You Owe Me, My Love novel Chapter 350

Chapter 350 All That Glitters Is Not Gold

“Perhaps what?” Liu Yan asked.

Wu Nian then looked at Liu Yan. “Shen Yiyan wields a lot of power in Xyperia. He shouldn’t have a problem getting me a fake marriage certificate.”

Hearing that, Liu Yan furrowed her brows. “You’re throwing your happiness away,” she said, her voice full of pity.

Wu Nian clutched Liu Yan’s hand and smiled. “I know what I’m doing.”

However, Liu Yan pulled her hand back and turned her gaze toward the table. There was sorrow on her face as she mumbled, “I’m afraid I can’t help you with this as I’ll be leaving for Dartan soon. Even if Shen Yiyan can help you, it’d only be temporary.”

Wu Nian thought as much.

Liu Yan was the only reason Shen Yiyan would agree to help her. Once Liu Yan was out of the picture, not only would he not offer his assistance, he might even try to get back at her.

She had been a burden to Liu Yan for two years now. Thus, she didn’t want Liu Yan to sacrifice any more for her.

“I have other ideas,” Wu Nian replied with a smile to reassure Liu Yan.

Liu Yan’s eyes were red and puffy as she looked at a smiling Wu Nian. “Can’t you leave with me? I’m worried about you.”

“I’ll be fine. I promise.”

“Why don’t you try asking Aaron for help? After all, he’s influential in Ustrana, and Shen Yiyan’s power doesn’t extend there. Moreover, you wouldn’t have to worry about Su Xuyan again if you had Aaron’s protection,” Liu Yan proposed.

“Don’t worry. I know what I should do.” Wu Nian seemed pretty confident of herself as she had a smile on the entire time.

At that moment, Liu Yan’s heart sank. For some reason, she felt very uneasy about it.

Right then, the auction began.

There were twelve items in this auction round.

Liu Yan had been looking forward to the oil painting “Dream Girl.”

Eight items had subsequently been auctioned off, but the oil painting was still nowhere to be seen.

The ninth item was a jade necklace with a starting price of ten million. Every raise of the paddle added two hundred thousand to it.

Liu Yan rolled her eyes at these wealthy bidders. The price of the necklace was equivalent to that of a villa in A City. Weren’t they afraid of getting robbed if they wore such an expensive piece of jewelry?

“Ten million! Any bids higher than ten million?” the auctioneer enthusiastically announced.

“Ten million two hundred thousand, ten million four hundred thousand… THIRTEEN MILLION! Thirteen million going once, thirteen million going twice, SOLD! Congratulations to this bidder! You have gotten yourself a beautiful jade necklace.”

Liu Yan followed the direction of the auctioneer’s gaze to see who that wealthy bidder was.

To her surprise, it was Aaron. The man smiled before turning to lock eyes with Liu Yan, acknowledging her with a gentleman’s nod.

Liu Yan excitedly squeezed Wu Nian’s hand as she whispered, “The successful bidder was Aaron. I knew he was rich, but who knew he was so rich?”

“Didn’t Aaron mention before that it was his grandmother who wanted the necklace? The titles in their family are hereditary, which meant that his grandmother would have even more power over him. He wouldn’t be able to turn her down even if he wanted to,” Wu Nian explained.

“Oh, so that’s how it is.”

They had come to the last item of the auction, and it was finally the “Dream Girl” oil painting that Liu Yan wanted. The opening price was five hundred thousand, with every raise of the paddle adding twenty thousand to it.

Liu Yan was the first to bid for it. “It doesn’t seem too expensive. I should be able to win it with my budget of ten million,” she told Wu Nian, barely able to contain her excitement.

Right then, Wu Nian turned around and saw Su Xuyan’s eyes boring into hers. He had an air of arrogance about him as the corners of his mouth turned up in a devilish smile.

“Go ahead and bid eight million,” Wu Nian quietly told Liu Yan.

