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Chapter 21: Auction
Jiang Suizhou didn’t like seeing Guan Xi in a sulking state.
He believed that the real Guan Xi was the one who was lively, arrogant, and looked down on everyone. He was really unhappy with someone trying to erode this aspect of her around him. Moreover, Guan Xi was currently his girlfriend and fiancé, tampering with her in any way felt no different than tampering with himself.
Returning to Jialin Jingyuan in the evening, the two sat on separate couches. One was watching a variety show on TV, while the other was immersed in a dense set of data.
“There’s an auction the day after tomorrow, let’s go together,” Jiang Suizhou put down his iPad and suggested.
At a critical moment in the variety show escape room, her sister, Guan Zhiyi, was trapped in a small cabinet, struggling with the password and failing several times.
Guan Xi’s eyes were glued to the screen. “What kind of crappy variety show is this? Have the staff all died? If Little Zhiyi suffocates, I’ll never let them off.”
Jiang Suizhou followed her gaze and sat next to her. “Have you been listening to me?”
“No, look at Little Zhiyi—”
“Really immersed in the role.” Jiang Suizhou directly pinched her cheek and turned her head. “This thing isn’t live, even if it suffocates, they can edit it out. Your entire Guan family might as well blow up the TV station.”
Forced to pout, Guan Xi mumbled, “Even if it’s pre-recorded, it’s still dangerous… Wait, what did you just say?”
“I said there’s an auction the day after tomorrow, organized by Yang Mingzhi.”
Yang Mingzhi was a well-known collector in the capital and often hosted auctions. Guan Xi was familiar with him because he was a good friend of her father, Guan Xinghao, and had practically watched her grow up.
“Oh, Uncle Yang, what rare items does he have this time?” Guan Xi’s mind wasn’t on that at all, only saying, “I don’t want to go.”
“I heard there are many good items this time.”
Guan Xi cut in, “Don’t want to go.”
“There are jewelry and gemstones.”
“Still don’t want to go.”
“There’s Colombian oil-free emerald.”
“Don’t want to go…”
“Myanmar pigeon blood ruby.”
“…Don’t want to—”
“And there’s also your favorite pink diamond, with a pretty high color grade, already made into a bracelet.”
Guan Xi’s thoughts of “I don’t want to go, I just want to be a couch potato at home” were on the verge of collapse.
Jiang Suizhou released her face and added a heavy weight, “I’ll foot the bill.”
Okay, her thoughts completely shattered and fell apart.
Guan Xi leaned towards his face and quickly asked, “What should I wear then?”
A faint smile tugged at the corner of Jiang Suizhou’s mouth. “Whatever you like.”
“I’ll go check!”
She was about to rush to the closet, but Jiang Suizhou stopped her in time. “Can we skip the variety show for now?”
Guan Xi put on a fake smile. “What’s there to watch in variety shows? Zhiyi and Xiao Liu are just taking on all sorts of random jobs every day.”
Jiang Suizhou stood up and responded with an even more fake smile. “If you’re not watching, let’s go back to the room.”
“Can’t I at least check what to wear tomorrow first?”
“No.”
Guan Xi let out a light snort. “Mr. Jiang, are you in such a hurry?”
Jiang Suizhou calmly nodded. “It’s been three or four days, a bit.”
Tsk, beast.
Two days later, the auction.
Guan Xi knew that Yang Mingzhi’s auction would be significant, but she didn’t expect it to be this big, with so many people in attendance. As she and Jiang Suizhou entered through the main entrance, they saw a row of familiar faces. The auction hadn’t started yet, and everyone was in the reception area of the hall, drinking wine and chatting.
“Zihan, look, it’s Guan Xi.” Not far away, Li Xinran on the sofa pulled Wei Zihan’s hand.
Wei Zihan was chatting with someone, but upon hearing Guan Xi’s name, she immediately looked over.
“Are Jiang Suizhou and Guan Xi still together? Haven’t they broken up according to the rumors?” Li Xinran looked towards Guan Ying, who was sitting on the rightmost side of the sofa. “Ying Ying, did they really break up?”
