Chapter 20: Competition!

Chen Fan swallowed hard, his gaze fixed intently on the fan. Li Youran noticed his unusual behavior and frowned slightly, then asked softly, “Xiao Fan, do you like it?”

Chen Fan nodded, then shook his head slightly. If his guess was correct, the fan should belong to Huang Shulang. The Jade-faced Scholar Huang Shulang—his old man had told him about him. Back in the day, in the Dragon Kingdom, Huang was among the elder’s juniors, but now, among the nation’s martial experts, he was undoubtedly a pillar. One man, one folding fan, a refined gentleman who could kill without leaving a trace. Yes, the kind who was gentle yet ruthless.

When the experts of the Dragon Kingdom battled years ago, Huang Shulang was hunted down by his enemies. He fought six masters single-handedly and managed not to lose ground. In the end, he abandoned his fan and escaped. The folding fan bore no inscription, only decorated with landscape paintings. It must be this very one.

If he bought it now, and should Huang Shulang come looking for it someday—well… If explained properly, it could mean the support of a master; but if explained poorly, it could cost him his life. Chen Fan shook his head, not because he needed it, but because he was simply shaken.

Yet to Li Youran, it was another matter entirely. She believed Chen Fan liked it but didn’t want her to spend the money, so he pretended not to care.

Xiao Fan, if Fourth Sister says she’ll buy it for you, then she will. A folding fan would suit Xiao Fan’s demeanor perfectly. A refined gentleman, handsome as jade.

“Number 36, bid at 120,000.” Li Youran raised her sign.

Chen Fan: What?! Sister! I really don’t want it!

“Fourth Sister, I’m not particularly fond of it.”

“There’s no need, it’s just a broken fan being sold at such a high price—not worth it,” Chen Fan said honestly.

Li Youran heard, “Sister, don’t spend the money; Xiao Fan cares about you.”

Xiao Fan! Don’t worry! Fourth Sister will make sure you get it!

Still, if she insisted on buying it for Chen Fan, she feared he’d refuse. Li Youran needed a plan. Her gaze shifted, a knowing smile touched her lips.

“Xiao Fan, you know, right? This fan seems quite valuable. Although we don’t know whose it is, I feel it’s worth collecting and studying. If I buy it, I’ll examine it first, then let you play with it.”

That was her reasoning.

Chen Fan was stunned.

His old man had told him that Huang Shulang’s folding fan was worth only a few hundred bucks. Worthless as a collectible! Suddenly, Chen Fan’s spirit soared. He’d been tricked! His old man must have been afraid Chen Fan would pester him for the fan and made up an excuse to fool him. That must be it! After all, how many folding fans owned by masters could really be worthless?

And Fourth Sister wanted to study it. Even if Huang Shulang came for it, Chen Fan was confident he could talk things over. Worst case, he’d just say, “My master is Xuan Yi.” That should scare him off. Buying it for fun wasn’t so bad.

“All right,” Chen Fan nodded slightly.

Seeing his agreement, Li Youran was relieved. She might not have enough funds to win the amber prayer beads, but bidding for the fan shouldn’t be a problem.

“Number 2, 150,000.”

The crowd was stunned.

One hundred and fifty thousand? Brother, you’re spending that much for a folding fan? Idiot…

Li Youran neither got angry nor flustered; she was always like this, gentle as water, as if she stepped out from a scroll painting of the southern rivers.

“Number 36, 200,000.”

Now her heart held only one thought: Xiao Fan wants this fan. She must buy it!

“Number 2, 300,000!”

Good heavens… Three hundred thousand?!

The other guests were dumbfounded. Certainly, anyone seated at number two wasn’t ordinary—perhaps a bigwig. But spending three hundred thousand on a broken fan, with no practical use? Li Youran raising the price in increments of fifty thousand felt high enough already. But now, a jump of one hundred thousand—that was pure foolishness.

“Number 36, 350,000.”

After Li Youran called out her price, Chen Fan frowned slightly. Was someone really bidding for this? Surely they recognized it as Huang Shulang’s folding fan? Maybe they intended to present it to Huang Shulang for favor?

The hall fell silent for a few moments, then erupted in gasps of astonishment. Number 2 was in a private box, so no one could see him, only hear his voice—a man.

After a few seconds, number 2 raised his sign again.

“Number 2, one million!”

Everyone was utterly shocked. Even Li Youran was a bit surprised. One million? The minimum increment was ten thousand, but he’d jumped sixty-five times that.

Li Youran could understand, though: from start to now, number 2 hadn’t bid. Now, he suddenly raised the price to one million.

First, he wanted to show off his wealth and power to the others. Second, he was warning Li Youran: Don’t be ignorant! I don’t want to compete with you! This folding fan is mine! You don’t have the funds to challenge me!

These points, Chen Fan understood as well. He glanced at Li Youran’s expression—there was clear disappointment in her eyes.

Fourth Sister…

“Sis, I don’t want it. Let’s stop bidding. One million is enough to buy a house in some small cities.”

Chen Fan began to persuade Li Youran. If his eldest sister Meng Rongrong were here, he wouldn’t care—she had money. But Fourth Sister Li Youran… he knew she didn’t have much. At most eight figures. Her status in the antique world was unique, but her finances were limited.

“One million and fifty thousand!”

Li Youran bit her lip hard. One million and fifty thousand was her limit. If she succeeded, she’d have to give up competing for the final item. Most of her funds belonged to the association, reserved for bidding on the amber prayer beads. This million was her absolute limit.

“Isn’t that Li Youran from the International Appraisal Association?”

“Yes, she’s been bidding from the start.”

“I just wonder what’s so special about this fan. Is it really worth bidding for?”

“Maybe there’s something we haven’t grasped.”

People around began to discuss.

Chen Fan was silent for a while, then looked up at the number 2 VIP box.

Brother! Show some mercy! Let us have it…

But before long, a new bid rang out from the number 2 suite.

“Number 2, two million!”