The female anchor turned into the dean of an ancient academy

Li Lingxuan's sudden appearance made Cen Jiexiao's heart skip a beat, and a sense of foreboding arose. This woman was clearly here to cause trouble! She looked at Li Lingxuan with a forced smile, already cursing her entire family in her heart.

"Oh, isn't this Her Royal Highness the Princess? What brings you here? If you like this fire sprinkler truck, just tell me, I can give it to you for free, why bother..." Sister Cen Xiao said sarcastically, emphasizing the word "for free" intentionally.

Li Lingxuan covered her mouth with a smile and glanced at her charmingly, "Dean Cen, you're joking. Although I'm from a royal family, I also know that a gentleman doesn't take away what others want. The items at this auction will naturally go to whoever bids the highest."

"One hundred thousand taels, is there anyone who can offer a higher price?" Li Lingxuan looked around, her tone arrogant and full of indomitable pressure.

Everyone in the audience looked at each other in bewilderment. Everyone knew that this princess was arrogant and domineering. If they offended her, they would suffer the consequences. Moreover, one hundred thousand taels of silver was no small sum. Who would offend this lady for a rare thing?

Cen Jiexiao cursed inwardly, this damned woman, she was clearly bullying me! She took a deep breath, trying to suppress the anger in her heart, and picked up the auction hammer again, trying to save the situation, "One hundred thousand taels once, one hundred thousand taels twice..."

"One hundred and fifty thousand taels."

Just as Cen Jiexiao was about to drop the hammer, a deep, magnetic voice, with a hint of teasing, came from the crowd.

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a young man in exotic clothing slowly approaching. He was tall, with deep features, and his dark curly hair casually draped over his shoulders, giving him a somewhat wild and uninhibited air.

The man walked up to Li Lingxuan, nodded slightly, and a playful smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. "Your Highness, I am also quite interested in this fire sprinkler truck. How about giving it to me?"

Li Lingxuan's eyebrows were raised, her eyes wide, and she angrily said, "Where did this barbarian come from? How dare you be so presumptuous in front of this princess!"

The man smiled instead of getting angry. "I'm a merchant from the Western Regions. I've heard that the Great Zhou is prosperous and wealthy. Seeing it today, I can see that it's truly worthy of the reputation. But the rules of the Great Zhou seem a bit strange. Could it be that even with money, I can't buy things?"

Li Lingxuan was speechless, her face turned pale and blue, but she couldn't find the words to refute.

Cen Jiexiao watched from the side, secretly cheering in her heart. This man was simply her savior! She walked over to the man with a smile and said softly, "Sir, what is your name?"

The man turned his head, his deep gaze falling on Cen Jiexiao, a devilish smile curling up at the corner of his mouth, "My name is Xia Chenghao, may I ask your name, young lady?"

Cen Jiexiao's heart trembled. This man was so... seductive! She calmed herself down and said softly, "My name is Cen, and I am currently the dean of Zhaoyin Academy."

Xia Chenghao's eyes flashed with interest. This Cen Jiexiao was even more interesting than he had imagined. He raised his lips in a playful manner, "So you are Dean Cen. I've heard a lot about you."

Cen Jiexiao felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze, but she remained calm and responded gracefully, "Mr. Xia, you are too polite. I am of low status and my words are not worthy of the words 'I have long admired you'."

Li Lingxuan's face was livid. She had originally planned to bid a high price for the fire truck and then use it as an opportunity to humiliate Cen Jiexiao, but she hadn't expected a Cheng Yaojin to show up and ruin her plans. She glared at Xia Chenghao fiercely and sneered, "Who did I think was so generous? It turns out to be a foreign merchant. What's going on? He's come to our Great Zhou territory and is causing trouble?"

Xia Chenghao didn't take it seriously, instead laughing even more freely. "Your Highness, you're wrong. I simply admire the culture of the Great Zhou and came here because of its reputation. Besides, the highest bidder wins, which seems to be a natural thing, right? Are you trying to bully me by taking advantage of your power?"

Li Lingxuan was speechless and trembling with anger at Xia Chenghao's words, but she could do nothing about him. Cen Jiexiao watched the two of them go back and forth, secretly pleased in her heart. This Xia Chenghao was quite interesting.

The auction ended with Xia Chenghao winning the fire truck, and Li Lingxuan left the venue in a rage. Before leaving, she glared at Cen Jiexiao fiercely, her eyes seeming to say, "Just wait!"

Sister Cen Xiao watched Li Lingxuan leave, sneering in her heart. Just wait, who's afraid of who? She turned around and said to Xia Chenghao, "Thank you, Mr. Xia, for rescuing me from today's situation."

Xia Chenghao waved his hand.

"Dean Cen, you're too polite. I just saw injustice and offered my help." He paused, then continued, "Speaking of which, I'm quite interested in the Zhaoyin Academy founded by Dean Cen. Would I have the honor of visiting it?"

Cen Jiexiao naturally wouldn't refuse. She was just trying to find out more about Xia Chenghao, so she readily agreed. The two of them walked out of the venue side by side, but the discussions behind them continued for a long time.

"Who is that foreign merchant? How dare he challenge the princess?"

"Didn't you hear what he said? He's from the Western Regions, probably some royal relative."

"I wonder if Dean Cen is interested in him. Look how close they are."

"Shh, keep your voice down. Spreading rumors will be published in the newspapers, okay?"

......

Cen Jiexiao brought Xia Chenghao to Zhaoyin Academy. Along the way, she introduced the academy to Xia Chenghao and her original intention of founding the academy. Xia Chenghao listened with great interest and nodded in approval from time to time.

"Dean Cen is truly a woman who is as capable as any man. With her own efforts, she has been able to provide hundreds of children from ordinary families with clothes to wear and education to go to. It is truly admirable." Xia Chenghao said sincerely.

Cen Jiexiao smiled faintly, "Mr. Xia, you are too kind. I just did what I wanted to do."

The two of them arrived at the academy's garden and found a pavilion to sit down. Cen Jiexiao ordered tea and snacks to be served, then she asked directly, "Master Xia, with all due respect, your actions today seemed a bit abrupt."

Xia Chenghao picked up the teacup and took a sip. "Abrupt? What do you mean?"

"You clearly know Li Lingxuan's identity, yet you still deliberately go against her. Aren't you afraid of offending her and getting yourself into trouble?" Cen Jiexiao looked straight into Xia Chenghao's eyes, as if she wanted to see through his heart.

Xia Chenghao put down his teacup, a playful smile on his face, "President Cen, are you worried about me?"

Cen Jiexiao's heart skipped a beat. She forced herself to remain calm and said, "I just don't want to owe you a favor."

"Oh? Then how does Dean Cen plan to repay him?" Xia Chenghao pressed on, with a dangerous glint in his eyes.

Cen Jiexiao felt a little uneasy when he looked at her. She avoided his gaze and said casually, "Master Xia, if you need me to do anything, just ask. As long as I can do it, I will definitely not refuse."

Xia Chenghao's eyes fell on Sister Cen Xiao's bright red lips, and his voice was low and full of temptation, "I'm afraid you can't give me what I want."

Cen Jiexiao's heart trembled, and a bad premonition came to her mind, "You...what do you want?"

Xia Chenghao suddenly stood up, walked to Cen Jiexiao, leaned over, and whispered in her ear: "I want you..."