Chapter 201

Chapter 201: The Final Lot

“H-how much?” After another moment of dead silence, someone in the crowd finally asked in a shaky voice.

They had guessed it would be cheap, but they had not expected it to be this cheap.

“Fifty thousand.”

“One hundred thousand.”

“…”

The quick thinkers had already started bidding. It was not really for the sake of this broken rock, but for a chance to get close to that so-called mysterious tycoon.

For the first time, Du An Rao also raised her bidding paddle. Ms. Qiu looked over in mild surprise and asked: “Miss Du likes this stone?”

“I think the stone looks kind of interesting. I could take it back to my granduncle’s house and use it as a rock in his little garden.”

Ms. Qiu: “???”

This stone… looks good? Ms. Qiu quietly glanced up at the big, dull, dirty rock on the stage. She really did not understand Du An Rao’s taste.

But since Du An Rao liked it, she forced herself to go along and praise it: “If you look closely, the shape really is quite unique. Miss Du has a good eye.”

Du An Rao probably felt that this reason was a bit perfunctory. She only smiled and said nothing more, focusing on the guests who were still bidding.

Just as Xi Jing Yue had guessed before, the look of this stone had scared off many insiders who actually liked jade betting. The early bidders mostly jumped in because of the low starting price, hoping to pick up a bargain and maybe use the chance to meet that mysterious tycoon.

But once the price passed five hundred thousand, the number of bidders slowly dropped.

When Du An Rao called out eight hundred thousand, the people who had been bidding along with her quietly put down their paddles.

“Eight hundred thousand. Any higher offers? Guest No. 18 is bidding eight hundred thousand. Eight hundred thousand once, eight hundred thousand twice, eight hundred thousand…”

Just as things were about to be settled, a familiar voice suddenly rang out from the crowd.

“One million.”

Du An Rao raised an eyebrow and followed the sound, meeting Du Tian Ci’s smug little gaze.

“One million. Guest No. 14 is bidding one million. Any higher offers?”

“One million fifty thousand.”

“One million five hundred thousand.”

“One million five hundred thousand. Guest No. 14 is bidding one million five hundred thousand!”

With Du Tian Ci’s second bid, and that strange jump in price, the guests below could all tell at a glance that he was bidding maliciously.

Jiang Chang Bin’s face darkened. The look he gave Du Tian Ci was like he was staring at a rat in a sewer. He knew this rat was disgusting, yet he still could not do anything to him.

Du An Rao’s expression did not change. She calmly followed with another bid: “One million five hundred and fifty thousand.”

“Two million.”

“Two million. Guest No. 14 seems to have a special fondness for this stone. He bids two million. Any higher offers?”

Listening to the host’s cheerful praise, Du Tian Ci looked around proudly, waiting for Du An Rao to continue bidding. But then he saw that at some point she had taken out a thermos cup, unscrewed the lid, and was calmly drinking hot water to warm her stomach, with no intention of bidding again.

The expression on his face stiffened. The panicked one was now him.

Anyone with eyes could see that he was deliberately making things hard for Du An Rao, maliciously driving up the price. He had never really wanted the stone.

If Du An Rao gave up now and stopped bidding, that worthless rock would go to him. Why would he spend so much money on a stone that everyone was sure would not produce any jade? Wouldn’t that be like lifting a rock only to drop it on his own foot?

In an instant, countless possibilities flashed through his mind. He even started getting paranoid, wondering if Du An Rao had seen through his petty scheme in advance and was setting a trap for him on purpose.

“Two million once, two million twice, two million…”

Just as the hammer in the host’s hand was about to fall, Du An Rao finally lifted her paddle again, slowly this time: “Two million fifty thousand.”

“Two million fifty thousand. Guest No. 18 is bidding two million fifty thousand. Any higher offers?”

By now, Du Tian Ci was already sweating. When he turned his head, he saw that Du An Rao was still smiling at him. She even shook her bidding paddle at him, signaling him to keep going.

This was pure provocation. It made his anger flare up, yet he was also afraid that she was deliberately goading him, that the pit was already dug and waiting for him to jump in.

The hand holding his paddle clenched tight, but it felt as heavy as if it weighed a thousand jin. He did not dare raise it again.

“Little brother, I’m telling you, maybe we should just let this go. That woman is leaning on Second Grandfather now. She definitely has more than just two million on hand. No matter how much you like that stone, you won’t be able to compete with her.”

Just as Du Tian Ci was about to give up, the voice of the person next to him hit his heart like a hammer, making him instinctively want to lift his paddle again.

“Enough.” As soon as he started to raise it, Du Wei Shuai’s harsh shout made his hand jerk, and the paddle never lifted.

Because of that tiny delay, the host on stage had already brought the hammer down: “Two million fifty thousand, three times, sold! Congratulations to Guest No. 18 for winning Lot 18, the eighteen-jin rough stone!”

After saying that, even the host was a bit stunned: “It seems Lot 18 and Guest No. 18 are meant to be. All the numbers line up so well. Very lucky.”

Holding her paddle, Du An Rao smiled, looking quite pleased with herself for spending so much money on this stone.

Only Jiang Chang Bin and Xi Jing Yue knew that her heart was bleeding.

[Mr. Xi clearly said just now that this stone looks plain and that, barring surprises, it should stay under one million. Who could have guessed it would end up at two million fifty thousand, more than double! It’s all that bastard’s fault. Just because the tiger doesn’t roar, they really took me for Hello Kitty! Just wait. Anyone who dares cheat me out of money, I’ll make them spit out every last cent they swallowed!]

It was obvious she was really hurting this time. After raging in her heart for a good while, she only gave the Du Tian Ci family of three a mild glance. Her eyes were calm and her face relaxed, as if she did not care about them at all.

Only the two who could hear her inner voice knew how much she minded that extra million or so. She had already written this whole family down in her little mental notebook.

Listening to the stream of thoughts that were so different from her outward expression, the corners of Xi Jing Yue’s mouth could not help rising. This girl really was, as always… petty and vengeful.

On the other side, the faces of the Du family father and sons were also very ugly.

“I don’t care how you two fool around on normal days, but if you ruin serious business today because of this, no one will be able to save you!”

The two brothers shuddered and realized how serious it was. They quickly bowed their heads to apologize: “Sorry, Dad. My brother and I won’t fool around anymore.”

“Yeah, yeah, we won’t fool around again.”

While they were talking, a staffer from the auction house suddenly came on stage and whispered a few words into the host’s ear.

The host paused for a second, then nodded, put his polite smile back on, and raised his voice: “Sorry, dear guests. We’ll have to trouble you for a bit more of your time. Originally, that rough stone was supposed to be the last lot of tonight’s auction. But something has come up, and we’ve had to add one more item at the last minute.”