Driver Old Zhu was the most eye-catching person at tonight's auction. In the first half, he bid on a pile of jewelry and announced he'd donate it all. A total tycoon sitting there, surrounded by all the women watching him, many feeling heartbroken.
This wealthy gentleman really didn't understand romance—so many flirtatious glances, all completely ignored.
In the second half, everyone thought Driver Old Zhu would continue bidding on jewelry. Unexpectedly, whenever he saw antiques, he'd bid on them. Some of these antiques came from wealthy collectors, others from ordinary people who somehow obtained them for auction. Before the auction, everything underwent strict authentication, so fakes were basically impossible.
What followed left the entire room stunned. That tycoon, still wearing his sunglasses, would always be the first to bid whenever an antique appeared after the auctioneer opened bidding. He completely ignored whether the final price matched the item's actual value—like money was no object and he was just bidding for fun.
When the last antique fell into Driver Old Zhu's hands, a smiling hostess in a qipao walked over to interview him. "Mr. Zhu, you've purchased all the antiques tonight. Do you normally collect antiques as a hobby?"
"No, I don't," Driver Old Zhu answered coolly, his composed manner commanding admiration.
"Oh, then what made you choose to purchase so many antiques?" The hostess was prepared—whether he planned to donate them or smash them, she felt she could accept any answer.
Driver Old Zhu was excited inside. He'd give himself full marks for this act. "I just liked looking at them."
The hostess's smile stiffened. She'd considered many reasons but truly never expected this Mr. Zhu's answer to be:
He liked looking at them!!!
Everyone present: Liked looking at them? Actually, they all liked looking at these things too.
But no matter how much they liked them, they wouldn't buy everything. Confirmed—this was a true tycoon, the kind who didn't care about money.
Driver Old Zhu seemed to sense everyone's thoughts, a faint smile on his lips. He didn't feel bad either—it wasn't his money anyway. That young Miss Qin had a sharp eye for investments. Every investment hit the mark; she'd never lost on stocks. He'd personally witnessed her earning tons and tons of money. He'd learned to be smart too—whatever stocks Miss Qin bought, he bought. Sure enough, money came flooding in. Whatever Miss Qin invested in, he'd follow and pick up some opportunities. Honestly, he was pretty wealthy now and had even thought about firing his boss.
Of course, he'd never actually do that. His boss had given him so many shares and promised to buy him a car next year. He was a man of principle—he'd absolutely never do something so ungrateful and opportunistic.
"Qin Xin, that guy's really impressive," Su Wan couldn't help whispering to A-Xin. "All those antiques combined must be several hundred million. He really doesn't care about money—just because he liked looking at them. More impulsive than us women buying handbags and jewelry. Didn't even blink. When men spend money, that's what you call flowing like water."
"Does Su Wan envy that?" A-Xin asked.
"Who wouldn't?" Su Wan laughed. "Nobody in this world wouldn't want that. What women love most is being able to spend freely."
A-Xin nodded thoughtfully, a faint smile on her face, thinking: how much money would she need to earn for Su Wan to buy whatever caught her eye? For jewelry and trinkets, the money she currently had was nearly enough.
But if Su Wan wanted a building, a prime piece of land... A-Xin fell into deep thought. Buying one building was no problem, but if Su Wan wanted one every day, she couldn't sustain that. As for land, even the worst in the city cost hundreds of millions, the better ones close to ten billion. A-Xin grew troubled—she thought she was good at making money, but now she felt a bit poor.
With only one day left of the cruise night, Chairman Zhou never came looking for A-Xin, suggesting no one had caused trouble.
Occasionally encountering Qin Feng, he'd only give her a cold glance without saying much. Even Yu Meiyun didn't approach her or speak to her. She basically ran into Ye Xiaoge every day, and Ye Xiaoge's attitude toward her had changed the most.
During the first few days on the cruise, Ye Xiaoge seemed lacking in confidence. Later, Ye Xiaoge greeted everyone with smiles, smooth and diplomatic. Even passing by A-Xin, she maintained an elegant posture.
Su Wan noticed Ye Xiaoge's change too and found it equally strange. Even after selling all that jewelry for several hundred million, Ye Xiaoge should have radiated nouveau riche energy, not this current state—looking everyone in the eye with genuine inner confidence. What was going on?
"Forget it, too lazy to think about her. Now that she's sold everything, I really have nothing to do with her anymore."
She felt uncomfortable not because she still liked Ye Xiaoge, but... besides once liking her, they'd known each other since middle school. She'd helped Ye Xiaoge all along—shouldn't people remember some gratitude?
"This year's cruise night is rather strange," Su Wan said. "Usually, whether Zhou Corporation or Qin Corporation gets hosting rights, Qin Corporation always challenges Zhou Corporation to a gambling match. But this year I heard there was no competition between them."
"Also..." Su Wan paused. "Qin Feng left the Carnival on a speedboat the day after the auction. Who knows what scheme he's plotting."
"Could he be secretly securing some project while we're all away?" Su Wan suddenly realized, quickly pulling out her phone to call the company and ask about Qin Corporation's movements.
