Chapter 47: Does This Count as a Kiss? (Kissing isn’t rejected, so sleeping with him…)
An unofficial small-scale auction kicked off inside Yayun Ancient Workshop in the East District of the Helin Flower, Bird, and Antique Market.
Jian Yu announced in a clear voice:
“The Northern Song Ru Kiln Sky-Blue Glaze Lotus Leaf Brush Washer, starting bid at five million.”
Aside from this, there were no other requirements. Everyone present could bid freely. Of course, the premise was that they could afford the price they called out.
If someone won with a high bid but couldn’t produce the money, it would be more than just losing face.
In the future, antique shops led by Yayun Ancient Workshop—anyone with a reputation—would blacklist those who didn’t follow the rules.
But Le Can didn’t have this worry.
Since Xi Yun had promised to let Le Can have free rein to play, it meant that no matter the consequences, the other party would cover for him.
If any other man had said this to Le Can, the young man, having already suffered at the hands of a scumbag ex, would have beaten him until his head was full of bumps!
Wasn’t this just an alternative version of “I’ll support you”?
But Xi Yun was different.
The male lead of a “No CP” (No Romance) grand male-protagonist novel always kept his word.
Transmigrating into the book hadn’t been without its impact on Le Can.
For instance, after experiencing the double betrayal of a friend and a scumbag boyfriend, his heart, which should have been difficult to open to the outside world again, quietly gave one person the privilege of trust…
Such an unofficial bidding process, besides the freedom of increasing the price, actually had another benefit: a benefit most obviously linked to profit.
Simply put, whatever the final transaction price was, the buyer only had to pay that amount. There was no need to pay the additional auction commission required by auction houses.
As far as Le Can knew, the commission rate for art auctions in his previous life had never been lower than 10%.
In this transmigrated world, many of the original author’s macro settings came from reality. So, in this world, Le Can often encountered things that were both familiar and strange.
Familiar examples: the jade mines he searched online before gambling on stones; the dynasty of today’s fake antique: Northern Song; and the fact that auction commissions were equally high.
There were also many unfamiliar things.
For example, the turning point of history happened after the Ming Dynasty. There was no Qing army entering the pass; instead, it was replaced by a strange feudal dynasty called the Shen Dynasty.
So consequently, the Qing Dynasty antiques here became Shen Dynasty antiques.
When he searched for this information, Le Can sat in the grandmaster chair, feeling a mix of amusement and awkwardness. But seeing that the Shen Dynasty had caught up with the Industrial Revolution and the country had smoothly entered the modern era, his amusement turned into admiration.
Aside from this major difference, other unfamiliar comparisons were minor.
For example, the most well-known auction house now was called De Caesar (De Kaisa) Auction House. Hearing the name, one knew it was foreign.
Taking De Caesar as an example, their commission for art auctions was 20% for hammer prices under 40 million, and 15% for 40 million and above.
If the hammer price of a lot was 40 million, the final amount the buyer needed to pay included the 40 million to the seller, plus 6 million to the auction house.
6 million in commission—that was no small sum!
No wonder some collectors preferred antique shops over auction houses.
Listening to the bids called out one after another, Le Can turned his body slightly again.
“…Bid eight million!”
“My Xu family adds to eight million eight hundred thousand!”
“Xu family junior, your tone isn’t small. I bid nine million five hundred thousand!”
In the early stages, the price was low. Almost as soon as one price was shouted, a higher one followed. To say the atmosphere was tense… actually, describing it as “lively” would be more accurate.
Some people who had a good idea of the price of Northern Song Ru porcelain and the depth of their own wallets stayed calm and didn’t participate in the competition.
Le Can also knew his battlefield was in the late stage, so he didn’t open his mouth to join the fun.
Because he had more important things to do.
Turning his body, he faced Xi Ziyu, whose face was ashen.
After losing the war of words completely, the stinky younger brother had finally gritted his teeth and squeezed into the crowd, choosing a seat diagonally opposite Le Can.
