Chapter 2 Provocation
There will be a charity auction after the cocktail reception, which will be held in a small hall next to the banquet hall.
Yang Kaiming was looking for an opportunity to run away, and asked Qi Xing if he wanted to go with him: "Let's go, Mr. Qi, there won't be anything good in this kind of charity auction. It's still early, why don't we go somewhere else to continue having fun?"
Qi Xing ignored them and watched Lin Zhinian and Ye Xingzhou walk into the small hall side by side. He put down his wine glass and followed them.
For someone of Ye Xingzhou's status, naturally someone would help arrange a seat in the front row. He sat down with Lin Zhinian, and sitting on both sides were well-known bigwigs.
As for Qi Xing, he picked a seat at random in the rows behind them, sat down with his legs crossed, and stared at Lin Zhinian in front of him with interest. When he saw that he had a smile on his lips and bright eyes when he leaned sideways to talk to someone, he couldn't help but sneer.
"I think there's no hope for you, Young Master Qi," Yang Kaiming, who was about to leave, followed in at some point, sat down next to Qi Xing, and laughed at him, "The great painter Lin only has Young Master Ye in his eyes, Young Master Qi, you're going to waste your time again."
Qi Xing said coldly: "If you don't know how to speak, just shut up. You don't have to say anything."
Yang Kaiming shrugged and continued to watch the show.
The auction began. The items were all donated by the celebrities who came to attend the charity reception. Although the items were not bad, they were not that good either. Qi Xing glanced through the auction item information booklet handed to him by the host and lacked interest.
Even so, everyone in the venue supported each other and the atmosphere was lively.
After several rounds, the auction came to the finale. The item on display was a modern oil painting by a famous foreign artist. The auctioneer announced the price: "Starting price, 700,000!"
As soon as he finished speaking, someone immediately raised a sign to bid. The price kept rising and soon exceeded one million. There were many more people bidding than before.
Qi Xing was confused and asked Yang Kaiming: "What's so special about this painting? Why are so many people fighting for it?"
Perhaps it was because he, as a second-generation nouveau riche, didn't understand art. He couldn't see how that scribble of talismans could be worth such a high price.
Yang Kaiming said helplessly, "Mr. Qi, didn't you hear what the auctioneer said just now? This painting is a collection donated by Mr. Chen. You know Mr. Chen, right? He is a person who makes everyone tremble when he stamps his feet in Huaicheng. Although he didn't come today, he donated this painting for face. These people are bidding up the price of this painting not for the painting itself, but because of Mr. Chen."
Qi Xing tilted his head and noticed that Lin Zhinian in front of him tilted his head and said something to the person next to him, and then Ye Xingzhou also raised his sign, and the bid had reached 1.5 million.
"I don't think so." Qi Xing sneered.
Yang Kaiming: "Not necessarily what?"
Qi Xing: "It's not necessarily that some people go there for the painting itself. Teacher Lin really likes the painting when he sees it."
Yang Kaiming was suddenly speechless. He also saw Lin Zhinian and Ye Xingzhou whispering something in front of him, and then Ye Xingzhou raised the sign.
But this doesn't seem to be a conflict? Lin Zhinian liked the painting, so Ye Xingzhou helped him take a picture of it, which not only gave face to Mr. Chen, but also made the beauty smile, killing two birds with one stone.
Qi Xing suddenly smiled again: "Teacher Lin likes that painting. If I take a picture of it and give it to him, will he throw himself into my arms?"
Yang Kaiming: "...That's not the case."
Qi Xing: "How do you know if you don't try?"
Before Yang Kaiming could persuade him not to be impulsive, Qi Xing had already raised his bid card and directly announced his bid: "Two million."
There was a small commotion in the field, and the eyes of the people around him fell on him. Qi Xing leaned calmly in his chair, and when Lin Zhinian turned around in front of him, he smiled at him.
Lin Zhinian withdrew his gaze, and Ye Xingzhou beside him raised his sign again, still raising the price by default, two million and one hundred thousand.
Qi Xing raised his sign for the second time: "Three million."
Everyone else in the venue stopped bidding, only Ye Xingzhou continued to bid.
Ye Xingzhou only added an extra 100,000 each time according to the default price, but Qi Xing would raise the price by a million as soon as he opened his mouth. After a few times, the price quickly reached five million.
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the two were about to get into a fight, so they stopped interfering and just watched the fun to see who would win in the end.
There were also people who didn't know who Qi Xing was before, and they asked each other about him. When they heard that he was the second-generation rich man of Ronghua Capital, they all understood. He was indeed a nouveau riche, arrogant and not afraid of offending others.
Ye Xingzhou didn't even spare a glance for Qi Xing from beginning to end. When the auctioneer repeated the offer of five million for the second time, he finally raised his placard again, opened his thin lips and quoted the price: "Eight million."
The big man next to him joked with him: "Xingzhou seems to really like this painting."
Ye Xingzhou said calmly, "Zhi Nian likes it, so I took this photo for him."
There was a fleeting look of surprise in Lin Zhinian's eyes.
Qi Xing in the back row didn't look too happy. Yang Kaiming quickly pulled him back, fearing that he would raise the price in a frenzy: "This painting is really not worth the price. Forget it, Mr. Qi, don't follow me. If you really buy it, your father will kick you out when you get home."
That wasn't the case, but if he spent 8 million to buy such a crappy painting and gave it away, his parents would nag him for at least three days. Qi Xing endured it and finally held back.
For this painting, let alone eight million, even eight hundred thousand is an exaggeration. Even if it was done to give face to Mr. Chen, the price was indeed a bit too high.
