Upon entering, the hall was bustling with well-dressed, elegant men and beautifully adorned women, all chatting and laughing in harmony.
The auction hadn’t started yet. Xia Yuan, with her peach blossom eyes, casually glanced at the ladies in the venue, flipped her long hair, and smiled.
It was obvious.
No one was more beautiful than her.
Feeling pleased, she became more talkative: “Meng Xiyue, what have you donated for the auction?”
Meng Xiyue scanned the venue, not spotting any particular business people she wanted to network with. Her gaze, light and calm, fell on the clearly cheerful Xia Yuan. “An ancient painting.”
Anything related to ‘ancient’ implied it was valuable. Xia Yuan said, “The charity funds raised must be substantial.”
Warm-hearted but cool-faced.
Xia Yuan now felt she had completely figured Meng Xiyue out.
Meng Xiyue couldn’t deny it, meeting Xia Yuan’s starry, peach blossom eyes, her eyelids slightly drooping: “And you?”
Waiting for this question, Xia Yuan replied with pride, “Me? I donated a limited edition diamond necklace.”
“It was my favorite one.”
So, donating her favorite item was a way to show her commitment to charity?
Truly the purest goodwill.
Meng Xiyue’s eyes quietly observed her: “Your intentions will be received.”
Being looked at so earnestly, Xia Yuan’s face heated up, her head feeling dizzy, as if Meng Xiyue’s eyes were brimming with compliments. She bashfully said, “I… I’m not that great.”
Meng Xiyue’s gaze lingered on Xia Yuan’s blushing cheeks for a moment, her every smile enchanting and seductive. She handed Xia Yuan a glass of champagne.
Xia Yuan appreciated Meng Xiyue’s thoughtfulness, feeling thirsty herself. She took the glass and sipped, moistening her suddenly dry throat. Coincidentally, Meng Xiyue also took a sip.
Her lips moistened, holding the glass with slender, beautiful hands, each line exquisitely carved, her skin porcelain white with an ascetic beauty.
Xia Yuan took another sip, her throat still seemingly unquenched.
Suddenly, a loud voice caught Xia Yuan’s attention. She looked over and saw Ding Yaoyao, dressed in a white skirt, apparently having an argument with someone.
The troublemaker was someone Xia Yuan knew, Zhang Wanqing, a former rival who had been suppressed by her. Now that she wasn’t cozying up to Li Ting anymore, Zhang Wanqing seemed to think she had a chance and started to make her move.
Zhang Wanqing’s family background couldn’t compare to hers, and with Xia Yuan always outdoing her, she had chosen to bide her time. However, with Ding Yaoyao, an ordinary girl, Zhang Wanqing wouldn’t be so polite.
From a distance, Xia Yuan couldn’t hear exactly what was being said, but she could guess from their expressions that Zhang Wanqing was getting the upper hand.
However, to Xia Yuan’s surprise, Ding Yaoyao seemed unwilling to back down.
She had gained some confidence?
Xia Yuan’s gaze fell on Ding Yaoyao’s stomach. It was just an illegitimate child; where did her confidence come from?
The Li family would never accept Ding Yaoyao; Li Ting’s parents had strong class beliefs.
Thinking this, Xia Yuan leaned over to Meng Xiyue and gloated, “Meng Xiyue, why do you think Ding Yaoyao is so unpopular? Anyone can bully her.”
Meng Xiyue’s calm eyes fell on Ding Yaoyao as she was pushed back, instinctively protecting her stomach. Her eyes flickered, and from afar, the male lead Li Ting seemed to notice something was wrong. He strode over to support the female lead.
A tried and true scene from the books.
Only this time, the villainess bullying others had changed.
Meng Xiyue wasn’t interested in the romantic drama of the leads. Her gaze fell on Xia Yuan, who was sticking close to her. The breath Xia Yuan exhaled was warm and moist on her ear.
It was slightly ticklish.
And too close.
Meng Xiyue subtly turned her body, her eyes indifferent.
Xia Yuan, caught up in the excitement, immediately fell silent, pouting unhappily, “Fine, I’ll stop talking.”
She had seen enough of the drama anyway.
“Xia Yuan!” An exaggerated voice of surprise rang out.
Xia Yuan’s gaze shifted to the newcomer, Yao Qian, her fair-weather friend.
Xia Yuan quickly sized up the other person from head to toe, greeting her without much interest.
Yao Qian was used to Xia Yuan’s attitude. Today, she wore a red dress and enjoyed many admiring glances along the way. However, upon meeting Xia Yuan, whose every strand of hair exuded sophistication, she felt utterly overshadowed. Smiling, she said, “Xia Yuan, long time no see, you’ve become even more beautiful.”
Xia Yuan lightly rested her fingertips on her fair chin, engaging in a bit of sisterly business flattery: “Oh, it’s nothing. You look quite nice today too.”
Yao Qian’s attention immediately fell on Xia Yuan’s nails, genuinely exclaiming, “Xia Yuan, are these new nails? They’re so beautiful! Where did you get them done? Is it a new style for this year?”
Xia Yuan let Yao Qian examine her nails back and forth, her gaze drifting to Meng Xiyue, who stood quietly to the side, and winked at her slightly, feeling a bit smug.
See, spending so much time on her nails today was indeed worthwhile.
Meng Xiyue understood the implication and looked away.
Dissatisfied, Xia Yuan internally scoffed, answering Yao Qian’s questions and giving her the address. Yao Qian laughed delightedly, “I wonder how much money I can donate at this auction. Xia Yuan, what did you auction?”
