A slight commotion arose in the auction room.
Priceless treasure?
What kind of material and design would make it a priceless treasure?
Ruan Luo would glance at Ruan Chen's expression; if she showed even the slightest hint of expectation, he would bid without hesitation.
A crown of roses could never be more fitting for her.
But Ruan Luo was disappointed.
Ruan Chen seemed bored with the upcoming auction, staring intently at her phone screen, chatting with someone.
"Would the Second Miss do me the honor of taking a look?" Ruan Luo teased her.
“I won’t watch, I don’t gamble,” Ruan Chen replied to the last message, turned off her phone screen, and tilted her head to say to Ruan Luo, “There are still four days until the finals, you and Mom should remember to come and watch.”
The competition for the last item was indeed fierce.
Since the auctioneer said that no matter the price, people would not lose out, many with sufficient budgets became bolder when bidding.
In less than five minutes, the "Thorn Rose" costume, covered by a white cloth, had already been bid up to 30 million.
"Are these people crazy?" Ruan Chen watched the spectacle while picking up some snacks provided by the auction house to pass the time.
However, after the bid of 30 million, the competition suddenly eased.
This price has exceeded many people's expectations, and they wisely chose to give up.
Now only a handful of people are left competing on the field. To Ruan Chen's surprise, Su Jin, who had not made any moves before, suddenly raised his paddle and directly increased the bid by five million.
His expression was calm and composed, and he held up the sign with ease, as if this was the very reason he had come today.
But in a corner where nothing had happened, someone else raised a sign, "Forty million."
He was an elderly man.
Ruan Chen has a photographic memory, so she is quite certain that this person had never participated in the auction before.
The fact that they raised their paddles at this moment suggests they came specifically for this item.
Her expression turned serious, and she turned her gaze to the white cloth again. To be honest, if it weren't for Ruan Luo, she would have tried to bid on it in this situation as well. This item seemed quite interesting.
Another man, who kept raising the price, retorted, "Forty-three million."
Su Jin raised his paddle again, "Fifty million."
Ruan Yunhan leaned sweetly on Su Jin's shoulder, "Ah Jin, this is too expensive..."
She thought that Su Jin had missed out on the pendant earlier and wanted to make up for it with this item.
Su Jin said calmly, "It's not for you."
It was someone unspeakable in the family who asked him to help take the photos. That person offered to pay him, but Su Jin dared not accept it. He only promised to do his best.
He mustered up his courage and joked with the man, asking if he had his eye on a nice girl and if he wanted to send her a big gift.
The person said they were giving it to a young girl and told Su Jin not to make wild guesses.
Ruan Yunhan was speechless after being rebuffed by Su Jin's words, but she still leaned on his shoulder obediently and muttered provocatively, "Jin, my brother bid on that necklace just now. He didn't mean to embarrass you, did he?"
When Su Jin announced his bid of 50 million, gasps of surprise rippled through the room, and many people turned to look.
Someone recognized him as the ruthless and immoral Mr. Su.
They also discovered that Mr. Su had changed women again.
The old man in the corner seemed to be in a hurry. He raised his sign and immediately added ten million, "Sixty million."
Su Jin was fully aware of Ruan Yunhan's little scheme to stir up trouble. He abruptly pushed her away, sat up straight, and after a long while, his expression shifted between anger and uncertainty. Just before the auctioneer's gavel fell, he gritted his teeth and raised the price, "Sixty-five million!"
His palms were slightly sweaty; the price had far exceeded his budget.
But he had made a promise to his wife, and he couldn't go back on his word.
Without hesitation, the old man replied, "Seventy million."
His tone was as indifferent as if he were buying a small trinket for seven dollars.
Ruan Yunhan keenly sensed Su Jin's subtle emotional fluctuations. Although she didn't know why Su Jin was so obsessed with this thing, she didn't want to miss this opportunity to please Su Jin. "A Jin, if you have financial difficulties, I have 20 million here. You can take it and use it."
Su Jin finally looked at her properly and said, "I will pay you back."
Then he raised his paddle, "Eighty million!"
The auction house was deathly silent.
Ruan Chen sighed inwardly at how many rich people there were. She had already finished the plate of snacks in front of her, and Ruan Luo brought her a new one.
This time, the old man did not immediately raise his paddle, but politely requested a two-minute pause in the auction so he could make a phone call to ask for instructions.
When he returned, he casually gave his latest offer: "One hundred million!"
Ruan Chen suddenly felt a little dazed, and she inexplicably recalled the time she spent in Meicheng.
She no longer sees 100 million as an unattainable fortune. Sitting in this den of extravagance, she remains calm and composed, able to spend lavishly. In fact, if she so desires, an item bid 100 million could appear in her room that very night.
A few years ago, this was an astronomical figure that she wouldn't have dared to even imagine.
She remembered finding a shiny, relatively well-preserved crystal hair clip at a landfill. She had carefully hidden it for a long time, washed it clean, and secretly took a rope cut from her clothes from Rao's sewing box to thread the hair clip on. She awkwardly hung it around her neck and admired it for a long time in the half-reflected mirror on the balcony.
When Cong Rao passed by and saw this, Ruan Chen thought she was going to get beaten up again, but the woman, whose figure had long since changed, stared at her daughter for a moment and then just sighed.
A few days later, a cheap plastic box appeared next to Ruan Chen's sleeping mat. It looked like something from a street stall, and inside was a necklace.
The necklace that rusted soon after, the past that was accompanied by a lingering stench of decay, and the maternal love that was subtle yet undeniably present were all annihilated in that fire.
Ruan Chen looked at her fair fingers, which were no longer the withered and thin fingers they once were.
The delicate pastries were crushed by her uncontrollable force, and Ruan Chen suppressed all her surging emotions in her chest without revealing a trace, yet it still made her feel nauseous.
"What's wrong?" Ruan Luo noticed that something was wrong with her and took out a handkerchief to wipe away the crumbs of pastry from Ruan Chen's fingertips.
Ruan Chen sighed softly, looking tired, and didn't hide it, "I miss my mom."
Ruan Luo knew who she was talking about.
He gently patted Ruan Chen's head. "We'll take you back to Meicheng during winter break. Mom recently moved Auntie's house from the cemetery to a beautiful place with clear water and green mountains. You haven't been there yet."
The auction was finally drawing to a close.
One hundred million. Su Jin didn't raise his paddle again and silently leaned back in his seat.
He accepted his defeat wholeheartedly.
Next came the main event of the auction. The auctioneer gestured to a corner seat with a smile, "Now, let's invite VIP number 99 to the stage to reveal the true nature of this priceless treasure."
The old man stood on the stage, facing the expectant gazes below, but instead of reaching out to unveil it, he took the microphone and said, "I'm just here on behalf of our young master, so naturally I'm not qualified to unveil the mystery of this item."
“Our young master said that he was able to get the item he wanted because he was grateful to Mr. Su for parting with it.”
Su Jin was surprised that the mysterious owner of the auction item actually knew him.
"In addition, our young master will give this item to a friend present here."
The old man's gaze pierced through the crowd and settled on Ruan Chen. "Miss Ruan Chen, this belongs to you."
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