The people around Ye Xingzhou who heard his words looked at Lin Zhinian with different eyes, as if they were truly examining the relationship between him and Ye Xingzhou.
After the auctioneer on the stage repeated the bidding three times, the hammer fell.
Lin Zhinian lowered his eyes, and amidst the laughter and congratulations, he whispered "thank you" to Ye Xingzhou.
Ye Xingzhou leaned against the chair with his legs crossed, continuing to chat with the big man next to him, not taking his gratitude to heart at all.
At half past nine, the auction ended, and the night's hustle and bustle finally came to an end.
Qi Xing was still sitting cross-legged and leaning back in his chair, his hands folded in front of him, his face gloomy but no one knew what he was thinking.
Yang Kaiming was just about to ask him if he wanted to leave when the people sitting in the first row stood up and walked over to him, talking together. He subconsciously kept silent and looked at Qi Xing.
Qi Xing raised his eyelids, and when Ye Xingzhou and his group passed by them, he spoke lazily: "Young Master Ye is very generous. Eight million is a big expense to buy a not-so-famous painting. I'm sorry, because I was in a whim and made you spend several million more. But doing charity is also a good thing. I believe Young Master Ye doesn't mind spending a little more money."
Ye Xingzhou paused and turned his head to look. The dandy young man in front of him was leaning lazily in his chair, looking at him leisurely with his head slightly tilted up, his eyes full of ridicule and provocation.
Ye Xingzhou didn't seem to mind the hostility he showed on his face at all, and said calmly, "Thank you."
He said no more after that and continued to talk with others as he walked towards the door.
Ye Xingzhou's nonchalant reaction made Qi Xing even more unhappy, but he did not show it. When he glanced at Lin Zhinian, he smiled at him again.
Lin Zhinian felt a little uncomfortable. He nodded, quickly turned his eyes away, and quickly caught up with Ye Xingzhou.
After the people left, Qi Xing's face turned cold again. Yang Kaiming watched the group of people go away and sighed casually: "This Mr. Ye really has a good temper. He didn't bother with you, Mr. Qi."
Qi Xing rolled his eyes at him: "You like him? Then go chase him. If you catch him, I'll give you a big red envelope."
Yang Kaiming: "Stop, I like at least a D cup, okay?"
Qi Xing was too lazy to pay attention to him and got up and left.
He happened to meet the little star when he was going out. The boy was alone, and when he saw Qi Xing, he came over to say hello to him.
Qi Xing glanced at the other person with a look of disdain, and said only one word: "Get lost."
It had been raining outside all night and it still hadn't stopped.
At the entrance of the hotel, Ye Xingzhou personally escorted the elder boss to the car. After the car drove away, he stopped smiling and motioned to Lin Zhinian who was following behind him: "Let's go. I'll take you home."
A black business car drove up to them, and a bodyguard holding an umbrella stepped forward and opened the door. Ye Xingzhou said this and got in the car first, without showing any of the consideration he had shown to Lin Zhinian in public just now.
Lin Zhinian took the umbrella from the bodyguard and went to the other side of the car door.
When he got on the bus, someone suddenly called him, "Teacher Lin."
Lin Zhinian looked up. He was a young man with a casual but ostentatious smile, his hands in his pockets, standing lazily under the lights, inexplicably dazzling: "Teacher Lin, I just forgot to ask you, can you add me on WeChat?"
Lin Zhinian pursed his lips, hesitated for a moment, walked over and took out his cell phone.
When he lowered his head to operate the mobile phone, Qi Xing's eyes fell on his face, staring at him without any hesitation.
Looking closer, he saw that Teacher Lin had rosy lips, fair complexion, delicate features, and a look that was exactly what he wanted. Qi Xing was a little distracted, and his gaze wandered away for a moment, turning to the side of Lin Zhinian's face. Through the rain and fog in the middle of the night, he met another pair of cold black eyes looking at him.
The rear window of the Maybach was half down, and the man in the car just looked at him coldly without saying a word. His eyebrows and eyes were clearly sharp, but they were mostly blocked by the pair of silver-framed glasses, which suppressed his aura and easily gave people the illusion that this man was a kind person.
But perhaps out of vigilance against his love rival, Qi Xing felt uncomfortable the moment he saw him, and when he was stared at by those eyes, he felt an uncomfortable feeling that made his hair stand on end.
Not wanting to lose momentum, he raised his chin provocatively and raised his eyebrows.
Ye Xingzhou ignored him, retracted his gaze, lowered his eyes to look at his phone, and patiently waited for the people who were still outside the car.
Lin Zhinian scanned Qi Xing’s WeChat business card, put away his phone, and said to him, “Okay.”
Qi Xing glanced to confirm that it had been added, and said with satisfaction: "Teacher Lin, you are going to hold an art exhibition in a few days, right? I will go to see it then and treat you to a meal?"
Lin Zhinian nodded: "Let's make an appointment then."
After saying a few words, Lin Zhinian said goodbye, walked back to the car, opened the door and got in.
Qi Xing's gaze fell back on Ye Xingzhou who was in the car near him. The man's profile had smooth and neat contours, and the curves were perfect. He actually looked pretty good, but there was a certain vaguely dangerous aura about him that was really unpleasant.
The car window glass slowly rose, gradually blocking Ye Xingzhou's face and also blocking Qi Xing's somewhat wandering mood.
The car drove away, and Yang Kaiming followed behind and asked, "Mr. Qi, are you still going to drink?"
"No," Qi Xing loosened his tie and waved his hand casually, "I'm going home. Don't you see what time it is?"
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