A beautiful summer night

Inside the auction hall, the VIP seats, from left to right, were occupied by the two Qu brothers, the two Lu brothers, Rong Yu, and finally Jiang Baichuan and Xie Qiyan.

The media was not allowed to enter the auction, otherwise they would have been snapping away at the scene, and any of the photos would have gone viral, generating hundreds of millions of views and trending on social media.

One auction item drew the attention of the four major families in the northern part of the city.

Before tonight, we were brothers, friends, and partners, but tonight, we are purely competitors.

Sima Zhao's heart is well known to passers-by.

Tonight's auction is going to be incredibly exciting.

"Why is my brother-in-law here too?" Rong Yu asked casually, his legs crossed. "You didn't come here for that item, did you?"

Jiang Baichuan glanced at him: "Do you think I can outcompete you? Didn't you see the famous President Xie next to me?"

Rong Yu raised an eyebrow, met Xie Qiyan's gaze, said "Nice to meet you" and then continued chatting with Jiang Baichuan: "That's true, you're single, so you definitely can't compete with someone who has a wife and kids."

Jiang Baichuan: "..."

Let's get down to business; there's no need to suppress people like this.

Ever since Chaochao Mumu became Jiang Baichuan's ally, Rong Yu's father has risen in status because of his daughter, and he has completely lost the respect and affection that a brother-in-law should have for his brother-in-law in front of Jiang Baichuan.

"I heard that President Xie's girlfriend is that little princess of the Xia family?" Rong Yu had just finished asking when he changed the subject again and continued to criticize Jiang Baichuan, "President Xie seems to be a year younger than you, brother-in-law, you'd better hurry up."

Jiang Baichuan gritted his teeth and glared fiercely at the old man.

It's true what they say: "If you marry a chicken, follow the chicken; if you marry a dog, follow the dog."

Jiang Yourong was born with a love for gossip, and Rong Yu has now completely mastered her essence.

Xie Qiyan listened from the side and smiled silently.

Jiang Baichuan was furious: "What are you laughing at?"

Good brothers should be willing to go to great lengths for each other, not stab each other with knives.

Not only did they not help, they also stood by and watched.

"I laughed?" Xie Qiyan maintained a cold expression throughout.

Jiang Baichuan: "..."

Hearing the conversation, Lu Beiting, who was standing next to Rong Yu, became interested in Xie Qiyan's girlfriend: "Is Mr. Xie's girlfriend Teacher Xia?"

Xie Qiyan glanced sideways, his eyes half-closed, clearly not satisfied with his address of "Teacher Xia".

Xia Wanzhi had previously mentioned that no one called her "teacher," so Xie Qiyan always liked to add the word "teacher" to the end when addressing Xia Wanzhi.

He used this as a form of fun.

Now it seems this little thing was deceiving us again.

They'll tie him up and beat him when they get back.

Despite his dissatisfaction, he still maintained basic politeness, so he casually replied, "Does Mr. Lu know my girlfriend?"

"She is the artist for my wife and children." Lu Beiting has always shown respect to the people his wife and children like.

The news of the Zhou family breaking off their engagement with the Xia family's little princess spread far and wide; everyone in their circle knew about it.

But not long after the engagement was called off, this little princess became Xie Qiyan's girlfriend, which shows that this CEO Xie has some tricks up his sleeve.

As it turns out, even without cunning, one can still attract male attention.

It seems that the trending topic that was previously considered to be Xia Wanzhi's kept man might not have been fake.

Xia Wanzhi had mentioned this before. At that time, Xia Wanzhi's studio was in a difficult situation, and Lu Beiting's family helped her a lot. Thinking about this, Xie Qiyan unexpectedly became close to this second Lu.

The two walked past Rong Yu and Jiang Baichuan, chatting idly.

The two people in the middle: "..."

It was all small talk, nothing particularly pleasant, until Xie Qiyan asked, "President Lu, are you also interested in 'Kingdom Heart'?"

That's a pointless question.

But it is also an important opening.

Lu Beiting smiled silently.

There were only a few of them in the VIP section, and they didn't keep their voices down. Qu Huai, who was sitting at the very front, was also determined to get the necklace, so when he heard the conversation, he couldn't help but look over.

