Chapter 28 Chapter 28 Official Announcement
"It's just something that happens easily." Lu Yanxiao added lightly.
Lin Mo was stunned for two seconds, realizing that the other party was not joking. He looked at her steadily, waiting for her reply. Lu Yanxiao, could he really do such a thing?
Lin Mo shook her head: "No need, you and I..."
Halfway through her words, she suddenly realized that Wang Qian didn't know about their marriage agreement, and she couldn't let the secret out in front of him, so she took out her phone, flipped to the chat interface with Lu Yanxiao, and typed on the screen.
My original intention in agreeing to marry you wasn't to piss anyone off, gain face, or show off. I just wanted to reassure Grandpa and allow me to work peacefully at my workplace. As for other people, I don't care.
After typing, Lin Mo poked Lu Yanxiao's arm and motioned him to look.
Lu Yanxiao raised the corner of his mouth, took her phone, deleted the text, and typed in: [That's a pretty comprehensive explanation.]
Lin Mo took the phone back: [But thank you for your sense of justice.]
Lu Yanxiao: "..."
Lin Mo put away her phone and tilted her head to smile: "So what are we going to the convention center for today?"
Lu Yanxiao: "Official announcement."
Convention and exhibition centers are mostly used for meetings and events. If it's an official announcement of Lu's products, the purpose of bringing her there is self-evident. It must be to show her in his work circle. It's the same reason why she asked Lu Yanxiao to pick her up at work. When the time comes, she can just keep smiling and act according to circumstances. Besides, she has a background in science and engineering, so she's not a novice in product development. She should be able to handle it well.
"No wonder you asked me to dress so grandly today. Don't worry, I won't let you down."
Lin Mo smiled slightly and picked up her phone. "Do you have any information about the product you officially announced? Can you send it to me? I'd like to learn a little bit about it in advance."
“…”
They really treated it as a cooperative relationship, being so conscientious and responsible. The girl smiled and held her mobile phone, like a clear-headed primary school student waiting for the teacher to hand out the test papers.
Lu Yanxiao glanced at her speechlessly: "Officially announce your relationship with me."
Lin Mo's smile froze. "How, how do we make the official announcement? Is it going to be something grand and impressive?"
Lu Yanxiao: "Almost."
“…”
Lin Mo laughed dryly. They weren't really going to hold a press conference, were they? The Lu family was indeed a well-known name in Shaofeng City, but this was too exaggerated.
"What? You don't want to cooperate?" Lu Yanxiao seemed to have guessed what she was thinking and looked at her with a half-smile.
Lin Mo frowned, signaling him to be careful with his words so that Wang Qian wouldn't hear anything, and started typing on the phone again.
"No, since I promised you, I will definitely cooperate. However, even if it's a real marriage, there's no need to be so high-profile. If the agreement expires in three years and we divorce, it won't end well for you, right?"
After typing, Lin Mo handed the phone to Lu Yanxiao.
However, Lu Yanxiao took a glance, but this time he did not pick up the phone to reply. He raised his eyes, a malicious smile appeared on the corner of his lips, and then he leaned over.
Lin Mo subconsciously stepped back and asked in a low voice, "What are you doing?"
The sudden warmth beside her ear disturbed her. Lin Mo leaned her shoulder against the car door, trying to push him away. At this moment, she heard a whisper in her ear: "Let's talk about it in three years."
Half an hour later, the smoky gray exhibition building stood before us.
The black Bentley drove into the basement from the left. When it reached the entrance to the third floor below ground, four parking attendants bowed respectfully and greeted it. One of them stepped forward and gestured that he would lead the way. The car then slowed down and slowly followed behind him, all the way to the special elevator entrance.
The etiquette staff who were waiting here quickly stepped forward and helped open the car door: "Mr. Xiao, please come this way."
The valet drove the car away, and the etiquette staff took the three people to the special elevator.
Lin Mo had been here for a meeting before, but she had never used the special elevator, nor did she have a parking attendant or staff to guide her throughout the process. The grand situation made her originally calm mood become a little uneasy again.
Lu Yanxiao said he came here today specifically to officially announce their relationship. When the elevator opens, will there be a swarm of media outlets armed with cameras and phones? Are his friends and family already gathered outside?
She took a deep breath quietly, staring at the numbers on the elevator going up, feeling her heart beating faster and faster.
"Nervous?" Lu Yanxiao's voice came from the side with a hint of laughter.
Lin Mo suppressed her anxious heart, shook her head, and said insincerely, "It's okay."
In fact, her palms had already been oozing with sweat, but she told herself in her heart that she must not be a coward. She must be a responsible partner. So, looking at Lu Yanxiao's arm coming over to her, she naturally took it, smiled at him, and acted as if she was ready to face all kinds of "long guns and short cannons" outside.
