I’m a Villain! Why Are You Trying to Date Me?
Chapter 48

Chapter 48: Lin Tian Clueless! So This Is How a Mary Sue Father Pampers His Daughter?

In a typical auction, this would be the time when participants start sharing their thoughts. Interested bidders might chat with people they know to gauge the competition and avoid internal clashes.

For example, if three buyers A, B, and C are interested, and A and B are friends, they might coordinate. If one is especially keen on the item, the other may step back. That way, they can focus their attention on their real competitor, C, and adjust their bids based on his financial standing. It’s simple logic: a billionaire and a trillionaire won’t bid in the same price bracket.

However, this particular auction was different. For starters, the key contenders: the Zhao Clan, the Bai Clan, and the Xuan Yuan family were all extremely wealthy and familiar with one another. They didn’t need to hold open discussions; each knew that the others were serious opponents. In fact, these few households already represented the wealthiest elite in Li City. Each party also mistakenly assumed that only they were serious contenders.

The Bai Clan, led by Bai Ze, controlled both the underworld and upper society in Li City. With billions in easily accessible funds and complete internal control, Bai Ze could mobilize wealth with a single word.

The Zhao Clan, though not entirely under Zhao Dongyun’s command, had recently centralized power after dealing with internal issues. So, he now had access to unimaginable capital.

The Xuan Yuan Family, especially Xuan Yuan Xing, viewed money as just a number. Tens or even hundreds of billions meant little to her.

There were also other power players like the Li Family from Tian’an, headed by Li Siyi, who never left any auction empty-handed.

The Meng Family from Huancheng, a terrifying conglomerate combining business, politics, and even military influence. Although Huancheng wasn’t quite as developed as Li City, Meng Youqian ran it with an iron fist. He came to the auction just for fun and to annoy Bai Ze. His daughter had beef with Bai Bing’er, so he was dead set on bidding on anything Bai Ze wanted. Whether he wanted it or not.

There was also the Xinghui Chamber of Commerce, led by Luo Xiangguo, who also had access to massive amounts of money.

In short, everyone knew everyone, and open discussion was unnecessary. But private talk? Still very much in play.

Zhou Wenlong of the Zhou Clan, who had ties with Bai Ze, leaned over and smiled.

“Brother Bai, are you interested in this piece?”

Bai Ze smiled and nodded, “Yes. My daughter likes it. It’s odd, since it’s the kind of thing older people enjoy, but hey, she’s my only girl. She likes it, I’ll get it.”

As he said, “only daughter,” he glanced at Zhao Dongyun and raised an eyebrow.

Zhao Dongyun’s face instantly darkened. Was this old guy rubbing it in that both of his daughters were into Lin Tian?

Irritated, Zhao Dongyun snorted, “You think just saying you’ll get it means it’s yours?”

He looked at his daughter, Shang Chan, and calmly added, “Well, my daughter likes it too. The Zhao Clan is bidding!”

At that moment, Li Siyi chuckled. “You two are seriously going all-out for this? The starting price is already 37 million. Are you sure there’s something special about it? Care to share?”

Zhao Dongyun replied coolly, “Some people might have other motives, but I’m simply buying it because my girl likes it. What’s a little money if it makes her smile?”

Behind him, Shang Chan gave a faint smile, nodding in agreement. Zhao Mengmeng followed suit with a gentle expression.

Bai Ze frowned and sneered back, “Old Zhao, are you trying to challenge me? I spoil my girl like crazy. How much are you offering?”

Zhao held up a finger. “1 billion.”

Bai Ze scoffed. “1 billion? That’s it? I’ll put in 2 billion! Just to see her smile.”

“3 billion!” Zhao countered immediately.

“4 billion!”

And so, it continued to escalate. The two old foxes threw out outrageous numbers, nothing but bluffs. After all, this was a sealed-bid auction, not an open one. The real price was what they wrote in their envelopes. They could throw out numbers all they wanted, but only what went on paper counted.

Still, it showed they were serious, and the smoke screen worked. Other potential bidders backed off. In the end, it became clear that only six parties were truly in the race: the Zhao Clan, the Bai Clan, the Meng Clan, the Xuan Yuan Family, Jiang Yifeng (the rising figurehead of Fengchen Group), and the half-serious Zhou Clan.

Xuan Yuan Xing, despite saying little, clearly had her eye on the item. No one dared ignore her.

Meanwhile, Lin Tian, to his relief, wasn’t the center of attention anymore. Shang Chan, Zhao Mengmeng, and Bai Bing’er all sat quietly, albeit still close to him. Though he couldn’t hear their thoughts, the real spotlight had shifted to the titans of power.

Even Jiang Yifeng was interested. Though not formally invited, he still had the right to bid. He knew this agarwood log, weighing 24 kilograms, could be worth 200–300 million at most. Its shape made it ideal for carving, and there was a chance it held hidden treasure inside.

But this auction was different. First, the competitors were filthy rich. Second, they weren’t bidding for themselves, but for their daughters! That changed everything. A father might spend conservatively on himself, but for a beloved daughter? Even hundreds of millions could be justified.

As Jiang Yifeng saw it, the market value of this log was about 50 million. With some emotional markup, 2–3 billion was doable. But with these doting dads? Less than a billion was unrealistic. He decided on a 1.2 billion bid. It was already 20 times the real value, and he figured even these indulgent fathers wouldn’t go higher.

Meanwhile, Xuan Yuan Xing turned to her daughter. “Qingya, are you sure you want this?”

Qingya nodded firmly, her aura proud and composed. “Yes, Mother. That log hides a secret.”

Her mother narrowed her eyes. “And how do you know?”

Qingya bit her lip and said no more. In truth, she was burning up, literally, thanks to the golden thread Jiang Yifeng had placed in her. It stirred her veins, heated her body, and the only thing that soothed it was looking at Lin Tian.

On top of that, she sensed something off. Why were Shang Chan, Zhao Mengmeng, and Bai Bing’er all so close to Lin Tian? Her thoughts, already clouded by the enchantment, grew increasingly emotional. She didn’t even realize she was growing possessive.

If they would just back off, maybe I’d get closer to him…

Of course, she brushed it off as curiosity.

Finally, the bidding closed. Xue Xue collected the envelopes and pasted the bids on a public board, an unusual transparency rule in this elder’s private auctions. The results were revealed one by one.

“First bid: Zhou Wenlong — 160 million.”

No one reacted; he wasn’t seen as a real contender, after all.

“Second bid: Zhao Dongyun…”

She paused, a hint of shock in her voice. The number she read out made the entire room gasp in shock.