Chapter 108: Eighty Million

Hearing Zhou Wen's words, An Ling simply curved her eyes into a smile.

"What do you mean, driving up the price? If you can't afford it, I'll just take it."

Zhou Wen clenched her jaw. Looking at the woman's impervious attitude, she only felt infuriated.

There was simply no reasoning with such a wicked person! She had absolutely no bottom line when it came to money!

After mentally preparing herself for a moment, Zhou Wen took a deep breath and raised her paddle again.

"Eighty million!"

After speaking, she snapped her gaze to the side.

The girl, however, was currently looking curiously at the desserts on the table.

As if sensing everyone's gaze, she looked up, still holding half a macaron in her hand. One side of her cheek bulged slightly, and her eyelashes fluttered as if she were puzzled.

"Oh, bidding, right," the girl nodded in sudden realization.

She was just about to raise her hand, but stopped halfway. Setting it down unhurriedly, she said with a beaming smile,

"Never mind, you can have it. I thought about it, and Shen Linyan can only take out a loan once. What if there's something I like even more later?"

Hearing this, Zhou Wen's pupils shrank slightly as the auctioneer's voice rang in her ears.

"Eighty million, going once."

"Eighty million, going twice."

"Eighty million, going three times."

With the fall of the hammer, a loud "bang" instantly locked in the price.

"Congratulations to Miss Zhou for winning the Pink Kiss."

Amidst the surrounding applause, Zhou Wen secretly clenched her fists and glared daggers at An Ling.

This price far exceeded her budget, and she had recently been arguing with Lu Jingshen. She couldn't let the other party lead her by the nose like this anymore.

During the second and third rounds of bidding, neither Zhou Wen nor An Ling placed a bid.

In the fourth round, Zhou Wen set her sights on a fully diamond-encrusted bracelet.

She raised her paddle, "Five point three million."

An Ling leisurely followed up, "Five point five million."

Zhou Wen gritted her teeth, "Six million!"

"Six point two million." It was still that lazy female voice.

Zhou Wen choked, whipping her head around. "An Ling, is it fun for you to target me like this?"

This person was definitely doing it on purpose!

Deliberately following with the minimum bid increment.

Hearing this, An Ling blinked innocently. "I'm not. I like it too. Ever since Shen Linyan went bankrupt, I haven't bought a bracelet in ages."

Furious, Zhou Wen waved her hand grandly, "Eight million!"

An Ling: "Okay, you can have this one too."

"..."

Beside them, Shen Fuyuan almost couldn't hold it in, desperately suppressing the upward curve of her lips.

The first time she met An Ling at the company, she had also been played with like this by An Ling, and she had been furious!

Now that the roles were reversed and she was a bystander, this was just too satisfying!

Zhou Wen was so angry her hands were shaking. She opened her mouth to say something, but catching sight of the media and the crowd from the corner of her eye, she swallowed her anger back down, forcing herself to endure it.

Fine, okay, this was exactly what she wanted!

Then her eldest brother would know exactly what kind of person An Ling was!

But with this amount nearing a hundred million, Mother Shen would definitely question her later. She had to shift the blame onto An Ling.

An Ling was taking small sips of her wine, waiting for the auctioneer to announce the next item, when she suddenly saw Zhou Wen walking towards her.

She paused, lazily crossing her arms and eyeing the other woman as she came to stand beside her.

Zhou Wen lowered her voice, "You're going to keep matching my bids, aren't you?"

An Ling raised an eyebrow, her speaking pace unhurried, giving the same answer as before.

"No, I just want to buy what I like. It's just that after looking at the first few, I suddenly didn't like them anymore."

Zhou Wen sneered, "Then do you like the next one?"

An Ling looked up at the screen. The auctioneer was introducing the finale jewelry piece.

It was an exquisite and delicate ring inlaid with a blue gemstone. Its interior was pure and flawless, an absolutely rare natural colored gem.

She chuckled softly, "Guess?"

The auctioneer announced the price: a starting bid of sixty million, with a minimum increment of ten million.

Zhou Wen directly raised her paddle, "Eighty million."

An Ling glanced at her and also raised her paddle.

"One hundred million."

Zhou Wen's eyes flickered.

Just as she expected, and she still dared to deny it.

She had already seen through An Ling's routine. This person would definitely follow her to drive up the price and then back out.

Zhou Wen instantly put her paddle away and smiled, mimicking An Ling's previous manner.

"Sorry, I'm out."

Hearing this, An Ling slightly raised her eyebrows.

Zhou Wen curled her lips at her, carrying a hint of smugness.

However, before she could be happy for long, someone immediately raised a paddle and called out, "I bid two hundred million."

Obviously, they weren't the only two buyers. Besides, as the finale jewelry piece, naturally many people had their eyes on it.

After all, this kind of top-tier jewelry would easily sell for hundreds of millions at major auction houses.

A faint, sighing chuckle from the woman reached her ears, "What a pity. Looks like I can't make Shen Linyan take out a loan after all."

Zhou Wen's face instantly darkened.

Great. From start to finish, An Ling hadn't spent a single dime, whereas she herself had been played by An Ling multiple times.

The others also didn't seem to expect such a plot twist, and the air stagnated for a moment.

"Was An Ling deliberately driving up the price just now?"

"She never intended to make Shen Linyan take out a loan at all, did she?"

Hearing the surrounding whispers, Zhou Wen's face paled slightly. She pressed her lips together tightly, her nails digging into her flesh. She even felt a sense of humiliation that made her wish she could flee the scene immediately, yet she dreaded going home to face Mother Shen.

An Ling was the one who had gone bankrupt. Why did things turn out like this?

The reason she had kept outbidding An Ling earlier was that she was genuinely worried An Ling would make Shen Linyan take out a loan.

She only matched the bids for Shen Linyan's sake. Why was An Ling getting to play the good guy now?!

Zhou Wen gritted her back teeth, her heart sinking instantly. A streak of cold gloom flashed through her eyes. Unable to suppress the anger at the bottom of her heart, her gaze flickered.

An Ling looked down at the time, feeling it was about right.

She wondered if Shen Linyan was done with his work. Having had a few glasses of wine, she felt a bit dizzy and decided she might as well call him to pick her up.

Just as she turned around, someone suddenly bumped into her arm.

She frowned in pain, her grip subconsciously loosening, and her wine glass instantly dropped.

"Crash—"

A woman's gasp sounded beside her. Immediately after, she saw Zhou Wen standing there, looking down at her dress in feigned dismay.

On that expensive champagne-colored dress, there was a glaring dark stain.

Zhou Wen looked up, her eyes filled with disbelief, her tone accusing, "An Ling, what are you doing?!"

An Ling: "..."

If she remembered correctly, it seemed you bumped into me yourself.

Wait a minute, this scene...

An Ling's mouth twitched slightly, silently praying: No way, right?

Are these plot tropes just coming one after another? But she just wanted to go home to Shen Linyan.

She rubbed her temples in slight annoyance. Just as she was about to speak, a displeased male voice suddenly sounded from behind her.

"An Ling, what are you doing?"

Turning her head to look at the man's unfamiliar face, An Ling paused and expressionlessly lowered her hand.

She had just been wondering where the male lead went. Well, look at that, here he is.