Chapter 205

Chapter 205: Proof of Funds Required

The truth was, the only reason his family dared to compete here with the few big families from the Imperial Capital was because they had the backing of some powerful lord in the shadows.

But that shameless girl, what did she rely on? It was just Du De Sheng’s light on her. She was using his money. That money should have all been theirs.

They were obviously the ones with the closest blood ties to Du De Sheng, yet that half-dead old man gave his money to an outsider. He really deserved to die. Why hadn’t he died earlier?

When Du An Rao turned her head and met Du Tian Ci’s eyes, they were full of anger and hatred. She didn’t need to guess to know what he was thinking.

In the original plot, Granduncle had tragically lost his beloved and taken such a heavy blow that he had no will to live. That was the only reason these autumn locusts had the chance to jump around.

Now the old couple was living happily together, enjoying their family. She could not let these demons stir things up.

On top of that, she was here too. If she let this greedy bunch hurt the two elders, wouldn’t all her earlier efforts be for nothing?

Listening to his little cousin mumbling, Jiang Chang Bin suddenly understood why the old man had been so?? about giving so much money to her to use as she pleased.

This elder, who had spent most of his life being calculated and used by people around him, had probably never met someone like their little cousin before, someone who would throw everything she had into protecting him just because she couldn’t stand seeing people scheme against the two elders, and who had never asked for anything in return.

Maybe that was exactly why his favoritism toward her was so rare and precious.

Xi Jing Yue listened to her indignant muttering and also couldn’t help laughing. The Xi family did plan to move into City B, and they also hadn’t planned on clashing with the local big families so soon. But…

His fingers tapping on the chair arm paused for a moment as he swept his gaze around the room. As expected, he met a lot of wary, hostile eyes.

It wasn’t hard to imagine how much trouble and pressure Du An Rao would face in City B after tonight, and even after she went back home.

Thinking of that, Xi Jing Yue narrowed his eyes and tapped the armrest again.

Looked like it was time for him to have a proper talk with his own grandfather and the Du family’s old master. Taking a bigger step forward might not be such a bad thing.

At that moment, Du An Rao still had no idea that before anything had even happened to her, someone was already secretly planning how to protect her.

Because she joined the bidding, the already heated auction became even more chaotic. The price, which had started to slow down, suddenly shot up again like it had been injected with chicken blood.

“Nine hundred and fifty million.”

“Nine hundred and sixty million.”

“Nine hundred and seventy million.”

“…”

“One billion.”

“One billion, it’s at 1 billion now.” The other guests who had already dropped out of the bidding couldn’t help being shocked when they heard that number, especially when…

“It climbed to 1 billion that fast. No wonder it’s such a tasty prize all the big families are after. Other people trying to steal it from their mouths will have a hard time.”

“I’m not so sure. Look, they’re still bidding over there. And those few on this side are already looking strained, sweating, but that person over there still seems relaxed.”

“Still bidding at 1 billion? That little girl is just a kid. How could she possibly have that much money? Maybe she’s just shouting random numbers. If she wins and can’t pay later, she’ll be a laughingstock.”

“You really don’t know? She’s with the master of No. 9 Jingyu Street. Didn’t you hear that black-clothed bodyguard call her Big Miss? I saw that bodyguard once at a party. He’s one of the Ninth Master’s closest men, no mistake.”

“So all this money she’s spending is the Ninth Master’s?”

“Most likely. You said it yourself. She’s so young. Where would she get that much money? It has to be from her family.”

“That makes sense. The Ninth Master’s family is huge and powerful. Even the big families have to give him some face.”

Du Tian Ci had already been stewing over how she had followed them all the way up to 1 billion. Hearing the people around him say all this made his anger soar even higher.

He heard his side shout: “1.1 billion.”

Right after, Du An Rao’s side called: “1.11 billion.”

The tight string in his head snapped with a bang. He forgot that they were in the middle of an auction, jumped to his feet, pointed at her, and shouted in anger: “Have you made enough trouble?”

Du An Rao blinked: “…”

[What is wrong with this guy?]

Xi Jing Yue and the others silently agreed. Only someone with a serious problem in his head would dare to make a scene in the middle of an auction at an auction house. Did he think this was his living room and everything had to follow his family’s rules?

She looked at him and asked calmly: “Are you talking to me?”

“Who else would I be talking to?” Feeling the many looks coming from all sides, Du Tian Ci felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head. He realized he might have done something stupid.

But since things had already come to this, he could only grit his teeth and keep going: “Who bids like you, biting down on the price and not letting go? I suspect you’re maliciously raising the price and messing up the auction order!”

To her, his words were like the biggest joke: “So you do know what ‘malicious bidding and disrupting the auction order’ means? I thought the rules here were all set by your family. When you want to bid, you can, but when others want to bid, they can’t.”

“You…!”

She couldn’t be bothered to argue with this idiot. She turned her head and asked the host directly: “Did I break any rules of your auction house just now?”

The host was also baffled by this sudden scene and answered honestly: “Not at all. Everything Guest No. 18 has done is completely within the rules.”

“Did you hear that? The people from the auction house say I haven’t done anything wrong. Some people really shouldn’t wave chicken feathers around like they’re command arrows, sticking their nose into other people’s business like a dog catching mice.”

“You’re calling me…” Du Tian Ci started to shout, but his older brother rushed to drag him back down and cut in smoothly: “Miss, don’t misunderstand. Tian Ci didn’t mean it like that. He was just worried about you.”

“Worried about me?” Compared to Du Tian Ci, she disliked talking to this man even more. Every time he opened his mouth, he made her skin crawl.

“Also, who are you calling ‘sister’? Sir, when you’re out, randomly calling people your sister can easily get you beaten up.”

The elder young master’s eyes flashed, but he didn’t care about her sarcasm. He still smiled and said: “Then, Miss Du, does Second Grandfather know you’re using so much of his money on this auction item?”

“That doesn’t seem like any of your business. I’m spending my own grandfather’s money. Why would I need to report to you outsiders?”

“You…” Du Tian Ci tried to stand up and curse again, but this time his older brother didn’t stop him.

“Of course you don’t need to,” the elder young master said lightly. “But if he doesn’t know about this, then you’ll have a hard time coming up with these billions later, won’t you, Miss Du?”

Du Tian Ci’s eyes lit up like he’d been reminded of something. He jumped up, face full of excitement.

“That’s right. Without Second Grandfather, how could you possibly have this much money? To make sure this auction can be completed and paid for smoothly, we demand that she provide proof of funds!”