Chapter 32: More Scheming Than Anyone

“Brother Gu, do you know who that young lady upstairs is?”
Jiang Buyan was curious as well.
Having spent so many years in the capital, with his background and status, he should have at least a general understanding of the city's elite. Even if he didn’t know everyone personally, he ought to have some impression, yet this girl felt completely unfamiliar to him.
“Whose daughter is she, really?”
Jiang Buyan, the young master of the Jiang Group in the capital, was famous for his wild and unruly ways, well-acquainted with all the young heirs and heiresses of the city.
But this time, she left him genuinely baffled.
“I don’t know, I haven’t seen her before either.”
Gu Suizhou’s gentle voice carried a hint of puzzlement as he frowned, looking toward the girl.
They had only heard her voice.
She hadn’t revealed her face.
That made guessing even harder.
“One hundred million, once.”
“One hundred million, twice.”
The auctioneer raised his voice.
“One hundred—”
“One hundred and five million!”
Suddenly, just as the auctioneer was about to announce that the item would go to the young lady upstairs, Shen Xin pinched her own hand, as if recalling something, and went all in.
This half of the Western Zhou scroll—she was determined to win it!
Upon hearing Shen Xin raise the bid, the girl upstairs curled her lips in a smile.
“Ha.” Her voice was low and gentle, tinged with a lazy charm.
With a single glance from her cool, peach blossom eyes, she looked down at the crowd below, like a mischievous fox—her movement was soft, then she stepped away from the glass railing.
She settled back into the plush sofa of the VIP suite, her snow-white shoulder resting lightly, picking up a glass of red wine and draining it in one go.
“Wait—Chaoxi, you’ve waited so long just to bid on this item tonight for Grandpa’s birthday.”
“And now you’re simply giving it up?”
Sheng Ting turned in surprise, seeing Shen Chaoxi sitting back and drinking her wine. She hurried over, unable to understand.
“The half Western Zhou scroll is a fake.”
Sheng Ting’s tone was shocked, “A fake?” How could that be?
But then she paused, her face clouded with doubt, looking seriously at Shen Chaoxi.
“Why did you just…?” Sheng Ting wanted to ask: if she knew it was a fake, why waste time bidding against Shen Xin?
“There’s nothing worth fighting for over a fake,” Sheng Ting muttered.
Hearing this, Shen Chaoxi smiled, her gaze at Sheng Ting gentle yet subtly persuasive.
“One hundred and five million.”
“You mean…?”
Sheng Ting looked into her eyes, suddenly understanding, a smile blooming on her radiant face.
Shen Chaoxi replied, “Mm.” She had done it on purpose.
“If she wants to use this chance upon returning home to bid for the scroll and please Grandpa for his birthday, then shouldn’t I let her have it?”
But this generosity came at a sky-high price.
For Shen Chaoxi, even ten million, or a hundred million, would be effortlessly attainable.
But for the other wealthy guests at the auction, including Shen Xin, it was an enormous sum.
Of course, Shen Xin was an heiress, still the adopted daughter of the Shen family.
Even though she was sent abroad, she was never deprived materially.
So with the Shen family’s support, she already surpassed many other heiresses in the capital.
Sheng Ting laughed, “You never disappoint.”
“Shen Chaoxi.”
The eldest daughter of the Shen family was nothing like the rumors—weak, timid, afraid to meet outsiders.
She was wild to the core.
More scheming than anyone.
“By the way, how did you realize the scroll was a fake?” Sheng Ting was curious.
Even if the Shen family had the other half, she couldn’t feel it in her hands; from such a distance, how did Shen Chaoxi know?
Upon hearing Sheng Ting’s question, Shen Chaoxi’s lashes trembled.
Holding her wine glass, her fingers paused.
She quickly lowered her eyes, hiding the fleeting gloom within them.
How should she explain?
Should she say she had seen people from Western Zhou a thousand years ago?
Or that the scroll actually recorded an unfinished chess game, only half completed?
And now, with the counterfeit right before her eyes, could she not recognize it?
But these thoughts never left Shen Chaoxi’s mind; she didn’t voice them.
