Chapter 45: Chapter 43 Auction
The auction was fast approaching.
On that morning, while Huo Sining was still lazing in bed, Secretary Lin’s call came:
“Miss Huo, the car is already at the street corner. May I ask if you’re up yet?”
“Ah?” Huo Sining was startled for a moment before she recognized the caller’s voice and hurriedly climbed out of bed.
After getting ready and washing up, she stepped outside and hung a sign on the store’s door, announcing that it was closed for the day. Huo Sining then rushed to the alley entrance.
Su Jinyuan was sitting in the car, holding a stack of documents and working. Seeing Huo Sining come out in a common tracksuit, he frowned slightly and signaled to Secretary Lin, “Let’s go to Nanjing Road first.”
Secretary Lin understood what Su Jinyuan meant, and as soon as Huo Sining got into the car without any explanation, they turned towards Nanjing Road.
Huo Sining was puzzled and glanced at Su Jinyuan, “Why are we going to Nanjing Road? My stuff is in a bank nearby. Besides, isn’t the auction starting at twelve noon? It’s so early now.”
Su Jinyuan said somewhat helplessly, “We’re going to get you changed into something more appropriate first.”
Huo Sining looked at her clothes with some conflict, instinctively wanting to refute Su Jinyuan’s words, “The auction isn’t about looking at outfits; it’s about who bids more money, right? Moreover, my clothes aren’t that shabby, are they?”
She had been persuaded to buy these clothes during a shopping trip with Su Qingqing not long ago – they were the most expensive ones in her wardrobe.
Su Jinyuan smiled, “It’s very youthful and sunny, but not suitable for today’s event. Do you think that at this auction you’ll just sit and raise your paddle? Aren’t you aware that this is a private auction, essentially a gathering of the elite? Unlike a regular auction, if you walked in dressed like that, are you sure you wouldn’t be driven out?”
Huo Sining was a bit stupefied, “Really? Is it that serious?”
Su Jinyuan laughed, “I’m not exaggerating at all. Dressed , they might think you’re here to cause trouble. You don’t need to be so anxious; youth is an asset, and you’ll definitely look beautiful in a gown.”
Huo Sining, who was rarely praised for her beauty, suddenly blushed and glanced awkwardly at Secretary Lin beside her. Then she noticed that it seemed there were only the three of them in the car, “Where is Qingqing? Isn’t she coming?”
“She was taken to Xi’an by Professor Xie. An ancient tomb was discovered there, and the professor was sent to participate in the archaeological work, so she went along for the excitement.”
Su Jinyuan explained, his eyes resting on the documents in his hands.
Does that mean that only she and Su Jinyuan would be attending the auction?
Huo Sining was somewhat dumbfounded.
“What’s wrong?” Noticing Huo Sining’s restlessness, Su Jinyuan asked curiously.
“No… nothing.” Huo Sining quickly shook her head, but the thought of accompanying Su Jinyuan to the auction, especially to a gathering of influential people, made her feel quite embarrassed.
Changing outfits was the easy part. Huo Sining, who was slender, found it easy to select an evening gown. She was quickly dressed in a new dress and shoes.
As someone who had lived two lives, she knew how to dress herself well. After finding a suitable outfit, she casually put her hair up into a breezy, Korean-style bun in front of the store’s mirror, leaving a couple of wisps dangling at the sides.
Even without makeup, she looked fresh and pure, her lips naturally red and her teeth bright white. With just this simple arrangement, Huo Sining’s entire aura changed.
The two in the car didn’t expect Huo Sining to be so quick, and although they hadn’t seen Huo Sining’s bun before, it indeed was fitting for her outfit.
Secretary Lin, who had originally thought of Huo Sining as an unripe grape, was completely stunned the moment he laid eyes on her. His gaze sparkled with amazement and disbelief, and even Su Jinyuan couldn’t help but turn his head towards Huo Sining.
“The air conditioning in the car is strong; don’t catch a cold.”
