Novel Toon
Chapter 48
Chapter 48.
Xu Xinyi and her family arrived late at the charity dinner. And very soon, the venue was almost full.
Mrs. Song had great influence in City A, so celebrities from all walks of life from City A were happy to give her face by coming to attend.
When Mrs. Yi came back from socializing, Jiang Huai and Xu Weiyin came back from the bathroom at about the same time, and they all sat down.
The auction officially began.
The host gave a long thank-you speech to the audience and then another long thank-you speech for the hostess Mrs. Song, before finally the first item being auctioned was brought out on a tray held by a pretty woman.
It was a vase made from white jade.
“The first item to be auctioned at today’s auction is this vase made of white jade during the Qing Dynasty, donated by Mr. Zhao, with a starting price of 300,000 yuan. Each bid must not be less than 10,000 yuan. The auction begins!”
A white jade vase was only a decoration. Its value as a collectible was not too high. So there wasn’t too much enthusiasm.
But Xu Xinyi took the lead by raising her paddle.
“Miss Xu Xinyi offered 210,000!”
“Mr. Wu offered 230,000!”
Xu Xinyi continued to raise.
“Miss Xu Xinyi offered 250,000!”
“Miss Xu Weiyin offered 280,000!”
Xu Xinyi looked at Xu Weiyin.
She remembered that in the novel ‘Xu Xinyi’ would always try to outbid Xu Weiyin at the auction. Not because she wanted to get the thing being sold, she simply wanted to snatch whatever Xu Weiyin wanted and make Xu Weiyin lose face.
At first, everything went well and the two of them clashed a few times. But once ‘Xu Xinyi’ was red-eyed with rage, she unthinkingly raised the bid to more than three times the value of the item and Xu Weiyin stopped bidding.
Of course, ‘Xu Xinyi’ won the bid and in the end. Xu Weiyin somehow gained a magnanimous reputation for ‘reluctantly’ surrendering the item she wanted, while ‘Xu Xinyi’ was the one who had to swallow her anger and pay a high price to buy something she did not like at all.
After that, throughout the rest of the auction, ‘Xu Xinyi’ was seeing red. As long as Xu Weiyin would bid on an item, she would fight her for it. Ultimately, ‘Xu Xinyi’ bought a bunch of things she didn’t want for high prices and couldn’t compete when the sapphire necklace was auctioned at the end.
Of course, that sapphire necklace fell into Xu Weiyin’s hands.
She was the one who gained both fame and wealth.
Xu Xinyi smiled and raised her paddle.
“Miss Xu Xinyi bid 300,000. Is there anyone willing to go higher?”
Xu Weiyin raised her own paddle while smiling apologetically at Xu Xinyi.
“Miss Xu Weiyin bid 330,000.”
“Mr. Chen bid 400,000! 400,000! Is there anyone willing to go higher than 400,000? “
“Miss Xu Xinyi bid 430,000.”
“Miss Xu Weiyin bid 450,000! Is there anyone higher than 450,000? “
Seeing that the price getting higher and higher, until it far exceeded the value of the vase, Mrs. Yi gave her a doubtful look, “Xu Xinyi, this vase, do you like it so much?”
“Of course,” said Xu Xinyi, “I can take it home and put it in the bedroom with a bouquet of red plum blossoms. It will be very beautiful!”
Xu Weiyin raised her paddle.
“Miss Xu Weiyin bid 550,000.”
–“When I threw out the bait, I knew Xu Weiyin wouldn’t let herself miss this chance to step on me.”
–“She wants to play tricks and schemes with me? Let’s see who wins in the end!”
Xu Xinyi raised her paddle.
“Miss Xu Xinyi bid 600,000.”
“Miss Xu Weiyin bid 630,000.”
“Miss Xu Xinyi bid 700,000.”
Xu Xinyi seemed determined to buy the white jade vase.
In her heart, she was confident that Xu Weiyin would continue to follow her in bidding even higher.
