The auctioneer was flabbergasted by Lilia's offer. Luckily, the man managed to stop the hammer in midair. The guests were no longer whispering, but talking with each other excitedly. They were all talking about Lilia's carelessness in bidding while looking at her with contempt.
A businessman sitting in the third row said to his assistant, "Looks like that lady model got too much money after becoming famous."
Another guest said disdainfully, "The painting's maximum value is only 20 billion! Did the model like it so much that she was willing to waste money on a painting?"
"I heard that today's artists get paid well, no wonder she's so easy to spend money."
Almost all the guests there mocked Lilia, who still looked calm and confident even though she could hear everything they were saying. One of her hands gripped Jean's arm tightly, looking for support as that man would stand up and confront everyone who badmouthed Lilia.
On Jean's left, Sasha gave Lilia a hateful gaze. She did not think that this woman would dare to raise the price of the painting even higher. Sasha herself was not interested in the painting, but she decided to buy it after hearing Jean and Lilia's conversation. Sasha was determined to grab whatever Lilia wanted!
Sasha started thinking about her next move. She was sure that she would not be able to lose to Lilia in terms of financial strength, because Sasha had the support of the Hiroshi Family. Besides that, Lilia's budget was certainly not that much. Maybe this price of 30 billion was the maximum limit for Lilia. Sasha decided to keep the painting.
The auctioneer was still stunned with a look of shock on his face. The man only realized when his partner on stage reminded him. He hurriedly knocked on the hammer and announced, "Miss Lilia Pangestu offered 30 billion! Is—"
"40 billion!" Sasha interrupted the auctioneer without hesitation.
Lilia glanced at Sasha, but she didn't say anything. The corner of her mouth lifted into a small smile. Beside her, Jean also turned to face Sasha. The man folded his legs and leaned back into the chair in a lazy manner, but his cold gaze made Sasha nervous.
The woman immediately explained, "D-Did you know that Brother Samuel really liked Van Gong's paintings? I just wanted to give him a nice surprise!"
Sasha hoped that this explanation would be enough to dispel Jean's suspicions. They both knew that Sasha had never been interested in painting.
Jean returned his gaze to the stage. "… I hope he really likes it." He said dryly.
Sasha felt her breath caught in her throat. Jean's words seemed to show that the man knew she was lying about his brother's taste. But Sasha could only smile stiffly before looking away.
Sasha knew she looked pathetic to Jean right now, but it's all because of Lilia's existence! If that damned woman weren't here, Sasha wouldn't have to pay 40 billion for a ridiculous painting!
Lilia was listening to the conversation between the two while hiding her smile. Sasha thought she could take this painting home with only 40 billion? Lilia wouldn't let it!
Lilia met the eyes of the auctioneer, who was looking at her with anticipation. So far, the 40 billion that Sasha had offered was the highest bid along this auction. But the auctioneer seemed sure that Lilia wouldn't just give up. And the man was right.
"50 billion!" Lilia raised her card and spoke calmly. Her expression seemed to boast of her wealth.
Sasha's expression turned grim, while the other guests trembled at the figure. Where's all that money from?! Could it be that Lilia printed her own money?!
Sasha gritted her teeth when she saw that Lilia's expression had not changed at all since the start of the auction. Lilia's calm attitude made Sasha's jealousy flare up even more. What made that woman so confident?! Was it because Jean was here with her?! In that case, Sasha would make an offer that even Jean wouldn't want to help her!
Sasha raised her card and made the highest bid in the history of this auction.
"100 billion!"
For a moment, the entire hall was enveloped in silence. Everyone stared blankly at Sasha, as if their brains couldn't process her words yet.
Plok. Plok. Plok.
Someone started clapping.
Sasha turned and saw Lilia put down her card, then started clapping her hands with the biggest smile Sasha had ever seen. In an instant, the other guests joined in applauding Sasha's victory. The woman got a painting that was worth 20 billion by paying 100 billion!
The auctioneer knocked his gavel three times and announced in a trembling voice, "Um ... yeah ... okay, the painting by Van Gong was sold to Miss Sasha Hiroshi at 100 billion! We will use the money to fund the infrastructure development in the corners..."
