What thief?! Shen Yuxuan frowned, puzzled.
"Me, I'm the thief here," Lin Yu said with a bitter smile, not expecting Shen Yuxuan to be the one to show up.
"Jiarong? What are you doing here!"
Shen Yuxuan's face lit up with joy, and when he saw Jiang Yan, his eyes couldn't help but sparkle. "This must be sister-in-law! Truly stunning, enough to make fish sink and geese fall from the sky. No wonder Jiarong couldn't wait to rush home after lunch, haha!"
"Stop joking around!" Lin Yu felt a bit embarrassed by his words.
Jiang Yan's face also flushed slightly as she glanced at Lin Yu.
"Young master, do... do you two know each other?" The chubby store manager was shocked, his face suddenly turning pale.
Chen Baogang and Fan Ruting were also taken aback. It seemed this young master was quite familiar with He Jiarong.
"Of course, he's my good brother," Shen Yuxuan said, slinging an arm around Lin Yu's neck. "What were you saying just now about being a thief?"
"You'd better ask this store manager. I took out the diamond ring my uncle gave me to give to my wife, and he insisted I stole it from him. No matter how much I explained, he wouldn't believe me."
"Are you out of your mind?!" Shen Yuxuan shouted angrily. "Go to accounting, get your pay, and get out! I don't need employees who can't tell right from wrong and look down on people!"
"A few years ago, the chairman's safe was broken into, so I thought... I thought... I... I deserve this!" The store manager was so frightened that he slapped himself twice, stammering as he pleaded, "Young master, please don't fire me. My whole family depends on me."
"What's that got to do with me? Get out now!"
Shen Yuxuan was furious. Who was Lin Yu? The savior of both him and his father! This useless store manager dared to offend Lin Yu—he must be tired of living.
"Yuxuan, let it go. Life isn't easy for anyone. If you ask me, don't fire him. Just demote him as a punishment to teach him a lesson so he won't be so snobbish in the future." Lin Yu felt a pang of compassion and tried to persuade Shen Yuxuan.
"Thank you, Mr. He. Thank you." The store manager's eyes reddened, deeply moved. Despite how he had treated Lin Yu earlier, Lin Yu was now pleading on his behalf.
Lin Yu waved it off and smiled at the sales assistant. "Yuxuan, this sales assistant has excellent professional qualities and great skills. I suggest you consider her for the store manager position."
"Consider what? If you say so, it must be right. From today on, she's the store manager." Shen Yuxuan agreed readily.
The sales assistant looked astonished, paused for a moment, then came to her senses and repeatedly thanked Lin Yu.
"Who are these two?"
Shen Yuxuan glanced at Chen Baogang and Fan Ruting nearby.
Chen Baogang clenched his fists, nervous, afraid that Lin Yu would take the opportunity to humiliate him.
Fan Ruting also pursed her lips, staying silent, worried that Lin Yu would stop Shen Yuxuan from selling her the diamond ring. She genuinely loved that ring from the bottom of her heart.
"Oh, this is Jiang Yan's best friend, and this is her fiancé. They're also my good friends. They came here today to pick out an engagement ring." Lin Yu introduced them to Shen Yuxuan with a smile, not holding a grudge over what had happened earlier.
"Great! Since they're friends of you and sister-in-law, I have to take good care of them. Whatever diamond ring they pick, it's 50% off!" Shen Yuxuan was generous.
"Thank you! Thank you!"
Chen Baogang was overjoyed and repeatedly bowed to Shen Yuxuan. After all, Shen Yuxuan's offer had just saved him 100,000 yuan. He would have been willing to kneel, let alone bow.
"Don't thank me. Thank my brother." Shen Yuxuan raised his head proudly.
"Thank you, Jiarong. Thank you. I was talking nonsense earlier—please don't hold it against me." Chen Baogang rushed over and hugged Lin Yu, his voice choked with emotion.
Lin Yu quickly pushed him away, feeling a bit disgusted. What was wrong with this guy? A grown man always so eager to hug and cling.
