In a small room backstage at the auction, the auctioneer sat on a leather sofa. Two security guards stood behind him. A glass coffee table separated him from Lin Luan, who sat directly across.
“Mr. Lin, your card does not have 600 million.”
The auctioneer pushed back the bank card that Lin Luan had provided earlier as a guarantee.
“Uh…” Lin Luan looked at the bank card, feeling a bit at a loss. “This… I, I can explain…”
“Explain?”
The auctioneer raised an eyebrow. His movement was slight, but it carried a heavy sense of pressure. Lin Luan guessed it was likely because of the two tall security guards standing behind him.
“You certainly do need to explain. Explain why you maliciously raised the price to disrupt the order of the auction while knowing you had insufficient funds.”
“I didn’t maliciously raise the price—”
“Unless you produce the 600 million right now to prove your ability to pay,” the auctioneer paused, “otherwise, you will face a lawsuit.”
“Falsely reporting a bid price and interfering with normal business activities is no small matter, Mr. Lin.”
His tone wasn’t aggressive; it was even quite polite. However, that condescending sense of threat gave Lin Luan a familiar feeling of suffocation.
Yes, it was familiar.
“Just you? You don’t even have a high school diploma, and you want to join our company?”
“Think the salary is too low? Take it or leave it. There’s a long line of people behind you.”
Those harsh words were like a giant clutching his neck, always making it hard to breathe.
He had heard those words constantly when he was running around everywhere with his young sister after their parents had just passed away.
He felt like he had gotten used to it long ago, but it seemed like he actually hadn’t.
Those cold gazes and the auctioneer’s current look gradually began to overlap. An indescribable sense of nausea surged up from his stomach.
‘Should I shrink back? Should I bow my head, admit my mistake, and beg for forgiveness like I used to? For what? To avoid trouble?’
Seeing that he remained silent, the auctioneer assumed he was afraid, and his tone became even more certain.
“Mr. Lin, I see you are still young. An impulsive moment is understandable, but rules are rules. How about this: you write a sincere apology statement and compensate for the losses and the impact on our reputation caused by this auction. If you do, we can consider not pursuing your legal liability…”
That condescending tone… it was so irritating.
“Compensate?” Lin Luan suddenly interrupted him, slowly lifting his head.
The auctioneer froze, staring blankly at the man whose aura had shifted in an instant.
The cowering expression Lin Luan had worn just a moment ago had completely vanished, replaced by a calm that suppressed a brewing storm.
But he was no longer that helpless 17-year-old boy. He still had a trump card.
“Who told you I don’t have the 600 million?” Lin Luan said indifferently. He gave a small wave of his hand in a dismissive gesture. “Was it the two thick-skulled guards behind you? Or the maggots in your brain?”
“You!”
The guard behind the auctioneer was instantly enraged. He wanted to show this ungrateful young man a thing or two immediately.
However, the auctioneer quickly stopped him. The auctioneer’s eyelid flickered. Although Lin Luan’s words had made him somewhat angry, were this guard’s brains made entirely of muscle?
The man still had 500 million in his card; how could they just get physical like that? Was he not afraid of being encased in cement?
Even though the auctioneer had already surmised that the 500 million likely didn’t belong to Lin Luan himself, the man definitely had a backer—a backer who could casually provide 500 million. Such a person was not someone they could touch at will.
“It was my mistake for failing to recognize your status, Mr. Lin…” The auctioneer squinted, a smile appearing on his face.
“But no matter how I look at it, your card is always short by 100 million. Could you enlighten me? Where is the 600th million?”
Lin Luan stood up, shoved his hands into his pockets, and walked toward the door.
“Give me three minutes.”
*Snap.*
***
The door closed. The auctioneer’s smile vanished instantly.
“Follow him. Don’t let him get away,” he ordered the guards behind him.
“Yes, sir.” The two guards bowed and stepped out after him.
The corridor was covered in thick carpet, making their footsteps nearly silent.
Lin Luan didn’t walk fast; he was even a bit leisurely, as if he weren’t going to get 100 million but was merely going to the end of the hallway for a breath of air.
The two guards followed at a distance, maintaining a range that allowed them to monitor him without appearing too obvious. Lin Luan didn’t look back.
He walked straight to the floor-to-ceiling window at the end of the hallway. Outside, the city’s night view was dazzling.
He stopped his pace and slowly pulled a card from the inner pocket of his suit.
It was a matte black card that barely reflected light, and the extremely fine gold line around the edge revealed its extraordinary nature. This was exactly the one-time gift Song Li had given him yesterday, which required a donation of one million to activate.
He took out his phone, unlocked the screen, and scrolled down to find the charitable donation link Song Li had sent him. It was the official channel for a children’s congenital heart disease relief foundation in Chang city.
Lin Luan’s finger paused for a moment on the screen. All the money he had in his bank account right now was the 1,100,000 yuan Su Jin had transferred to him in advance. Now, he was going to donate it all at once.
Song Li had mentioned to him that this card’s original purpose was to serve as a threshold to remind the heir of Su group not to forget their original intentions upon taking office.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t going to be Su Jin’s husband and couldn’t inherit the Su group’s assets. This 1,100,000 yuan was his entire net worth.
Input Amount: 1,100,000.00
Select Payment Method: Bank Card
Password Confirmation.
**[Payment successful! Thank you for donating 1,100,000 yuan to the “Heart to Heart Project”! Your donation will be used for…]**
As the confirmation message popped up on his phone screen, the gold line around the edge of the black card in his hand suddenly flashed. Immediately after, the card itself vibrated slightly, emitting a faint *beep*.
It was activated.
‘What a high-end card.’
Lin Luan gripped the card, sensing a subtle change in its texture, though he wasn’t sure if it was just psychological.
He turned around and looked at the two guards pretending to look at the scenery out the window. A faint smile curled on his lips.
“Let’s go,” he said, his voice calm. “Go back and tell your boss that I’ve brought the 600 million.”
With that, he stepped out and walked back unhurriedly. The two guards exchanged looks and quickly followed.
The room door was pushed open once more. The auctioneer was still sitting on the sofa. Seeing Lin Luan return so quickly, a flash of surprise crossed his eyes. “Mr. Lin, so soon — “
*Snap.*
He didn’t finish his sentence.
Lin Luan had already walked to the coffee table and slapped the black card down in front of him.
“The 600 million is in this card.” Lin Luan looked the auctioneer straight in the eye. “Now, can we continue the transaction?”
The auctioneer’s gaze fell on the unfamiliar black card, and his pupils constricted slightly. He had seen countless bank cards, but he had never seen one with this kind of texture.
He picked up the card; it felt heavy in his hand. He gestured, and a staff member immediately brought a specialized card reader.
The card was inserted, and the auctioneer entered the query command. A few seconds later, the screen refreshed.
**[Single Transaction Limit: 600,000,000.00]**
600 million!
The auctioneer snapped his head up, his gaze toward Lin Luan changing completely.
“Mr… Mr. Lin…” His voice was a bit dry as he stood up. “I was disrespectful just now. The transaction can certainly continue. We will process it for you immediately…”
However, Lin Luan raised a hand to interrupt him.
“The transaction can continue,” his voice was steady, “but before that, I have a question.”
“Please, go ahead!”
“That Lady No. 100 who was bidding against me earlier…” Lin Luan’s gaze was sharp as a knife. “Where is she now? I need to talk to her first.”