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The auction this time was backed by the state, and almost everyone of note in City A was present.

After the last person entered, everyone seated stood up and turned their eyes to look over.

Gu Xiaoxi saw the person, and her expression immediately changed. Her fingers trembled imperceptibly, and Quan Shaoqing saw the subtle shift in her demeanor.

At that moment, a middle-aged man with a striking figure, dressed in a distinct style, strode over, with a sweet-lookin girl closely following behind him.

Those who recognized him hurriedly greeted him.

"Mr. Fu, your personal attendance is truly a blessing for our underprivileged children." The charity’s organizer, as though seeing the God of Wealth, immediately approached with a radiantly bright smile.

The etiquette hostess saw that there was trouble. She had thought that Fu Qiuyi wouldn’t come, but not only did he come, he also brought the Fu Family’s young lady with him.

The etiquette hostess immediately approached Quan Shaoqing, trying to negotiate with him to give up his seat.

Quan Shaoqing’s face was cold and his tone firm, "I said earlier that this seat wasn’t to be taken by anyone."

"Sir, please make an exception..." The etiquette hostess was in a difficult position, after all, it was their oversight, thinking that Fu Qiuyi wouldn’t come, so they hadn’t reserved a seat for him.

But all other seats were occupied, and there were many more attendees at the charity auction than imagined.

"Forget it, let them sit here," Gu Xiaoxi said to Quan Shaoqing, shaking her head. After all, given his status, even though it was for her sake, being too domineering could reflect poorly on him, especially now that there were no spare seats available.

Gu Xiaoxi stood up and moved to Quan Shaoqing’s left, vacating two seats.

The organizers led Fu Qiuyi and Fu Xin to sit in the now-empty seats.

Gu Xiaoxi didn’t look at them but whispered to Quan Shaoqing, "Have you been investigating my past?"

"Of course, when I took you home, I had to find out everything about you. At first, I didn’t find anything, but later I stumbled upon this matter," Quan Shaoqing spoke without evasion.

Gu Xiaoxi was at a loss for words. Quan Shaoqing was formidable, to be able to unearth even this.

Her true identity, apart from Gu Lirou and her closest master, was unknown to others.

"If you feel uncomfortable, we can donate some money and leave," Quan Shaoqing whispered.

Gu Xiaoxi shook her head. Why bother?

Since she had no more ties with the Fu family, there was no need to be troubled by this kind of situation.

"I haven’t attended a charity event like this before, and I’d like to see what it’s like," Gu Xiaoxi said, looking at the etiquette hostess who had taken the stage to begin the auction.

At this moment, Fu Qiuyi, too, noticed Gu Xiaoxi and Quan Shaoqing, because they were the only people in the room who hadn’t greeted him. Not only had they not greeted him, but they hadn’t even spared him an extra glance, as if he were just a bystander.

Having been in business for years, his professional assessment was that they must either be high-ranking officials or have a grudge against him.

In his many years of doing business with honesty and integrity, he couldn’t remember having offended anyone. He knew all of the elite families in City A, but he didn’t recall Quan Shaoqing at all.

"Sir, may I ask who you are?" Fu Qiuyi tried asking.

However, Fu Xin, sitting beside Fu Qiuyi, had already been captivated by Young Master Quan, finding the man before her strikingly handsome and immensely dignified, the epitome of a dream lover for any Cinderella.

"Sir, my name is Fu Xin. Why have I never met you before?" Fu Xin also hurriedly asked.

Quan Shaoqing turned his head and gave the father and son a glance. He had no good feelings toward them, "I am a nobody, not worth mentioning."

One sentence, and both were left speechless.

Yeh Bai, sitting behind them, also sensed the discordant atmosphere in front of her and was left speechless.

Quan Shaoqing’s home was in A Capital, so in City A, there were few who knew him. Moreover, those who did know him would definitely not dare to reveal his identity.

At that point, the auction began.

The first items brought out for auction were various pieces of jewelry.

These were contributions from people of esteemed status, then auctioned off, with the funds raised donated to impoverished mountainous regions to help build schools and provide medical assistance among other initiatives.

In essence, this was a charitable act that all wealthy people should partake in, a deed motivated not only by compassion but also by reputation.

Quan Shaoqing held Gu Xiaoxi’s hand and whispered in her ear, "Bid on anything you like."

"No, I don’t like any of it," Gu Xiaoxi said without a second thought.