They were exchanging pleasantries just a moment ago, but the atmosphere quickly turned tense.

Xie Qiyan, who was always thick-skinned, saw that everyone's eyes were on him and blurted out without a smile, "I also want this 'Heart of the Kingdom' as a proposal gift."

Rong Yu raised an eyebrow.

Jiang Baichuan looked at him with some surprise.

Okay, okay, this is how you curl it, right?

He was the last one in the row.

Upon hearing this, those who heard it exchanged knowing smiles.

The head of the Xie family is young, but he has a thick skin.

When the time came, the auction officially began. For the first hour, the big shots in the VIP area hardly made any moves, but later they took turns bidding on some antique trinkets.

They're all married men; they can't go home empty-handed.

Apart from Jiang Baichuan.

As the auction drew to a close, the most anticipated finale item, the "Heart of the Kingdom" blue diamond necklace, made its grand entrance. Even from a distance, the pigeon-egg-sized blue diamond shone brilliantly.

It is indeed a valuable item that would be very suitable as a proposal gift.

Everyone in the room knew that the four great families of Qu, Lu, Jiang, and Xie had all come for this necklace tonight. No one had the ability or the courage to bid against them, but they did have the courage to come and watch the spectacle.

This kind of top-tier battleground must be very exciting and lively.

As the auctioneer began calling out the starting price, everyone saw Xie Qiyan, who was sitting at the end of the table, raise his paddle: "Twenty-five million."

The starting bid is 20 million, and the bids increase in increments of 5 million.

Just as everyone held their breath, waiting for the next big spender to raise the bid, the entire room fell silent.

The entire audience: "???"

Everyone looked over.

Where's the promised chaotic scene?

What's the story behind this scene of brothers being friendly and loving towards each other?

Jiang Baichuan raised an eyebrow and glanced at Xie Qiyan.

He really hadn't expected that.

What surprised him most was that shamelessness was actually incredibly efficient.

Xie Qiyan was naturally delighted. Before the auction began, he had deliberately revealed that he wanted the necklace as a proposal gift.

That's exactly what we wanted to achieve.

But as he muttered the number 25 million to himself, his brows furrowed slightly.

Two thousand five, 2500.

Two hundred and fifty followed by a zero.

It sounds bad, and it's considered unlucky.

The auctioneer waited for a while and, seeing no movement in the room, became extremely anxious, a bead of sweat already forming on his forehead.

They had envisioned bidding over 100 million for this item.

But now it's stuck at 25 million...

The big shots were all acting out of character tonight.

What's the matter?

He swallowed hard, trying to keep his voice steady: "Twenty-five million once..."

After a few seconds of anxious waiting, I thought to myself, "Twenty-five million twice..."

Not only the auctioneer, but everyone in the room held their breath.

Just as the auctioneer was about to call out the third time, Xie Qiyan nudged Jiang Baichuan with his elbow: "Two hundred and fifty is unlucky, raise the price."

Jiang Baichuan glanced at him, his face practically screaming "Are you crazy?"

Despite the disdain, I did as instructed: "Thirty million."

The auctioneer's tension eased a little.

Everyone was surprised.

Isn't it said that Jiang Baichuan and Xie Qiyan have a good relationship?

Tonight, a story of brothers turning against each other has unexpectedly unfolded.

But that's all.

The auctioneer continued with the proceedings, and Xie Qiyan, confident and determined, raised his paddle with a relaxed expression: "Thirty-five million."

The auctioneer continued with the proceedings, but no one raised the price further. Finally, he weakly announced, "Thirty-five million, three times! Sold! Let's congratulate this gentleman..."

The auctioneer's palms were sweaty, and he was heartbroken.

The entire audience sighed in dismay.

The promised chaotic scene, is this all?

Xie Qiyan raised an eyebrow, turned his body to the side, and nodded to the row of big shots who made way for him to express their gratitude.

After the auction ended, Xie Qiyan received his marriage proposal gift, looking just like a peacock ready to spread its tail feathers.

Jiang Baichuan couldn't bear to look: "..."