"bite."
The elevator arrival signal sounded and the elevator door slowly opened.
However, the situation outside was completely different from what I had imagined. There were no media, no cameras, only two eagle-eyed bodyguards. Directly in front of the elevator, against the wall, stood two eye-catching signs: one reading "Entrance by invitation only" and the other "No Photography."
Lin Mo looked around and thought she was on the wrong floor.
But the etiquette staff had already stepped out of the elevator and was helping to block the elevator door from the outside, saying earnestly, "Mr. Xiao, this way please."
Lin Mo was puzzled and surprised, and tilted her head to look at Lu Yanxiao: "Isn't that kind of official announcement?"
Lu Yanxiao chuckled: "Don't you dislike the high-profile and well-known ones?"
"I don't like it, but I promised you..."
Because the two of them had reached an agreement at the beginning to cooperate with each other in the show. Since he had cooperated with her in Changli, even though she was a little uncomfortable, no, to be precise, she didn't like it, didn't like his high profile, but it was still a cooperation after all, so she had no position to refuse.
"If you don't like it, just say so." The man looked at her sideways with a friendly look.
Lin Mo was surprised: "Will you agree if I tell you?"
Lu Yanxiao: "It depends on my mood."
Lin Mo: “…”
Uh, Bai was happy, "So what do you mean by official announcement?"
Lu Yanxiao tapped the phone screen a few times and handed it to her.
The screen showed the WeChat chat interface between Lu Yanxiao and Lu Qingye. Lin Mo asked suspiciously, "Grandpa Lu?"
Lu Yanxiao nodded, tapped one of the voice messages with his fingertips, and raised the phone slightly to signal her to listen. She put her ear to it, and Lu Qingye's voice came from the microphone.
"Xiao Li and the others don't believe you really have a girlfriend. They're trying to introduce you to someone, saying it's the daughter of a friend named Che. This is all the result of your previous blind dates. It just so happens that your Uncle Li's auction is going to be quite crowded this Saturday. Take Qingqing along and let them see if it's real or not. I'll pay."
Lu Qingye's voice was firm, commanding, and filled with anger.
Obviously, Mr. Lu had a lot of headaches about Lu Yanxiao's marriage.
After learning the whole story and understanding that this was just an official announcement targeting the Lu family's network, Lin Mo's stress suddenly dissipated. She returned the phone to Lu Yanxiao and said with a sense of relief, "I understand. Don't worry, I'll do my best."
As she walked into the inner venue, she had a general understanding of the situation of the auction.
It is divided into two parts, an auction and a cocktail party. The attendees are all from wealthy or noble circles. Based on the principle of protecting the privacy of all guests, privacy is very high. Everyone has implicitly signed a confidentiality agreement the moment they confirm their attendance. No pictures or video content can be disseminated to the outside world, and it is even more impossible to invite the media.
In other words, Lu Yanxiao's ambiguous remarks before coming were just to scare her.
This grown man is so childish!
Lin Mo was indignant and glanced at the man beside her speechlessly. She subconsciously wanted to pull her arm back, but the man seemed to have a premonition and put his other hand on her arm.
"What?" Lin Mo asked in a hard tone.
Lu Yanxiao raised his eyebrows slightly, reminding her to pay attention to her surroundings.
Lin Mo realized later that they had already entered the exhibition hall area, where some of the items to be auctioned were displayed for guests to view in advance. There were also dedicated people in the exhibition hall to give explanations. It was like a comprehensive exhibition hall with calligraphy and painting areas, ancient and modern art areas, jewelry areas, etc.
The further you go in, the more visitors there are.
Lu Yanxiao was a top figure in Shaofeng's wealthy circle, and he became the focus of the entire audience as soon as he appeared. As Lu Yanxiao's female companion, she naturally became the focus of attention, and there was endless discussion about her.
"Who is that girl next to President Xiao?"
"Isn't it some internet celebrity again?"
"Of course. I've always brought internet celebrities, actors, and models."
"Guess how long this will last?"
"A week at most."
"I think two days will be enough."
…
The voice was not loud, but she could still pick up bits and pieces of it. Lin Mo made out the general idea. She glanced at Lu Yanxiao and asked, "Is that how all those gossips and scandals about you came about?"
"?"
Lu Yanxiao remained silent, concentrating on staring at his "girlfriend" and not noticing the whispers at all.
"You deliberately found a female companion in order to turn down the blind date arranged by Grandpa Lu. That's why others spread those rumors and gossip, right?" Lin Mo explained and asked again.
