Chapter 9 The Brink of Ruin
"Fifty million?!" the auctioneer stuttered, gripping his podium. "We have fifty million from Madam Su Yan!"
Madam Lin's eyes lit up with greedy, vicious glee. She had caught the fish. Now she just needed to reel it in.
"Such generosity, Su Yan, though we all know you're spending CEO Lu's money," Madam Lin mocked, raising her own paddle. "Sixty million!"
"Seventy million," I countered instantly, not even blinking.
Lin Wan gasped, covering her mouth. "Yan-yan, stop! You don't have that kind of money! Brother Chen is going to be so angry with you!"
"Eighty million!" Madam Lin shouted, her face flushed with the thrill of the trap. She planned to push me to a hundred million and then drop out, leaving me legally bound to pay a fortune I supposedly didn't have for her own fake crown.
"Ninety million," I said, taking a slow sip of the complimentary champagne on the table beside me.
The crowd was hyperventilating. This was no longer an auction; it was a bloodbath.
"A hundred million!" Madam Lin screamed, practically vibrating with excitement. She stared at me, a sadistic grin stretching her heavily botoxed face. Go on, you stupid girl, her eyes screamed. Bid higher. Ruin yourself.
The auctioneer was sweating profusely. "One hundred million yuan to Madam Lin! Do I hear one hundred and ten? Madam Su Yan?"
The entire room held its breath.
Lu Chen stood up abruptly. "Su Yan, enough. Drop the paddle." He wasn't trying to protect me; his male ego was furious that I was acting completely out of his control.
I looked at Madam Lin. I looked at Lin Wan. Then, I slowly lowered my paddle, placing it flat on my lap.
I smiled. A bright, beaming, utterly predatory smile.
"No, I don't think I will," I said, my voice echoing clearly in the silent theatre. "I concede. Congratulations, Madam Lin. You just bought your own item for one hundred million yuan."
Madam Lin's smile instantly vanished. Her face plummeted into an expression of absolute horror. "W-what?"
"You... you didn't bid?" Lin Wan stammered, panic flooding her features.
"Why would I?" I chuckled, standing up from my velvet seat. "Charity rules dictate that if the seller buys back their own item, the funds must still be immediately transferred to the Sovereign Foundation. I hope you have a hundred million liquid cash in your purse, Madam Lin."
The elite crowd erupted into furious whispers. "She played her!" "Madam Lin just bankrupted herself trying to trap Su Yan!"
"I'm afraid I cannot do that, Madam," the auctioneer said sternly, his face hardening. "The bid is legally binding. The Foundation will require the transfer immediately."
"Brother Chen, do something!" Lin Wan sobbed, turning to Lu Chen. "She's bullying us! Our family doesn't have a hundred million in liquid cash!"
Lu Chen looked at the weeping Lin Wan, then at me. His brow was furrowed, his dark eyes locked entirely on my glowing, victorious face. For the first time in his life, the great CEO Lu realized he was completely useless in a room. I didn't need him. I was decimating my enemies entirely on my own.
"Pay your own debts," Lu Chen said coldly to Lin Wan, stepping back.
Lin Wan's jaw dropped. The great Lu Chen had just abandoned her in public.
"I won't pay it!" Madam Lin shrieked, pointing a shaking finger at me. "This is a setup! That crown is a priceless Tang Dynasty artifact! It's worth at least two hundred million! I'll just sell it tomorrow and make my money back!"
"Will you?" I asked, my voice slicing through her hysterics like a scalpel.
I tapped my earpiece. "System, hijack the theatre's projection booth."
[Executing...]
Suddenly, the massive velvet backdrop behind the auctioneer dropped, revealing a colossal cinema screen.
The screen flickered to life.