Chapter 61

After several seconds, she finally found her voice and trembled as she announced:

“The sixth bidder… Miss Xuan Yuan. Her bid is… 9 billion!”

Boom!　The entire auction house burst into chaos.

9 billion?! That could buy 80–90 luxury apartments! Or be equivalent to nine “Mr. Billionaires”! If you won the lottery with 5 million daily, it’d take five years to reach that!　Compared to this, the previous 6.2 billion looked insignificant.

Xuan Yuan Qingya smiled faintly. In auctions like this, the Xuan Yuan family competing against others was like adults bullying kids.

Even she didn’t know her family’s total wealth. She only knew that each New Year, their castle hosted countless VIPs from the military, politics, and business. These people were, in some sense, vassals of the Xuan Yuan clan.

Zhao, Bai, Zhou—they ruled a few major cities. Xuan Yuan ruled the world. That name alone said everything. To them, money was just a number.

Based on Lin Tian’s thoughts, Qingya valued the statue at 3 billion, expected the other bids to top out around 6–7 billion, and casually placed a 9 billion bid. Not because it wasn’t worth more, but because she saw it as the highest anyone else would go. And she was right.

Xue Xue trembled, wondering if anything higher was still to come.

“Please… don’t let the next one be over 9 billion!”

Next was Miss Li. Her bid was 5.4 billion. Xue Xue breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, the price wasn’t going up!　Then:

“Eighth bidder, Mr. Jiang. His bid is 4.4 billion.”

After all the shocking numbers before, Jiang Yifeng’s bid seemed… weak. Even Xue Xue’s tone reflected a touch of disdain.　Jiang Yifeng’s face went dark. Being crushed by three powerful women was one thing, but now even the auctioneer was mocking him?

To be fair, Xue Xue didn’t mean to. She was just here for training. Even during the earlier auctions, she had been a little overwhelmed. She wasn’t a professional auctioneer, just a gentle, supportive side character in Jiang’s life. Not some cold, unshakeable boss lady. The prices really were just that absurd. Her mistakes were understandable.

The eight bidders had all been revealed. This 9.8 kg Imperial Green jade carving Spirit Monkey Offering Peach, crafted over three years by master sculptor Qian Mu, was sold to Xuan Yuan Qingya for a sky-high 9 billion.

The Xuan Yuan clan had bid only twice and crushed everyone both times. This hidden aristocratic family had just delivered a devastating blow to all the so-called top clans. People like Zhao Dongyun, Bai Ze, and Li Siyi had only heard of them before—never seen them. Now, they realized just how untouchable the Xuan Yuan really were.　Even if all the other clans pooled their money, they might still not match them.　That diffe　rence… was vast like that of heaven and earth.

Shang Chan stood and addressed Xuan Yuan Qingya:

“Congratulations on winning the sculpture. But I have a question for you.”

Qingya nodded coldly. “Ask away, Miss Shang.”

“Do you intend to give that sculpture to the man beside you?”

Qingya’s eyes narrowed. Her pride didn’t allow for interrogation.

“And if I do? And if I don’t?”

Shang Chan smiled slightly. She wasn’t intimidated.

“If so, I urge you to reconsider. That man is shameless, a sore loser. You seem elegant and noble. If you’re involved with him, it would be a great misfortune.”

Qingya’s eyes turned icy when she heard “involved.”

“You worry too much. This sculpture is for my great-grandfather’s birthday. It has nothing to do with Jiang Yifeng.”

Then, she glanced unconsciously at Lin Tian and saw his scrutinizing gaze. Her heart ached. Coldly, she added:

“Jiang Yifeng isn’t even worthy of having any close relationship with me.”

As soon as she said this, Jiang Yifeng’s face froze.

Wait a second… Didn’t Bai Bing’er say the exact same thing not long ago?