Chapter 151: Who on earth is this kid!

"Qin Siyao... is actually here too?"

Wu Hantao narrowed his eyes, looking Qin Siyao up and down.

A smile involuntarily spread across his face.

"Does she want to get her hands on this Jade Statue of Lord Ma as well?"

Wu Hantao smacked his lips, deep in thought.

Last time he tried to win Qin Siyao's favor, it felt somewhat like taking advantage of her grandfather's illness.

But this time...

It was precisely a golden opportunity to make amends and court her anew.

"One hundred and eighty million!"

At that moment, a loud shout rang out.

Everyone turned to look!

It was the paddle raised by the father and son duo, Cheng Gong and Cheng Qiang!

Wu Hantao furrowed his brows. "The Cheng family? They want this item too? No, that shouldn't be right. These two are merely a collateral branch of the Cheng family..."

Suddenly, Wu Hantao remembered that the birthday of the Cheng family patriarch was approaching, and understanding dawned on him instantly.

"These two father and son have never held high status within the Cheng family. They must be trying to buy a birthday gift to curry favor with the old patriarch."

Wu Hantao smiled faintly. Since they weren't direct descendants of the Cheng family, it didn't matter.

"Two hundred million!"

Abruptly, Wu Hantao raised his hand and said indifferently.

The two words slipped effortlessly from his lips, as if two hundred million was nothing more than a trivial number to him!

"What?!"

Father and son Cheng Gong and Cheng Qiang immediately frowned!

The bidding had already reached two hundred million!

The two of them looked toward Wu Hantao, and upon recognizing who he was, their expressions darkened considerably.

"Dad... is that man Wu Hantao?"

"...Yes, it's him."

"...Does he want this item too?"

Cheng Gong knitted his brows.

In his view, the Wu family's fortunes had always been exceptionally smooth, and there was no one in their household with a particular fondness for jade artifacts. This Wu Hantao... was most likely just playing around on a whim.

After pondering for a moment, Cheng Gong raised his hand. "Two hundred and ten million!"

This was already the absolute highest price he could possibly offer!

Although their Cheng family was considered the strongest force just beneath the top three major families... if they were to truly clash, they might not necessarily fall too far behind the Wu family... but...

After all, he was only from a collateral branch!

His financial resources and backing were far inferior!

Just as expected...

Wu Hantao smiled contemptuously, raised his hand, and declared, "Two hundred and thirty million!"

Hearing this figure, Cheng Gong and Cheng Qiang gritted their teeth fiercely, completely forced to back down.

The entire crowd burst into a clamor of murmurs!

The price had already reached two hundred and thirty million!

It was already a full one hundred million higher than the final hammer price from a year ago! Furthermore, the bidding was still climbing!

To be fair, this Jade Statue of Lord Ma was indeed a fine piece... but driving the price up this high was simply too absurd, wasn't it?

"Two hundred and fifty million!"

At that moment, a voice rang out—a crisp and pleasant female voice.

Everyone turned to look, and it was Qin Siyao once again!

Cheng Gong and Cheng Qiang had already completely given up. Subconsciously turning their heads back, they unexpectedly discovered...

Sitting right beside Qin Siyao was a familiar man...

"What?!"

Cheng Qiang was startled. "Dad... it's him!"

"I see him... the eldest daughter of the Qin family, Qin Siyao."

"No, no, no! Not Qin Siyao! It's the person sitting next to her... Ling Qiu! That Ling Qiu!"

"Huh?"

Cheng Gong was taken aback. He carefully observed the man sitting beside Qin Siyao and finally recognized him as well! After all, he hadn't met Ling Qiu in person, but he had seen photographs.

"Why is he... together with the Qin family's young lady?"

Cheng Qiang was utterly baffled.

Cheng Gong pondered for a moment, then sneered, "That's not surprising. Ling Qiu's martial arts skills are formidable enough to qualify him as a bodyguard."

Cheng Qiang nodded with a frown, finding that to be the only plausible explanation.

