Chapter 107: He'll have to take out a loan to buy it for me, understand

The atmosphere in the hall was somewhat subtle.

After all, no one expected to run into the reclusive daughter of the An family here.

Sizing, scrutinizing gazes surged from all directions, and camera lenses were quietly aimed her way.

At that moment, the banquet's host took the stage, breaking the tense atmosphere in the room.

"Thank you all for being here. The banquet officially begins now. I will introduce this season's new arrivals, and if you see something you like, you are more than welcome to place a bid."

As his voice fell, a diamond necklace appeared on the large screen.

The diamond was crystal clear and brilliant, with a soft yet vibrant pink hue that refracted a dazzling light.

"The Pink Kiss. Starting bid is twenty million, highest bidder wins."

As soon as the host finished speaking, the bidding began.

"Thirty million."

"Thirty-five million."

Catching a glimpse of An Ling's empty hands, a flicker of obscure light flashed through Zhou Wen's eyes. She curled her lips into a shallow smile and raised her paddle. "Forty million."

Shen Fuyuan also noticed that An Ling had nothing in her hands and lowered her voice. "The invitation tiers are different. Ours allows us to bid, but the tier of your invitation is too low."

Guests who received high-tier invitations were given a catalog of the evening's new arrivals before the banquet, making it easier for them to choose their favorite jewelry to bid on.

But the invitation Guo Yu gave An Ling was a supplementary one, restricted only to entry with no other privileges.

Initially, An Ling just planned to come for fun, so it made no difference to her what kind of invitation she had.

But now, as the eldest daughter of the An family, lacking even a formal invitation naturally plunged her back into the center of gossip.

After all, everyone knew that An Ling's husband had gone bankrupt.

As the An family heiress, An Ling hadn't shown her face in years, leading to long-standing rumors that the An family had abandoned this daughter.

Previously, it was just a rumor, but looking at the current situation, it seemed this speculation was about to be confirmed.

"An Ling caused so many scandals before; the An family has already done more than enough for this daughter."

"I had dinner with CEO An before, and I heard him say he froze An Ling's cards. Now she's remarried to her bankrupt ex-husband and has absolutely no money on her. I don't even know how she got in here."

"The An family didn't let her show her face before, probably because they didn't want this daughter to embarrass them. Who would have thought she'd jump out on her own."

Every word reached her ears, but to An Ling, it sounded increasingly familiar.

Because similar words had appeared in the original plot.

In the final ending, she was kicked out of the Shen family, and the An Group was completely swallowed by the Shen Group.

Not long after, her photos were dug up, and everyone mocked the once high-and-mighty eldest daughter of the An family for falling into such a miserable state.

The only silver lining was that, unlike the original plot where the An family marched toward ruin alongside her, it had now changed to the An family abandoning her.

Her cards had indeed been frozen by An Zhou. The system had done too many stupid things using her body, and An Zhou simply couldn't take it anymore. In a fit of anger, he cut off her cards, thinking this would make her settle down.

Even on the night she regained control of her body, the bar she tricked Lu Jingshen into going to was a cheap one.

No wonder when she first woke up, all she could smell was cheap alcohol and cigarette smoke.

Even knowing she had this part of the plot, experiencing it firsthand still gave An Ling an indescribable feeling.

It was as if... the scene of her own death was flashing right before her eyes.

No matter how she tried to avoid it, the destined plot points still arrived, just presenting themselves in a different form.

An Ling's silence, in the eyes of others, looked like a tacit admission to the rumors.

The murmurs of discussion grew louder.

Shen Fuyuan didn't know if what they were saying was true or not, but in all the time they had been married, she had never seen the An family come to visit An Ling. And there had been no news of her eldest brother since he left the Shen family.

Could it be they were truly out of money?

No wonder she went to be a producer and made excuses about coming here on behalf of the company.

Thinking of this, Shen Fuyuan's gaze became complicated.

Bankrupt, yet still keeping a cat.

What would happen to Huihui staying with them? Would he even have enough to eat?

"Are you really broke? How about you use my paddle to bid, and I'll pay for it. At worst, my mom will scold me, but I'll consider it paying you back for those luxury goods from before..." Shen Fuyuan thought that this way, she could also buy some food for Huihui.

It was just that if her mom found out she was helping An Ling, she would definitely be scolded.

But it wouldn't be the first time she got scolded anyway.

"No need," An Ling rejected Shen Fuyuan, turning her head to address a waiter. "Please apply for a bidding paddle for me."

"Certainly, please wait a moment. May I ask under whose name it should be registered?"

Hearing this, An Ling glanced at the media not far away.

She slowly uttered a name:

"Shen Linyan."

Zhou Wen, who was nearby and overheard their conversation, turned to look. "An Ling, if you want to bid, then bid. Why use Eldest Brother's name?"

The woman ignored her completely, flipping through the catalog of the evening's new arrivals handed to her by the waiter, nodding in continuous approval. "These new pieces tonight are all so beautiful..."

"I really want to take them all." She sighed with emotion, slowly raising her head and curving her eyes into a smile at Zhou Wen. "Right?"

Zhou Wen's expression turned somewhat ugly.

The waiter brought the bidding paddle over. Just as An Ling was about to raise it, she seemed to remember something and turned back to Zhou Wen. "You just bid fifty million, right?"

Without waiting for a reply, she had already raised her paddle.

"Sixty million."

Zhou Wen's brows instantly furrowed. "An Ling, are you using Eldest Brother's money to bid? If you don't have money, just let it go. There's no need to put up a false front here."

"I'll use it if I want to. Who told him to remarry me? If I like this, I must have it. As for whether Shen Linyan has money or not..."

The woman took an unhurried sip of champagne.

She raised her eyebrows and smiled, her beautiful face displaying a flamboyant arrogance.

"He'll have to take out a loan to buy it for me, understand?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, the entire hall fell silent.

It seemed no one expected An Ling to say such a thing.

"That rumor is true. People have been saying for a long time that An Ling has a bad temper and is hard to please..."

"No wonder the An family didn't want this daughter. Who could stand this..."

"Shen Linyan is quite pitiful. Bankrupt and still being used by his ex-wife."

"Tens of millions, that's no small sum. The interest alone is enough to choke on. He might as well jump off a building after taking out that loan."

Even Shen Fuyuan was startled by her, excitedly lowering her voice. "Are you crazy?! Don't just bid in the heat of the moment!"

How could her eldest brother possibly get his hands on so much money right now? And there was no way An Ling could earn that much as a producer!

Zhou Wen's face darkened. She furrowed her brows and gave An Ling a deep look.

"An Ling, you don't deserve Eldest Brother at all. You've already made him into someone he's not. Do you want to ruin his entire life now?"

If she hadn't met Lu Jingshen first and seen his status as a CEO, she might have chosen Shen Linyan. She only found out later that Shen Linyan was the true heir to the Shen Group.

But by then, it was too late for regrets.

Such a gentle and noble man, yet he had the misfortune of encountering a wife like An Ling. If she were Shen Linyan's wife, things definitely wouldn't be like this.

Zhou Wen's feelings were somewhat complicated as she raised her paddle. "Sixty-five million."

The next second, An Ling raised her hand without hesitation.

"Seventy million."

Zhou Wen's pupils constricted as he gritted his teeth.

"Are you intentionally driving up the price against me?"