Chapter 184: A Fury for a Beauty

"Thirty bucks. Take it or leave it," the old man said disdainfully.

She had no interest in buying a rice cooker, but when she opened it, she was stunned to find it was half-full of rice...

’What kind of person gets their rice cooker stolen while the rice is still warm?!’

Gu Shengsheng was speechless. After getting her phone back, Yang Jiao clutched it tightly, refusing to let go this time.

"I’ve never heard of anything like this before," she said. "I guess I’ve really learned something new today."

"These are all things from questionable sources to begin with. The market operates without any oversight, which is why Director Gao Liu told us to be extra careful."

"Still, it just goes to show how interesting the people at this Ghost Market are. Our trip wasn’t a waste."

Yang Jiao nodded. "That’s true. Now I’m really curious to see what else is here."

The two of them hadn’t gone far. They’d already seen iPhones displayed next to ancient brick phones, stalls selling countless "blessed" good-luck charms of dubious authenticity, people selling kittens, and even vendors hawking Beijing City license plates.

Beyond that, there were countless antiques: Jade Pendants supposedly taken from ancient tombs, wolf fangs, vases, and other curiosities. Of course, there were also plenty of old comic books.

All in all, it was a dazzling array of goods, but whether any of it was actually useful was another question entirely.

Yang Jiao held her phone, treasuring the recovered device all the more.

She asked, "Shengsheng, everyone at this Ghost Market looks so mysterious, and most of them are pretty old. Do you think some of them might actually be people of high status, just doing this as a hobby?"

"Kind of like that Zhao Han, a bona fide young master from the Beijing Circle, enjoying a side gig as a food delivery guy?"

Gu Shengsheng said, "Definitely. And probably quite a few."

"As I recall, the Ghost Market started near the end of the Qing Dynasty. A lot of young masters from prominent families knew their fortunes wouldn’t last. But to save face, they were too embarrassed to sell off their belongings in broad daylight."

"So they had to find other ways to sell their things, and gradually, these early-morning transactions grew into the Ghost Market. You could say it was convenient for people who wanted to hide their identities."

"Of course, there are still plenty of people like that today."

At this point, Yang Jiao pretty much understood.

"That’s an interesting thought. It just occurred to me—now that I’m in management, maybe I could have Yang’s Jewelry follow a similar path. What if we set up a street stall to increase our visibility?"

"After all, the Yang Group caters to the high-end market. Our products aren’t necessities, so our brand recognition isn’t particularly high, and we don’t have any low-end products. It might be better to combine strategies, something like this—a jewelry stall, a form of direct-sales marketing."

Gu Shengsheng nodded and pointed to her own phone. "Perhaps you could also consider live streaming."

In this day and age, plenty of people were live streaming, but most were just trying to monetize their follower counts. Live-stream e-commerce wasn’t really a thing yet.

’It was different from her time back in the parallel universe.’

’Perhaps Yang Jiao could ride this wave. Given the current climate, its success was only a matter of time.’

Sure enough, just that small suggestion from Gu Shengsheng was enough to pique Yang Jiao’s interest.

"That makes sense," she said. "I could even cultivate a host who could not only market for Yang’s Jewelry but also sell other products."

"And anyone I trained like that would be loyal to me, not the company."

"Exactly," Gu Shengsheng agreed with a nod.

To put it bluntly, Yang Jiao’s position in the Yang Family was precarious. She had only gotten this far by proving her talent every step of the way.

But the Yang Family would never truly take her into their confidence. The best path for her was to gain experience at the Yang Group and then strike out on her own.

Gu Shengsheng praised her, "Sister Yang Jiao, you have the best business sense of anyone I’ve ever met."

"Hardly. If you ask me, the most impressive person in the business world right now isn’t Mr. Shang Jinhao—it’s the new tycoon, Mr. Ryan. He’s the real business prodigy."

"Over the past year, so many businesses in Beijing City have run into trouble, but his have been completely fine. To be honest, Shengsheng, I’m afraid the Lu Group is going to fall to him."

"I don’t get the sense that he’s a good person, but you’re friends with him, and you’re also the Lu Family’s daughter-in-law. You need to tread carefully."

In response to Yang Jiao’s concern, Gu Shengsheng just said, "It’s fine."

"I don’t really care about all that."

"Grandma has already separated herself from the Lu Family. Lu Chaoyang and the family’s second branch have completely lost their minds."

"As long as Grandma and Linnin are okay, that’s all that matters."

Yang Jiao nodded. "That’s true. Linnin told me that Mr. Ryan treats you differently. And since I’ve started making a name for myself in business circles, I’ve heard things about him too. They say he flew into a rage for a woman’s sake and was even planning to go to Anxi."

"He even went up against the He Family for her."

Yang Jiao continued, "I was thinking... the timing of all those incidents overlaps with you. It seems to me that Mr. Ryan likes you, Shengsheng."

Gu Shengsheng froze when she heard that.

When other people said it, she’d always dismissed it as a joke.

She never took it to heart, but now, everyone around her was saying it. And Gu Shengsheng had to admit that Mr. Ryan did treat her exceptionally well.

’So he went to Anxi to find me... That must have been it.’

And most of all, she was grateful for the time she’d been locked in a basement during one of the He Family’s fits of madness. Mr. Ryan had been the one to rescue her.

Gu Shengsheng wasn’t an ungrateful person, nor did she forget her debts.

She was, of course, aware of all the kindness he had shown her.

But now that it was suddenly being linked to romantic feelings, a strange sensation welled up inside her, one she immediately began to reject.

She didn’t date. As for marriage, that was a topic she didn’t even want to touch. Gu Shengsheng had never held any expectations for matrimony.

So she suppressed the stirring in her heart.

She said to Yang Jiao, "I don’t think of him that way. Mr. Ryan and I are just friends. I’ll ask him the next time I see him. If he really does feel that way, I hope he won’t waste those feelings on me."

Yang Jiao grabbed her hand. "Grandma and Linnin don’t want you to feel trapped. You and the late Lu Shijing were never legally married, so there’s no issue. Besides, Grandma has always treated you like her own granddaughter."

"That’s not the reason." Gu Shengsheng shook her head and closed her eyes. An image flooded her mind: herself, all alone in an orphanage back in the parallel universe.

’She couldn’t understand why she had become the sole burden after her parents divorced.’

’Why, when the love was clearly gone, did they still use her as an excuse? Claiming they were staying together for her happiness, to give her a complete family?’

’In reality, her parents had grown to despise the sight of each other long ago.’

Gu Shengsheng had once overheard a neighbor say that her parents had been deeply in love when they were young.

’If even a love that deep could curdle into mutual disgust, then marriage clearly wasn’t a path worth taking.’

Furthermore, seeing how her biological parents in this life doted on the fake daughter while casting her aside like trash only reinforced her view.

’Marriage and even family ties were unreliable. How could something as flimsy as romantic love possibly last?’

Gu Shengsheng couldn’t take that step. In truth, she didn’t dare.