Lu Yanxiao paused, his peripheral vision catching sight of his surroundings. After understanding what she was talking about, he immediately stopped and replied with a single word, serious and resolute, "Yes."
Lin Mo nodded and said "oh", no wonder she was needed to cooperate with the official announcement.
As for other people's comments, she didn't care. She calmly took Lu Yanxiao's arm, listened to the staff's explanation, looked at the items carefully, and played the role of a girlfriend conscientiously.
Half an hour later, we walked out of the exhibition area and entered the auction hall.
The exhibition hall is an area that can be viewed or not, and many people just pass by it in a hurry. The auction hall is everyone's final destination. Therefore, when they arrived, the auction hall was already crowded with guests. Their arrival caused another wave of vibration. Everyone looked over almost at the same time, and many people greeted Lu Yanxiao.
Lin Mo always maintained a decent smile. Before sitting down, she pretended to glance around casually. The people sitting in the hall were all well-dressed and looked rich or noble. It seemed that this was the important battlefield for the official announcement.
"How do I need to cooperate with you later?" She deliberately leaned close to Lu Yanxiao's ear and asked in a low voice.
The girl's sweet, soft voice filled his ears, and Lu Yanxiao was momentarily distracted. He tilted his head and looked over, meeting her clear eyes, lovely and devout. Only she was so diligent in engraving the terms of the agreement in her mind.
Lu Yanxiao raised the corner of his lips and said in a gentle voice: "Will you raise your sign?"
Lin Mo thought about it for a few seconds and nodded, but she wasn't entirely confident. "I've only seen it on TV. The host says the bid price, and the people below raise their hands to increase the price. In the end, the highest bidder wins."
Lu Yanxiao: "Almost, help me raise the sign."
Lin Mo was skeptical. Although she didn't understand why holding up a sign could make it official, she was now the second party, so she just did as she was told.
"Okay, give me a signal and I'll raise it."
After a while, the auction officially began.
The first lot to be auctioned was an oil painting by a domestic painter, with a bid of 500,000 yuan. Lin Mo held her number plate, looking from time to time at the stage and then at Lu Yanxiao beside her, waiting for his call.
Lu Yanxiao drank a sip of water slowly, then tapped the table in front of him twice with his slender fingers.
Lin Mo confirmed with him: "Do you want this?"
Lu Yanxiao nodded and wrote "60" on the paper.
Lin Mo was a little excited and immediately raised her sign: "Six hundred thousand."
Someone nearby raised the price: "800,000!"
Lin Mo looked at Lu Yanxiao again, and after receiving his signal, she raised her placard and made an offer: "One million."
"Two million!" The man continued to raise the price.
Lin Mo was surprised and looked at the owner of the voice. It was a girl with bright makeup. When their eyes met, her eyes were full of provocation, as if to say that she was determined to get this painting.
Lin Mo carefully examined the painting displayed on the large screen. Because her mother was a painter, she had some understanding of it. While the work was good, the artist wasn't a top artist, and since he was middle-aged, the work wasn't a unique piece, so its value wouldn't increase much. While a million dollars might not be a big deal for these wealthy individuals, this painting was definitely not worth it.
Even the other guests at the scene heard it and whispered to each other: the other party was either deliberately challenging Lu Yanxiao or deliberately raising the price. In short, giving up was the wisest choice.
She wanted to talk to Lu Yanxiao about it, but before she could open her mouth, Lu Yanxiao had already given instructions, his expression leaving no room for doubt.
Well, the world of the rich was not something a commoner like her could understand. She simply stopped talking and followed Lu Yanxiao's instructions, raising her sign again: "Five million."
As soon as the voice came out, there was an uproar at the scene. Some people secretly laughed at Young Master Lu for not knowing the business and being cheated.
Lin Mo agreed deeply. She subconsciously glanced at the girl who had bid, wondering if she would continue to bid. The others also looked over, waiting for the girl's next move. At this moment, someone belatedly realized who that girl was and why she was challenging Lu Yanxiao.
"Boss Che's daughter, Che Su-ran."
"Didn't Mr. Che want to introduce his daughter to Young Master Lu before?"
"Boss Che and Boss Li are old friends. I think Boss Li is holding this auction today just to bring Young Master Lu and Che Su Ran together."
"That makes sense now. Originally, this was a blind date to introduce a girlfriend to Young Master Lu, but he unexpectedly brought a female companion. So, Mr. Che and his daughter's efforts were in vain."
"Not necessarily. I just carefully observed Young Master Lu's female companion. It's obvious that this is her first time at the auction. Her background is definitely not comparable to the Che family. In my opinion, it's just a temporary fun. This blind date today is definitely not over yet."
