Closer to Revealing My True Self
Chapter 680 - 439: Is Face That Important?_1

Chapter 680: Chapter 439: Is Face That Important?_1

In the luxurious and grand auction house,

restless rhythms and strong beats continuously shock the eardrums.

At this moment, on the stage in front, there are four... oh, now five, five young people fully engaged in singing and dancing. All of them are guests.

How did things develop into this?

Feng Yi watched the stage ahead, recalling the whole process, and surprisingly felt not much astonishment.

It started with Feng Chi volunteering in the group to warm up the crowd, and Wang Xuqin along with other guests agreed.

Then, this evening, the pre-auction warm-up performance began.

It must be said, Feng Chi did his homework for entering the entertainment industry, those training courses were indeed useful, making his performance more infectious, specifically evident in the chain reaction he triggered in front of his eyes.

Feng Chi was so engrossed in his singing on stage, and his emotion was so on point, that it made the restless, itchy guests below unable to restrain their exuberant limbs—

If Feng Chi can do it, why can’t I?

I dance better than him!

This is just among us here, and after all, Wang Xuqin had said to treat this as a semi-private gathering, where everyone comes to make friends and do charity, no need for excessive formalities.

OK!

No formality!

"Music!"

The first unexpected guest hopped on stage, and then followed the second, third, fourth, and fifth.

Typically, they have many tricks up their sleeves, so singing and dancing are no big deal to them

Feng Chi saw this and thought, I can’t lose!

Keep the music playing! Keep dancing!

Under the drive of competitiveness, a guest felt a bit hot from the activity, clothes seriously restricting his self-expression, so off went the coat with a "yo yo yo," tossing it aside.

Feng Yi at that time: ...

It’s as if he’d stepped into some psychedelic nightclub.

The auction host, Wang Xuqin, kept a smile on his face, but what came pouring out of him was a torrent of painful emotions.

Besides Wang Xuqin, there were also a few guests with dignified demeanors who were gracefully enduring.

The stage up front continued to pour real feeling into their song and dance, seamlessly transitioning from one piece to the next.

Feng Yi slowly closed his eyes.

This isn’t warming up the crowd; this is blowing up the scene.

Even if Feng Chi does well for the next year, Wang Xuqin might not invite him for the next Ming Yao event. Even if he does, he’d probably have to prepare a seal.

Indeed, as Feng Yi thought, Wang Xuqin was bursting with regret. Why on earth did he agree to let Feng Chi warm up the crowd?!

He intended to create an atmosphere of high-end luxury, high-taste, high-prestige.

But alas...

Where’s the ambiance?!

Where’s the taste and prestige?!

If it were only Feng Chi alone, Wang Xuqin would have ordered him off stage already; the problem was that many guests were enjoying themselves too much, especially those who joined the dance on stage, now unrestrained after a few drinks, and stopping their fun would definitely cause a fuss.

"Quite interesting, indeed quite interesting. Those who care about their image remain subdued and restrained below, while the shameless ones let loose and go wild on stage," a guest remarked.

Seeing the stage performance seemingly coming to an end, this guest hurriedly raised his arm and exclaimed, "Bravo! Awoo, let’s have another! One more, one more!"

After shouting, he reverted to the elegant demeanor of a social elite as if he wasn’t the one who had just called out.

The people beside him felt embarrassed.

Ah right, there were also those who enjoyed watching the commotion and adding fuel to the fire.

Enough to give Wang Xuqin a headache.

But Wang Xuqin’s headache wasn’t their concern. Let him keep feeling it!

So even the guests who hadn’t shown interest were caught up in the atmosphere and raised their arms shouting:

"One more, one more!"

After cheering, they chatted with other guests by their side.

"Feng Chi really let himself go, he doesn’t seem nervous at all."

"Why would he be nervous? In terms of family wealth, he’s indeed a bit lacking, but his brother is also here. Having someone to embolden him means he doesn’t have to worry about being thrown into the sea and fed to the sharks by anyone else."

There were many guests who enjoyed stirring up the atmosphere, and indeed it was very lively, but Feng Yi, glancing at the time and noting Wang Xuqin’s emotional state, knew that the patience was nearly at its limit. He gestured to Feng Chi, reminding him—

[Do you remember what we’re supposed to do tonight?!]

Reveling in excess, Feng Chi finally snapped back to reality.

Oh right, this isn’t a performance stage in the show business; this is a pre-auction warm-up.

He had clearly said he would be restrained before taking the stage, but the other guests were too good at playing along, and the atmosphere too perfect, so he couldn’t help himself.

Anyone could tell in a Ming Yao event, once the scene gets heated, not even ten horses could pull it back.

If Wang Xuqin knew what Feng Chi was thinking, he would certainly curse:

Is my "warming up the crowd" the same as your "warming up the crowd"?!

Is this the way I asked you to warm up the crowd?

This is wrecking the scene!

Wang Xuqin decided then, next time he’ll find someone more professional and with true prestige, excluding Feng Chi, the other few guests involved were unreliable too.

Up front on stage, Feng Chi, who had calmed down, stopped dancing after finishing one piece and prepared to leave the stage to the auction’s host.

Other guests, still in high spirits, saw this:

"Ah? It’s ending already? The scene isn’t warm enough, one more, one more!"

"How about you and your brother do a number together?"

Feng Chi asked, "What kind of number?"

The guest suggested, "The windmill!"

Feng Chi teased back, "Don’t hit someone in the face, no more! That’s infuriating!"

He thought: If any trouble arises from goofing off too much, it’s my bad luck. All you who enjoy the show sure look pleased with yourselves, pah!

