Chapter 13: The Male Lead with X-Ray Vision VS Five Female Leads (13)
“Five Blessings” refers to fortune, luck, longevity, happiness, and wealth. The representative colors of jade are red, green, white, purple, and yellow. When these five colors appear in the same piece of jade, it’s called “Five Blessings.”
Five-color jade is currently the jade with the most colors discovered, but it’s extremely rare. Even four-color jade is quite rare. Multi-colored jade, imbued with auspicious meanings, is highly sought after by jade lovers and collectors.
Although the jade from No. 3 was only slightly larger than an adult’s palm, the colors were evenly distributed and vibrant. The water content was not discussed; after all, jade either has texture or color, but rarely both.
In terms of collection value, this piece was in no way inferior to a top-grade glass-type jade of the same size.
For a moment, the auction hall buzzed with discussions about this “Five Blessings” jade. Some faces flushed with excitement, others with regret—the excited ones were those who had bid, the regretful ones were those who hadn’t participated. Those who participated suddenly became competitors, although no one revealed their bid. The An family announced the bottom price and the closest bid for each piece but didn’t reveal the buyer’s name.
Huo Xian had a bad feeling, and when the price of No. 3 was revealed, his feeling proved true.
Of the 21 pieces of raw jade, the An family’s highest price was 10 million for No. 16, and the lowest was 1 million for No. 3 and No. 20. When the bottom price of No. 3 was revealed, the guests’ jaws dropped, and they discussed how incredibly low the price was. Huo Xian even heard someone say their lowest bid was 13 million.
What about Huo Xian?
Huo Xian’s bid was 200,000, 800,000 less than the bottom price of 1 million. 800,000… could buy an apartment in a third- or fourth-tier city in his original world.
The final announcement of the buyers was the most anticipated moment. Although many people were eyeing No. 3, others were also highly sought after. Those who had hesitantly submitted bids were more excited because the low bottom price meant a higher chance of winning with a low bid.
“Huh?” Liu Xuesue let out a soft gasp.
Huo Xian looked at her curiously. She pointed to the bidding information on the large screen, where the names were hidden, whispering, “That’s my bid.”
Huo Xian turned to the screen. The bottom price for No. 1 was 3 million, and Liu Xuesue’s bid of 2 million had won it. No. 1 contained a sizeable piece of ice-type jade. He didn’t understand jade prices, so he didn’t know if Liu Xuesue had made a profit or a loss.
“Congratulations.” At least it was lower than the An family’s bottom price, so it was considered a profit.
“Thank you.” Liu Xuesue smiled gently, lowering her voice even more, “I should also congratulate Mr. Huo.”
Huo Xian knew she was referring to No. 3. Unless something unexpected happened, that raw jade—or rather, the top-grade five-color jade—would be his. But he still needed to be humble; perhaps someone else had also bid 1 million just to participate?
However, no one did. Even those who weren’t seriously participating wouldn’t submit a low bid for the sake of face. What if the staff laughed at them?
Therefore, when the bid for No. 3 appeared on the big screen, there was a moment of silence, followed by an uproar.
Two hundred thousand?
Two hundred thousand??
Two hundred thousand???
Who the hell wrote down two hundred thousand? Didn’t they miss a couple of zeros? Two hundred thousand to get a “Five Blessings” jade worth at least eight figures??
Due to the loudness, Anna had to come to the stage to explain, “This is a private auction, a way to give back to our partners and thank you for supporting the An family. Therefore, the pricing of the items was determined by our professional appraisers. We tried to ensure that our partners don’t lose money; making a huge profit is purely your luck.”
The An family’s stance was clear: they didn’t intend to make a profit from them, and they couldn’t be blamed for the high psychological prices. Furthermore, out of 21 pieces of raw jade, 20 had yielded jade, with good quality, making it difficult to find fault.
But it was “Five Blessings”!
Two hundred thousand!
Other bidders didn’t consider the mere 200,000 as a significant amount. They simply didn’t want it.
Huo Xian: I’m too poor.
With the shockingly low bid for No. 3, other bidders who had bid several million or tens of millions, far above the An family’s bottom prices, felt like fools—fools who had been completely scammed. Especially the one who spent 14 million on No. 17 and got nothing. 14 million was like throwing money into a river and hearing not a single splash.
So, jade gambling is risky; gamble with caution.
“Did he show any anomalies?” Anna returned to the monitoring room and asked the two people in front of the computer.
These two were recently hired top international psychologists. Their job was to analyze Huo Xian’s psychology. It was strange, but for the high salary, they were happy to take the job.
The younger doctor shook his head, “No. This gentleman chose the raw jade very casually, and his bid was likely just for fun.” He paused the monitoring footage, “Look here, when No. 3 was being cut, he only glanced at it before leaving to answer the phone. His expression and actions show that he didn’t care what No. 3 would yield.”
“And here,” the older doctor also pointed to a paused image, “After he returned from the phone call and briefly talked with the lady beside him, he showed surprise and then looked at the jade being cut. He was probably surprised by the attributes of the jade from No. 3.”
