Chapter 40

Sensing the sudden, aggressive killing intent erupting from Chi Junrui, Li Rongxiu smiled faintly and said with double meaning, "No matter. Making guests feel at home is the duty of a host."

Once he finished speaking, the two exchanged smiles. Their gazes met like sparks striking flint, the contest of killing intent between them almost tangible.

After the "pleasantries," Li Rongxiu and Xin Mengmeng entered the first-floor auction hall one after the other with their respective companions. Along the way, Xin Mengmeng kept complaining about Li Rongxiu's uselessness, saying that he had gone speechless and stood there dumbly the moment he saw Shen Manyao, utterly disgracing the Spendthrift Alliance.

Listening to Xin Mengmeng's endless reprimands, Li Rongxiu could only shake his head with a wry smile. "I just don't think there was any need to trade insults. If I said too much, it would seem as though I really cared about that husband-and-wife pair."

Xin Mengmeng was briefly stunned. Then she said, "You really can let things go."

As they spoke, the two had already entered the auction hall. Zhou Ruixin and the others had arrived earlier, taking up the two rows of seats with the best view alongside their companions and whispering among themselves. Zhao Qijun was the first to notice Li Rongxiu entering and hurriedly rose to greet him. After a few light jokes and pleasantries, everyone gave Li Rongxiu and Yang Lin the two best seats.

The other guests in the hall came over one after another to exchange greetings with them, their expressions either reserved or excited. Families like the Li family and the Xin family, Wancheng's great wealthy clans, had their own VIP boxes at auction houses and rarely appeared in the main hall. Thus, the people in the hall took great pride in speaking with these young masters and ladies. Some even secretly hoped to use them as a bridge to reach the people in charge of their families.

Of course, some people thought that Li Rongxiu and the others were merely spoiled heirs who had no say in the business world. Yet, out of respect for the reputation and status of those wealthy families, they still had to come over and offer greetings to show proper courtesy.

Regardless, there was no doubt that Li Rongxiu's little group had become the most sought-after guests in the first-floor auction hall.

When Chi Junrui and Shen Manyao arrived hand in hand, they immediately spotted Li Rongxiu and his group being fawned over by the crowd. Chi Junrui, already in a poor mood, darkened slightly. Shen Manyao, on the other hand, maintained an impeccable smile from beginning to end. Sensing her lover's frustration, she patiently comforted him a few times. Still, seeing one side mocked and neglected while the other was flattered and courted, Shen Manyao could not help sighing over life's unpredictability—

If she had not acted on impulse back then, she should have been the one standing beside Li Rongxiu today, enjoying the envy and flattery of others. Yang Lin was inferior to her in both beauty and family background, yet simply because the man at her side came from an outstanding family, she had become the "lucky Cinderella" everyone envied.

Thinking of how her mother had once earnestly advised her before her engagement, "A woman doesn't need to be too strong. As long as she marries a good man, she'll have everything," Shen Manyao had been unconvinced at the time. But now that she thought about it... even if she was unconvinced, what could she do?

Taking a deep breath, Shen Manyao walked smilingly with Chi Junrui to the Chi family's seats and sat down. The Chi family members did not look pleased upon seeing Shen Manyao. However, recalling how Sun Minqiu had embarrassed Mother Chi earlier, they did not dare confront Shen Manyao head-on again. Shen Manyao silently watched their habit of bullying the weak and fearing the strong, sneering inwardly.

The auction began soon after. The first items up for sale were jewelry, antiques, and paintings. Some belonged to the Chi family, while others had been collected by the auction house from other clients. Their values ranged from hundreds of thousands to several million, with very few reaching above ten million. Compared to the industries the Chi family was about to auction off, however, they were merely opening warm-up items.

