Chapter 46: Showdown Between the Heroines! Lin Tian Is Done For! So Are Bai Ze and Zhao Dongyun, the Two Fathers!
The rule of a sealed (closed) auction is that the bids are not publicly disclosed. After all the interested parties have submitted their bids, the highest bidder wins the item. Compared to open bidding, this type of auction is more uncertain and requires financial planning from the buyer.
For instance, if the internal price for an item is 200, and someone bids 100, you might offer 110 and secure it around 150. But in a sealed auction, where you don’t know what others will bid, you often need to bid the maximum amount you’re willing to pay just to be safe. Even if you fail to win, at least you have no regrets.
Auctions are a psychological game. Only top-tier auctions with real prestige can afford to use such high-stakes formats.
Another feature of sealed auctions is that buyers are allowed to discuss and negotiate with each other. This is a hallmark of auctions held by the old gentleman. He doesn’t mind buyers talking. In fact, he encouraged it. He believes it helps participants better understand their competition and allows bidding to land at reasonable prices. After all, while high bids are welcome, it’s also crucial to make sure valued customers don’t feel cheated.
The partitions between seats were pulled back to encourage this discussion. As a result… Lin Tian was left frozen in place.
To his left were Bai Ze and Bai Bing’er. To his right were Xuan Yuan Qingya, Xuan Yuan Xing, and Jiang Yifeng. Beside him were Zhao Mengmeng and Shang Chan. When the partitions were still up, Lin Tian could pretend to be invisible. He figured if he just kept quiet, the event will proceed without any drama. The fact that sealed auctions allow open discussions completely slipped his mind.
[Crap… Guanyin, Buddha, Jesus, God! Any divine being out there, please help me! Please let these women behave themselves. I really don’t want to die here…]
[Shit! Is Bai Bing’er looking at me? Why the hell is she staring at me?! Can’t she look at the item instead? That’s a 24-kilo raw agarwood log with nearly 3 kilos of top-tier ‘qinan*’! Even if this goes for hundreds of millions or even billions, it’s still worth it!]
TL/N: ‘Qinan’ is a rare and insanely expensive variety of agarwood
[Let me think… In the original timeline, Jiang Yifeng eventually bought it for 800 million after acquiring Xinghai and Ice Eye groups, so his finances were strong by then. But right now… who knows?]
Outwardly, Lin Tian sat calm and composed like a scholar. But internally, he was in utter chaos. And, of course, every single one of the female leads could hear his thoughts.
Shang Chan’s expression turned ice-cold.
Firstly, she absolutely couldn’t allow Jiang Yifeng to win this agarwood. From Lin Tian’s thoughts, it was clear that if Jiang got this, he would level up and become unstoppable. Given the feud between the Zhao family and Jiang Yifeng, Shang Chan was willing to risk everything, even if it meant she had to sacrifice the Xinghai group to ensure that Jiang didn’t win.
Secondly, Lin Tian had mentally noted that Bai Bing’er was staring at him. Shang Chan looked over. Sure enough, Bai Bing’er was watching Lin Tian with curiosity and interest. Shang Chan was instantly annoyed.
She cursed silently, then subtly moved her chair to sit directly to Lin Tian’s left, blocking Bai Bing’er’s view.
Hmph! Let’s see if you can still look now!
To Lin Tian, though, this move was just as dangerous.
[What in the world is Shang Chan doing? Moving her chair is one thing but why sit so close… Wait! Jiang Yifeng just looked this way!]
Shang Chan tensed up. Her only goal was to block Bai Bing’er’s view, not to expose Lin Tian to Jiang Yifeng.
Thankfully, Zhao Mengmeng, the sweet and considerate one, casually moved her seat to Lin Tian’s right, blocking Jiang Yifeng’s view. Though she didn’t like Yifeng’s gaze either, she did it entirely for Lin Tian’s sake.
Lin Tian, of course, had no idea what either of the girls was thinking.
[Oh, come on! Zhao Mengmeng, not you too… You girls didn’t move your chairs earlier when the partitions were up. You’re dragging chairs around now?! You’re drawing everyone’s attention!! Welp, I guess this is it… Even if I die today, I’ll die like a king! Ahhhhh!]
Zhao Mengmeng noticed the stares caused by her movement and instantly panicked a little.
But the one who was most upset… wasn’t Lin Tian. It was Zhao Dongyun, her father.
Just a moment ago, his precious daughters were sitting sweetly by his side. Now, they were both sitting next to that kid Lin Tian! Zhao Dongyun turned around and saw Lin Tian with a defeated, “just kill me already” expression.
This brat! My two daughters are both clinging to you, and you’re still pretending to be annoyed?! What, not satisfied?! Want a third?!
Zhao Dongyun was fuming. If they weren’t at a public auction, he would’ve marched over and demanded answers.
If I find out this brat is seducing both my girls at the same time… I’ll break his damn legs!
What Zhao Dongyun didn’t realize, however, was that Lin Tian wasn’t seducing anyone. It was these two girls who were clinging to him! He couldn’t escape even if he wanted to!
Meanwhile, Bai Bing’er, now blocked from viewing Lin Tian, was initially irritated.
But upon hearing Lin Tian mentally complaining about both Shang Chan and Zhao Mengmeng, her mood suddenly lifted. Despite being someone who could read hearts, Bai Bing’er was still affected by them. She hadn’t realized that the moment she confirmed she could hear Lin Tian’s thoughts, she’d already fallen into curiosity and emotional vulnerability. She didn’t even care what “qinan” was. She just wanted to win that first auction item.
Yes, partly to block Jiang Yifeng, but more so… she didn’t want Lin Tian to suffer.
Perhaps her curiosity toward Lin Tian had started way back at the Zhao clan ancestral hall, when she had asked to borrow a lighter. Or maybe it was later, during the silent exchange between Shang Chan and Lin Tian on stage. Or perhaps during her surprise encounter at Bei Bingxian when she saw Lin Tian with Zhao Mengmeng.
[There’s nothing more dangerous than a woman’s curiosity toward a man.]