Just as Shangguan Mingyue was about to raise the price again, Zhou Xuan didn't want her to fall for it. After all, they had known each other for a while, and it was always unpleasant to see someone being cheated. However, he couldn't say it outright, as that would offend Yang Shiyuan, who had no grudge against him. Besides, this item wasn't an antique; it was a medicinal herb, only of slightly inferior quality. Whether someone wanted to buy it or fall for it was their business. It was the same as collecting antiques; otherwise, how could there be so many cases of people being fooled?
Zhou Xuan hesitated to speak up, but in his haste, since he was sitting next to Shangguan Mingyue, he immediately reached out from below to tug at her clothes, intending to give her a heads-up.
But as soon as he pulled, Shangguan Mingyue also put her hand there. Zhou Xuan reached out but didn't grab her clothes, but grabbed her hand instead.
Both of them were taken aback. Zhou Xuan blushed first, and immediately stammered, "Miss Shangguan, I...I'm sorry, I—I didn't mean it that way."
Shangguan Mingyue bit her lip, paused, and then asked, "So what do you mean?"
Zhou Xuan glanced around and saw that everyone was focused on the person raising the price again, and no one was paying attention to him and Shangguan Mingyue. He then whispered, "I just don't want you to buy this ambergris!"
"You don't want me to buy it?" Shangguan Mingyue asked in surprise. "Why? I want to buy it and give it to my father because he is ill, and I want to put it in his room to burn as incense!"
Zhou Xuan glanced at the person next to him, then leaned close to Shangguan Mingyue's ear and whispered, "Miss Shangguan, this ambergris is worthless. It has no medicinal value if you buy it. I just wanted to tell you secretly not to buy it. I was trying to tug at your clothes but ended up holding your hand instead!"
So that's what it meant!
Shangguan Mingyue smiled and thought Zhou Xuan was rather simple and cute. He didn't seem to be intentionally trying to hold her hand, because Zhou Xuan's eyes were very clear and without any impurities, just like a little child.
Of course, this was just the impression Zhou Xuan gave Shangguan Mingyue. In reality, she also saw Zhou Xuan's cunning side. He had never suffered any loss when facing someone like Wu Jianguo, and he was definitely not a simple person.
In just a short while, the ambergris was auctioned off for 7.5 million.
Shangguan Mingyue smiled slightly, but her gaze towards Zhou Xuan was somewhat strange. Yang Shiyuan clapped her hands, and her beautiful assistant brought out the second item for auction on a white plate.
On the plate was a fist-sized, golden object.
The person at the front exclaimed in surprise, "Is this gold ore? What's so special about gold ore? Money is nothing to us. Even pure gold wouldn't attract much attention, let alone an ordinary piece of gold ore."
"Hehe, this is no ordinary gold ore!" Yang Shiyuan chuckled. "It was found in a stone pit in southern Africa. Whether it's meteorite gold or not, we don't know. But this gold ore has been tested. The core of the ore isn't gold, but a packet of liquid. Because it hasn't been cut open, we can't test what kind of liquid it is. But what makes this gold ore special is that it contains this packet of water!"
"The name of this gold ore is 'Gold in Water'!" Yang Shiyuan paused and then added.
Volume 1, Chapter 225: Turning Faces Like Turning the Pages of a Book (from Volume 1)
Even if the package contains water, it's just a piece of gold ore, nothing special.
Shangguan Mingyue said softly, and indeed felt that there was nothing of value to collect. A piece of gold ore, no matter how peculiar, is still just a piece of gold ore. Neither she nor the other wealthy people present thought it was particularly precious.
Comparatively speaking, ambergris like the one auctioned last time is much more attractive to the wealthy.
This is what Shangguan Mingyue thought, and most of the others thought the same way.
At this moment, Yang Shiyuan announced the starting bid for the gold ore: "Ladies and gentlemen, the starting bid for this piece of gold-plated ore is 500,000!"
After Yang Shiyuan made his offer, none of the wealthy people present actually raised the price. Yang Shiyuan himself felt a little embarrassed; he had acquired this item himself, with the obvious goal of making a profit. Of course, everything he acquired was intended to generate income.
Zhou Xuan has an extremely strong affinity for gold. Because of his ice-energy ability, gold is the food source for his ice-energy. Therefore, it's natural that he's interested in gold.
Zhou Xuan was sitting only six or seven meters away from Yang Shiyuan's assistant on the platform. He sent out his ice energy, and when it reached the gold ore, Zhou Xuan felt something was strange. The ice energy only penetrated about a minute into the gold ore before it could not penetrate any further.
