"But I look a lot like a man Fang Nan used to know, right?" I curled my lip and sneered, "Miss Cang Yu, do you think this is a movie? So what if we look alike? It's not like we're doing a super impersonation show! My appearance might at most evoke some memories for her, but once that emotion calms down, a smart woman like Fang Nan will easily realize that I am who I am, not the person in her heart!"
Before Cang Yu could say anything, I quickly said, "You should be careful of Zhou Jing; he's got his eye on Fang Nan."
Cang Yu sneered, "Him? He has no hope. Zhou Jing doesn't know Fang Nan's background. Even if he did, he wouldn't dare to touch Fang Nan!"
A thought flashed through my mind... Could Fang Nan have some powerful background?
Cang Yu looked at me and said seriously, "Chen Yang... you'd better behave yourself. I found you this job in the hope that you can work hard, earn money, live a normal life... this is also Huan-ge's expectation of you."
I smiled, looking somewhat nonchalant: "Don't worry. At least I don't want to provoke Fang Nan right now."
Hmph, if I really wanted to make a move on Fang Nan, I would have done it this afternoon at her house.
Of course, this matter could not be told to Cang Yu.
We stopped talking and started dancing to the music. Cangyu's dancing skills were very proficient; compared to her, I was in no league. However, my mind wasn't on the dancing.
I was thinking to myself, what should I do to get Fang Nan to accept the ring when Zhou Jing gives it to her? Or, after Fang Nan accepts it, how should I get my hands on the ring?
And there's the 300,000 in my arms.
I plan to give it to Fang Nan as compensation for the trouble I caused yesterday.
I don't like owing favors to others, especially women.
I can appreciate Cang Yu's kindness. I would have been very willing to live an ordinary life.
The problem is, now that I know everything about the ring is true... and I have such a magical ring in my hands... can I still continue to live an ordinary life?
The answer is obviously: NO!
I was a little distracted, my eyes darting around, when suddenly I thought I saw a figure flash by in the distance to my left...
My heart skipped a beat! Startled, I accidentally stepped on Cang Yu's instep. Cang Yu frowned, a hint of pain in her eyes. I snapped out of my daze and quickly pulled her aside, asking with a wry smile, "Are you alright?"
"It's nothing." Cang Yu sighed. "Is your dancing really that bad, or are you just spacing out?"
I smiled and said, "A little bit of both."
Then I released Cang Yu and slowly walked back. Cang Yu followed beside me and suddenly whispered, "Be careful of Zhou Jing. This person is not easy to mess with. You'd better not provoke him."
I nodded.
Is he that hard to mess with? I just gave him a good stab.
As I walked back to my seat, the music suddenly stopped. Then the president of the charity walked to the center, took the microphone, and loudly announced that the auction would begin in ten minutes!
My eyes kept searching around, hoping to find the figure I had just seen.
That can't be right, can it? That person shouldn't be here... Could I be seeing things?
Book 1: In the Jianghu, Not in Control of One's Own Fate, Chapter 49: We're Even!
Zhou Jing returned to his seat just before the auction began.
All proceeds from this charity auction will be donated to this charitable organization. I don't know much about these charities, but it seems to be specifically for helping patients with certain types of diseases.
Once the auction began, a table was quickly pushed forward. Three people were presiding over the auction; the one in the center was a senior auctioneer specially invited from a certain auction house. He was a thin man with a slight southern accent, but his voice was very loud.
Interestingly, the other two hosts are both from the entertainment industry. One is a well-known television presenter, and the other is actually Minister Kim's female companion!
...that beautiful woman who wasn't wearing underwear...
I sighed. Thank goodness she was wearing a long dress tonight... because she was standing on such a high platform, if the dress were even slightly shorter, it would have been a huge mess!
Tonight's auction items are diverse, including various jewelry, top-tier designer clothing, luxury cars, and antiques, paintings, and other collectibles.
It should be noted that all of these items were donated by wealthy individuals.
The first item up for auction was a Song Dynasty official kiln vase, with a starting price of 500,000.
Interestingly, the item was eventually sold for 1.5 million... and the successful bidder was a middle-aged man sitting at a table in the first row.
Through Cang Yu's introduction, I learned that this was a wealthy businessman from the north, and interestingly, this vase was actually donated by him. He then spent 1.5 million to buy it back…
It's essentially like donating 1.5 million through an auction.
Honestly, I really don't understand... It's really strange that rich people do this... If it's a donation, why not just donate 1.5 million directly?
Why make it so complicated and go through such a long detour?
But seeing that guy's smug expression amidst everyone's praise, I understood a lot.
In reality, for these wealthy individuals, this charity auction is nothing more than a game. While flaunting their wealth, they casually toss some money away and gain a good reputation. Take this gentleman, for example, who bought back his own donated items... and people even praise him for being generous, magnanimous, and so on.
Was he really that generous?
If we're talking about the real thoughts... I guess the majority of them were just trying to show off.
This is not me being petty and judging others by my own standards.
Generally speaking, I think that for the wealthy who earn tens of millions or even hundreds of millions a year, casually throwing out a few million to "generously" do good deeds... in comparison, which one is truly generous: someone who only earns a few thousand a year but is willing to spend a hundred yuan a month on charity?
Comparing the two, the logic is actually quite clear.
An ordinary person might only be able to donate a few hundred yuan, but all their money probably only amounts to a few thousand yuan...
