With Demo Did causing such a ruckus, Fang Chenyi’s sleepiness was completely gone.

He wasn’t the only one; Bai Menghan, lying beside him, also groggily opened her eyes.

"Chenyi, what time is it?"

...

By the time they finished breakfast and left the hotel, it was already around ten in the morning.

They didn’t call a taxi, simply strolling along the road.

In stark contrast to the deserted quiet of the previous night, the streets were now bustling with traffic and life.

"Chenyi, look over there! There’s a huge crowd. Come on, let’s go check it out."

Even with a great beauty by his side, Fang Chenyi was still reluctant when it came to things like window shopping.

Bai Menghan pulled him along at a trot to the edge of the crowd, where he saw it was an art gallery hosting a live painting event.

In the center, a dozen or so people were engrossed in their painting.

At the sight of this, Fang Chenyi was instantly bored, but Bai Menghan was completely captivated. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Left with no choice, Fang Chenyi could only stand there with her.

Just as the two of them were watching the artists along with the crowd, a middle-aged man emerged from the art gallery carrying a large cardboard box. The box was stuffed to the brim with stacks of art paper. He pushed through the crowd and tossed the huge box right next to a trash can.

No one in the crowd paid him any mind, their attention remaining fixed on the artists competing in the center.

Of course, there was one exception in the crowd: Fang Chenyi. The moment he saw the man toss that huge box of art paper beside the trash can, his hands began to itch. If not for so many people being around, he would have already gone over with his trash tongs.

He glanced left and right. Seeing that no one was paying attention to the box, Fang Chenyi finally gave in to the temptation of a huge box of art paper.

He reached out and tugged on Bai Menghan’s hand, then said in a low voice:

"Hey, Menghan, wait here for me. I’ll be right back!"

With that, under Bai Menghan’s confused gaze, he walked straight to the box of art paper. He scooped up the entire thing, glanced around, and upon spotting a public restroom, went straight inside.

[Host has picked up a stack of used imported art paper. System reward: 152,500 yuan. The reward has been deposited into the Host’s bank account. Please check for receipt.]

[Host has picked up one imported waste cardboard box. System reward: 500 yuan. The reward has been deposited into the Host’s bank account. Please check for receipt.]

[Host has picked up one HD collection of Picasso sketches, triggering a special system reward. Reward: one book of original Picasso sketches. The reward has been placed in the woven bag. Please retrieve it at your convenience, Host.]

...

Fang Chenyi ignored the one hundred fifty thousand yuan reward. Hearing the special reward announcement, he pumped his fist in excitement. No special rewards had triggered all last night. ’I just knew one would show up today, and here it is!’

’But what the heck is this reward? Picasso’s sketches?’

Filled with curiosity, Fang Chenyi reached into the woven bag and pulled out a small, old-looking booklet.

He flipped through a few pages and saw it was filled with pencil drawings—all of them sketches of nude women.

This left Fang Chenyi speechless. ’I’d always heard Picasso painted this sort of thing, and seeing it today, it’s just as they said.’

After flipping through a few more pages, Fang Chenyi realized he couldn’t appreciate this kind of art at all. He casually stuffed it back into the woven bag and left the restroom.

When he came out of the restroom and returned to Bai Menghan’s side, the competition was still in progress. Bai Menghan could tell Fang Chenyi was bored.

She promptly took his hand and led him away.

Just like that, they wandered around for nearly the entire day before returning to the hotel.

He gave Demo Did a call and had the guy come over for a meal.

The night passed without incident. Aside from a "tussle" with Bai Menghan, Fang Chenyi didn’t go out wandering again.

Early the next morning, Fang Chenyi, Bai Menghan, and Demo Did headed straight for the auction in a car that Demo Did had arranged.

"Oh, Boss, in a bit, if you see anything you like, just raise your paddle and bid. I’ll take care of the bill for you!"

Fang Chenyi just smiled and nodded, not saying much. He presented the invitation, exchanging it for admission tickets and two numbered paddles, and then the group entered the venue.

It was not yet eight in the morning, and though the auction wouldn’t start until nine, the entire hall was already packed.

To Fang Chenyi’s surprise, a quick scan of the crowd revealed that nearly half of them were Huaxia People.

Recalling the theme of today’s auction, Fang Chenyi shook his head with a wry smile. ’They must have come specifically for this Huaxia-themed event.’

Sure enough, after Fang Chenyi sat down with Bai Menghan, he overheard two Huaxia People nearby speaking in hushed tones:

"Old Wu, do you think that Copper Beast Head today is the real deal?"

"It’s hard to say. But since the Lu Palace is the one auctioning it, it can’t be a fake, can it? Sigh, if it weren’t for this, I wouldn’t have made the trip. Just look at how many of us Huaxia People are here. I bet they’ve all come for this Copper Beast Head."

Fang Chenyi heard their conversation clearly. ’A Copper Beast Head? There’s a Copper Beast Head at this auction?’

He knew from Demo Did that today’s auction was focused on Huaxia artifacts, but he hadn’t heard anything about a Copper Beast Head being included.

He picked up the auction catalog from the side and, sure enough, saw a picture of a Copper Beast Head in the most prominent spot on the first page.

Beneath the photo was a short text description and a large "one yuan" as the starting bid.

Staring at the large, red "one yuan" starting bid, Fang Chenyi’s brow furrowed.

He knew it was just a gimmick by the auction house, but ’this feels like an insult to a national treasure.’

As his eyes darted about, an idea began to form in Fang Chenyi’s mind.

"Oh, Boss, how about it? See anything you like?"

Seeing his boss looking at the auction catalog, Demo Did quickly leaned in, a fawning expression on his face.

"Haha, of course they’re all great. When are our Huaxia artifacts ever not? We can talk about that later. Say, Old Di, I haven’t had a chance to ask... was driving that Worker-Peasant-7 Super Invincible Tractor back home as impressive as you’d hoped?"

The moment Demo Did heard Fang Chenyi’s question, he instantly perked up!

"Oh, Boss, let me tell you..."

[To be continued...]