“I don’t know about their affairs,” Guan Ying’s expression remained indifferent. “Why do you care about this?”
Li Xinran leaned closer. “Oh, why are you so naive? Whether they break up or not is, of course, important. I usually can’t stand Guan Xi’s arrogant attitude… Hey, let me tell you, if they break up, it’s beneficial for you. What can Guan Xi compare to you now, if not for Jiang Suizhou?”
Guan Ying gave her a glance. “I’m not comparing myself to her. Don’t talk about such things.”
“But if you don’t compare, someone will naturally compare for you. You wouldn’t want to be inferior to an adopted daughter in your own home, right?”
Wei Zihan sneered, “Enough, Guan Ying can never be inferior to Guan Xi. And do you think their appearance together now means anything? Jiang Suizhou is much more cunning than you think. This is just putting on a show. Otherwise, as soon as they appear together, it’s not good for the Jiang family if they break up immediately.”
Li Xinran nodded, “True.”
While the two nearby were mocking, Guan Ying glanced over. Not far away, a couple. Are they really breaking up? There were many people at the event today, including Song Li, Guan Yuanbai… even her little sister Guan Zhiyi and Zhiyi’s boyfriend Qi Chengyan were present.
Guan Xi noticed Guan Zhiyi and expressed some surprise, “Zhiyi? When did you come back?”
Guan Zhiyi, looking at her, trotted over, “The filming wrapped up yesterday, so I came back. But it was too late when I got back yesterday, so I didn’t come to find you.”
Guan Zhiyi was usually busy with filming outside. She wasn’t interested in the circles of wealth and nobility in the capital, so Qi Chengyan often educated her about these matters. After learning about Guan Xi’s troubles, she was also angry, but she knew Guan Xi was proud and wouldn’t want her to bring up these sad matters in front of her.
Guan Xi asked, “Why did you come to this place today? You used to avoid it.”
“Well…” Guan Zhiyi whispered, “It’s because Chengyan wanted to come, so I accompanied him.”
Guan Xi glanced at Qi Chengyan, and he nodded in greeting. Guan Xi also nodded in acknowledgment. She felt reassured about Qi Chengyan. Setting aside other matters, when it came to pampering Guan Zhiyi, probably no one could surpass him.
“Sis, come over. I haven’t been back for a long time; let’s chat.”
“Sure.”
Guan Xi was led away by Guan Zhiyi. After Jiang Suizhou chatted with Guan Yuanbai and the others in place, he was secretly pulled aside by Song Li.
Jiang Suizhou asked, “What’s up?”
Song Li glanced at the direction of Guan Yuanbai and lowered her voice, “Bro, just now Yuanbai mentioned something to me. Are you really breaking up with Guan Xi?”
Song Li’s gossipy eyes carried a hint of curiosity.
Jiang Suizhou：“What do you think?”
“Your relationship with the two of you is indeed a bit… Well, how did your parents react?”
Jiang Suizhou had no intention of discussing this with Song Li and casually replied, “Told me to break up.”
“Did your family really say that?” Song Li took a sharp breath, “Oh my God, that… that’s amazing!”
Jiang Suizhou: “?”
Song Li shook her head and said, “I mean, after you two broke up, so many people came forward. If it weren’t for you, Guan Xi’s suitors would have openly come to get her phone number. Well, it’s good that you finally stopped monopolizing her.”
Jiang Suizhou didn’t expect Song Li to come up with this. He glanced at him coldly and walked away. Song Li was stunned for a moment, quickly caught up, “Hey, hey—when did you break up? Give me a definite answer so I can be a matchmaker—”
Guan Xi and Guan Zhiyi hadn’t seen each other for a long time, and there was endless chatter when they finally met. When Guan Ying and Wei Zihan came over, Guan Xi was still complaining about Guan Zhiyi’s participation in that variety show, until Guan Zhiyi pulled her clothes. Guan Xi turned around and saw the newcomer, her expression turned cold. She knew that Wei Zihan’s group would not let any opportunity to mock her slip by.
“Hello, sister.” Guan Zhiyi stood up, greeted Guan Ying, whom she wasn’t familiar with, out of politeness.
