At the start, I tricked the school beauty, and ended up with twins?

Five minutes passed in the blink of an eye, and the hostess had already placed the second item, covered with a red cloth, onto the display stand.

The buzzing whispers of the audience immediately vanished, as everyone quietly awaited the introduction by the auctioneer, Xie Qingyin.

"Alright, the Tang Sancai Horse Statue has found its new owner in bidder number two, now we shall enter the authentic and counterfeit competition segment of today's auction,"

"The second item of this auction, ladies and gentlemen, is a pair of ancient High Ancient Jade treasures from over three thousand six hundred years ago, from the Shang Dynasty!"

"Please look, two jade owls, one green and one white!"

Xie Qingyin smiled slightly, her voice sweet and melodious.

She carefully lifted the red cloth covering the exhibit, and the spotlight immediately focused on the display stand.

It was a pair of jade birds, less than five centimeters tall, delicate and exquisite, full of ancient charm, and lifelike, one green, and one white, seemingly a natural pair.

The items were too small, so an ultra-clear screen beside them magnified and broadcasted them in real-time.

"So beautiful!"

"Big reveal!"

"Exquisitely crafted, bearing the marks of time!"

"Look at the patina, naturally formed!"

"…"

For a moment, everyone in the audience stood up, exclaiming in admiration.

The Tang Sancai Horse Statue that had just fetched a sky-high price hadn't attracted this much attention.

Jade has always occupied an extremely important place in Huaxia culture since ancient times; the people of Huaxia loved jade, from the past to the present.

The ancients said, "Graceful as a young nobleman, gentle and polished like jade." And also, "A gentleman never parts with his jade without good reason!"

The ancient texts state, "Warm and moist as if endowed with wisdom; sharp yet harmless, as if embodying benevolence; restrained yet flexible, as if holding justice; internal flaws must surface, resembling trustworthiness; hanging straight down as if showing respect for rituals!"

Handsome noblemen, embodying benevolence, wisdom, rituals, and trustworthiness, show just how high jade stands in the hearts of the Huaxia people!

As for High Ancient Jade, it generally refers to jade artifacts made before the Han dynasty. Due to their ancient history, rich cultural connotations, and their high historical research value, these artifacts are often called the luxury items of the antique world!

Even gold pales in comparison in front of High Ancient Jade!

Each appearance is bound to become the protagonist of the auction!

Many people were already getting restless, mentally adjusting their budgets in preparation for a bidding war.

High Ancient Jade! Rare as a single piece, a pair is even scarcer!

Even if there was only a fifty percent chance of being genuine, they were willing to take the risk.

"Tsk, looks like someone's about to trip up."

Glancing back at the excited buyers behind him, Mr. Chen Tian's face revealed a smile that anticipated the unfolding drama.

He was holding the catalog that Gu Yu had marked in advance in his hand.

This pair of Ancient Jade Owls couldn't be called fake, but they couldn't be called authentic either.

Because among the two owls, one was real and one was counterfeit!

The Green Jade Owl was fake, the White Jade Owl was real!

The auction house played a little trick—selling the real with the fake—who would have thought of that?

Had he not brought Gu Yu along today, he, Chen Tian, would have been deceived as well!

"Yu, what's an 'owl'? And are these Ancient Jade Owls very valuable? I see that the people behind are all standing up,"

Having observed for a while, Lin Xinyue still couldn't make out what kind of bird the jade owls on the stage were.

They just seemed familiar, square-headed and wide, with a curved beak and flat face, and a pair of ears resting behind.

"Silly! An owl is what we often refer to as a 'cat-head hawk'! Don't these features look familiar? As for the price, a genuine Ancient Jade Owl is very valuable. Despite this pair of owls being less than five centimeters tall, even a hundred times their weight in gold might not be enough to buy them!"

Gu Yu explained with a light laugh.

"Oh my! If I calculate these two jade cat-head hawks at fifty grams each, one hundred grams a hundred times! Ten thousand grams of gold, and one gram of gold at three hundred sixty-seven... doesn't that mean this pair of cat-head hawks couldn't be bought for three million five hundred thousand?"

Lin Xinyue's mouth hung open, her face filled with astonishment.

To think that these two items, which would seem uncomfortable to hold in one's hand, were actually worth over three million five hundred thousand!

The horse statue from before, at least colorful and large in size, only went for six million!

"What a pity,"

Gu Yu suddenly let out a sigh.

"A pity about what?"

Lin Xinyue quickly asked.

"A pity, out of this pair of Ancient Jade Owls, only one is real—the most valuable Green Jade Owl is fake,"

Gu Yu whispered into Lin Xinyue's ear.