"Thank you, Jiarong." Fan Ruting also smiled sheepishly at Lin Yu, avoiding eye contact. Remembering her earlier sarcastic remarks, she felt her face burn with shame.
After Fan Ruting and Chen Baogang finalized their diamond ring order, they left, repeatedly urging Lin Yu to attend their wedding.
"How do you know the young master of Feng Yuan Xiang? And why did his father give you a diamond ring?"
Jiang Yan drove while glancing at the sparkling diamond ring on her finger, feeling as though it were all a dream.
"When we were crossing the road the other day, I saved the young master's life. If I hadn't warned him in time, he would have been in a fatal car accident. As a thank-you, he gave me this ring."
Lin Yu altered the story slightly. There was no helping it—given that He Jiarong was seen as a good-for-nothing, telling the truth would only have made Jiang Yan kick him out of the car.
"Oh." Jiang Yan accepted this without much doubt. Her husband wasn't skilled at much, so this explanation made sense.
"By the way, this weekend, his friend is hosting an auction and has invited Dad, you, and me to go. Will you come?" Lin Yu asked softly, then added, "If you're busy, it's fine."
He knew that for Jiang Yan, attending such an event with a "loser" like him as her husband would be seen as an insult.
"I'll go." To his surprise, Jiang Yan agreed, though her tone remained cold.
Lin Yu grinned, feeling satisfied.
On the weekend, Lin Yu first helped his mother sell steamed buns, then after lunch, headed to the auction venue. On the way, he called Jiang Yan, who said she and her father had already arrived.
According to Zhou Chen, this auction had been in preparation for a full year. It featured many famous items and was the largest and most anticipated dual auction in recent years. Many celebrities and magnates from various industries would attend, and the vast majority of mainstream media in Qinghai would be present.
At least in Qinghai, this auction was the center of attention.
For such an important occasion, Lin Yu had intended to dress more formally, but after helping his mother sell steamed buns, there wasn't enough time. So he showed up in simple casual wear.
Initially, the security guards wouldn't let him in until Shen Yuxuan personally came out to escort him.
The main venue for the auction was set in the largest conference hall on the sixth floor of the New Century Hotel, one of the biggest conference halls in Qinghai.
The schedule for the day was to hold the antique auction in the afternoon, followed by the raw stone auction after the evening banquet. It was said that many out-of-town celebrities and experts had specially come for the event.
Though he had mentally prepared himself beforehand, Lin Yu was still stunned when he entered the venue. After all, this was the first time in his life he had attended such a grand occasion.
The conference hall covered two to three thousand square meters, with plenty of space around the edges. The center was filled with seats, and both sides were lined with buffets offering a variety of pastries, drinks, and alcoholic beverages.
The venue was already packed with people enjoying the buffet and drinks while chatting with one another.
"Sister-in-law and Uncle are over there. Zhou Chen specially saved front-row seats for you," Shen Yuxuan said, guiding Lin Yu forward.
As Lin Yu walked from the entrance to the front row, people around him cast curious glances his way, many with a hint of mockery in their eyes.
Lin Yu felt somewhat embarrassed. He regretted not taking the time to go home and change into something more appropriate. Every man in the hall was wearing a suit and dress shoes, while the women were in qipaos and evening gowns. Only he was in casual pants and a T-shirt.
To make matters worse, Shen Yuxuan suddenly blew on his hair and asked where he had been, noting the white powder on his head.
When he reached the front row and saw Jiang Yan, Lin Yu was struck with amazement.
Jiang Yan was wearing a white silk one-shoulder mermaid gown, her fair shoulders and collarbone exposed. Her dark hair was elegantly tied up at the back, making her look both seductive and dignified.
She wore light makeup, with a touch of eyeshadow that made her already clear and lively eyes especially bright and captivating.
"Breathtakingly beautiful."
The phrase popped into Lin Yu's mind. Perhaps only these words could do her justice.
He couldn't help but let his gaze linger on her face. This woman was truly someone you could never tire of looking at.
After Lin Yu sat down, he noticed Jiang Yan was wearing the diamond ring he had given her. His heart warmed, and he reached out to hold her hand.
