Night Fire Lingering

Strictly speaking, Wen Yan and Gu Yanci were not seated next to each other; there was one person's seat between them. However, they could see each other with just a slight tilt of their heads.

With his long arms and legs, Gu Yanci could easily touch Wen Yan with just a stretch of his arm.

The auction proceeded smoothly, but Wen Yan showed no interest in the items being auctioned and seemed somewhat distracted. She could clearly feel an invisible pressure emanating from her right.

She was a little annoyed and glanced at him sideways.

The man was looking straight ahead, and only looked over when he noticed her gaze.

The man raised an eyebrow slightly, as if asking: Is there something you need?

Wen Yan gritted her teeth, angrily withdrew her gaze, and looked back at the auction scene.

"Your ex-husband is watching you." Luo Beiqing nudged Wen Yan and whispered, "Wen Muzhi is watching you too."

Upon hearing this, Wen Yan turned her head without hesitation, her gaze passing over Gu Yanci and looking at Wen Muzhi, who was further away.

Perhaps it was the strange atmosphere around him that made Wen Junming, who was engrossed in the auction, suddenly turn his attention back to the auction. He looked at his eldest sister on his right and then at his second sister on his left, looking completely bewildered.

"Next up, please look at this platinum Buddha-patterned emerald and diamond beaded necklace!" The auctioneer's voice drew everyone's attention to the auction stage.

It was the emerald bead string that belonged to Wen Yan's mother, Nan Yun!

When the auctioneer introduced the Sanskrit engravings on the platinum mother-of-pearl clasp of the beaded string, Wen Yan gave Wen Muzhi a mocking look.

These details match up perfectly, what else can they argue about?

Wen Muzhi stared straight ahead, pretending not to hear anything, as if she were just a simple buyer—

If she were sitting right next to Gu Yanci, she could explain herself, but now that Wen Yan and Gu Yanci are so close, who knows what rumors Wen Yan might spread in front of Gu Yanci!

The auction begins.

Many people participated in the auction, and the price quickly soared from the estimated 550 million yuan to 1050 million yuan.

Some people could tell that Wen Muzhi was determined to win the bid. Wen Muzhi had a close relationship with Gu Yanci, and the Wen family itself was not to be underestimated. In order to avoid making enemies, many people gave up bidding.

In the end, only two people remained in the bidding.

"1100 million." Wen Muzhi confidently raised his paddle.

Now no one will compete with her for it, right? This price has completely exceeded the estimated value, and nobody is a fool!

"1200."

Wen Muzhi looked in the direction of the sound and saw a young man in a suit with a Bluetooth earpiece in his left ear, clearly a paparazzi.

"Is there anything higher than 1200 million?" the auctioneer began to ask.

"Big sister, what are you standing there for? Hold up the sign!" Wen Junming reminded Wen Muzhi.

Wen Muzhi's face darkened, and he explained in a low voice, "Junming, the current price is more than double the estimated price, it's not worth it!"

It only sold for five million back then!

Most of the items in the auction were overpriced, and she didn't want to spend more money on Wen Yan's things. Her and Wan Ying's idea was that if the price went too high, they would use the excuse of the high premium and insufficient cash to withdraw from the auction.

"But we promised to return Aunt Nanyun's belongings to Wen Yan!" Wen Junming's voice was not quiet, and several paparazzi around him caught the gossip and immediately looked over.

Oh dear, there's more to the story!

The gossipy gazes of the crowd darted back and forth between the three Wen siblings.

Wen Yan stared calmly at Wen Muzhi, like a moral judge.

"Who is Nan Yun?" someone asked in a low voice.

An older woman standing nearby answered, "The Wen family's previous wife, Wen Yan's mother, was from Gangcheng, and her family was very wealthy!"

Everyone present was shrewd; with just a few clues, they could guess most of the story. It was simply a matter of having a stepmother leading to a stepfather, and the biological mother's inheritance becoming the stepmother's blood bank. Wen Yan even found out about this, so the Wen family had to clean up the mess themselves.

"Ha, the Wen family really does things like that!"

"Isn't it?"

Wen Muzhi was so angry that his teeth itched, and he glared fiercely at Wen Junming, that good-for-nothing fool!

Wen Junming felt completely innocent.

What did he say wrong?

He didn't!

Feeling resentful at being glared at for no reason, Wen Junming crossed his arms and turned his head away, refusing to look at Wen Muzhi.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Wen Muzhi was caught in a dilemma and had no choice but to raise his paddle again, painfully increasing the price: "1250 million!"

The proxy bidder immediately raised their paddle: "1400 million."

Wen Muzhi stared intently at the proxy bidder, and after a few seconds, took a deep breath: "1450 million!"

Bidding agent: "1600 million."

The crowd was happy to watch the show and turned their attention to Wen Muzhi, waiting for her to raise the price and see how long she could keep it up.

Wen Muzhi's expression twisted: "Yan Yan, you have no proof that the beaded necklace belongs to Aunt Nan. Are you really going to be so willful, making the family spend so much money on a piece of jewelry that you will never wear just because of your guess?"

A string of imperial green beads is not something a young girl in her early twenties could wear; she wouldn't be able to carry it off.

Wen Muzhi's words instantly pointed the finger at Wen Yan. Those unaware of the inside story could easily be misled by Wen Muzhi into thinking that Wen Yan was being unreasonable, while the Wen family had already done their best to cooperate.

After all, Wen Muzhi has a very good reputation in the industry, while Wen Junming is a well-known playboy. Who would easily believe the words of a playboy?

Luo Beiqing's face turned cold.

Before she could even speak, Wen Yan had already raised her paddle: "1650 million."

This action is enough to prove Wen Yan's emphasis on jade bead necklaces.

If this wasn't a relic of Nan Yun, why would Wen Yan spend this money?

"Yan Yan, don't be stubborn. Do you even have that kind of money?" Wen Muzhi said through gritted teeth.

Wen Junming asked matter-of-factly, "Isn't my brother-in-law going to pay?"

He paused, then asked Gu Yanci for confirmation: "Brother-in-law, you're going to pay, right? I've never seen a man take his woman shopping and let her pay for it herself. It's shameful!"

Gu Yanci nodded happily, indicating that he would pay.

He turned to Wen Yan and said, "Play as you like, I'll pay."

A middle-aged woman behind Wen Yan chuckled softly, "Young Master Gu knows how to dote on his wife!"

Wen Muzhi really wanted to put this unlucky younger brother back into her mother's belly.

What a clueless idiot!

Today has been incredibly unlucky; from getting dressed to now, nothing has gone smoothly!

Wen Yan looked at Gu Yanci, her hand tightening around the bidding paddle. After the other party raised the price again, she did not bid again, and the jade bead string fell into the hands of the proxy bidder who had been bidding all along.

Wen Yan looked in the direction of the proxy photographer, her eyes filled with obvious reluctance and self-blame.

She was unwilling to spend Gu Yanci's money.

Gu Yanci sent a text message to Zhou Qi, instructing him to investigate the person behind the proxy bidder.

He could buy back whatever Mrs. Gu wanted at a high price and give it to her.

Gu Yanci's expression turned indifferent. Although he didn't show a cold face, it was obvious to everyone that he was somewhat unhappy.

"Wen Yan, you really don't want to spend my money?"

Gu Yanci stood up, went to Wen Yan's side, and whispered in her ear, "Don't you understand that marital property is jointly owned? There's no reason for you to mistreat yourself, is there?"