A wealthy person might donate millions at once, but that amount is less than one-thousandth of their wealth…
Who is more "generous"?
I suddenly felt a little bored.
Tonight's so-called charity gala has become somewhat laughable to me...
It's just a bunch of rich people throwing a party, showing off while casually tossing some money through their fingers to gain a reputation for being philanthropy...
They drink the most expensive wines, drive the most expensive cars, and wear the most expensive clothes...
This was really just a farce.
To put it bluntly... if you were to examine the accounts of these wealthy people... the amount of taxes they evade on a regular basis is probably far greater than these "generous" donations!
I was a little distracted when the second item up for auction, a Qing Dynasty painting and calligraphy, was sold. I didn't even bother to check the price.
The third item in the auction was the diamond brooch that Fang Nan had her eye on.
This exquisite piece, from the renowned French jewelry house of Menique, had a starting price of 200,000. When it was brought up for auction, I noticed Fang Nan's expression brighten, her eyes sparkling with a hint of desire.
The host casually made some provocative remarks, and the auctioneer in the middle began the bidding.
Clearly, the diamond brooch was very popular with some of the ladies present, and the price quickly rose to 300,000 as soon as the auction began.
I saw Fang Nan hesitate for a moment, as if considering when to make an offer.
Just then, a voice said steadily, "One million."
It was Zhou Jing who spoke. He leaned back in his chair, a wine glass in his hand, and smiled slightly. His voice wasn't loud, but in the quiet environment, most people in the banquet hall heard him. The auctioneer on stage was taken aback for a moment, but being a professional, he quickly regained his composure. The two hosts, however, began to exclaim in surprise.
Zhou Jing maintained a calm and composed smile throughout. After he made his offer, no one else dared to compete with him.
Actually, Zhou Jing isn't the richest person here.
The reason is actually quite simple: although this brooch is very valuable, according to calculations, its true value is only around 400,000. Even at auction, it would likely fetch 500,000, but that's about it.
Now that these wealthy people know the true value of the item, naturally no one would be willing to spend a million to buy something that is only worth four hundred thousand.
The second reason is that tonight is a charity auction, so no one is really angry. Everyone is just going through the motions and supporting the auction. There's no need to fight tooth and nail.
Many wealthy men who were initially interested in the brooch stopped bidding when Zhou Jing made the offer. Some knew Zhou Jing and refrained from competing with him. Others, even if they didn't know Zhou Jing, should have guessed from the two stunningly beautiful women sitting next to him that he was bidding for the women. In this situation, why embarrass the ladies?
Amidst exclamations of admiration, Zhou Jing won the bid for the diamond brooch.
Fang Nan sighed, a hint of disappointment in her eyes. I knew she was regretting not getting the brooch.
Cangyu turned her head to the side and gave me a deep look.
The fourth item was a blue diamond necklace. The bidding was fierce; the item, originally valued at 150,000, was driven up to nearly 500,000 before finally being sold. The necklace was won by a young woman from northern China, whose background seemed quite mysterious.
Finally, the fifth item was brought to the stage, and I perked up!
"Thank you for your generous donation, Mr. Herod from Europe! Mr. Herod's reputation for generosity is renowned throughout the world. It is truly an honor for us to have Mr. Herod's strong support for our auction gala tonight!" The head of the charity organization said a few words on stage.
It must be said that the European shipping magnate is several levels above most of the wealthy people present. For charitable organizations, gaining the favor of this European shipping magnate is tantamount to establishing a connection with this generous figure; how could they not speak well of him?
I glanced at Zhou Jing secretly. His expression was normal, and there was still a faint smile on his lips.
He did not participate in the first two rounds of bidding. It wasn't until the price had soared from the starting price of one million to one million four hundred thousand that the number of competitors gradually decreased, and Zhou Jing made his bid at just the right time.
"One million six hundred thousand."
It's obvious that Zhou Jing is a very skilled bidder with extensive experience. He's already calculated that the ring will likely fetch around 1.6 million. That's a target price! Beyond that, many competitors will wisely back off.
"One million seven hundred thousand." The bidder was a man in a light-colored suit sitting on the right side of the first row, sporting a distinctive mustache. As he made the bid, he turned back and gave Zhou Jing a friendly smile. It seemed the two knew each other.
Zhou Jing nodded to him, then said calmly, "One million nine hundred thousand."
The man in the light-colored suit with the small mustache shook his head and glanced at Zhou Jing again: "Two million."
Zhou Jing remained calm: "Two million two hundred thousand."
The man with the mustache thought for a moment, turned back to Zhou Jing with a smile, then shut his mouth and chose to give up.
The auctioneer took a deep breath and asked three questions in rapid succession. Just as he was about to bring down the gavel, a soft voice suddenly came from the corner:
Three million.
The entire audience erupted in uproar!
Three million may not be a huge number, but spending three million on a ring... to be honest, most of the so-called rich people present are not at that level.
A shadow crossed Zhou Jing's face. He frowned slightly before regaining his composure and said in a deep voice, "Three million one hundred thousand."
However, this time the voice from the corner reacted even faster!
Four million.
It was still a soft voice.
But I was completely stunned!
That voice is undoubtedly very familiar to me!
I barely managed to stay upright, only managing to search with my eyes in the direction from which the voice was coming from.