Li Rongxiu had never been interested in business matters. However, influenced by Old Master Li and Old Master Mo, he was quite fond of antiques and paintings. Besides, next month would be his mother Zhuang Meiru's birthday, and he wanted to choose a fine set of jewelry for her. Zhou Ruixin and the others were close friends of Li Rongxiu, so they naturally could not miss Zhuang Meiru's birthday banquet. With the mindset that happiness was better shared, they also joined in and bid on some jewelry and paintings. Some were preparing birthday gifts for Zhuang Meiru, while others wanted to win a smile from the beauties beside them. Thus, during the opening warm-up, the Super Alliance members bid repeatedly, raising their paddles for anything that caught their eye.

Seeing Li Rongxiu and the others in such high spirits, the crowd could not tell whether they truly wanted the jewelry and paintings or simply wanted to humiliate the Chi family. Still, everyone tacitly refrained from competing with Li Rongxiu—perhaps because their attention was fixed on the Chi family's industries, and no one wanted to waste funds on such "useless" things at this moment. For a time, Li Rongxiu and his group swept through the bids with unstoppable momentum.

The jewelry and paintings were quickly finished, and the auction's main event arrived. After a long string of professional jargon, the first items put up for sale were several plots of land the Chi family had acquired more than a decade ago, along with a resort they had built in Qiongzhou. After intense bidding, the Li family, with its considerable assets and prior preparations, ultimately took the plots and resort. Since news of the Chi family's auction had spread, the Li family had intended to seize a few pieces of the pie.

When the gavel came down, Xin Mengmeng turned to look at the Chi family and Shen Manyao again. Seeing the Chi family members' ashen faces, a triumphant smile appeared on her own. She had disliked Shen Manyao since childhood, and now she disliked the Chi family as well. Seeing them suffer made her happy.

The other guests in the auction hall also noticed the confrontation between the two sides. Some even secretly took photos, intending to post them online later. It seemed everyone had a taste for gossip.

Next up were the Chi family's shipyard and a luxurious casino they had more than half completed in Gambling City. Before the auction, the Chi family had desperately hoped that these two properties would not be acquired by the Yao family. They had even sent invitations far and wide, inviting every prominent businessman in the industry. Yet after the final competition, the Yao family still relied on its extensive connections and ample funds to swallow both juicy pieces of meat.

Li Rongxiu saw that once those two transactions were finalized, the expressions on the Chi family members' faces were even uglier than when the Li family had won the land and resort. As for the Yao family... they had gone straight into their second-floor VIP box before the auction, so Li Rongxiu had no chance to observe their expressions or attitudes.

Still, how should he put it? Li Rongxiu felt a faint trace of sympathy for the Chi family. Failing in business was one thing, but being slapped in the face by the winners after failing was such a miserable situation that it was simply... painful to watch.

With his mood excellent, Li Rongxiu curled his lips and patiently watched as the auction continued with some of the Chi family's real estate holdings in Wancheng and other long-established projects. It seemed that this time, the Chi family was determined to break the cauldron and sink the boats, cutting off their own tail like a lizard, fully resolved to abandon those traditional industries deeply influenced by the Li family. As for whether they would plunge headfirst into the emerging industries of film, television, and new media as they had in his previous life...

Li Rongxiu casually draped an arm over Zhao Qijun's shoulder and whispered, "How's the matter I asked you to look into? The movie has already finished filming. Once the two-month release period is over, the foundation should start operating. I've already picked out two investment projects. When you have time, send someone to prepare an analysis report..."

Zhao Qijun nodded repeatedly, then thought for a moment before saying, "I wonder whether the projects Young Master Xiu has chosen are on campus or off campus. After going home these past few days and giving it some thought, I feel that since our Super Alliance Foundation is operating under the banner of educational investment, it would be best to focus on supporting students within the school. That way... it might better serve the interests of both the Super Alliance and the school."

More importantly, it would not drain too much of the Super Alliance members' energy. These spoiled young masters only wanted to compete for the title of "Best Student" on a whim. They might not have the patience to keep running a foundation to the end. Rather than disappointing people by giving up halfway later, it would be better not to spread things too wide from the beginning. As long as they earned a good reputation and won people over, would they have to worry about finding good projects in the future?

His father often said that food had to be eaten one bite at a time and things had to be done step by step. Zhao Qijun agreed deeply.

