[Chapter 13]
As soon as Lucas met David's eyes, he could sense the hatred and hostility in his gaze.
What?
Did I provoke you or something? Why are you glaring at me?
Yelena didn't want your earrings. What's that got to do with me?
"Two million two hundred thousand once, twice, three times!"
With the final call from the host, the earrings were successfully won by Yelena.
Lucas crossed his arms and gritted his teeth internally.
[Why is the plot going off the rails again? The earrings were supposed to be a gift from David to Yelena, and now they're something she bought herself.]
[This way, David can't raise his favorability with her. How are they supposed to become close now?]
While he was puzzling over it, the herb David needed was brought out.
Red Blood Herb!
Fortunately, this part went according to plan. Yelena bid eagerly and successfully purchased it for ten million Dollar, giving it to David.
David looked grateful. "Thank you, Yelena. This herb is crucial for my training breakthrough. You've helped me a lot."
Yelena maintained her smile, but even Sylvia could hear the distance and indifference in her voice. "No need to thank me, Mr. Fox. It was just a fair exchange."
The smile froze on David's face, and he clenched his fists.
Ever since he arrived in the Northern Region and his strength increased, women had been drawn to him like moths to a flame.
Even when he did nothing, they would still flock to him.
But since coming to Su City, everything had been off!
He reunited with his childhood friend, but she ignored him and even kissed another man in front of him.
He had a chance meeting with the eldest daughter of the Miller family, only for her to treat him coldly. Sometimes she drove him away, other times she made deals, all while keeping her distance.
What was going on?
Was there something wrong with his charm?
He never used to care about women. He just waited for them to chase after him. But now, he suddenly had a strong urge to conquer Yelena.
The auction continued, but Lucas grew increasingly sleepy.
He wasn't interested in anything on stage, and the endless bidding was dull. He slouched in his chair, head bobbing as he nearly drifted off.
Suddenly, a sweet scent brushed past his nose. His arm was gently nudged.
Lucas blinked awake and turned to find Yelena smiling at him. "Feeling sleepy? Try one of the Miller family's special mint candies. It'll keep you alert for an hour."
"Oh, thanks."
He needed that.
Just as he was about to take it, Yelena unwrapped it with a smile and brought it directly to his lips.
Lucas froze. He was about to say, "I'll do it myself," but Yelena cut him off. "Open up."
Under the intense stares of David and Sylvia, he had no choice but to open his mouth and let Yelena place the candy in.
Whether by accident or on purpose, her finger pressed lightly against his lips as she withdrew it.
The teasing gesture made Lucas's face flush.
Seeing this, Sylvia let out a cold snort and suddenly rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm tired. Let me lean on you."
Since she hadn't interacted with the male lead yet, Lucas wasn't worried. He casually replied, "Sure, go ahead."
Yelena glanced at Sylvia and smiled slightly. Then she leaned in closer to Lucas and said softly, "I'm a bit tired too. Can I lean on you?"
What?
You too?
Lucas frowned awkwardly. Please don't.
Just as he was about to speak, Yelena smiled and said, "I'm joking. I come from a prestigious family. I wouldn't do something so improper."
"Hah."
Sylvia scoffed.
"You and Lucas aren't even close. Of course you can't just lean on him. I'm different. Yesterday afternoon, Lucas and I had a heart-to-heart. His hands have already touched plenty of places I won't describe. Leaning on his shoulder is nothing for us."
The moment those words left her mouth, Yelena's sharp gaze turned to Lucas.
"If I'm not mistaken, Lucas, you're already engaged, right? Letting another woman lean on your shoulder so casually. Aren't you afraid Rose will get jealous? Didn't you say you only love her?"
Right!
Lucas slapped his forehead.
[Damn! How could I forget? I'm Rose's loyal simp! But then again, just because I'm her simp doesn't mean I can't be with other women, right? Simps chasing their goddess while fooling around on the side is pretty normal.]
[But I'm not that kind of guy. I better stick to the loyal simp role.]
With that, he shoved Sylvia aside.
"Sorry, Sylvia. If my goddess knew you were leaning on me like that, she'd be mad. Let's keep our distance."
Yelena smiled smugly. Sylvia, however, frowned in displeasure.
At that moment, a three-hundred-year-old wild ginseng was brought out.
It was said to be a vital component in many medicines, capable of saving lives. The room instantly erupted with excitement.
Bids came one after another.
The ginseng's price quickly soared from one million to twenty million Dollar.
And even at that level, people were still bidding nonstop.
Lucas had hoped to win the ginseng and use it to gain favor with the chairman of Harmony Group.
But twenty million was beyond his limit.
He simply couldn't afford it.
Blame it on his idle lifestyle. He didn't work, didn't run his company, and all his money came from his parents' allowance.
Spending every month's money as he got it, managing to save over ten million was already impressive.
So Lucas could only sigh and shake his head, giving up on the ginseng.
Just as he was preparing to find another way to approach the chairwoman of Harmony Group, Sylvia suddenly raised her sign.
"Twenty-one million!"
Lucas looked at her in confusion. "Why are you bidding on this? Do you need the ginseng too?"
Sylvia winked at him. "I don't need it. But someone else does. And if that person needs it, I'll buy it no matter the price."
What the—
Who was this lucky guy, worth her spending so much to please?
Wait. Lucas suddenly realized something.
[That line… why does it sound so familiar? Isn't that what David was supposed to say to Yelena? Why is Sylvia saying it to me now?]
"Twenty-three million!"
"Twenty-six million!"
"Twenty-eight million!"
...
This wild ginseng was clearly a hot item, and the bidding was the most intense of the entire event.
