As soon as the loudspeaker turned on, Qi An'an was momentarily stunned. When she realized what was happening, she silently marveled to herself that her cousin-in-law was as badass as ever. Instead of swallowing her anger and pretending nothing happened, she took the initiative to escalate the situation.
With that thought, she immediately repeated what she had just said, "Qi Xiuyuan, you idiot, how do you have the nerve to call me stupid! You can't even figure out a loudspeaker, yet you think you can control the situation? Spouting shameless nonsense about taking sides!"
"Fine, since you brought up taking sides, I might as well speak my mind. Even if Brother Huan is crippled, he can still completely crush all of you! Brother Huan only lost the use of his legs, not his brain! As long as Brother Huan doesn't lose his spirit and doesn't care about the judgment of people like you, he will still slaughter gods and buddhas alike if they stand in his way!"
"Besides, Brother Huan's legs can still be cured. Even if they couldn't, having a brain is enough. But for someone with a broken brain like yours, there's truly no cure!"
Qi An'an's words sent Qi Xiuyuan into a towering rage. He looked ready to jump over and strangle her to death.
"Cousin-in-law, how did I do?" Qi An'an asked, showing off and seeking praise after she finished speaking.
Jiang Youli gave her a thumbs-up. "Sharp words that hit the nail right on the head!"
Qi Xiuyuan also turned his loudspeaker back on. "Qi An'an, you just wait! Don't think I won't touch you just because we're both from the Qi family!"
Just as Qi An'an was about to retort, Jiang Youli patted her on the shoulder. Saying, "Let me handle this," she then calmly and loudly spoke up, "Qi Xiuyuan, if you have a problem, come at me first. There's no need to target An'an. I'll be waiting for you. If you don't dare, you're not a man. So many people present today heard it. You wouldn't actually admit to not being a man, would you?"
Without the Old Master, his father, and his eldest brother around, Qi Xiuyuan had absolutely no intention of suppressing his temper, so he said, "Why wouldn't I dare! Jiang Youli, don't think you're such a big deal just because you turned the Jiang family upside down and dealt with a piece of trash like Qi Yue! In our Qi family, it's not your place to dictate things!"
Jiang Youli replied, "Alright, then I'll wait for you. Just make sure you're not all bark and no bite."
This brief interlude came to an end.
In the Year of the Rabbit VIP room, Duan Shuheng couldn't help but laugh. "There has been a lot of news about Jiang Youli lately. I heard she's quite interesting, and today I finally got to see it for myself. She really is a fascinating person. No wonder my idiot brother still pines for her even after being brought back to the Duan family."
Her best friend teased, "Looking at it this way, does it seem a bit unfair that your brother was kicked out by your dad to reflect on his actions by delivering takeout just because he tried to crash Jiang Youli and Brother Huan's engagement party last night and snatch the bride?"
"It's not exactly unfair. He really needs to do some soul-searching and understand what he should and shouldn't do given his current status," Duan Shuheng said, glancing at Jiang Youli again. Her red lips parted slightly, "From the looks of it, it's impossible for my idiot brother to marry Jiang Youli. Let alone the fact that Jiang Youli is engaged to Brother Huan, even if they weren't engaged, my idiot brother wouldn't be able to handle Jiang Youli."
In another VIP room.
Long Yuan also narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at Jiang Youli. "This Jiang Youli is quite bold."
The assistant beside him said, "Lately, the wealthy circles are full of rumors about this Miss Jiang. I heard that after she was brought back to the Jiang family, she has been completely fearless just like this, catching Second Master Jiang's family, who refused to acknowledge her, completely off guard. Even Young Master Qi treats her like a treasure. Last night's engagement party was incredibly grand. When an incident occurred during the event, she was the one who ultimately resolved it."
He had heard some of these rumors to an extent, but he didn't really believe them. After all, rumors always contain some element of exaggeration. Little did Long Yuan expect that today he would truly witness just how flamboyant Jiang Youli's personality was.
No wonder she could make such big waves in the capital's elite circles and win the favor of Brother Huan and Old Master Qi. Even Old Master Jiang intends to hand over the family business to her.
