What? All the female protagonists have systems, but I don't?

"Two hundred thousand, this ancient jade is mine."

A gentle voice sounded behind Lin Yuan, its gentleness revealing an undeniable domineering nature, as if his words did not allow anyone to refute them.

Lin Yuan turned to look at the newcomer, a young man of similar age, dressed in a sharp suit, handsome, with gold-rimmed glasses, and a refined and scholarly demeanor that seemed somewhat unapproachable.

"My friend, don't you understand the principle of first come, first served?"

Lin Yuan spoke with a smile.

He doesn't like to argue with others unless absolutely necessary. The best outcome is when everyone can reach a peaceful settlement.

"First come, first served? My friend, there's no such logic when buying things. It's always the highest bidder who gets it. I think the shop owner still wants to make a little more profit, right?"

The young man also spoke with a smile.

Although his tone was kind, it was clear that he did not take Lin Yuan seriously.

"Boss, what do you think?"

Lin Yuan then looked at the shop owner and asked.

Merchants are driven by profit. No merchant is indifferent to profit. Who wouldn't want to earn an extra 20,000?

As expected, Lin Yuan saw the shop owner speaking with a forced smile.

"Sir, this new customer is right, the highest bidder wins. I'm just a small business, and it's always good to earn a little more money to support my family. How about... you take a look at some other antique jade pieces?"

"The other antique jades I have here are also quite good, and the prices are very reasonable."

The shop owner rubbed his hands together and said.

"My friend, would you mind telling me your name?"

Lin Yuan turned to look at the young man with gold-rimmed glasses and asked.

In the original story, Long Haochen would receive the Heart-Protecting Jade a few months later, and the Heart-Protecting Jade remained in the shop and was not bought by anyone else in advance.

The reason I'm buying it now is because I know the script and the value of this heart-protecting jade, but this person suddenly appears to compete with me.

There are only a few possibilities. First, he is deliberately trying to disgust me, but I don't remember this person and have no grudge against him. Why would he suddenly appear and disgust me?

Secondly, he saw that I was holding the Heart-Protecting Jade, which is why he wanted to bid on it. If the Heart-Protecting Jade had remained in the display case instead of in my hands, perhaps this trouble wouldn't have happened.

This is a butterfly effect caused by one's own interference with the timeline.

Thirdly, this person was a shill for the shop owner, deliberately competing with customers who wanted the items at lower prices so that the shop owner could earn more.

This possibility is actually quite low, and Lin Yuan was unwilling to believe it, since Long Haochen did not encounter this situation when he came to buy the Heart-Protecting Jade in the original work.

Excluding the first and third possibilities, only the second one remains: it's because he came here early and took away the opportunity that belonged to Long Haochen, disrupting the original timeline and thus triggering a butterfly effect.

“My name is Gao Ming. You probably haven’t heard of me, but that’s okay. You must have heard of Huasheng Group, right? That’s my Gao family’s business.”

Gao Ming slightly raised his head, extremely arrogant, looking at Lin Yuan as if he were an ant, with contempt and disdain.

"Gao Ming, the Gao family, Huasheng Group..."

Lin Yuan silently recited the words in his mind, and a series of information surfaced in his head.

The Gao family and Huasheng Group appeared in the original work. The Gao family is not a family in Beicheng, but a large family in Jiangcheng, just like the four major families of Lin, Ye, Chu and Gu in Beicheng.

"So you are the young master of the Gao family. I have long admired your name. I wonder what you mean by insisting on competing with me for this ancient jade? Do you have a reason why you have to acquire this ancient jade?"

Lin Yuan asked.

"presumptuous."

The burly man following behind Gao Ming immediately shouted at Lin Yuan.

"Who do you think you are, daring to call our Young Master Gao your brother and asking him for a reason? You ignorant fool, obediently put down the ancient jade, or you'll end up with broken arms and legs."

Lin Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly. This little follower was quite arrogant, but Gao Ming did not stop him from being presumptuous, which meant that he thought the same thing.

"What are you barking about, you little dog? How dare you speak to my young master like that? What Gao family, what young master? Believe me, our young master will make sure you never leave Beicheng alive!"

Yang Gang stepped forward and spoke arrogantly to Gao Ming's lackey.

They didn't even go out and ask around; in the northern part of the city, who is in charge?

Gao Ming frowned. Although this was Beicheng, people here should have heard of the Gao family and Huasheng Group. And this person was showing him no respect. Could it be that the other party's identity was not simple?

"What's your name?"

Gao Ming looked at Lin Yuan.

"Listen carefully, our young master's surname is Lin, and his given name is Yuan."

"Lin Yuan, the young master of the Lin family in Beicheng!"

Gao Ming was taken aback. When he arrived in Beicheng, he had investigated the backgrounds of the major families in Beicheng. Naturally, he knew about Lin Yuan, this playboy. The reputation of the young master of Beicheng was not for nothing.

He despised Lin Yuan, a spoiled brat who committed all sorts of evil deeds, from the bottom of his heart. He had no ability of his own and relied on his family background to do evil. He was a complete waste.

However, since I am currently in Beicheng, it is best not to antagonize him. After all, Lin Yuan is a scoundrel who is capable of anything. If I suffer a loss in Beicheng, it will not be easy for me to get revenge.

"So it's Young Master Lin. I was blind just now and didn't recognize you."

Gao Ming said with a smile.

His smile is like a venomous snake, feigning friendliness before biting you hard when you least expect it.

Lin Yuan disliked this type of person who smiled insincerely; they were clearly a treacherous villain.

Meanwhile, the shop owner was already panicking. There was a young master from the Gao family in Jiangcheng and a young master from the Lin family in Beicheng. Both of them were big shots. He was just a small antique shop owner. He couldn't afford to offend either of them. Who should he sell the ancient jade to?

Now that you know my identity, Brother Gao, do you still want to compete with me for this ancient jade?

"To be honest, Brother Lin, my grandfather's birthday is in a few days. He has always loved antique jade, so I would like to find a fine piece of antique jade to give him as a birthday gift. I hope you will grant my request."

Lin Yuan looked at Gao Ming, feeling extremely displeased.

If you want a fine antique jade, you can go look for more, but there's only one of these heart-protecting jade pieces. Why are you trying to take it from me?

"What if I refuse? What will Brother Gao do?"

Lin Yuan narrowed his eyes. He was not afraid of the Gao family.

The Gao family is about the same size as his Lin family, and besides, this is the North City, his territory.

"If Brother Lin agrees, I, Gao Ming, can promise that our two families can establish a cooperative business relationship, mutually benefiting each other and growing stronger together. What do you say?"

A wise preacher.

He had already begun to take charge of some of the family's work. If he could reach a cooperation agreement with the Lin family of Beicheng, it would be a great achievement for him within the family. Why not?

However, he is now worried about one thing: Lin Yuan, this spoiled brat, doesn't understand the interests involved at all.

According to the information he obtained, Lin Yuan was a good-for-nothing who did nothing but loaf around and knew nothing about the family business. If Lin Yuan directly rejected his suggestion, then there was nothing he could do.

Lin Yuan pondered for a moment.

He was somewhat tempted by the conditions proposed by Gao Ming.

The alliance between the Lin and Gao families, a mutually beneficial partnership aimed at expanding their businesses and strengthening their respective sectors, is indeed very tempting.

No matter how big the Lin family's business is, it is limited to the North City. However, by cooperating with the Gao family, they can expand their business to Jiang City. Of course, the Gao family's business can also expand to the North City.

As long as there is no direct conflict of interest between the two companies, such cooperation can indeed bring huge benefits to both, which is undeniably tempting.