Cheng Gong, however, fell into deep thought, and a moment later, a sinister glint flashed across his eyes!

"Son, perhaps... this time, you can have your revenge!"

"Huh? How can we get revenge?"

"You must know about the intentions of the young master of the Wu family toward the Qin family's young lady, right?"

"Of course, quite a few insiders in the provincial capital know about that."

"In that case... we can use a borrowed knife to kill someone and get rid of this Ling Qiu."

Cheng Gong stroked his chin, speaking with a sinister chuckle, "The potent poison we prepared beforehand... today happens to be the perfect time to use it!"

Cheng Qiang hesitated for a brief moment before comprehension dawned on him, and a malicious grin spread across his face.

"That way... Wu Hantao will surely tear this Ling Qiu... limb from limb!"

...

"Two hundred and seventy million!"

Wu Hantao raised his bidding paddle again.

At this point, the only ones left bidding in the entire hall were Wu Hantao and Qin Siyao.

Qin Siyao furrowed her brows, thinking: Is this Wu Hantao out of his mind? Judging by his attitude, it's obvious he's just playing around. He doesn't need this item, so why keep driving the price up? Is it just for fun? Or could it be... purely to go against me?

Is he taking revenge... for me rejecting him earlier?

"Two hundred and eighty million!"

Qin Siyao raised her paddle once more! Her stubborn streak had flared up. She had a budget limit of three hundred million anyway, and she wanted to see just how long this Wu Hantao intended to spar with her!

"Two hundred and ninety million!"

Wu Hantao raised his paddle again. This time, he even looked over toward Qin Siyao's direction, offered a faint smile, and waved a greeting he thought was dashing.

This expression, which he imagined to be charming, made Qin Siyao feel utterly nauseous.

In truth, Wu Hantao... was not intentionally trying to go against Qin Siyao.

His goal was to use his own money to win the Jade Statue of Lord Ma at auction, and then turn around and gift it to Qin Siyao. This way, Qin Siyao wouldn't have to spend a single cent to receive such a lavish present!

Therefore...

"Go ahead and get angry, Qin Siyao. However angry you are right now, the surprise you get later will be just as huge!"

Wu Hantao turned his head with a self-assured air, looking at Qin Siyao with a smile, as if he were secretly sending amorous glances.

When Qin Siyao saw that look, it made her skin crawl with disgust, and she assumed the man was simply showing off to intimidate her!

"Three hundred million!!"

Qin Siyao raised her paddle again!

Wu Hantao smiled faintly and casually raised his paddle. "Three hundred and ten million."

Gasps!

The entire hall was utterly stunned!

A jade statue... had actually been bid up to over three hundred million yuan!!

Good grief... when the immortals fight, mere mortals better stay out of the way!

"..."

Qin Siyao's brows were tightly locked.

By now... it had already exceeded the three-hundred-million limit her grandfather had given her...

She knew she couldn't keep fighting for it...

But seeing Wu Hantao's smug and complacent expression, she simply couldn't swallow this anger!

She thought to herself... she still had some personal savings of her own, so... she would make one last desperate attempt!

"Three hundred and twenty million!!"

Qin Siyao decided to stake her own personal savings!

However...

Wu Hantao simply smiled lightly once again and raised his paddle, saying, "Three hundred and fifty million."

Holy cow!!

The entire hall completely exploded!!

This price had already smashed right through the ceiling, hadn't it?!

Qin Siyao felt a piercing ache in her heart... words could not describe how stifled she felt, but... at this price, she had no choice but to completely give up, utterly powerless to continue bidding.

Wu Hantao curled the corners of his lips in confident triumph. He knew that this time, she had finally thrown in the towel.

"Qin Siyao... just wait for the surprise your young master has prepared for you!"

Yet...

Just when everyone thought it was all over.

Suddenly, a voice drifted over lightly.

The voice was not loud, but it was filled with a magnetic resonance, clearly reaching the ears of every single person present.

"Five hundred million."