The tension in Sasha's face slacked off the moment she heard the auctioneer, replaced by joy and pride. Sasha leaned towards Lilia and said, "Miss Lilia, you don't mind the outcome of this auction, do you?"
When Sasha said that, her tone sounded arrogant and her expression was triumphant. Sasha's gaze was fixed on Lilia's face, waiting for the moment when that woman showed an expression of hurt or humiliation.
But Lilia smiled broadly and replied, "Of course not, Miss Sasha. Congratulations on your victory! I was disappointed that I couldn't get the painting I wanted, but it can't be helped."
Sasha frowned when she heard that. She was sure that Lilia wasn't sincere when she said it! If Lilia was really disappointed, that woman should look sad instead of smiling broadly like now!
Sasha tried to observe Lilia more closely. She realized that even though Lilia was smiling, her hands were clenched tightly as if holding back emotions. Seeing that, Sasha nodded in satisfaction.
No one here could guess that Sasha's victory tonight would make headlines in tomorrow's paper and cause a new stir.
Items to be auctioned next are a pair of earrings made of jade, an ancient royal seal, and a wall decoration carved from wood. The auctioneer began explaining the information about the jade earrings from the stage.
At the same time, Chris got up from his chair and went over to Sasha's. The man lowered his head and whispered something to the woman. Then Chris left the auction room first, followed by Sasha.
Lilia watched them leave with a confused look, then she met a pair of dark blue eyes that had been observing her.
Lilia smiled at Jean and whispered, "I told you that you can leave this to me, right?"
Jean shook his head and lightly poked Lilia's forehead, "Brat." He said, smiling faintly.
Of course, Jean had guessed Lilia's true aim when the woman raised the price of the painting over 20 billion. His wife deliberately lured Sasha into spending as much money as possible on a painting that Lilia didn't want.
Lilia chuckled and returned her gaze to the stage. Her eyes were fixed on the jade earrings she had wanted from the start, "That incident wasn't entirely my fault. If Sasha didn't challenge me, she would have nothing to lose. But she couldn't help herself and was blinded by her desire to win against me."
Lilia shrugged her shoulders with an indifferent expression.
"Because of that, I let her flaunt her wealth the way she wants! That way, Sasha won't have enough money to get the thing I really want!" Lilia continued.
But Lilia did not think that Chris would call Sasha out when the earrings were going to be auctioned. She wondered how important Chris had to say to Sasha that she couldn't wait for the auction to end.
Lilia's mind was distracted when the auctioneer began bidding for her earrings at a price of 5 million Rupiah. Lilia smiled broadly as she imagined the earrings adorning the ears of Claire, Jean's older sister. She was sure that these beautiful accessories would suit an elegant woman like Claire.
"Are you going to give it to Sister Claire?" Jean asked as if he could read her mind.
Lilia turned to Jean in surprise, "How do you know?"
Jean just smiled faintly and squeezed Lilia's hand gently without answering her question. Lilia shook her head, feeling that she really couldn't hide anything from Jean.
Sasha's absence from the auction made Lilia win the earrings with ease. She got the earrings for only 12 million Rupiah. The other guests also didn't dare to fight Lilia after seeing that woman compete against Sasha for tens of billions.
Alex, who had been silent all this time, glanced at Lilia with a conflicted expression. The woman looked satisfied that she had won the earrings on her own, but Alex knew what had happened. The man's gaze shifted to the cellphone gripped in Jean's left hand. Alex saw it clearly as Jean sent a message to Chris telling him to take Sasha out.
This man was completely overprotective and spoiling his wife too much!
*****
Meanwhile, Chris and Sasha sat opposite each other on the terrace. Ironically, they were sitting at the same table that was occupied by Felix, Lilia, and Jean earlier. Chris leaned back in the chair and folded his legs in a swagger that made him look like Jean. On the other hand, Sasha kept her back straight and her hands folded on her lap.
Chris puffed out his cigarette smoke while stealing glances at Sasha. The woman in the kimono sat quietly with a stiff expression. She was very different from his expressive younger sister.
Chris sighed and finally started talking, "Stop looking for trouble."
Sasha focused her gaze on Chris and frowned, "What do you mean?"
"You don't know what I mean?" Chris straightened his back and hit the surface of the table, "Sasha, don't play dumb in front of me. The only reason I brought you here to warn you is because I was your childhood friend!"
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