As the host took the stage, the banquet auction began.
Lu Jingyan and Shi Wan sat in the first row, with Lu's mother sitting to Shi Wan's right, while Feng Yunzhou and Lin Zhiyu sat in the second row.
From the very first item up for auction, Lu Jingyan glanced at the stage with little interest, spending most of his time holding Shi Wan's hand and carefully playing with her slender fingertips.
Feng Yunzhou was clearly not in a good mood, his gaze frequently sweeping towards Shi Wan, while Lin Zhiyu, holding Feng Yunzhou's arm, would occasionally whisper to him.
From Feng Yunzhou's perspective, he could clearly see the actions between Shi Wan and Lu Jingyan.
Feng Yunzhou stared intently at Lu Jingyan's hand on Shi Wan's shoulder, a profound and enigmatic meaning flashing across his face.
Lin Zhiyu looked at Shi Wan's exquisite and perfect profile, his eyes darkened slightly and a trace of jealousy flashed across them, his slender fingertips digging deeply into his palm.
Those unaware of the feud between the individuals sat down around them in turn.
As each exhibit was sold, the auction entered its final and most anticipated event—the Dresden Green Diamond by international diamond design master Morton.
The large screen on stage displayed the weight, symbolism, and origin of the green diamond. After the host finished explaining, the auction officially began.
"Starting bid: 100 million!"
From the moment the green diamond was placed on the display case, Lu's mother's eyes never left the stage.
Wanwan has fair and delicate skin and usually wears cheongsams. She often wears an exquisite dark green hairpin with a dark pattern in her hair bun, which makes her look elegant and noble. If she were to wear this green diamond, it would be perfect.
She had two purposes for coming to this banquet tonight: one was to introduce her future daughter-in-law to her sisters, and the other was for this green diamond.
Tonight, this green diamond must belong to Wanwan; she has to win it for her!
Just as Lu Jingyan was about to raise his sign, his mother, who was sitting next to him, spoke first.
Two hundred million.
As the elegant and dignified Lu Jingyan's mother sat gracefully in a soft chair, her refined and proper voice rang out, Lu Jingyan glanced sideways at his mother.
A smile curved his lips, and he leaned back lazily in his chair, occasionally stroking Shi Wan's loose hair.
Feng Yunzhou looked at Lu Jingyan's actions, a chilling glint in his eyes, and then raised his sign: "Three hundred million."
Several young ladies around looked at Lin Zhiyu with envy, some praising her with admiration, "Miss Lin and President Feng have such a good relationship that President Feng didn't hesitate to spend a fortune to buy it as a wedding ring."
"I heard the two are getting married next month. It seems that President Feng is only here today to make the beauty smile."
Hearing the envious tones of those around her, Lin Zhiyu was overjoyed and looked at Feng Yunzhou with admiration, while Feng Yunzhou stared coldly at the display case on the stage.
The boasting of those around them naturally reached Lu Jingyan and Shi Wan's ears. Shi Wan simply turned her head and whispered to Lu's mother, ignoring the words of the others.
Lu Jingyan turned to look at Feng Yunzhou with interest, his voice carrying a hint of roguishness, "Five hundred million."
Their eyes met in the air.
The chorus of praise for Lin Zhiyu stopped, and some people who wanted to raise their placards silently lowered their hands. What right did they have to compete with Lu Jingyan and Feng Yunzhou?
“Mr. Feng and Mrs. Feng have a wonderful relationship, but…” Lu Jingyan paused, “but tonight this diamond must be given to my future wife, the daughter-in-law of the Lu family, no matter the cost.”
Lu Jingyan deliberately emphasized the word "wife".
Everyone knew that as long as the Lu and Feng families made a move, they didn't need to become cannon fodder; they could simply watch the show from the sidelines.
Feng Yunzhou's expression was icy, his gaze seemingly casually sweeping over Shi Wan as he spoke in a deep voice, "My wife wants to use it as her wedding ring."
Lu Jingyan glanced at Feng Yunzhou with a playful expression, "Oh..." he deliberately dragged out his words, "What a coincidence."
Lu Jingyan crossed his long legs, leaned casually against the chair, and gently massaged Shi Wan's lower back with one hand.
This little woman is so gentle.
Shi Wan felt Lu Jingyan's hand move from her shoulder to her waist, and she glared at him, her face flushed.
Lu Jingyan habitually looked at her with a pitiful expression, which Wanwan found most appealing. She ignored him and turned to Lu and her mother to continue chatting.
To Feng Yunzhou, all of this was just a scene of two lovers flirting and teasing each other. Once upon a time, she had also been acting coquettishly in his arms.
"President Feng, since we're both giving our fiancées as gifts, let's compete fairly."
Feng Yunzhou's gaze deepened. "It is said that President Lu is a man of few desires and abstinence, but seeing him today, it seems that the rumors are not true."
"However, my wife really likes this diamond, so I'm sorry, Mr. Lu, it's 600 million!"
Upon hearing the figure, Lu Jingyan jokingly remarked in a lazy tone, "It seems that President Feng and Mrs. Feng aren't as affectionate as rumored. It's always one hundred million at a time. It seems the rumors really can't be trusted."
Lu Jingyan's words caused those around him to gasp. The rumored CEO Lu was cold and aloof, but it turned out he was a sharp-tongued tycoon.
In his words, a hundred million was as if it were just a mere dollar.
Feng Yunzhou ignored Lu Jingyan's teasing, while Lu Jingyan turned to look at him holding up a sign that read "1.2 billion".
Everyone gasped in astonishment; a mere green diamond was worth 1.2 billion, far exceeding its actual value.
What kind of woman could make President Lu spend a fortune just to win a smile from her? Amidst the shock, everyone kept glancing at Shi Wan.
Feng Yunzhou frowned and looked at Shi Wan, just as Shi Wan leaned down to whisper to Lu Jingyan.
"Jing Yan, this green diamond isn't worth more than a billion, we don't want it."
Her own businesses in Country Y bring in tens of millions of dollars a year, enough to make her a small-time rich woman, but a green diamond costs over a billion dollars, so it's not something she absolutely needs.
"Wanwan, it's not easy to find one you like, so you have to take a picture of it. Besides, dark green suits you very well." Lu's mother patted Shi Wan's hand and gently comforted her.
"Auntie...but it's not worth it..."
"Wanwan, how can we measure the value of what we spend on you? As long as it's worthy of you, we'll buy it all." Lu's mother gave her a reassuring look and continued to show Shi Wan the brochure, discussing which ring setting would be more suitable after purchasing the ring.
Seeing that she couldn't persuade Lu's mother, Shi Wan looked at Lu Jingyan with pleading eyes. Lu Jingyan shrugged helplessly, indicating that only by taking a picture could he make his mother's expression satisfactory.
Feng Yunzhou's face was dark. Seeing that the atmosphere between the two was not right, Lin Zhiyu grabbed his hand and whispered, "Yunzhou, let's not do it."
After the Lin family was pulled back from a debt crisis by the Feng family, she became afraid, very afraid of everything she was about to lose.
Upon hearing Lin Zhiyu's words, Feng Yunzhou's gloomy face instantly relaxed a little, but his eyes and attention remained focused on the woman in the front seat.
How could she be so charming and alluring in front of other men? Were all those promises of love from her a lie?
A chilling glint flashed in Feng Yunzhou's eyes. "Zhiyu, after all these years of relationship, this diamond must be on your finger on our wedding day. I want you to be the happiest bride in the world."
He continued, "1.5 billion."
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