Li Rongxiu was momentarily stunned by his words. Unlike Zhao Qijun's simple thinking, Li Rongxiu, with nearly thirty years of experience, considered much more in that moment.

After pondering for a while, he patted Zhao Qijun's shoulder and said, "What you said makes some sense. It should be necessary to separate the education fund from the venture capital project. Our previous thinking was too simplistic. In that case, let's hold another shareholders' meeting in a few days and hear everyone's thoughts."

Seated in the last row, Shen Manyao had actually been watching Li Rongxiu the entire time. She silently watched him squander the Li family's money without blinking, just like the spoiled young master she remembered, bidding against others to fight over face and pride. At first, Shen Manyao had been extremely disdainful. She believed that no matter how the Li family dressed him up, Li Rongxiu was still worthless mud that could not be propped up against a wall. A useless parasite like him was beneath Shen Manyao's consideration for marriage.

But when Li Rongxiu seriously discussed something with Zhao Qijun, Shen Manyao suddenly found him rather charming. The maturity and restraint he revealed in that instant quietly drew her gaze.

Sitting beside Shen Manyao, Chi Junrui had become increasingly sensitive due to his family assets being auctioned off. Seeing this, his expression darkened further. A sudden impulse arose in him to persuade his family to let him marry Shen Manyao as soon as possible.

Because he had already vaguely realized that his innocent, gentle, and obedient little lover had gradually drifted farther and farther away from him after enduring all these storms.

Just as Sun Minqiu had said, Shen Manyao was, after all, the Shen family's eldest legitimate daughter. Noble aristocratic blood flowed through her veins, and the upbringing and lofty status she had enjoyed for so long would never allow her to fall into the dust for a man.

Chi Junrui had also sacrificed much for this relationship. Since he had made an enemy of the Yao family for Shen Manyao, he would never allow Shen Manyao to leave his side, much less allow the Shen family to stand against the Chi family as well.

Chapter 40

The day after the auction ended, the Li family held a grand celebration banquet at the Evening City Grand Hotel. Li Meihua's official explanation was that they were celebrating their successful gains at the auction, but who among Wancheng's elite families did not know the Li family's true purpose in holding this celebration?

They merely wanted to warn their business peers within and beyond Wancheng that anyone who offended the Li family would not meet a good end.

But no matter what, this was still a world where the victor became king and the winner held power. Whether others considered the Li family proud as victors or overbearing and aggressive, the guests who received invitations still poured in. When facing the Li family, their flowery praise was so excessive that Li Rongxiu felt calluses growing in his ears.

After the Li family, the Yao family and several other families also held celebration receptions. For a time, the fragrance of perfume mingled with elegant attire, music and dancing filled the air, and famous brands gathered everywhere. It seemed even Wancheng's media did not have enough camera flashes to go around. As a result, Wancheng's atmosphere grew ever more extravagant and intoxicating, fully living up to its reputation as the Empire's second capital.

Wancheng's aristocratic families seemed determined to use themselves as bait to draw out more. After several consecutive receptions, Diwan High School's centennial celebration arrived as scheduled.

As a prestigious private aristocratic school renowned throughout Wancheng and even the Empire, Diwan High School differed greatly from ordinary public schools in both administration and curriculum. The most direct manifestation of that difference was the expensive formal school uniforms required for different occasions.

During ordinary class hours, Diwan students were only required to wear standard uniforms: a simple, common black three-piece suit, white shirt, and black leather shoes. For girls, they merely had to replace the black suit trousers with a black skirt. But during festivals and special school commemorations, students were required to attend various events in strict Imperial formal attire.

Thus, when ordinary people watched Diwan High School's centennial celebration broadcast through the media, they saw every student dressed in custom-made formal evening wear of the same design, with only slight variations in color based on the students' rank and status. The tall, poised young men and women passing before the cameras, all graceful in etiquette and refined in speech, appeared courteous, gentle, and elegant. It was only natural that viewers would be impressed and come to yearn for high society.