Chapter 17: The First Conflict

As soon as the words were spoken, the entire room fell silent for a few seconds. Someone had bid 140 million remotely, without even being present. There were very few people in Jing City with that kind of power.

Ruan Li noticed Zhou Yue visibly relax and chuckled softly as she looked away. She had only been teasing her anyway. Whether or not Zhou Yue won the bid didn’t really matter to her.

“No way, could it be my brother who bought it?” Ye Mian pondered. In Jing City, only her brother was likely to make such a reckless decision.

After all, people don’t usually buy something like this without proposing or for collecting. Only Ye Ze would occasionally act on impulse and waste money.

“Why would your brother buy it?” Ruan Li hadn’t heard of Ye Ze being into collecting.

Ye Mian racked her brain and came up with only one possibility. She looked at Ruan Li with an indescribable expression. “Is it possible he’s buying it for you?”

“If that’s the case, then something’s seriously wrong with his head.” Ruan Li nearly burst out laughing. The likelihood of that was extremely low.

Even if Ye Ze knew about her and Fu Huaizhou breaking off the engagement, it didn’t seem plausible that he would immediately buy her a diamond worth an astronomical sum.

“140 million, going twice. If there are no more bids, this one-of-a-kind pink diamond ring will go to the anonymous bidder, number 1.”

This price was already sky-high, and no one else was willing to raise the bid further. Everyone was simply curious about who this “number 1” bidder was.

Although the bidder was anonymous, from the number it was easy to guess who it might be. Ruan Shu had never witnessed such a grand event before. She was already thrilled to have won the qipao and didn’t dare dream of getting the ring, though she couldn’t help her desire for it deep down.

“Who do you think this anonymous buyer is?” she asked Ruan Cheng.

Ruan Cheng, a savvy veteran in Jing City, could see things clearly. “Fu Shiye or Jiang. If Fu Huaizhou is number 1, then when he’s not present, it naturally goes to the next in line. But it’s true that we haven’t seen him today.”

Ruan Shu felt even more envious. She had always known that the elite life in Jing City was filled with luxury, but today she experienced it firsthand. Thinking about her future with Fu Xingchuan, and the possibility of him succeeding Fu Huaizhou as head of the Fu family, she imagined herself at the pinnacle of society.

Her gaze swept toward Ruan Li, who was also staring at the ring. Ruan Shu couldn’t get it, and she was sure Ruan Li wouldn’t either, which made her feel better.

In the VIP room on the second floor, Shi Xun and Ye Ze were dumbfounded by the scene below. They hadn’t been particularly interested in the auction, but since they heard that the Jiang family was involved with the final item, they had come out of respect. After all, there would likely be future collaborations.

Fu Huaizhou sat by the one-way glass, watching the crowd below. Ever since the pink diamond had been revealed, some people couldn’t take their eyes off it, as if they were cats mesmerized by fish. There were also several unfamiliar faces restlessly milling around.

“Third Brother, why did you buy that ring?” Ye Ze asked, puzzled. Although part of the 140 million was his bid, he hadn’t expected Fu Huaizhou to win it in the end.

Shi Xun followed Fu Huaizhou’s gaze downward and, sure enough, spotted the two girls again. Ye Mian was already happily signing for her auction win, waiting for it to be delivered.

As the only one who knew the whole story, Shi Xun, for once, didn’t tease Ye Ze. After all, he had spent the previous night covering for Fu Huaizhou and Ruan Li’s late-night rendezvous.

“It’s pointless,” Fu Huaizhou said calmly. Just then, the auctioneer announced that he had bought the diamond. Fu Huaizhou raised his hand, and a staff member entered the room. After receiving some instructions, the staffer left quickly, looking astonished.

“If it’s pointless, why did you buy it? Are you planning to get married?” Ye Ze persisted. Shi Xun stood up and put his arm around Ye Ze’s shoulder. “Looks like something interesting is going on downstairs. Want to check it out?”

“I’m not interested. It’s boring.”

Shi Xun, still unfazed, casually added, “Jiang Yihang, Ruan Li, Ye Mian—what a lively scene. Weren’t they all your high school classmates?”

Ye Ze glanced over and saw the three of them sitting together, chatting happily. He immediately grabbed his coat from the couch. “Fine, I’ll go down. You guys stay here.”

Now only Shi Xun and Fu Huaizhou remained in the room.

“Third Brother, you might want to cover up the mark on your neck. If Ye Ze sees it, it’ll be hard to explain.” Shi Xun stood behind him and snapped a photo of the back of his neck.

“What?” Fu Huaizhou took the phone and saw a bite mark on the back of his neck, which wasn’t visible from the front. His expression darkened.

The mark was still obvious even after several days. Whoever left it had been quite forceful.

