Chapter 97: Auction

Half a month later, on that familiar morning, at that familiar place, Li Fuzhen, dressed in a silk cheongsam, stepped outside the shed and turned back to the man inside.

“Hurry up, will you? Honestly, could you move any slower? What are you dawdling about for? Seriously, are you even a man? You take longer to leave the house than I do, and I’m a girl. If you don’t speed up, I’m going without you. I’ll go by myself.”

“I’m coming, I’m coming. Stop pushing me.”

Li Hongshen emerged a little reluctantly from the shed. He was not wearing anything made of silk; he still had on the simpler hemp clothing, only with a layer of leather armor over it.

Seeing him come out, Li Fuzhen said nothing. She merely shot him an eye roll.

“I bought you several silk robes. Why aren’t you wearing them this time?”

“I’m not really used to them yet. I don’t think I’ve reached the stage where I can relax in silk. This outfit is better. It’s more understated.”

“Hmph. Whatever. Suit yourself. If you don’t hurry, the auction will start, and when you miss the good stuff, don’t come crying to me later.”

“All right, let’s go. Stop with the ‘honestly this’ and ‘honestly that.’ It hasn’t even started yet. You were so excited last night you didn’t sleep a wink, and you wore me out.”

As he spoke, Li Hongshen took out that white enamel mug from who knew where, held it to his mouth and blew on it, then slowly sipped a few mouthfuls of goji berry water.

He truly felt that Li Fuzhen had bought the right goji berries. Wherever he went now, he had to carry a mug with him. This was a life of health and preservation that had to begin now, or else the daily toll would be too severe.

At this, Li Fuzhen rolled her eyes again, turned on her heel, and headed off. But Li Hongshen, seeing this, looked hesitant and seemed unwilling to follow.

Li Fuzhen had only taken a few steps when she looked back and saw that Li Hongshen was still standing there.

“Are you coming or not? Honestly, you big grown man, what are you hesitating for? Did you do something you feel guilty about?”

“Coming, coming, coming, I’m coming. Stop pushing. I’m beaten by you, all right? What could I possibly feel guilty about? Sigh.”

Li Hongshen gritted his teeth and followed behind Li Fuzhen toward the auction venue.

After walking for about twenty minutes, they passed many tribal stalls and arrived at the outskirts of Dizzy Star Valley, where a distinctive bar came into view.

Li Fuzhen pursed her lips when she saw it and said nothing. She didn’t seem to think much of the place, but she still said nothing and pulled Li Hongshen inside.

At the entrance, Li Hongshen lowered his head slightly and drank sullenly from his mug, pretending not to see the two beautiful attendants standing by the door.

Once inside, they found that the bar was actually rather bright, not nearly as gloomy as he had imagined. Several large skylights were set into the roof, drawing sunlight into the room and filling the space with a soft glow.

Soon an elf attendant came out from the main hall and guided Li Fuzhen and Li Hongshen through it to a more secluded seat inside, or rather, a half-screened private booth.

Li Fuzhen ordered a few fruit drinks and a platter of fruit, then sent the beautiful elf attendant away.

“Looks like the place is pretty nice after all. I’d heard people say a bar had opened here, but when I saw those beautiful attendants outside, I got the impression this place wasn’t exactly decent, so I never came in.

If not for the auction being held here this time, I wouldn’t have wanted to come either. Seriously, you male lords are all the same, every one of you hopeless, with nothing but indecent thoughts in your heads.

Even opening a bar, you have to make it this elaborate. No wonder so many female lords don’t want to marry male lords anymore. Isn’t it just their own fault?”

Then she wagged a slender white hand in front of Li Hongshen’s eyes in a scissors gesture, opening and closing her fingers with a sharp snap.

“Darling, they’re them and I’m me. Don’t lump me in with them. I already have you, don’t I? How could I possibly learn from those people?

And you know my habits. I’ve never really liked bars and places like that, and I don’t have any bad habits in daily life either. I’m telling you, when people talk about a good man, they mean me. You can rest easy.”

“Hmph. Keep your own words in mind, all right? Anyway, I’m going to find the restroom. As soon as I got in here, I felt like I needed to use the washroom. Where is it?”

“The restroom? Over there. From the main hall bar, turn left, then go farther in. The men’s and women’s restrooms are separate. There’s toilet paper and soap inside, so don’t worry…”

As he spoke, his voice gradually trailed off, and by then Li Fuzhen no longer felt like going to the restroom at all. She simply stared at Li Hongshen.

“Go on then. Keep talking. Explain yourself properly. Why are you so familiar with this place? How many times have you been here? What exactly did you come here for? Come on, explain it to me.”

