Chapter 13: The Professional Spendthrift

The entire hall fell into silence; no one raised the bid, unless someone deliberately wished to offend him, or was certain the contents were truly valuable. After a brief pause, the auctioneer quickly announced, “One hundred thousand! The thirteenth young master of the Ye family has bid one hundred thousand! Is there a higher offer? One hundred thousand, going once…” The auctioneer hastily counted down, quite out of the ordinary compared to usual auctions where each call might drag on for several minutes.

But this was to be expected. Everyone present knew that, aside from the prodigal thirteenth young master of the Ye family making a bid, it would be hard to find a second contender—there was simply no competition.

In fact, everyone was curious, eager to know what was inside, waiting expectantly. Yet they were left disappointed when the young master, after paying, hurriedly dashed off.

He left in such a rush—could it be that the box contained a priceless treasure? Was that why the notorious spendthrift ran off so anxiously? Many were suspicious, but had they overheard what followed, they would have realized the truth was quite the opposite.

“Excuse me, to Ye Residence, please!” After hailing a horse-drawn cab, Tigress glanced at the box in her hands and asked, “Young master, do you know what’s inside?”

Though she suspected the answer would exasperate her, she couldn’t help but ask out of curiosity.

“I don’t know,” came the expected reply, the young spendthrift shaking his head.

“…You don’t know, and yet you bid a hundred thousand?” Tigress sighed helplessly and slipped the item into her spatial pouch.

It wasn’t as though the young master lacked a decent spatial ring; his was simply empty, for almost all his belongings were managed by Tigress.

There was reason for this. He bought things without any regard for their usefulness or value, and he rarely understood their function. Tigress, on the other hand, would always figure things out, ensuring that anything in her care would be put to good use.

Moreover, it hardly made a difference whether the items were with Tigress or the young master; after all, the two were inseparable—a flawless pair, or more accurately, a master and servant bound together.

“This is what true prodigality looks like. The others only waste money on things they like or that are valuable. I’m not like them. I don’t care whether I like it or not, or if it has any value. If I want to squander, I squander. If I want to be extravagant, I am extravagant.” The young master spoke with a grave air, tinged with disdain for those so-called spendthrifts.

“Ai… I knew you’d say that. Why is it you always have a different philosophy when it comes to squandering? Were you born to be a spendthrift?” Tigress felt even more powerless, and she found it odd—her young master was slow on the uptake about most things, his words often muddled, but when the subject was wasting money, he seemed perfectly clear-headed—though his logic was always infuriatingly twisted.

Since the young master had no idea what was in the box, what was the rush? Of course, it was because he needed to hurry home to the palace for the birthday banquet he and his “wife” would be attending.

They’d already spent over an hour and a half at the auction house, reaching the limit; if they didn’t return soon, his parents would send someone to drag him back.

“You little rascal, what time do you call this? Didn’t I tell you to come back early today? Enough talk, get in the carriage! Taiya, help him change clothes in the carriage.” As the Ye family’s infamous spendthrift arrived at the gates, just stepping off the carriage, someone grabbed him by the ear and dragged him to the waiting luxurious coach.

“Mama, that hurts…” he cried. The one twisting his ear was none other than Long Anqi, waiting at the door—one of only two people in the world who would treat him this way.

Why only two? Because, aside from his mother, the other was his elder sister, Lan Yu Ye.

“Haha, serves you right! That’s what you get for sneaking off when I wasn’t looking,” Lan Yu Ye clapped her hands with glee, clearly finding satisfaction in his misfortune.

“I did not!” he protested, shaking his head.

“Oh? Didn’t I ask you to come with me?” Lan Yu Ye glared.

“You did,” he admitted, nodding slowly.

“Then how can you say you didn’t!” She rapped him on the forehead.

“But I never said I’d go with you!”

Lan Yu Ye was speechless.

“I don’t like going shopping with you. You always dress me up like yourself,” he explained, revealing why he avoided accompanying her.

Lan Yu Ye fell silent again.

Perhaps this requires some explanation. When the thirteenth young master spoke of being dressed like Lan Yu Ye, he didn’t mean in disguise as her, but rather in her style—in short, she dressed him up as a girl.

Back then, he was still a child, with bright, sparkling eyes and fair, delicate skin. When dressed as a girl, he could have been called breathtakingly beautiful—an exaggeration, perhaps, but undeniably, he made for a very cute girl.

After all, at ten or so years old, anyone dressed up by Lan Yu Ye would have been equally charming.

“It’s your own fault, Xiaoyu—now your little brother is afraid of you.” A lovely, gentle girl nearby laughed.

“Second sister, you’re teasing me! You were part of it too. In fact, it was your idea,” Lan Yu Ye protested. She still remembered that when she’d asked her brother to try on her clothes, it was her second sister who’d said he was so cute, and that if they dressed him up, they’d have another little sister.

“Was I?” Second sister feigned ignorance.

“Hmph!”

“Enough chatter. Let’s go—head for the palace.” Ye Chengtian waved his hand, cutting off his children’s banter and signaling the journey to begin.

Inside the carriage, as Tigress and Long Anqi helped the young master change, Lan Yu Ye once more suggested he wear her evening gown, only to be promptly smacked by Long Anqi.

The young master looked pitifully at Lan Yu Ye, gently rubbing the spot where Long Anqi had struck her. He did care for this sister, after all.

Though Lan Yu Ye often teased and tricked her brother, there was no denying her deep affection; she would never let anyone bully him.

“Little brother, why don’t you wear it for me when we get back…” Lan Yu Ye coaxed.

“No!” he cried, darting to the other side of the carriage to hide beside Long Anqi, leaving Lan Yu Ye to glare helplessly.

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