The entire auction consisted of 30 lots. From the beginning to near the end, all the collected fans were successfully hammered down, with none going unsold.
"Next, we have our second lot, 'Calligraphy in Running Script with Original Lyrics,' by the author Zhang Daqian!"
"Starting bid: 20,000 RMB!"
As the final lot of the entire auction was presented, staff members on both sides of the auction hall began answering calls on their phones, clearly many people were quietly watching this highlight item.
In the dorm, when Tang Yuan picked up the phone again to call the staff member who was bidding on his behalf at the auction, Guan Yuntao and Li Qiming, who were sitting next to Tang Yuan, were completely numb.
Li Qiming couldn't help but ask, "Yuan Ge, are you still bidding?"
Tang Yuan nodded slightly, "This is a work by Zhang Daqian; its artistic and collection value are extremely high. It's always a rare find, so now that I've encountered it, I naturally can't let it go."
As the two spoke, the price of this fan, personally inscribed by Zhang Daqian, soared like a rocket, instantly rocketing from its initial starting bid of 20,000 yuan to 2.76 million yuan, directly breaking the highest transaction record of the day, and the price was still rising at an extremely fast rate.
One minute later, the price exceeded 4 million!
Three minutes later, the price exceeded 5 million!
"Oh my god!"
"It actually went up to 5 million!"
"This world is too crazy!"
Guan Yuntao's eyes were wide, his face full of shock.
Just then, Tang Yuan, who had connected the call but hadn't spoken, made his first bid: "Bid 6 million."
As Tang Yuan's words fell, the staff member responsible for bidding on Tang Yuan's behalf at the auction house immediately raised her bidding paddle.
"6 million!"
Instantly, the somewhat anxious bidding paused for a few seconds, because the price Tang Yuan bid was a full 700,000 higher than the previous price. However, a handwritten fan by Zhang Daqian certainly couldn't be stopped at 6 million, so after Tang Yuan's bid, the bidding paused briefly for a few seconds, then many people began to bid again.
"7 million!"
Facing the competition from others, Tang Yuan didn't even blink, directly raising the price by another 1 million.
This time, many people on site began to hesitate, because 7 million was already close to the critical point of the fan's estimated value. If they continued to bid, it might exceed the fan's highest estimated value.
In the dorm, Guan Yuntao clutched his heart, his breathing heavy.
A single fan, comparable to a Lamborghini Aventador!
In fact, if the bidding continued like this, his Lamborghini Aventador might not even be as expensive as this fan!
And next to Guan Yuntao, Li Qiming's hand, holding his wine glass, kept trembling. He didn't dare to breathe, fearing he would disturb Tang Yuan who was currently bidding.
Li Qiming used to always think his family background was good. Although he couldn't compare to Guan Yuntao, in front of most ordinary people, he could barely be considered a rich second generation. However, at this moment, Li Qiming felt like he was as poor as a beggar in front of Tang Yuan.
Tang Yuan was unaware of Guan Yuntao and Li Qiming's feelings, because his attention was always on the bidding. After he bid 7 million, about ten seconds later, someone else started bidding.
However, compared to just now, the number of bidders was significantly reduced by more than half, with only a few scattered individuals still bidding, and each bid was very cautious.
"8 million!"
Tang Yuan had no time to waste with these people. He bid again, just like the previous two bids, directly increasing the price by 1 million.
The entire venue fell silent.
Aside from the Auctioneer on stage who kept inciting, all the guests below were silent. Among the staff members responsible for phone bidding on both sides of the venue, except for Tang Yuan's proxy bidder who was still holding the phone, all other phones had been hung up.
"8 million, first call!"
"8 million, second call!"
"8 million, third call!"
"Duang!"
"Sold!"
The Auctioneer on stage knew this price was basically the limit, so she didn't delay any longer and quickly completed the process.
With the fall of the gavel, it meant that this handwritten fan by Zhang Daqian was successfully acquired by Tang Yuan.
At this point, Tang Yuan had completed most of the collection task for the five fans.
In a few days, when the five collected fans are transported from Yanjing to Shanghai, Tang Yuan will go to the Shanghai branch of Poly Auction House to pay and pick up the goods, then he can successfully complete the third experience task issued by the system.
Thinking of the rewards the system gave him for completing the second experience task, Tang Yuanwas full of anticipation for the rewards of the third experience task.
"Come, come!"
"Let's drink, let's drink!"
Tang Yuan was in a great mood. He turned around, picked up his wine glass, and called out to Guan Yuntao and Li Qiming to drink.
Guan Yuntao and Li Qiming exchanged glances, then very tacitly raised their wine glasses, echoing Tang Yuan. As for the bidding just now, neither of them mentioned it again.
With their privileged family backgrounds, and influenced by their parents, their thinking was far more mature and realistic than that of ordinary students.
Tang Yuan, for them, was an opportunity, an opportunity that, if seized, could potentially allow their entire families to achieve a leap forward. Whether they could successfully grasp this opportunity depended on whether they could gain Tang Yuan's friendship in the next two years.
False sincerity would certainly not succeed, because no one is a fool. Only by giving genuine emotion, by exchanging true hearts for true hearts, might there be a glimmer of possibility.
Tang Yuan was unaware of Guan Yuntao and Li Qiming's little thoughts, and even if he knew, he wouldn't care.
Adult friendship is inherently a manifestation of mutual benefit.
Is there genuine affection?
Perhaps there is, but the cruel reality is that most of those genuine affections are not as strong as friendships intertwined with mutual benefit.
After the auction live stream ended, Tang Yuan re-projected the variety show he hadn't finished watching onto the screen. They drank beer and chatted about all sorts of topics, and as the drinks flowed, their camaraderie deepened.
"Yuan Ge, there's something that's been bothering me for a long time. Can I ask about it?"
After another bottle of wine, Guan Yuntao burped, his face flushed with drink. He had been pondering for a long time and finally mustered the courage to ask Tang Yuan.
Tang Yuan raised an eyebrow, "What is it? Go ahead."
"It's about the first time we met. I heard you on the phone saying something about Xiao Qiang being sentenced. Who is this Xiao Qiang?" Guan Yuntaoasked tentatively.
"Oh..."
"Xiao Qiang is a good younger brother of mine. A couple of days ago, his parents had a divorce case, and because he's a minor, he was awarded to his mother."
Tang Yuan heard this, a hint of a smile flashed in his eyes, and he replied in a light tone.
"What?!"
Guan Yuntao was completely stunned. He never expected that the matter he had been worried about for days was not an assault case, nor a murder case.
It was a damn divorce case!
Could it be any more ridiculous?!
Guan Yuntao's expression was a bit blank as he instinctively pressed on, "Yuan Ge, then you also said at the time that you would definitely go see him before he left. What did you mean by that?"
"After his parents divorced, his mother is going abroad, and he was awarded to his mother, so he naturally has to go abroad with her. And before he leaves, of course I'm going to go see him," Tang Yuanreplied matter-of-factly.
Guan Yuntao: "???"
Guan Yuntao: "!!!"