Chapter 237: A Familiar Face in a Foreign Land
Mr. Liu, in his thirties, had an unremarkable appearance, but perhaps because of first impressions, Xu Youyou always felt that he gave off an unpleasant vibe.
“Miss Xu, we offer seventy million. How about we buy this dagger from you?” Mr. Liu asked.
Honestly speaking, if it were anyone else, they might think this deal was incredibly cheap.
After all, he was just buying a dagger, and Xu Youyou would not only make a net profit of ten million but also get a house worth six million.
But Xu Youyou gave him a half-smile, saying, “We are both very clear about the value of this item, Mr. Liu. Your offer seems a little too low.”
Mr. Liu’s expression stiffened for a moment, but he quickly hid it and said, “Miss Xu, I’m not sure what you’re talking about. Isn’t this just an ordinary antique dagger? If it weren’t for my client’s interest in collecting this type of artifact, I wouldn’t have spent so much money on it.”
Xu Youyou didn’t miss the hint of guilt that flashed across his face. She immediately followed his lead, saying, “Since Mr. Liu is not truly interested in making this deal, then perhaps we should call it off.”
Mr. Liu didn’t expect his little attempt at price reduction to almost ruin the entire deal. Thinking of how his client had urgently instructed him to secure this dagger, he had no choice but to force a smile and say, “Miss Xu, you’re joking. How could one pass up a good item? Let me raise the offer to one hundred million. How about that?”
Xu Youyou didn’t feel good about it at all. She had been haunted by the dagger for so long, and even though she was now physically better, she still felt off.
Just one hundred million? Earning less than fifty million didn’t feel like it could make up for the trouble she had gone through!
Xu Youyou immediately raised the stakes: “Five hundred million.”
This time, Mr. Liu was taken aback. The commission he had been given was based on a bottom price of five hundred million.
According to his original plan, if he could buy the item for sixty million, his client would give him ten percent of the difference, which would be forty-four million. But now, with Xu Youyou’s asking price of five hundred million, there was no way he could accept it, as he would barely make the base commission.
“Two hundred million,” Mr. Liu said, thinking that was a very reasonable price.
But Xu Youyou remained firm: “If you think that price is too high, then please leave.”
Mr. Liu was frantic but still hopeful, thinking that maybe Xu Youyou was just bluffing. He immediately stood up, saying, “Miss Xu, since you’re not sincere, let’s talk next time.”
After saying that, Mr. Liu stood up as if he were about to leave. He silently counted in his head, sure that Xu Youyou would stop him before he could get to the door.
However, by the time he had exited the villa’s gate, Xu Youyou hadn’t said a word to stop him.
Standing there in shock, Mr. Liu was puzzled. From the information he had gathered, there was no one else competing for the dagger. Was Xu Youyou really not worried?
After thinking for a moment, he decided to wait it out, but still afraid of losing the deal and damaging his reputation, he ordered his assistant, “You keep an eye on things here for a few days and see if anyone else shows up to compete.”
The assistant watched the villa for two days but didn’t see any new competitors. Instead, he saw the people inside the villa getting into a car to head to the airport.
Mr. Liu was immediately alarmed. “Do you know where they’re going?”
“I asked Assistant Xu, and she wasn’t hiding it. She said they’re taking the luggage to security, and their boss is preparing to go abroad.”
Before passing on this information, Assistant Xu had received Xu Youyou’s permission to tell Mr. Liu’s assistant.
Still waiting at the hotel for news, Mr. Liu quickly rushed to Xu Youyou’s villa.
By the time he arrived, Xu Youyou was already being seen off by Lu Jingyao. Fortunately, he caught them just as the couple had finished exchanging sweet words, or else he wouldn’t have been able to interrupt.
“Miss Xu! Four hundred million! We’re willing to offer four hundred million!” Mr. Liu shouted.
Xu Youyou glanced at him and got into the car.
Mr. Liu didn’t expect Xu Youyou to be so firm and unyielding in business, as if she were a seasoned negotiator, without giving any ground.
“Five hundred million! Miss Xu, please, do me a favor, don’t make this difficult for me!” Mr. Liu pleaded.
Xu Youyou slowly lowered the car window and said, “If you had done business like this from the start, we wouldn’t be in this situation now.”
Mr. Liu felt a pang of frustration. He had originally thought this was an easy deal, but after days of hard work, all he was going to get was a small commission.
Xu Youyou, in a rush to catch her flight, didn’t even stay to finalize the transaction herself. Instead, she asked Lu Jingyao to send someone trustworthy to handle the deal.
With Mr. Liu’s constant prodding, the transaction was completed that very day.
Sitting on the plane, Xu Youyou checked her bank account and felt that the money she earned didn’t seem quite as unfair anymore.
“Do all post-initiation tasks have so many twists and turns?” Xu Youyou asked the system.
【Host, each task brings different encounters, and the system cannot provide a definitive answer.】
Xu Youyou couldn’t help but sigh. “I didn’t expect that the trend of vague language would eventually reach the system.”
A string of characters appeared on the system screen… then blinked and disappeared as the system logged off.
Xu Youyou was not going abroad to force Mr. Liu to complete the deal, but because the system’s latest “bargain-hunting” task pointed to Europe.
As for Lu Jingyao, he couldn’t accompany her on the trip due to business matters, but he promised to join her as soon as the work was done. Meanwhile, he arranged for his bodyguards to stay close to Xu Youyou.
Initially, Xu Youyou had four bodyguards, and after the New Year, the number grew to eight. Now, with Lu Jingyao’s additional eight, there were a total of sixteen bodyguards, all elite personnel, which made Xu Youyou feel extremely safe.
This task also had a time limit, but perhaps because of the long journey, the system gave her fifteen days to complete it.
Xu Youyou was traveling on her private jet. After enjoying the luxury of long-distance travel on a private jet, even first-class felt somewhat ordinary to her.
Xu Youyou had wanted to bring Assistant Xu along, but fortunately, she had already taken the time to get her passport and applied for a European visa in advance last year.
After a long flight, the plane landed. Xu Youyou used the fast track, and her first stop was Paris. After getting off the plane, she took the pre-arranged pick-up car. Before she could leave the airport, she saw a familiar face by the side of the road.
“Ms. Shen?”
Xu Youyou thought she was seeing things. Based on what she knew, Ms. Shen shouldn’t be traveling alone abroad.
