Without a second hesitation, Xu Shulan immediately raised his bidding paddle.
Xia Yunyu really could not hold back anymore. He looked at the man beside him. “You already bid on a diamond bracelet for me earlier, let us skip this one.”
“It is fine, I just feel this necklace matches you perfectly today,” Xu Shulan replied, his expression as he looked at the necklace filled with an air of absolute certainty.
“But this is simply too precious.” Indistinguishable whether it was a sense of unworthiness or an inferiority complex deeply buried in his heart, Xia Yunyu gently tugged at Xu Shulan’s sleeve. From another angle, however, it looked just like he was pinching the man’s cuff and acting coyly shy, which was captured completely by someone else’s eyes.
Xu Shulan didn’t stop bidding because of Xia Yunyu’s words; instead, he reassuringly patted the other’s hand.
Having long since made a name for himself abroad, this sum of money was a mere drop in the bucket for him.
Fortunately, Zuo Zichen’s auction possessed an extremely high level of confidentiality, otherwise explaining things would have been a hassle, and he wasn’t yet ready to expose those details.
Soon, the only person left competing against Xu Shulan on the floor was the last remaining bidder, driving the price up to a staggering astronomical figure of 85 million. Just as the auctioneer’s hammer was about to fall, a voice suddenly chimed in through the earpieces that the audience couldn’t hear.
The auctioneer’s movement stalled, and the flawless smile on her face instantly froze.
“I am very sorry, but this lot will become a private collection of the organizer. Please forgive us, participating guests.”
The grand finale lot being temporarily withdrawn was an unprecedented event; it was essentially smashing one’s own signboard.
Yet no one dared to say anything extra, because they knew who the organizer was, and no matter how displeased they felt, they had to swallow it down.
Xu Shulan’s brows, however, remained furrowed. Xia Yunyu softly comforted him. “It is fine, the bracelet is already lovely enough.”
Actually, what Xu Shulan cared about wasn’t that; rather, an unexplained vigilance had risen in his heart. Sure enough, when he took Xia Yunyu to sign and confirm the auction lots, his premonition came true.
“Miss.” The auctioneer who had been standing on stage earlier walked over to Xia Yunyu holding a box. “This is a gift from our boss for you.”
With that, she slowly opened the box. Inside the black velvet box, the Mermaid Princess’s Tears, which had been withdrawn from the auction as the organizer’s collection, lay quietly while shimmering with brilliant light.
“He said: Rare treasures are for beauties.”
Xia Yunyu’s face was filled with panic, instinctively casting a look of desperate rescue toward Xu Shulan. This item was simply too precious; how could he ever dare accept it?
“I am sorry, this gift is too valuable, he cannot accept it.” Xu Shulan refused on Xia Yunyu’s behalf, taking his little sister-in-law’s hand and wanting to leave right then and there.
Yet the auctioneer didn’t budge. Maintaining her smile, she closed the box. “Then I will have someone deliver it to your residence.”
Xia Yunyu was genuinely starting to feel scared now. After all, he was wearing women’s clothing and out with his brother-in-law; if this matter leaked, he didn’t dare imagine what kind of gossip it would turn into among that group of bored rich folks.
Just as he was caught in a dilemma, the environment, which had still possessed some murmurs, abruptly fell silent.
“You do not like it?”
The man’s deep voice rang out. Zuo Zichen stepped out from the path cleared by the crowd. Tonight, he was also dressed in a classic Western-style formal suit, but unlike Xu Shulan’s gentlemanly vibe, he completely projected the aura of a suited mobster. His gaze was light, and his sheer presence alone carried terrifying deterrence.
Xu Shulan instinctively moved to shield Xia Yunyu behind him, but to his surprise, Xia Yunyu took the initiative to step forward and voice his refusal.
“This necklace is truly too precious, I cannot accept it.”
His voice naturally straddled the line between masculine and feminine, and now, deliberately disguised, it easily took on the pure sweetness belonging to a young maiden.
“Then this gift wasn’t to your taste.” Zuo Zichen waved a hand, motioning for someone to take the box away, the expression beneath his mask unreadable. “Next time, I will send you something you like.”
With that, he departed as naturally as if he had only shown up to deliver a gift.
After this incident, even if Xu Shulan wanted to take Xia Yunyu and leave immediately, he couldn’t. Nearly everyone was staring at them, probing to find out who was hidden behind that mask to have won Zuo Zichen’s favor.
With no other choice, the two were forced to attend the second half of the masquerade ball.
Returning to the main hall, the orchestra struck up a lively dance tune, and couples were already swirling across the center floor.
Afraid that Xia Yunyu might be bored or troubled by the recent event, Xu Shulan bowed before him, executing a standard invitation for a dance.
“Might I have the honor of inviting you to dance a waltz with me?”
Startled, Xia Yunyu shook his head frantically. “I do not know how to dance.”
“It is fine, I will lead you.” Xu Shulan’s brows curved into smiles as he pulled Xia Yunyu into his embrace, the blue skirt blooming open in an instant.
A hand with a temperature different from his own pressed against his back, and one of his hands was held by the other man. Xia Yunyu couldn’t help blushing, yet he could only gently rest his hand upon the other’s shoulder.
How could Xia Yunyu possibly not know how to dance? During those years when he was raised neutrally as neither quite a son nor daughter, he had been made to learn everything. One could practically say he mastered every skill young masters and misses of high society possessed, only for them to lie dormant later on.
Now, as familiar dance steps were stirred to life once more, the lingering anxiety in his chest gradually dissipated.
The sea-blue skirt undulated like a tide, lifting and falling, possessing a breathtaking beauty.
