Sister's Little Dog - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The brief banquet before the auction came to an end, and the hostesses began guiding the guests into the venue.

Still seething, I carefully checked the paddle numbers in the VIP section before being shown into the private box I had reserved in advance.

The auction officially began.

I didn’t pay much attention to the items onstage. Instead, I kept a close eye on the movements in the VIP boxes upstairs.

Whatever Song Qiao’an’s box wanted to bid on, I jumped in and drove up the price. If he wanted it, I raised it.

After a few rounds of this, the other guests in the hall also picked up on the strange atmosphere. As long as the two of us were bidding on an item, unless it was truly exceptionally rare, no one else would butt in.

Just like that, after I raised the price on Song Qiao’an seven times in a row, the other side finally couldn’t sit still.

Someone knocked on the door to my box. After I called for them to come in, the person who entered was the auction house manager I’d just met at the banquet.

“Miss Shen.” He rubbed his hands together, wearing the awkward expression of someone who had wandered into the line of fire. “The weather has been quite hot lately, so tempers are bound to run a little high. The venue prepared this fruit platter for you. Please accept it.”

Seeing that I merely nodded without saying anything, the manager wiped at his sweat. “Number 88 is Young Master Song. Given your reputation in the business world, surely you couldn’t be unaware of that…”

“Your items are quite nice. It’s just that I didn’t bring enough money with me. If the price climbs to a point where I no longer want it, isn’t it perfectly normal for me to stop bidding?”

The manager looked troubled. “Miss Shen, you…”

I thought for a moment. “I know both sides are your customers, and you’re in a difficult position. I won’t make things hard for you. Leave the fruit platter, and I won’t ruin your auction.”

In any case, the few times I’d driven up the price had already cost that box quite a bit of money. My anger had eased a little.

But the fact that they had sent the manager down meant Song Qiao’an had no intention of finding out who was going against him. He simply didn’t want a fly buzzing around and spoiling his mood today.

There was no point in me doing anything more.

Stopping while I was ahead and doing the auction house a favor wasn’t a bad choice either.

At that, the manager immediately let out a sigh of relief.

“Miss Shen, you are one of our honored guests. This is only what we should do.” The manager then had someone bring in two bottles of red wine. “In that case, I won’t disturb your enjoyment any further. I’ll take my leave.”

I waved him off.

For the items that followed, I didn’t bid against him again. I simply watched as Song Qiao’an’s box spent money like water, winning one item after another.

I lowered my head and repeatedly scrolled through the information my assistant had sent me about Song Qiao’an’s original identity, my mind a mess.

In the past, I’d always believed that whether in business or in relationships, I could cut through a mess with one swift stroke-clean, decisive, and without hesitation.

But now that the matter was right in front of me, I thought and thought, and only three words surfaced in my heart.

I couldn’t bear to.

After all these years together, he had truly been the perfect boyfriend in every way. He was practically one step away from taking out his heart and showing it to me.

I wasn’t stupid. I could still tell what was sincere and what was fake. Besides, given his actual status, what could he possibly want from me?

To be mocked for living off a woman and called my caged canary?

Unless he had some sort of special kink.

It wasn’t as if I had never read those hidden-identity novels before. Usually, when the protagonist discovered their partner was actually a big shot, they were supposed to be happy.

But when it happened to me, I finally realized how infuriating that kind of dishonesty really was.

While my thoughts ran wild, the ring I’d taken a liking to at the beginning was brought onto the auction stage.

I stared at it in a daze for a long while. Then, as if possessed, I still pressed the button to raise my paddle.

It wasn’t until the auctioneer called out my number three times in a row and brought down the gavel that I finally came back to myself and rubbed my brow.

Forget it. Although its meaning was tied to love, it didn’t necessarily have to be a wedding ring. Keeping it as part of my collection would be nice too.