While it wasn't as valuable as the Red Blood Herb, fewer people knew about the Red Blood Herb or wanted to buy it, so the competition wasn't nearly as fierce.
In contrast, this ginseng drew a sky-high price.
When the bidding approached thirty million, the crowd began to quiet.
Suddenly, Sylvia raised her paddle again. "Thirty million!"
The hall fell silent.
A three-hundred-year-old wild ginseng going for thirty million? No one had expected that.
Everyone turned their heads to look at Sylvia. Naturally, they also noticed Lucas and Yelena seated beside her.
"Thirty million once, thirty million twice, thirty million three times, sold!"
With that, the deal was sealed.
Sylvia gave Lucas a dazzling smile. "It's for you."
Ever since she heard his thoughts and rushed her father to the hospital just in time to catch his early-stage heart condition, she had been thinking about how to repay him.
Today, she finally had the chance.
"For me?" Lucas widened his eyes. "Wait, this isn't three hundred, or even three million. This is thirty million! You're giving this to me?"
Sylvia raised her brow and said lightly, "No matter how much it's worth, I don't need it. That makes it worthless to me. Giving it to you is like giving away air. Don't feel pressured."
Thirty million for air…
How could she even say that out loud?
Still, Lucas did really need that ginseng.
"Alright, thanks then."
He could always find a way to repay her later.
Yelena watched their sweet interaction. Her smile slowly stiffened.
What was Sylvia playing at?
She knew Lucas was already engaged, yet she was still blatantly flirting with him. Did she want to be the other woman?
Or did she have bigger ambitions and wanted to steal Lucas away from Rose?
Whatever it was, she could forget it.
"Isn't that Goddess Miller? She's at the auction too? And the guy sitting next to her should be Lucas, who just got engaged to Goddess White yesterday."
"What the fuck? How lucky is this Lucas guy? He just got engaged to Rose and now he's here at the auction with Yelena. What does he have that we don't? I don't get it!"
"And look at the other side of him. That gorgeous woman looks like Miss Morgan, who just won the Miss Universe title!"
"Two god-tier beauties accompanying this spoiled rich kid to an auction? They must be blind."
"Even after getting engaged, he still attracts so many women. He's a true role model for all of us!"
Whispers gradually filled the room, and David's frown deepened.
He was the only surviving son of the Fox family and the Dragon King. He was supposed to be the one admired by all the women and the center of attention.
Why had he become a foil to Lucas?
After the auction ended, Lucas was overjoyed to receive the ginseng.
Now, all he needed to do was approach the chairman of Harmony Group and offer the ginseng as a gift to seek his help.
So, he and Sylvia waited by the main entrance.
Before long, Chairman Rivers and Zavier walked out shoulder to shoulder.
But before Lucas could speak, Zavier suddenly burst out laughing. "Well, well, look who it is. Isn't this the Fox family kid who tried to show off with a fake black card at the hotel?"
Oh no...
Lucas quickly sidestepped.
Zavier, why did you have to bring this up right now?
Then again, he quickly remembered that this auction storyline had three parts: getting the Red Blood Herb, buying earrings for Yelena, and humiliating Zavier.
He had already gotten the herb. The earring plot had gone a bit sideways but was still fine. Now, it was time for part three: publicly humiliating Zavier.
Lucas looked anxiously at Chairman Rivers, who was right in front of him.
He wasn't involved in this part of the story, but he needed to talk to Chairman Rivers. If not to prevent him from teaming up with the protagonist, then at least to stop him from targeting the Grey family.
His parents wouldn't be able to handle that.
As he fretted, Zavier began to dig his own grave.
Swaggering over to David, he said, "You little punk. You broke my legs last time, and I haven't settled the score. Now you dare show up in front of me again? You tired of living?"
David looked at him coldly. "You again? What do you want?"
"What do I want? You should ask how I want you to die!"
Zavier looked viciously at Chairman Rivers. "Chairman Rivers, just give me a moment. I need to teach this loser a lesson."
But what he didn't know was that David had recently saved Chairman Rivers's life. He was now a distinguished guest of the Rivers family.
There was no way Chairman Rivers would let him be attacked.
He stepped forward and tried to mediate. "Zavier, you've got a grudge with him?"
Zavier gritted his teeth. "More than a grudge. I want him gone!"
Seeing Yelena standing beside David only fueled his jealousy.
He wanted to tear David apart.
"But Chairman Rivers, no need for you to get involved. I've got people for this."
He clapped his hands, and a few bodyguards appeared behind him.
"Go, break his legs!"
David scoffed and pushed Yelena aside. Then, with a few quick moves, he took down every single bodyguard.
Zavier was stunned.
"No way! These guys are pros. One of them can take on three men at once. Now several of them can't even beat one guy?"
Lucas rolled his eyes.
[Of course not. He's the Dragon King. If he couldn't beat a few bodyguards, what were those seven years of training for? Zavier, you're such a fool. At least do your homework before trying to get revenge. How did someone like you even survive this long?]
When reading the novel, he had already thought some side characters were unbelievably stupid. Seeing it now in person, he was even more speechless.
If all rich second-generation heirs were this dumb, life wouldn't be so hard for the rest of society.
Sylvia's eyes widened.
Dragon King?
Seriously?
That guy was actually that powerful?
She had trained since childhood. While she wouldn't say she was invincible, there weren't many in her age group who could beat her.
Thinking about it, she suddenly smirked.
If she could defeat the Dragon King, wouldn't she become famous in one fight?
"Young Master Brown, want me to give you a hand?"
-End of Chapter 13-