Thursday, the day of the bidding event, arrived on schedule. It began at two in the afternoon, and everyone attending had entered and taken their seats half an hour early.
After the four of them sat down, Gu Zhiyue leaned back against his chair. [You know, this chair is pretty comfortable.]
Xiao Jiu said, [A bidding event takes at least three days or so, and you have to waste six or seven hours a day here. Who could endure it if the chairs weren't comfortable?]
Gu Zhiyue silently clicked his tongue. [No wonder my third brother looked so miserable when he heard we were coming to watch the bidding. I'm starting to feel miserable too.]
They were seated in the guest section, with drinks and snacks laid out to one side. The bidding companies' seats were in front of them, and beyond those stood the long table for opening bids and the main stage.
The venue was enormous. The Gu Family and two other families were jointly hosting this bidding event, with three clients and eight prospective contractors.
Gu Shuoyan got up and brought drinks over from the long table. "The bidding won't start for a little while. Have something to drink while we wait. Want to get something to eat?"
Gu Zhiyue shook his head. "I'll go later. I'm not hungry right now."
Zhao Wanling accepted her red wine and took a small sip. "Your dad has been run off his feet for months preparing for this bidding event. I hope everything goes smoothly right through to the end."
Gu Shuoyan nodded. "When has one of Dad's bidding events ever not gone smoothly? Don't worry, Mom."
Gu Zhiyue sipped his juice. [Things really did nearly go wrong this time.] Then he looked up and saw Gu Jiangli appear in the bid-opening section ahead.
[Gu Jiangli's here, but where are my aunt and cousin?]
[They've never been interested in this sort of thing, and Gu Jiangli doesn't think they'd be any help here either, so he didn't insist that He Zhiwei and her son come.]
[Gu Jiangli is one of the clients too?]
[Yep. Gu Jiangli is part of the Gu Family too, and the Gu Family is a client in this bidding event.]
[Okay, got it. Is he still holding that scrapped tender document? He really trusts my dad. He actually took it home without reading any of it.]
The corners of Gu Shuoyan's lips curved upward. Trust was good. It saved so much trouble.
Gu Zhiyue rested his elbow on the armrest and propped his chin in his palm. [It's starting soon, right? I'm already getting a little bored.]
Xiao Jiu chuckled. [Host, once the bidding starts, I'll pick a few people and tell you some gossip about them.]
[Yes, yes, yes!]
Zhao Wanling couldn't help reflecting inwardly that someone's "good name" was about to be ruined. She just didn't know how many people it would be.
The clock struck two, and the bidding officially began.
Gu Zhiyue listened to the person on the main stage introduce the event's schedule and activities, as well as the clients and prospective contractors. Ten minutes later, he yawned in boredom.
An inadvertent glance toward the clients' seats made Gu Zhiyue marvel. [Who's that? He looks so young. He's already a client at his age?]
Xiao Jiu explained, [There are three clients this time: the Gu Family, the Xing Family, and the Qi Family. That's the man in charge of the Xing Family Group. He may be young, but his methods are far more ruthless than those of many seasoned businesspeople.]
[Not only is he capable, he's that good-looking too. I wonder whether our families are close and if I could get to know him.]
[Host, is your obsession with good looks terminal?]
[Mm-hmm~ You guessed it.]
Zhao Wanling coughed lightly twice, interrupting Gu Zhiyue and Xiao Jiu's conversation. "Sweetheart, if you really get bored later, just say so, and we'll slip out."
Gu Zhiyue smiled and nodded. "Okay."
Gu Shuoyan said, "If you can't sit still anymore, we'll leave. I'll take you somewhere else to look around."
Gu Zhiyue lifted his juice and took a sip. [All right, hurry up with the gossip. There are so many people here. Give me a piece of gossip about each one, and I refuse to believe I can't last until the end.]
[Okay, a fresh serving of gossip to relieve your boredom is on its way, Host! Over in the contractors' section, the fourth man from the left is a company president. He's been pestering his subordinate's girlfriend.]
Gu Zhiyue was so shocked he nearly choked on his juice. [Something that juicy? He'd actually do something that immoral?]
Gu Shuoyan and Zhao Wanling also pressed their fists to their lips and coughed. This really was juicy gossip. They were starting with something huge.
Xiao Jiu continued, [This president was used to seeing capable, shrewd colleagues around him. Even his wife has a great head for business. One day, his subordinate's girlfriend came to bring her boyfriend lunch, and the president happened to see her. He'd never met such an innocent, naive girl before, and his heart stirred. He took a liking to her.]
Gu Zhiyue sucked in a breath. [Didn't the subordinate's girlfriend object?]
[She did. Why else would I say he's pestering her? But this president is pretty persistent. He's given her gifts, shown her care, and engineered lots of chance encounters, but the girl has ignored him all along.]
[Isn't this president afraid his wife will find out?]
[His wife doesn't know. He's hidden it very well.]
Gu Zhiyue clicked his tongue. [Ability doesn't equal character. No matter how many years pass, that saying still holds true in any situation. Let's hear the next piece of gossip.]
Zhao Wanling glanced at the president in the contractors' seats, then turned her gaze elsewhere, her thoughts unknown.
On the stage, Gu Jiangfeng cast an unobtrusive glance at the man, then returned his attention to the bidding.
Gu Zhiyue asked, [What's the second piece of gossip?]
After a two-second pause, Xiao Jiu said, [Directly in front of you, in the third row of the guest section, there's a woman in a champagne-colored gown. Her daughter has gotten together with the family chauffeur's son.]
[That's actually pretty normal. There's nothing wrong with two people liking each other.]
[But her daughter already has a marriage arranged. The engagement is next month. The man's family is also participating in this bidding event. The second man from the right on the main stage is his father.]
[That really is juicy too. Aren't those two afraid their families and the other family will find out? Or do both families know and just leave it unspoken?]
Xiao Jiu clicked his tongue helplessly. [What wealthy family would tolerate something like this happening in their household? Of course they don't know.]
[Oh~ Fair point. But something like this is bound to come out sooner or later, right? No wall in the world can keep out the wind. If it can, there's no wind.]
[Mm-hmm, you guessed right, Host. Later, when this heiress and the chauffeur's son are on a date at a hotel, her intended's parents and her own father catch them. The resulting uproar between the two families is quite a spectacle.]
A sudden chorus of exclamations from the main stage drew Gu Zhiyue's attention. The people up there were whispering among themselves, though he didn't know what they were discussing.
[What are they talking about? They look really shocked.]
[Gu Jiangli's bidding proposal is so enticing that they're all discussing how to get their hands on the tender document.]
Gu Zhiyue chuckled. [When they open the tender document and find a scrapped version that belongs in the trash, won't Gu Jiangli go crazy on the spot?]
Xiao Jiu agreed, [The contractor who gets the tender document will go even crazier than him.]
Gu Zhiyue stood and headed toward the long table beside them. [Time to get some food and drinks. The show's about to start.]
Gu Shuoyan got up and followed him over. "Little brother, let me help you carry it. We'll take extra so we don't have to make a second trip."
Gu Zhiyue gave him a thumbs-up. "We're totally on the same wavelength!"
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