Sheng Ciyuan shook his head.
His assistant beside him wore an anxious expression. "The Madam insisted we must acquire this photograph. If we return empty-handed..."
For the Sheng family, a few million was nothing.
Moreover, since the Madam had given that instruction, even if the Second Young Master spent over ten million, she wouldn't blame him.
"There's no need for cutthroat competition," Sheng Ciyuan said softly.
With the Sheng family backing down, no one else would bid against someone who had lit the sky lantern. Thus, Rong Yu obtained the photograph for two million.
When the auctioneer respectfully handed her the photo, her fingertips trembled almost imperceptibly.
Her eyes, vacant, gazed at the man kneeling in the photograph. Her fingers lightly brushed over the man's face, her gaze lingering for a long time.
"Classmate Rong Yu."
Sheng Ciyuan's voice pulled her back to the present.
Suppressing her emotions, she looked up with a faint smile. "I never expected to meet Classmate Sheng at an auction house."
Sheng Ciyuan noticed the faint red streaks surfacing in her eyes and asked gently, "May I ask, why were you so determined to get this photograph?"
"And you?" Rong Yu had recognized that the voice calling out the one-million bid was Sheng Ciyuan.
"If you're interested in the historical background of the photograph, I think you might enjoy our family's collection room," Sheng Ciyuan said with a smile on his pale face. "Might I have the honor of inviting you, Classmate Rong Yu, to be our guest?"
Rong Yu nodded. "Then I'll trouble you."
Min Jianshen immediately followed.
Firstly, he had brought Rong Yu to the auction and felt responsible for her safety.
Secondly, he was also very interested in the Sheng family's collection room.
The Sheng family's car led the way.
Min Jianshen drove behind, explaining as he went. "The Sheng family is a prominent clan in the capital. Their ancestors served in the military, the generation before last was in politics, the last generation went into business. This generation only has two direct grandsons. The one we just saw is the Second Young Master, still a high school student, hailed as a prodigy, and most likely the future heir to the Sheng family."
Rong Yu spoke up. "Sheng Ciyuan is indeed a genius in mathematics and physics. The country needs talents like him. It would be a pity for him to go into business."
"That's just how it is," Min Jianshen said. "A few years ago, ancient Xia Dynasty inscriptions were discovered at the Sheng family ancestral hall. I went to the Sheng residence with my teacher and learned that the Sheng family's Eldest Young Master... how to put it... seems fine on the surface, but upon closer interaction, it's clear he's not... typical. The family can only pin their hopes on the Second Young Master, Sheng Ciyuan..."
The car soon arrived at the main gate of the Sheng residence.
It was a classic courtyard house. The vermilion antique door opened to reveal an elegant scene of artificial hills with flowing water, koi fish vying for food, and flowering plants beneath the corridor.
"Young Master."
The servants greeted respectfully.
Sheng Ciyuan waved his hand, dismissing everyone. He led Rong Yu and Min Jianshen deeper into the estate, through a corridor, to the door of a side chamber.
He pushed it open gently, and a heavy sense of history washed over them.
The lights turned on, brightening the room.
Rong Yu's eyes immediately fell on a model steamship placed on a cabinet near the entrance. It was the Zhenhua steamship, the very ship she had taken back to China all those years ago.
Looking up, she saw a modern-era rifle.
Further in, the walls were covered with various black-and-white photographs from the modern era. Among them, she was astonished to see a group photo of her and her classmates from her study abroad days.
That group photo had been left in the library of the overseas university.
After all these years and twists of fate, it had ended up in the Sheng family collection room.
There were also several small notebooks in a glass case, all original handwritten notes from that batch of students who studied abroad.
Rong Yu looked utterly astonished. "Classmate Sheng, why does your family have so many items from those students who studied abroad? Your grandfather... no, your great-grandfather, who was he?"
Could it be that the old master of the Sheng family was also one of those students? No, there was no one surnamed Sheng among them. Or perhaps he was someone connected?
Otherwise, why would they spend such great effort and money to collect these items?
Although they were all small objects, gathering them couldn't have been easy.
"My great-grandfather passed away many years ago, and my grandfather is also gone," Sheng Ciyuan explained. "The one who collected these items is my elder brother, Sheng Qingyan."
As soon as he finished speaking.
A figure appeared at the doorway of the collection room, as if from nowhere.
The man wore a black trench coat, its shoulder lines sharp as if cut by a knife. He was very tall, standing there, blocking the sunlight from outside like an impenetrable dark wall.
Yet his eyes didn't match the imposing impression of his stature.
His black pupils were like glass beads, cold and transparent, reflecting the light from the ceiling without any warmth. His gaze swept calmly over the people present, as if looking at air, emptiness, indifferent and utterly unmoved.
"B-big brother," Sheng Ciyuan spoke up immediately. "We just came in to look. We'll leave now."
Sheng Qingyan's eyes remained vacant, as if an invisible barrier separated him from the entire world.
He stepped forward silently, snatched a model gun that Min Jianshen had just picked up, wiped it several times with his sleeve, and gently placed it back inside the glass display case.
Those dark eyes then fell on Sheng Ciyuan's hands.
Sheng Ciyuan only then noticed he was still holding a military cap. Startled, he quickly returned it to its place.
Rong Yu glanced at Sheng Qingyan.
Indeed, as Min Jianshen had said, this Eldest Young Master of the Sheng family was not typical.
It was as if he existed in a different dimension from this world.
This collection room was probably the entire world he possessed.
Rong Yu took out the black-and-white steamship photograph she had bought at the auction from her handbag and offered it to him.
Sheng Qingyan froze like a statue.
Then, he took it, sat down in a corner with the photo, head bowed, staring at it intently. It was impossible to tell what he was seeing.
"My elder brother..." Sheng Ciyuan's voice was very low. "...has been different from other children since he was little. He's very intelligent, understands everything, yet also seems to understand nothing. Later, he was examined at the hospital and diagnosed with autism. He's been treated for a long time without much effect... Other autistic children might like music or art, but my brother is uniquely obsessed with history, especially modern Chinese history, to the point of near fanaticism."
"This collection room was built for him by our grandmother. She asked the whole family to search for various modern historical artifacts for him, which is why I was at that auction," he said, then added with some concern, "Rong Yu, you shouldn't have let my brother see that photo. He can be rather unreasonable; once he gets his hands on something, he rarely gives it up easily. But don't worry, I..."
At that moment.
Sheng Qingyan, sitting in the corner, suddenly stood up.
He walked over and solemnly returned the photograph to Rong Yu.
Sheng Ciyuan was stunned.
His brother's eyes had always seemed to see no one outside himself. Even family members were sometimes treated as air.
Now, he had accurately identified the owner of the photo among these several people.
Was his brother's condition improving?
