Chapter 41: Close Quarters

Half an hour quickly passed.

Most of the items displayed in the foyer and living room of this top-tier luxury mansion had already been successfully auctioned off.

Because the condition of these items was generally excellent, with many being antique artifacts and artworks, very few lots failed to sell—only one or two at most.

The successfully auctioned items commanded very high prices, almost all selling for several times their starting prices.

The highest-selling item among them was an Impressionist landscape oil painting hanging in the living room, which fetched a staggering 185,000 US dollars.

During this process, Xiao Ran had only made a move once.

That was when the set of One Thousand and One Nights coffee pots came up for auction. Prompted by the strong demands of several fans in his livestream room, he had raised his paddle a few times.

Things turned out exactly as he expected: every treasure hunter at the scene had set their sights on that classic Meissen porcelain set and joined the bidding.

As a result, the price of the Meissen porcelain skyrocketed, breaking 50,000 US dollars in the blink of an eye.

Seeing this situation, those few fans in the livestream quieted down immediately, and Xiao Ran also ceased bidding, putting his paddle down.

Even when guys like Leon raised their paddles, he didn't jump out to cause trouble or make things difficult for them.

This caused those fellows to breathe a sigh of relief, thinking he had changed his temperament.

Little did they know that Xiao Ran was merely conserving his strength and saving his ammunition for the upcoming battles.

In the blink of an eye, another mantelpiece clock sitting on the living room coffee table was hammered down and successfully sold.

Immediately following that, the item appearing on the large screen television was the pair of table lamps remodeled from Yongzheng imperial blue-glazed tianqiuping vases.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the pair of beautiful table lamps you are looking at now consists of two parts..."

"The blue vase at the lower half of the lamp is ancient porcelain from China, but it has some damage, making it impossible to accurately determine its era..."

"The colored glass lampshade on the upper part is a classic piece produced by Tiffany in the 1960s, and it is also an antique work of art..."

Just as Claude was passionately introducing the auction lot, Xiao Ran's livestream room had already erupted into a frenzy.

The moment the pair of imperial blue-glazed vases appeared, the expert from the Shanghai Museum sent a rapid succession of barrage comments.

Upon seeing the comments, Fang Yufei immediately began to broadcast loudly.

"Xiao Ran, Old Li from the Shanghai Museum says that after their research, they can basically confirm these are genuine Yongzheng imperial blue-glazed tianqiuping vases!"

"Although this pair of vases has some damage, they are extremely precious—a rare and massive bargain. You must win them!"

Before her voice had even faded, Xiao Ran responded in a low voice, full of unshakeable confidence.

"This pair of blue-glazed vases belongs to me now, and no one is going to snatch them away. Everyone, just sit back and watch my performance!"

Those guys in the livestream room started shouting and clamoring with uncontainable excitement.

"You've got to win that pair of blue-glazed vases, Xiao Ran! Then hold another auction right here in the livestream—I'm contacting the bank to mortgage my house right now!"

"Such great treasures cannot be ruined by those damn foreigners! We've got to bring them back to the country no matter what!"

While they were talking, auctioneer Claude announced the starting price for the pair of table lamps: 1,500 US dollars.

As soon as this starting price was called out, someone raised their paddle to accept it.

The person raising the paddle was precisely the Chinese couple who had asked Xiao Ran for information earlier.

Because they were not professional treasure hunters and had modest financial strength, they didn't have seats and were standing at the edge of the venue.

After raising their paddle to bid, the couple glanced over in Xiao Ran's direction.

As a result, Xiao Ran merely smiled and nodded slightly, without following up with a counter-bid.

The second person to raise a paddle was a white woman sitting in the front row, who was also a professional treasure hunter.

Shortly after, several other professional treasure hunters and onlookers joined the competition, including a Chinese-American man of about fifty years old.

That fellow had previously greeted Xiao Ran and exchanged a few words, so they were somewhat acquainted.

Additionally, that fellow Leon also raised his paddle to bid, entering the fray.

What this guy had his eyes on was likely the pair of antique Tiffany lampshades rather than the imperial blue-glazed vases.

As the number of competitors increased, the price of the table lamps rose accordingly.

In no time at all, the bids surpassed 3,000 US dollars.

Yet Xiao Ran had not made a single move, maintaining the posture of someone sitting securely in a fishing boat watching the waves.

Seeing this, the guys in the livestream room grew a bit anxious, and so did Elaine.

"Sean, aren't you going to bid yet? You're not going to give up on this pair of lamps, are you?"

Elaine asked in a low, surprised voice.

At that exact moment, that fellow Leon raised his paddle once again, accepting the 3,200-dollar quote.

Seeing this, Xiao Ran chuckled softly.

"Who said I was giving up? The good show is only just beginning!"

With that, he raised the bidding paddle in his hand and called out a new price.

"Right here, 4,000 dollars."

Immediately afterward, he turned his head to look at Leon, smiled, nodded slightly, and gave a full display of provocation.

Leon froze for a second, then gritted his teeth and cursed in a low voice.

"F***! This hateful bastard, I thought he'd changed his spots, but he was just waiting here to ambush me!"

While cursing, Leon also extended a raised middle finger.

The many professional treasure hunters who had previously participated in the lost airport baggage auction couldn't help but shake their heads helplessly upon seeing this scene.

