Chapter 59

The auction hall buzzed for nearly ten minutes. During that time, Lin Tian was suffering like a wax figure. Shang Chan and Zhao Mengmeng “acted up” every few minutes. Bai Bing’er kept shooting him weird, unexplainable glares. Xuan Yuan Qingya’s gaze wasn’t flirty—but why the hell was she blushing?!

[If you’re gonna blush, can you at least look somewhere else?! You’re making me so damn nervous…]

Worst of all, Jiang Yifeng was sitting right next to Xuan Yuan Qingya. Every time she looked his way, Lin Tian felt like Jiang would notice and target him.

Once that happened, it’d be game over. No amount of effort would save him from getting crushed by the plot armor of a harem male lead. Especially since this entire auction that was supposed to happen months later was dragged forward just to give Jiang Yifeng a lucky break.

Though looking at things now… maybe Jiang wouldn’t get the prize either?

Anyway, for now, Jiang seemed completely focused on the item up for bidding. That was at least a small relief. So Lin Tian tried his best to keep a poker face.

Don’t move. Don’t react. Try not to exist.

Finally, the auctioneer Xue Xue saw that the crowd had finished whispering. She smiled sweetly and announced:

“Everyone, please write your bid for the ‘Spirit Monkey Offering Peach’ carving on the note in front of you. We’ll now begin the final reveal!”

This item had a low starting price but a high base value. Plus, the symbolism was very auspicious. So everyone gave at least a symbolic bid. Eight families joined: Zhao Clan from Licheng, Bai Clan, Zhou Clan, Meng Clan from Huancheng, Xinghui from Xingcheng, Li Clan from Tian’an, Xuan Yuan Clan… and Jiang Yifeng.

Some, like Luo Xiangguo of Xinghui and Zhou Wenlong, were just here for fun. They already got what they came for, so they tossed in casual bids just to participate. Once everyone submitted their sealed offers, Xue Xue collected and opened them, pasting the prices on the screen.

Time for the most exciting part. Even Lin Tian leaned forward in anticipation.

Xue Xue didn’t waste time. She opened the first bid.

“First bid, Mr. Zhou Wenlong, 1.6 billion.”

The crowd gave a polite round of applause. This was just a token bid. Far below the expected market value for this item.

Xue Xue knew this wouldn’t be the winning prize so she moved on.

“Second bid, Mr. Luo Xiangguo, 1.9 billion.”

Another round of polite clapping. Lin Tian rolled his eyes.

This carving is worth at least 2+ billion in a normal auction. And that’s without considering all the extra factors. These two old guys must be trolling.

In truth, powerful family heads often had two “modes.” In one mode, they spent like money was air, billions flying around like loose change. Status, pride, face… all more important than money. In the other, they were penny-pinchers to the extreme. Haggling over shares, shop space, even who footed the lunch bill.

And right now, both Zhou and Luo were in their penny-pinching mode. They weren’t taking the item seriously, and they knew young people wouldn’t hold back. So they didn’t bother fighting. Sure enough, next up was Bai Bing’er’s bid.

Xue Xue smiled.

“Third bid, Miss Bai, 5.5 billion!”

Everyone gasped. That was almost three times Luo’s bid. Zhou and Luo exchanged glances and sighed. They’d expected the younger generation to go all out. The item’s true value was around 3 billion. For someone to offer 5.5 was absolutely outrageous.

“Fourth bid, Miss Meng, 3.2 billion.”

Next came Meng Xiaoling’s bid, only 3 billion. She pouted. Her father, Meng Youqian, had told her to go wild. But she’d still held back a bit. Now she felt like she’d lost again to Bai Bing’er.

Bai Bing’er smiled faintly. For some reason, she found Meng Xiaoling’s pout… strangely satisfying. As if teasing her was kind of fun. She couldn’t help but keep staring. Meng Xiaoling got spooked and quickly turned away.

Meanwhile, Xue Xue continued opening bids.

Meng Xiaoling stayed silent. Her father gently patted her head.

“Xiaoling, this carving’s worth every bit of 5 billion. But it looks like Bai Clan, Zhao Clan, and Xuan Yuan Clan are all going high too. Even if you’d bid more, you might not have won—it’s okay!”

He added softly:

“Tell me the truth, are you scared of Bai Bing’er… or do you admire her?”

Meng Xiaoling paused, then whispered:

“Admire.”

Meng Youqian nodded.

“I knew it… Xiaoling, I made a mistake raising you too sheltered. If you want… maybe try getting closer to Bai Bing’er?”

Meng Xiaoling thought for a while… Then nodded gently.