Chapter 11
Lin Zheng noticed Gu Lin’s gaze on his wrist, and seeing Gu Lin’s expression, he felt surprised and a little scared.
Gu Lin usually spoke to him with a teasing tone, but now, his voice lacked any hint of humor.
Lin Zheng suddenly remembered Gu Lin’s terrifying possessiveness. After he agreed to that absurd condition, Gu Lin probably considered him his possession.
It wasn’t unreasonable for Gu Lin to be angry if his possession was touched by someone else, but he shouldn’t be this angry.
“Zhao Qi,” Lin Zheng unconsciously tightened his grip on the wine glass.
Although he wasn’t the one who did wrong, Gu Lin’s invisible pressure made Lin Zheng feel the space around him constrict.
The hand at his side was grasped. Unlike the oppressive atmosphere, the hand holding his wrist gently caressed his skin.
Gu Lin frowned slightly.
He was very agitated.
After a while, Lin Zheng couldn’t help but speak. “Um, the first auction is about to begin.”
Although they were somewhat secluded, people passed by occasionally. If someone took a picture of them holding hands, it would cause a lot of trouble.
The grip on his hand loosened slightly, and when their hands completely separated, Gu Lin’s expression had returned to normal.
“I have something to do. Go ahead.” Gu Lin walked in the opposite direction.
Lin Zheng felt something strange, though he wasn’t sure if it was his imagination.
The item auction was in another venue, and the first auction was about to begin. People were heading towards that venue.
Preoccupied with Gu Lin’s strange behavior, Lin Zheng didn’t notice the people around him and was bumped from behind. The string holding his mask loosened, and the mask fell to the ground.
As he reached down to pick it up, countless gazes fell upon him.
Lin Zheng became the center of attention.
“Isn’t that Zhao’s abandoned adopted son?”
“I saw him in the hotel corridor earlier.”
“How did he get in? Does he have an invitation?”
“Maybe he sneaked in.”
“Wait, doesn’t his mask look familiar?”
A pair of chubby little hands picked up the peacock feather mask from the ground, smiling sweetly as she handed it to him. “Big brother, here’s your mask.”
Lin Zheng took the mask and patted her head. “Thank you, Yingying.”
The little girl was about to say you’re welcome when her mother quickly pulled her away, as if being too close to Lin Zheng would infect her with some terrible disease.
This was despite Lin Zheng having saved her child from danger just over an hour ago.
Upon closer inspection, everyone was staring at him with scrutinizing eyes.
The ball was only halfway through, and the masks would eventually have to come off. Lin Zheng had prepared himself for this.
But the situation was worse than he imagined.
Fine.
Lin Zheng shrugged. So be it.
Holding his mask, Lin Zheng walked into the venue.
The whispers continued behind him.
“Doesn’t the mask he’s holding look like the one Mr. Gu’s young master is wearing?”
“Impossible, they probably just look similar.”
“There are many similar masks.”
Then they saw Lin Zheng sit in the seat next to Gu Lin’s nameplate.
Everyone: “……!!!”
Only invited guests had nameplates. The seats next to them were for their companions.
While everyone was still reeling from the fact that Zhao’s abandoned adopted son was Gu Lin’s companion, Lin Zheng was already sitting in the front row, boredly counting the hand-made feathers on his mask.
Leaning back, Lin Zheng caught a glimpse of a figure from the back.
Looking back, he saw a certain despicable person.
The seating arrangement was hierarchical, with the most important guests seated in the front.
Seeing Zhao Qi’s shocked expression, Lin Zheng noted that Zhao Qi looked as if he had seen a ghost—or perhaps, a vengeful spirit.
Zhao Qi stared at Lin Zheng, disbelief in his eyes, unable to believe Lin Zheng’s position.
The person he had always looked down upon was sitting in front of him.
Zhao Qi unconsciously clenched his fist on the table.
Lin Zheng saw this, snorted, and gave him the middle finger.
Gu Lin arrived five minutes before the auction began.
Lin Zheng asked, “Where were you?”
Gu Lin: “Took care of something.”
The auctioneer’s voice interrupted Lin Zheng’s question.
The auctioneer began introducing the first item, a landscape painting…
Time crawled. The auction progressed, but Gu Lin seemed uninterested in anything. Lin Zheng was drowsy.
“Next, we have tonight’s highlight pieces. The first…”
Lin Zheng vaguely heard it was an antique.
“The second item is a collection passed down from European royalty in the 17th century: an emerald necklace…”
The starting price was two million.
Bids flew, and the price quickly rose to almost ten million.
Suddenly, a calm and familiar voice rang out. “Twenty million.”
Lin Zheng suddenly woke up.
It was Gu Lin who had bid.
He looked at Gu Lin. “Twenty million???”
He knew the item was valuable, but twenty million was excessive.
Gu Lin smiled at him. “Didn’t you say…? This item is very meaningful.”
Lin Zheng: “!!”
What the hell? Because of his words?
The price went up to twenty-five million.
Lin Zheng watched as the man calmly bid: “Thirty million.”
Currently, Gu Lin had the highest bid.
As thirty million seemed to be the final price, someone suddenly started bidding against Gu Lin.
As the price continued to climb, Lin Zheng leaned closer to Gu Lin and whispered, “Mr. Gu, although the necklace is meaningful, the other party seems determined to get it. We don’t need to fight to the death. Let them have it.”
Gu Lin continued bidding: “Forty million.”
Lin Zheng: “…”
This man simply wouldn’t listen.
Finally, Gu Lin won the necklace with a final bid of fifty million.
If Lin Zheng were to summarize Gu Lin, it would be: rich and capricious!
After the auction ended, Lin Zheng saw Zhao Qi hurrying away, as if something urgent had come up.
Gu Lin’s voice came from behind. “Leaving?”
Lin Zheng nodded.
The driver drove out of the hotel. Lin Zheng and Gu Lin sat in the back, the car silent. Gu Lin seemed lost in thought, and Lin Zheng couldn’t bring himself to talk, so he closed his eyes and pretended to sleep.
After some time, he opened his eyes to find the car had stopped. He looked around, recognizing the familiar old streetlights, realizing they were in front of his house.
Beside him, Gu Lin was looking at his glowing laptop, seemingly working.
Hearing the movement, Gu Lin stopped and looked at him. “Awake?”
Lin Zheng sat up, rubbing his eyes. “We’re here? Why didn’t you wake me? When did the driver leave?”
Gu Lin closed his laptop. “About half an hour ago.”
“Half an hour? How long was I asleep?”
“Let me see… about an hour and a half.”
“…”
Lin Zheng quickly opened the car door and got out. “Then, goodbye, good night.”
Gu Lin raised an eyebrow. “You’re at your doorstep, aren’t you going to invite me in?”
Lin Zheng blinked, hesitating. “Um… it’s so late, isn’t it a bit…”
As he hesitated, a box appeared in front of him.
He instantly recognized it.
It contained the fifty-million emerald necklace.
He looked at the box, then at Gu Lin, confused. “?”
Gu Lin put the box in his hands, starlight twinkling in his eyes. “Next time, remember to finish the story.”
Lin Zheng’s eyes widened.
On the balcony, he had jokingly asked Gu Lin if he’d pay extra for the story.
But it was just a joke.
Gu Lin’s fingers trailed from the box to his wrist, caressing the bruise, which was now turning blue.
The heat from Gu Lin’s fingers reached Lin Zheng’s pulse, making his heart skip a beat.
Lin Zheng tried to pull his hand away, but Gu Lin held it tighter.
“Gu Lin…”
“Lin Zheng,” Gu Lin looked at him, “Shouldn’t we start the next step of the treatment?”