Chapter 39: The Auction
“Uncle Nan, what on earth is she doing?”
Butler Nan coughed lightly. “Second Young Master… the young miss is, uh, engaging in some friendly… physical exchange with her pets.”
Chi Chaoshen’s mouth twitched. It was just pig-versus-dog bumper cars.
So Father really did spoil Chi Qian this much.
To let her get away with even this.
“Chi Qian.”
Hearing his familiar voice, Chi Qian turned, then gave a little “hmph,” spinning back around and presenting him only with the back of her head.
Clearly, she was still holding a grudge about being “abandoned.”
The moment Little Fragrant saw him, though, its eyes turned into two pink hearts. Tongue out, it bolted straight at him.
Chi Qian leapt off at once—just in time to see Little Fragrant crash right into Chi Chaoshen!
He staggered back two steps, arms still at his sides, utterly baffled at the pig now clinging to his legs.
Little Fragrant: Oink oink oink!
“…What is it doing?”
Chi Qian’s face went stiff. “Uh, Little Fragrant says it… it wants to mate with you…”
Chi Chaoshen: “……”
Butler Nan: pfft
Little Fragrant’s wish did not come true.
Under Chi Chaoshen’s murderous glare, Butler Nan forcibly dragged it away.
Chi Qian stood beside Little Black, silent.
Chi Chaoshen awkwardly spoke up. “Chi Qian, what I said to you that day—don’t take it to heart. I’m just… not good at dealing with kids.”
Chi Qian fiddled with her fingers, pretending not to hear.
He shook the paper bag in his hand. “Last time you said you wanted fried chicken from X’s, so I bought it today.”
Chi Qian sneaked a glance, swallowing hard.
Then he pulled out another box. “And I got you a turtle figurine.”
He paused. “Solid gold.”
Chi Qian: !!!
Who could resist that?!
She bolted over and threw her arms around him. “Uncle, you’re my real uncle! The best uncle in the whole wide world!”
Now, where’s her gold turtle? Her adorable golden little turtle!
Chi Chaoshen couldn’t help but laugh. The cold lines of his face warmed, becoming more alive.
Chi Qian, clutching the golden turtle, dragged Chi Chaoshen to her wishing pool.
“Uncle, look—this is my wishing pool!” she spread her arms wide in excitement. “As long as you throw money in, any wish will come true!”
“Really?” Chi Chaoshen thought back to her Taoist disguise. “How much per wish?”
Chi Qian, shamelessly: “One thousand per wish.”
Chi Chaoshen, short on cash, tossed in a coin instead.
Chi Qian’s sharp eyes caught sight of a coin shimmering at the bottom of the pool—it was made of pure gold.
Definitely worth more than just a thousand yuan.
She clenched the little golden turtle in her hand, barely restraining the urge to dive in and wrestle the big turtle for its money.
No rush. Once there was more gold in the pond, she’d scoop it all up.
It would all be hers anyway!
Chi Chaoshen humored her for a while, playing with the turtle, then went to the study.
Chi Lisen wasn’t surprised to see him arrive. “Regretting it already?”
“…How did you know?”
“I saw you downstairs playing with Chi Qian and the turtle.” Chi Lisen adjusted his glasses, his lips curving in a half-smile. “You used to hate kids. The moment one got close, you’d bolt.”
Chi Chaoshen fell silent for a moment. “Weren’t you the same? You used to forbid us from keeping pets in the manor. And now you let Chi Qian keep… pigs here?”
Chi Lisen gave a low chuckle. “Just for fun.”
Chi Chaoshen couldn’t tell if “for fun” referred to Chi Qian… or the pig.
He came straight to the point. “I want to take Chi Qian to stay at my place for a while.”
“Didn’t you just kick her out?”
“…At first, I was worried I wouldn’t take good care of her.”
“And now, after only a few days, you’re suddenly sure you can?”
Seeing his second son’s awkward expression, Chi Lisen relented. “Ask her if she’s willing. If she agrees, you can pick her up the day after tomorrow.”
“Why the day after tomorrow?”
“Because tomorrow I’m taking her to an auction.”
“So sudden?”
Chi Lisen casually picked up a small wooden turtle sculpture from the desk.
“She gave me a gift. As her grandfather, wouldn’t it be stingy if I didn’t return the gesture?”
Of course Chi Chaoshen understood his father was showing off. His gaze lingered on the turtle for a long moment.
A wooden turtle—was it really that precious?
Meanwhile, Chi Qian had already been completely bought off with the golden turtle. She didn’t hesitate for a second before agreeing to stay at her second uncle’s house.
One million in pocket money for just one visit. Stay a few more times, and wouldn’t the money just roll in?
Was there any faster way to make money than this?
Hehehe.
The next day, the auction.
The venue had six levels: one underground floor and five above ground.
Levels two and three were open to the public, levels four and five were reserved for platinum card members, and level six was shrouded in mystery—rumored not to be for bidding, but for “viewing only.”
Chi Qian followed her grandfather up to the fifth-floor VIP section, laid out in a tiered theater style with screens for privacy.
“This is tonight’s auction catalog. Circle whatever you like—I’ll buy it for you.” Chi Lisen handed her the booklet, speaking as if it were nothing.
“They all look so expensive.” Chi Qian frowned. “Grandpa, haven’t you already bought me a lot of jewelry? Won’t it be too much if we keep buying more?”
“Not too much. You can wear a different set every day, never repeating.”
Chi Qian was dazzled by his domineering tone. Thinking of the original novel’s plot, she was suddenly filled with bold determination.
“Grandpa, even if you go bankrupt one day, I’ll collect bottles on the street to support you!”
Chi Lisen raised an eyebrow. “Even if you bought a whole truckload of these, I wouldn’t go bankrupt.”
Chi Qian circled a few items she liked and waited for the auction to start.
When it did, a beautiful auctioneer in a cheongsam took the stage, smiling as she introduced each lot.
Chi Qian gleefully slammed the bidding button on her table.
A beam of light lit up in the VIP box to show their bid.
Unfortunately, someone else was also bidding on a set of sapphire jewelry.
Chi Qian squinted—it was a familiar face.
He Fangzhi, Xu Zhiqing, and Gu Hua.
Oh-ho, the whole “BUFF stack” was here.
The loyal second male lead and the heroine—only the bitter male lead was missing.
Anyone else might have chosen to back off, but Chi Qian was different.
Out of her eighty jin, seventy-nine jin were pure contrarian energy—she lived to stir trouble.
The sapphire set started at fifteen million. He Fangzhi raised it to twenty million. Chi Qian immediately pushed it to twenty-five million.
He Fangzhi had just sworn he’d win this set for Gu Hua, so now he couldn’t back down without losing face.
Thirty million… thirty-five million…
He Fangzhi gritted his teeth. If it went past fifty million, he’d stop—face or no face. Otherwise, his family would kill him.
But right as he hit fifty million, the other bidder dropped out.
Leaving him hanging at an awkward, painful price point.
He Fangzhi almost coughed blood. “What the hell? She chased me up all this way just to quit now? She’s doing this on purpose!”
Xu Zhiqing frowned. “You’ve lost big.”
The money that could have bought two or three sets of jewelry was now wasted on just one.
Gu Hua glanced at Chi Qian’s VIP box. “Looks like it’s Chairman Chi’s private seat. No wonder.”