A-Xin held her wine glass with a shallow smile, standing behind Su Wan, listening to her anxiously contact the company. Soon Su Wan hung up, her expression looking displeased. "Did something happen?" A-Xin asked.
"Sneaky!" Su Wan was somewhat angry. "I wondered why Ye Xiaoge would sell all that jewelry. I just called the company—Qin Corporation is currently gathering funds just to acquire a prime piece of land downtown. This land had no news about being released. We thought it would be years before they'd release it when prices rose even more."
"Never expected Qin Feng to jump ahead."
Setting aside grudges with Qin Feng, every major corporation in the city with capability—who wouldn't want this land? It was a prime location. Develop it into real estate, and it would sell out immediately. Without other issues, it was guaranteed profit with no loss.
"Has Qin Feng secured it already?"
Su Wan shook her head. "Supposedly someone's still competing with him. He's already sold his villa, over twenty apartments, and many storefronts just to secure this land."
"Has Ms. Yu Meiyun participated?" A-Xin asked curiously.
Su Wan raised an eyebrow. "She has some money, but it's small. She'd never bear to sell that jewelry. Even if she wanted to participate, Qin Feng wouldn't let her. I estimate Qin Feng would tell her that buying land carries huge risks, that she should keep her money for retirement in case something goes wrong that can't be fixed.
Besides, her bit of money—Qin Feng truly doesn't value it. If she really sold everything, Yu Meiyun probably wouldn't even want to attend social gatherings. Don't look at her acting all prestigious—actually she can't produce much."
People at their level knew bits and pieces about the Qin family's affairs.
"Are you worried about her?" Su Wan instinctively asked, after all Yu Meiyun was Qin Xin's mother.
A-Xin shook her head. "Does Su Wan think I'd care about her?"
She just felt regretful—why didn't Yu Meiyun participate? It would have been great if she had participated. With Qin Feng's attitude toward Yu Meiyun, he truly wouldn't let her participate. After all, in Qin Feng's view, after buying that prime land, it was guaranteed profit—how could he possibly let Yu Meiyun make money?
Even Ye Xiaoge's several hundred million worth of jewelry—he sold it all but still wouldn't let Yu Meiyun participate, showing he truly detested Yu Meiyun. Yet Yu Meiyun always felt that wholeheartedly supporting this capable adopted son, even abandoning her biological daughter, would bring her prestige for life.
"Does Su Wan still want that land?"
Su Wan shook her head. "That land is worth over ten billion. Our company is currently working on a very important project with all funds invested there. Besides, we have zero preparation now—we can't compete with Qin Corporation. Gambling everything without preparation isn't my style. I always plan the best strategy first and assess the risks. This time, Qin Feng got lucky. Most people capable of competing are currently on the Carnival. I bet many people are regretting it right now."
"Mm."
A-Xin smiled faintly. No, later on, these people would only feel fortunate—fortunate they were on the Carnival and didn't compete for that prime land. She smiled lightly, opening her phone's message interface. There was a message from Chairman Zhou. She moved her fingers and sent a message.
"Haha..."
Driver Old Zhu didn't understand why Chairman Zhou stared at his phone and laughed. "Boss, what are you laughing about?"
"Miss Qin just sent a message congratulating me."
"Congratulations? Did the boss make another profit? Did the stocks you bought rise again?"
Chairman Zhou shook his head, looking at Driver Old Zhu with an indescribable expression. He had a feeling this guy was getting cocky. How did he end up with such a foolish subordinate? Wasn't it just making some money from stocks? When walking, did he need to swagger like that?
"Some time ago, that young man from the Xu family came back and played a game of chess with me, remember?"
Driver Old Zhu nodded. "I remember. Miss Qin was there too. She said she was interested in chess and got acquainted with Mr. Xu, even exchanged contact information."
"Exactly. Little Zhu, just wait. After leaving the Carnival, there'll be a sensational event." Chairman Zhou looked at his confused subordinate and shook his head. "Forget it, go have fun. There's only one more day before we disembark."
Truly consistently foolish, yet dreaming of firing his boss. Leaving Zhou Corporation, where could he find such a benevolent boss willing to take in someone intellectually challenged?
"Alright, boss."
One day later, the Carnival docked. The annual cruise night came to an end. Many people still stood reluctantly at the dock, watching the Carnival depart until it disappeared from sight before gradually leaving.
"Did you have fun?" Su Wan asked the girl walking beside her, instinctively reaching to help with the heavy suitcase. "Let me help you."
A-Xin shook her head, glancing at Su Wan's even larger suitcase. "You handle yours. I'll manage mine."
"Alright." Su Wan felt she'd been too obvious. This girl had no special feelings for her at all. Thinking of A-Xin's impressive feats these past days, she asked quietly, "How many of those dishes did you learn?"
"All the ones I saw and ate—I can make them now. But the only difficulty is I must have the raw materials and some special seasonings, otherwise I can't make them either."
