Jinling Road.
Long renowned as the foremost commercial street in Hua Country, it holds the title "Ten Miles of Jinling Road, One Pedestrian Street." Lined with various old Shanghainese specialty shops and malls, during holidays this place is always bustling with throngs of people, full of lively prosperity. Even today, not a holiday, the crowd is still large.
Gu Bai was driving his car, slowly weaving through the crowds on both sides.
Following the address given by Li Zhun, Gu Bai arrived next to a peculiar building.
A delicately rustic villa spread out amidst the bright lights. Peculiar because in such a bustling and noisy place, there was a villa here that felt out of place with its surroundings. Being in it felt like escaping from all urban chaos, giving a serene, distant feeling that sparked the imagination.
Gu Bai carefully confirmed the address was correct before pulling over to park.
There were already a number of luxury cars parked on both sides of the villa, ensuring he had the right address.
With Zhang Yumeng, he walked to the villa entrance, where two security guards politely stopped him.
"Sorry, this is a private place, you cannot enter without an invitation."
The two security guards were dressed like in the movies, in suits and ties, but not as high-cold and arrogant as in the films; instead, they showed a trace of respect.
After all, Gu Bai had parked his car right in front of their eyes. Though they knew Gu Bai might be of notable status, their professional duties still required them to stop him.
Seeing this, Gu Bai was taken aback.
Then he politely smiled and took out his phone to call Li Zhun.
"Brother Zhun, I'm at the entrance of the address you gave me, but I haven't got an invitation, and I'm stopped here. Could you come out and get me?"
After getting a reply from Li Zhun, Gu Bai put away his phone.
The security guard who had initially stopped Gu Bai apologized, "Sorry sir, it's our duty, please don't mind."
Gu Bai waved his hand and smiled.
They are just doing their job, stopping someone without an invitation is expected. Gu Bai did not have the arrogance to think he was above others and immediately showed understanding.
After just a couple of minutes, Li Zhun appeared in his same casual outfit from before, walking out from the villa.
"You really take your time, the auction is about to begin."
Li Zhun came over and put an arm around Gu Bai's shoulder.
Gu Bai helplessly shrugged.
"I wanted to be quick too, but it's rush hour. You know how congested Shanghai can be; now I finally understand the meaning of 'Shanghai road, cars all stuck'. Unless you're flying a plane, no matter how expensive the car, you still have to obediently get stuck in traffic."
Li Zhun also laughed heartily.
"Hello, Mr. Li."
Beside Gu Bai, Zhang Yumeng greeted Li Zhun softly.
"Isn't this from yesterday's 4S shop…"
Li Zhun looked at Gu Bai questioningly.
"Zhang Yumeng."
Gu Bai reminded him.
"Yes, yes, Miss Zhang."
Gu Bai smiled faintly, "We happened to meet today, this afternoon she accompanied me to the Construction Bank, and since I had promised her dinner, I brought her along."
Li Zhun immediately gave a knowing smile.
"Alright, alright, enough talking; let's go in first, and I'll introduce you to someone later."
Li Zhun hooked Gu Bai's arm and walked into the villa, this time with the security guards looking straight ahead as if not seeing them at all.
......
The inside of the villa was quite spacious; at first glance, it was an extremely luxurious hall, with complex lighting giving off a cold, bright light. The high walls on all sides cast dark shadows on the soft carpet.
The floor paved with black marble, mirror-bright ceramics, a splendid crystal chandelier with dangling prisms, jet-black lacquer wooden tables with shining transparent top surfaces, imported brand cushioned chairs, and fine carvings made the entire hall exceptionally luxurious and elegant.
Zhang Yumeng, beside Gu Bai, felt like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden. Although Gu Bai felt similarly, he still put on an indifferent facade.
On the other side of the hall, a group of people had already gathered, about a dozen or so, men and women. Some were in threes and twos drinking and chatting together, while others were reclining on sofas, closing their eyes for a brief rest.
But these people all had one characteristic: they were young.
It was hard to find anyone over 40 years old.
"Come on, let's head over there first."
After Li Zhun said this, he led Gu Bai towards where the crowd was gathered.
Until they reached a small circle chatting happily, Li Zhun stopped walking.
Gu Bai glanced at the few people laughing and talking, recognizing one as clearly in a leading position, someone he knew. It should be said that many young people knew him.
"Shanghai Emperor" Qin Fen.
"Brother Qin, this is the young guy I mentioned, Gu Bai."
Li Zhun introduced Gu Bai directly to Qin Fen.
Qin Fen was originally smiling and talking to someone beside him, but upon hearing Li Zhun's voice, he looked up at Gu Bai, then stood up, extended his right hand, and with a smile said, "Hello, Qin Fen."
Gu Bai also shook his hand with a smile.
"No need for introductions, the fame of the Shanghai Emperor should be quite substantial."
