"There's no way." The man chuckled and tossed the box in his hand directly at Zhou Tao.

  Zhou Tao's heart tightened and he hastily stepped forward, steadily catching the box containing the jade ring. Only then did he let out a sigh of relief.

  "Since you've won, I'll return this ring to you. As for the other things, I'll have someone send them back to you tomorrow." The man nodded his chin, indicating that Gu Mian and Zhou Tao could leave.

  Gu Mengzhen was somewhat displeased because she had encountered Du Hao and Qiao Qingya at this time and place, and since the other party had returned the ring so decisively, she naturally didn't want to stay here a moment longer.

  Zhou Tao obviously had the same idea as Gu Qing, and after catching the ring, he wanted to walk out.

  "Wait!" Gu Mei hastily spoke out and grabbed Zhou Tao.

  "What's wrong?" Zhou Tao lowered his voice and asked in confusion.

  Gu Meng glared at Zhou Tao and said in a low voice: "Check it out first."

  Be careful what you wish for, if they just leave like this and then find out there's a problem with the ring, it'll be too late to explain.

  The man heard Gu Mian's words, his mouth corners slightly curled up, but he didn't say anything.

  "Right, right, right." Zhou Tao finally came to his senses and opened the box to inspect it.

  The emerald ring lies quietly in the box, with a vibrant green color that seems to drip with beauty. The texture is fine and the water head is sufficient, with a complete range of colors and no impurities or stone flowers. It is surrounded by many small diamonds, which shine brightly under the light.

  "No problem." Zhou Tao was very familiar with this jade ring and nodded affirmatively at Gu Mian after a moment.

  "Let's go!" Gu Mian nodded slightly at the man and then walked out of the private room with Zhou Tao.

  During this time, Gu Mei only glanced at Du Hao when he first entered the door, and did not give him any attention afterwards.

  The two of them walked out of the private room smoothly, and when the door was closed, Gu Ming still faintly heard the voices inside.

  "How did you know I was here?"

  "Just now Du Hao heard someone say that they saw you here, so we came over to say hello. It's been a while since the wedding..."

  ……

  After passing through the noisy dance floor and leaving behind the deafening music, Gu Mian and Zhou Tao didn't stop until they reached the street outside. Only then did the huge stone in their hearts finally land on the ground.

  "Gu Mian, this time I really have to thank you so much. If it wasn't for you, I really don't know what I would do." Zhou Tao recalled the thrilling moment before and still felt a lingering fear.

  If he didn't trust Gu Mian's judgment and followed his own instead, then today would have been really over.

  "Don't be polite, this is also your own credit. I said I was actually guessing, and you believed in my guess. After all, it's just good luck today, the heavens are on our side." Gu Mian pointed to the sky.

  "It's just your good luck..." Although Gu Mian said so, Zhou Tao was still very grateful to her.

  "Alright, take advantage of the fact that your family members haven't discovered it yet and quickly return the ring. This time can be considered a lesson. In the future, you must think carefully before doing things, after all, not every time will you have such good luck. I'm saying this to you upfront, just this once, don't make me set an example for you. If you come to find me again because of something like this, don't blame me for being ruthless." Gu Mei interrupted Zhou Tao's endless words of gratitude.

  "I understand." Zhou Tao nodded.

  Gu Mei didn't continue talking to Zhou Tao, and Zhou Tao was also anxious to put the jade ring back in its original place, so they parted ways soon after and each returned home.

  When they came out, Zhang Tingting was still in the private room, and I don't know if she would have any thoughts after this incident.

  Gu Mei could see that Zhou Tao still had some unresolved feelings for Zhang Tingting, but she didn't mention Zhang Tingting at all. After all, this was a personal emotional issue between Zhou Tao and Zhang Tingting, and as an outsider who wasn't very familiar with Zhou Tao, bringing it up suddenly might turn something that wasn't a problem into one.

  As for Du Hao and Qiao Qingya, Gu Ming had never taken them to heart. Although she was a little surprised that Qiao Qingya knew someone named Ming Shao, whether they knew each other or not had nothing to do with Gu Ming. She didn't bother to care about so much, after all, he was already married.

  Soon, Gu Mei put Zhou Tao's matter aside and the school entered the final exam phase, with various exams coming one after another.

  Because of the previous preparation for Du Hao's wedding, she fell behind in her studies. Although she slowly made up for it later, she was always a little short. In order to get a satisfactory score, she worked herself to exhaustion.

  During this time, she followed Professor Wang to Taiyuan to rescue cultural relics and the results were also out. The four teachers and students performed well and received praise from their superiors. Professor Wang even received a national award for this reason. Gu Mian and several other students who went together with him also gained a lot of prestige.

  The school also specially gave a bonus to Gu Mian and others, and praised them in the department. The bonus was not much, but it was very meaningful, making Gu Mian gain some prestige in the department again.

  "What did you say? I'm dating Zhou Tao?" Gu Mian looked at Bai Fangfang in disbelief, almost suspecting that Bai Fangfang was too tired and had a confused expression, or else why would she say such an inexplicable thing.

  "This isn't what I said, it's been spread from the Fine Arts Department." Bai Fangfang hastily jumped out to clear her own name.

  "I rarely exchange a few words with Zhou Tao, how can we be in a relationship? Are the people spreading these rumors sick?" Gu Mei said irritably.

  Since helping Zhou Tao solve the jade ring incident, Gu Meng had been subtly keeping a distance from Zhou Tao. Zhou Tao might also have felt embarrassed about what happened and the two seemed to have returned to their initial state of minimal interaction, only exchanging words during group discussions in class.

  "Of course, people who know us are aware that you and Zhou Tao didn't have much to say to each other, but others don't know!" Bai Fangfang curled her lip and continued: "I think it's probably Zhang Tingting spreading rumors. I heard she was dumped by the rich guy she hooked up with last time, then she went to make amends with Zhou Tao, but for some reason, Zhou Tao didn't immediately agree this time. She must be so angry that she's picking a fight out of nowhere. What I find strange is, why did Zhang Tingting drag you and Zhou Tao into this when she was badmouthing someone?"

  "Who knows." Gu Mei spread her hands, feeling that she had completely suffered an unjust disaster, and was certain that it was because she and Zhou Tao went to appraise things together that Zhang Tingting misunderstood their relationship.

  "By the way, Gu Mian, I heard that Hai Yun auction house is recruiting summer workers. Do you think we should give it a try?" Bai Fangfang couldn't understand Zhang Tingting's situation and saw that Gu Mian wasn't very interested, so she changed the subject.

  "Is it Hai Yun from the auction house?" Gu Ming asked.

  Bai Fang nodded: "That's the one! Hai Yun Auction House may not be as good as those top-tier auction houses, but it still has some reputation. It's not easy to get in either. In the past, they only recruited people with experience. This time, they're willing to recruit students, and if you can go there for an internship, it's also a great opportunity to hone your skills. I heard many people want to try out too."

  "It's true, if I can get in, it might be a great learning opportunity, but with so many people competing for limited spots, the competition will be fierce." Gu Mei looked at Bai Fangfang, and was somewhat tempted by the proposal.

  Sorry for the late update today, thanks to Martha for sending me a peace symbol~~~~~~ I recommend a book from my friend, if you're interested, take a look: Book name: The Abandoned Empress is also arrogant Author: Xue Mo Book number: 2115620 [bookid=2115620,bookname=_The Abandoned Empress is also arrogant_]