Chapter 228 - 156: Verbal Thanks
Chapter 228: Chapter 156: Verbal Thanks
"But you’ll have to wait a few days!"
Wait a few days?
Gao Yuan couldn’t wait!
He was the type to seize the day, so he swept Xiao Xiao up and carried her directly to the bedroom.
So what if she was on her period? Xiao Xiao had just said she would thank him *verbally*, so he would collect that thank-you first. He could wait a few days to offer his body in return.
Although Xiao Xiao had only intended to thank him verbally, thanks to her full, soft lips, Gao Yuan didn’t hold back.
The results were quite satisfactory.
Since it was already almost five o’clock and Gao Yuan had made dumplings today, Xiao Xiao told the chef not to come over.
After the two of them cleaned up, Gao Yuan watched Xiao Xiao with a wide grin, his heart practically blooming with joy.
Xiao Xiao had indeed intended to just thank him verbally, but she never expected to end up using her throat.
The experience was actually fantastic. Coupled with the way Xiao Xiao kept looking at him seductively, the visual and mental pleasure far surpassed the physical enjoyment.
This was no small progress, and it was quite gratifying!
The two waited in the living room for Xiao Yu to come home, and Gao Yuan boiled a serving of dumplings for her.
"Wow! The dumplings Dad made are so delicious."
Gao Yuan dotingly patted her little head.
Ever since the equestrian graduation performance, Xiao Yu had started calling Gao Yuan "Dad" all the time, and she never switched back to calling him "Uncle."
Gao Yuan didn’t correct her either.
Given his relationship with Xiao Xiao, it was a good thing that Xiao Yu was willing to be close to him.
It not only brought him a sigh of relief but also saved Xiao Xiao a lot of worry.
While Xiao Yu ate, Gao Yuan and Xiao Xiao began to change their clothes.
Tonight, Xiao Xiao was taking him to an auction. The occasion was somewhat formal, so they needed to dress appropriately.
Although Gao Yuan hadn’t brought any other clothes with him to Shanghai this time, Xiao Xiao had recently stocked up on plenty for him here.
There were several outfits, from formal suits to sportswear. This just went to show how thoughtful a woman Xiao Xiao was; she always took care of everything in advance.
Gao Yuan never even had to worry about such things.
The three of them went downstairs and got right into the van.
In the car, Xiao Xiao handed Gao Yuan a brochure listing some of the lots for the upcoming auction.
Christie’s was considered one of the top auction houses in the country, and the items they had prepared this time were quite impressive; otherwise, Xiao Xiao wouldn’t be attending.
The auction lots, a veritable collection of masterpieces, ranged from jewelry and luxury watches to antique paintings and calligraphy.
The starting bids ranged from the hundreds of thousands to tens of millions.
Gao Yuan flipped through it and did happen to see something that caught his interest.
It was a top-grade imperial jade beaded necklace. It looked utterly gorgeous in the brochure, but when Gao Yuan saw the starting bid of 47 million, he immediately flipped the page.
’What a joke.’
The color wasn’t much different from a Tsingtao Beer bottle anyway.
He couldn’t afford it. He just plain couldn’t afford it.
He did have enough money on hand to make a few bids, but that was the money he was saving to buy a house.
As for the other items, he really wasn’t very interested.
His interests right now were still mostly centered on making money and having fun. To be honest, when it came to antiques like porcelain and paintings, Gao Yuan only knew who the artists were and how famous they were.
He couldn’t appreciate their deeper meaning.
They arrived at the Christie’s auction house.
Someone immediately led the three of them through a private elevator and into a private box.
That’s right,
they weren’t in the main auction hall.
Gao Yuan stood at the edge of the box, from where he could see the hall below clearly through a glass panel.
There was also a large screen inside the box that showed a direct feed of the auction stage.
At 8:10 PM, the auction officially began.
Gao Yuan had no idea why it didn’t start at 8:00 sharp.
Just then, Ms. Chen, Christie’s designated auctioneer, walked gracefully onto the stage in a simple yet elegant qipao. She bowed first to the floor and then toward the private boxes.
Gao Yuan had seen her conduct an auction before. Her bearing was elegant, her tone was measured, and she had excellent control over the auction’s pace.
But he had only ever seen her conduct them in English. Now that she was speaking Chinese, her accent had a certain extra charm.
The first lot was a watch.
A Patek Philippe.
From the moment bidding began, many people were already competing to place their bids.
At the proxy bidding section, staff were constantly placing bids according to instructions from off-site bidders.
Gao Yuan sat on the sofa, watching the watch on the screen in front of him.
The dial was blue, and while it looked pretty enough, Gao Yuan wasn’t particularly moved.
In the end, the watch was sold to an off-site bidder for a final price of 4.8 million.
"Do you like it?"
Xiao Xiao, seeing Gao Yuan looking at the watch, thought he might like it and asked.
If Gao Yuan liked it, she could still get her hands on that model through other channels.
It was just a watch worth a few million, not some priceless treasure.
Gao Yuan shook his head and gestured with the Jaeger-LeCoultre on his wrist.
The auction continued, and at one point, Gao Yuan successfully bid on a lot of red wine.
There were three bottles in total, which a doctor had begun collecting in 1960 and had cellared for over sixty years.
The bidding for this lot of wine wasn’t particularly fierce, and Gao Yuan ultimately won it for 1.2 million.
That was equivalent to 400,000 per bottle!
This was the first time Gao Yuan had ever bought such an extravagant red wine.
Xiao Xiao, however, had been very composed today. She hadn’t glanced once at the auction lots since entering the box, spending the entire time chatting with Xiao Yu.
Gao Yuan had no idea what the two of them were whispering about, but he noticed that whenever Xiao Yu looked at him, her eyes sparkled.
"Next, we have a piece by the master, Zhang Daqian."
The *Thousand-Mile River and Mountain Painting*!
This was Zhang Daqian’s 1947 imitation of Wang Ximeng’s own *Thousand-Mile River and Mountain Painting*.
Gao Yuan had seen this painting before—on TikTok.
He seemed to recall it being auctioned at Sotheby’s Spring Auction on Hong Kong Island, where it sold for 320 million.
He never expected that, just seven months later, it would reappear at a Christie’s auction in Shanghai.
Gao Yuan still couldn’t appreciate this painting. He could see that the rivers and plants were painted with lifelike detail, and that a white-robed figure stood on a cliff with their hands clasped behind their back.
If he had to say something complimentary about the painting, Gao Yuan could only admit that it had a nice name.
He failed to notice, however, that Xiao Xiao’s eyes were now fixed on the large screen.