Chapter Seventeen: Wretch! Your Defeat Is Certain!

The atmosphere grew increasingly tense, and a wave of melancholy welled up within Mai Xijun. She clenched her teeth, but once again, her gaze inadvertently met his. He took in all her disappointment and loneliness.

A difference of more than half a million—how could she possibly catch up or surpass that?

Had the man unknowingly been bested by her, not just in other things, but even in the price fetched for their works at auction? Or perhaps… was he truly not her equal? Was that why Xue Lizan had abandoned their six-year relationship?

Counting on her fingers, she realized it had been six years since she’d met Xue Lizan, ever since she transferred schools in high school. From strangers, they grew familiar, friendship blossomed, and eventually love followed. After six years, they ought to have relied on each other like family, yet all of that was shattered by He Jingjing, someone who had appeared in their lives for less than half a year.

He Jingjing’s arrival reduced those six years to scraps of torn paper; the fidelity she once believed unbreakable was irretrievably lost. Some things, once cracked, can never be made whole again. Each attempt to bridge that rift only deepened the wound, leaving new scars in its wake.

She had begun to doubt herself, to lose trust, to think less of her own worth… She admitted she was not a person of particularly gentle temperament; in some matters, she could even be stubborn. For instance, she had always believed that the first time a girl became a woman should happen on her wedding night, making it all the more beautiful.

Yet, after discovering Xue Lizan’s betrayal, and then encountering that other man, she had acted without a second thought. Only now did she realize how hasty her decision had been.

But reality often proves that some things require a measure of favoritism to be won. So, no matter how much she wished for it, without being cherished, all she could do was watch helplessly, powerless to change anything.

“Three hundred thousand, second call!”

The auctioneer’s deep voice echoed once more. Silence blanketed the crowd, and at that moment, Mai Xijun felt as if she could hear the shattering of her own heart. Thousands of wild horses seemed to stampede through her soul, trampling her last remaining hope, making her nose sting with the urge to cry.

“One million!” Suddenly, someone raised a paddle and called out a bid. The auctioneer exclaimed with delight, “A seventy-thousand increase! Currently, Sakura Drunk stands at eight hundred and thirty thousand, but Dreamway comes from behind with a bid of one million!”

One million? Mai Xijun’s heart tightened. Frowning, she followed the voice, and saw the man with the corners of his mouth faintly upturned, dressed in a silver-gray suit. Under the night lights, his complexion looked even fairer than her own.

Instinctively, Mai Xijun glanced at the crystal paddle resting beside the man—Yan Yuchen.

With a start, she realized he was the owner she had unconsciously looked toward while walking the runway, seeking to avoid Shen Yanlie’s gaze and to find her own focal point.

Back then, her eyes had lingered on this man’s left shoulder, purely to evade Shen Yanlie and anchor herself. But now, he had bid one million for her? Could it be that she had inadvertently given him the wrong impression earlier? Mai Xijun’s heart sank in alarm.

“Sakura Drunk adds another three hundred thousand—one million, one hundred and thirty thousand, first call!” The auctioneer’s eyes swept the room, searching. In the blink of an eye, Mai Xijun found herself once again lagging far behind He Jingjing.

“Sakura Drunk, one million, one hundred and thirty thousand, twice! …One million, one hundred and thirty thousand, third and final call!” With the decisive strike of the gavel, He Jingjing’s crystal necklace was sold for one million, one hundred and thirty thousand. So now—was she still destined to lose?

Mai Xijun drew a sharp breath. Perhaps she need never have competed with her at all, yet she had not escaped the trappings of the world…

“Wretch! You’re bound to lose!”

He Jingjing muttered, lips pursed, the words forming clearly for Mai Xijun to see.