The situation finally returned to normal, and Wang Xuqin let out a long breath, not wasting any more words and hurriedly resumed the auction.

The auction began, and the lively atmosphere that had served as a warm-up cooled down.

Being a pure charity auction, the lots didn’t hold much appeal for the guests. If they saw something to their liking, they’d shout out a bid and compete for it.

Amidst the bidding, the chilled atmosphere began to taste of gunpowder.

Feng Chi also placed several bids, but his funds were not as ample as the others; once the price rose, he stopped following and sat back in his seat to watch the show and eat melon seeds.

The black diamond was the sixth auction lot to be presented.

Feng Yi hadn’t been interested in the first five and hadn’t bid. It was only this one that he cared about.

When the sixth lot was brought forward, even before the safe was opened, Feng Yi felt something was off.

This black diamond...

Feng Yi sat up a bit straighter.

Wang Xuqin watched Feng Yi closely, and a hint of amusement flickered in his eyes.

Indeed, Feng Yi was more interested in these uncut diamonds than the others.

The black uncut stone was brought out, and its image was magnified on the big screen in front of them, allowing the guests to see it more clearly.

At just over a hundred carats, of course, it couldn’t compare to the massive blue diamond Feng Yi had before, and it looked smaller than other, colorless diamonds of the same carat weight.

Those uninterested simply saw it as a black lump—an irregular black lump with an especially high amount of impurities. One wouldn’t be blamed for thinking it a random stone picked up to deceive people.

It was unoptimized, lacked any artistic enhancement, and wasn’t a particularly large specimen—nothing special really.

"... Black diamonds are different from other diamonds; their formation and distribution are filled with various mysteries..."

Wang Xuqin was still storytelling on stage.

The guests below weren’t interested in such tales. The world was full of mysterious gems—if he’d said this piece of jewelry had once been worn by a legendary figure, perhaps they would’ve shown some interest.

For those not enthusiasts of this sort, too much storytelling was off-putting. They’d grown immune to it.

Unlike other commercial auctions, this charity auction’s starting prices weren’t particularly low—the black diamond rough stone being auctioned by Wang Xuqin opened bidding at two million.

Wang’s professional team anticipated a final bid exceeding ten million. Of course, this was internal information, not to be disclosed to the guests.

Wang Xuqin stood on stage, smiling confidently.

"2.1 million," came a lazy voice.

Wang Xuqin looked over to see it was the young Mr. Gong, who had just yawned.

The day’s events had been exhausting, and now the young Mr. Gong seemed a bit sleepy.

However, raising the bid by only a hundred thousand each time wasn’t the young Mr. Gong’s usual style.

"2.5 million," Feng Yi called out, testing the waters for the first time.

After that.

Silence.

An odd silence.

Wang Xuqin’s smile faltered slightly as he looked towards the first bidder, young Mr. Gong.

The young Mr. Gong lay there like a salted fish, looking ready to doze off in his chair and showing no sign of making another bid.

Wang Xuqin then turned his gaze to Ms. Yin, seated beside young Mr. Gong.

Earlier, Wang Xuqin had learned that the newly engaged couple planned to purchase this black diamond rough and craft it into two creative rings.

Given their usual behavior, having taken an interest, they wouldn’t easily back down. When others bid, it was each for themselves, but this pair would surely join forces.

But at this moment, young Mr. Gong seemed to have given up.

And Ms. Yin...

Ms. Yin was busy touching up her makeup, completely ignoring around her, not even deigning to glance their way.

Wang Xuqin’s perfect smile strained as he shifted his gaze elsewhere.

His eyes settled on a guest whose family dealt in luxury goods, including jewelry.

Hadn’t they claimed to fancy this kind of edgy, alternative style of gemstone?

Hadn’t they expressed admiration for the mysterious allure of black diamonds, with plans for their new sub-brand to acquire one?

The young man, under Wang Xuqin’s gaze, calmly diverted his eyes.

No choice, really. Feng Yi had saved his buddy today, Zhou Hao was his good friend, and it wouldn’t be right to compete for something the savior favored. Besides, it wasn’t as if black diamonds couldn’t be bought elsewhere. Moreover, this particular black diamond rough didn’t look that impressive today.

Seeing this, Wang Xuqin decisively abandoned hope and looked to the next person.

The next guest, with legs crossed, quipped, "Eh, why are you looking at me? I’ve changed my mind; I don’t want to contest for this anymore."

He indeed held some interest in that black diamond, but that was all it was—some interest. He liked to join a bustle; if many were bidding, he’d also shout along with them, the stronger the better.

But if no one else competed, well, it was dull. Rather than vying with Feng Yi, he’d find more pleasure watching Wang Xuqin’s frustration!

Watching Wang Xuqin handle this awkward situation also brought him considerable joy.

Ha ha ha, did you see that coming? Little Wang, even you have days like this!

Tee hee hee, today’s entertainment +1!

Feng Chi was also stunned at this time.

It’s so rare! A Mingyao auction going cold?

Before coming, he had heard countless times about Mingyao’s events being eternally fierce!

And now, now... a ceasefire suddenly?

My brother’s face is that big?!

Still, 2.5 million didn’t sound nice.

Feng Chi hesitated, looking towards his brother.

He met Feng Yi’s glance coming his way.

Understood.

"2.6 million!" Feng Chi shouted.

He couldn’t let his brother settle for such a stone at 250w.

If these folks went around saying ’two hundred fifty dull dull’, how unpleasant that would sound—it’s almost like calling someone a fool.