"Alright, we're here for the auction. Let's head in first." Tang Yu said, shielding Shen Yunyun as they made their way to the auction venue.
"Where's your girlfriend?"
"Look at me, I actually forgot about my girlfriend." Tang Yu slapped his forehead and quickly turned back to find Wei Lingling.
Wei Lingling still wore a gentle and appropriate smile on her face.
The group arrived at the auction venue and took their seats.
Shen Yunyun scanned the room and noticed the Qiao family sitting in very front-row seats, raising an eyebrow slightly.
She had thought that after the incident in the lobby earlier, they would have left the auction venue.
Wouldn't someone want to leave a place of such embarrassment as quickly as possible?
Unexpectedly, they were all sitting together in perfect order.
She had no idea how Qiao Pengyu and the others had managed to appease Qiao Shiyue, but for now, they still looked like a harmonious family.
Indeed, blood relations made a difference.
There was a bit more tolerance.
If she dared to throw a tantrum like that in public toward the Qiao parents, she would definitely be grounded and punished with hunger.
The auction began quickly. The first item was a piece of jewelry, sold for five million.
The second was a painting—a Ming dynasty artist's copy of a Southern and Northern Dynasties painter's work—sold for seven million.
Besides jewelry and paintings, some land plots and ongoing construction sites were also put up for auction.
Of course, those were more expensive.
Then came the Longevity Pill.
This Longevity Pill was the one Shen Yunyun and Tang Yu had just placed backstage, a very small pellet.
The auctioneer introduced the Longevity Pill with great enthusiasm, as if he were certain it was genuine and had miraculous effects.
In reality, the auctioneer himself had no idea whether the Longevity Pill was real or fake, nor was he sure about its effects.
But he spoke with absolute certainty—a testament to his professional skill.
Shen Yunyun was quite satisfied with the auctioneer's performance.
She thought no one would bid and was considering whether to drive up the price herself, but unexpectedly, the Qiao family made the first bid.
The starting price was one million, and they immediately offered one point three million.
However, a young man in his thirties countered with a direct bid of three million.
The Qiao family raised it to four million.
The other party went to six million.
Qiao Zhenguo turned to look at the young man who had bid—a stranger—and felt reassured enough to continue.
Soon, the price climbed to ten million.
Qiao Zhenguo's chest ached as if pricked by needles, and he couldn't help recalling what Shen Yunyun had said in the lobby earlier: don't pretend so much that it becomes real.
Could his heart really be having issues?
Back in the lobby, he had indeed been faking illness to cause panic, divert attention, and stop Shen Yunyun from talking.
But after she said those words, he felt a stabbing pain in his chest, like needles.
Now it was happening again.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm his anger, and bid twelve million.
The other party responded with fifteen million.
Shen Yunyun's eyes darted, and she wrote a note, handing it to a server to deliver to that man.
Upon receiving the note, the man turned to glance at Shen Yunyun, and she immediately nodded at him.
The man made no gesture, his eyes fixed on the Longevity Pill on stage.
Qiao Zhenguo decided not to bid further—fifteen million for a single pill, with no guarantee of its effectiveness.
But just as he held back, Guo Yuhua raised her paddle and said, "Twenty million."
The crowd buzzed with excitement. The auctioneer shouted passionately, "Mr. Qiao bids twenty million! Any higher? Twenty million once, twenty million twice, twenty million three times! Congratulations, Mr. Qiao, on winning the Longevity Pill!"