–“Where will she stop? 700,000 is not enough for Xu Weiyin to show off her love for the vase. She’ll want to get the price up to at least 800,000, three times the value, before she can show off her ‘magnanimity’ by backing off and ‘letting’ me win the vase.”
Yi Yang picked up the red wine in front of him and took a sip. His face was thoughtful.
“Going once for 700,000! Going twice for 700,000!”
Xu Xinyi secretly smiled and prepared to reap her harvest.
Xu Weiyin raised her hand paddle.
“Miss Xu Weiyin bid 800,000! It seems that Miss Xu Weiyin really likes this white jade vase!”
Xu Xinyi acted stunned. After a long moment of silence, she glanced over at Xu Weiyin, smiled, and then put down her paddle.
“800,000 going once!”
“800,000 going twice!”
“Does anyone else want to bid? Does Miss Xu Xinyi want to bid?”
Xu Xinyi shook her head and smiled. “No, since Miss Xu Weiyin likes it so much, I can’t bear to snatch it from her. I’ll concede this time.”
Xu Weiyin glared at Xu Xinyi.
The host was beaming and looked at Xu Weiyin, “Going thrice for 800,000! Sold! This white jade vase now belongs to Miss Xu Weiyin. I would like to thank Miss Xu Weiyin for her strong support of charity. At the same time, I would also like to thank Mr. Qin Zhongqin for donating the vase.”
There was a round of applause.
Xu Xinyi also smiled and applauded while congratulating Xu Weiyin.
Xu Weiyin didn’t really want to spend 800,000 yuan on a vase with no practical value.
She just saw that Xu Xinyi seemed to want the vase and wanted to raise the price to teach that brainless woman a lesson.
But why did Xu Xinyi suddenly stop at the last moment?
Xu Weiyin felt a vague anxiousness, as if things were slipping out of her control.
The host continued with the auction.
“We have now officially sold our first item, now let’s all take a look at the second item.”
Xu Weiyin’s face did not look good after buying the white jade vase and she seemed uninterested in the next few items auctioned.
Jiang Huai glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes. “What’s the matter? Aren’t you happy? You bought something you liked, right?”
Xu Weiyin forced herself to put aside her conflicted emotions and smiled, “It’s fine, I’m very happy.”
How could she be happy when her calculations failed and she had been forced to pay a high price for something she didn’t like?
She really underestimated Xu Xinyi.
As the auction sold more and more treasures, the atmosphere gradually began to rise, cresting like a wave.
“Next, the seventh item in our auction! This painting was painted by the famous painter Tang Shanzhi and has been verified as an authentic piece. The starting price is 500,000, and each bid must raise by at least 50,000.”
Xu Weiyin, who had been silent for a long time, finally had a glimmer of a plan.
She knew that Jiang Huai’s father liked paintings painted by Tang Shanzhi.
“Miss Xu Weiyin bid 550,000.”
“Mr. Zhao bid 600,000.”
“Mr. Gao is bidding 700,000. Does anyone want to go higher?”
Xu Weiyin raised her paddle again.
“Miss Xu Weiyin bid 750,000.”
Xu Xinyi held up her paddle and put on a face like she was determined to win.
“Miss Xu Xinyi bid 800,000.”
Xu Weiyin looked sidelong across the aisle at Xu Xinyi.
“Yi Yang, I remember grandpa likes painting, too. Why don’t I buy this and take it back to give to Grandpa?”
There were not many paintings at home. Instead of buying a painting for the Old Master, it would probably be better to buy him an elaborate fishing rod.
Of course, Yi Yang didn’t say this out loud.
After all this time, he was it possible he couldn’t recognize what was going on?
Xu Xinyi was playing her tricks again.
“Do whatever you want.”
On hearing that, Xu Xinyi continued to raise her paddle.
“Miss Xu Xinyi bid 930,000.”
“Miss Xu Weiyin bid 1 million.”
Xu Xinyi looked over at Xu Weiyin competitively and raised her paddle.
“Miss Xu Xinyi bid 1.1 million.”
After several rounds of bidding, Xu Xinyi and Xu Weiyin’s competition raised the price of the painting to 2.15 million.
