The person who raised the bid was none other than the fat man in front of Fang Chenyi.

Seeing this, Fang Chenyi couldn’t help but give him a silent thumbs-up. ’Looks like I didn’t misjudge him,’ he thought. ’This guy really has guts.’

And so it went. Whenever the old foreigner raised his bid, the fat man would instantly and unhesitatingly counter, each time increasing the price by the minimum increment of exactly one million.

The two went back and forth, giving the auctioneer no chance to speak. Just like that, the price quickly shot up to four billion and ten million.

The old foreigner shot a deep look at the fat man, then said through gritted teeth:

"Four billion and fifty million! If you raise the bid one more time, I’ll—"

However, before the old man could finish, the fat man raised his paddle again and blurted out without a second thought, "Four billion and fifty-one million."

Seeing the fat man’s complete lack of hesitation, the hall once again erupted into heated discussion.

In the end, the old foreigner could only shake his head in defeat. He slammed his paddle down on the floor and glared viciously at the Huaxia man in front of him.

"Who the hell is this guy? He’s bidding without even thinking!"

"Tell me about it! Looks like this brother is determined to win. But man, is it satisfying to watch!"

It wasn’t just the audience; even the auctioneer on stage couldn’t contain his excitement. ’Four billion! That’s more than double the record of Sotheby’s top auctioneer! My title as number one is set in stone now! I’m going to talk to the boss about a raise after this!’

However, perhaps the auctioneer was too excited, as he subconsciously twisted the ring on his right hand with his left.

He himself didn’t notice the gesture, but one man in the audience saw it crystal clear: the shill who had been bidding against Bai Menghan earlier.

Seeing the auctioneer fiddle with his ring, the shill was stunned. ’What does that mean? The price is already this high, does he really want me to bid again?’

’But then again,’ he thought, recalling how the Huaxia man had been bidding without a moment’s hesitation, ’this is the perfect time to drive up the price, isn’t it? Look at him! I bet if I bid ten billion right now, he’d counter without even blinking!’

’Besides, I haven’t earned a single cent of commission from these four billion. With such a golden opportunity right in front of me, how could I not get a taste?’

Of course, having attended countless auctions, he had heard plenty of stories about sure things going south. So he didn’t dare to be too aggressive with his bid. His professional instincts told him to bid just once, and the amount had to be just right—not too high, not too low.

With that thought, the man nodded as if he had made up his mind. While the crowd was still buzzing, he raised his paddle high and shouted:

"Four billion and ninety million!"

The shout instantly silenced the auction hall. All eyes turned to the bidder, number seven.

Everyone wanted to see who had such audacity. In their minds, the manuscript was worth around three and a half billion. Four billion was already pushing it; they never expected another bid!

The auctioneer’s heart skipped a beat when he saw this. ’You idiot!’ he cursed inwardly. ’Why are you bidding now?! It’s already at four billion, the house’s profit is more than enough! Bidding at a time like this... even if it’s a 99.99 percent sure thing, it’s against the rules!’

Fang Chenyi, who had been watching with his arms crossed and a knot in his stomach, finally relaxed a bit when he heard the new bid. The price of four billion far exceeded the item’s actual value, and up until now, all those bids had been from his own man. If no one else had stepped in, he would have suffered a catastrophic loss.

Still, he hadn’t expected this particular guy to jump in. Based on his earlier bidding war with Bai Menghan, Fang Chenyi had a strong suspicion that the man was a shill.

Now he was worried the fat man would keep bidding. After all, the guy had been so convincingly relentless that he might not be able to stop himself.

What Fang Chenyi didn’t know was that the fat man was currently cursing up a storm in his head. ’Holy shit, that scared the hell out of me! My acting was too good—I almost convinced myself I was some kind of billionaire! I really thought I was going to get stuck with this thing.’

With that thought, the fat man simply closed his eyes, leaned back in his chair with a placid expression, and pretended to doze off.

The shill who had made the bid was on the verge of a complete breakdown. ’Why isn’t he bidding? Why isn’t he bidding?! BID! Just add another million!’

But no matter how frantically he screamed in his mind, the fat man remained completely still.

The crowd, who had been expecting the fat man to counter without hesitation, was completely baffled. What was going on? Why did he close his eyes? Was he calculating something?

The hall fell so silent you could hear a pin drop.

Seeing this, Fang Chenyi let out a long sigh of relief. ’This guy’s acting is top-notch,’ he thought. ’His timing is perfect!’

However, just as everyone stared at the fat man, who they assumed was deep in thought with his eyes closed, waiting for him to open them and continue bidding, a snore echoed through the silent auction hall.

And who was the owner of that snore, if not the fat man himself?

Perhaps it was the release of tension after being so wound up. That, combined with his large frame, had caused the fat man to instantly fall asleep the moment he closed his eyes.

When the snore started, Fang Chenyi had to struggle to keep from laughing out loud.

Beside him, an amused Bai Menghan whispered something in his ear.

The auctioneer, seeing this, quickly raised his voice, trying to wake the fat man. But the man was oblivious, sleeping soundly.

Finally, the anxious, sweating auctioneer’s eyes darted around, and he called out to the staff from the stage:

"Quick, go wake up the gentleman at number thirty-eight! He must be exhausted to have fallen asleep at such a crucial moment. Here at Sotheby’s, our service is tailored to our clients’ needs, and we can’t let a customer leave with any regrets."

Upon hearing this, a staff member immediately went over and gently woke the fat man.

The auctioneer’s face lit up with excitement. He quickly explained the situation to the fat man and gestured for him to continue bidding.

But the fat man just shot the auctioneer a look like he was a complete moron.

"Are you out of your mind? Couldn’t you see I was sleeping? What the hell did you wake me up for? You know what, forget it. Because of your attitude, I’m not bidding on this thing anymore! In fact, I’m done with all of your Sotheby’s auctions from now on! I’m never coming back!"

[To be continued...]