A Brave Person
Xiao Zhiqingâs eyes flashed with pain. Forcing a smile, she said, âItâll be fine. Iâm already grateful towards Mr Yang for helping me out thus far.â
âMs Zhiqing thatâs just not true! I, Yang Chen, must win the ring and wine at the auction today. Not only for Grandpa but more importantly⊠for you,â said Yang Chen emotionally. He leaned in to get closer to Xiao Zhiqingâs pink lips. Although he didnât kiss her, he was only a few millimeters away from her. He could smell her aromatic fragrance.
âIâm extremely grateful for this, Mr Yang. When I get back to my hotel, Iâll immediately transfer the money to you!â thanked Xiao Zhiqing with her head lowered to bring her lips away from this inappropriate man.
Yang Chen patted his chest, delighted. âItâs just a hundred million. Today, I, Yang Chen, will spend a hundred million in cash for your smile. Itâs well worth it, haha!â
Xiao Zhiqingâs expression turned embarrassed. Behind her pretty face, in her heart, she was puking in disgust. What dumb poetry is this man reciting?! It didnât even rhyme! He shouldnât even try. This fat pig was not only dumb, but he was also revolting.
With Yang Chenâs shameless show and Xiao Zhiqingâs fake support, the auction finally started.
The first few items were neither here nor there. It was for the bidders in the audience to warm up. Most were sold at around a hundred thousand dollars.
When a bottle of grape wine was displayed, the auctioneer gave it a simple introduction. âI believe many of the ladies and gentlemen here know their wine. This bottle is from 1945, Chateau Mouton-Rothschild grape wine. It is a collectorâs item, five liters. 1945 was the peak of the wine industry in the twentieth century. I believe its worth matches its reputation. Let us start the bidding at a hundred and ten thousand dollars!â
The worth of the wine was not in its taste. In fact, the older the wine, the riskier it was to drink it.
That was because many old wines may look the same but in reality, had turned into a bottle of vinegar. Of course, nothing would happen if the seal was shut tightly.
That was why people who treasured aged wine were willing to spend a fortune. If they bought it to drink, it wasnât a very wise decision.
Soon, the audience started to bid from a hundred and twenty thousand to a hundred and thirty, then it slowly faded.
Yang Chen finally held up his card, then turned to Xiao Zhiqing. âMs Zhiqing, watch, Iâm going to bid for you.â
Then just do it! Whatâs with the trash talk,
?cursed Xiao Zhiqing secretly. Her face lit up with gratitude. âMmm⊠If itâs not too much trouble for Mr Yang.â
Yang Chen raised his card proudly. âHey! Iâm offering a hundred and fifty thousand. Deal?â
All eyes fell on him with a glare, cursing Yang Chen for being a rich bastard. He didnât have the least bit of etiquette.
Yang Chen made a face at Xiao Zhiqing, delighted with himself. Xiao Zhiqing had a hard time forcing a smile because she wanted to choke him.
The auction proceeded. After a few stolen artifacts were sold, Xiao Zhiqingâs next item appeared.
The auctioneer pointed at the pink diamond ring behind a bulletproof case. âThis is our last item for today. I believe this is the reason most of you are here. This ring is made from five carats of the cushion-cut, high-colored pink diamond. This rare diamond was mined from South Africa. The pink diamond is different from other colored diamonds because the pinkish hue was formed under extreme heat and pressure from tectonic plate movement. That is why itâs unusually bright and rare. It starts at 1.1 million USD, and every increment must not be lower than a hundred thousand!â
âIâll bid 1.1 million!â
â1.2 million!â
Very soon, a few bright-eyed rich ladies and a few rich men who wanted to woo a lady started to bid.
To the extremely rich who had a couple billion or so in their pockets, a piece of jewelry worth just 1.1 million wasnât much of a challenge because if everything went well, jewelry wouldnât depreciate in value either.
When the price reached ten million dollars, many of the bidders started to back off.
A fat, rich white lady had bid a very high price. With her thick Russian accent, it was obvious she was a big shot in eastern Europe. Sheâd shouted her bids until she was visibly red in the face. When finally, no one was bidding, her eyes were filled with excitement as if wearing the ring would bring her back to her peak youth at eighteen years old.
âHey, thirteen million-one-hundred-and-forty-thousandâŠâ Yang Chen held his card up high as if trying to attract all the attention he could.
When the lady heard him, she glared at Yang Chen with fury. Immediately after she had reached the peak of her rage, she suffocated from shock and fainted!
The situation immediately turned into chaos. It was only after the bodyguards carried her out did the auction come to a close.
In all honesty, it wasnât a very large sum of money to put down on a piece of jewelry. However, there was plenty of great jewelry in the market and withdrawing too much cash at one time might affect their business. That was why nobody decided to bid against Yang Chen.