Lin Mo listened with gusto, sighing inwardly: So the girl who called Su Ran wasn't targeting Lu Yanxiao, but her! This must be a problem she and Lu Yanxiao must face when working together?
Lin Mo was speechless for a moment, feeling like she was on a "pirate ship".
She threw a sentence to Lu Yanxiao without any emotion: "You are really being taken advantage of for spending five million to buy such a thing."
Lu Yanxiao: "..."
The auctioneer brought down the hammer, announcing that Lu Yanxiao had won the painting. As usual, the host handed him the microphone and asked with a smile, "President Xiao, why are you willing to pay such a high price and spare no expense to acquire this work? Could you tell us a little bit?"
Lu Yanxiao took the microphone but didn't respond to the host. He looked at the girl beside him and asked gently, "Have you learned how to bid?"
"Ah?" Lin Mo was stunned.
The others at the scene were even more astonished. It turned out that Young Master Lu hadn't intended to buy any paintings at all, but was simply using the first lot as a practice run for his girlfriend! Some people sensed something different and began to carefully examine Lin Mo again.
Quiet, gentle, pure and lovely, like a beautiful flower untouched by dust, it is indeed different from before.
Lin Mo felt a little uneasy because of all the attention. She unconsciously glanced at the girl named Che Su Ran, who was full of aggression, as if she wanted to eat her.
She couldn't help but shudder in her heart: It's difficult.
After waiting for Lin Mo's response for a long time, Lu Yanxiao raised his eyebrows and tilted his head slightly to meet her gaze: "?"
"Ahem."
Lin Mo withdrew her attention and quickly responded, "I learned it, I learned it."
Lu Yanxiao nodded, very satisfied with this. He then pushed the booklet in front of her with a smile and said lightly, "Catch whichever one you like."
The crowd watching was simply shocked. Although Young Master Lu had many female companions before, those were all secretly photographed. Frankly speaking, there was no substantial evidence and everyone just followed the gossip. But today, not only did Young Master Lu openly link arms and hold hands with girls in public, he even threw five million to play with them!
At this moment, almost everyone was certain that if this wasn’t a girlfriend, then what was it?
"Could it be true this time?" someone exclaimed.
Lin Mo felt like she was on edge. Since she was already here, she just wanted it to be over quickly. She simply put on a fake smile and said, "Instead of giving me these, why not give me a plane? With a little more money, I can easily buy one of your company's drones."
Lu Yanxiao: "..."
"It's a gift for my girlfriend." Lu Yanxiao said with a cold face, emphasizing the word "girlfriend" deliberately.
Lin Mo was choked, angry but unable to explode.
She is now just Lu Yanxiao's fake girlfriend. These gifts are taken for her girlfriend. What reason does she have to stop them? She should just act well and stay out of other things.
Lin Mo quickly adjusted her attitude: "I'm sorry, but you should choose for yourself. I don't know how to do it, and I'm afraid you might make the wrong choice. You can choose for your 'girlfriend' yourself, and I'll just hold the sign for you."
Lin Mo thought she was being serious and friendly, and spoke in a negotiating tone, but for some reason Lu Yanxiao's expression had only grown uglier, a hostile aura emanating from him. For the rest of the time, he didn't say anything else to her, only coldly giving her orders, telling her to raise her hand. In just twenty minutes, she'd thrown out over twenty million.
It was not until he reminded her to raise her paddle again that Lin Mo realized that he was not bidding on the items but was clearly spending money indiscriminately as if he was angry.
Confused? Was he mad at her for letting him choose his "girlfriend"?
"Impotence?" Lu Yanxiao's cold voice sounded, urging her to continue bidding.
Lin Mo was speechless. After a few seconds, she picked up the booklet, roughly ticked a few on it, and handed it to Lu Yanxiao with a smile: "I choose these."
The pieces I've chosen are all famous paintings and antique vases. Even though I don't know much about them, the fame and age of the works are genuine, so preserving their value shouldn't be a problem.
Lu Yanxiao glanced at the area she had outlined. The anger in his eyes faded a little, but not completely. He said calmly, "What my girlfriend needs is jewelry."
"Those are just natural minerals, not really worth anything..."
Lin Mo subconsciously glanced sideways. Before she could even utter the word "money," she saw Lu Yanxiao's sinister look and immediately changed her words, "Okay, okay, buy it for your girlfriend."
As he spoke, he flipped through the booklet again and randomly selected a few designs based on his own design preferences. "Is this okay now?"
Lu Yanxiao glanced at the booklet and his expression finally relaxed when he saw the result that satisfied him.
Lin Mo finally felt relieved: "Is this what you mean by the official announcement?"
Lu Yanxiao curled his lips: "It's just the beginning."
Lin Mo: “!!”
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