The auction kicked off, with rare treasures being displayed one after another on the stage, while the wealthy people below placed bids in succession.
Having navigated so many worlds and pretended to be rich for so long, Su Zhiyi had a good eye for valuables from frequenting high society. She glanced at the auction items on stage and could roughly estimate their price range. The winning bids for the first few items were inflated, at least 20% above their actual value. Though it pained her to see the extra money, it was within her expectations. Some people might genuinely be after the auction items, but most were there for the charity gala, hoping to find an opportunity to network with the Su family. Each auction item was like a ticket to meet the Su family member. A ticket to the Su family worth millions... "Damn rich people..." Su Zhiyi said with a mix of envy and jealousy.
"What did you say?" The host on stage brought down the gavel, selling an antique blue-and-white porcelain to the Zhao family for seven million, his voice just masking Su Zhiyi's unintentional mutter. Si Yanjing heard her voice but didn't catch it clearly, so he asked. Su Zhiyi immediately composed her expression, switching to her usual gentle demeanor as she placed her hands over Si Yanjing's large ones and said softly, "Nothing. Just a bit hungry. I want to eat your cooking when we get home." Hearing the word "home," Si Yanjing's focus instantly shifted from her earlier words to the thought of returning home to cook for her. His heart softened, and he held her hand back, patting it reassuringly. "Mm, then we'll leave when the auction ends. No need to wait for the boring banquet arrangements afterward."
"The next item is a collection from our family's old matriarch, Mrs. Su. As many of you may know, Mrs. Su acquired a precious Paraíba tourmaline in her early years and later commissioned Master Victor, the Y country jewelry master, to craft it into an exquisite ring, named 'Floating Life as a Dream.'" As the host explained, the ring was brought onto the stage and placed carefully on the display stand. Under the lights, the blue tourmaline on the ring face sparkled brilliantly, with almost no impurities, as if it had been soaked in a pristine, clear ocean for years before being retrieved. Its dreamy neon glow was mesmerizing. "Starting bid: one million. Minimum increment: ten thousand." The gavel struck, and bids came in from the audience. "Two million." "Four million." "Five million." ... "It really is beautiful..." Su Zhiyi had seen many luxury items; though she had no money, she loved them. Jewelry was her favorite, and the ring on stage was the most beautiful one she had seen across all her worlds. If circumstances allowed, she would have placed a bid to try to win it. Unfortunately, they didn't, so she could only watch these rich people fight over a tiny ring with prices she couldn't earn in several lifetimes. At that moment, she wished she were her colleague whose task was to "spend one hundred million."
"Nine million." "Ten million." The price had reached ten million, and the number of bidders dwindled. The ring was worth about twenty million, at most twenty-five million. "Twenty million." Just as Su Zhiyi was estimating the ring's price and waiting to see which rich person would pay twenty million, a familiar voice directly raised the bid by ten million, bringing it from ten to twenty million. The bid drew everyone's attention. Those who were about to bid looked toward the speaker, recognizing the calm yet arrogant voice that casually added ten million. Seeing who had bid "twenty million," they knew the ring was out of their reach and gave up. Su Zhiyi was startled by the sudden price jump and followed everyone's gaze to the bidder—Si Yanjing, sitting beside her. Su Zhiyi: "...?" She was too shocked to speak. Her surprise quickly shifted from Si Yanjing to someone else, because another person followed his bid. Not incrementing by ten thousand or one hundred thousand, but directly adding ten million: "Thirty million." Su Zhiyi's eyes widened in shock again. You rich people really don't treat money as money! System 030, who had been dozing off from the boring auction, was jolted awake by the thirty million price. "Th-thirty million?" it said blankly. "Host... how many worlds would we have to work to earn thirty million?" Su Zhiyi paused and answered honestly, "Based on a minimum reward of one million per world, we'd need to complete thirty worlds." Thirty worlds... System 030 wept with envy.
