Chapter 64

The auction process was long and tedious. Su Jiayi had no interest in jewelry, antiques, or calligraphy and paintings. He couldn't sit still in the private room, fiddling with his phone off and on. Before long, he stood up and said to Su Ruoyun beside him, "Sis, I'm going out for a bit."

Su Ruoyun nodded. Shortly after, Su Jiayi lightly closed the private room door, leaving her alone in the room.

Halfway through the auction, the Spanish olive tree Su Ruoyun wanted to bid on came up. A scrolling display screen was mounted on the wall, with the bidding price constantly jumping.

The people present had no interest in saplings. She casually entered a price on her tablet, and without much effort, she won the bid for the sapling. She then sent a message to Peng Ran, leaving all subsequent matters for him to handle.

Only after receiving Peng Ran's reply did she notice that the private room was empty. How could the two of them have been gone for so long without returning?

Half an hour later, the auction had come to an end. All the lots had been auctioned off, with some failing to sell. Next was the auction banquet. Since Su Mingyan and Su Jiayi had yet to return, Su Ruoyun didn't want to stay any longer and stood up to leave the private room.

As soon as she stepped out, she bumped into a man in a black shirt.

She pretended not to see Huo Jingcheng, not even bothering to offer a greeting. With her eyes fixed straight ahead, she lifted her skirt and walked past the man standing tall at the door with elegant composure.

After leaving the room, in the winding corridor on the second floor, Su Ruoyun noticed someone following her.

She stopped and glanced back at Huo Jingcheng, who was half a step above her on the stairs, and asked, "Why are you following me?"

Huo Jingcheng raised an eyebrow. His right hand rested casually on the stair railing, his long fingers tapping rhythmically. His gaze held a hint of playfulness as he asked slowly, "Is this your art center?"

Of course it wasn't. Su Ruoyun frowned slightly.

Before she could speak, a faint smile played on Huo Jingcheng's lips. He knew the answer but insisted on continuing the conversation, deliberately dragging out his tone: "You've become so overbearing. It's one thing not to let me come to your tea house, but now, you won't even let me walk on someone else's spiral staircase."

Su Ruoyun couldn't help but explain, "I didn't forbid you from walking here, I just..."

Huo Jingcheng's brows curved imperceptibly, his eyes full of teasing. He dragged out his tone meaningfully, deliberately cutting off her words: "Then that means you want me to walk behind you."

"..." Su Ruoyun.

The girl's face was exquisite and pretty, her round apricot eyes glaring at him; even her eye-rolling looked like coquettishness.

She gripped her skirt tightly, turned back around, and ignored the man behind her, walking down a few steps quickly. She moved too fast, her skirt fluttering and carving out a lively arc in the air.

A woman walked up slowly from the opposite direction. Fearing a collision, Su Ruoyun subconsciously slowed her pace.

As they brushed past each other, under the dim yellow light of the wall lamp, she saw the woman's face—it was Miss Jiang.

Su Ruoyun nodded slightly to acknowledge her.

Miss Jiang also nodded politely at Su Ruoyun.

Footsteps approached from afar. Miss Jiang subconsciously looked up, and upon seeing the man's handsome face, she opened her mouth to offer a greeting.

Huo Jingcheng had his hands in his pockets, his footsteps lazy as he took one step down at a time. He nodded slightly to acknowledge the greeting.

After Miss Jiang's figure left the stairwell, Su Ruoyun stood in place, turning her eyes thoughtfully, and asked Huo Jingcheng, who was half a step away, "Do you know her?"

"Yes, middle school classmates."

Classmates?

Su Ruoyun immediately thought of something: "You were middle school classmates, then she and my brother..."

"Also middle school classmates, same grade, different classes."

Mentioning Su Mingyan, Su Ruoyun had always had a doubt in her heart.

"Why is it rumored outside that the relationship between you and my brother is so bad?"

Huo Jingcheng's pace gradually slowed. He lowered his head, staring at the carpet pattern on the stairs, and said as if casually, yet with deep meaning: "Want to know the answer?"

Su Ruoyun hesitated repeatedly, then pretended to be reserved and nodded slightly.

"However..."

He turned his face with interest, glancing sideways at her. He stared at Su Ruoyun for a few moments, his gaze carrying a hint of playfulness, deliberately dragging out his tone, and said clearly, word by word: "I only tell the answer to my wife."

"..." Su Ruoyun.

Su Ruoyun didn't bother with him this time and walked straight to the first-floor lobby. She took a glass of champagne from a silver tray held by a waiter; the clear glass reflected dazzling light under the lamps.

Holding the glass, she paced around the exhibition area in boredom. She brought the rim of the glass to her lips, took a small sip of champagne, and turned around. In the center of the display stand in front of her lay a necklace, resting quietly on black velvet, shining brilliantly.

With her right hand behind her back, she leaned over and took a careful look through the glass cover.

In the center of the bracelet was an oval diamond, dazzling to the eye, surrounded by a circle of multi-colored gemstones, with a gentle moonstone hanging below, its soft glow like moonlight scattered about.

A deep male voice suddenly fell by her ear.

"Do you like this?"

Hearing the voice, Su Ruoyun turned her head. Sure enough, she saw Huo Jingcheng standing behind her.

He looked at her with focused eyes. His aura was steady, looking as if he would buy it for her without hesitation if she said she "liked" it.

Huo Jingcheng didn't wear perfume; he had the faint woody scent of tobacco, mixed with a mature man's scent. Being close, his body heat carried this scent, drifting into her nose.

"It's just so-so." Su Ruoyun straightened up and stepped back, seemingly wanting to avoid his warm breath.

She took a step back, and he took a step forward.

"I'll buy you the bracelet, you give me the cufflinks, how about that?"

Huo Jingcheng pointed casually. On a nearby display stand sat that pair of gemstone cufflinks, emitting a low-key yet luxurious luster.

Although the cufflinks also looked expensive, compared to that bracelet, they were slightly inferior.

If she agreed, this "transaction" was obviously her gain.

Su Ruoyun looked at his face a few times. Seeing his calm and serious expression, she raised her eyebrows slightly and refused him: "No need."

There is no such thing as a free lunch in the world; she understood this principle. If a "cunning" old fox like Huo Jingcheng dug a hole for her, she might even be happy to carry the shovel for him.

Huo Jingcheng seemed to see what she was thinking and let out a meaningful hum of laughter. "What bad things are you making up about me in your heart again?"

?? The bonus chapters for the previous two PKs will be dropped at irregular intervals. Please keep reading, my dears. Mua~

? The second update is a bit late.