Chapter 195

Chapter 195: Looks Pretty Fun

“So he is a cousin.”

Although Xi Jing Yue felt a bit helpless, none of it showed on his face. “Hello, Mr. Jiang. My last name is Xi. I am An An’s friend.”

When Jiang Chang Bin heard Xi Jing Yue say this, he felt like he had swallowed a bomb. His whole stomach was full of gunpowder smoke, and he wanted to spit fire at any second.

Cousin? Who is your cousin?

And “An An”… he called her so intimately. Are you two that close? Ha!

Maybe because Jiang Chang Bin stayed silent for too long, even Du An Rao could not help tugging at him.

Only then did Jiang Chang Bin wake up as if from a dream. Since his own cousin was still next to him, he could only press down his unease for now and politely say: “Hello.”

Seeing the atmosphere turn a bit stiff, Du An Rao quickly changed the topic: “Mr. Xi, you just said you came to City B with Manager Qiu to talk about a partnership?”

“Yes, Manager Qiu from Yayu Group, the one you know.”

“But isn’t your family mainly investing in hospitals? His family… sells jewelry, right?”

Hearing this, Xi Jing Yue could not help laughing. He explained patiently: “Hospital investment is only one part. My family’s business covers many fields. Lately we just happened to want to try investing in jewelry, so we got in touch with Manager Qiu.”

“Oh, I see…”

[ Evil capitalists have businesses everywhere. But normal people probably don’t have this many industries, so Mr. Xi is actually the capitalist among capitalists? ]

Xi Jing Yue: “…”

“Ahem. Yayu Group is working with this auction, so the chance of getting invitations was higher than normal. I happened to be quite interested in this auction, so I asked him for one.”

“Mr. Xi, your invitation was also given by Mr. Qiu. Mine was also sent by Mr. Qiu.”

“Is that so?”

Xi Jing Yue had laid all this groundwork just for this sentence from Du An Rao. He took out his own invitation as if casually, lifted it open and glanced at it. “The cooperation between Yayu Group and the auction house is going pretty smoothly, so the seats they gave us on the invitations are also relatively near the front. The seat number on my invitation is in the third row, the third seat from the left.”

“Huh? The invitation can also show where we will sit during the auction? Let me see…”

Hearing him say that, Du An Rao really became curious and also took out her own invitation to look. “What a coincidence, we are also in the third row. Huh, our numbers are even next to each other. Does that mean we will be sitting together later?”

“That should be right.”

Xi Jing Yue smiled slightly. “After all, both invitations were given by Manager Qiu. It’s understandable that the auction side sent consecutive seat numbers.”

Not thinking too much, she nodded and put the invitation away: “Mm, that is indeed possible.”

Having watched the entire process of his cousin being lured away, Jiang Chang Bin: “…”

Indeed, “possible”… my foot!

This guy definitely has ideas about his little cousin. No, he had to find backup!

“Since we will be sitting together later, why don’t we walk together now? Is there anything in the exhibition hall you are interested in? If yes, you can write down its number first so it will be easier to bid later.”

“Not yet. We just came in not long ago.”

“In that case, let’s go look at the items first. We can talk about other things later.”

“Right, right, business comes first.”

With this reminder from Xi Jing Yue, Du An Rao also remembered the main reason she came today and turned her attention to the items in the hall.

Just as A Wen had introduced before, most of the items auctioned by Duobao Pavilion were antiques and treasures from all over the world. There were precious medicines that could prolong life, antique vases from the last century, famous sculptures just salvaged from shipwrecks, rare jewels worth a fortune… It was dazzling to look at.

As Du An Rao and the others walked here and there, they found that almost every treasure had a crowd of guests in front of it. Everyone was loudly discussing how much each item might be worth.

Du An Rao’s interest in these things was limited. She was just regretting that she probably could not complete her mission tonight and would have to go back and find another chance to ask her Master to mail her some treasures as backup, when she suddenly noticed there was an exhibit in the hall with almost no one in front of it. It was very quiet and empty.

Jiang Chang Bin also noticed that item: “What is that thing? It looks all gray and such a big piece…”

“That should be… a rough jade stone.”

“A rough jade stone?”

Du An Rao looked surprised. “Could this be the product that Mr. Qiu’s side is working on with the auction house?”

“No. That blue jewelry set over there is their product. This rough jade stone is said to be a product the auction house chose itself.”

“A chosen product?”

“It means an item the auction house took out from its own collection.”

As if thinking of something, Xi Jing Yue lowered his voice on purpose. “This stone is said to be a treasured collection of the old man behind the auction house. He has kept it for many years. No one knows why he suddenly brought it out this time.”

“The hidden boss’s private collection?”

Jiang Chang Bin frowned. “Then isn’t it a rare treasure? But I really can’t see how valuable this stone is.”

It wasn’t just Jiang Chang Bin. Even someone like Xi Jing Yue, who could be considered knowledgeable, felt that this stone really looked a bit ugly.

Not to mention the thick weathered crust on its surface, just that long crack running through the center of the stone was enough to scare off many people.

But Du An Rao did not think so. She did not really understand jade betting, but the first moment she saw this stone, she felt it looked a little familiar and even gave her a strange sense of closeness.

“If that’s the case, how much would it probably cost to win this stone at the auction?”

As soon as she said that, the other two all looked over.

“An An, you want to buy this stone?”

“I’m just asking. President, I think this stone looks… pretty fun.”

Jiang Chang Bin: “???”

Xi Jing Yue: “???”

Where was it fun?!

But since Du An Rao had asked, Xi Jing Yue answered honestly: “It will depend on the bidding later. But just judging from how few people are in front of this stone, and if we rule out the chance of someone bidding maliciously, it should be possible to get it for under one million.”

This was already a reasonable guess he made, taking into account the stone’s big size and the fact that it had the old man’s name behind it. Maybe someone else besides him knew about this and might purposely buy the stone to curry favor with the old man.

“One million, just to buy this broken stone?”

Du An Rao felt that her own knowledge was still a bit limited.

“Then forget it.”

After she said that, she was ready to leave, when she suddenly heard a thud.

“What was that sound?”

Her steps stopped and she turned in confusion to look at Xi Jing Yue and the other person.

They also heard it, but neither could tell where the sound came from.

Du An Rao frowned, and without thinking she took another step forward. There was another thud. She took one more step, and there was another thud.

This time, all three of them turned their heads and followed the sound.

Then they watched with their own eyes as the stone that had been in the center of the display stand had somehow moved a few centimeters to the left.

Xi Jing Yue and the other: “!!!”

Du An Rao: “???”

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