"Distinguished guests, welcome to the Ru Shuang Group's auction."
"I am Qiu Hanying, President of the Ru Shuang Group, and the host of this auction."
Just as Qin Wanru was about to say something more, the auction hall lights came on, and Qiu Hanying, holding a microphone, slowly walked onto the stage.
Dressed in a white long gown, she looked like an ethereal fairy, untouched by worldly affairs.
"Tsk tsk tsk, this Qiu Hanying, truly worthy of being one of Hangzhou's Four Great Beauties. Her looks indeed do not lose to Shangguan Ling'er."
"Yes, yes! Most importantly, this Qiu Hanying, as the president of Ru Shuang Group at such a young age, marrying her would mean complete success in both fame and fortune!"
A group of people, gazing at Qiu Hanying's exquisite face, couldn't help but comment.
Only Lin Chen, looking at Qiu Hanying, felt a knot of unease in his heart.
The feeling of being repaid with ingratitude was truly unpleasant!
"Ladies and gentlemen, let us present the first auction item of today, a piece of blue and white porcelain..."
With Qiu Hanying's hosting, the auction officially commenced, and various auction items were brought on stage.
Lin Chen was utterly uninterested in these items. After all, his sole objective today was that very furnace cauldron.
To pass the time, Lin Chen immersed his mind in the "Nine Dragon Ring," perusing methods for refining various elixirs and the required medicinal herbs.
This scene naturally fell under Qiu Hanying's gaze from the stage.
She noticed that amidst her auction, someone had actually started dozing off!
She had hosted auctions before, and each time, she had appeared in her finest attire.
The men in the audience, whether single or married, would all stare at her, as if they wanted to devour her.
But this Lin Chen? He was actually dozing off!
"This scoundrel is definitely feigning sleep to get my attention! That's how it's always written in novels!"
Qiu Hanying immediately reached a conclusion.
In her eyes, Lin Chen was currently employing a strategy of playing hard to get!
As the president of Ru Shuang Group, she was certainly not going to be swayed by such a clumsy ploy!
Yet, for some reason, with each precious item auctioned, Qiu Hanying would unconsciously glance in Lin Chen's direction, hoping to catch him peeking at her.
But to her disappointment, as the auction neared its end, Lin Chen had been dozing off the entire time, never once looking at her!
"Alright everyone, the following item is the grand finale of this auction."
"An unnamed bronze cauldron. According to expert appraisal, the exact age of this cauldron is unknown, and its material is forged from meteorites."
"The starting bid for the unnamed bronze cauldron is ten million, with each increment no less than one million."
Qiu Hanying, being the president of Ru Shuang Group, quickly regained her composure and continued to host the auction.
At this moment, she suddenly noticed that Lin Chen, who had been dozing off, actually opened his eyes and looked towards her!
"Good heavens, finally caught you red-handed! Still dare to say you weren't looking at me?"
Upon meeting Lin Chen's gaze, Qiu Hanying was overjoyed.
Hypocrite, finally caught!
However, to Qiu Hanying's disappointment, Lin Chen's eyes were not at all focused on her. Instead, they were fixed intently on the unnamed bronze cauldron!
"This scoundrel, don't I look better than a broken old pot!"
Seeing this, Qiu Hanying became even more furious, wishing she could rush down and crush Lin Chen to death.
"I bid fifteen million!"
As Qiu Hanying stewed in anger, someone from the audience had already started bidding.
Qiu Hanying quickly adjusted her mindset and continued the auction.
"I bid eighteen million!"
"I bid twenty million."
"I bid thirty million!"
...
As prices were called out one by one, the bid quickly escalated to thirty million.
The last bidder was none other than General Manager Du, who had accompanied Qin Wanru.
"Alright everyone, General Manager Du from Shan Yue Group has bid thirty million. Are there any higher bids?"
Hearing someone bid thirty million, Qiu Hanying was quite pleased.
The cauldron itself had little intrinsic value, especially since its specific age could not be determined, making it hold little collectible or research value.
Thirty million was already a very high price.
"See that, Lin Chen? General Manager Du can buy thirty million worth of items with a wave of his hand. Someone as useless as you could never achieve such a feat, even with a lifetime of effort!"
At this moment, Qin Wanru finally felt she had regained some dignity.
From Zhong Hao's incident to later at the Shan Shui Jia Yuan, she had been humiliated by Lin Chen time and again. But this time, she had finally gotten her revenge!
"I bid thirty-one million."
However, to Qin Wanru's utter disbelief, just as she was about to boast, Lin Chen beside her slowly raised his bidding card and announced a price.
"Very well, gentleman number seventy-six bids thirty-one million."
Seeing this, Qiu Hanying quickly announced.
"What? Thirty-one million? Lin Chen, are you crazy?"
Upon hearing Lin Chen's bid, Qin Wanru was stunned.
Thirty-one million? Although it was only one million more than General Manager Du's previous bid, how could Lin Chen possibly announce such a price?
"Heh heh heh, young man, this is Ru Shuang Group. If you make a bid and are unable to pay, the consequences will be dire."
Even General Manager Du beside her sneered.
In his opinion, Lin Chen certainly couldn't afford such a sum. He was merely trying to puff himself up in front of Qin Wanru.
He had seen many such people.
But this was where?
Trying to bluff here was tantamount to courting death!
"Sorry, you're being a bit noisy. Could you be quieter?"
Hearing Qin Wanru and General Manager Du's taunts, Lin Chen remained calm, unfazed.
"Heh heh heh, fine! You brat, I'd like to see how brave you are today!"
Ignored by Lin Chen, General Manager Du's temper flared. He immediately raised his paddle: "I bid thirty-five million!"
"Thirty-six million."
As General Manager Du finished speaking, Lin Chen, without a second thought, raised the bid by one increment.
"Fine! You brat, I'd like to see if you can actually produce such a large sum of money!"
"President Qiu, I withdraw from the bidding!"
Seeing that Lin Chen had already driven the price up to thirty-six million, General Manager Du gave up bidding.
It wasn't that he didn't want the cauldron, but rather that he truly wanted to see if this useless Lin Chen could actually produce that much money!
If he couldn't, according to Ru Shuang Group's rules, his hands would be chopped off and he would be thrown into the river!