Xu Hu had never liked Yu Bu'e, so naturally, he seized this chance to make trouble for him.
But suddenly, several sharp gazes fell on him.
A student sitting near the front sneered, picked up a pen, and tapped it lightly.
"Xu Hu, I know you and Yu Bu'e don't get along, but I'm here on business today. You'd better not throw my courtesy back in my face."
If anyone else had dared say that, Xu Hu would have flown into a rage. But the speaker was Chen Sinian, a well-known rich kid at their school who also had considerable talent.
Before Xu Hu could speak, the student to Chen Sinian's left leaned back arrogantly. "Xu Hu, if I remember right, your dad still works at my family's company, doesn't he? Believe me, one phone call is all it'd take to send him packing with a severance check."
Xu Hu went pale. He pressed his lips together without a word and left through the back door with his two lackeys, never looking back.
In front of all those classmates, his pride had been shattered.
"Yu Bu'e, this isn't over!" Fiercely proud, he felt he had suffered an enormous humiliation.
Outside the office, Xu Hu knocked on the door.
His homeroom teacher, who was grading papers, looked up and smiled.
"Oh, Xu Hu! Come in."
Besides his homeroom teacher, only two other teachers who were in no hurry to leave remained in the office.
"Sir, I have something to report!"
"Hm?"
"Yu Bu'e is holding an auction in the classroom after school. Loads of people showed up, and they're making a huge racket!"
His homeroom teacher put down his fountain pen and gave him a puzzled look. "School's over, isn't it? Just go home."
Xu Hu froze. He had never expected this response from his homeroom teacher.
"Sir, you said the classroom was a place for studying. How can we let it turn into a madhouse? You can't just ignore this!"
His homeroom teacher chuckled. "You're the last person qualified to say that, aren't you? I've never seen you study properly in the classroom."
Xu Hu looked embarrassed.
"All right, I know. Off you go."
Xu Hu's heart sank. He understood that his homeroom teacher had chosen to shield Yu Bu'e.
Though he resented it, he could only leave in anger.
After all, he and Yu Bu'e did not hold the same standing in their homeroom teacher's eyes.
Only after Xu Hu left did another teacher joke, "So Xu Hu and Yu Bu'e don't get along? He came to tattle over something this trivial?"
"Yes, just a squabble between kids." His homeroom teacher did not take the matter to heart.
In truth, Xu Hu's complaint had been entirely unnecessary. Word of the auction had already spread. How could they not know?
"Mr. Gu, aren't you going to take a look? I heard you've been trying to find a Meridian-Opening Pill for your son lately," a young teacher said.
Gu Ming, the homeroom teacher, smiled and shook his head. "I'll wait and see! It's a student affair, so it wouldn't be appropriate for me to go. What if I made a bid and the other students felt too awkward to compete? Besides, it would put Yu Bu'e in a difficult position.
"I know his family's situation. We should let him earn a little more, not make him feel obligated."
Understanding dawned on the young teacher, who nodded and asked no more questions.
In the classroom, once Wu Yang finished checking everyone's funds, only a dozen or so people remained.
The minimum requirement was three hundred thousand. Few families could casually produce that kind of money.
"I say we should've checked their funds from the start! It was so damn noisy earlier." Chen Sinian took out a lighter and leaned over his desk, playing with it.
"Exactly. Why come if you don't have any money? Yu Bu'e, let's get started!"
"Hey, Zhou, haven't you already reached the Qi Refining realm? What do you need a Meridian-Opening Pill for?"
"Can't I buy it for my girlfriend? Mind your own business. Why don't you ask Chen Sinian?"
Seeing that the mood was fairly good now, Yu Bu'e took a Meridian-Opening Pill out of his pocket.
This was the one he had originally planned to give Wang Chi.
"Ahem, Yu Bu'e, couldn't you at least put it in a nicer box?" a student in the front row could not help complaining.
Yu Bu'e chuckled, cleared his throat, and spoke slowly.