"Hahaha, it seems I've really become a sensation."
Li Zhun also took the opportunity to step out and said heartily, "Old Gu, do you know why others are addressed by name, but we all just call him Brother Qin? Because in the whole of Shanghai, he's the one and only Qin."
It seems Qin Fen has quite a good personality too, immediately retorting, "Alright, I suspect you're mocking me subtly."
Gu Bai timely cracked a joke, "You act like a total lapdog."
The group burst into laughter, Li Zhun also started introducing the people around to Gu Bai, while Zhang Yumeng stood beside Gu Bai like an invisible person, though some would occasionally glance at her, no one spoke to her.
Gu Bai didn't introduce her either, in his mind, even if Zhang Yumeng had some ties with him, at most she played a canary role, as for a girlfriend, Gu Bai had his standards.
Zhang Yumeng just quietly listened and thought it was reasonable no one talked to her.
Qin Fen changed the subject with a smile, "Gu Bai, I heard you've taken over Li Zhun's Night Shadow?"
Gu Bai nodded with a smile.
"Honestly, it's really not worth it, he approached me before, and I didn't bother with him. It's custom-made to imitate Poison, quite out of place, and the price is sky-high. With that amount of money, you could add a little more and buy a real limited edition supercar."
"Hearing you all say this, now I really suspect Brother Zhun tricked me."
Gu Bai teased Li Zhun with a smile.
Li Zhun was immediately displeased, quickly protesting.
"Cut it out! If my family hadn't cut off my funds because they found out I spent over ten million just to buy a car, I wouldn't have been willing to transfer it!"
Gu Bai knew this was just Li Zhun's personality, he wouldn't take his words seriously, but still said, "Actually, there's no such thing as worth it or not, as long as you're happy. If you really want to talk about worth, buying a supercar is never worth it, any car is just for driving.
Moreover, it's not like you use one car for a lifetime, if you have the chance to find a better one, just buy it again."
After hearing Gu Bai's words, Qin Fen's eyes lit up, showing a look of interest.
"Seems like you're also a car lover, Gu Bai."
Everyone in the circle knew Qin Fen was a supercar enthusiast, and the "Shanghai Emperor" often had rumors of an extensive collection of luxury cars, owning six multimillion-dollar supercars, including a Ferrari LaFerrari, Porsche 918, and McLaren P1. Just picking any one of them was a limited edition fantastic car. Discovering Gu Bai might share the same passion made him interested.
Gu Bai smiled.
"Brother Qin, if you say I'm a car lover, you wouldn't be wrong, I'm the typical common guy who loves three things: supercars, girls, and watches.
I love all three."
"At least you're honest."
Gu Bai didn't continue the conversation, instead he asked about another topic.
"They say Brother Qin has countless luxury cars, any interest in parting with one? Forget about the McLaren P1 in the three divine cars, it's still available on the market, but as for the Porsche 918 and LaFerrari, how about letting one go?"
Before Gu Bai could finish, Qin Fen quickly sat up straight.
"Stop right there! It's never going to happen! You can have me, but my cars are off the table!"
Seeing Qin Fen's excitement, Gu Bai was taken aback, it seems the rumors about Qin Fen being a typical car devotee were true.
Li Zhun put an arm around Gu Bai's shoulder, "Don't think too much, even if you managed to get him drunk and ravaged him tonight, he wouldn't bother you, but if you have your sights on his cars, you're doomed."
Gu Bai could only shrug helplessly.
Qin Fen took out a cigarette and tossed one to everyone present, then turned to look at Gu Bai.
"If you're honestly interested in these, Gu Bai, I can't promise anything else, but when it comes to cars, I do have some connections, I can help you get a few."
It's not that Qin Fen was so cheerful and helpful by nature, mainly because he sensed Gu Bai was a true car enthusiast like himself.
Gu Bai's eyes flashed.
"You're not messing with me, right?"
"Why would I mess with you, actually, limited edition supercars like LaFerrari mainly circulate among certain people. Both domestically and abroad, I know a few, and it just so happens some are considering selling.
As for the price, I think you have some understanding, I'll only introduce you, you can negotiate yourselves."
"The price isn't important, as long as there's a possibility to talk."
Gu Bai's tone seemed to completely dismiss the importance of money.
Li Zhun rolled his eyes, "I told you this guy doesn't treat money as money."
Gu Bai blew out a smoke ring.
"Should I say it's a case of 'wealthy and willful'?"
As they laughed and chatted, a casually dressed man, about sixty years old, walked to the other side of the sofa.
The group of second-generation members all greeted him with a smile.
"Uncle Chu, if you were any slower, we would've gone in to find you."
This man was Chu Zhilai, the owner of House of Time.
In the early days of Shanghai, he was quite a famous tycoon, but later left the business world, quietly becoming a collector. These occasional auctions he held were more like exhibitions of his collection than auctions.