"He Yuqing?!" I hadn't expected her to show up too. After all, today's family gathering was a momentous occasion, and every girl present held a special place in my heart; even Hua Qingqing, who arrived unexpectedly, was secretly involved with me.

"Zhao Qian, I apologize for intruding. I—I was dragged here by Qiqi." He Yuqing looked mortified. I suspected it was over the missing scepter.

Li Qi turned to me, "I have something to tell you in a moment. Go say hello to the aunts, older sister, and younger sisters first."

Li Qi shared some similarities with Cheng Susu: cold and aloof in public, but fiery and engaging in settings like this, quickly blending in with everyone. Even Ouyang Qingwa, whose unexpected presence Li Qi might have dreaded, failed to put her on the spot.

Li Qi took my hand, "Xiao Qian and I need a private word. Sisters, would you mind lending us a few minutes?"

Everyone laughed. "Go ahead. We’ll give you half an hour. You must be back before dinner—love can’t be eaten as a meal!"

Li Qi pulled me into a room. Before she shut the door, I heard my mother remark, "I never thought the Chairman's granddaughter would be so amiable, not at all like a child from such a powerful family."

Li Qi pushed me down onto a chair. "I need to talk to you about something."

"What is it? Why the need to hide in here? Is it about He Yuqing?" I assumed Li Qi had come to intercede on He Yuqing's behalf.

Li Qi vehemently denied it. "No, it has nothing to do with her. I really like that treasure you lent her. How about you give it to me? You won't be so stingy as to refuse, will you?"

Heh. So this was Li Qi’s roundabout way of handling a difficult situation. Forget it, I wasn't going to hold a grudge against them anyway. "Surely you don't imagine me to be as miserly as Grandet? Take it and play with it. It's not like it's anything special."

After getting my answer, Li Qi triumphantly hugged me. "They say it's worth at least one hundred billion US dollars. Does that sting?"

Damn it! It was really worth that much? I’d never heard of an artifact commanding such a price. A price tag this high usually meant the item was untouchable—who in the entire world would spend over a hundred billion dollars on a piece of gold? Even the diamond on the tip might be worth something, but that was utterly ridiculous.

"Even if it’s truly worth a hundred billion, it will still ultimately be the property of the Zhao family if it’s with you. Heh, I understand that much."

Li Qi kissed me. "You will always be my master. Qiqi will forever be your devoted slave. You can do whatever you wish with me later; I won't utter a single protest. He Yuqing is a good friend of mine, and I might favor her in certain ways, so please don't be jealous or angry, okay?"

Li Qi was giving me a preemptive warning. "I don't get jealous over women. I saw she was working pretty hard over there as a cashier; I’ll find her a different job later."

Li Qi said, "Zhao Qian, you are so kind. If there's nothing else, I'll head out, lest everyone thinks we’re secretly… intimate."

Li Qi left first. As I was savoring the memory of her kiss, the door quietly slid open, and He Yuqing walked in, standing silently behind me. We stood there without a word. I didn't know what to say; it seemed He Yuqing was wrestling with her own conflict.

After a long pause, He Yuqing finally sighed, "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

He Yuqing looked questioning. "Do you know what I'm thanking you for?"

"I don't."

"Then don't say you're welcome."

"If you thank me, of course, I should say you're welcome. Should I say it was deserved?"

"That scepter is incredibly valuable. Can you really part with it? What if I and Qiqi had conspired to take it for ourselves?"

"Is it that serious? If you like it, I can get you another one." It seemed He Yuqing felt deeply apologetic about the matter. Li Qi's earlier maneuver certainly wasn't He Yuqing's idea. To comfort her, I decided to show her the scepter.

Saying that, I pulled the scepter out from under the bed and handed it to He Yuqing. She stood there, frozen, clutching the scepter!

"Impossible, impossible, this is completely impossible. There can only be one scepter symbolizing power; there cannot be an identical second one, and neither of these appears to be a fake."