"That's easy. I may not be a top tycoon, but I have money to buy ingredients." Su Wan smiled. "How about this—I'll pay for ingredients, you cook. Deal?"
"Sure." A-Xin was very willing.
Returning to the villa, both went to their bathrooms to shower, then came to the living room wearing simple loungewear. The TV was broadcasting news about Qin Corporation acquiring that prime land for 12 billion. Su Wan watched Qin Feng's smiling face and curled her lip. "Look how proud he is. He'd better be able to make a comeback with this, otherwise... plenty of people want to take down Qin Corporation."
"Big brother is really impressive—casually spending 12 billion." A-Xin handed Su Wan a glass of fresh juice, her gaze also turning to the TV screen.
"That's not just his money—it's all the money Qin Corporation can currently produce. If they lose this gamble, he truly has no chance of recovery." Su Wan really hoped Qin Feng would fail, but given that land's value, the possibility of loss was small.
"They're breaking ground next month?" A-Xin looked at the displayed timeline. "I want to go watch the excitement. Su Wan, will you go with me?"
Su Wan took a sip of juice and glanced at A-Xin. "What's so interesting about that kind of excitement? Qin Xin, are you worried about something? If you're worried about that previous matter, rest assured—living here with me, Qin Feng won't dare do anything to you. Besides, at this critical moment, he has no time to deal with you. If you're envious he has 12 billion to buy land, when our Su Corporation buys land someday, I'll take you to see."
A-Xin still said, "I just want to watch the excitement. Su Wan, will you go with me, please?"
"Fine, fine." Su Wan couldn't refuse at all—the girl across from her with that calm, earnest expression inviting her to watch the excitement. She truly had no way to refuse. "I'll clear that day. We'll go watch the excitement together. Okay?"
A-Xin smiled. "Mm."
Seeing A-Xin smile, Su Wan's heart lifted too. She quickly used the motion of drinking juice to hide her face and the emotions in her eyes, afraid the girl would notice something.
On the day Qin Corporation broke ground, Su Wan accompanied A-Xin to the land's location. Quite a few people had come.
The two stood in a corner. Qin Feng and Ye Xiaoge both noticed them but didn't come over to greet them. Both wore full smiles, especially Ye Xiaoge—everyone could sense her joy. Starting today, she was a shareholder of Qin Corporation. This land included her share too.
A-Xin stood quietly to the side, watching the groundbreaking. Su Wan didn't quite understand why A-Xin insisted on watching from beginning to end. Even Ye Xiaoge was drawn over. She walked up to A-Xin.
"Regretting it now?" Ye Xiaoge didn't appear aggressive. Her voice was low, and she didn't reflexively show a wronged expression. When walking, she held her head high, completely confident. "Back then you took Qin Feng's ten million and voluntarily left Qin Corporation. Now all this has nothing to do with you."
After speaking, she ignored A-Xin and turned to Su Wan. "For old times' sake, Su Wan, I want to tell you—a woman who would even deceive her own brother, you'd better open your eyes and look carefully, or you'll be fooled by her."
"I don't need you to teach me, Ye Xiaoge."
Hearing Su Wan defend A-Xin, Ye Xiaoge just smiled. "If you won't listen, forget it. If you like watching, then watch carefully today. After all, scenes like this aren't common. In this city, there's only this one most expensive piece of land."
By noon, A-Xin still showed no intention of leaving.
Su Wan wanted to leave, but seeing A-Xin staring without blinking, she just asked, "Hungry?"
"Not yet." A-Xin noticed it was noon. "Let's order takeout."
Just as she finished speaking, commotion arose from the construction team. Someone shouted loudly, "Antiques! We dug up antiques!"
Normally in such situations, anyone with connections would know—even if antiques were dug up, they wouldn't announce it. Just fill it back in and ask the boss for a bonus later. But for some reason, one person instinctively shouted loudly. With reporters and other non-Qin Corporation people present today, everyone was immediately alerted.
Many people gathered around. "It really is an antique."
"I've already called."
"They should send people over soon to look. Don't touch anything—you might damage cultural relics."
Instantly, Qin Feng's expression changed. Nothing could be done now. He especially wanted to shove that shouting person into the ground to eat dirt.
A-Xin's face showed a faint smile. Su Wan's eyes widened. "Antiques? Can it really be such a coincidence? If there's an ancient tomb inside, wouldn't Qin Corporation be finished?"
Before long, a group of people excitedly rushed to the construction site—old and young, with an elderly professor leading the charge, waving his hand. "You all leave. Leave this to us. After we excavate the treasures inside, you can pick another time to break ground."
Su Wan burst out laughing. "Qin Corporation is done for this time. Even the archaeology team showed up."
"Qin Feng, what's going on?" Ye Xiaoge didn't understand these matters, but the situation seemed bad.
Qin Feng's face was dark. "If they discover an ancient tomb below, we might be delayed a very long time before we can break ground. How soon or late depends on fate." This was all of Qin Corporation's funds—they couldn't afford to wait.
If that happened, they'd face bankruptcy.