On an ordinary day, at an ordinary auction, guests could take a special boat to the island where the auction was held after showing their invitation cards.
This is a very ordinary little island within the Seven Star Island area. The island is full of peach blossoms, but unfortunately, the peach trees are all bare at this time. All that can be seen is the bleakness of the fierce autumn wind, and the intense beauty of the ten miles of peach blossoms is nowhere to be seen.
This island was chosen as the auction location because it's officially designated 'non-sale' land. No player would dare to wander onto someone else's territory, so these kinds of gatherings are always held in absolutely neutral official loot areas.
All the buildings at the auction are rented; no one can use their own ghost card.
Ren Yifei knew this, which is why he came.
Ren Yifei's hair was tied up with a bamboo-green hairband, and he was wearing a very understated dark-colored formal suit with a thin cashmere coat over it.
However, upon arriving at the location, he realized that in the desolate corner, normality was the abnormal thing.
Among a group of oddly dressed players, he, wearing a cashmere coat, stood out like a moth among butterflies.
Silently, he pulled up his scarf to cover the lower half of his face, then pulled down his hat. He deliberately shrank his tall frame, slowed his pace, lowered his head, and boarded a small boat without a word, exuding an air of 'ordinary'.
The shore remained bustling with activity, while the others merely gave him a strange look.
Who is that?
"I don't know him. He probably just used someone else's invitation card."
I made my way ashore in such an ordinary and mediocre way, bypassed the people exchanging pleasantries, and entered the auction hall.
Yes, before the auction begins, the items to be auctioned will be displayed in this special exhibition hall, with dedicated staff at each booth to provide information about the auction items to visitors.
This auction was organized by the North Island Alliance, and these people are naturally all members of this faction.
Meanwhile, above the auction hall, there was a beauty pageant featuring all kinds of beautiful men and women.
Ren Yifei only found out after he arrived. The staff warmly invited him to take a look and handed him a booklet with information on those handsome men and beautiful women.
Ren Yifei refused to go up; he preferred to read a book in the corner of the tea room.
Even a fool could guess what these beauty pageants are all about. They're probably like those local beauty pageants from a certain era, also known as "the selection of concubines for the powerful and wealthy."
While Ren Yifei was seeking peace and quiet, the auction was in an uproar because an important figure had arrived.
It wasn't Saman. Saman's usual persona was that of a seemingly innocent but actually ruthless second-in-command in Dongxing City, ranked around 30th. He was the type that lower-level players looked up to but upper-level players didn't care about. He didn't have the ability to make this auction so exciting.
The one who arrived was Chen Shen, the most powerful person in Wuwanghai.
She was in her early thirties, a mature woman with long, wavy black hair. She was like a gun covered in red crocodile skin, possessing a flamboyant charm that combined power and beauty.
If this woman didn't only love beautiful women, countless men would be kneeling at her feet.
Seeing her, everyone felt honored, but also very puzzled: why would she come to such a small auction?
Chen Shen didn't explain; she walked directly towards the auction hall, and a group of people followed her in.
The auction hall, which could accommodate thousands of people, was only occupied by a few scattered individuals; the rest were still wandering around elsewhere. Chen Shen went straight to the front row.
"Long time no see, Thousand Faces."
Upon hearing this, everyone was startled again. Nian Tianxi had arrived? How come they hadn't noticed at all?
Qianmian Nian Tianxi, a refined man exuding mature masculine charm, arrived alone. At least, there was no one in the seat next to him.
"Why didn't you let me know you were coming? I could have done my duty as a host." Chen Shen said with a smile as he sat down beside him.
Nian Tianxi smiled slightly: "I was just taking a casual stroll and didn't mean to disturb Miss Chen."
Chen Shen nodded and casually instructed, "Anything Mr. Nian takes a fancy to later will be on the house."
"Yes, Alliance Leader."
I forgot to mention that Chen Shen is the leader of the Beidao Alliance, and this is a small auction held under her organization.
At such a small auction, any single item could bankrupt an average player. But for her, it was just a drop in the ocean, so she generously gave away the item as a favor.
However, she wanted to do Nian Tianxi a favor, but Nian Tianxi didn't want to owe her one, so he smiled and declined: "How can I let such a beautiful lady as Miss Chen pay for this?"
Just as Chen Shen was about to speak, her subordinate leaned over and said something. She was taken aback at first, then smiled and said, "What a day it is today, so many people have come."
Nian Tianxi sensed a hidden meaning in her words.
Chen Shen simply smiled and said, "Let's talk again next time." He then led the group to leave the auction hall.
As I approached the door, a tall, well-proportioned young man walked towards me. His long, smooth, black hair was casually tied back, and he wore a hat and a scarf that covered half of his face, revealing only a pair of eyebrows and eyes that looked like they had been meticulously sculpted by an artist.