He couldn't let those nearby hear his words; it was enough that he and Lin Xinyue knew, but he couldn't disrupt auction rules.

"Fake?"

Lin Xinyue was stunned. Did Gu Yu mean that this second round of bidding was actually selling the real mixed with the fake?

"Yeah, keep your voice down. If this Green Jade Owl were real, the auction transaction price would start at at least two million five hundred thousand, while that White Jade Owl is worth much less—seven hundred eighty thousand at most!"

Gu Yu stretched out his hand to lightly cover her mouth, his face full of caution; he certainly didn't want to be kicked out.

If this pair of green and white jade owls were both genuine, put together, selling them for three and a half million wouldn't be impossible!

Regrettably, only one of the white owls was real, and both being valued at a million would be quite a stretch!

It all depended on the starting bid, if it were around one or two hundred thousand, Mr. Chen Tian could consider bidding.

By this time, the atmosphere at the venue had also reached a boiling point, and Xie Qingyin finally announced the starting price.

"The second round of the auction, the green and white jade owls, will start at half price as usual! The starting price is...!"

Everyone stretched their necks and pricked up their ears to listen carefully.

Gu Yu also sat up straight, eager to hear the starting bid.

With a sly smile, Xie Qingyin shouted, "The starting bid is eight hundred thousand yuan! Each increase must not be less than ten thousand! Let the bidding begin!"

"Damn! That's so dark!"

Upon hearing the starting bid, Gu Yu cursed under his breath.

Eight hundred thousand was already close to his mental estimate of the selling price!

The organizer's conscience was seriously bad!

Chen Tian, sitting next to him, who already knew the real situation, also appeared utterly disinterested.

He was only here to have a look and have some fun and, although a few million wasn't much for him, he wasn't keen on being taken for a ride either.

"How about a ten-minute battle royal?"

Chen Tian looked at Gu Yu, took his own phone out of his pocket, and then opened Five Kills Glory.

Before the TIMI sound could start, he quickly turned the volume down to the lowest with lightning speed.

"..."

Gu Yu was speechless, not expecting Old Mr. Chen to have such a big gaming addiction that he would even play a game in this kind of setting.

But he didn't mind, so he simply opened the game and joined the team.

"Me too! Me too!"

Seeing the two men ready to play a game, Lin Xinyue, who wasn't very interested in the auction, quickly requested to join the battle.

Gu Yu didn't expect her to play Five Kills Glory and glanced at her account.

Wow! A fresh account! Only four initial heroes, level thirty maxed out, thirty-two thousand Gold Coins, and thirty thousand diamonds!

Especially Daji and Angel, combined, almost five thousand matches!

But not a single ranked game played!

"Why are you keeping so many Gold Coins without buying heroes?"

Gu Yu smirked, while inviting her to the team.

"Ah? Aren't those the points awarded after each game?"

Lin Xinyue's face showed shock—can you buy heroes in this game?

Every time she logged in, she would just play matches, and when she was tired, she'd go to sleep.

She found that middle button that said ranked match really annoying because every time she clicked it, it said she didn't have enough heroes.

After four years of playing, they still haven't gifted her one!

"Cough..."

Gu Yu cleared his throat awkwardly and silently helped her open the store.

Looking at the dazzling array of heroes, with the most expensive only costing 18,888 Gold Coins, Lin Xinyue felt as though she had opened the door to a new world!

"I'll take a Little Buddy and a Panda, wuwuwu, now I finally have Da Qiao too!"

Lin Xinyue joyfully purchased the heroes she liked, and in a short while, she spent all of her three hundred thousand plus Gold Coins.

Seeing her hero pool suddenly become lively, she was so excited she was nearly in tears.

"Get ready! Let's start!"

Mr. Chen Tian, caught in the grip of his gaming addiction, urged them on repeatedly, and the two hurriedly tapped ready.

After a second of phone vibration, they entered the game.

Meanwhile, at the venue, the bidding had begun.

"Number 17! 970,000!"

"Number 21! 1,000,000!"

Xie Qingyin's face was full of joy, as the deal had already reached the backend's expectation for her, and the higher the bidding went, the more commission she would make.

However, she wondered why she hadn't heard Mr. Chen Tian's voice yet, so she took two seconds to glance towards the front row.

To her surprise, Mr. Chen Tian was engrossed in playing a game on his phone with two young people!

"Charge, charge, charge! Heal me, heal me! Agh, I died again!"

————

(Unless something unexpected happens, there will be three more updates today, looking for five stars and votes~ Reader group: Wild Goose Gathering Spot: 743601057)