but be on guard.

Lu Yue continued:

"Ha! I heard you’re staying at Lu Hai, and I specifically came looking for you! I wonder if I might have the honor of visiting your new residence today?"

Lu Yue had also heard about Feng Yi from a friend, and after doing some investigation on his own, he hadn’t expected Feng Yi to be related to the Feng Family of Yang City!

Although it looked like both sides had severed their relationship, the fact that Feng Yi could inherit the house at Lu Hai indicated there were other supporters behind him. The original owner of that house also had the surname Feng.

From a businessman’s perspective, Feng Yi’s personal value had increased!

"Don’t mention it, Brother Lu. Just come over directly, I’m at home," Feng Yi replied with a smile.

"Sure! I’ll bring a couple of good bottles of wine over. We’ll drink a few glasses... Oh, I have a friend who wants to meet you. His name is Bai Lu, do you know him? His family is quite prominent in Yang City too, they’re in the catering business..."

Feng Yi had actually heard about Bai Lu from Feng Chi. Bai Lu’s family was in the catering business, and they were very successful. When people referred to the king of catering in Yang City, they were talking about his dad.

Feng Chi had once complained about Bai Lu. Although he was an okay guy, he was quite superstitious and a bit foolish, not at all like his father and brother. To put it bluntly, his brother and father were responsible for the business, while he was only responsible for eating.

"I’ve heard of him. Bring him along with you," Feng Yi said.

After finishing the call with Lu Yue, Feng Yi told the butler that guests would be coming soon and asked if there was anything he needed to pay attention to.

"The second floor above ground and the second floor below ground—apart from these two levels, all other areas can be shown to outsiders."

The butler asked about the number of visitors, their ages, and personalities, and then made a detailed hospitability plan based on this, sparing Feng Yi any concerns.

Not long after, Lu Yue made another call.

"Are you still taking on appraisal jobs?" Lu Yue asked.

Upon hearing there was appraisal business on the table, Feng Yi’s interest was piqued.

"Of course! I’m now fully certified, I’ve got my appraiser’s license, proper formal appraisals!"

"Wow! You got your license that fast!"

Lu Yue was surprised by how quickly Feng Yi had obtained his appraisal license after just a few days in Yang City!

Moreover, this proved that Feng Yi truly had the ability. From now on, appraisals could be officially recognized, and if he asked Feng Yi to do appraisals again, corporate members wouldn’t strongly object.

"Here’s the thing, Bai Lu’s dad heard from me about your appraisal work, and just now Bai Lu mentioned he was coming to see you, so on a whim, he has something he wants you to appraise. That’s why he asked me to inquire. If you’re available, would now work for you? He happens to be free."

"That’s fine!"

An hour later, Lu Yue arrived with Bai Lu, closely followed by Bai Lu’s dad.

In Bai Lu’s eyes burned an eagerness akin to a fan meeting his idol. He quickly stepped past Lu Yue toward Feng Yi, his slightly plump face breaking into an enthusiastic smile, hand outstretched, "Brother Yi, nice to meet you! I am Bai Lu! I’ve long admired your family!"

Feng Yi: ???

Admired our "family" for a long time?

Looking at Bai Lu again, their hands were still shaking, but Bai Lu’s eyes had already started wandering elsewhere.

Feng Yi understood; this was another visitor here to see the house.

Approaching from behind Bai Lu was his father, the catering king of Yang City, Bai Youwei.

Bai Youwei, nearly fifty years old, was lean yet ruddy, with a full head of hair that could invoke envy among ninety percent of his peers,

"You two go ahead with your business talk, don’t mind us. Brother Yi, may I... have a look around?"

Bai Lu was full of curiosity.

He knew several people who lived in the Lu Hai Villa Complex and had visited the area, but each house and garden had their own style, which was very worth studying.

The house Feng Yi lived in was one he had always been curious about, and now he finally got the chance to take a closer look.

Lu Yue also gave Feng Yi a gesture, indicating that Feng Yi should go ahead with the business while he would walk around the courtyard with Bai Lu first.

Feng Yi led Bai Youwei to a more private reception room next door.

Lu Yue and Bai Lu walked in the courtyard.

Seeing the koi pond, Bai Lu’s eyes suddenly sparkled, "I’m going to take a photo!"

Lu Yue wasn’t interested in fish. Even if he bought koi, it was just for show-off purposes; whatever others said was good, expensive, or sophisticated in patterns, he would buy, but he wasn’t genuinely intrigued.

While walking in the courtyard, he observed every aspect of the design.

To Lu Yue, the "value" of Luhai lay in its added worth. Anything else depended on what the homeowners thought.

A renovation could fully reflect an owner’s taste, but here, he was puzzled.