Su Jinyuan couldn’t help the slight discomfort in his heart when he noticed Secretary Lin’s gaze wandering over to Huo Sining from time to time. In a hurry, he took off his suit jacket and draped it over Huo Sining’s bare shoulders, covering the sexy shoulders and collarbones.
Thought Secretary Lin internally, cursing silently. Noticing a hint of displeasure in his boss’s eyes, he quickly straightened his expression but couldn’t help muttering to himself:
He hadn’t expected to misjudge this time. Despite her young age, Huo Sining dressed so strikingly. Just look at those shoulders, collarbones, and tiny waist—it was evident she was a sexy little Lolita. No wonder the boss took a liking to her.
If Su Jinyuan knew Secretary Lin was making up such stories about him, he would surely be infuriated, without a second word, kick him out of the car.
After taking a detour around Nanjing Road and being delayed for over an hour, by the time Huo Sining arrived to collect the ambergris for the auction, it was almost starting.
The coordinating staff on-site were anxious; upon seeing Huo Sining, they quickly greeted her: “Miss Huo, you’ve finally arrived. If you hadn’t come soon, I would have had a hard time explaining to the boss.”
Huo Sining refused to hand over the ambergris to the organizers for processing, insisting on bringing it herself on the day of the auction.
The organizers had no choice but to accept Huo Sining’s plan and thus sent a staff member to handle the handover.
Seeing the huge chunk of ambergris in Huo Sining’s box, the staff member’s eyes immediately lit up.
With Su Jinyuan present, Huo Sining wasn’t worried that someone might swindle her. After handing over the item to the auction house, she went with Su Jinyuan toward the venue.
Quite a few people had already arrived at the venue. Seeing Su Jinyuan enter, several of them looked over in his direction.
“Mr. Su, why are you arriving so late today? A few of us have been waiting for a long time. This won’t do. Mr. Su, you have to punish yourself with three drinks!”
The auction venue had prepared exquisite refreshments. One of the bosses, with a glass of red wine in hand, approached and spoke, his gaze shifting as if he just noticed Huo Sining hanging on to Su Jinyuan’s arm:
“Yo, I was wondering why Mr. Su seems particularly spirited today, turns out he has a beautiful lady accompanying him. May I know who this miss is?”
The boss’s heart started to speculate when he saw Huo Sining’s youthful face—whoever said that Donghua’s Mr. Su shuns the pleasures of the flesh must be blind, right?
Looking at how tender faced this young girl is she must still be underage. So, the Su Jinyuan who is rumored not to be interested in women actually prefers this type!
Seeing Huo Sining blushing and lowering her head without speaking, Su Jinyuan was about to help her out of the situation when a few others greeted them: “Mr. Su, Miss Huo, long time no see!”
Hearing this, Huo Sining looked up and saw a familiar figure standing among the crowd, and she froze for a moment.
Luckily, she was quick to react and soon hid her astonishment, pretending it didn’t bother her at all.
However, to Gu Xu, Huo Sining’s attempt to feign indifference seemed painfully forced. He looked at Huo Sining deeply for a moment before quickly withdrawing his gaze.
Su Jinyuan was somewhat surprised, “Mr. Gu, President Song, you all are here too? Did you come from the capital?”
Gu Xu smiled and shook his head, “Mr. Su, you misunderstand. We got held up with some matters, so we’ve been in S City all this time.”
All this time? Su Jinyuan paused, puzzled. It had been at least a month since their last project negotiation—what could keep them in S City for a whole month? Gu Xu was quite carefree, staying so long away from headquarters without fear of being sidelined?
Song Hui’s gaze swept over Huo Sining; he thought to himself that this young girl was quite clever.
Song Hui originally thought that Su Jinyuan was just toying with Huo Sining, but he hadn’t expected that she would be able to accompany Su Jinyuan to the auction. This private auction wasn’t like any ordinary social banquet; the attendees were mostly acquaintances within the circle. By doing so, Su Jinyuan was indicating that the girl held a significant place in his heart.