Jiang Yan's hand trembled slightly, but she allowed him to hold it.
With such a beauty present, the men around naturally noticed. At first, many approached with drinks to strike up a conversation, but upon seeing the diamond ring on her finger, they retreated. If they had known the man behind Jiang Yan was the rustic-looking Lin Yu, they would have been furious enough to spit blood.
Soon, everyone had arrived. After the host's opening remarks, the auction began quickly.
Jiang Jingren secretly held up three fingers to Lin Yu and said, "I brought three million without telling your mom. If you see something good, remember to reminders me."
"Dad, he doesn't know how to appraise anything. You handle it yourself to avoid blaming him later," Jiang Yan said helplessly.
Lin Yu smiled but didn't say anything. He thought his father-in-law was quite impressive to bring so much money. If something suitable came up, he would definitely make a move.
However, after the first six items were auctioned, nothing quite fitting appeared. Either the final prices far exceeded three million, or they were ordinary items with severely inflated prices.
After the first group, there was a half-hour break for discussion and socializing.
An elderly man in the crowd was very popular, surrounded by people holding various collections and asking for his advice.
This was a famous old expert from Beijing, surnamed Tao, who specialized in calligraphy and painting. He was a regular guest on CCTV's treasure appraisal programs. Lin Yu had seen his show a few times and found him quite knowledgeable.
"Mr. Tao, Mr. Tao, could you please take a look at this calligraphy piece I have?"
A familiar voice rang out. Lin Yu looked up and saw that it was Zhu Zhihua, the guy who had professed his love to Jiang Yan outside the clinic in a Maserati.
He pushed through the crowd, holding a yellow brocade calligraphy piece.
Seeing the piece in his hand, Lin Yu's eyes lit up, and he immediately moved closer.
After squeezing in, Zhu Zhihua handed the piece to Mr. Tao and said, "Mr. Tao, I spent 600,000 on this calligraphy piece. It's said to have come from the imperial family. Could you please take a look?"
Mr. Tao's eyes also brightened at the sight of the piece. He unrolled it and examined it carefully for a while before shaking his head with a smile. "Based on the brocade, this piece did indeed come from the Ming imperial family. However, the quality of the work is quite ordinary. It's purely selling on a gimmick. Pieces like this aren't rare on the market, so they don't fetch high prices—100,000 at most."
"Haha, thank you for your guidance, Mr. Tao. I thought my eye was pretty good, but it seems there's always more to learn. Since it's not worth much, I'll just give it to someone here for fun."
Zhu Zhihua raised the piece and casually tossed it into the crowd. For a playboy like him, such a small amount of money meant nothing.
The crowd exclaimed in surprise, everyone reaching out to catch it. But one hand quickly snatched it away.
Everyone turned to see that it was Lin Yu who had grabbed the piece.
"It's you?!"
Zhu Zhihua was quite surprised to see Lin Yu. He snatched the piece back angrily. "You? I'm not giving it to you!"
The memory of Lin Yu humiliating him in front of Jiang Yan and everyone else was still fresh. There was no way he would give the piece to his love rival.
"Young Master Zhu, didn't you say you'd give it to anyone here for free?" Lin Yu smiled. "If not, I'll give you 100,000 for it. How about that?"
"No!"
Zhu Zhihua smirked coldly. "If you really want it, fine—600,000! I bought it for 600,000. If you want it, give me 600,000."
Clearly, Zhu Zhihua was deliberately making things difficult for Lin Yu. Whether Lin Yu agreed or not, he would have his revenge.
"Fine, 600,000 it is. Who asked my father-in-law to like it?" Lin Yu nodded.
"Young man, are you stupid? Mr. Tao just said this piece is worth 100,000 at most."
"Yeah, what a sucker."
"Probably has too much money to burn. Young people these days are so frivolous."
The crowd around them shook their heads and There's a lot of talk.
"That's right, young man. As I said, this piece is worth 100,000 at most." Mr. Tao couldn't stand it anymore and stepped in to reminders Lin Yu.
He had seen foolish people before, but never one quite this foolish.