Chapter 65: The Thirty-Two Million Pearl Necklace

"Twenty-eight million!" Just as the auctioneer was about to let the gavel fall, a voice rang out from the very corner of the room, drawing everyone's attention to the bidder.

The auctioneer said excitedly, "That gentleman has bid twenty-eight million! He raised it by three million all at once! Is there any higher bid?"

Meng Zexiao raised his eyes to see the person who made the bid of twenty-eight million, and muttered quietly, "So it's him!"

Kong Lingxin noticed that the bidder was about the same age as Meng Haoquan, though his aura fell far short of Meng Haoquan's. For such an unremarkable-looking person to be able to spend so extravagantly, it seemed City B was truly a place where hidden dragons and crouching tigers resided.

"Who is he?" Kong Lingxin had nothing better to do, so she simply decided to gossip with Meng Zexiao to make the time pass faster.

Meng Zexiao looked at Kong Lingxin with a very strange expression. "You don't know him?"

Seeing Meng Zexiao look at her like that, Kong Lingxin's heart skipped a beat. Could it be someone she was supposed to know?

Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she said, "It's too far away, I can't see clearly."

Only then did Meng Zexiao say, "He's my eldest brother's father-in-law."

Kong Lingxin saw that Meng Zexiao's eyes were full of contempt and disdain. Based on what she had learned about Yang Shanshan's family over the past few days, the Yang Group was also a declining enterprise, and many of their businesses relied on the financial support of the Prosperous Group to stay afloat. How could someone whose family was several leagues behind even Kong Changdong's Changyue Real Estate afford to spend a staggering twenty-eight million to buy this string of emerald beads?

Could it be that Yang Xian'an was willing to risk his entire fortune just to establish a connection with Song Siyuan from the King Group?

Just as both Meng Zexiao and Kong Lingxin were filled with doubt, someone else actually outbid Yang Xian'an. "Twenty-eight million five hundred thousand!"

Immediately after, Yang Xian'an raised his paddle again without hesitation. "Twenty-nine million!"

The auctioneer cried out as if pumped full of adrenaline, "Mr. Yang has bid twenty-nine million! Is there any higher bid?"

The competitor seemed unwilling to give up and raised the price by another million, pushing the emerald bead necklace to thirty million!

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How truly charitable!

Although charitable donations were always welcome, Kong Lingxin always felt there was something fishy going on. Judging by Yang Shanshan's character, her biological father Yang Xian'an did not look like a benevolent man who would rather starve himself than let impoverished children in the western region have a meal.

Thirty million RMB! It was already much higher than the twenty million HKD fetched previously at Christie's Hong Kong. Just when everyone thought Yang Xian'an was determined to win, the previous bidder continued to call out, "Thirty-one million!"

The emotions of everyone at the banquet venue were instantly ignited, raising the heart of a small-time person like Kong Lingxin right up to her throat. She couldn't help thinking—are they talking about real Chinese Yuan or hell bank notes?

Yang Xian'an was clearly well-prepared. The moment the other person's voice trailed off, he immediately raised his paddle and said, "Thirty-two million!"

"Wow!" a female journalist in the media section exclaimed sincerely.

The auctioneer continued to play his part, "Mr. Yang has raised the price to thirty-two million! Are there any other bids?"

Everyone turned their attention to the previously unknown person who had been competing with Yang Xian'an. After hesitating for a moment, the man looked at Yang Xian'an and made a gesture of yielding, indicating that he was letting Yang Xian'an win the bid.

Just as Kong Lingxin had seen on television, the auctioneer chanted, "Thirty-two million for the first time!"

"Thirty-two million for the second time!"

"Thirty-two million for the third time!"

With a "thud," the gavel fell. The auctioneer announced, "Sold! Congratulations to Mr. Yang for winning the string of Kangxi-era emerald jade beads! Mr. Yang's Yang Group's core business is the jewelry industry, so winning this bead necklace of great collection value is truly well-deserved—"

Then, Song Siyuan's secretary Gu Xue came onto the stage to hand the auction item over to Yang Xian'an. The atmosphere both on and off the stage was warm and enthusiastic. Yang Xian'an clearly hadn't been the center of attention for a long time, and he remained extremely excited, looking somewhat reluctant to leave the stage, eagerly accepting all media interviews.

It wasn't until the host reminded everyone that there were still a few more auction items to proceed with that Yang Xian'an reluctantly stepped down.

Kong Lingxin sneered inwardly. The parochialism and nouveau riche vulgarity Yang Xian'an displayed in such an occasion made even someone like her from a small county town look superior. No wonder the Yang Group's business was failing.

---

Meng Zexiao fell into deep thought. Yang Xian'an was not listed on the guest list they had checked earlier, and judging by his seat and the number on his paddle, he must have joined at the last minute. Meng Zexiao hadn't noticed when Yang Xian'an entered the venue either, but it was clear that Yang Xian'an's arrival today was aimed squarely at this string of Kangxi-era emerald beads.

So where did he get those thirty-two million?

Even with Kong Lingxin's rudimentary understanding of the Yang Group's operational status, Meng Zexiao, who moved in business circles, knew the Yang Group inside and out.

Based on the current situation, even if Yang Xian'an took out all the circulating funds on his company's balance sheet, it wouldn't be enough to pay for it.

Originally, the target of this fierce bidding competition should have been him, Meng Zexiao. Yet, a single phone call from his father had put a stop to it, and the protagonist had dramatically turned into his eldest brother's father-in-law. This was hard for Meng Zexiao, who was accustomed to being the absolute center of attention, to accept.

The media present had clearly focused all their attention on Yang Xian'an and the King Group, and fewer and fewer people were surrounding Meng Zexiao. What an era of rapid information development; ten minutes ago he was the focus of public opinion, and ten minutes later he had become a mere backdrop.

During the subsequent auction, Meng Zexiao uninterestingly won two unremarkable items as gifts for Kong Lingxin—a painting drawn by a celebrity's daughter and a sculpture carved by an artist. It could be considered using the Meng family's money to do a good deed for the children. Kong Lingxin felt the trip had been worthwhile, but Meng Zexiao certainly didn't think so.

On the way back, as soon as he got into the car, Meng Zexiao couldn't restrain himself and called Meng Haoquan. "Dad! Did you instigate Yang Xian'an to come?!"

Hearing this, Kong Lingxin was deeply shocked. What kind of play was Meng Haoquan putting on? He wanted to bid on an item, told his own son not to participate, and yet half-way through let his in-law rush over to win the bid at a high price.

Whatever Meng Haoquan said on the other end, Meng Zexiao was forced to swallow his words back entirely, only managing to say, "Fine, I'll go to the company on time tomorrow."

It seemed Meng Zexiao was in a terrible mood. Kong Lingxin had no wish to provoke him at this moment, so she subconsciously shifted toward the car door and quietly looked out the window at the twinkling neon nightscape.

Meng Zexiao glanced at her. "Get over here!"

Kong Lingxin was startled. She hadn't clashed with Meng Zexiao for a long time. Now they were inside a car, and fighting in such a confined space relied on sheer physical strength. Despite knowing a few basic martial arts moves, she was ultimately a woman and no match for a six-foot-tall man like Meng Zexiao.

With the driver still upfront, Kong Lingxin had no desire to suffer at this moment. So she quickly put on the expression she wore at the banquet, her eyes filled with gentle tenderness. "What's wrong? Are you in a bad mood because Dad wouldn't let you buy that string of beads?"