Xu Xinyi knew from the novel that Xu Weiyin was bound to buy this painting, so she didn’t slap her too ruthlessly, she just drove the price up a bit to make Xu Weiyin regret that she had deliberately exposed the things she had said in front of everyone today.
“Miss Xu Xinyi is bidding 2.45 million. Does anyone want to go higher?”
“2.45 million going once.”
“2.45 million going twice!”
The host looked around the audience, he held up the gavel dramatically, waiting for anyone making any final decisions at the last second.
The price of the painting was now four times more than the worth of the painting. The price was just too high and the loss would be too much so no one was willing to bid.
But the wheels in Xu Weiyin’s head were spinning furiously. She really thought that this painting was the key to cozying up to Jiang Huai’s father. Plus, she could not lose to Xu Xinyi!
While gnashing her teeth, she raised her paddle.
“Miss Xu Weiyin bid 2.5 million!”
“2.5 million going once!”
“2.5 million going twice!”
“Does anyone want to go higher? 2.5 million going thrice! Sold! Congratulations to Miss Xu Weiyin!”
The hall rang with thunderous applause.
Xu Xinyi smiled inside. This girl was a spendthrift, a real sucker.
Xu Weiyin smiled and waved her hand magnanimously.
Xu Xinyi bowed her head, and if you looked carefully, you could see that her shoulders were trembling.
If a person who didn’t know anything saw it, they would probably think she was sad that she didn’t win the painting.
–“2.5 million?! I’m laughing to death here! Is she very angry now? Humph, then come fight me!”
Mrs. Yi gave Yi Yang a look.
Yi Yang did not understand what she wanted. He asked her with his eyes.
Mrs. Yi rolled her eyes at her silly son and then comforted Xu Xinyi. “Xinyi, don’t be sad, it’s just a painting. Dad doesn’t really like paintings anyway. He likes fishing more. If you really want to give him a gift, just find him a good fishing rod. He will surely be happy.”
Xu Xinyi desperately held back her smile as she raised her face ‘sadly’. “Really?”
“Of course it’s true. Would I lie to you?”
Xu Xinyi breathed a sigh of relief. “It seems that was my mistake. Fortunately, I didn’t spend 2.5 million on the painting. It would have been wasted.”
Xu Weiyin, who had eaten a series of losses, secretly took a deep breath. She could only face it with a smile while in the view of the public, but her clenched fist exposed her true feelings.
Anyone who spent an extra million for no reason would not be happy.
Jiang Huai glanced at her quietly but said nothing.
“The ladies present may already be aware, but this is a dove blood ruby ring.”
A small ring box was opened on the tray. The ruby in the middle seemed as bright and hot as a flame.
“As you all know, the brighter the red of a dove blood ruby, the more beautiful it is, and the more valuable. This 10-carat ruby ring was donated by Mrs. Zhao. The starting price is 2.8 million, and each bid must raise by at least 100,000. Now let’s begin!”
2.8 million, for this particular ten-carat ruby ring, it was actually a very low price.
Xu Xinyi stared at the ruby ring and raised her paddle as if she were determined to win it.
“Miss Xu Xinyi bid 2.9 million.”
“Miss Qian bid 3 million.”
“Miss Xu Weiyin bid 3.2 million.”
There was a steady stream of bids coming in.
Sure enough, women were unswerving in their pursuit of accessories, and the bids came fast and hot. After a few minutes, the price of the ruby ring had been raised to 6.1 million.
“Going once 6.1 million!”
“Miss Xu Weiyin offered 6.2 million.”
Xu Xinyi, who just wanted to make things difficult for her, also raised her paddle.
“Miss Xu Xinyi offered 6.3 million!”
Everyone present had realized that as long as Xu Weiyin and Xu Xinyi were locking horns, the price would definitely go up crazily, and the rational participants could not intervene.
Mrs. Yi teased her, “You like it so much?”