"Why?" Quan Shaoqing didn’t understand, "Don’t all girls like jewelry? I think the set of high-quality gemstone jewelry currently being auctioned is pretty nice."

Gu Xiaoxi showed little interest, "Even if I buy it, I won’t have time to wear it. It’d just sit there and collect dust – that would bother me."

"Pfft..." Quan Shaoqing couldn’t help but laugh out loud, "I doubt you’re really a girl."

Gu Xiaoxi just shrugged indifferently, teasingly saying, "I wish I were a man."

"That’s unacceptable. If you were a man, where would that leave me without a wife?" Quan Shaoqing immediately retorted, holding onto her hand even more dearly.

Their conversation was very quiet, audible only to them.

It was at this moment that Gu Xiaoxi saw Fu Xin, who was sitting not far from her, raise her paddle and increase the bid by ten million.

She seemed determined to win the jewelry on the stage at any cost.

Only then did Gu Xiaoxi begin to show a bit of interest and looked towards the stage, just in time to hear the hostess explain in fluent Mandarin: "This jewelry was donated by our former First Lady.

It is also one of her favorite pieces. This jewelry set includes a necklace, earrings, a crown, a ring, and a brooch, made up of four-color natural rubies, sapphires, black gems, and amethysts.

The starting bid is sixty million, and our Miss Fu just raised it by ten million – does anyone else wish to bid? "

As the hostess finished speaking, a bidding frenzy ensued once again. Still, the increments were between two and four million yuan each time.

Even so, the final price of the jewelry soared directly from sixty to ninety million.

Gu Xiaoxi clicked her tongue – this was no small figure. Four pieces of gemstone jewelry actually sold for over a hundred million. And the size of the stones wasn’t very large; though they were natural A-grade, she thought they lacked Spiritual Energy and thus weren’t nearly as valuable.

On the other hand, Fu Xin looked on with eyes shining, obviously very fond of the set.

"One hundred million!" Fu Xin raised the bid again, with an expression that seemed to say no one should dare compete with her.

At this point, others hesitated. Spending a hundred million on four pieces of jewelry, which were not even the most prestigious world-class gems, surely seemed inefficient.

Then, the room fell silent as no one else contested Fu Xin.

Fu Xin, pleased with herself, glanced at Quan Shaoqing, obviously hoping to catch another glance from him.

But to her disappointment, Quan Shaoqing was firmly holding Gu Xiaoxi’s hand, staring straight ahead without even moving his eyeballs.

The hostess happily picked up the gavel, addressing Fu Xin, "Congratulations Miss Fu, this lot is yours. And thank you for your support of Liuli Country’s charity."

"Not at all; I really like this set. I’m planning on giving it to my mother," Fu Xin said with a smile.

No sooner had she spoken than others began to praise her filial piety.

Just as the hostess was about to finalize the sale with a strike of the hammer, Gu Xiaoxi suddenly intervened, raising her bidding paddle, "Increase by one million yuan!"

Gasp...

Everyone in attendance was taken aback, including Quan Shaoqing, who was baffled by her gesture.

"Didn’t you just say you didn’t like it?" the man turned back to look at her, smiling dotingly.

That smile was particularly precious in the eyes of others, but it was meant only for her.

"I changed my mind. Since it’s for charity, I definitely should do something. Consider this my contribution to the children in the impoverished mountain areas," Gu Xiaoxi said nonchalantly.

Her voice was not deliberately suppressed, nor raised loudly, but those around her heard her very clearly.

Including Fu Xin, whose expression changed instantly. Was this not clearly a competition with her?

This was the only luxury item she took a liking to at the auction, and someone was actually contending with her. Miss Fu was not one to be trifled with.

"Increase by ten million!" Fu Xin immediately raised her paddle as if the money was flooding in.

Fu Qiuyi merely glanced at Gu Xiaoxi and said nothing to Fu Xin, apparently agreeing with her approach.

Gu Xiaoxi curled her lips into a light, casual laugh, "Increase by ten million!"

Hiss hiss...

A collective gasp rippled through the crowd, as it became evident.

Both wealthy young ladies had taken a liking to the set of jewelry and, being affluent, were indifferent to the price, hence neither was backing down.

Fu Xin clenched her fists, glaring at Gu Xiaoxi, how irritating! She found her very annoying from the moment she entered.