When those clear, black-and-white eyes suddenly looked over, the water rippled, and the artwork came to life.
"Water is like the horizontal waves of the eyes, and mountains are like the gathering of the eyebrows." Chen Shen suddenly recalled this line of poetry, and if described in reverse, it would be quite fitting.
In this desolate corner, there are countless eyes burning with desire, but this was the first time she had seen such languid and indifferent eyes. They were like cats sleeping on a wall, swishing their tails.
The two brushed past each other, the other girl looking straight ahead, while Chen Shen kept walking, at most sighing in his heart: It's a pity she's not a cute girl.
The aroma of strong liquor was as intense and domineering as flames. This was the second scent Ren Yifei detected emanating from a soul; on this woman, he smelled the scent of war, power, and dominance.
who is she?
The question flashed through his mind for a moment, then quickly disappeared. Ren Yifei had never been a particularly curious person.
Chen Shen had already left through the gate when she caught up with someone who was trying to sneak in: "Saman, long time no see. How have you been? Want to come over?"
"Thank you for the invitation, but I have my own plans," Saman said with a smile. The others who heard this felt sorry for him: this was a personal invitation from Chen Shen!
This wasn't the first time Chen Shen had extended an invitation; she had invited Saman two years ago.
They met in a dungeon, and Chen Shen realized that he was a smart player and wanted to recruit him.
It was unexpected that Saman would eventually go to Dongxing City and follow Tianhong, spending his days running around in the infighting among his subordinates, wasting his talent. It really felt like a pearl being tarnished.
Chen Shen always felt it was a pity. Saman was an extremely talented person. He entered the high-level game in half a year and entered the star ranking in another half a year, which amazed everyone and even attracted the attention of the top ten players.
However, he then suddenly faded into obscurity.
I wonder what happened to him. Could he really just be a shooting star, and she misjudged him?
No, Chen Shen trusted his intuition; Saman was definitely not a simple person.
He is currently keeping a low profile, but no one knows why.
Ren Yifei entered the auction hall, where each invitation card corresponded to a seat. His invitation card had an earlier number, so his seat was also closer to the front.
"Number 13, second row." Ren Yifei found his seat. There was already a person sitting to his left, probably in his thirties or forties, dressed unusually 'normally'.
"Hello." He had just sat down when the man next to him greeted him with a smile.
Ren Yifei didn't like interacting with strangers, but he knew it was social interaction, and when someone greeted you, you should respond. So he said, "Hello," and then sat down.
A collective gasp rose behind him, as if he had done something incredible.
Is there something wrong with the seats, or is the person next to you a celebrity?
Having only been in the Desolate Corner for a month and rarely taking the initiative to inquire about others' affairs, Ren Yifei was unaware of what had happened, but he remained calmly seated, not even bothering to glance at others.
No matter how famous he becomes, it has nothing to do with him.
Just as he was thinking this, another person came up beside him. Before they even got close, the aroma wafted over, and Ren Yifei's body stiffened for a moment.
Unlike in the game, real-life dessert connoisseurs, besides their caramelized aroma, also carry a subtle woody scent, which is quite pleasant. Ren Yifei himself prefers the scent of black tea and doesn't dislike this kind of woody fragrance.
Actually, he had always been puzzled as to why he could smell this fragrance. The dessert player he had met before, and the domineering lady he had just encountered, all carried this peculiar fragrance.
Others, even dessert connoisseurs themselves, cannot smell it.
The fragrance seemed to be a signal light set up specifically for him.
Ah Fei? Saman looked at the young man wearing a hat, wrapped in a soft scarf, with a section of long, black hair peeking out from underneath.
He stopped, took a deep breath, and straightened his collar and cuffs. Then he walked over and sat down to Ren Yifei's right, a refreshing fragrance wafting over.
Nian Tianxi saw him, Saman. So Chen Shen went out earlier just for him?
For Nian Tianxi, Saman wasn't particularly noteworthy. His goal had always been to finish in the top ten. Saman was only good enough to be a secondary player, handling matters unrelated to the game. Nian Tianxi had plenty of people like that.
Saman has cultivated an image of himself as a gangster boss over the years, lacking the ability to break into the top ten. Therefore, many people's impression of him remains at this level, as does that of Nian Tianxi.
Moreover, Nian Tianxi had been seen through by Saman before, and Nian Tianxi had an instinctive aversion to him.
However, Nian Tianxi still greeted him: "Long time no see, Saman."
"Long time no see, Thousand Faces." Saman greeted him casually, his gaze fixed on Ren Yifei.
Looking at the seemingly refined gangster leader, this was his usual image, and it worked extremely well; for two years, no one had suspected anything. But Saman was a little worried. What if Afei thought he was really this sleazy in real life and stopped hanging out with him?
