Nova stood up from Cassian’s lap, her gaze fixed unblinkingly on the red-haired man.
Cassian was surprised by Nova’s sudden action and reached out to touch her. "Darling," he called with concern.
Nova finally blinked. Her stopped heart resumed its beating. She stared at Cassian and smiled lightly. "I’m fine," she whispered, and looked back at the red-haired man.
"Target information," she thought, her gaze locked onto him.
[Ding! Alarm!]
[Confirmation access locked! Unable to access data!]
[Threat rate: 0.]
[System upgrade in progress!]
Nova’s brows knitted tightly. "He is a system," she thought. "Since he poses no threat to me, let’s buy him first and investigate him later."
"30 million! I want him," Nova bid, her expression cold.
Hearing Nova finally bid, Dora was surprised. "She finally bid, but on something that looks so useless... no, she wouldn’t just bid on something useless to her. She must have seen something," she thought.
"I bid 80 million!"
Nova stared at her, her face devoid of any expression. "150 million," she bid again, her gaze retuning back on the red-haired man.
"200 million!" Dora bid again, staring at Nova with a light smile on her lips.
Nova was silent for a moment before speaking. "500 million!"
Dora’s smile froze. She glared at Cassian, who was just staring at Nova like a lovestruck fool. "Is he just going to sit there and watch her spend his money without a care in the world?" she thought, her gaze fixing back on Nova.
"Mrs. Nova, spending 500 million over something so casual—don’t you think it’s unreasonable? Also, it’s not like you can take out the money yourself. You are actually relying on Cassian’s money. That’s not good enough," she commented.
Nova stared at her. "Not good enough? Miss Dora, if your brain is tangled, let me use a proper slap to untangle it for you. Cassian is my husband. If I don’t spend his money, should I spend yours instead?" she replied calmly, her expression still blank.
Dora gritted her teeth and used a smile to hide it, her heart beating furiously in anger. "What are you saying, Mrs. Nova? You didn’t marry Cassian because of his money, did you?" she asked, faking a worried expression on her face.
Nova lightly shook her head in pity. "Not only his money, but his soul, his body, his heart, and everything else of his as well. Unfortunately for you, I can’t share him with you," she stated.
Dora pointed at Nova while staring at Cassian. "Cassian, look... she admitted that she married you for your money. She’s simply a gold digger," she said.
Cassian finally glanced at Dora, his gaze turning instantly cold. "Miss, aren’t you being unreasonable right now? I mean, we are married. What’s wrong with my wife spending a little money? Did I say I lacked money?" he stated coldly.
Dora’s whole body froze, and she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. You don’t mind... fine then, she thought, staring straight into Nova’s eyes. "550 million!" she bid.
"700 million!" Nova bid.
"1 billion!" A cold voice interrupted, drawing everyone’s attention.
All eyes shifted to the back seats. Sitting among the crowd was a handsome, black-haired man wearing glasses.
He was dressed in baggy white pants and a stylish white shirt. He released a helpless sigh, seeing everyone’s attention now on him.
He stood up and walked over to the empty chair next to Cassian. His gaze fixed on Nova as he smiled warmly. "Hello.... I’m quite interested in this thing. Can you save me some face and let me have it?" he asked softly.
Cassian’s gaze locked onto his, and his brows narrowed tightly. "What is this bastard up to?" he thought, immediately securing Nova’s hand in his own.
The red-haired man in the cage stared at the man who had spoken, and a low, mocking smile filled with absolute confidence hung on his lips. "You are simply underestimating her. She will never let go of whatever is hers, and whatever she desires,". he thought.
Nova stared at the man, her eyes glowing blue as if scanning his entire body.
[Ding!]
[System upgrade in progress... Target information requested]
[Target information downloaded]
[Name: Prince Chris]
[Age: 27]
[Status: Highest-ranked Mafia Don]
[Threat rate: 0%]
[Interest in you: High]
Nova blinked once. Taking note of the information, she cast a glance at him, then looked back at the red-haired man.
"Cassian," she called.
"Darling," Cassian replied, a smile appearing on his lips.
"Is it possible for me to make you go bankrupt tonight?" Nova asked, her gaze still fixed on the red-haired man.
"No, my love. Spend as much as you want. Even if I go bankrupt, I can still rise again in a few days. But... Going bankrupt is surely impossible," he replied.
"Very well," Nova replied. "2 billion!" She stared at Prince, who was still looking at her with a warm smile on his face. "I’m taking him," she added, her expression completely unchanged.
Prince nodded. "Miss Nova is so determined to get him. Raising the price further would mean I’m purposefully making things difficult for you," he commented.
Cassian’s brows knitted. "Be careful of what is coming out of your mouth, Prince. She’s my wife; you should address her as Mrs." He stood up, pulling Nova into his embrace immediately while staring at Prince with a killer glare.
Prince chuckled softly. "That’s a surprise. Such a young girl is already married; I’m genuinely surprised." He sounded more like he was provoking Cassian rather than being as surprised as he claimed.
Nova pulled away slightly, glancing at Prince. "You’ve done quite good research on me, haven’t you? So, the only information you got was my name, skipping the fact that I’m married? You are impossible," she commented.
Prince was tongue-tied for a moment before smiling genuinely. "I—" He couldn’t finish his statement before Nova cut in.
"2 billion. Are you bidding or not?" she questioned coldly.
Prince smiled warmly. "You are so interested in him, I won’t bully a lady," he replied.
"2 billion once!"
"2 billion twice!"
"2 billion a third time!"
"Sold!"
"Congratulations, VIP number 2!"
Nova moved toward the cage with the obvious intention of unlocking it but was immediately stopped by the hostess.
"How about you take him out first before unlocking him? What if he attacks you immediately after you unlock it? Though he’s weak now, but you look quite fragile, and this auction house can’t afford a bad reputation," she stated calmly.
Nova glanced down at the red-haired man, whose gaze hadn’t left her for a second. Without replying to the lady, she placed her hand on the heavy iron lock, and with a single, forceful pull, she broke it effortlessly.
The lady was stunned, staring at how Nova had shattered the lock with her bare hands. She immediately took several steps back, clearly terrified of the red-haired man.
Finally freed, the red-haired man crawled out of the cage and immediately wrapped his arms around Nova in a tight hug, tears of blood escaping his eyes.
"I finally found you," he whispered.
Nova’s eyes glowed. Her memories were empty. She was trying to recall something, but she didn’t know what it was. She couldn’t remember, no matter how hard she tried.
[Ding!]
[System upgrade processing...]
[Beep... beep... beep...]
[Permission awaiting. System Code 02 detected. Should I bind?]