Many designs seemed intentional, but he just couldn’t grasp their purpose; they appeared to be randomly placed, yet also seemed to hide some secret.

"Interesting."

After Lu Yue had looked around, he still hadn’t seen Bai Lu come over, so he went to check and found Bai Lu still squatting by the koi pond!

"Haven’t finished looking yet?" Lu Yue walked over and glanced once. He couldn’t see anything special about these koi either.

He had heard that these were the ones Feng Yi had scooped up from the flower and bird market, the type that cost ten yuan for several fish.

Bai Lu’s gaze followed the swimming koi, and he sighed, "These fish are really well grown!"

Then he wiped his drool.

Lu Yue: "...You have designs on such little fish?"

How big could koi be for ten yuan each?

Besides, how good could koi taste? Weren’t they ornamental fish?

Bai Lu still squatted there, and upon hearing Lu Yue’s remarks, waved his hands and exclaimed, with spittle flying, "Brother Yue, you don’t understand! His family raises these fish really well! They’re especially... vibrant!"

Lu Yue took another look at the pond. He didn’t see it.

In Lu Yue’s view, fish didn’t have much of a brain. What was so vibrant about them?

Bai Lu firmly believed in his judgment, "There must be some special selecting technique! Although these are priced at ten yuan for several, it’s like picking through antiques for hidden treasures! Brother Yi just picked them out!"

Lu Yue: "..."

So soon, it’s "Brother Yi"?

But then, coming from a family in the catering business, even if Bai Lu had no business acumen, perhaps his ability to judge fish was stronger? Maybe the fish were actually well grown?

Lu Yue thought about the added value of this place and said, "Maybe the fish look good because the environment here is better, more suitable for their survival."

Bai Lu nodded vigorously in agreement, "Yes! It must be that! This place has good feng shui! Just don’t know if there’s anything else to it."

"Don’t be so superstitious about feng shui, at the end of the day it’s environmental advantages! You’re young, don’t attribute everything to feng shui and superstition. Things like air, moisture, soil, microorganisms, and so on—haven’t knowledgeable experts analyzed all that before?" Lu Yue advised.

"It’s all the same thing!" Bai Lu stood up and moved on to inspect the rest of the courtyard.

However, after a tour, even Bai Lu was confused.

"The layout of this courtyard..."

"Can’t understand it?" Lu Yue laughed, "Neither can I."

"That’s just right! It must have been advised by some expert!"

Excited, Bai Lu continued speaking.

"Take that gravel road next to us, for example, I’m embarrassed even to call those stones ’pebbles.’ Who uses such stones for a pebble road? The size, shape, angle, texture—none of it fits the general aesthetic! But this indescribable aesthetic, when combined, gives off an inexplicably profound feeling! Don’t you think?"

Lu Yue: "..."

Even though he hadn’t known Bai Lu for long, Lu Yue knew him well enough: an easy-going man with no malice and an enthusiastic nature, yet very superstitious!

If it had been another place with someone else, Bai Lu would’ve criticized such designs harshly. But here, anything that was difficult to articulate or incomprehensible became mystical in his eyes.

Blatant double standards.

Simply put, Bai Lu was a die-hard fan of Luhai, convinced of the good feng shui and significance of the place.

To exaggerate, even if there was just a grass carp here, he could talk it up to shine with golden light!

Bai Lu clapped his hand to his palm, "I’ve got it! Koi! When Brother Yi picked the koi, he must have done it purposefully! He bought them to set up a koi formation!"

Lu Yue: "..."

"This is something you don’t mess with lightly! Believe it or not, if I ask Brother Yi to sell me a few koi, he definitely won’t agree!"

Lu Yue: "I don’t believe it."

——

Inside the house, in the more private meeting room.

Bai Youwei twirled the serpent-patterned ring on his finger, his face wearing a gentle smile that seemed friendly yet subtly pressurized.

"I’ve heard that you have a talent for identifying snake products! So, I’d like to ask you to assess this snake bone bracelet left by my late father..."

Feng Yi brought out his tool kit, ready to get to work.

After getting his professional certificate, he had prepared for himself a set of more professional equipment for showing off on outings. He even had his initials engraved on the box.

As he listened to the story from President Bai, he took out his appraiser’s white glove with great ceremony.

He was just about to put it on.

When Bai Youwei lifted his sleeve and pulled off a snake-bone-like bracelet from his arm.

The bracelet was long, having been wrapped around the arm several times, and when taken off, it was spread out on the table.

It had a creamy, smooth luster, with a design full of wildness.

Feng Yi looked steadily for a moment.

Then he took off the half-worn glove, his face adopting a businesslike, polite smile.

"I’m sorry, President Bai, but appraising jade isn’t my specialty."