Anna pondered, moving the progress bar forward. Looking at the images of Huo Xian and Liu Xuesue closely interacting, she felt a little irritated and moved the footage forward.
“Here, he became the buyer of No. 3. Any anomalies?” Anna asked.
“There’s one thing…” The older doctor stroked his chin, before Anna could ask further, he said, “Although he was also surprised, he didn’t show the overwhelming joy of winning a lottery. If it were me, buying ‘Five Blessings’ for 200,000, I’d be ecstatic.”
“If he was like you, the other guests would probably stare at him with envy and jealousy.” The younger doctor quipped.
The older doctor nodded seriously, “That’s true… but based on my analysis, he doesn’t understand jade gambling or jade prices. He doesn’t know what he bought for 200,000.”
“I think so too.” The younger doctor agreed and explained to Anna, “From No. 1 onwards, buyers were winning. His expressions didn’t change when seeing the jade after it was polished. It was the kind of blank look of a layman. The only emotion he showed was for No. 17; the buyer didn’t hide his disappointment and regret. He saw it, so he felt sorry for that buyer, a bit puzzled, perhaps thinking that spending 14 million on a broken stone was incomprehensible.”
Indeed, jade gambling is about the thrill, and those with weak hearts shouldn’t participate.
But was Huo Xian, as the two psychologists analyzed, truly innocent in choosing No. 3 and buying it for 200,000?
Just then, Anna’s phone vibrated. The caller ID showed “Brother.” She answered, walking outside, “Hello, Brother…”
“Did Huo Xian choose the best raw jade? Did he?” The voice on the other end was urgent and had an unusual heavy, labored breathing.
Before Anna could answer, panicked voices came from the receiver, then the sound of chaos fading away, and a woman’s voice, “Miss An, I’m Zhu Lin. Master Huo just had an emotional episode and vomited blood. The doctor is performing CPR…”
Anna couldn’t help but rub her temples. This was how many times her brother had vomited blood and required CPR because of “Huo Xian”?
She had also investigated Huo Xian lately, but the results were unrelated to her brother. The suspicious thing about Huo Xian was his change in personality after his fall—he was no longer impetuous, arrogant, or contemptuous. This was understandable. The Huo family had suffered a great loss, their vast fortune ruined, and he had nearly died. Becoming more introspective wasn’t strange.
It was her brother who had a strange feeling about him, not just her. Her parents also felt something odd when mentioning her brother. The most noticeable point: he had replaced the people caring for him with young, beautiful girls. A few times, she had seen the way her brother looked at these girls…
In the auction hall.
“Mr. Huo, it’s rare to meet you today. How about we have lunch together later?” As the auction ended, Liu Xuesue didn’t continue to watch and instead invited Huo Xian to lunch.
Huo Xian guessed she wanted to bring forward the lunch they had planned for tomorrow, but he already had a lunch appointment and politely declined.
When Anna arrived, she saw Huo Xian and Liu Xuesue chatting happily, and her already depressed mood sank further. However, soon, she lifted her chin slightly and walked toward them.
As the buyer of Nos. 1 and 3, Anna personally informed Liu Xuesue and Huo Xian of the subsequent transaction procedures. To protect the buyer’s privacy, the An family could deliver the jade to their residence, carve it according to their wishes, or buy it at market price.
After some thought, Liu Xuesue decided to let the An family’s carvers handle the carving. In her words, it was her first time gambling on jade, and she had a good result, so she wanted to keep it as a souvenir.
When it came to No. 3, before Huo Xian could respond, Anna said, “Mr. Huo, the An family is interested in buying ‘Five Blessings.’ Can we discuss it further?”
Huo Xian was stunned for a moment, then nodded in agreement. He didn’t know what to do with “Five Blessings,” and he wouldn’t refuse the money. But that wasn’t the point. The point was that he wanted to get some information from Anna.
Unexpectedly, before he said goodbye to Liu Xuesue, she suddenly asked, “Mr. Huo, don’t you have a lunch appointment?”
Both Huo Xian and Anna paused. Huo Xian looked at Liu Xuesue, remembering her previous invitation, then realizing she didn’t know his lunch date was Anna. Before he could explain, Anna spoke, “Yes, I have a lunch date with Mr. Huo.”
Liu Xuesue’s smile faded slightly. Her gaze towards Anna seemed to hold a hint of interest.
Anna didn’t avoid her gaze; she looked directly at her, her eyes showing the sharpness and nobility of the An family’s second daughter, and… provocation.
Huo Xian: Is something wrong?
The system slowly appeared, calmly saying, “[Host’s charm is boundless.]”
Huo Xian: …
Author’s Note: Huo Xian: But my little darlings haven’t appeared yet →＿→
=v=
Thank you to little fairies “Bei Jiu Nian Hua” for watering 2 nutrient solutions and “Circle” for watering 10 nutrient solutions. Love you, hearts??