Since Sheng Ting was curious, she offered an explanation.
“At first, I was curious myself.”
Shen Chaoxi lowered her gaze, “I wondered why a scroll lost for a thousand years would suddenly appear here.”
After all, it was an ancient relic.
Western Zhou had long since vanished.
“But now, think about it.”
“If this half scroll appears here, where was it before? Who was its owner?”
No one would simply hand over such a relic without showing their face, especially for charity.
“Exactly, if it were truly a priceless treasure, why would the starting bid be only ten million, used for charity?”
Sheng Ting quickly understood.
“If it were authentic, what would they gain?”
So from this alone, one could deduce the scroll was a counterfeit.
Yet the forgery was so convincing that others couldn’t tell.
“One hundred and five million!”
“Congratulations to this young lady!”
“You have won the highlight treasure of our auction tonight.”
Downstairs, the auctioneer announced to the crowd, and amidst the lively atmosphere, Shen Xin clenched her teeth, obtaining the half Western Zhou scroll under admiring gazes.
But she had paid dearly.
Others spent money for entertainment at auctions.
She had spent nearly all the savings she’d amassed over the years!
All because of that person earlier.
If not for her deliberate price-raising, Shen Xin wouldn’t have had to pay such a high price.
Thinking of this, her eyes darkened with resentment as she looked toward where the girl upstairs had appeared.
It was empty.
Shen Xin clenched her fingers.

Jiang Buyan’s gaze flickered.
“Hey, Second Brother, Brother Gu, why did the girl who raised the bid suddenly give up?”
Now that the item was about to fall into Shen Xin’s hands, the girl who pushed the price hadn’t shown up.
Jiang Buyan boldly guessed, “Was it… did she run out of money?”
At auctions, it’s common for someone to afford the initial hundred million but not have an extra five million.
But judging by her earlier momentum, the excitement had stirred Jiang Buyan.
Was the girl truly out of money, or did she simply not want it?
If she didn’t want it, why raise the price?
“Could it be deliberate?”
This wasn’t some wild conspiracy—at auctions, rivals often push each other up, then suddenly withdraw, catching the other off guard, forcing them to swallow the bitter pill.
“Second Brother, what do you think?” Jiang Buyan tipped his chin.
Gu Suizhou said nothing.
He seemed unsure too, his expression thoughtful.
Jiang Buyan turned and nudged the man beside him, unable to contain his curiosity.
Lu Yunzhou’s gaze was unreadable.
“What’s there to say?”
His voice was low and magnetic, seemingly amused, yet beneath it lay a coldness at his brow.
Jiang Buyan blinked, “I mean, guess why the girl suddenly didn’t want it.”
So all his analysis had gone unheard by Second Brother.
“It’s a fake.”
Lu Yunzhou’s gaze cooled.
He suddenly stood from the sofa, his deep voice falling as his tall, imposing figure blocked Jiang Buyan.
When the auction began, Feng Chenxin had left due to personal matters.
Now only Gu Suizhou, Lu Yunzhou, and Jiang Buyan remained in the VIP suite.
Jiang Buyan, ever talkative, seeing no response, pretended to leave, then hurried after them.
Unable to stop Lu Yunzhou, he intercepted the gentle-faced Gu Suizhou instead.
“Brother Gu, tell me—why?”
Gu Suizhou smiled helplessly, “Didn’t Yunzhou just say?”
“Huh?”
Jiang Buyan was confused—what had he said?
But as soon as they descended, outside the gates of the Imperial Club they encountered a car, and from it stepped a neatly dressed old butler.
They recognized this butler.
“Miss, please.” The butler made a courteous gesture toward Shen Xin, and only then did Lu Yunzhou and the others notice the person before him.
It was the girl who had just won the half scroll at the wine auction.
The same girl they had earlier rescued.
Lu Yunzhou’s gaze carried a hint of scrutiny.
Gu Suizhou’s eyes flickered with mild surprise.
“She—she’s? The Shen family’s daughter?” Jiang Buyan’s eyes widened.
“Then, isn’t she…” Second Brother’s fiancée.