Xu Shulan could also sense it: Xia Yunyu knew how to dance, and furthermore, the other was leading him to enjoy this sequence of steps.
Upstairs, Zuo Zichen leaned lazily against the balcony railing, gazing down at the floor below. Automatically tuning out Xu Shulan, his eyes were fixed solely upon that blue butterfly dancing gracefully across the floor.
A man whose business partnership had been rejected by Zuo Zichen not long ago keenly caught this scene and sent out a stealthy text message.
“Third Master, we will head down first.”
Zuo Zichen gave an affirmative hum, swiped his room card, and stepped inside. The lights clicked on automatically, illuminating the entire suite.
Although it was nearly time for sleep, Zuo Zichen felt zero drowsiness, his entire mind filled with nothing other than that blue butterfly.
Suddenly, Zuo Zichen’s sharp ears caught a faint sound drifting from the bedroom. Vigilance spiked instantly, every muscle in his body tightening as he strode over and slowly pushed the door open.
Yet the sight before him left him stunned in place.
That blue butterfly he had missed all night long had flutteringly landed upon his bed.
Approaching with some hesitation, Zuo Zichen could tell at a single glance that the other’s state was abnormal.
The mask had already slipped off, and those pretty, pale cheeks were flushed with a dense, vivid red. His eyes were swimming with moisture, and his brows were slightly furrowed. Lying sideways on the bed with his body curled up like a maiden holding her heart in sorrow, he looked unbearably endearing.
“Who brought you in here?” In that split second, countless candidates flashed through Zuo Zichen’s mind. He even wondered if Xu Shulan had drugged this beauty and sent her to his bed just to curry favor with him.
Unfortunately, the only person currently capable of answering him was completely out of his right mind. Sea-blue fabric spread across the entire bed, expanding outward alongside an irrepressible wave of lust.
Zuo Zichen admitted that he harbored desires, but he had no wish to take advantage of someone in a vulnerable state. He bent down, scooped the youth into his arms, and headed toward the door.
Even knowing that the other couldn’t process a single word, he still murmured, “Hang in there, I am taking you to the hospital.”
Yet the person in his arms refused to cooperate in the slightest. Arms wound around Zuo Zichen’s body like water snakes, clumsily climbing upward in a desperate quest to extract a trace of cooling relief.
“Hold me. Hold me.” Xia Yunyu’s voice was soft and hoarse. He felt as though a blazing fire was burning through his body, and his shallow consciousness could only think of wide-scale physical contact like an embrace to soothe it, even instinctively pressing his lips against whatever he could reach.
Soft lips brushed against his chin piece by piece. Before Zuo Zichen had even made it out the door, his body was already losing the battle to suppress its physical reaction.
“Be a good girl.” Threat laced his tone unconsciously, yet he honestly lowered his head, permitting Xia Yunyu to clumsily explore and press her lips against his own.
Xia Yunyu was naturally timid to begin with. Frightened by that tone, his lashes instantly dampened with tears, yet caught between terror and compulsion, he couldn’t resist pressing against the man’s lips again.
Feeling that clumsy kiss upon his mouth, Zuo Zichen let out a low chuckle, instinctively adjusting the youth higher in his arms. “You clumsy princess, you do not even know how to kiss.”
Zuo Zichen didn’t know the name of the person in his arms, but he felt she was simply a princess, a beauty akin to a precious treasure. Naturally, he wasn’t about to play the role of a modern-day saint under these circumstances.
Returning to the bedroom and gently laying the youth back down onto the bed, Zuo Zichen thoroughly abandoned restraints to his desires.
Even though he knew this wasn’t a good start to their relationship, he was a man who believed in seizing the day.
His expensive suit jacket was tossed carelessly onto a nearby sofa, and Zuo Zichen leaned over the princess on the bed. Just as he attempted to slip off that sea-blue long dress and press his fingers against the zipper at the back, Xia Yunyu’s attitude shifted instantly to one of resistance, his voice carrying an unmasked, genuine terror.
“No! Do not…”
Zuo Zichen’s racing thoughts snapped back to clarity with the sound of that voice. Rubbing his temples with a trace of fatigue, he came to his senses. Old age must be making me addle-brained. How am I any different from a sex-crazed rapist right now?
Reaching into the jacket discarded on the sofa, he fished out his phone and dialed a call. “Have the doctor come over, and bring some inhibitory medicine.”
Yet the beauty on the bed was practically burning alive from feverish desire, writhing her legs together on the mattress as large, unsatisfied tears rolled down her cheeks. A single glance was enough to captivate the soul, driving one to desperate lengths just to help her shed all this torment.
Knowing the youth’s current state was critical, Zuo Zichen forced down all lingering desires, scooped the person back up into his arms, and headed straight for the bathroom.
The sea-blue fabric instantly filled the entire bathtub. At this moment, Xia Yunyu resembled a stranded mermaid princess, suffering under the agonizing tortures of dehydration and praying for a rain that could wash away his torment.
Zuo Zichen adjusted the water temperature to slightly cooler than a normal bath, neither too icy nor lacking in effectiveness.
Sure enough, as the water filled the tub, Xia Yunyu finally stopped thrashing quite so desperately. Regaining a shred of lucidity, his vision remained blurred behind a layer of watery mist, making it impossible to discern who was standing before him.
Perhaps gripped by overwhelming fear, he mistook the man for Xu Hao, the sole person who could bring him a sense of security. Yet he forgot that those days had long since passed, and the person before him was not Xu Hao at all.
Xia Yunyu stretched his arm out laboriously. The sound of running water echoing beside his ears further clouded his judgment. With his arms dripping wet and droplets sliding down porcelain-white skin, he blindly and fragilely grabbed at the other man’s sleeve.
“Husband, I am so scared…”