Xu Xinyi nodded enthusiastically but didn’t take her eyes off the ring. “It’s so beautiful! I must have it! “
Xu Weiyin who had eaten two successive losses was not sure whether Xu Xinyi really wanted the ring or was just pretending to want it.
But she had already bought a vase that she didn’t like, and paid an exorbitant price for the painting. This ruby diamond ring was really beautiful, and she really liked it. 6 million yuan was a bit expensive, but she thought it was worth it.
It’s just that she was uncomfortable thinking that Xu Xinyi might be deliberately driving the price up.
She looked over at Jiang Huai to reassure herself.
Fortunately, she still had Jiang Huai.
After careful consideration, Xu Weiyin raised her paddle.
“Miss Xu Weiyin bid 6.4 million!”
“6.4 million going once!”
“6.4 million going twice!”
“6.4 million going thrice! Sold! This dove blood ruby ring now belongs to Miss Xu Weiyin! I would like to thank Miss Xu Weiyin for her generous support of charity!”
There was a lot of whispering.
Mrs. Yi was surprised to see Xu Weiyin win the ring. “Xinyi, didn’t you like it?”
Xu Xinyi responded thoughtfully, “I thought about it carefully. That ruby ring seems too ostentatious and doesn’t really fit my image, so forget it.”
Xu Weiyin, who successfully won the bid for the ruby ring, suddenly felt that the ring in front of her lost some of its appeal.
So, Xu Xinyi had been doing it on purpose?
“Don’t you have anything you like? You haven’t won any bids all night. Whatever you like, just tell Yi Yang, let Yi Yang win it for you. “
“How could I do something like that? It would be embarrassing.” Xu Xinyi looked at Yi Yang.
“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. You two are husband and wife. What belongs to Yi Yang also belongs to you.”
“Husband?”
Yi Yang, who had been just a spectator for most of the night, moved his head slightly in what might have been a nod and gave a low hum.
But after that Xu Xinyi still didn’t win any bids. On the other hand, Mrs. Yi won a brooch and a piece of valuable jade.
The charity auction was entering its final stages.
“Alright, everyone, now it’s time for the finale of our auction.” The pretty auctioneer stepped onto the stage with a delicately carved jewelry box.
“This item was donated by Mrs. Song, the organizer of our auction tonight.”
Mrs. Song stood up with a smile.
The lady on stage opened the jewelry box slowly.
A dazzling sapphire necklace appeared in front of everyone, it glimmered under the lights of the venue and shone with soul-stirring beauty.
Xu Xinyi looked at the sapphire necklace lacksidasicaly, seemed a bit disinterested, and even yawned.
–“Ah~, this sapphire necklace is so beautiful!”
–“It’s mine. it must be mine!”
“Everyone should know how precious sapphires are. Five years ago, a Kashmiri sapphire necklace sold for the sky-high price of 116 million Hong Kong dollars. Tonight, the bidding price for this Kashmiri sapphire necklace donated by Mrs. Song will start at 10 million, and each bid must raise by at least 500,000. Let’s begin!”
–“10 million, what kind of immortal priced this thing? It’s too cheap!”
–“No, I have to hold it in! Now that I’m a person with importance and class, I don’t bother with trivialities. I have to keep my cool at all times. I can’t act too excited and let that woman Xu Weiyin ruin things.”
Although she was very excited and wanted to buy the necklace right away, Xu Xinyi kept making a face that looked uninterested.
Yi Yang glanced at her and said, “Do you like it?”
“It could be considered okay,” Xu Xinyi ignored her conscience and spoke nonsense. “I already have too many necklaces at home to wear as it is. Even if I bought it, it would just gather dust in a jewelry box.”
Yi Yang nodded thoughtfully, “OK, then I won’t try to bid on this necklace for you. Next time I have a chance I’ll try to find something you like.”
Xu Xinyi choked.
–“I really don’t like this man. Can’t you just act domineering, buy it and nonchalantly hand it off to me?”
–“It’s only 10 million, but I didn’t ask you to bid, so you won’t do it. Just look your stingy appearance, it’s a disgrace to overbearing CEOs everywhere!”