Long Yuan became even more curious. "If this Jiang Youli didn't have real skills, with Brother Huan's standards, he wouldn't have fallen for her even if his legs were crippled. Go investigate this Jiang Youli for me."
Brother Huan was currently being fully hunted down by the Qi family. This was Long Yuan's best chance to surpass Brother Huan and shake off his title as the eternal second place.
But if a woman like Jiang Youli had real skills, her marriage to Brother Huan would be an alliance of the strong. Long Yuan had to be on guard, otherwise, what he thought was an opportunity to surpass him might turn out to be a trap.
The assistant nodded. "Understood, Young Master Long."
Right at that moment, the auctioneer walked out from behind the curtain, stepped to the center of the auction stage, and solemnly announced, "Distinguished guests, today's highly anticipated auction officially begins now!"
As soon as he finished speaking, an etiquette lady walked onto the stage holding an exquisite tray and placed it on the auction block.
On the tray rested a dazzling item—the very first lot of this auction, a precious pendant meticulously designed by a late renowned master, named "Goddess's Tear."
The pendant was shaped like a water drop, resembling a crystal-clear teardrop and exuding a captivating charm. Illuminated by the bright lights, it sparkled with a pure and profound blue luster, much like a shimmering ocean under the sun, leaving people utterly enchanted.
"Qi Xiuyuan, didn't you say you truly like me? I really like this pendant. If you can win it for me, I can be your woman." The beautiful woman beside Qi Xiuyuan suddenly said, looking at the pendant on the auction block after withdrawing her gaze from Jiang Youli.
Hearing this, Qi Xiuyuan figured that such jewelry auction items would fetch two or three million at most. Feeling confident of victory, he said, "Alright! You said it yourself. If I win it and give it to you, you have to come with me tonight."
"But..." the woman spoke again.
Qi Xiuyuan was puzzled. "But what?"
The woman glanced at the two bodyguards behind Qi Xiuyuan from the corner of her eye and said, "If you can't win it, don't ever pester me again."
Qi Xiuyuan stared at her for a good while, understanding her intentions, and couldn't help but laugh arrogantly. "Fine, then you are destined to be my woman tonight."
The woman didn't reply, simply clenching her hands nervously and looking once again at Jiang Youli, her only lifeline.
Given her status, she couldn't shake off the harassment from a bastard like Qi Xiuyuan. She could only take a gamble that the wealthy young lady who had just declared war on Qi Xiuyuan would purposely make things difficult for him and bid against him to the very end!
If she lost... she would have no choice but to accept her fate.
After introducing the Goddess's Tear, the auctioneer shouted loudly, "The starting price for this Goddess's Tear is two hundred thousand. Let the bidding begin!"
"Two hundred and fifty thousand!"
"Three hundred thousand!"
"Three hundred and fifty thousand!"
"Three hundred and eighty thousand!"
"Four hundred thousand!"
Qi Xiuyuan directly raised his paddle, turned on his loudspeaker, and shouted, "One million!"
As his voice fell, the fingers of the beautiful woman beside Qi Xiuyuan trembled, and her breath caught for a moment. She instinctively looked toward Jiang Youli again.
The wealthy young lady who dared to declare war on Qi Xiuyuan still hadn't placed a bid...
Was she going to lose?
Would she have to submit to the coercion of a bastard like Qi Xiuyuan?
Seeing Qi Xiuyuan casually bid a million right off the bat, Qi An'an could not help but scold, "What a spendthrift! He goes through a new woman every month and throws a million or two on each of them. The Qi family's wealth will never be enough for him to squander!"
Jiang Youli smiled without saying a word.
The auctioneer struck his gavel.
"One million going once."
"One million going twice."
"One million going..."
Unable to wait any longer, Qi Xiuyuan grabbed the hand of the beautiful woman beside him. His eyes darkened with lust as he said, "Baby, you are all mine tonight."
The woman bit her lip and closed her eyes in despair.
However, before the auctioneer could finish making the third and final call, a bold voice rang out across the auction hall: "Two million."