Even among plastic sisters, there was competition.
Xia Yuan replied nonchalantly, “Nothing much, just some small items.”
Yao Qian maintained her forced smile, “Oh, same here, but I’m happy as long as it helps others.”
“It’s time,” Meng Xiyue interrupted their superficial exchange.
Only then did Yao Qian notice Meng Xiyue, her cold elegance stifling further conversation.
Xia Yuan quickly followed Meng Xiyue, not even glancing at Yao Qian. Truly, utterly plastic.
The two entered the auction hall and sat in two adjacent front seats according to their number cards.
As soon as she sat down, Xia Yuan looked at her brother’s seat, which was occupied by Xia Ke’s assistant.
Next to her on the left were Li Ting and Ding Yaoyao.
Meeting Li Ting’s eyes, which seemed to say ‘as expected,’ Xia Yuan inexplicably felt like she was carrying a huge burden.
However, from Li Ting’s perspective, it did indeed seem like she was intentionally getting close,
After all, under normal circumstances, she should be sitting in her brother’s seat.
But who could blame her, today she was Meng Xiyue’s companion.
It seemed that Li Ting had subconsciously ignored this issue.
Looking again, Ding Yaoyao quietly held Li Ting’s hand, declaring her territory. Xia Yuan immediately wanted nothing to do with them.
She simply moved closer to Meng Xiyue, instantly freeing up a large space on the bench.
The uncomfortable Meng Xiyue stuck close to her: “Do you need to switch seats?”
Xia Yuan whispered, “Don’t worry, I’m fine.”
Meng Xiyue looked down at Xia Yuan, who seemed to be nestled in her arms: “…Okay.”
After the host made some opening remarks, the charity auction officially began.
Various auction items were displayed one by one, and so far, Meng Xiyue had taken a liking to two items.
She spent nearly five million.
Xia Yuan also chose one, spending one million.
It was unclear whether it was intentional or not, but every time an item was auctioned, Li Ting always asked Ding Yaoyao if she wanted it, ready to buy it as soon as she nodded.
Xia Yuan was both angry and upset.
What was Li Ting trying to do, flaunting his affection in front of her?
Seeing Xia Yuan’s eyes turn red with anger, if it weren’t for her holding the other’s hand, she might have already caused a scene.
Meng Xiyue stared indifferently at Li Ting, her gaze shallow yet sharp and dangerous.
Li Ting felt challenged and looked displeasedly at Meng Xiyue.
It wouldn’t be long before he let this woman, Meng Xiyue, know who was in charge in City S.
“Next up, we have the limited edition, now out-of-print Glynweir necklace, starting at three million.”
Yao Qian saw the necklace and knew it was Xia Yuan’s, surprised by her generosity.
Gwendolyn’s necklace, she had coveted it for a long time but unfortunately missed the chance to buy it. This time, she was determined not to let it slip away.
“3.5 million.”
Xia Yuan saw Yao Qian raising her bid and hummed softly.
Li Ting, as usual, consulted Ding Yaoyao. Under the shimmering lights, the necklace sparkled, and Ding Yaoyao bit her lip and shook her head, “No need.” Li Ting had already bought her items worth tens of millions.
Li Ting’s attention wasn’t on Ding Yaoyao, so he failed to notice the longing in her eyes.
The bidding continued.
It had reached five million.
Xia Yuan shifted uncomfortably; no one else was bidding, and she eagerly eyed the necklace.
Meng Xiyue: “Six million.”
Xia Yuan couldn’t bear it any longer and turned to Meng Xiyue, “Do you like it?”
After all, there were many luxury jewelry items at the auction, yet she hadn’t seen her buy any.
Meng Xiyue lowered her eyes and softly responded.
Eventually, Meng Xiyue bought the Gwendolyn necklace for six million.
Li Ting snorted coldly from the side, thinking that women will be women. If it weren’t for Ding Yaoyao stopping him earlier, Meng Xiyue wouldn’t have had the chance.
Li Ting was quite dissatisfied with his mistress, who had several times prevented him from dealing with Meng Xiyue.
*
“Here, this is for you.”
Before getting out of the car, Xia Yuan received a jewelry box from Meng Xiyue.
It was the box for the Gwendolyn necklace, which she had just donated to the Saba charity not long ago, and unexpectedly, it had come back to her.
Since the charity auction was anonymous, it ruled out the possibility of Meng Xiyue knowing the necklace was hers.
“Why?” Xia Yuan held the box, momentarily at a loss.
Being close, she could see the other’s beautiful, clear eyes.
“Don’t like it?”
Xia Yuan quickly hugged it and nodded, “I like it.”
Meng Xiyue looked down and said no more, “Good night.”
“Good night,” Xia Yuan replied, still dazed.
After the car left, Xia Yuan looked at the item in her hand.
She suddenly remembered that when the necklace appeared, she had nervously pinched Meng Xiyue by accident.
So, at that moment, did Meng Xiyue realize she liked this necklace?
And because she liked it, he bought it for her.
Suddenly, it felt like something was about to burst out of her chest.
＊
Inside the car, Assistant Li stared at the quiet Meng Xiyue in the back seat, clicking his tongue in surprise. He hadn’t expected the BOSS to be so generous, to just give away six million like that.
Meng Xiyue’s light gaze remained calm.
It was merely a gift to congratulate Xia Yuan, hoping her future wouldn’t involve using the Xia family as a stepping stone for Li Ting.
After all, N.S and the Xia family were partners.
If something went wrong, the loss would be much more than six million.
