Mr. Feng, can you give me some face?

Feng Tingchen smiled. "It's okay. Didn't you say your grandmother likes this kind of thing? Go ahead and bid."

Looking at Feng Tingchen's smile, Lin Wu felt a sweetness in her heart and raised her paddle again. "Sixty million."

Ren Jifeng quickly followed, "Seventy million."

Then he loudly spoke to Feng Tingchen, "President Feng, the elderly at home love these things. Can you show me some face and let me have it?"

Feng Tingchen glanced over and politely smiled. "Sorry, President Ren, but my family also has elders who like these things."

Their conversation was so open that everyone around could hear it, including Rong Ci and Chu Zilan. 

The vase was clearly intended for Lin Laotai, Lin Wu's grandmother, but Feng Tingchen referred to her as "my family's elder," indicating that he had already treated the Lin family as his own. This contrasted sharply with how he treated Rong Ci's family, and she couldn't help but feel the difference.

Lin Wu raised her paddle again. "Eighty-five million."

This time, Ren Jifeng didn't follow with a bid.

In the end, Lin Wu successfully acquired the antique vase for eighty-five million, attracting envious glances from all around. 

As the deal was concluded, Lin Wu couldn't help but feel uneasy. Though the Lin family was wealthy and her grandmother loved antiques, buying a vase for nearly one hundred million was unimaginable. If her family found out, they would probably be shocked.

What made her uneasy was that Feng Tingchen had actually let her raise the bid to one hundred million, but she had privately lowered it to eighty-five million. She felt warm inside just thinking about how generous he was.

Chu Zilan gritted her teeth and muttered, "Damn! Almost a hundred million!"

The two items combined were nearly one hundred million, and this time, she wasn't just envious—she felt exhausted all over!

Rong Ci pursed her lips, her face darkened. Seeing this, Chu Zilan asked, "Xiao Ci, are you... okay?"

Feng Tingchen was so generous to his mistress, and this mistress was the daughter of her mother's mistress. Could she really bear this?

But Rong Ci's sour mood wasn't because of that.

"Feng Tingchen has money, he can spend it however he likes, I don't care," she said quietly. "What I care about now is that if the things I want to bid on are also being targeted by Feng Tingchen and Lin Wu, with my financial situation, I have no way of winning against them."

Chu Zilan nodded. "That's true… But she's already bid on two items. She probably won't bid on anything else, right?"

That was the hope. However, with Feng Tingchen's wealth, he could easily continue bidding, spending another three to four hundred million without even blinking.

As Rong Ci thought this, the embroidered picture she was interested in was brought up to the stage. The starting price was five million.

Someone quickly raised the bid. "Six million."

Rong Ci raised her paddle. "Seven million."

At first, Lin Wu didn't notice Rong Ci.

But as soon as Rong Ci's voice sounded, Lin Wu recognized it. She turned her head, and their eyes met.

Lin Wu's face remained impassive, and she quickly turned her head with pride, raising her paddle. "Ten million."

Hearing this, Rong Ci's heart sank. Lin Wu had recognized her voice, and Rong Ci didn't believe Feng Tingchen hadn't heard it too. But he didn't turn around.

Chu Zilan cursed under her breath. "Damn! She's really going for it again!"

Ren Jifeng also entered the bidding war. "Fifteen million."

Rong Ci pressed her lips together and raised her paddle. "Eighteen million."

Lin Wu didn't turn around; she simply raised her bid. "Twenty-five million."

Lin Wu raised the price by such a huge margin!

Rong Ci's heart kept sinking. She didn't have a lot of money on hand. Her initial budget for this auction was within thirty million, given that the Rong family business was struggling and they didn't have much extra money to spend.

But now…

Ren Jifeng raised the bid again. "Twenty-eight million."

Rong Ci raised her paddle. "Thirty million."

She had raised her bid twice after him, her voice clear and gentle, and quite pleasant to hear.

Ren Jifeng looked over, surprised, and then raised an eyebrow, smiling.

Rong Ci nodded politely in return, but just then, Lin Wu raised her paddle again. "Forty million."

Rong Ci, no longer paying attention to Ren Jifeng, clenched her fist.

At that moment, Ren Jifeng raised the bid once more. "Forty-three million."

Rong Ci followed suit, raising her paddle again. "Forty-five million."

Lin Wu immediately raised it again. "Fifty million."

Boom!

Rong Ci's mind felt like it exploded. 

She had originally set a budget of thirty million, but after Lin Wu raised her bid, she had silently increased her budget to fifty million.

She could afford to spend more, even though fifty million was high. She had even thought about selling the villa that Feng Tingchen had recently given her. The villa was worth two to three hundred million, and since it was something she had received for free, what did it matter if she spent that money?

But she knew clearly that this embroidered picture wasn't worth fifty million.

She could spend that money, but…

She didn't have the luxury of being reckless.

If she sold the villa, she could use that money for something more meaningful.

With that thought, Rong Ci silently lowered her hand.

Chu Zilan asked, "Why don't you call Feng Tingchen?"

Rong Ci had considered it. But would Feng Tingchen really ask Lin Wu to back off just because of her?

No, that was impossible.

Even though she knew it wouldn't work, Rong Ci took out her phone and called Feng Tingchen.

As her phone vibrated, Feng Tingchen took his phone out of his pocket.

Just then, Lin Wu happened to look over and saw a string of numbers on the screen, no name attached. "Stranger?" she asked.

Feng Tingchen smiled and didn't respond. He simply hung up the phone.

Seeing the phone hang up so decisively, any hope Rong Ci had vanished in an instant.

For a moment, her mind went blank.

Chu Zilan was furious. "Damn, he didn't even answer your call!"

Rong Ci remained silent, quietly putting her phone back into her bag.

By now, the auction price had reached ninety-five million.

Ren Jifeng rubbed his temples and turned to Feng Tingchen. "President Feng, can you give me some face?"

Feng Tingchen smiled politely. "Next time, for sure."

Ren Jifeng's expression froze. "Next time, my ass!"

Ren Jifeng raised his paddle and pushed the price up to one hundred and twenty million.

Lin Wu raised her paddle again. "One hundred and fifty million."

Ren Jifeng stared in disbelief.

Chu Zilan, whispering in Rong Ci's ear, muttered, "I've never seen Ren Jifeng lose like this before."

The Ren family, like the Feng family, was one of the top wealthy families. With the way Ren Jifeng was bidding, anyone who didn't know would think that he and Feng Tingchen were worlds apart in wealth.

But that wasn't the case.

Ren Jifeng was likely just weighing whether the price was worth it. On the other hand, Feng Tingchen was spending money recklessly to win a smile from the woman he adored.

With no one else bidding, the embroidered picture naturally went to Lin Wu.

Feng Tingchen glanced at Ren Jifeng. "President Ren, I appreciate the competition."

Ren Jifeng smiled bitterly. "President Feng, you're too polite."