Liu Yan was dumbfounded. “What? Why?”

“There are people who are here specifically for “Dream Girl.” And I’m sure they all have a price that they’re willing to pay for it. We’ll bid eight million and see if anyone outbids you. Judging by how much they outbid you by, you’ll know if you can still get this painting,” Wu Nian reasoned.

Liu Yan had complete faith in Wu Nian’s judgment as she raised her paddle. “I bid eight million!”

Even the auctioneer was taken aback by the sudden outburst. But he soon got back to his senses and shouted, “Any other bidders? Eight million going once!” Soon after that, there was a bid for eight million two hundred. “Eight million two hundred! Any others?”

The auctioneer looked in Liu Yan’s direction, and she immediately raised her paddle.

Wu Nian stole a glance at Su Xuyan.

He smirked as he waved his paddle nonchalantly.

Wu Nian frowned and turned to Liu Yan. “Bid ten million.”

“What? Ten million is all I have. Wouldn’t it be better to bid in small increments?” Liu Yan had an ominous feeling that she might not get her painting after all.

“What if there’s someone who will always outbid you?” Wu Nian asked in a low whisper.

Liu Yan understood her intentions. She gave Su Xuyan a death stare as she raised her paddle. “Ten million!”

Her bid drew loud gasps from the other auction attendees.

Su Xuyan slowly raised his paddle, unaffected by the commotion in the room.

“Ten million two hundred! Any other bids?” The auctioneer’s excitement was palpable as he once again looked at Liu Yan.

Liu Yan smashed her paddle angrily on the table at that.

With that, the auctioneer knew it was game over for Liu Yan and reverted his gaze to Su Xuyan. “Ten million two hundred going once, ten million two hundred going twice…”

“Eleven million.” Gu Mingchen’s deep, booming voice reverberated throughout the room all of a sudden.

The commotion got even louder as the attendees looked around to find the source of the voice.

Even Su Xuyan got annoyed at this turn of events. He knew who the voice belonged to as he shot Gu Mingchen a steely gaze.

Nonetheless, Gu Mingchen only smiled knowingly, not bothering to return Su Xuyan’s look.

Wu Nian caught a glimpse of that smile before turning her attention back on Su Xuyan.

Su Xuyan raised his paddle again, his previous devil-may-care attitude now gone and replaced with rage.

“Eleven million two hundred…” the auctioneer began, only to be interrupted by Gu Mingchen. “Twelve million.”

Su Xuyan clenched his jaws as he once again raised his paddle.

“Twelve million two hundred!” the auctioneer shouted. Everyone had their eyes glued on Gu Mingchen, anticipating his next move.

Without missing a beat, Gu Mingchen said, “Thirteen million.”

This time around, Su Xuyan hesitated as he balled up his fists.

“Are these two going to fight to the death?” Liu Yan quipped.

Wu Nian looked at Gu Mingchen, his face void of any emotion.

He had always been very good at hiding his emotions, so Wu Nian had never been able to decipher what he was feeling or thinking about.

“Thirteen million going once, thirteen million going twice, thirteen…”

Before the auctioneer could close the bid, Su Xuyan yelled out, “Fourteen million!”

“Fifteen million!” Gu Mingchen shouted right after him.

Su Xuyan scoffed and slapped his paddle against the table. He looked directly at Gu Mingchen as he stood up and bellowed, “Sixteen million!”

The auctioneer, like the rest of the attendees, fell into stunned silence.

However, Gu Mingchen stood up calmly and adjusted his clothes. He then held Su Xuyan’s gaze and said with a quiet determination, “All that glitters is not gold. Winning or losing isn’t always as straightforward as it seems. Thank you.”

“What do you mean by that?” Su Xuyan asked, visibly annoyed.

“You’ll soon find that out for yourself,” Gu Mingchen replied coldly. With that said, he strode out confidently, leaving a room of people who looked on in bewilderment.