The Qi family’s financial strength was on par with the Shen family’s, if not slightly superior, but they had always kept an excessively low profile.
Qi Yuan disliked socializing. It was said that his wife’s hobbies were equally simple: practicing calligraphy and painting every day, tending to flowers and plants.
There was very little information circulating about the Qi family. People only knew that they seemed to have a son, who is most likely a useless playboy who had never managed to make any kind of name for himself in the circle over all these years, remaining extremely mysterious.
This was the first time Mrs. Qi had appeared so frequently in public, which was why the Qi family had recently been brought up again and again in elite circles.
Everyone was guessing who was so lucky as to catch the young master of the Qi family’s eye—such grand occasions, such limitless splendor.
For a moment, no one knew what to say, and the atmosphere fell into a brief silence.
Then someone suddenly reminded them, “Shen Wanwan is here!”
Everyone turned to look toward the entrance.
Under the bright lights, Shen Wanwan walked in, dazzling and flamboyant.
She was wearing a black cocktail dress, with a bespoke off-white coat over it. Her figure was slender and graceful, and her exquisitely perfect face was so radiant it was impossible to look away.
Places like this were famous arenas of fame and fortune. The moment Shen Wanwan appeared, she became the center of attention. Her family background alone ensured she could never be ignored—let alone with a face as flawless as any top actress in the entertainment industry. Countless people crowded forward to strike up conversations.
Someone noticed the flash of light on her left hand and let out a soft “Eh?”
“Wanwan, do you have some good news?”
“Mm.”
Shen Wanwan headed straight toward the VIP area and replied casually,
“I’m getting engaged in a while.”
That person asked again, “What’s the guy’s family background like? Does he treat you well?”
Shen Wanwan raised her left hand. The dazzling pink diamond on her middle finger, which obviously worth a fortune, flashed straight into the questioner’s eyes.
She smiled faintly. “What do you think?”
Shen Wanwan took a seat in the back.
She found the lights in the front too bright—too dazzling for her eyes.
At the beginning, the items up for auction were all small pieces. Whenever she saw something that struck her fancy, she bought it.
001 was nearly blinded by the numbers. The inexperienced little light orb shouted nonstop:
{That’s just a tie clip, why does it cost over four hundred thousand?!
{And that brooch—this price is outrageous too, isn’t it…}
Shen Wanwan leaned lazily back in her seat and chuckled softly.
“When I was little, I had a very simple wish. I wished my dad would never go bankrupt for his entire life.”
001: {……}
Though it was a system and didn’t have such worldly desires, at this moment it still couldn’t help responding with very sincere sarcasm:
{What a truly plain and unadorned wish you have.}
The smile at Shen Wanwan’s lips deepened.
Now, that wish list had gained another item: Qi Luozhou.
After all, they were about to become a community of shared interests. She hoped he could steadily earn a continuous stream of money for her to spend.
The waiting process was especially boring.
Her goal tonight was the final item, the blue diamond.
Fortunately, chatting with the little light orb made time pass quickly.
At last, the blue diamond known as the ‘Heart of Diamond’ was presented.
From afar, it was a deep, ocean-like hue. When viewed against the light, it transformed into another kind of clear blue, immaculate and free of any impurities. In darker tones it was understated, while in brighter light it possessed a vivid, radiant beauty.
The women present almost all drew in a sharp breath the moment they saw it.
It was simply too beautiful!
The starting price for this lot was over fifty million.
The price wasn’t considered cheap.
Yet it still made 001 suck in a breath, very unsophisticatedly counting how many zeros followed the five.
The bidding quickly heated up.
“Fifty-five million!”
“Sixty million!”
“Sixty-five million!”
“Seventy million!”
…
“One hundred million.”
That crisp declaration of “one hundred million” instantly cooled the heated atmosphere of the bidding by half.
Everyone turned to look. Shen Wanwan sat calmly on the soft sofa, posture elegant and composed, eyes bright, utterly confident of victory.
Many pupils shrank in shock.
There could clearly have been more back-and-forth bidding, but Shen Wanwan went straight to one hundred million. From that point on, anyone thinking of raising the price had to think twice and no longer dared to bid lightly.
Countless overt and covert gazes fell on her, yet Shen Wanwan remained unmoved, as steady as Mount Tai, even slightly lifting the corner of her lips.
001 muttered quietly: {If I’m not mistaken, you look pretty pleased right now.}
Shen Wanwan neither confirmed nor denied.
“Mm.”
She made no attempt to hide her own vanity.
Onstage, the auctioneer raised the gavel.
“One hundred million, once
“One hundred million, twice—”
Most people no longer raised their paddles.
First, the price had already reached a fairly high point; spending that much money just to please a female companion wasn’t worth it.
Second, everyone knew she was Shen Rong’s daughter. Going against her meant going against Shen Rong, why bother competing with her?
In an instant, no one bid again.
