This auction was a collaborative effort by the four great families of Dijing, named the Huaxin Auction.

For this purpose, the four great families poured their resources into creating an auction house exclusively for the Huaxin Auction.

It only opened when the Huaxin Auction was being held; otherwise, its doors were closed to all.

A Rolls-Royce Phantom slowly pulled to a stop at the entrance of the auction house. Before the chauffeur could even get out, someone was already there to help open the door.

As the heir of his generation in the Lu Family, Lu Yunque was the center of attention wherever he went.

The moment his car appeared, those who had gotten out of their own vehicles ahead of him but hadn’t yet entered the auction house couldn’t help but stop and stare.

Lu Yunque paid no mind to any of this. After getting out of the car, he turned and extended a hand to the person still inside.

A fair, slender hand rested on Lu Yunque’s. Her wrist was as smooth and pale as fine jade.

It wasn’t until Yun Zijin stepped out of the car that everyone finally snapped back to their senses, and then their minds collectively exploded.

’What! Mr. Lu—the man they say even female mosquitoes have to keep a five-meter distance from—is actually holding a woman’s hand!’

’Shocking! Mr. Lu, who’s always been known as the cold-faced King of Hell, is actually smiling!’

’Three seconds! I want all the information on that woman!’

...

But regardless of what everyone else was thinking, the two people at the center of it all paid them no mind.

Yun Zijin, completely unfazed, took Lu Yunque’s arm and slowly walked into the Huaxin Auction house.

As one of the hosts of the auction, the Lu Family had its own exclusive private suite.

However, Lu Yunque didn’t feel it was appropriate to bring Yun Zijin into the same suite as the other members of the Lu Family, so he had arranged a separate one for himself.

Although it couldn’t compare to the Lu Family’s main suite, it was still much better than the seats in the main hall on the first floor.

The Huaxin Auction house had always prioritized service. The moment the two entered their suite, someone came in with tea, drinks, a fruit platter, and desserts.

This was standard. If they needed anything else, they just had to ask a staff member, and it would be brought over, all free of charge.

"This is the list of auction items. You can take a look."

Lu Yunque picked up the booklet lying on the table and handed it to Yun Zijin.

Yun Zijin took it and began to flip through the items inside.

The first page featured a natural Luminous Pearl, five centimeters in diameter.

This was the first time Yun Zijin had ever seen one, so she couldn’t help but gaze at it for a little while.

The second page showed seven diamonds in the colors of the rainbow—red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, indigo, and violet. Each one was the size of a pigeon’s egg.

The further Yun Zijin flipped, the brighter her eyes shone. As expected of an exclusive auction, the items in this catalog were practically unavailable on the open market.

"So, see anything you like?"

Lu Yunque could tell from Yun Zijin’s expression that she did, but he asked anyway.

"They’re wonderful. If there are more auctions like this in the future, remember to invite me!"

Yun Zijin gave Lu Yunque a look that said, ’You’re a clever one.’ If it weren’t for him, she never would have known that Dijing even had this kind of exclusive auction.

"Alright, I definitely won’t forget you."

Lu Yunque chuckled softly. ’It seems I made the right move today,’ he thought.

They had arrived just in time. After they had spoken for a little while, the auctioneer appeared down below.

"Welcome, everyone, to today’s Huaxin Auction! I’m your auctioneer for today, Wan Li! Without further ado, let’s begin the bidding for our first item!

"This is a natural Luminous Pearl provided by one of our long-time clients. The entire pearl is five centimeters in diameter, with a smooth, rounded shape that is nearly a perfect sphere..." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

After the auctioneer finished speaking, the lights in the venue dimmed, but the Luminous Pearl continued to radiate its own glow.

But after only two or three seconds, the venue’s lights came back on.

"The starting bid is 500,000, with minimum increments of 50,000. Let the bidding begin!"

"600,000!"

"800,000!"

...

The moment the auctioneer’s voice fell, the people seated in the main hall on the first floor had already started a flurry of bids.

Only when the bidding on the first floor began to die down did the occupants of the second-floor suites start to make their moves.

"3,000,000!"

That was the price called out from the suite next to Yun Zijin and Lu Yunque’s.

"5,000,000."

Yun Zijin didn’t wait, directly adding two million to the bid.

"5,100,000!"

"6,000,000!"

"6,100,000!"

"7,000,000."

No matter what price the other party bid, Yun Zijin unhesitatingly raised it to the next million.

"7,100,000!"

"8,000,000."

Yun Zijin remained cool and composed, but the person in the adjacent suite paused for a long time without making another bid.

"Alright! We have a bid of eight million from suite number five! Do I hear any higher bids!"

This was where the auctioneer’s skills came into play.

"Eight million, going once!"

"8,100,000!"

"9,000,000."

"Nine million, going once! Nine million, going twice!"

"9,500,000!"

"10,000,000."

Yun Zijin still keyed in her bid in a slow, deliberate manner.

"The distinguished guest in suite number five has bid ten million! Are there any higher bids! Ten million, going once! Ten million, going twice!

"Ten million, going three times! Sold! Congratulations to our distinguished guest in suite number five, this Luminous Pearl is now yours!"

Hearing the auctioneer’s final call, a smile appeared on Yun Zijin’s face.

Seeing Yun Zijin so happy, Lu Yunque smiled as well.

However, before Yun Zijin could even revel in her excitement, the auctioneer below had already begun introducing the second item.

"Next, we will begin the auction for today’s second item.

"This is a complete set of natural colorful diamonds in all the colors of the rainbow. Each one is the size of a pigeon’s egg. Once again, this set comes from one of our long-time clients. The starting bid is 800,000, with minimum increments of 50,000. Let the bidding begin!"

"1,000,000!"

"1,500,000!"

...

Once again, the bidding started with the people in the main hall, while those in the suites remained quiet.

Yun Zijin also sat composed in her seat, waiting for the bidding below to wind down.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK...

Just then, a knock came from the door.

Yun Zijin looked at Lu Yunque. "Did you order something?"

She had been completely absorbed in the thrill of the auction, with no time to even eat, let alone order anything.

"No, it’s probably a staff member. I’ll go see."

With that, Lu Yunque stood up, walked to the suite’s door, and looked through the peephole to see who was outside.

As soon as he leaned in, he was met with the sight of Sheng Yang’s big face.

Lu Yunque: ...

Though he was speechless, he opened the door anyway.

Sheng Yang, Sheng Hao, Li Yuexing, Fu Ze—not a single one was missing.

"What are you all doing here instead of staying in your own suites?"

His hard-won private time with her had just been completely ruined by these guys.

"Brother Lu, why didn’t you tell us you invited Sister Yun? If I had known, I would have come over from the start. It’s so boring being with all the elders from the family."

Sheng Yang said as he walked into the suite.

From inside, Yun Zijin immediately recognized Sheng Yang’s voice and raised an eyebrow slightly.

She had thought Sheng Yang would be with his family.

Lu Yunque had just told her that the Huaxin Auction was a joint venture launched by their four great families.