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After the banquet, there was a charity auction arranged in a small hall next to the banquet hall.
Yang Kaiming seized the opportunity to slip away and asked Qi Xing if he wanted to join: "Let's go, Qi, there won't be anything good at this charity auction. It's still early, why don't we go somewhere else to have fun?"
Qi Xing ignored him and watched Lin Zhinian and Ye Xingzhou walk into the small hall side by side, casually placing down his wine glass and following them.
As someone with his status, Ye Xingxhou naturally had people helping to arrange seats in the front row. He sat down with Lin Zhinian, surrounded by other influential figures.
As for Qi Xing, he casually picked a seat a few rows behind them and sat down with his legs crossed, lazily staring at Lin Zhinian in front of him. He noticed Lin Zhinian's smiling expression as he talked to someone and couldn't help but sneer.
"I can see that you don't stand a chance, Qi." said Yang Kaiming, who was about to leave but had followed them in at some point. He sat down next to Qi Xing and teased him, "In Lin Zhinian's's eyes, there's only Ye Xingzhou and you're just wasting your time again."
Qi Xing replied coolly, "If you have nothing useful to say, then shut up."
Yang Kaiming shrugged and continued to watch the show.
The auction began, with the items donated by the celebrities attending the charity event. Although the items were not bad, they weren't particularly good either, and Qi Xing browsed through the auction catalog handed to him by the emcee with little interest.
Nevertheless, the atmosphere was lively as everyone bid enthusiastically.
After several rounds, it came to the climax of the auction, with a modern oil painting by a famous foreign artist presented on the display stand. The auctioneer announced, "Starting price, seven hundred thousand!"
Immediately, someone raised their bidding paddle, and the price kept increasing. Soon, it surpassed one million, with more people joining in the bidding.
Qi Xing was puzzled and asked Yang Kaiming, "What's so special about this painting? Why are so many people bidding for it?"
As someone who didn't understand art, he couldn't see the value in this weird-looking painting, let alone why it was worth that much.
Yang Kaiming sighed helplessly. "Qi, didn't you hear what the auctioneer said? This painting is from Mr. Chen's collection. Do you know Mr. Chen? He's a big shot in Huaicheng City. Even though he's not here today, he donated this painting out of respect. These people are not bidding for the painting itself, they're bidding because of Mr. Chen."
Qi Xing tilted his head, noticing that Lin Zhinian was talking to Ye Xingzhou and then the latter raised his paddle. The bidding had already reached one million five hundred thousand.
"I'm not so sure," Qi Xing sneered.
"Not so sure about what?" Yang Kaiming asked.
"I'm not so sure that no one is bidding for the painting itself. Teacher Lin seems to really like that painting," Qi Xing said with a smirk.
Yang Kaiming was speechless. He also saw what Lin Zhinian and Ye Xingzhou whispered to each other before Ye Xingzhou raised his paddle.
But doesn't that make sense?
Lin Zhinian likes the painting, Ye Xingzhou helps him bid for it, which not only gives face to Mr. Chen but also earns him a smile from Lin Zhinian.
It's a win-win situation.
Qi Xing chuckled again. "If Teacher Lin likes the painting, what if I buy it and give it to him? Will he embrace me with open arms?"
Yang Kaiming replied, "...I doubt it."
Qi Xing said, "You never know until you try."
Before Yang Kaiming could stop him from acting recklessly, Qi Xing raised his bidding paddle and announced his bid, "Two million."
There was a small commotion in the room, and the surrounding people's gaze fell on him. Qi Xing leaned back calmly in his seat and when Lin Zhinian turned his head, he smiled at him.
Lin Zhinian withdrew his gaze and Ye Xingzhou beside him raised his paddle again, still adding the default increment, two million one hundred thousand.
Qi Xing raised his paddle for the second time: "Three million."
The others in the room stopped bidding, leaving only Ye Xingzhou continuing to bid.
Each time Ye Xingzhou added only a default increment of ten thousand, while Qi Xing jumped up by one million each time. After a few rounds, the price quickly reached five million.
The discerning eyes in the room could tell that these two had some conflict, so they stopped intervening, watching to see whose bid would ultimately win.
Some who didn't know who Qi Xing was inquired about him and upon learning that he was the son of Ronghua Corporation, they understood. Indeed, he had the demeanor of a nouveau riche, arrogant and unafraid to offend.
Ye Xingzhou, on the other hand, never spared a glance for Qi Xing throughout the auction. When the auctioneer repeated the bid of five million for the second time, Ye Xingzhou finally raised his paddle again, his thin lips lightly parting as he quoted: "Eight million."
The big shots nearby teased him: "It seems like Xingzhou really likes this painting."
Ye Xingzhou calmly replied, "Zhinian likes it, so I'm bidding for him."
There was a fleeting surprise in Lin Zhinian's eyes.
Qi Xing's face darkened a bit at the back, and Yang Kaiming quickly grabbed him, afraid that he would raise the bid again in a moment of impulse. "This painting is not worth that much, forget it, Qi. If you really buy it, you'll be kicked out of the house by your father when you get home."
Maybe not kicked out of the house, but spending eight million on such a painting and giving it away would at least earn him three days of nagging from his parents. Qi Xing resisted the urge and finally suppressed it.
This painting wasn't even worth eight million, let alone eighty thousand. Even if it was to give face to Mr. Chen, this was still a bit too much.
The people around Ye Xingzhou who heard his words looked at Lin Zhinian with different eyes, as if they were truly examining his relationship with Ye Xingzhou.