Su Zhiyi, like everyone else, followed the voice and saw the person who had raised the price from twenty to thirty million in one go. He sat elegantly and lazily, arms crossed over his chest, thin lips slightly parted, uttering the astonishing price in a casual tone. It was none other than Song Lian. Si Yanjing, upon seeing Song Lian bidding against him, frowned briefly, then without hesitation, he followed: "Forty million." "Fifty million," Song Lian said unhurriedly. "Sixty million," Si Yanjing refused to yield. "Forty worlds, fifty worlds..." Su Zhiyi felt as if endless money were being scattered like confetti throughout the hall. But none of it went into her pocket; it all poured onto the ring on the auction stage, with the price increasing by ten million each time, far exceeding the ring's actual value. Su Zhiyi couldn't help but feel sorry for their wallets. "These men, fighting over a ring!" "Ninety million." Song Lian's voice remained steady, bidding ninety million after Si Yanjing's eighty million. Not only Su Zhiyi was shocked; all the nobles present were stunned. "What is Young Master Song doing competing with Second Young Master Si over a ring?" "Does this ring have some magical property?" "Is the Song family feuding with the Si family?" Si Yanjing's face had lost its ease, now covered with a visible layer of frost, the corners of his mouth pulling downward, clearly displeased with Song Lian's counterbidding. But after Song Lian's ninety million, he spat out three words with a fierce competitiveness: "One hundred million." Su Zhiyi could no longer maintain her composure. She gripped the fabric of her dress, her eyes wide, and drew in a sharp breath. "This world has finally gone mad," she mused silently. System 030 was dazzled by the astronomical number one hundred million, counting zeros in a daze: "One zero, two zeros, three zeros, four zeros... Host, one hundred million has so many zeros! If you earned one hundred million, I could apply to the main system to upgrade to a high-level system!"
Song Lian finally stopped and didn't continue bidding. Seeing that Song Lian wouldn't follow, the host tactfully said, "No more bids? One hundred million, going once. One hundred million, going twice." A ring worth twenty million had been bid up to one hundred million; who would follow? Su Zhiyi silently complained again. Si Yanjing spending so much to win the ring clearly wasn't for himself. Was it for his mother? Or the Si family's matriarch? After the three calls, the host struck the gavel and congratulated the winner: "Congratulations, Mr. Si, for successfully winning our treasure 'Floating Life as a Dream' for one hundred million. Thank you for your contribution to charity!" "Finally won it..." Si Yanjing's furrowed brow eased a bit, and he let out a sigh of relief. He turned to Su Zhiyi and asked softly, "Do you want to watch the rest of the auction?" Su Zhiyi shook her head. "No." "This was the only thing I wanted to bid on. Since you don't want to watch either, let's go." Si Yanjing's tone was as light as if he hadn't just spent one hundred million. "Wait for me in the lobby. I'll find you soon. It'll be quick," he promised. Su Zhiyi didn't know why, but she noticed that Si Yanjing's eyes, which had been as deep as night, brightened slightly, and she caught a trace of... joy? Was he that happy to spend one hundred million on a ring worth twenty million? Whatever. She couldn't understand rich people, and she gave up trying.
Most people had gone to the auction hall, so the hotel lobby was nearly empty. Having not eaten all evening, Su Zhiyi was hungry. She found a corner with a table full of pastries, most of them untouched. She picked up a macaron from a plate and nibbled on it to fill her empty stomach. Just as she finished one and was about to start a second, System 030 suddenly spoke. "Host, host, stop eating! Someone's coming!" Su Zhiyi didn't take it seriously and continued, taking a small bite of another macaron. "So what if someone's coming? People come and go in the lobby all the time—" Before she could finish, she heard several vaguely familiar voices approaching her. They were talking, and as they talked, she seemed to catch a strange male voice mentioning her name. Su Zhiyi froze, nearly choking on the macaron in her mouth. She hurriedly swallowed it, then finished the rest in one bite. After dealing with the macaron, she turned to look. When she saw who was there, her pupils dilated like a stone thrown into still water, rippling violently. It was the Su Family Head, Mrs. Su, Su Qinghuai... and beside them, several strangers she didn't recognize but who had just spoken her name. "What the—? Who are these people? Do I know them? Why are they mentioning my name in front of the Su family?!" Su Zhiyi exclaimed. System 030's mind raced, and it finally found the strangers' information in its database: "They, they are the Si family... members of the Si family!" Su Zhiyi was even more shocked. "Why are the Si family and the Su family discussing me together!"