Chapter 102: Attending an Auction
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Ye Qingran had asked Lin Shu-er to pretend to be sick to hide from Dina.
In the end, Lin Shu-er was really sick.
It wasn’t a serious illness. It was just that the day before the charity auction, she accidentally got caught in the rain.
The next day, she had a fever, sneezed with a stuffy nose, her head was buzzing, and she kept coughing.
Such a situation was really not suitable for attending the charity auction.
Ye Qingran, who originally only wanted to watch the show from behind the scenes, could only represent Lin Shu-er to attend the charity auction.
After this period of time, Lin Shu-er often used her illness as an excuse to not appear at the same time as Dina.
Therefore, the person who saw the Ye family at the auction was Ye Qingran, not Lin Shu-er.
Everyone was not surprised.
Except for Dina.
Dina had a vague feeling that something was wrong.
Was Lin Shu-er distancing herself?
Did she discover something?
But if she did discover something, Lin Shu-er would not give the role of the female lead in the movie she was filming to the spokesperson of her foundation.
The male lead in that movie was the second son of the Ye family.
This would tie the Ye family and the Foundation even more tightly together.
Dina dispelled her doubts in her heart.
If Lin Shu-er really wanted to cut ties with her, she would definitely not do so.
Dina had never seen Ye Qingran before.
She got someone to introduce her. When she heard that Ye Qingran was Lin Shu-er’s son, she immediately greeted her warmly.
She asked Ye Qingran again why Lin Shu-er did not come. She found out that Lin Shu-er had a fever and was in the hospital receiving an IV drip. She expressed some concern but did not say anything else.
She even invited her to sit with her.
Ye Qingran found an excuse and rejected Dina’s invitation. She casually found a corner seat and sat down.
Tang Tang also saw Ye Qingran, but she was not surprised.
She came over to greet her and sat beside her manager.
The charity auction began and the host went on stage.
First, she invited the President of the foundation to speak.
Dina stood on stage and smiled as she thanked everyone for coming. She thanked them for their support for the MI Foundation and for their support for the charity.
After the speech, the auctioneer went on stage and the auction officially began.
The auction items had been sent over a day in advance and the prices had been set. Everyone donated almost the same items, usually antiques, artworks, jewellery, and so on.
The price would not be too low, but it would not be too high either.
This was because most of the things they donated would be auctioned back by themselves or someone else.
Charity auctions were just for fun to them. Fundraising was the main point.
The ruby necklace that Lin Shu-er donated, Ye Qingran spent three million and bid back.
Tang Tang donated a diamond necklace.
Probably because she really wanted to get the spokesperson, her manager put in a lot of money and deliberately got someone to raise the price.
In the end, it was sold at a high price of more than ten million dollars.
As for the others, the bids were low in the hundreds of thousands and high in the millions, but so far, there weren’t even tens of millions.
Tang Tang’s necklace was considered high.
The other female celebrities who wanted to compete for the endorsement were not bad either. The bid price was also as high as ten million.
Dina was so happy that she could not close her mouth.
She repeatedly praised Lin Shu-er in her heart. She felt that her idea was really good.
Mu Qingxue donated a landscape painting.
It used thick ink and heavy colours to depict the beauty of nature.
The mountains and rivers blended together. The movements matched each other. The lines were distinct and harmonious. It could be seen that the painter was skilled and had a profound artistic conception.
When the host saw the painting, he let out an “Oh” and said, “It’s really a good painting.”
Then, he said in disbelief, “This painting was personally painted by Miss Mu Qingxue. Miss Mu Qingxue is only 17 years old this year, and she actually has such a good painting. She’s really a genius. I believe that such a good painting will definitely become a collector’s item in the next few days… Miss Mu Qingxue said that she hopes that her painting can be of some use today so that she can help those in need in the future.”
Applause rang out as everyone turned to look at Mu Qingxue.
Mu Qingxue smiled gently and nodded at everyone.
The host said, “The starting price for this painting is 200,000 dollars.”
As soon as he finished speaking, another bid was raised, and it was 800,000 dollars.
“One million.”
“1.2 million.”
“1.3 million.”
…
Many people raised their bids.
There were many people competing, so the price was raised as well.
From the starting bid of one hundred thousand, the price quickly rose to ten million, and it continued to increase.
In the end, it was bid away by a rich lady at the price of twenty million.
This was the highest price that had been auctioned off so far.
Mu Qingxue was overwhelmed by the favour. She stood up and bowed to everyone gratefully to express her gratitude.
Everyone applauded like thunder to express their gratitude.
Dina even went up and hugged Mu Qingxue.
Whether someone really bid such a high price or Mu Qingxue intentionally bid such a high price to bid back the painting, it wasn’t important to Dina.
What was important was that the price was high, the foundation was rich, and the fundraiser raised a lot of money.
The other celebrities who wanted to compete for the spokesperson’s position all had ugly expressions on their faces.
This included Tang Tang.
Everyone had put in a lot of effort for the spokesperson’s position and for the female lead.
No one had expected that Mu Qingxue would play such a trick. She donated a painting of her and even auctioned it at such a high price.
Regardless of whether she got the role of the spokesperson and the female lead or not, Mu Qingxue had successfully set herself up as a talented woman.
Based on the current situation, no matter how much money they auctioned off, the limelight would not surpass Mu Qingxue’s.
90% chance that the spokesperson would be Mu Qingxue.
As expected, even if there was a celebrity bid higher than Mu Qingxue, Dina still chose Mu Qingxue.
Once the auction ended, Mu Qingxue became the focus of everyone.
Mu Qingxue followed Dina and got to know the rich and powerful.
Everyone surrounded Dina and her, flattering Dina, complimenting Mu Qingxue’s beautiful paintings, and complimenting her beauty and talent.
Mu Qingxue smiled humbly and said that she did not expect her paintings to be so popular. Thank you for everyone’s likes and whatnot.
Beautiful clothes and beautiful hair.
Glasses clinked together.
Looking at the other celebrities’ envious and jealous gazes, at this moment, Mu Qingxue felt like a princess. She was the center of the world.
Dina brought her to Ye Qingran’s side.
At this moment, Ye Qingran was with Tang Tang.
“Qingran, I’ve been very busy because of the auction. After this matter is over, I’ll definitely visit your mother,” Dina said with a smile.
From her words, it seemed like she had a good relationship with Ye Qingran and the Ye family.
“Thank you, Ms Dina. I still have something to do, so I’ll take my leave first.”
Ye Qingran’s attitude was very cold and distant, as if she was not familiar with Dina.
After saying that, she left with Tang Tang.
From the beginning to the end, she just looked at Mu Qingxue one more time.
Mu Qingxue did not care because the winner today was her, Mu Qingxue!
——
PS: One more chapter to be added tomorrow. By the way, I’ll mention that it will be on the shelves on the 19th.