The auctioneer’s gavel fell decisively.
“One hundred million, three times—sold!”
Quite a few people in the room felt a surge of envy and jealousy.
Just moments earlier, many had been snidely suggesting that Shen Wanwan might have bought a ring herself for the sake of appearances, wearing it on her middle finger and pretending it was a gift from a man.
Now, all of them fell completely silent.
Someone really couldn’t hold it in anymore and blurted out in envy, “Shen Wanwan’s luck is just too good!”
After happily finishing her shopping, Shen Wanwan deliberately took a stroll around the outer hall. The auction inside had already ended, while the one outside was still going on.
The inner hall was reserved for VIP clients; the outer hall invited some celebrities, as well as wealthy people whose status wasn’t enough to enter the inner hall.
Su Tingxuan was there.
Unexpectedly, Bai Ling was there too.
However, Bai Ling was sitting far away from Su Tingxuan, with a man of restrained, understated temperament beside her.
Shen Wanwan raised her brows in mild surprise.
Compared to the glow she’d seen around Bai Ling when she first awakened, it had dimmed quite a bit now.
001 thoughtfully provided some background info: {The fourth male lead. A rising star in the business world, a domineering tycoon type. Almost obsessively infatuated with the female lead. Because his mind is full of wanting to lock the female lead up and do ‘those’ things, he gets eliminated…}
Before it could finish speaking, a sudden furious shout came from that direction.
“Have I given you too much face or what?!”
001 instantly fell silent, and together with Shen Wanwan looked toward the source of the sound.
No one knew what Su Tingxuan had said wrong, but the woman flipped out on the spot and splashed a glass of wine all over him.
The wine-red liquid drenched him from head to toe, leaving him utterly disheveled.
The woman stood up, flicked her hand, and left. Su Tingxuan, utterly devoid of dignity, didn’t even have time to wipe his face. Carrying a pile of shopping bags, he chased after her in embarrassment. After running just a couple of steps, his gaze met Shen Wanwan’s, and his feet froze awkwardly in place.
Shen Wanwan looked at him coldly.
Su Tingxuan stood there stiffly, suddenly remembering the harsh words he’d once said to her.
—“I’ve been ordered around by you like a dog for so many years. Do you know how I’ve lived all this time? Even in my dreams I’m serving you tea, massaging your shoulders, pounding your legs!”
Those words he’d once roared at Shen Wanwan now came back like a vicious slap, striking him hard in the face.
Back then, he prided himself on his own abilities and was utterly sick of a life where he had to curry favor with Shen Wanwan.
But only now did he realize…
Shen Wanwan had actually treated him very well.
“Wanwan…”
He tugged at the corner of his mouth in a miserable attempt at a smile. His gaze dropped and caught sight of the ring on her finger. His eyes wavered for a moment as he said with difficulty,
“You…”
Regret surged over him. He wished he could step forward and pull her into his arms the very next second.
Shen Wanwan lightly stepped back.
She didn’t say a word. She simply lifted the corner of her lips with satisfaction and said to 001, “I told you he’d regret it.”
001 replied: {Yes, yes, yes—obviously. He looks like he wishes he could time-travel back and slap himself a few times. Hehehe! This kind of plot is so satisfying!}
Shen Wanwan carried her shopping bags to the back entrance and sent Qi Luozhou a message, asking him to drive the car over.
At that moment, Su Tingxuan chased out and, with a *thud*, knelt down in front of her.
Overwhelmed with remorse, he slapped himself hard.
“Wanwan… it was all my fault before…”
The auction outside wasn’t over yet, and there weren’t many people around. But Su Tingxuan still shamelessly acted out a scumbag’s public repentance.
Shen Wanwan crossed her arms with interest, watching as if it were a show.
“His acting’s not bad, huh?”
001 said: {…Well, his family’s about to go bankrupt too. If he doesn’t try hard one last time now, he’ll end up just like Shao Hongyuan.}
“That’s true.”
Shen Wanwan pressed her tongue lightly against the roof of her mouth, suddenly feeling a bit reflective.
One standing, one kneeling. The two remained locked in that position until the headlights of a black Maybach cut through the darkness and quietly stopped beside them.
Su Tingxuan’s wailing stopped instantly.
He stared blankly as the car window slowly lowered.
The light was dim; the man inside was hidden in shadow, his features completely indistinct.
But even through the car door, Su Tingxuan could feel the chill in his voice.
“Let’s go.”
“Bye-bye.” Shen Wanwan turned and said goodbye to Su Tingxuan, “My fiancé is here.”
Su Tingxuan stared at her in shock, momentarily unable to react.
Shen Wanwan looked down at him from above, her gaze as cold as ever, her tone carrying a hint of half-mockery, half-sarcasm.
“Since you chose true love, don’t look back.
“True love conquers all. Good luck.”
As if annoyed that she’d said too much—
An unhappy ‘tsk’ drifted out from inside the car.