Chapter 43 Auction (1)

"Typical social auctions are usually open to the upper and middle classes, but this time there are no private rooms."

An Shixia nodded: "Then everyone can see who won the bid for the item."

Xiao Yin smiled and said, "Although there are no private rooms, there are still different levels. Our invitation is for the first row."

The auction was to be held at 8 p.m., and Xiao Yin arranged for a driver to depart at 7 p.m.

This auction was held in a manor or castle.

When the driver arrived at the castle, there were already luxury cars parked outside.

As soon as Xiao Yin got out of the car, a row of bodyguards followed behind her. The bodyguards were not allowed to enter the auction hall; they could only stay in the banquet hall outside.

"Ms. Xiao, your seat is here. Please follow me."

The waiter smiled, bowed, and pointed in a direction.

An Shixia and the others followed her to their seats, where the table was already set with exquisite pastries and tea.

"Xiaxia!"

Lin Manjing was surprised to see An Shixia coming over. Then she looked at Xiao Yin and said, "Yinyin, why didn't you say that the handsome guy was coming today too?"

Xiao Yin covered her mouth and laughed: "Isn't this just to give you a surprise?"

"That was quite a surprise."

As Lin Manjing spoke, she pulled An Shixia to sit next to her, and Xiao Yin followed suit and sat down, glancing back at Yun Ranshu.

"Xiaxia, tell Auntie what you like, and Auntie will light a sky lantern for you."

"Thank you, Aunt Lin, but Mom said she'll buy it for me, so I won't be polite to Aunt Lin next time."

An Shixia playfully refused.

Lin Manying patted her hand and winked at her: "Okay, Aunt Lin will buy it for you next time, with your brother Yu's money."

An Shixia could tell that Lin Manjing was teasing her, and generously agreed, "Okay."

"Ranshu, I remember you like orange-red cake. Try it, I just ate a piece, it tastes so good."

Lin Manjing didn't forget Yun Ranshu either, pushing the pastries in front of her towards Yun Ranshu.

Yun Ranshu picked up a card and savored it carefully; it was sweet but not cloying.

"I must say, it actually tastes pretty good."

The auction started quickly, with the first few items being small, none of which had a highest price exceeding one million.

"The item up for auction is a blue diamond weighing 1674.32 carats."

As the auctioneer's voice faded, a series of gasps of astonishment rippled through the audience.

Xiao Yin was also eager to try: "Xiaxia dyed the book, do you like it?"

An Shixia wasn't interested in diamonds, so she turned to Yun Ranshu and asked, "Sister-in-law, I remember you said last time that you wanted to customize a piano. I think it would be nice to have blue diamonds embellishing it."

Yun Ranshu was surprised that An Shixia still remembered, and nodded: "That's right, then I'll give it a try."

After she finished speaking, she turned to Xiao Yin and said, "Mom, I'll bid later. I don't want you to have to work hard."

"You silly child."

The blue diamond has been placed on the display stand, but it is still covered with a cloth, so its appearance cannot be seen.

The auctioneer enthusiastically stirred the crowd: "The blue diamond has arrived on stage, and I'm sure everyone is eager to see its true form, so..."

As she spoke, her hand was already on the cloth.

The scene was completely silent, everyone watching her every move as if she might be taken advantage of at any moment.

The cloth was suddenly ripped off, revealing a crystal-clear blue diamond to everyone.

"Starting bid: 200 million! Minimum increment: 1 million!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the bidding price rose almost in a straight line.

In just one minute, the price soared to one billion.

The bidding gradually subsided, and when the price reached 1.5 billion, Yun Ranshu finally raised his paddle: "1.6 billion!"

She immediately offered an additional 100 million, which deterred many people.

Some insiders even knew her identity and quietly withdrew from the bidding.

When the price reached 1.8 billion, only a handful of voices were bidding.

"1.9 billion".

Yunranshu raised her placard again.

There was no further response.

Just as the auctioneer called out twice, about to strike the gavel, a voice suddenly rang out.

"1.9 billion and 1 billion".

An Shixia turned to look at the person holding the sign and felt that he looked somewhat familiar.

She tried hard to recall and remembered; it was Jiang Shuicheng.

Jiang Shuicheng's gaze remained fixed on Yun Ranshu, unaware of An Shixia's scrutiny.

Yun Ran's writing remained unchanged as he continued to raise the price: "Two billion."

"Two billion and one million".

Yun Ranshu still didn't care and continued to raise his paddle, adding several hundred million more: "2.5 billion."

"2.5 billion and 1 billion".

After three consecutive minimum price increases, everyone realized something was amiss; it seemed Jiang Shuicheng was doing it on purpose.

Xiao Yin frowned, wanting to hold up the sign and light the sky lantern.

Yun Ranshu reached out and hugged him, shaking her head: "I did it on purpose, it's not worth it."

Jiang Shuicheng seemed to be waiting for Yun Ranshu to raise the price, but after waiting for a long time without hearing her voice, her expression became a little chapped.

This diamond is worth at most two billion. She was just trying to annoy Yun Ranshu, but she didn't expect that Yun Ranshu would give it up.

"2.5 billion and 1 billion, three times! Congratulations to bidder number 78 for winning this blue diamond!"

Jiang Shuicheng felt very aggrieved. She brought 5 billion to the auction, but she had already spent half of it before even bidding on what she wanted.

But she's a celebrity, so even here she has to maintain her image; she has to smile whether she wants to or not.

As the blue diamond was carried off the stage, the next item for auction was brought up.

"The blue diamond was amazing, but this one is just as impressive."

As he spoke, he pulled down the cloth from the glass table to reveal what was inside.

It is a set of jade jewelry.

"This is a piece of jewelry created at great expense by the fifteenth queen of S country. It is nearly two hundred years old. The starting bid is fifty million! The minimum increment is one million!"

This set of jade jewelry is exquisite. Although it has a long history, it is still timeless and attracts many bidders at auctions.

Yun Ranshu's eyes flickered, and she raised her sign: "Two hundred million."

Two hundred million is already the limit for this set of jewelry.

Two hundred and one million!

As expected, Jiang Shuicheng raised the price again.

Yun Ranshu smiled slightly: "Three hundred million."

Jiang Shuicheng hesitated for a moment, then, remembering that Yun Ranshu had only stopped after she raised the price three times, she immediately raised her paddle again: "Three hundred million and one million!"

She thought that Yunran Book would definitely raise the price again.

But the result was beyond her expectations; Yun Ranshu did not raise her placard.

"Since this young lady likes it, I'm willing to do her a favor and won't raise the price."

Yun Ranshu smiled and looked in her direction, her face showing no shame or annoyance at having something snatched from her.

Jiang Shuicheng almost had a heart attack. She just wanted to deflate Yun Ranshu's arrogance, but why did she suffer so many losses herself?

But now that Yun Ranshu has spoken, if she doesn't reply, the media will definitely take her words out of context. She gritted her teeth and forced a smile: "Then thank you for your generosity, Miss. I really like this set of jewelry."

Yun Ranshu smiled but did not reply.

She didn't say anything about the next few items.

Until... a land deed for an island appeared.