I said, "That might not be true. I happened to find two. I found the other one some time ago in another one of my treasure caches. Seeing that you liked it, I casually brought it back, intending to give that one to you while keeping this one. Now that Qiqi has taken that one, this one is for you."

"Zhao Qian, I can't figure out what kind of person you truly are."

"Why guess? I'm just a lecher. Look at the gaggle of wives outside, and you'll understand everything."

"Regardless, I cannot accept something this expensive that you’ve given me."

"Don't think I'll just give it to you for free. You must pay some kind of price."

Even if it wasn't an equivalent exchange, He Yuqing could accept it psychologically to some degree. "What do you want from me? You have so many beautiful wives; I’m not exactly going to catch your eye."

"This has nothing to do with romance. I just want you to help me research the Lunarians. I need to know if they still exist in this world. This is crucial to me, surpassing the importance of all the wealth on Earth. Compared to that, a billion-dollar scepter is nothing but dog crap."

This point deeply moved He Yuqing. Given her and her grandfather’s years of research, she was certain that in terms of understanding the Lunarians, their work was paramount in the world. "Fine! I accept. What do you want me to do?"

"You must follow my arrangements completely in this matter and not conduct any independent scientific investigations. I’m not afraid to reveal a little information to you now: I can arrange an investigation on the Moon right away, but we cannot do that. If what you say is true—that prehistoric humans once existed, and their technology far surpassed ours—if we rashly go poking the tiger's backside without any preparation, we might bring a catastrophic disaster upon the Earth."

He Yuqing was deeply impressed. "Zhao Qian, you consider every angle when you act. I never thought of that before. Thank goodness I didn't act rashly. From now on, I will listen to you entirely."

I smiled. "Alright then, take the scepter home. Report to me tomorrow to start as my private secretary. Be sure to show me your latest research findings. Later, I’ll set up a research lab for you equipped with a supercomputer. Using Huanyu Communications' satellites, you will conduct 24-hour continuous surveillance of the Moon. You must notify me immediately of any discovery. Also, in a few days, I’ll take you to Africa to the site where that pile of treasures was found, to see if we can find any usable clues."

He Yuqing’s face flushed with excitement. "Zhao Qian, if this is true, I would even accept being your slave. Unraveling the mystery of prehistoric civilization is the greatest wish of my grandfather and me in this lifetime. Thank you, thank you, I am truly so grateful."

He Yuqing bowed repeatedly, and I hastily moved to steady her. "Young people in the new era don't do that anymore. Come find me at school tomorrow. Don't go back to work at the supermarket; I'll give you a monthly stipend of ten thousand yuan for living expenses. Just focus on making the research effective for me."

He Yuqing protested, "I won't take the money. From now on, I'll be your research assistant. But could I have my grandfather participate in this research too? You know that he taught me most of my knowledge; having him involved will provide greater security for our study."

"No problem. You will be fully responsible for this matter. If you need any equipment, funding, or cooperation from other relevant national departments, just come to me. Don't argue with me about the salary; I don't want my beautiful assistant starving on the street. At the very least, I need to dress you up nicely so that I, as your boss, look presentable when we go out."

He Yuqing blushed. "I'm not pretty. I won't talk to you anymore, or your wives will get suspicious. I need to go home and tell my grandfather about this."

I sighed. "Try leaving if you think you can."

Sure enough, He Yuqing didn't leave. For one, Li Qi wouldn't let her go—a guest must be entertained. Besides, the other girls wouldn't let her depart either. This turned out to be for the best. Since Hua Qingqing wanted her status kept secret, and He Yuqing was attending the family dinner as just a 'friend,' having them both there avoided a lot of awkwardness for me.

It should be called an unprecedented family feast, yet having only me as the sole man made things rather awkward. After all that commotion in the afternoon, I skipped my classes and went upstairs to spend the entire afternoon playing Mahjong with them instead.