"Five hundred million!"
Xiao Xuan felt dizzy, her mind blank, but she mechanically raised her paddle and shouted.
The commotion on the auction stage was unrestrained, with countless people stunned.
Buying an ancient painting for five hundred million, even if it was a masterpiece, was too extravagant!
While the "Canglan Tu" was precious, its market value was no more than one hundred and fifty million, and two hundred million would already be an inflated price.
Now, the bid had reached five hundred million, an astronomical sum!
Xu Shengqing was so angry he felt like spitting blood, wishing he could kill Chen Fan.
He suddenly stood up, his anger at its peak, and said, "Mr. Chen, do you know what you're doing?"
Chen Fan smiled and replied, "What, can't afford it anymore? And you were so high-profile?"
"You..."
Xu Shengqing's body trembled with rage. He gritted his teeth and said, "Five hundred million and one million!"
Xiao Xuan looked at Chen Fan, her paddle habitually half-raised.
But at that moment, Chen Fan placed a hand on her paddle and said with a smile, "Young Master Xu is indeed wealthy and generous. You win!"
Win?
Xu Shengqing froze, not understanding.
Yuan Liangping involuntarily breathed a sigh of relief.
Rumble...
Applause suddenly erupted from all around.
The attendees spontaneously applauded Xu Shengqing.
"As expected of the super young master from the capital, wealthy and generous!"
"That useless son-in-law of the Su family dared to compete with Young Master Xu? He's just humiliating himself!"
"Five hundred million, the total assets of most top families in Hangjiang wouldn't even be this much!"
"..."
Amidst the applause and flattering discussions, Xu Shengqing suddenly came to his senses and felt a pang of heartache, his heart bleeding.
This was five hundred million!
Given his wealth and status, buying the "Canglan Tu" for five hundred million wouldn't cripple him, but he felt incredibly uncomfortable!
He looked at Chen Fan, who appeared relaxed, making him tremble with anger.
This guy did it on purpose, he deliberately provoked me into bidding this price.
I seem to have fallen into his trap!
More accurately, I've been outmaneuvered!
Xu Shengqing felt as if he had swallowed a fly.
A significant portion of this auction was to please him, so in his estimation, acquiring the "Canglan Tu" for two hundred million was more than enough.
But spending five hundred million now made it unbearable.
The most unbearable part was that this five hundred million was exactly at the limit of what he could tolerate.
He intended to use this "Canglan Tu" to curry favor with Old Master Chen. Within two hundred million, he would have felt the price was worth it.
As long as he gained Old Master Chen's favor, he could obtain more in the future.
But the cost of five hundred million was too high!
Even if it earned him the old man's praise, he would still be at a loss.
In the eyes of the local wealthy families in Hangjiang, he, Xu Shengqing, was unattainable. But in reality, in the capital, he wasn't that prominent.
There were too many influential families in the capital. If the Xu family didn't have the Chen family behind them, they wouldn't be noteworthy in the capital.
Relying on the Chen family, the Xu family naturally had financial resources, but their wealth wasn't necessarily much stronger than the top local families in Hangjiang.
Five hundred million was enough to make him feel the pinch for a long time.
If he had won the bid through normal competition, he could have accepted it.
But Chen Fan had increased the bid by nearly a hundred million in one go, and then suddenly let go, coincidentally hitting his most uncomfortable point.
If he bid any higher, he would give up. After all, while pleasing Old Master Chen was important, he could find other alternatives.
But Chen Fan seemed to have calculated it perfectly. At the five hundred million mark, he lost his composure. Not knowing whether to advance or retreat, he felt an urge to vomit blood.
Yuan Liangping had a good understanding of Xu Shengqing's financial situation, so he whispered, "Young Master Xu, don't worry. I'll handle this transaction. The Lin family will surely give face!"
Hearing this, Xu Shengqing felt a little better.
However, he also knew that this meant he owed Yuan Liangping or the Lin family a favor.
...
The astronomical price of five hundred million had a significant impact, and the attendees were still discussing it enthusiastically.
In a back corner, Xiao Wei breathed a sigh of relief, then felt a strange sense of disappointment.
"Was that really Xiao Xuan just now?"
Even now, Xiao Wei found it hard to believe.
"It was her. Can't you tell from her voice?" Xiao Qian, Xiao Xuan's second sister, was also uncertain. "She's sitting in the front row. Is she causing trouble?"
"She wouldn't, would she..." Xiao Wei's heart was a mess. "She doesn't have that much guts."
"Then is it that Mr. Chen? Does he have five hundred million?"
Xiao Qian said in disbelief.
"Is he faking it?" Xiao Wei was uneasy. "That guy doesn't look rich. Is he bidding maliciously to show off?"
Despite saying this, she was still unsure given the scale of the banquet and auction.
The two were filled with suspicion and speculation, wishing they could rush over and question Xiao Xuan and Chen Fan right now.
But ultimately, they didn't dare.
Dai Yunsen also breathed a sigh of relief and sneered, "Chen Fan, pretending to be something you're not, and then backing down? I don't believe you really have five hundred million."
Chen Fan glanced at him and ignored him.
"Was that malicious bidding?" the woman sitting with Dai Yunsen said.
"I think someone should check if he actually has the financial capacity!"
"Putting on an act!"
"..."
Several people continued to mock and sneer.
Finally no longer having to raise her paddle, Xiao Xuan let out a sigh of relief, wiping her hands. Her palms were covered in sweat.
Tang Qingying, however, became interested. She leaned over to Chen Fan and asked in a low voice, "Why did Mr. Chen let go?"
She still believed in Chen Fan's financial strength, thinking that if he wanted to, he could easily spend ten hundred million with his Purple Gold Dragon Card.
Chen Fan smiled and said, "The 'Canglan Tu' means nothing to me. It was just to teach Xu Shengqing a lesson."
He didn't need to curry favor with Old Master Chen.
"Teach him a lesson?" Tang Qingying asked in surprise. "Do you know that young master Xu?"
"More than just know him, I used to know him very well!" Chen Fan said.
Tang Qingying was confused.
Xu Shengqing hadn't shown any sign of knowing Chen Fan, and if they knew each other, why would they be acting like this? Was there some kind of feud?
She naturally didn't know the relationship between Chen Fan and Xu Shengqing.
"When the price reached five hundred million, if I had continued, Xu Shengqing wouldn't have kept going."
Chen Fan didn't mind explaining to Tang Qingying and Xiao Xuan. "But at this price, he can barely tolerate it, and it will make him uncomfortable for a while."
Xiao Xuan was bewildered, but Tang Qingying was surprised.
It seemed that Mr. Chen knew Xu Shengqing very well?
Could it be that Mr. Chen was also from the capital?
Recalling the information she had about Chen Fan, Tang Qingying felt this possibility was extremely high.
She couldn't help but be lost in thought.
The entire hall was fawning over Xu Shengqing, but they didn't know that Mr. Chen's background might not be inferior to Xu Shengqing's?
Otherwise, how could she explain Chen Fan's understanding of Xu Shengqing?
Of course, these were just her conjectures and couldn't be confirmed.
But she felt that with Chen Fan here, this auction today might become even more exciting.