Yang Chen grabbed Xiao Zhiqingâs slender waist with an arm. Then with as much emotion as he could muster, he said, âMs Zhiqing, this number represents my eternal love for you⊠Did you get it?â
Xiao Zhiqing gave a dry laugh in her heart.?
Eternal? Iâd just be a temporary plaything that heâd throw away soon,
?she thought.
However, she gave a look of unsuppressed emotion and gratitude. Tearfully, she said, âMr Yang Chen, youâre too good to me. When we get items, letâs go back to the hotel. Iâll immediately transfer the money to you.â
âSigh, money is just money at the end of the day. Itâs not urgent. But Zhiqing⊠why donât you just call me Brother Yang? Itâs friendlier.â Yang Chen winked.
Xiao Zhiqing was hit with a wave of nausea. She forced a laugh and lowered her head. He led the pretty, delicate girl to the back to finalize the paperwork. He even rejected offers for security. He put the ring in his pocket and held the bottle of wine worth more than a hundred thousand dollars in a hand. The other hand was naturally around Xiao Zhiqingâs waist, casually pinching her flesh every once in a while. He was drunk with pleasure.
She could barely hide her disgust. Following Yang Chen out of the auction, she asked, âBrother Yang, where is your car? I took a taxi because Iâm not too familiar with this place.â
Yang Chen pointed at the Porsche 911 Carrera 4S GT before them and said, âThis one. Get on, Iâll take you out for lunch.
Lunch?!
?Xiao Zhiqing quickly shook her head. With a sincere, firm expression, she said, âItâs alright, I think itâs better for me to return to the hotel now. I need to transfer the money to you so I can be at peace.â
âOh⊠Sigh, alright. I really donât mind. For a pretty girl like you, Zhiqing, even thirty or forty million would be worth it. But that canât be measured by money⊠Of course, Zhiqing you want to get back to the hotel. Iâm also very pleased with that decision.â When Yang Chen trailed off, he let out an evil, mischievous laugh.
Xiao Zhiqing huffed secretly.?
Laugh now, youâll pay for everything you have done!
When the two of them got off the car, they soon found themselves on a pretty deserted street. Yang Chen naturally held Xiao Zhiqingâs hand, slowly walking towards the hotel.
She was leading Yang Chen. After a fork, she said she wanted to take a shortcut, then immediately turned into an alley about two meters wide between the slums.
When they reached the middle of the alley, two white, bearded men with sunglasses and caps rushed over, blocking their path.
âGive me your money and valuables!â One of the older hunks was chewing gum, his eyes sizing Yang Chen up.
Xiao Zhiqing let out a frightened gasp. She retracted, taking a few steps back.
Yang Chen gave out a shocked expression, then quickly hid behind Xiao Zhiqing so sheâd be in front. With a shaky voice, he said, âYou⊠How can you rob someone in broad daylight?!â
âHaha! You Asian monkey. Where does it say that robbers can only steal at night?â He looked to the other man who was already pulling a black handgun out. He suddenly seemed to be wiping the dust off the gun now. It was clear that he was trying to invoke fear.
Xiao Zhiqing could feel Yang Chenâs hand shaking. She gave a look of disgust.?
This useless rich boy shrank at the sight of danger. A textbook rich brat.
The man frowned as he saw Yang Chen hiding. âHey bruh, how long do you plan on hiding?! What makes you think this lady is going to protect you? Let me tell you, almost no one takes this path during the day. So be smart or my brother and I will have to actâŠâ
Yang Chen immediately raised his arms. âNo! No! Donât hit us! Iâll give you money!!â
âHmmph, thatâs more like it.â The white man laughed.
With her back towards Yang Chen, she gave an approving nod to the man.
Yang Chen gave a pained look, then slowly and timidly emerged from behind Xiao Zhiqing. He took the pink diamond ring out from his pocket. Without looking at her, he whispered, âMs Xiao, I apologize⊠To protect you, I will give them this ring.â
Xiao Zhiqing was expressionless. She didnât bother with her act any longer.
However, at this moment, as if sheâd sensed something, she looked up and shrieked!
Crack! Crack!
Two Bonzai plants fell from the balconies above, but coincidentally landed on the menâs heads!
Plants and soil flew everywhere!
The men, who had been very delighted with themselves, suddenly collapsed!
When they saw this, Yang Chen hurriedly took a step forward. With a foot on the manâs body, he laughed loudly. âLook! Look! Zhiqing, the heavens were touched by my love for you! The heavens have spoken! Looks like the gods have brought us together. This is awesome! Hmph, I knew that a brave person like me would always have something good coming!â
Xiao Zhiqing stood with her jaws gaping. She stared at the men, then at the crazy pervert, almost vomiting blood!