After the auctioneer repeated the bidding three times, the gavel finally fell, sealing the deal.
With laughter and congratulations all around, Lin Zhinian lowered his eyes and whispered "thank you" to Ye Xingzhou.
Ye Xingzhou, with his legs crossed and leaning against the chair, continued chatting casually with the big shots beside him, paying no heed to Lin Zhinian's gratitude.
At nine-thirty, the auction ended, and the evening's extravagance finally came to an end.
Qi Xing still lounged in his seat, legs crossed and hands folded in front of him, wearing a dark expression but giving no hint of his thoughts.
Yang Kaiming was about to ask if he wanted to leave when the people sitting in the front row stood up and approached. He instinctively fell silent and looked at Qi Xing.
Qi Xing raised his eyelids lazily and, as Ye Xingzhou's group passed by them, spoke in a lazy tone, "Young Master Ye is quite generous, spending eight million on a relatively unknown painting. It's really extravagant. I'm sorry for making you spend several million more just because I had a whim. But charity is a good thing, I'm sure Young Master Ye doesn't mind spending a little extra money."
Ye Xingzhou paused in his steps, turned his head, and looked at the dandy in front of him. The lazy young man was reclining in his seat, tilting his head slightly to look at him with a mocking and provocative gaze.
However, Ye Xingzhou seemed completely unfazed by the hostility displayed by Qi Xing, maintaining his composure. "Thank you for your concession," he replied calmly.
He said no more and continued conversing with others as he walked towards the door.
Ye Xingzhou's nonchalant response further irked Qi Xing but he didn't show it. Instead, he glanced at Lin Zhinian and smiled again.
Lin Zhinian felt uneasy, nodded quickly and then hurried to catch up with Ye Xingzhou.
After they left, Qi Xing's expression turned cold again. Yang Kaiming watched the departing figures and sighed, "Young Master Ye's temperament is indeed admirable. He doesn't hold grudges even in such situations."
Qi Xing rolled his eyes at him. "Are you interested in him? Then go after him. If you catch him, I'll give you a big red envelope."
Yang Kaiming retorted, "Stop it. At least I prefer someone with at least a D-cup."
Qi Xing couldn't be bothered to respond and got up to leave.
As they were leaving, they coincidentally ran into the young star who was alone. Seeing Qi Xing, the young man nervously greeted him.
Qi Xing gave the other person a disdainful glance and said one word: "Scram."
—————
Outside, the rain that had been pouring all night still showed no sign of stopping.
At the hotel entrance, Ye Xingzhou personally escorted the senior executives into the car. Once the car pulled away, he suppressed the smile at the corner of his mouth and gestured to Lin Zhinian who was following behind him. "Let's go, I'll take you home."
A black Maybach pulled up in front of them and a bodyguard holding an umbrella approached to open the car door. Ye Xingzhou tossed out a casual "get in" before getting into the car himself, showing no trace of the care he had shown Lin Zhinian just now in front of everyone.
Lin Zhinian took the umbrella from the bodyguard and went around to the other side of the car door.
As he was about to get into the car, someone called out to him: "Teacher Lin."
Lin Zhinian looked up to see a flamboyant young man with his hands in his pockets, lazily standing under the streetlight, inexplicably eye-catching. "Teacher Lin, I forgot to ask you earlier, can I add you on WeChat?"
Lin Zhinian pursed his lips slightly, hesitated for a moment then walked over and took out his phone.
As he was busy with his phone, Qi Xing's gaze fell on his face, unabashedly staring at him.
Getting a closer look, this Teacher Lin had rosy lips, fair complexion, and delicate features, indeed very much to Qi Xing's taste. He couldn't help but feel a bit intrigued but his gaze shifted away for a moment. Looking past Lin Zhinian's face, through the late-night rain and mist, his eyes met another pair of cold black eyes staring back at him.
The back window of the Maybach rolled down halfway and the man inside the car just stared at him coldly without saying a word. His sharp features were partially obscured by the silver-framed glasses, suppressing his aura. It might easily give people the wrong impression that this man was kind-hearted.
But perhaps due to his wariness towards his rival, Qi Xing felt uncomfortable as soon as he saw him. Being stared at by those eyes gave him a sense of unease, making his hair stand on end.
Not wanting to lose his momentum, he provocatively lifted his chin and raised his eyebrows.
Ye Xingzhou ignored him, withdrew his gaze and glanced down at his phone, patiently waiting for the others who were still outside the car.
Lin Zhinian scanned Qi Xing's WeChat QR code, put away his phone and said to him, "It's done."
Qi Xing glanced to confirm that Lin Zhinian had already added him then nodded in satisfaction. "Teacher Lin, you'll be holding another art exhibition in a few days, right? I'll come to see it then. Can I treat you to dinner?"
Lin Zhinian nodded slightly. "Let's make plans then."
After exchanging a few more words, Lin Zhinian bid farewell and walked back to the car, opened the door and got in.
Qi Xing's gaze shifted back to Ye Xingzhou, who was sitting closer to his side of the car. The man's profile had smooth and sharp contours, almost perfect in curvature. He wasn't bad-looking either, but there was a vague sense of danger emanating from him, which made Qi Xing dislike him.
As the car window slowly rose, blocking Ye Xingzhou's face and cutting off Qi Xing's wandering thoughts.
The car drove away, leaving Yang Kaiming behind to ask, "Qi, are you still going for drinks?"
"No, let's go home," Qi Xing loosened his tie and waved his hand casually. "Do you even know what time it is now?"