Xu Xinyi took a deep breath.
–“Don’t be angry. Don’t be angry. If the dog man won’t buy it for you, so be it. You just have to place your bid at the last critical moment. Don’t be conspicuous and let others know how much you want it.”
“Miss Gu bid 20 million!”
–“Is that really necessary? It’s just a necklace. Did you have to hike the bid to 20 million immediately?”
“Miss Chen bid 25 million!”
Xu Xinyi: “…”
–“If the price keeps rising at this rate, will I have enough money?”
Xu Xinyi began to worry about her wallet.
“Miss Li bid 27 million!”
“Miss Xu Weiyin bid 30 million!”
“Miss Gu bid 32 million!”
Throughout the whole auction, no item had gotten so much attention.
Xu Xinyi felt like her little heart couldn’t stand it.
–“Don’t be scared now, it’s still less than 40 million. Xu Xinyi, you’re rich! You’re a rich woman!”
“Miss Li bid 35 million.”
–“Well, actually, it’s just a necklace.”
“Miss Xu Weiyin bid 37 million!”
“Miss Gu bid 39 million.”
Xu Xinyi looked over Miss Gu who had been bidding, she looked cold and self-assured, and looked down at the necklace as if she were confident.
“Miss Xu Weiyin bid 40 million.”
–“No, I’ll make a bid.”
She raised her paddle.
“Miss Xu Xinyi bid 40.5 million.”
Xu Xinyi smiled and looked at Xu Weiyin.
She had bid the smallest price increment right after Xu Weiyin made a bid, the discerning people could all tell what was going on with a glance.
Xu Weiyin was slightly stunned, but only for a moment. She quickly continued to bid.
“Miss Xu Weiyin offered 43 million.”
“Miss Gu offered 44 million.”
Xu Weiyin raised her paddle with poise and calm.
“Miss Xu Weiyin offered 45 million.”
Miss Gu hesitated for a moment when she raised her paddle this time.
Xu Xinyi figured that 45 million was Miss Gu’s ceiling price. She probably wouldn’t bid again.
Seeing that, Xu Xinyi raised her paddle.
“Miss Xu Xinyi bid 45.5 million!”
This was an obvious provocation.
The people in the room all felt that how much Xu Weiyin spent on the necklace would all depend on how big of a grudge Xu Xinyi had against her.
“Miss Xu Weiyin bid 46 million.”
“Miss Xu Xinyi bid 46.5 million!”
Xu Weiyin brows furrowed but she continued to bid.
But no matter how much she bid, Xu Xinyi would always be there to bid 500,000 more.
After four or five times going around like this, the bid had reached 49 million.
–“Hold steady, it’s still less than 50 million. I have the money. I can win!”
“Miss Xu Weiyin bid 50 million.”
Xu Xinyi raised her paddle nonchalantly.
“Miss Xu Xinyi bid 50.5 million.”
Xu Weiyin’s face was turning white with anger.
Xu Xinyi was definitely just raising the price deliberately this time!
She hesitated to continue to bid. She wondered how high Xu Xinyi wanted to push the price.
“50.5 million going once!”
The host looked around the audience.
“50.5 million going twice! Do anyone else want to bid?”
Xu Weiyin clenched her fist and hesitated.
“50.5 million going thrice!”
The hammer began to fall.
“55 million!” A low voice sounded.
Xu Xinyi, who was very excited, felt like she had been dunked in a basin of cold water.
She followed the voice, and saw that it was Jiang Huai.
Xu Weiyin was also looking at Jiang Huai with surprise on her face.
–“You son of a bitch, I’ll fight you!”
— “A war between women but you want to stick your foot in, are you even a man?”
–“You want to spend 50 million just to please a woman? Are you still a man?! Do you know how many projects you could use 50 million to invest in? Isn’t your goal in life supposed to be making your company bigger and stronger? But a little bit of love can make you give up on your business sense. Bah! This is what you will be doing for the rest of your life!”
When a boss in the business world came to an end, it was because of a beauty most of the time.
