These city folk really knew how to have fun.
That phrase was not just for show. Perhaps for Chang Yuanyi and the other privileged youths from Beijing, such a scene was nothing out of the ordinary. But for Li Yunzhe, who ca from a diocre family and thought he was hot stuff for driving a base-model convertible BMW worth around 300,000 yuan, the scene was absolutely mind-blowing.
One had to forgive Wolf Brother from 709 for his uncultured, bumpkin ways. For a young man in the pri of his youth, his focus of "appreciation" would inevitably land on the most instinctual and so-called vulgar aspects.
...
"It’s great to be young!" a middle-aged elite next to Li Yunzhe sighed with feeling as he glanced at him.
"Hehe, it’s just human nature, human nature!" The shalessly thick-skinned Li Yunzhe chuckled, showing no embarrassnt at all.
"Master Qin, are you interested?" Chang Yuanyi glanced at Li Yunzhe, who was making no effort to hide his base instincts, and whispered to Qin Fan with a fawning smile.
"Not in the slightest," Qin Fan replied indifferently, his eyes filled with a vast, detached tranquility.
On the Cangqiong Continent, the most noble and beautiful won in the world had thrown themselves at him. How could these won possibly stir his heart? The temptation might be imnse for an ordinary person, but for him, they fell far short in comparison.
"Master Chang, how does one get to... enjoy all this?" Li Yunzhe, feverish with excitent, turned to Chang Yuanyi just as Qin Fan finished his dismissive reply.
"There will be an auction after the tour. The highest bidder wins. However, for privacy and security reasons, no one will know who made the winning bid. But from the looks of it, since Chen Jinlong went through so much trouble over such a long ti to put this together, I reckon the price won’t be low," Chang Yuanyi explained leisurely.
"Fuck, the price won’t be low? Don’t tell a al like this costs hundreds of thousands!" Li Yunzhe exclaid.
Clearly, Wolf Brother from 709’s horizons were still confined to a middle-class perspective. Then again, for soone who dared to act smug driving a 300,000-yuan convertible BMW, that was the extent of his worldview for now.
"Hundreds of thousands? You could probably add a zero to that, and it still might not be enough," Chang Yuanyi laughed.
"Millions? Good heavens! Are there really suckers like that out there? You wouldn’t squander money like that even if your family owned the bank!" Ji Yi exclaid in shock beside them.
"You’re all too naive. This isn’t just about the food. As for the cost, money is just a string of numbers for many people here. The key is how to spend it to get your money’s worth. Believe it or not, right now in the guest rooms above this club, there are definitely so influential big shots relaxing on their Simmons beds, a bottle of red wine sitting elegantly on the nightstand. They’re waiting for soone to spend a fortune on a winning bid so it can be sent up to them. Ten million might sound like a lot, but to so people, it offers a lot of leverage. Most importantly, even if you don’t make any money, the connections you can build through this are an imnse, intangible fortune!"
Chang Yuanyi did not hold back his insight, laying out the web of interests in a way that verged on sensitive territory.
"Exactly! Master Chang is spot on. There are too many people in Huaxia with more money than they know what to do with, and there are just as many big shots seeking alternative thrills. That’s how a market for this kind of banquet can exist. A common nyotaimori is utterly uninteresting; its allure is restricted to the middle class and below. But today’s event? This will be a powerful stimulus for many high-status individuals!"
Chen Jinlong, who had been following Qin Fan’s group, chid in with a laugh. As the organizer and mastermind behind this banquet, he felt a certain pride. There was a unique pleasure in watching so many powerful and wealthy figures lose themselves in a ga of his own creation.
"Old Chen, what’s the starting bid?" Chang Yuanyi asked as soon as Chen Jinlong finished speaking.
"Master Chang, you want one? If so, there’s no need for an auction. Just pick whichever you like, and I, Old Chen, will arrange it for you. No charge, of course, haha!" Chen Jinlong laughed heartily.
Then, as Ji Yi and the two other won wandered off to the side, he turned to Qin Fan. "Master Qin, are you interested? I can arrange one for you as well!"
In his fawning smile, all mory of Qin Fan’s earlier verbal insults seed to have vanished. But that was to be expected. For a shrewd operator like Chen Jinlong, knowing when to yield was a core tenet of survival.
"I’m not. However, I am sowhat interested in the upcoming auction. It’s a classic case of too many monks and not enough gruel. It’s all a tangled web of power and money. When soone wins a bid, they are destined to seize an opportunity for a connection that soone else will now lose. I must say, the planning is perfect. With Jinling’s upper-class circle and no shortage of influential outsiders present, tonight’s auction is bound to be interesting," Qin Fan said with a faint smile, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards.
Although he had no interest in being part of the spectacle, watching the frenzied and savage competition from the outside was a rather amusing way to pass the ti.
"Haha, Master Qin has a unique perspective. Well said! I predict that the final price for each one will not be less than five million," Chen Jinlong replied with a sheepish, corroborating smile.
"Five million? That’s a conservative estimate. Master Qin, since you’re not interested, let’s just sit back and enjoy this insane ga of money tonight."
Dismissing the five-million figure with a scoff, Chang Yuanyi leaned close to Qin Fan and grinned, his deanor that of a man who sees himself as the only sober one in a world of drunks.
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