The loss he suffered from Jian Yu made his already pale face look even more ghostly, with a gloom straight from the underworld.
But Le Can wanted to light a fire, to make the suppressed fire in Xi Ziyu’s heart burn even hotter. Ideally… burn away all his reason.
Meeting Xi Ziyu’s dark eyes, the relaxed young man hooked his lips, lifted his chin slightly, and extended two fingers to make a “V” sign.
A call-back completely linked to the context, intended to remind the other party of the humiliation of being called “Second Young Master of the Xi family” just now.
Thus, Le Can was fortunate enough to witness a face-changing performance purely based on emotion, devoid of technique.
Xi Ziyu’s face, pale with a greenish tint, evolved further towards blue-black. Conversely, his lip color was as white as a piece of plaster abruptly stuck onto his face.
It looked white, but underneath lay a greyish tone. It was as if the gloom in the owner’s heart at this moment was seeping through bone and flesh, emerging from under the skin.
Le Can raised an eyebrow silently.
Under Xi Ziyu’s cold gaze, he slowly straightened his body and hooked his finger toward the person behind him.
Having shared a bed for several days, Le Can didn’t need to turn around to feel the familiar presence approaching. Because of the familiarity, the subconscious avoidance response didn’t occur.
Moreover… directly ahead, the person who had always controlled his expressions well finally showed a crack.
Le Can still didn’t turn back; he just extended his finger.
Soon, the pad of his finger touched cool skin. But quickly, the coolness dissipated, and Xi Yun’s body heat transferred from the point of contact.
Before he could move further, he felt a vibration under his hand. Then, Le Can clearly perceived a protruding hard lump sliding up and down.
The young man blinked, masking the surprise that flashed through his eyes.
He had just touched randomly… did he touch Xi Yun’s Adam’s apple?
But the background noise of bidding continued, and Le Can didn’t have time to dwell on it.
His long, slender fingers slid down, hovering over the neck. The moment they touched the collar, he quickly hooked the edge. With power in his wrist, he pulled the man, whose body blocked most of him, in front of himself.
Originally, Le Can wanted to muddle through his “evil deed.”
After all, red marks from external pressure on the skin were normal and would fade after a while. As long as no one saw it and pointed it out, this matter could pass quietly.
But now, Le Can felt this was a good method of goading.
Xi Yun, as he had promised, cooperated fully. With just a little force, he was smoothly pulled over…
Le Can sighed lightly in his heart.
Actually, this step was also a test for Xi Yun. If he struggled even a little, Le Can would have let go.
Then, his gameplay would have adjusted accordingly.
As for whether there would be other collateral consequences? There would be.
But he couldn’t help it that some people were too cooperative, making Le Can want to be even more presumptuous with the original plan.
Since he thought it, he did it.
With eyes half-lowered, the young man lifted his chin slightly toward the side and back. The eyes that opened revealed a trace of gentleness.
He looked at the man whose red finger mark on his face had faded significantly. His soft, full lips parted and gently held the place where the mark was.
Thinking for a split second, the tender red tip of his tongue, carrying a moist breath, touched the smooth skin like a dragonfly skimming the water surface.
After the touch, he retreated a step.
Le Can wasn’t sure if this counted as a kiss.
Probably… not, right?
Should count as an apology, hmm, and also a reward.
“Four! Thousand! Five! Hundred! Million!”
A familiar voice gritted out the highest price in the room. Le Can could imagine the speaker’s hatred, wishing to bite him to death mouthful by mouthful.
Xi Ziyu finally lost his composure and joined the bidding.
Le Can pursed his lips lightly, the right corner of his mouth—hidden from the other’s view—slowly hooking up.
Then, those peach-blossom eyes, brighter and lighter with joy, turned upward to look at Xi Yun with a pride that said, “Am I amazing or what?”
The silver-gray eyes were somewhat dazed, but within them, the strange, deep black double pupils capable of sucking in a human soul seemed like the darkest night curtain heavily covering down.
Overall, the daze was dominant.
