"Lin An, there's one of the three banquet invitations left. Should I sell it?"
"Never mind, I'll just leave an empty seat for my things."
Such a precious invitation could probably fetch a lot of money, but since it's Zhou Ya's thoughtful gift, it wouldn't be right to sell it for cash. Besides, Lin An is now a billionaire and has plenty of money.
Xu Mo stared at the glittering invitation card, which prominently displayed the word "VIP." Was it meant to be used to store things? When it came to showing off, he even considered calling Lin An his godfather.
......
On the day of the auction.
Xu Mo came to the hotel to find Lin An early in the morning. Lin An was staying at a five-star hotel with good security. Lin An had informed the front desk on the day of his check-in that no visitors were seen. Since Xu Mo couldn't go up, he could only sit in the hotel lobby and wait for him.
Upon seeing Lin An come downstairs, Xu Mo couldn't wait to greet him.
"Lin An, let's hurry up and leave, or we'll be late."
Xu Mo has little status in the Xu family. For such high-end occasions, the Xu family would never think of Xu Mo when they receive an invitation, so he was a little excited this time.
Qingfeng Pavilion is located in a manor in the suburbs, facing a lake and backed by mountains, quiet and elegant.
Lin An and Xu Mo arrived at Qingfeng Pavilion, parked their car, got out and looked around. All the cars parked there were luxury cars and sports cars, the worst being a Porsche.
Xu Mo's Audi was like a pheasant in a phoenix's nest, completely out of place.
At the entrance to the venue, Lin An presented his invitation. After the reception staff checked it, they immediately bowed and respectfully invited them inside.
As soon as Xu Mo entered the venue, he began to look around. His purpose was very simple: he wanted to see what was going on with Lin Xia. Logically speaking, even if the Lin family did not go bankrupt, they would never have had the opportunity to participate in this kind of auction.
Lin Xia linked arms with a man and then walked into the venue.
Seeing the familiar figures before him, he was immediately annoyed. Xu Mo and Lin An had actually come too! What kind of people were they to dare to be in the same place as him?
Lin Xia was different today; she had a powerful backer by her side. Thinking of the humiliation she had suffered at Lin An's hands before, Lin Xia spoke angrily:
"Lin An, Xu Mo! What are you two doing here? Do you even know where you are? Are you even worthy to be here?"
Upon hearing that affected voice, the two of them realized it could only be Lin Xia, and turned around together.
Xu Mo was about to retort, but after seeing who was next to Lin Xia, he swallowed his laughter.
The man beside Lin Xia was a cube-shaped figure, half a head shorter than her. He was dark-skinned, fat, and had large ears. As for the arrangement of his facial features, it was definitely the work of the goddess Nuwa, emphasizing randomness.
Xu Mo had been waiting to see when Lin Xia would get her comeuppance. The thought of Lin Xia having to be with such a man made all his anger and resentment disappear.
The man's features were so distinctive that Lin An recognized him at a glance as Dong Shu, the illegitimate son of the Dong family. The Dong family's economic strength was superior to that of the Zhou family, but as their industrial layout shifted south, the family had been living in the port area for a long time and kept a low profile in Shanghai.
Because of his status as an illegitimate child, daughters from prominent families avoided Dong Shu. Dong's mother had considered finding him a good girl from an ordinary family, preferably someone with education. She had met a few, but they all thought he was ugly and preferred to work hard themselves rather than disgust themselves with him.
Dong Shu's path to marriage was exceptionally difficult. As a grown man, he longed for love and had money, becoming obsessed with escorts and "parachuted" companions. As the saying goes, "He who walks by the river will eventually get wet," and thus, he ended up in a relationship. Dong's mother was a formidable mistress, having given birth to this son who seemed to possess a genetic flaw. There were even rumors that she and Dong's father used childbirth to expel impurities from their bodies, and she almost completely lost hope that Dong Shu would settle down.
Lin An guessed that Lin Haoran sold Lin Xia in order to avoid bankruptcy. Among the sisters, Lin Xia was most like Zhang Wanru, brainless and easy to control.
Seeing Xu Mo trying to suppress his laughter, Lin Xia became even angrier and questioned him:
What are you doing here? Do you have an invitation?
"Of course!" Xu Mo waved the VIP invitation in front of her.
Lin Xia snorted and continued her aggressive approach:
"You think you can get VIP invitations? You all know what kind of family the Dong family is, yet you only got two ordinary invitations. These were personally issued by the president of the Shanghai Antiques Association. Lin An, did you steal or cheat your way into getting these invitations?"
Dong Shu only told her that the invitation came from the president of the Cultural Relics Association, but did not tell her that the president of the association was Zhou Shengren.
"Mental illness!" Lin An felt that the sympathy he had felt for Lin Xia just now was completely unnecessary. Lin Xia was not aggrieved; she was happy to lean on Dong Shu.
Lin An's face showed blatant disgust, which only fueled Lin Xia's anger.
She had worked so hard to get here, so why should Lin An, the country bumpkin she looked down on, and Xu Mo, the sycophant, be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with her?
Do they know how unbearable each night is for them? Looking back, Xu Mo actually looks kind of handsome now. Lin Xia is furious.
Lin Xia pointed at Lin An and demanded, "Tell me, how exactly did you sneak in?"
"She's brain-dead, let's go." Xu Mo gestured for Lin An to enter the inner area.
As soon as the two turned around, Lin Xia stepped forward first, pushed the cube aside, and blocked their way.
"Feeling guilty, aren't you? Trying to run away?"
Lin Xia, as if she had seized upon evidence, was certain that the two invitations were of dubious origin, and provocatively said:
"Bring me your invitation letter. Let me see if it's fake. You have no right to enter a place like this."
The people walking around here are all celebrities from Shanghai. Lin An didn't want to attract attention and couldn't be bothered to pay any attention to her. However, Lin Xia forgot the pain as soon as she recovered and provoked him again and again.
Lin An said coldly, "Get out! Look at my invitation, you're not worthy!"
Dong Shu, who had been silent all along, saw his woman being scolded. His masculine pride compelled him to step forward. The cube extended one leg, moved forward 0.2 meters, and pointed a round, plump finger at Lin An's nose, scolding him:
"My father is Dong Gang! Xiaxia is my woman, who are you? Apologize to her right now."
Lin An reached out and grabbed Dong Shu's wrist, twisting it downwards with a sharp crack. Dong Shu's wrist dislocated and dangled, causing him to howl in pain.
Lin An acted extremely quickly; by the time anyone reacted, the cube was already lying on the ground in pain.
Xu Mo was shocked:
"Lin An, you're quite skilled. When did you learn?"
"I just learned a simple self-defense technique from a book, so I thought I'd give it a try," Lin An said casually.
"What book is it? Can I borrow it?" Xu Mo was very curious. The self-defense techniques in this book were much more reliable than what his military training instructor taught him.
Lin An thought of the now-blank "Life Skills Handbook" and casually remarked:
"I can't find the wordless book either. Go look for it in your dreams."
Xu Mo laughed and said, "You stingy little thing."
"Brother Shu, what's wrong with you?" Lin Xia was so anxious she was almost crying. Why did Lin An suddenly start a fight?
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