Chapter 2645 — The Masquerade Begins

"Come on, Meiyue, I was only joking," Zhang Duopan said. Hearing He Meiyue speak up, he naturally couldn't keep mocking Bai Weituo either. He drew out the gold jewelry and held it before her. "Meiyue, this jewelry is yours. I bid on it specially so I could give it back to you."

"I couldn't possibly accept that. I donated it in the first place, and since you won it at auction, it belongs to you now." He Meiyue shook her head, turning down his goodwill. "Besides, this gold piece doesn't hold any sentimental meaning for me. It's just a piece of jewelry. You keep it."

"Don't say that, Meiyue..." Seeing that she meant to leave, Zhang Duopan reached out and caught her hand.

He Meiyue frowned. She hadn't expected Zhang Duopan to get so hands-on, and she promptly shook his hand off. "Zhang Duopan, we've been classmates all these years—why must you be like this? Do you want me to turn on you and end even our friendship?"

Bai Weituo's face flushed red. He truly wanted to beat Zhang Duopan senseless, but he also knew that if he threw the first punch, the one getting beaten would surely be himself—because Zhang Duopan had Fan Ganhe at his side, a man who had trained in athletics.

Drawing a deep breath, Bai Weituo said, "Zhang Duopan, Meiyue is my girlfriend now. What do you mean by all this grabbing and pulling?"

"So what if she's your girlfriend? You two aren't married yet, are you? Besides, I was only returning the gold jewelry to Meiyue. What other meaning could there be? If you had the ability, you'd have bid on this gold jewelry yourself—then I wouldn't have had to return it to her, would I?" Zhang Duopan curled his lip and spoke with contempt.

"You—" Bai Weituo was beside himself with rage.

But Zhang Duopan paid him no further mind. He turned back to He Meiyue. "Meiyue, what use does a grown man like me have for this gold jewelry? And you've worn it for so long, you must have grown attached to it. You can't bear to just give it away, surely?"

"I've hardly worn it a few times. There's no attachment to speak of," He Meiyue said coolly. "If there's nothing else, I'll be going."

"Since you don't want it, give it to me. I'll donate it to the orphanage on your behalf—gold holds its value, so it can be exchanged for cash directly." Wei Zhao walked over and snatched the gold ornament right out of Zhang Duopan's hand.

"You—" Zhang Duopan glared at Wei Zhao, yet could find nothing to say in rebuttal. After all, he had just declared that a grown man like him had no use for the gold jewelry; to demand it back now would make him look utterly petty. And He Meiyue, who already disliked him, would surely think all the more that his motives in returning the jewelry were impure. So he choked down his anger and said flatly, "Fine, it's all for a good cause anyway!"

"Heh, you're really quite the philanthropist!" With Wei Zhao's arrival, Bai Weituo finally saw his tormentor get his comeuppance, and he was elated. He fired off a flat, sardonic jab at Zhang Duopan.

"...Naturally. Otherwise, would I have bid on it?" Zhang Duopan said helplessly.

But once He Meiyue had left, a sly smile flickered at the corner of Zhang Duopan's mouth. She might not have taken the gold jewelry, but his goal had already been achieved!

A moment ago, when he had grasped He Meiyue's hand, he had smeared a trace of perfumed powder onto it! This powder's fragrance was long-lasting—neither washing with water nor bathing would wash it off. It would remain effective for at least two or three days.

Zhang Duopan's purpose in doing this was for tomorrow's masquerade ball. He intended to recognize He Meiyue at the ball and, seizing the opportunity, make a demand of her.

As for what that demand would be, it would depend on He Meiyue's reaction. Naturally, he wanted to ask for something rather excessive.

As for the gold jewelry, he didn't much care about it at all—it was merely a medium for making contact with He Meiyue. His display of irritation had been nothing but a smokescreen to confuse Bai Weituo and He Meiyue.

After You Panhu got his hands on the tablet, he opened it at the first opportunity. But he wasn't much good with such high-tech gadgets, and after fiddling with it for ages he still couldn't figure it out. Left with no choice, he searched online for a tutorial, and at last found a file called Study Notes.

With indescribable excitement, You Panhu opened the Study Notes and began reading. But the moment he looked, his expression turned ugly—because those notes were not an alchemist's study notes at all, but the study notes from Bai Lingtou's medical class!

What they recorded was all the material Bai Lingtou covered in his regular lectures. There was, to be sure, some of Han Jingyi's own understanding and insight in there as well, but it was all things unrelated to alchemy. You Panhu had no interest in studying pharmacology or the properties of medicines, nor did he compound remedies; what he wanted most was alchemy—and this clearly was not it.

"Damn it, fooled again!" You Panhu ground his teeth in fury, slammed the tablet to the ground, and stomped on it several times in a rage.

"Young Master You, don't get so worked up—don't smash it! Let's go confront Wei Zhao..." Huang Mao hurried to stop him, afraid You Panhu would crush the tablet to pieces.

"Confront him, my ass! Pig-brained idiot!" You Panhu raged. "Nobody at the auction ever said these were an alchemist's study notes—who am I supposed to take this up with? I'd just get mocked for my trouble! I wondered why it was so cheap. I thought I'd snagged a bargain, but it's screwed me over royally! Wei Zhao really is no good. Looks like I'll have to make a proper trade with him after all."

"That's true enough..." Huang Mao nodded after hearing him out. There was nothing for it but to chalk this up to bad luck; there was no other way.

Wei Zhao and Wang Xinyan entered the masquerade separately from Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu. Wei Zhao hadn't wanted to attend this sort of event in the first place—coming here was less worthwhile than staying home and cultivating with Wang Xinyan in his arms.

But Shen Yushu wanted to go, and Wei Zhao had no choice but to tag along with Wang Xinyan. Once inside, however, he neither danced nor wandered about; he simply found a corner and sat down.

Wang Xinyan, meanwhile, sat not far from Wei Zhao. The two weren't especially close, but the distance was just right—close enough for Wei Zhao to catch her fragrance and cultivate.