An inexplicable guilty conscience surged, and Le Can instantly recalled what he had just done. But possessing a “death exemption card,” the guilt didn’t last two seconds before being suppressed.
Instead, Le Can used his eyes to scan Xi Yun’s features carefully, bit by bit, from top to bottom.
From the eyebrows, down the high bridge of the nose, bypassing the ear that seemed to be dyed red, and returning to those pale thin lips…
Hmm, kind of want to taste if they are cold or hot?
Kissing isn’t rejected, so the plan to sleep with him continues.
Xi Yun’s long, narrow phoenix eyes, still in a daze, suddenly widened to look at the serious young man in front of him. What was Le Can… thinking just now?
“One hundred and thirty million!”
Xi Ziyu’s anger-wrapped voice rang out again.
As if specifically meant for someone to hear, this voice was much louder than the previous forty-five million.
Knowing it was about time for his entrance, Le Can instantly pushed Xi Yun away and turned to face the crowd.
Liang Yusheng and Yuan Cheng, knowing their mission was complete, looked at the Boss/Brother’s stiff yet slightly desolate back and silently shut their mouths.
The two had previously received instructions from Le Can to follow closely behind Xi Ziyu’s bids to drive up the price whenever he opened his mouth.
If Le Can personally entered the arena, they could withdraw.
One must know, watching one thing with eyes, listening to another with ears, and doing a third thing with the mouth—how busy that was!
Now, mouths and ears could rest. Their drama-watching eyes could only stare regretfully at their toes, choosing to turn a blind eye. Sigh…
Le Can’s entry made Xi Ziyu, who had experienced the pursuit by the Liang/Yuan duo, even more certain that they were anxious.
His brain, already clouded by anger and triumph, becoming even more confused was an obvious outcome.
Le Can watched the foolish younger brother hooking his eyes, looking over gloomily while wearing an undisguised look of “determined to win” on his face.
His flattened mouth slowly returned a smile: “Two hundred million.”
Before Le Can, the last bidder had only reached 168 million. Suddenly raising it by 32 million, the room, where fewer and fewer people were speaking, seemed to have the mute button pressed.
Xi Ziyu squeezed out a coarse laugh from the depths of his throat.
“Sister-in-law is impressive… but, two hundred and fifty million. I, Xi Ziyu, want this item!”
Le Can raised the price by 32 million, so Xi Ziyu would raise it by a higher 50 million. Wasn’t it just intimidation? He knew that trick too!
“Does Sister-in-law want to increase the bid again?”
Saying this, his narrowed eyes turned to the taller figure behind Le Can. “I wonder if Big Brother’s wallet… is enough for Sister-in-law to squander?”
Earlier than this Northern Song Ru Kiln Sky-Blue Glaze Lotus Leaf Brush Washer, there was a Ru Kiln Sky-Blue Glaze Circular Washer from the same era auctioned at De Caesar three years ago.
At the world’s largest auction house, the final transaction price was 280 million.
As a private, unofficial auction, Xi Ziyu knew that 250 million was already the limit.
After he called out this price, those who had been buzzing with bids like scattered flies all shut their mouths.
A mix of contempt and satisfaction instantly rose in Xi Ziyu’s heart.
Le Can stared at the gloom-faced man for two seconds, then suddenly raised his hands with a look of pity and clapped.
“Little Brother is right. Your brother just spent 150 million to buy me a river-view villa. At most, he can only take out another two hundred million.”
Seeing Xi Ziyu’s instantly twisted expression, the smile on Le Can’s face became even more real.
“Two hundred and fifty million. As expected of the current (emphasis) sole heir of the Xi family. Generous, too generous!”
“Congratulations. The Northern Song Ru Kiln Sky-Blue Glaze Lotus Leaf Brush Washer is yours.”
Two hundred and fifty million for a fake. Le Can sincerely hoped that Xi Ziyu could use this Northern Song Ru Kiln Sky-Blue Glaze Lotus Leaf Brush Washer in a good place.
Because only then, when the truth came out…
It will be even more fun~
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