Chapter 526 — The Same Auction Item

"It's not that we don't believe you..." Yu Shuixing gave a wry smile. "It's just that we're stunned!"

"Oh, is that so?" Lai Changyi assumed they had been stunned by the efficacy of the deluxe edition of the trauma medicine — never dreaming it was for some other reason. "There are twenty bottles in all. Say we set the reserve at five hundred thousand? For the rest, Mr. Yu, I'll leave it to you to decide, shall I?"

"Twenty bottles? You have them in stock?" Yu Haitian's eyes widened still further.

"...Yes..." Lai Changyi nearly swore — if he hadn't had the stock, why would he have brought the matter up? Yet mindful of the man's standing, he did nothing beyond the pale.

"Second Uncle... what do you think?" Yu Haitian looked at Yu Shuixing a little uneasily.

"Heh heh, in that case, let's make it the grand finale of tomorrow evening's session!" Yu Shuixing laughed. "I suspect there's bound to be a rush to snap them up. Five hundred thousand is a bit too cheap — let's make it a million."

"Very well!" Since his second uncle had already made the decision, Yu Haitian said no more.

The million-yuan price came as no surprise to Lai Changyi — in his view, the pricier the better. He set the briefcase on the table and said, "The deluxe edition of the trauma medicine is all here. Mr. Yu, take a look. The descriptive notes are written up too, and placed inside."

Yu Haitian opened the briefcase and couldn't help but do a double take. Was this the deluxe edition of the trauma medicine? These little white, shabby plastic bottles looked no different from containers for condiments?

"Th-this... this is the deluxe edition?" Yu Haitian couldn't help asking.

"Heh, they were put together at short notice, so there's no packaging to speak of." Lai Changyi chuckled.

"..." Yu Haitian was a little speechless, yet he trusted that Lai Changyi wouldn't fob him off with junk — the stuff was bound to have some effect. That settled, he nodded. "All right, I'll register it in a little while."

Only after exchanging a few more pleasantries with Lai Changyi did Guan Xuemin, Lai Changyi, and Wei Zhao take their leave of the auction hall. Toward a man like Guan Xuemin, Yu Shuixing naturally spared no effort in cultivating him.

And what was more, whatever Dr. Guan's pharmaceutical company brought out was never anything common!

After seeing Guan Xuemin off, Yu Shuixing could not help feeling a little amused. Divine Doctor Kang had presented a beauty-and-skin restorative golden wound medicine, thinking to use it as leverage for entering the ranks of the great houses! In ordinary times, it might indeed have been enough — but as luck would have it, Guan Xuemin had now presented an identical product! And moreover, he had actual stock!

If Divine Doctor Kang ever got wind of this, he would probably be weeping without tears, wouldn't he? He had still hoped to use this very thing to curry connections, but the other side had already turned theirs into a product on the market — who would be left to buy his pre-sale one?

"Second Uncle, today's situation is certainly messy!" Yu Haitian sighed.

"Heh heh, it's not really all that messy. It's just that the Kang family's hopes of becoming a great house are most likely dashed now." Yu Shuixing observed. "The Kang family's trump card, in Dr. Guan's hands, counts for nothing, I expect!"

"True. Then tonight, will the Kang family's two pre-sale units of beauty-and-skin restorative golden wound medicine still go under the hammer?" Yu Haitian asked.

"Of course they will — why wouldn't they?" Yu Shuixing chuckled. "What does it matter? We simply won't bid. As for the others, let whoever cares to buy them do so."

"Fair enough. After all, our auction house is merely auctioning them on the Kang family's behalf. Whether anyone buys or not is hardly our responsibility." Yu Haitian nodded.

That evening, the second session of the auction began.

Feng Xiaoxiao had called Wei Zhao as soon as she got up that morning, but Wei Zhao didn't have the time for her. He asked only whether Feng Tianlong had made it back, and upon hearing that he hadn't, declined Feng Xiaoxiao's offer to come and see him.

At the auction venue, however, running into her again was unavoidable.

"Wei Zhao!" Feng Xiaoxiao, a bottle of drink in each hand, hurried over to him, her cheeks slightly flushed, as if the memory of what had happened last night had crossed her mind.

"You're over your illness?" Wei Zhao took the drink she offered without ceremony. His relationship with Feng Xiaoxiao was strange enough as it was, and with Feng Tianlong dragged into it, it was a bit of a headache.

"Oh, nothing's the matter anymore." Feng Xiaoxiao shook her head, but with none of her usual openness — she seemed almost shy.

Feng Xiaoxiao's expression left Wei Zhao even more at a loss. He had to admit that he had been somewhat stirred yesterday — but that stirring was pure physical impulse, not any real fondness for Feng Xiaoxiao.

It was just that Feng Xiaoxiao's illness last night had seemed so strange; he had never come across anything so bizarre.

"Feng Xiaoxiao, there was some bad blood between us in the past, but I saved your life yesterday..." Wei Zhao said after a moment's deliberation. "I propose we call it even between us now, all right?"

"Huh?" Feng Xiaoxiao was taken aback for a moment, but quickly understood his meaning. Wei Zhao didn't want her plotting revenge again... But was she, as she was now, still bent on revenge?

Had Wei Zhao not raised the matter, Feng Xiaoxiao might not have felt anything in particular. But the way he had brought it up made her suddenly realize that her hatred for him had, in fact, faded... The shrill, desperate thirst for revenge was gone, replaced by something complicated and hard to untangle.

For that brute Wei Zhao to have seen her body bare for no price at all — and then to have nothing to say for himself, thinking he could simply wipe the slate clean?

"What bad blood is there between us? Didn't we settle all that long ago?" Feng Xiaoxiao, having made up her mind, looked at him in feigned bewilderment.

"Feng Xiaoxiao, let's speak plainly with no beating around the bush. What exactly are you after?" Wei Zhao was unmoved by her innocent show.

"I... I like you. I... I just want to be with you, that's all..." Feng Xiaoxiao looked up at him, aggrieved. "You're not going to refuse to take responsibility for me now, are you..."

"..." Wei Zhao was speechless. Knowing that talking further with Feng Xiaoxiao would get him nowhere, he could do nothing but ignore her.

Feng Xiaoxiao, for her part, was not in the least offended. Since Wei Zhao was ignoring her, she cheerfully turned back to flipping through the auction catalog in her hands.

The lights gradually dimmed, and the spotlights on the auction stage at the front flared to life. Yu Haitian emerged from behind the curtains, gave a courteous bow, and said, "Welcome, honored guests, to the second session of our auction!"

Wei Zhao had no interest in the overwhelming majority of the lots — apart from some priceless antiques, they were mostly dates with fairly well-known celebrities, and then there were various pieces of jewelry and the like.

At last, the Everlasting Spring Wood Box he was interested in came up. Lai Changyi, who had been on the verge of dozing off, snapped upright in his seat.

Wei Zhao found it rather amusing. That guy really was something — even this could get him all fired up?

"Heh heh, Chief, leave it to me. As long as nobody fights us for it, getting it shouldn't be a problem!" Lai Changyi thumped his chest in assurance.

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