This is a rare occurrence. There have been things he couldn't detect before, namely the source of his own icy aura. Those golden stones were ones he couldn't detect either. Thinking of this, Zhou Xuan's heart skipped a beat. Could this gold ore also originate from the homeland of the golden stone that gave him his special ability?
However, Zhou Xuan's guesses were just that—guesses. He couldn't definitively confirm that this piece of gold ore came from the same extraterrestrial body as the golden stone, but he was extremely interested in it. He wanted to buy it!
After thinking for a moment, Zhou Xuan raised his hand and said, "Five hundred and fifty thousand!"
Seeing that someone was bidding, Yang Shiyuan was overjoyed and immediately said, "Five hundred and fifty thousand! This gentleman has bid five hundred and fifty thousand. Is there anyone else bidding?"
No one else liked the gold ore, so they didn't haggle. Yang Shiyuan called twice, but no one raised the price, so Zhou Xuan figured the gold ore would be his.
Unexpectedly, just as Zhou Xuan was thinking this, Shangguan Mingyue suddenly raised the price. Her crisp voice said, "I bid 800,000." Zhou Xuan was taken aback, not expecting Shangguan Mingyue to compete with him for this item, because she had just told him that it was nothing special, implying that she didn't like it. This was a sentiment shared by many other wealthy people.
However, as unexpected as it may be, since Shangguan Mingyue has made a bid, it means someone wants to buy it. Zhou Xuan thought about it and decided to treat it as a business transaction. As long as it's within a reasonable range, it's still worth bidding.
"Hehe, Miss Shangguan is also interested in 'gold-wrapped liquid'?" Yang Shiyuan said with a chuckle, then turned to the others and said, "Gentlemen, in the history of minerals, liquid encased within gold ore is absolutely unique. To be honest, this 'gold-wrapped liquid' is truly a very meaningful collectible. Is there anyone else interested?"
After asking twice without receiving a response, Xiao Yangshiyuan's attempt to raise the price again failed once more!
"850,000".
Just when Yang Shiyuan thought the matter was settled, Zhou Xuan, who had made the initial bid, added another 50,000 yuan. However, it was clear that Zhou Xuan's bid lacked the strength and confidence of Shangguan Mingyue. Of course, most people assumed that Zhou Xuan's financial resources were definitely inferior to Shangguan Mingyue's, because Zhou Xuan was a complete newcomer whom they had never met before. In the circles of the super-rich in China, regardless of the province, these people actually knew each other; after all, the number of super-rich individuals was extremely small.
Yang Shiguo was thinking that if Zhou Xuan wanted it, as long as he made an offer, even if the number was only a small amount, it would be a good thing, because if there was competition, it would lead to Shangguan Mingyue offering a high price.
"One million five hundred thousand!"
Sure enough, no sooner had Yang Shiyuan thought that than Shangguan Mingyue made another bid, and this time the increase was even more substantial.
Yang Shiyuan immediately laughed; this was the kind of situation he liked to see most when he was auctioning off items.
Zhou Xuan was surprised. He had just thought that Shangguan Mingyue was just being casual, but Shangguan Mingyue's rapid increase in price surprised him!
Surprised, Zhou Xuan glanced at Shangguan Mingyue. Shangguan Mingyue, however, raised her beautiful lips at him, her eyes filled with provocation!
From that one look, Zhou Xuan knew that Shangguan Mingyue wasn't actually interested in the gold-wrapped water, but rather wanted to argue with him. He was both annoyed and amused!
He was, in a sense, her benefactor. The benefactor who had helped her a great deal, yet she turned her back on him so easily.
It's true, a woman's heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea; you can't touch it or see it clearly. A woman's face is like turning the pages of a book; it can change in an instant.
“Miss Shangguan, if you want it, I can give it to you. There’s no need for us to fight to the death. Wouldn’t that be better for the owner here?” Zhou Xuan whispered these words to Shangguan Mingyue, intentionally reminding her.
Yueyue chuckled softly, saying strangely, "So what if it's from the time you turn sixty?"
Zhou Xuan shook his head and said somewhat helplessly, "I'll offer 1.55 million!"
Zhou Xuan was indeed helpless in the face of competition from Shangguan Mingyue. He didn't want to compete with her either. However, the allure of the golden-wrapped water was simply too great. When he channeled his full ice energy, he sensed that the golden-wrapped water seemed to hold a secret!