"We’ve arrived, please take your time looking," said Xiao Yang as the three of them reached the counter displaying high-end jade pendants, and he had already made his way inside it.
"Alright, we’ll take a look," replied Li Changlin, his expression unchanged, while he and Lin Ruonan began perusing the items.
In reality, Li Changlin’s heart was not as calm as he appeared on the outside.
Although he couldn’t immediately guess why Xiao Yang was trying to frame him, Li Changlin always felt there was a large conspiracy hidden behind this act, so he was silently calling out to Ling’er while examining the jade pendants.
"Host, I am here," Ling’er’s voice immediately responded upon hearing Li Changlin’s call.
"Ling’er, check for me, what’s in the pocket on my left," asked Li Changlin. While he couldn’t see the contents of his pocket, Ling’er could sense them.
After all, Li Changlin was bound to the Divine Tycoon Cultivation System, and for Ling’er to check the items inside the storage pouch was an easy task.
"It’s a jade pendant, host," Ling’er promptly replied.
"A jade pendant?" Li Changlin was slightly taken aback, then suddenly realized what was going on.
He had often heard news reports about people being scammed in the antique market and never thought he’d encounter such a situation himself!
Ling’er, of course, didn’t know that it was actually Jiang Xingwei plotting against him and thought it was a conspiracy by the antique store.
"Ling’er, how should I handle this jade pendant without alerting anyone?" pondered Li Changlin aloud.
He was in someone else’s store, where surveillance cameras might already be trained on him; if he pulled out the jade pendant now, it would certainly serve as evidence against him.
In that case, Li Changlin would truly be unable to clear his name even if he jumped into the Yellow River.
"It’s actually very simple, host. Just move the jade pendant into your phone, and no one will discover its existence," Ling’er sweetly advised.
"Move it into my phone, how?" Li Changlin was momentarily stunned, feeling as though Ling’er’s words were imbued with a whiff of the fantastical.
"Just move it into the storage box in the personal center of the Divine Tycoon Development System. However, your phone is in the right pocket, so you need to switch it to the left for me to help you move it," Ling’er explained, aware of Li Changlin’s confusion.
"I understand. I’ll immediately switch my phone to the left pocket, and Ling’er, you quickly help me move the jade pendant inside," Li Changlin said, now knowing what to do.
He reached into his pocket, took out his phone pretending to check the time, casually fiddled with it, then switched the phone to his left hand and placed it in the left pocket.
His actions seemed very natural, and as he placed the phone into his pocket, it didn’t seem like he noticed the jade pendant that was inside it.
Watching this scene unfold, Xiao Yang, whose heart had been practically leaping to his throat, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Host, the jade pendant has already been moved into the storage box," Ling’er’s sweet voice quickly echoed in Li Changlin’s mind. After a slight sensing, he immediately noticed that indeed there was nothing but his phone in his pocket.
"Ruonan, let’s go. The jade pendants here feel too expensive. We might as well try our luck with the raw stones," Li Changlin suggested, now that the jade pendant was safely hidden away.
However, his feelings toward this dishonest store had already turned entirely sour.
Although there were a few jade pendants in the store that Li Changlin truly felt were exquisite, he was filled with a wave of irritation upon realizing that this female clerk had actually framed him.
So, Li Changlin made up an excuse and turned around, leading Ling’er towards the shop entrance.
"Manager Zhou." Watching Li Changlin and Lin Ruonan leaving, Xiao Yang quickly turned to look towards his left.
There, Manager Zhou was haggling with a middle-aged couple.
In fact, Manager Zhou had been paying attention to the situation here all along. Hearing Xiao Yang’s call, he hurriedly turned his head towards the restroom’s location.
At this moment, Peng Lianpeng took large strides out and Manager Zhou quickly gave him a meaningful look.
"Stop right there, you man and woman at the door—stand still for me right now!" Just as Li Changlin and Lin Ruonan were stepping out of the shop, Peng Lianpeng hurried forward a few steps and shouted loudly.
"Hmm, that voice sounds a bit familiar!" Li Changlin was slightly startled, but he didn’t think too much of it and continued walking forward with Lin Ruonan.
"Changlin, it seems like someone is calling us from behind." Lin Ruonan had naturally heard Peng Lianpeng’s shouting as well, and her pace hesitated as she spoke softly.
"Don’t mind him." Li Changlin smiled faintly and kept walking forward at an unhurried pace.
By this time, Peng Lianpeng had also chased after them, and he rushed in front of them in a few steps, reaching out to block their path and said sternly, "Stop, did you think you could get away with stealing something?"
Raising his eyes and seeing the person in front of him, both Li Changlin and Lin Ruonan immediately recognized who it was.
"Could it be that this guy deliberately framed me?" Li Changlin’s thoughts raced, and a chill flashed through his eyes.
"So it was you two!" The expression on Peng Lianpeng’s face darkened as he shouted, "Li Changlin, you dare to steal from our antique shop, are you looking for death?"
"What do you mean, Peng Lianpeng, are you trying to slander me?" Li Changlin had been with her all along; when could he have stolen something from the antique shop? As soon as Lin Ruonan heard this, she immediately retorted angrily, "Get out of the way, a good dog doesn’t block the path!"
"Tsk, you stole something and still want to leave; let’s see where you can run to today!" Peng Lianpeng glowered at Li Changlin with a dark face, his only worry being that after Li Changlin reached into his trouser pocket for the jade pendant, he might decide to discard it.
Under the current circumstances, he had to keep a close watch on this guy, to prevent him from having any chance to discard the jade pendant.
"Peng Lianpeng, are you an idiot!" The jade pendant had already been stored in his phone, and even if a god descended at this moment, it would likely be impossible to find that thing. Li Changlin didn’t take the person in front of him seriously at all.
Now, he had finally understood. Although this antique shop wasn’t a shady place, it was a property of the Jiang Family. Perhaps Jiang Xingwei was hiding in the shop, setting him up and framing him, surely a trick contrived by that bastard.
"Humph, Li Changlin, today I’ll see who can save you!" Seeing that Li Changlin seemed unaware of the jade pendant in his trouser pocket, a cold smirk suddenly appeared on Peng Lianpeng’s face.
"Move aside quickly, and don’t block our way. Otherwise, I’ll go to the management office and file a complaint against you!" Li Changlin glanced at Peng Lianpeng with a hint of mocking amusement in his eyes.