Chapter 117: Acquaintance
With the transaction of the last item, the auction came to a close.
Everyone’s gazes fell on Gu Wanrong as she emerged from the private box—some envious, some jealous, but mostly in awe of her financial power.
However, Gu Wanrong didn’t care about this at all. Tong Shenba and his group blocked most of the stares, following Gu Wanrong as she gracefully left the auction.
In the corridor, Gu Wanrong ran into a man head-on. He was wearing a dark gray modern Chinese-style suit with traditional frog buttons, a black knit sweater underneath, and straight-leg casual trousers.
His facial contours were clean and sharp, with a touch of Oriental charm between his brows, making him appear imposing yet gentle.
“Congratulations, Miss Gu. You won all the collection items you desired,” the man congratulated her as soon as he approached.
Gu Wanrong smiled and responded, “Thank you. But, we don’t seem to have crossed paths before?”
The man handed over a business card: “I am the owner of Ruyi Zhai Auction House, Yan Shen. Shall we go to the gathering together later?”
As soon as Yan Shen learned that the person sweeping up billions at the auction was Gu Wanrong, he handed over all his affairs to his subordinates. The gathering organized by their generation in Qingnan Hutong today was precisely to meet this mysterious owner of the Gu Residence. Meeting her in advance now was even better.
Gu Wanrong took the business card, a flash of surprise in her eyes. Ruyi Zhai Auction House was actually an industry of the Yan family, a giant in the field.
Just then, another person arrived.
“Little Shen, what’s the rush?” The newcomer’s voice was old but powerful.
When the old man’s gaze shifted to Gu Wanrong’s face, his eyes showed surprise. At this moment, Gu Wanrong also remembered that this old man was Shan Xueyong, whom she had met while picking up bargains some time ago.
“Grandpa Shan, you know Miss Gu?” Yan Shen noticed the look of recognition between the two and asked curiously.
“The young lady’s surname is Gu?” Shan Xueyong narrowed his eyes and explained, “The owner of the ‘Cursive Script Interpretation of Classics Scroll’ I told you about last time is her.”
Hearing this, Yan Shen nodded in understanding.
“Grandpa Shan, my name is Gu Wanrong, you can just call me Little Gu.” Seeing that Shan Xueyong clearly had a deep relationship with Yan Shen, and thinking that this was the second time meeting Shan Xueyong, Gu Wanrong knew there would definitely be more meetings in the future. “Grandpa Shan, you have business with Yan Shen, so I’ll go first.”
Shan Xueyong waved his hand, “It’s nothing, this old man is just bored. Don’t you guys have a gathering later? Little Gu, you and Little Shen go ahead. That girl Xiuxiu must be grabbing Little Ji and lecturing him by now. Little Ji is just waiting for his brother-in-law to go save him.”
After speaking, without waiting for the two to ask him to stay, he left as hurriedly as he came.
Leaving only Yan Shen and a confused Gu Wanrong in the corridor.
“Little Ji, is it Liu Ji? And who is Xiuxiu? Is it Liu Xiu? Yan Shen’s fiancée?” Doubts surfaced in Gu Wanrong’s mind one by one.
Fortunately, Yu Yingying had briefed Gu Wanrong on who would be at the gathering today. Otherwise, listening to Shan Xueyong’s long string of words, Gu Wanrong wouldn’t even be able to guess.
Walking out, Yan Shen realized Gu Wanrong didn’t know much about the people in Qingnan Hutong, so he explained as they walked, “Grandpa Shan is the brother of Brother Xie Xian’s maternal grandmother. I asked Brother Xie Xian to invite Grandpa Shan to oversee the auction house.”
The members of various families in Qingnan Hutong already knew each other. Coupled with their relationships by marriage and cooperation, it was truly a huge web. Most likely, every industry and trade had some connection with each of their families.
Listening, Gu Wanrong clicked her tongue inwardly.
In her phone, the [Qingnan Garden Successors] group chat started buzzing.