Guan Ying nodded and said, “Little Zhiyi, we didn’t have a chance to meet before, but I used to like watching your TV dramas.”
Guan Zhiyi quickly glanced at Guan Xi, as if saying, “I’m afraid Guan Xi thinks I’m getting along well with her sisters.” She replied, “Ah… really? Thank you.”
Guan Ying said, “You can come to our house when you’re free in the future.”
“Okay.”
Wei Zihan saw Guan Zhiyi holding onto Guan Xi and looking unfamiliar with Guan Ying, so she laughed, “Little Zhiyi, why are you not familiar with Guan Ying? She’s your real cousin.”
Cousin is cousin, do you have to add “real”…
Hearing this sarcastic remark, Guan Zhiyi, who was trying to figure out how to respond, looked at Guan Xi. She didn’t know how to answer.
Guan Xi, seeing that Guan Zhiyi was not good at retorting, pulled her back and straightforwardly said, “Little Zhiyi is not familiar with you either. Don’t meddle in our business.”
Wei Zihan chuckled and whispered, “What’s wrong, hit a sore spot?”
“Hit what sore spot? Wei Zihan, who are you performing this two-faced act for?” Guan Xi nodded slightly, full of disdain. “Do you think you’re superior to me now? In what aspect do you think you can compare to me? Why bother coming to me if you’re not happy?”
Wei Zihan’s face stiffened slightly. Guan Xi had the ability to easily suppress others with her expressions, language, and the inherent aura of superiority she carried.
Wei Zihan took a deep breath, “Guan Xi, you—”
“Are you done? It’s time to go in.” Just then, Jiang Suizhou walked over, breaking the tense atmosphere.
Guan Xi’s face turned extremely cold. She glanced at Jiang Suizhou and said flatly, “My mood is ruined. I don’t want to go anymore.”
Jiang Suizhou paused, glanced at Wei Zihan, understanding the situation.
“What’s wrong? Didn’t you promise to accompany me?” He took Guan Xi’s hand, unexpectedly speaking in a gentle tone.
Everyone present was stunned.
Even Guan Xi was a bit confused by his tone. She looked at him and tentatively continued to assert, “I don’t want to accompany you anymore.”
“Why go back on your words?” Jiang Suizhou reached out to tidy her hair and whispered softly, “Didn’t you say you wanted to see those jewels? If you like any, I’ll buy them for you.”
Guan Xi: “…”
“Alright, be good, just accompany me in for a while.” Jiang Suizhou pulled her hand and didn’t look at anyone else, leading her towards the auction area. “If you really don’t want to stay, we can leave later, okay?”
This tone of Jiang Suizhou… was a bit decisive. Her heartbeat was becoming abnormal because of him.
Guan Xi took a light breath and calmed herself, “Okay.”
The two walked away. Wei Zihan, with an iron-green face, stared at their backs, feeling a surge of anger from the scene just now. Since when could Jiang Suizhou talk to people like this? Weren’t he and Guan Xi supposed to break up?
Guan Ying’s gaze also lingered on their backs for a while, but she quickly withdrew her gaze. “Aren’t you going in? If not, I’ll leave first.”
Wei Zihan grabbed her hand, “Wait, I’ll go in with you.”
**
The people attending the auction today were all wealthy individuals. The first item up for auction was a string of Qing Dynasty agarwood Buddhist beads. Guan Xi had no interest in it and didn’t even bother to look. Subsequent items were also relatively old-fashioned antiques, making Guan Xi bored. She quietly chatted with Jiang Suizhou.
“Should Zhou Hao consider putting you under psychiatric care?”
“Huh?”
Guan Xi was suspicious, “What was that tone you just used…”
Jiang Suizhou glanced at her with a sidelong glance, “Don’t like it?”
Guan Xi was stunned, looking at his profile under the faint blue light, her heart skipped a beat again. The words “don’t like” seemed impossible to say.
“Ah… not really.”
“That’s good then,” Jiang Suizhou said, “Guan Xi, just be yourself.”
“What?”
Jiang Suizhou thought for a moment and spoke earnestly, “It looks better that way.”
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