These two guys were at it again; hopefully, innocent bystanders wouldn't get caught in the crossfire.

Little did they know that this was merely Xiao Ran's strategy, and Leon was nothing more than a pawn.

The worry of the other professional treasure hunters was precisely the result Xiao Ran wanted to see.

As he raised his paddle to bid, a wave of cheers instantly erupted in the livestream room.

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"Awesome! This guy finally raised his paddle to bid, giving me a scare for nothing!"

"Damn! Having money really makes a difference—even raising a paddle is so handsome, I'm totally in love!"

Before the cheers had even died down, another wave of laughter broke out.

Back at the auction venue, Claude had pushed the price up to 4,200 US dollars.

This price clearly pierced through the psychological pricing limits of several competitors; three or four of them shook their heads and withdrew from the competition, including the middle-aged Chinese-American man.

However, that Chinese couple was still in the running.

They glanced toward Xiao Ran's direction, conferred in low voices for a moment, and then raised their paddle to accept the price.

From their hesitant movements, one could tell they were feeling nervous and would likely drop out soon.

And indeed, that is exactly what happened!

When the bid for the lamps reached 4,600 US dollars, the couple shook their heads and withdrew from the race.

At this point, only four professional treasure hunters remained in the contest for the lamps, including the archenemies Xiao Ran and Leon.

The person who had accepted the 4,600-dollar bid was none other than Leon.

Before he had even lowered his arm, Xiao Ran raised his bidding paddle once again and drastically hiked the price.

"5,500 dollars, Claude."

While shouting out the new price, he even made a polite gesture toward Leon's direction.

Yet, he didn't even turn his head back, acting as though he couldn't even be bothered to look at his opponent!

This action caused very little physical damage, but was supremely insulting!

Upon seeing this, Leon was so furious he looked ready to explode on the spot.

"F*** you! You're a complete and utter bastard!"

That fellow sprang up from his seat, pointed straight at Xiao Ran, and began cursing a blue streak.

If this weren't an auction venue where fighting was prohibited, and if he wasn't deeply reluctant to give up, he probably would have charged over and punched Xiao Ran right in the face.

Xiao Ran turned his head to look at the guy, let out a disdainful, cold laugh, and said:

"Calm down, buddy. Don't be so impulsive. This is an auction, not your backyard—have some manners!"

"Stop wasting your breath shouting; it's completely useless and only exposes your lack of upbringing and lack of backbone."

"If you've got the guts, keep raising your paddle to bid. Maybe you'll win the next round, who knows?"

Leon was rendered utterly speechless with rage, his face turning pale then purple, practically steaming from his ears, yet he was completely helpless!

The other professional treasure hunters at the scene shook their heads helplessly.

"This Chinese kid is truly vicious! And so infuriating. If I were Leon, I'd charge over there and smash that smiling face of his no matter what!"

"Good thing we didn't offend this kid. Otherwise, he'd definitely mess with us too, and that would be a nightmare."

Meanwhile, Xiao Ran's livestream room was even more lively.

"Take it easy, Xiao Ran. Don't push it too far—people will hate you enough to shoot you in the back!"

"Let's get this straight: if there's a funeral banquet, I'm sitting at the kids' table!"

Although everyone knew Xiao Ran was putting on an act, they still felt a twinge of worry.

Of course, there were also plenty of onlookers who loved the chaos and kept egging him on.

The auction continued.

Seeing Xiao Ran and Leon fighting so fiercely, the remaining two professional treasure hunters shook their heads and successively withdrew from the competition.

However, Leon stiffened his neck and raised his paddle a few more times, putting on a stubborn stance of fighting to the bitter end!

Yet every time he raised his paddle to bid, it was met with Xiao Ran's unhesitating, massive price hikes.

When the bid for the lamps broke ten thousand dollars, this fellow finally lost his nerve!

At the bid of 10,500 US dollars, Leon hesitated for a moment, and ultimately made a throat-slitting gesture, announcing his withdrawal from the contest.

A price of ten thousand dollars had long since exceeded the upper limit he had set for the lamps—more than double, in fact.

He worried that if he kept bidding, Xiao Ran might suddenly pull the rug out from under him, leaving him stuck with the lamps and tying up a significant amount of capital.

If that happened, his subsequent auction plans would have to be altered.

There were still better items coming up later; how could he dare to squander all his money this early?

Little did he know the immense value of that pair of imperial blue-glazed vases, or he would have died before quitting.

After announcing his withdrawal, the fellow gave Xiao Ran the middle finger once again.

Xiao Ran couldn't be bothered to acknowledge him, keeping a smile on his face as he stared straight at Claude.

Just as he wished:

"Bang!"

Seeing no one else raise a paddle to bid, Claude immediately brought down the auction mallet.

"Sold! For 10,000 dollars! Congratulations to Buyer Number 106 for winning this pair of beautiful table lamps."

"Hoo!"

Xiao Ran let out a quiet sigh of relief, then smiled and nodded.

Inside his livestream room, the place instantly boiled over.

"Awesome! Xiao Ran finally bagged this pair of Yongzheng imperial blue-glazed tianqiuping vases!"

"No words needed—buddy is going to sell his house and land right now!"