Seeing his reaction, Shi Xun’s lips twitched. “You seriously didn’t know? It’s pretty noticeable from the back. Have you been to the office recently?”

Fu Huaizhou gave him a cool glance. He’d been at the office almost every day.

No wonder the senior executives had been giving him strange looks during meetings lately. He had thought they were stressed from work, but it seemed they just had too much free time on their hands.

“What’s going on between you and Ruan Li?” Shi Xun asked curiously. This was the first time he’d seen a woman around Fu Huaizhou, and it turned out to be none other than his nephew’s fiancée—or rather, former fiancée.

The engagement was sure to end, based on his understanding of the situation.

“There’s nothing between us,” Fu Huaizhou responded indifferently.

Just as the auction was about to conclude, the host suddenly stopped the proceedings. “We’ve just received word that the number 1 bidder no longer wants the item and has chosen to give it away in a random draw.”

“Are you kidding me?” Ye Mian blurted out.

Everyone else had similar expressions of disbelief. This was a ring worth 140 million, not 1.4 million, and they were just giving it away?

“How will it be chosen?” someone asked, hopeful.

The host, just as surprised, replied, “By seat number, chosen at random.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, a paper slip was passed to him. The host unfolded it in front of the audience, smiling brightly as he read, “The selected number is… ten—”

Everyone gasped, especially those in the row where all the numbers began with ten. Zhou Yue clutched her friend’s hand, her eyes wide. “This diamond was meant for me.”

“It has to be you! Who else could it be?” her friend encouraged her.

Ruan Shu still held a glimmer of hope, but her seat number didn’t start with ten.

Ruan Li just thought the whole thing was absurd. This anonymous buyer must be insane—throwing money away like this. In any case, there was no way a windfall like this would land on her.

“Sixteen—please raise your paddle.”

Everyone turned to look at their paddle numbers in that row. Zhou Yue was number seventeen. Ye Mian checked her own, which was fifteen. There was only one person left between them.

“Is it me?” Ruan Li raised the paddle she hadn’t lifted all evening. Her seat and paddle both read sixteen. She felt like she had just been struck by an unbelievable stroke of luck.

The host saw her paddle and announced, “Congratulations to Miss Ruan. The Pink Star now belongs to you. The staff will contact you shortly. The auction is now concluded.”

Even as people began to leave the venue, Ruan Li still hadn’t fully processed what had happened. If it weren’t for the crowd around her, she might have thought it was a scam.

On their way out, many people glanced back at her, while Zhou Yue was fuming, her face red with anger.

“Why her? Is someone messing with us?” she muttered as she walked away.

Ye Mian, watching Ye Ze practically skip down from the second floor with a ridiculous grin on his face, muttered to herself, “Oh no, could it really have been my brother?”

It was only then that Ruan Li realized there had been people upstairs all along. Ye Ze approached and looked at the group. “What’s wrong? Surprised?”

Of course they were surprised. If this had been cash instead of a diamond, it could’ve killed someone. Ruan Li quickly tried to decline. “It’s too valuable. I can’t accept it.”

“Valuable? What’s valuable?” Ye Ze was confused. He had indeed bought a diamond tiara, but he hadn’t even had a chance to give it yet.

“You didn’t buy this pink diamond?” Ruan Li pointed to the screen where the ring was still displayed.

At that moment, two tall men began descending the stairs from the second floor. They appeared behind Ye Ze just as Ruan Li asked her question.

“No, number 1 is Third Brother,” Ye Ze said, still confused by everyone’s shocked expressions. He had gone to the restroom to fix his hair and had no idea what had just happened.

Ruan Li’s gaze slowly shifted to Fu Huaizhou. Behind him, Shi Xun winked at her and tilted his chin toward Fu Huaizhou, hinting at something.

Fu Huaizhou’s calm gaze lingered on her. Standing behind him was another man with a gentle demeanor and clean-cut features—someone who looked familiar.

“The staff chose randomly,” Fu Huaizhou said in a cold tone.

Jiang Yihang, who had recently returned from Hong Kong, couldn’t help but feel that the dynamics in Jing City had changed dramatically during his absence. People who weren’t even part of his generation were now somehow interconnected.

“Mr. Fu, since you won the bid, why give it away?” Jiang Yihang asked gently, casting a glance at Ruan Li. “You know, free things often come with the highest price.”

Ruan Li said nothing. It was too much of a coincidence. Clearly, Fu Huaizhou was finding a roundabout way to compensate her.

Fu Huaizhou frowned slightly and stepped forward, leaving Ruan Li trapped between him and Jiang Yihang, unsure of what to do. As the tension mounted, another figure appeared at the entrance of the venue.

It was Fu Xingchuan, slightly out of breath from rushing over.

“Ruan Li, I need to talk to you.”