Liu Ji: Brother-in-law @Yan Shen, my sister is about to twist my ear off, save me!
Yu Yingying: Serves you right, hehe.
Zhong Wenyi: I’m on my way, almost there. Sister Ying, has Gu Wanrong arrived?
Su Huaijing: Not yet. I’m with Sister Ying watching Liu Ji getting hammered by Sister Xiuxiu.
Zhong Wenyi: I hope I’m not the last one to arrive.
Li Du: Anyway, I’ve already arrived. As soon as I came, I saw Liu Ji squatting at the door pretending to be a stone lion.
Li Du: Image of Liu Ji squatting at the door.jpg
Yu Yingying: Hahahahaha, I have one too.
Yu Yingying: Image of Liu Ji as a stone lion.jpg
Yu Yingying: @Gu Wanrong has already come out of the auction, you guys just wait for the goddess to descend.
Liu Ji: I, Liu Ji, will be the first person to unveil the mystery tonight.
Su Huaijing: The stone lion welcoming guests at the door is indeed the first face all visiting guests see.
……
The [Qingnan Garden Successors] group was basically where the younger ones chatted and played. Gu Wanrong wasn’t familiar with most of them, so she just looked and didn’t rashly speak in the group.
Before long, everyone in the group had arrived, except for Gu Wanrong and Yan Shen.
At the entrance of the clubhouse.
Gu Wanrong got out of the car and saw Liu Ji at a glance. Just like the photo sent in the group, he didn’t go inside in the cold weather but squatted at the door pretending to be a stone lion, not minding the cold.
How scared must he be of his sister Liu Xiu?
Liu Ji also saw Gu Wanrong and Yan Shen. He stood up immediately from his squatting position and strode to their side in a few steps, “Brother-in-law! Gu Wanrong! Come quick, come quick!”
Seeing this, the waiter at the clubhouse retreated to the front desk, watching them leave the lobby.
As soon as the group arrived at the door of the private room, Yu Yingying opened the door: “Ta-da, the mysterious owner of the Gu Residence is here!”
The private room was brightly lit, and the people inside were in groups of two or three, standing or sitting. With Yu Yingying’s voice, their gazes all turned to the door.
The only female among the few people coming in from outside was Gu Wanrong. She truly lived up to the extreme praise of her appearance from Yu Yingying.
She wore a long coat, her hair coiled behind her head. The red gemstone on her earlobe sparkled under the light, yet it still wasn’t as dazzling as her creamy white skin.
Entering the private room, the heating was ample. Xie Xian naturally took the coat Gu Wanrong took off.
No one missed this action. Eyes twinkled, guessing the relationship between the two.
“Sorry, I’m a bit late,” Gu Wanrong said as she was pulled by Yu Yingying to sit in an empty seat.
Yan Shen followed in and walked to a woman with superior temperament. Hearing Gu Wanrong say this, he also added, “I’m late too.”
Gu Wanrong looked at the intimate manner between Yan Shen and this woman, guessing that she must be Liu Xiu.
“Not at all. I flew back from J City, and came straight to the clubhouse after getting off the plane,” Liu Ji said. “But I don’t know if my sister put a tracker on me. I just arrived, and she came chasing after me to lecture me!”
As soon as Liu Ji finished speaking, his sister Liu Xiu glared at him, her elegant temperament broken. She made a gesture as if she was going to come over angrily at Liu Ji again.
Pulled back by Yan Shen, she restrained her temper and said with a smile, “Gu Wanrong, I’m Liu Xiu. Thanks to you investing in this brat’s company, otherwise he would have definitely stumbled countless times!”
Saying this, Liu Xiu took out a gift box from behind and handed it to Gu Wanrong, “First time meeting, no, it’s the second time. This counts as my meeting gift. In C City, I remember we met once.”
Gu Wanrong didn’t expect Liu Xiu to still have an impression of her.
That was when she was wearing a mask, entering a luxury brand store for the first time, and was faintly looked down upon by the sales staff inside. At that time, she had secretly envied Liu Xiu in her heart.
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