"One Meridian-Opening Pill. The starting bid is two hundred thousand, with minimum increments of ten thousand. Bidding starts now!"
"Two hundred and ten thousand!" Li Ran immediately called out.
"Two-"
"Five hundred thousand."
The classroom fell silent for a moment. Everyone turned to look at Chen Sinian, who was playing with his metal lighter.
"Chen Sinian, isn't that a pretty huge jump?" Zhou complained.
Quite a few people had come hoping to snag a bargain. None had expected someone to drive the price so high in one go.
Others felt the pressure Chen Sinian was exerting and did not want to offend him.
Naturally, Yu Bu'e wanted the bidding to be as fierce as possible.
Whatever the final price, word would get out. The higher the price, the more envy points he could gain.
A crisp metallic click broke the silence. Chen Sinian flipped open the lighter's lid and rolled his thumb over the spark wheel. A small flame danced.
"Yu Bu'e, isn't it time to bring down the hammer?"
Yu Bu'e was somewhat dissatisfied with this result. Five hundred thousand was not a low price, but it fell short of his expectations.
Still, there was no taking back a move once it was made. He had organized this auction, and if Chen Sinian could keep everyone else from bidding, that was an ability of his own.
"Five hundred thousand, going once..."
"Five hundred thousand, going twice..."
Yu Bu'e admitted that he was deliberately speaking more slowly, but that was still within the rules.
Standing at the lectern, he could see hesitation on many faces.
"Five hundred thousand, going th-"
"Six hundred thousand!"
Yu Bu'e first felt a surge of delight, then realized that the voice sounded very familiar.
He turned and saw Luo Feixuan walk in, wearing a black evening dress and high heels.
She also had an ivory women's blazer draped over her shoulders. Her hairstyle had changed considerably, and she wore light makeup, looking as though she had just rushed back from some important event.
"Sorry, I had something to attend to this afternoon. I'm not too late, am I?" Luo Feixuan winked at Yu Bu'e, then found a seat near the front.
"What are you doing here?" he asked instinctively.
"I told you I'd come!" Luo Feixuan rested her elbows on the desk and cupped her chin in her small hands, gazing at Yu Bu'e with bright eyes.
Yu Bu'e had mixed feelings.
He wanted the Meridian-Opening Pill to fetch a high price, but he did not want to sell it to Luo Feixuan at that price.
Even though there did not seem to be anything complicated between them.
Still, Luo Feixuan's arrival had broken the stalemate.
Chen Sinian stared fixedly at Luo Feixuan's back, tightening his grip on his lighter. "What's the meaning of this, you two lovebirds? Are you setting us up?"
Luo Feixuan glanced back at him and smiled faintly. "Young Master Chen, that's how auctions work. The highest bidder wins. Is there a problem?"
"Heh, as if we don't all know about you and Yu Bu'e..."
"So you think I'd take advantage of him and make him give it to me for free?"
Chen Sinian fell silent.
"Six hundred thousand, going once..."
"Seven hundred thousand." Chen Sinian raised his hand again.
The others exchanged looks.
At this point, the auction seemed to have nothing to do with them anymore.
"Eight hundred thousand." Luo Feixuan did not hesitate in the slightest.
The corner of Chen Sinian's mouth twitched. "Luo Feixuan, what's the point?"
Luo Feixuan simply ignored him and kept her eyes on Yu Bu'e.
Chen Sinian suddenly felt a surge of anger.
Had he somehow become part of this couple's little game?
"Nine hundred thousand!" He slammed his lighter down on the desk, his eyes reddening.
If not for Luo Feixuan, he could have secured this Meridian-Opening Pill for five hundred thousand.
Just as Luo Feixuan was about to raise her hand, Yu Bu'e suddenly slapped the desk.
While everyone stood stunned, Yu Bu'e rattled the words off at lightning speed.
"Going once, going twice, sold! All right! This Meridian-Opening Pill is yours! Congratulations, Chen Sinian!"
Chen Sinian: "???"
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