Chapter 249: The Priceless Oil Painting
Chai Wei thought Gu Xueying was a bit impulsive, but when he saw Lu Jingyao’s surprised expression beside him, he suddenly felt it was worth it. He shot Lu Jingyao a smug glance.
Over the years, Chai Wei had often been compared to Lu Jingyao by his father. His father’s wealth ranking in China had far surpassed Lu Jingyao’s father’s.
Unfortunately, as the saying goes, “like father, like son.”
Chai Wei was far inferior to Lu Jingyao, and because of his father’s occasional comparisons, he had always felt a pressure to outperform him.
Lu Jingyao didn’t understand Chai Wei’s inexplicable competitiveness, but he raised his paddle and casually called out, “20 million euros.”
The price almost doubled in one breath. Now, the price of this jar had reached 150 million RMB, and Chai Wei was the only one left competing with Lu Jingyao.
Chai Wei hesitated, unsure if he should continue bidding.
Gu Xueying, on the other hand, increasingly felt that this piece was something Xu Youyou wanted. Even though she was unwilling to admit it, she knew Lu Jingyao really seemed to love Xu Youyou.
Gu Xueying now believed that Lu Jingyao’s actions were simply to win a smile from his beloved.
“21 million euros,” Gu Xueying raised her paddle and called out.
Chai Wei furrowed his brows; he didn’t like being pushed by Gu Xueying.
Gu Xueying smiled gently and said, “Ah Wei, didn’t you say your grandfather really likes blue and white jars? I thought of buying this porcelain piece as a birthday gift for him this year.”
At first, Chai Wei had indeed said that, but now with the high price, he felt it was inflated.
Gu Xueying wore a very appropriate smile and said, “As children, we should prioritize filial piety. Don’t worry about buying me a gift, as long as your grandfather gets something he loves, that’s enough.”
Her words meant that she was giving up on acquiring something she liked at this auction and was instead diverting the money she had planned to spend on herself toward helping him win the bidding war.
Honestly, Chai Wei had originally only considered Gu Xueying a suitable match for a marriage alliance, but hearing her say this, he couldn’t help but feel touched.
Having seen various women who tried to exploit him for money, he rarely encountered someone like Gu Xueying who was reasonable and understood the value of filial piety. She was willing to forgo a priceless treasure just to help him out in this rivalry.
“Xueying, if my grandfather knew he had a thoughtful granddaughter-in-law like you, he would definitely be especially happy,” Chai Wei complimented her.
Gu Xueying smiled shyly in return.
Chai Wei was not stingy with his girlfriend. He had originally planned to spend about 50 million yuan (around 6 million euros) on her.
Lu Jingyao, indeed very fond of the blue and white jar, and with ample cash at hand, raised his bid, “25 million euros!”
Both Xu Youyou and Lu Jingyao thought that this price would win the auction outright.
However, they hadn’t accounted for Gu Xueying, who, even at her own expense, was determined to one-up Xu Youyou.
Chai Wei spoke up, “26 million euros.”
Though the price sounded not too high, it was almost 200 million yuan when converted into RMB.
Lu Jingyao didn’t blink, calmly replying, “30 million euros.”
Chai Wei: …
At this point, Chai Wei really couldn’t continue competing. He wasn’t here in Europe to do his father’s bidding; the money he was bidding was his personal funds.
Though he could afford it, continuing would severely hurt his wallet.
Gu Xueying still tried to persuade him, but Chai Wei held her hand down, smiling, “We’ve tried our best. If grandfather knew you were so considerate, even if we don’t win the treasure, he’d still love you.”
Gu Xueying forced a smile.
She didn’t know why, but even though she had won this round of the auction, she felt like she had lost her whole life.
After a few more items were auctioned off, Gu Xueying lost interest. Only to avoid losing out too much, she showed some forced enthusiasm for a set of pink diamond jewelry.
The market price for the jewelry was about 30 million RMB, with an opening bid of 2 million euros.
Chai Wei had just made an offer when Lu Jingyao immediately followed with, “3 million euros.”
Xu Youyou didn’t really care for the pink diamond set, and Lu Jingyao was just being mischievous.
Chai Wei couldn’t help but glare at him and said, “Mr. Lu, a gentleman lets others succeed. I let you have the blue and white jar earlier, so don’t fight me for this.”
Lu Jingyao wasn’t so easily swayed and replied, “You didn’t let me; you just couldn’t compete with me.”
Chai Wei, insulted by his sarcasm, could no longer keep his cool. He immediately raised his bid to 4 million euros.
Lu Jingyao chuckled softly, “Mr. Chai, hesitation won’t get you what you want. 10 million euros.”
Chai Wei thought Lu Jingyao had gone crazy, raising the price by more than double in one go. Reason told him to stop bidding, but seeing Lu Jingyao’s smiling face, he couldn’t resist.
“11 million euros!”
He thought to himself, if Lu Jingyao kept bidding, he’d give up the pink diamonds.
But unexpectedly, Lu Jingyao shrugged and stopped bidding.
Everyone in the room was well-versed in the prices, and no one else continued the bidding. The pink diamond jewelry, valued at 30 million RMB, was finally won by Chai Wei at an inflated price of more than 80 million RMB.
Chai Wei suddenly felt like he had too much money to burn and regretted it a little, but he kept telling himself that the millions lost would be made up by asking his mother when he got home.
“Really beautiful, thank you, I love it,” Gu Xueying smiled at him in front of everyone.
However, she didn’t know why, even though she had won, she couldn’t be happy. It felt like she had lost.
After about half an hour, the last item was brought up, causing a wave of gasps in the room.
It was a painting.
The title of the painting was quite ordinary: “The Woman Wearing a Watch.”
What was extraordinary, though, was the artist: Picasso.
Xu Youyou hadn’t expected that her expertise in art and antiques would extend to foreign paintings, but after a careful look, she whispered, “It’s real.”
However, neither she nor Lu Jingyao participated in the bidding. After all, they had more of an inclination for collecting works from domestic masters.
Even though this Western painting was famous, Xu Youyou didn’t see much value in it.
On the other hand, the foreigners in the room seemed to be called to it by some kind of faith. They got excited, and the price kept rising until it reached 100 million euros, making it the true champion of the day’s auction.
Once the painting was sold, the auction officially ended.
Gu Xueying perked up and asked Xu Youyou, “With so many treasures today, Miss Xu, did you get what you wanted?”
Xu Youyou nodded, “Thank you for not bidding against me.”
Gu Xueying was taken aback. She had bid for the pink diamond jewelry and the blue-and-white jar, so why did Xu Youyou say that?
Just then, the handsome man who had bought the castle walked straight toward Xu Youyou and Lu Jingyao.
“I really don’t understand why you two had to buy a castle. Didn’t you know how eerie it is inside?” the handsome man complained.
