Chapter 53: Forced to Believe

According to previous patterns, the system would not arrange any tasks today.

Jiang Ye took a shower, ordered takeout, and happily ate lobsters while scrolling through short videos.

As night deepened, the warm glow of the chandelier fell inside the Qiao family's villa. Mr. and Mrs. Qiao had just finished a long-haul flight from the UK and walked into the living room dragging their suitcases, only to have their attention instantly captured by the items displayed on the coffee table.

"Wenbo, what are these?" Mrs. Qiao put down her handbag, looking in astonishment at the antique gold cakes and jade artifacts. Among them, a bronze sword leaned against the sofa, emitting a faint green luster under the light.

Qiao Wenbo sprinted down from upstairs and said excitedly, "Mom and Dad! These are gifts from Qin Shi Huang! We traveled through time to the Qin Dynasty today and met him!"

Mr. Qiao frowned, tapping his finger on a gilded wine goblet with a look of utter disbelief, "Did you go wild spending money again?"

"It's true!" Qiao Wenbo stamped his feet in anxiety, "Uncle Zhang, Uncle Zhou, and the others all went together! They all received gifts too!"

Mrs. Qiao worriedly touched her son's forehead, "Is this child running a fever? Why is he talking nonsense?"

"I'll prove it to you right now!" Qiao Wenbo grabbed his phone and directly dialed Zhang Huaiming via video call.

Mr. Qiao's expression darkened, "Disturbing President Zhang this late at night, you—"

The video connected quickly, and Zhang Huaiming appeared on the screen wearing a bathrobe.

"Uncle Zhang! Tell my parents quickly, did we go to the Qin Dynasty today?!" Qiao Wenbo pointed his phone toward his parents.

Just as Mr. Qiao was about to open his mouth to apologize, he saw Zhang Huaiming nod with a serious expression: "President Qiao, everything Wenbo said is true. Today, we indeed went to Xianyang Palace in 218 BC through a special channel. Not only did we meet the First Emperor, but we also attended a Qin Dynasty court banquet and received bountiful rewards from him."

Mr. and Mrs. Qiao were dumbfounded, unable to process the situation for a moment.

Qiao Wenbo said impatiently, "Mom and Dad, see? I wasn't lying to you."

Mr. Qiao still found it hard to believe. Traveling back in time to the Qin Dynasty over two thousand years ago—what kind of international joke was this?

"President Zhang, did this brat of mine cause any trouble?" Mr. Qiao put on a smile and asked tentatively.

Knowing that such things were always difficult to believe, Zhang Huaiming turned his camera around. One could see Qin-style gold, silver, and jade artifacts neatly placed on the antique shelf behind him. Upon closer inspection, they were unmistakably of the exact same origin as the ones belonging to Qiao Wenbo.

"It wasn't just me. President Zhou, President Lin, President Jiang, President Zhao, and President Li were all among them."

Even if Mr. Qiao remained reluctant to believe it, Zhang Huaiming's deadpan seriousness and the items displayed on the antique shelf behind him left him with no choice but to believe.

"This, this is impossible... right!" Mr. Qiao stared at the gold cakes and gilded wine goblets behind Zhang Huaiming on the screen, which were identical to the ones in his own home.

Zhang Huaiming pondered for a moment, realizing some things could no longer be kept under wraps, especially since their family happened to be in the same boat. "Last night, ten households in our residential compound received instructions from above..."

Zhang Huaiming briefly touched upon the matter.

Once he finished speaking, how could Mr. and Mrs. Qiao fail to understand?

"Oh my god!" Mrs. Qiao suddenly covered her mouth, "So you, Wenbo... really met Qin Shi Huang?"

Qiao Wenbo nodded excitedly, eagerly pulling out his phone to display a photo taken with Ying Zheng. In the photo, the emperor wearing a crown of pearls radiated irresistible majesty, while his own son stood right behind him flashing a peace sign.

Mr. Qiao suddenly stood up, sat down again, and then stood up once more, pacing back and forth in the living room.

This titan of the business world, accustomed to weathering mighty storms, was currently struggling to digest this incredible truth.

Such a scene was not only unfolding in the Qiao household, but also in the other three households. Just like Mr. and Mrs. Qiao, the parents in those families initially refused to believe it, but driven by the testimonies of Zhou Xingfu and the others, they shifted from disbelief to undeniable conviction.

"Son, I'll take these few items with me first." Mr. Qiao picked up one gold cake, one gilded wine goblet, and one jade bi disc.

"Dad, where are you taking them?"

Mr. Qiao didn't hide it from his son, "To get them tested."

Falling upon Qiao Wenbo's ears, those words undoubtedly meant his father still didn't trust him. With a huff of annoyance, he said, "If you're thinking of using carbon-14 dating or something on these items, I advise you to give up that notion right now."

"I heard from Uncle Zhang that these things were brought back through an unknown time-travel passage. Nine times out of ten, they haven't been weathered by the passage of time. Even if you take them for testing, the age you get back will only be a few years, or maybe they were made just last month."

"You might as well drop it. We just need to know ourselves that these are authentic Qin Dynasty artifacts and treasure them as works of art."

Mr. Qiao smiled, "Testing them won't take much effort anyway."

"Fine! Whatever makes you happy." Qiao Wenbo stopped trying to persuade him, "Dad, just make sure you don't break them for me. This is literally all I have."

"I know my limits." Mr. Qiao acknowledged, then instructed earnestly, "The next time that tour guide named Jiang Ye opens a tour group, notify me the very first second."

Knowing what abacus his old man was playing, Qiao Wenbo spread his hands, "Dad, you want to join too?"

Before his old man could reply, Qiao Wenbo preempted him, "There's no problem with that, but whether you can actually secure a spot is anyone's guess. From what Ah Kai implied, wanting to join Brother Jiang's tour group comes with certain conditions. It's not something just anyone can join casually."

"No matter what the conditions are, notify me the absolute second he opens a tour."

"Alright, alright, alright, I guarantee I'll notify you first thing."

As the saying goes, "there are no airtight walls in this world." News regarding time-travel to the Qin Dynasty quietly circulated within a small, elite circle of the upper crust in Hangzhou City.

When many people first heard the news, their initial reaction was utter disbelief, but that didn't stop some from secretly inquiring about it or discussing it privately with trusted confidants as bizarre gossip.

As for the internet, because Zhang Zhao posted no follow-up videos, the trending heat gradually died down.

While Jiang Ye was fast asleep, Jiang Kai pulled off a "major operation."

Jiang Kai contacted Qiao Wenbo and Zhang Minghui, and after discussing it with the two of them, they prepared to pull all members who had participated in Jiang Ye's Qin Dynasty tour into the exact same chat group.

Qiao Wenbo and Zhang Minghui expressed no objections. Putting their heads together, the trio explained the situation in their respective group chats, and with the consent of the members, added them one by one into a brand-new WeChat group named [Qin Dynasty Tour Group].

As for the various smaller sub-groups previously established, they were kept intact as well.

Zhang Zhao: [Hello, fellow juniors! My name is Zhang Zhao, a member of Group One.]

As a seasoned netizen, Zhang Zhao dived right in with a very familiar self-introduction the moment he came online.

Fang Gaochang: [My name is Fang Gaochang, from Group Two.]

Shi Xiaoyu: [Good evening everyone! My name is Shi Xiaoyu, also from Group Two.]

...

Geng Cang: [Hello everyone, hello everyone! My name is Geng Cang, from Group Three.]

Qiao Wenbo: [Qiao Wenbo, Group Three.]

...

Even busy heavyweights like Zhang Huaiming and the other five tycoons took the rare step of greeting everyone in the group.