Chapter 43: Must Obtain It
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
In order not to expose his identity, Lin Bai had specially bought a mask and put it on before entering the auction hall, covering most of his face.
Furthermore, he had specially chosen to sit in a corner in the last row, keeping a low profile.
As long as he did not raise his bid, no one would notice him.
However, he could see the entire venue.
At this moment, Yu Jinmo sent another message.
There was also a photo attached.
“The auction is about to start. I’m so nervous,” Yu Jinmo said.
Lin Bai silently smiled and looked at the angle of the photo. As expected, he found where Yu Jinmo and Yu Jianhao were sitting.
They were sitting diagonally in front of Lin Bai, about five to six rows apart.
Lin Bai couldn’t help but think, ‘If this girl knows that I’m actually sitting in the same venue as her, how would she react?’
However, Lin Bai was only thinking about it. He couldn’t tell her.
Otherwise, all the previous hiding would become a joke.
Lin Bai pondered for a moment and replied, “Don’t be nervous. Watch the auction carefully. There might be a surprise.”
Yu Jinmo was not interested.
“What surprise? You know my family’s situation. It’s not easy for us to rise back up from the bottom. It’s impossible for me to spend money in such a place.”
“It’s just an excuse to get familiar with more people. I can’t do anything much, it’s so boring.”
Lin Bai chatted with her casually and occasionally looked at the items on the stage.
The items in front of him were all jewelry and gems. They were beautiful but they were not attractive to Lin Bai.
What he really cared about was Ye Qingyan’s last work and the final item, the Mayan prophecy tablet.
After a long time, the auctioneer finally started to introduce Ye Qingyan’s painting.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the next item is the last painting created by the famous artist, Miss Ye Qingyan.”
“This painting is called ‘Summer Dream’. In fact, it doesn’t depict a dream, but Miss Ye Qingyan’s childhood memories.”
“The painting encapsulates Miss Ye Qingyan’s nostalgia for her childhood, as well as her nostalgia for her family. It is very different from her usual painting style.”
…
The auctioneer briefly introduced the painting, but he did not mention anything about the relationship between Ye Qingyan and Old Master Ye Weijun.
It was probably because of the Ye family’s reputation that it was inconvenient to bring up information that involved privacy.
“The starting price for this painting named ‘Summer Dream’ is 30 million yuan. Each bid increment is 1 million. The bidding begins now.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a young man in the front row immediately raised his bidding paddle to signal.
The auctioneer smiled and said, “This gentleman bids 31 million. Does anyone else want to raise the price?”
Immediately, others raised their paddles to raise the price.
After a few rounds of bidding, the auction price had already risen to 80 million.
The number of bidders had obviously decreased.
Most people only knew that Ye Qingyan had a distant relationship with the Ye family and did not know the inside story. They also did not know how important this painting was to Old Master Ye.
In their eyes, this was just the last work of a famous painter.
If it weren’t for the painter’s identity as a member of the Ye family, the price wouldn’t even reach 80 million.
However, this price was almost the limit of what they were willing to offer.
No matter how rich they were, they weren’t willing to spend a sky-high price of nearly 100 million to buy an ordinary oil painting, except for a few people who knew the inside story.
Those people who knew the inside story were still continuously bidding, and in the blink of an eye, the price had increased to 200 million.
Lin Bai began to raise his paddle to bid.
“300 million yuan.”
He spoke casually, and although his voice was not loud, it immediately attracted the attention of almost everyone present.
In the previous rounds of bidding, everyone basically raised their bids in millions or tens of millions.
However, Lin Bai directly raised the price by 100 million yuan so how could everyone not be surprised?
Even the experienced auctioneer on stage could not believe his ears.
The auctioneer looked at Lin Bai and confirmed with him in an inquiring tone, “Sir, are you sure you want to bid 300 million?”
“Of course.”
In an instant, the entire auction hall fell silent.
Almost everyone’s gaze was focused on Lin Bai.
The auctioneer took a deep breath and suppressed the shock in his heart. He continued to bid in an extremely professional manner.
“300 million going once. Is there anyone else who wants to place a higher bid?”
“300 million going twice.”
“300 million going…”
The auctioneer felt that 300 million yuan should be the final bid price, so he subconsciously increased the speed of bidding.
Just as he raised the auction hammer and was about to knock it down, the young man who was the first to bid raised his paddle again.
“310 million,” the young man said.
The auctioneer looked at Lin Bai and asked with a smile, “Sir, do you still want to continue bidding?”
Lin Bai raised his paddle without thinking.
“400 million.”
A faint gasp could be heard in the venue.
Although no one said anything, almost everyone was shouting in their hearts, “400 million for a painting, are you crazy? !”
The auctioneer managed to maintain his composure and continued to bid.
“400 million going once.”
“400 million going twice.”
Just as he was about to announce the bid for the last time, the young man in the front row clenched his teeth and raised his paddle.
“450 million!”
After saying that, the young man stood up and turned his head to look at Lin Bai who was in the back row.
He said politely, “Sir, the value of the painting itself is not worth that much.”
“It’s meaningless for you to continue competing with me.”
“And I really need this painting. Can you give it up?”
“I, and the entire Huo family, will be very grateful to you.”
The young man deliberately revealed his identity, hoping to use the Huo family’s name to make Lin Bai give up on bidding.
In fact, even if he didn’t say it, Lin Bai knew that he was the illegitimate son of the Huo family, Huo Yanhui.
According the news, the young lawyer who bought “Summer Dream” at a high price of 500 million and was regarded as the god-grandson of Ye Weijun, was this young man.
Faced with Huo Yanhui’s request, Lin Bai smiled and directly answered him with actions.
“500 million.”
Lin Bai directly called out the final bid price.
Huo Yanhui never expected that even though he had already revealed the Huo family’s name, Lin Bai would still not give him any respect.
Although the Huo family could not be compared to a prominent family like the Ye family, they still had some influence in the capital.
Most people would at least show him some basic respect.
No one would be as rude as Lin Bai.
Huo Yanhui’s face was livid. He was about to raise the price again.
However, the middle-aged man beside him grabbed his wrist.
“Forget it,” the middle-aged man said softly.
Huo Yanhui was unwilling. “But this painting…”
The middle-aged man interrupted him and repeated in a deep voice, “I said, forget it.”
Huo Yanhui did not dare to disobey his father, so he could only sit down quietly.
The auctioneer on the stage began to bid. This time, no one else bid.
After three bids, the deal was settled.
It was sold for 500 million yuan.