"Hi, Samantha, long time no see. Where have you been the other day?"
Samantha used to be a high-profile person, so many people knew him. When he arrived, people would come up to greet him and try to find out where he had been these past few days.
Saman dealt with them one by one, only keeping an eye on the people beside him out of the corner of his eye.
"Who is this?" They also noticed Ren Yifei standing next to Saman.
"A friend."
Invitation cards are given in pairs, so if you say you don't know them, no one will believe you.
Samantha had his own agenda; he didn't want others to know that this was the recently rising 'Black Rabbit,' so he greeted him quite naturally: "You're here so early?"
Ren Yifei turned to look at him, and Saman's eyes met his gaze—soft, bright, beautiful, and full of life…
Samantha clenched his fingers, his fingertips seemingly sweating and feeling sticky. His recent, hazy, and unreal dreams had suddenly become real.
The soul, depicted countless times through virtual means, has also acquired a tangible warmth.
"Ah Fei…" He is Ah Fei, he must be Ah Fei, if he is not, then no one else is qualified to be.
"Hmm." Ren Yifei also sized up the dessert player.
His features were striking, perhaps suggesting ethnic minority ancestry; his hair was a beautiful deep brown, even tinged with caramel under the light. His eyes were the same, deep brown, pupils slightly dilated, like melted sugar, sweet and sticky—was he aroused by me?
"You're here very early too."
That somewhat indifferent voice gently brushed against his eardrums, causing Samantha to tremble involuntarily. He couldn't help but keep looking at 'Ah Fei' beside him.
"I'm just setting a baseline, nothing more," he told himself.
He had long, glossy black hair, cool-toned skin, and was rather thin, yet his proportions were exceptionally beautiful. His legs were straight and long, and his waist… Samantha glanced at him, noticing the fitted vest peeking out from under his cashmere coat, and continued to judge: slender waist.
On the deserted island, Ah Fei always wore a white T-shirt and low-rise jeans. If he wore them now, his V-line would be showing... Samantha coughed and forced himself to stop thinking about it.
His hands were also exceptionally beautiful, worthy of being a painting. His right hand had some thin calluses, and his nails were very neatly trimmed. He was right-handed and had long been pampered. However, the flesh under his nails was somewhat purplish, probably indicating some blood deficiency.
Samantha recalled how "Ah Fei" had been dragged around until he was out of breath at the Spring Banquet: he really was lacking in exercise.
Her voice was so beautiful, even when she was panting from running...
For some reason, Samantha felt slightly uneasy and adjusted his posture.
His ease, his composure in the face of imminent collapse, his nonchalance—all became history in that instant. Saman was at a loss, like a greenhorn just entering society: how to greet Afei, how to have a natural conversation?
A dark red rose appeared before him. The 'Ah Fei' whom he was secretly observing held the rose in one hand and gently pulled down his scarf with the other. He approached him, his voice seemingly tinged with laughter: "A day apart feels like three autumns?"
Samantha stared at his upturned nose and rosy lips, gazing at those small, adorable cupid's bows.
"Dessert connoisseur, don't go too far with your gaze." Ren Yifei looked at him with a smile, but his eyes held a warning.
Saman's gaze was subtle, but Ren Yifei was very sensitive to stares and felt goosebumps rising on his skin. Coupled with the unpleasant feeling of being stared at from all around, Ren Yifei decided to simply shift their attention.
Anyone can play along. He simply bought black roses from the system.
A rose, a natural gesture of intimacy, an ambiguous remark—even though he immediately pulled his scarf back and sat up straight, everyone else watching knew the answer: Oh, so it was Saman's lover.
Those curious gazes all disappeared, even Nian Tianxi next door lost interest: Everyone says that Saman is not interested in beautiful women, it seems that 'beauty' is not beautiful enough.
Only Samantha, who seemed to have become a winner in life, held the red rose, his throat dry.
"He shouldn't have flirted with me," Saman thought. People from the Desolate Corner have no morals or bottom lines, and unfortunately, he is one of them. Although this 'flirting' was most likely just him being used as a way to block the view, the fact remains that he was flirted with.
Saman convinced herself: Ah Fei flirted with me first, so it's only natural that I'm attracted to him.
"I am not a superficial man who values appearances." His determination from that day still rings in my ears, but his behavior today is a slap in the face.
"Perhaps I'm just unknowingly vulgar," Saman assessed himself, and quickly accepted this vulgar and imperfect self.
He twirled a rose petal between his fingers; it was smooth and warm. He looked down at this 'gift.' The petal was a deep scarlet color, like a kiss mark left behind by time.
Hi, long time no see.
Author's Note: Saman: I am not a superficial man who values appearance.
Pia!