“Well, listen to me. I’ve only been here two or three times before, but not in the way you’re thinking. I know this place provides those kinds of services to some male lords, but I came here to promote goods. If you don’t believe me, go check the main bar. There are drinks from our family there—clear liquor, yellow wine, red wine, all of it. Really. I can even go with you to take a look.”

“You stay here and behave yourself. I’ll go by myself. Don’t even think about pulling any tricks.”

“All right, all right, go by yourself. Darling, you can trust me. I really am only here to sell drinks.”

Li Fuzhen’s expression turned frosty. She gave Li Hongshen a sidelong glance, then walked out of the booth in a few quick steps. Under his watchful eyes, she crossed the hall, reached the bar, and began speaking with the catgirl bartender who was mixing drinks.

Every now and then, she would look over toward Li Hongshen and gesture while talking, and at that moment a sheen of sweat began to appear on Li Hongshen’s forehead. He really had not come here to fool around.

Although, on his first visit, he had chickened out and only peeked inside from the doorway, too scared to enter alone. Later, after explaining the situation to Ross, Ross had eagerly volunteered to take him into the bar. The moment they went in, Ross threw Li Hongshen aside and went off to enjoy himself with a foxgirl.

Li Hongshen, left alone, had sat there in the booth a little stupidly. Fortunately, Ross had not forgotten the real matter. He still spoke to the bar owner and set up the connection so that Li Hongshen and the owner could meet and discuss things.

This bar was called Warm Wine Years. The owner was a senior student named Sang Ba. He was the one-thousand-one-hundred-and-twenty-second-generation inheritor of the place, as well as an official member of the Elite Society, and, in addition, the host of this auction.

Perhaps he had been charmed by Li Hongshen’s silver tongue, or perhaps it was simply the mutual support of fellow Elite Society members, but in any case, the owner agreed to help Li Hongshen sell his drinks here on consignment.

And because of that business arrangement, Li Hongshen had visited this bar two or three times, which was why he could name the locations of the facilities here. But he really had not come here to have any wild fun.

Before long, however, Li Hongshen let out a breath of relief, because he saw Li Fuzhen at the bar turn back and smile at him. She even made a heart shape with her fingers, then headed toward the restroom.

Phew.

Li Hongshen wiped the sweat from his forehead and sank back into his seat, his back pressing against the sofa.

At least he had firmly held the line in his heart. In his previous life, his grandmother had always taught him that dating without the intention of marriage was no different from hooliganism. Even in this life, he still followed that principle. Otherwise, he would have long since wanted to taste the feeling of an immortal pill.

Not long after, Li Fuzhen returned to the booth, plopped down beside Li Hongshen, and leaned against his chest.

“Darling, you’re so good to me. But you can’t blame me either. Who told you not to tell me? You made me panic all at once. Don’t be mad at me, okay?”

“You’re just making excuses. Do you know that this means you don’t trust me? It means you don’t believe in my love for you. Do you know how deeply that hurt my heart? I don’t want to talk to you now.”

“Please, darling, I was wrong, all right? How about this—tonight, whatever you want, I’ll go along with you, okay?”

At the words, Li Hongshen swallowed, then glanced at Li Fuzhen from the corner of his eye.

“Hmph. Woman, don’t think you can bribe me so easily. Let me tell you, I’m a very steadfast man. I absolutely will not be seduced by your little tricks. Put away your schemes.”

At that, Li Fuzhen lifted her head, revealing a pitiful, delicate face, her eyes seeming a little wet with tears.

“I just like you too much, that’s all. That’s why I acted like that. Don’t be angry anymore, okay? Or else I’ll wear that outfit and dance for you, all right?”

“Which one?”

“The one you always want me to wear, but I never would!”

“Really?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“A week!”

“However long you want me to wear it, I’ll do as you say. Just don’t stay angry with me anymore.”

“All right. This time I’ll be magnanimous and forgive you. Remember, there won’t be a next time!”

“All right. Come on, open up. I’ll feed you some fruit.”

Soon, Li Hongshen and Li Fuzhen were openly showering affection on each other in the booth, paying no mind to the eyes around them at all. The lords seated in the neighboring booths all felt a sour taste rise in their mouths.

But very quickly, their attention was drawn elsewhere. The electric lamps hanging in the hall were switched on by the attendants, making the whole room brighter.

Staff members carried an auction podium into the center of the hall, and then the bar’s owner, Sang Ba, also appeared in a silk robe, holding a cup in one hand and an auction gavel in the other, taking his place behind the stand.

He struck the gavel three times in a row, drawing the attention of all the lords in the bar to himself, and then said:

“I am Sang Ba, the one-thousand-one-hundred-and-twenty-second-generation owner of this bar. It is a great honor to serve as the host of this auction today, and I thank you all for your presence.

You should all have already looked over our auction catalog before coming, and you should be familiar with the auction rules, so I won’t waste too much time on formalities.

I hereby declare this auction officially open.”