Jiang Huai was an unfathomable man and there was no doubt about Jiangshi Electronic’s strength. So if Jiang Huai really wanted to win this necklace for Xu Weiyin, Xu Xinyi couldn’t be his opponent.
–“And the dog man certainly won’t help me. I said no when he asked after all.”
Xu Xinyi wanted to go back in time and kill the woman who said she didn’t like the necklace 20 minutes ago.
–“Do I want to struggle to the death?”
–“I seem to still have some personal funds.”
–“But if I spend everything on this necklace there will not be much money left.”
–“Come on, calm down. It’s just a necklace. What’s there to think about? Isn’t it better to just keep the 50 million yuan and go shopping in Paris?”
“Mr. Jiang bid 55 million. Does anyone want to go higher?”
“55 million going once!”
Xu Xinyi was discouraged.
“55 million going twice!”
Xu Xinyi was in despair.
“55 million going thrice!”
Xu Xinyi closed her eyes so she wouldn’t have to see, her face looked very bad.
“If there’s no else, then this necklace will belong to Jiang…”
“60 million.”
The steady voice rang out calmly, not urgent nor slow.
Xu Xinyi suddenly looked up and looked over at Yi Yang, who always cherished his words like gold, as if she had seen her savior.
“Husband?”
Yi Yang cleared his throat, “Well, I’m just bidding casually.*”
–“Come on, boss! Beat down that Jiang Huai, a dog man who fights with women!”
–“Go for it!!!”
Jiang Huai glanced at Yi Yang and said, “65 million.”
“Mr. Jiang bid 65 million!”
“70 million.”
“Mr. Yi bid 70 million!”
“75 million.”
Yi Yang did not hesitate: “80 million.”
Xu Xinyi sucked in a breath of cold air.
–“Isn’t 80 million a little…”
The price really came as a surprise to her.
She remembered that in the novel, ‘Xu Xunyi’ couldn’t fight with Xu Weiyin during this last auction, so she successfully bought it for 45 million.
But why was it that when the ball was kicked to these men, the price would suddenly go twice as high?
“Yi… Yi Yang, isn’t 80 million a little… expensive? I don’t really like it very much either. If you want to buy it anyway we should give it to mom.”
Mrs. Yi smiled, “It’s alright, I already have one.”
–“I see.”
–“Excuse me for not realizing. Damn rich people.”
But Yi Yang still just said, “Well, I’m just bidding casually.”
By saying he was bidding these huge numbers ‘just casually’ it really made a person feel like he was being deliberately contradictory.
Before Xu Xinyi was raising the bid in increments of 500,000 but now Yi Yang was directly adding 5 million at a time.
It seemed Yi Yang and his wife were actually very similar people.
What a couple.
“85 million.”
Yi Yang calmly bid, “90 million.”
–“These damned rich people!”
The host looked between Yi Yang and Jiang Huai, “Mr. Yi bid 90 million!”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
For the first time, Jiang Huai did not immediately bid. Instead, he lowered his head and rubbed the ring on its index finger.
After a long time he said, “Mr. Yi is willing to spend a lot of money for Mrs. Yi.”
“Well, I’m just bidding casually.”
Although Yi Yang had become like a broken record, Xu Xinyi had to admit that those words were actually quite exasperating.
“Since Mr. Yi is so persistent, I have no choice but to give up and let you win the necklace.”
Jiang Huai stopped bidding.
“90 million going once!”
“90 million going twice!”
“90 million going thrice!”
Xu Xinyi’s heart was pounding in her chest thunderously.
“Sold! Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Yi, and thank you both for your support of charity!”
The pretty auctioneer walked over and delivered the sapphire necklace.
Yi Yang gave it a casual glance, then took it out, unclasped it, and put it around Xu Xinyi’s neck.
The glittering and translucent gems were deep and lustrous, and they seemed to faintly contain a hint of the blue ocean.
Mrs. Yi finally realized what was missing from Xu Xinyi’s outfit today.
She was just missing this sapphire necklace.