CH 76

Chapter 76: Spent 200 million to buy a piece of paper

As Yu Nian arrived outside the auction venue, Yue Qing’s call came in again.

“Where’s my handsome little brother?” 

Yu Nian smiled and replied, “On the way to spend money.”

Yue Qing burst into laughter, “It’s not just spending money, it’s like scattering money like the way celestial maidens scatter flowers!” After laughing, she turned serious, “So, Nian Nian, how’s your funding going? I asked an acquaintance who knows about these things, and he said the price of ‘Insomniac Scroll’ is bound to be high. He thought about it but didn’t dare to bid.”

Yu Nian found a secluded corner with his hands in his pockets, and replied, “It’s probably enough.”

“That means it’s a bit risky, right?” Yue Qing worriedly calculated, “Your earnings from ‘Elegant’ should be the major portion, right? Adding up the income from your music sales, endorsements, variety show appearances, copyright fees, and other miscellaneous income, it should be around… a nine-digit figure?”

“Yes, it’s about that much.”

Yue Qing exclaimed, “Nian Nian, your money-making ability is even more impressive than your sister’s!” She then returned to the main topic, “But you can’t buy the ‘Insomniac Scroll,’ can you?”

Yu Nian chuckled, “Sis, you forgot about one source of money.”

“What money?”

“The shares, bonds, and properties that Grandma held, all of them were left to me. I haven’t touched the properties, but when the shares and bonds matured, they brought in a significant profit, including the dividends from your family.”

Yue Qing exclaimed, “Ah! I almost forgot about that! Grandpa mentioned it. Aunt was the youngest daughter of the Sheng family, and when she married your grandfather, Great-Grandfather gave many things to her as dowery. Aunt was also very skilled in business! Um, just counting the family dividends from the Sheng family, it’s usually settled every two years, so this money should have arrived after the New Year, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. It’s not a small amount, and you should have received it too, right?”

Yue Qing was carefree, “Money comes and goes in my account all the time, so it seems like suddenly there was a large sum of money. I vaguely remember it now.” Her tone became cheerful again, “Well then, I can rest assured! But at the auction, no one can be certain. If you’re short on money, remember to find me. I set aside a sum of money specifically for you.”

Yu Nian felt warmth in his heart, “Alright, thank you, sister.”

Inside the auction hall, Yu Nian found his seat. Many people had already arrived, speaking various languages. Soon, the seats were filling up. Yu Nian didn’t look around and took out his phone to chat with Xie You. He felt calm and not very nervous.

At exactly ten o’clock in the morning, a well-dressed auctioneer took the stage, delivered a brief speech, and began with the first item.

The initial few items were just warming up, and Yu Nian wasn’t interested. He lowered his head and flipped through the catalog, cross-referencing what Rong Yue had speculated. Indeed, several valuable ancient paintings and calligraphy were from the Zhen family’s library and were up for auction this time.

The first highlight came when the “Snow Clears Scroll” was auctioned for 51 million. After that, the prices of other precious items soared. “Mountain Seekers in the Distance” went for 61 million, and the “Annotations on Spring and Autumn Classics” fetched an impressive 93 million, but none of them had crossed the hundred million mark.

By this point, the morning auction had come to an end, and people left their seats to head to the banquet hall for a buffet lunch. Yu Nian had little appetite and just grabbed a freshly made sandwich to ease his empty stomach.

In the afternoon, after a short break, the atmosphere inside the hall became more solemn. Unlike the morning, the first item in the afternoon was a scroll titled “Jianglou Distant View,” measuring 8.12 meters in length. The starting price was 40 million, and the bidding quickly escalated. After several rounds of intense bidding, it was finally hammered at 107 million. The following items were all valuable treasures, and Yu Nian had heard his grandfather mention several of them before.

As he looked at the detailed pictures of the items on the big screen, his phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated. He lowered his head to see that it was a call from Meng Yuan. He declined the call and sent a text through WeChat, “Brother Meng, is there something you need? I’m not convenient to take calls right now.”

Meng Yuan replied promptly, “Tell me the truth, have you ever used drugs?”

Yu Nian’s heart skipped a beat, and he furrowed his brow. He quickly replied, “No, why do you ask?”

Meng Yuan directly sent a picture, followed by a website link, and several screenshots in quick succession.

In the pictures, Yu Nian looked listless, with heavy dark circles under his eyes. He appeared much thinner, and his skin looked dull compared to the present.

Yu Nian replied first, “I can recognize it. The first picture is from my junior year, when I went with my teacher to explore the ancient ruins in Gu Yang River and spent two to three months in the Gobi Desert. After coming back, I immediately stayed up late to work on my academic presentation paper, only getting about 20 hours of sleep in five days. It’s not drug use.”

Meng Yuan replied with a string of letters, “WCTM! (What the actual f*ck!)” Then he said, “Click on the link and be prepared!”

Yu Nian guessed what it was about and clicked on the website link.

“It’s another big scandal! A senior schoolmate of Yu Nian has exposed shocking news: during his university days, despite receiving huge copyright fees, Yu Nian couldn’t even afford takeout, all because he was hooked on drugs! The whistleblower has a close relationship with Yu Nian and provided photos that clearly show him looking extremely haggard and with terrifying dark circles under his eyes due to drug use. No wonder he can’t spend all the money he earns; I wonder if he’s still using drugs now…”

[This year, what’s wrong with the entertainment industry? One after another, they’re being exposed for drug use! That songwriter from before, now Yu Nian is also exposed. It seems the entertainment industry is a huge drug den. Once it’s exposed, it becomes big news!]

[I had doubts before. Why could he sell songs and receive huge copyright fees but still couldn’t afford to eat? It’s either drugs or gambling! As expected, I was right! @YuNian, should you learn from your predecessor and use drug addiction as an excuse to find inspiration for writing songs?”

[Can you spread rumors without evidence? A single photo can prove anything? When I was cramming for exams and got bald from stress, there wasn’t much difference from this photo! Why not say I’m a drug user too? Fine, if you want to accuse me of using drugs, show the evidence!]

[@YuNian, get out of the entertainment industry! These so-called stars make money that ordinary people can’t even imagine, yet they hand it all over to the big drug lord. Does this do justice to the sacrifice of those anti-drug police?! Get out!!]

After reading all the content Meng Yuan sent, Yu Nian replied, “I’ve finished reading it.”

Meng Yuan sent a barrage of messages, “This is planned! Exactly at 3:30 pm, nearly ten marketing accounts and five forums with recognizable names will act together. They will release the news that you’re a drug user, one after another, with solid evidence. Every comment and reply from the water army will confirm that you used drugs, gradually deepening the impression of ‘Yu Nian’s drug use’ for those who see these comments. Moreover, the search keyword has already associated ‘drug use’ with ‘Yu Nian.'”

While intense bidding was ongoing on the stage, Yu Nian contemplated, “And it’s clever that they are saying I used drugs in the past, not now, right?”

Meng Yuan replied, “Exactly. If they said you were currently using drugs, you could prove your innocence with a drug test. But saying you used drugs during university is different; it’s in the past, and even if you want to prove your innocence, there’s no evidence! It’s like putting fish on a chopping board for anyone to slander you! The people behind this are trying to ruin your reputation and push you into a corner!”

Meng Yuan added, “Tang Xiaoke is not that clever. He’s probably in charge of spending money, while the one coming up with these ideas is most likely your senior!”

Before Yu Nian could respond, Meng Yuan sent another message.

“I’m already handling urgent public relations and controlling public opinion. President Xie is the most powerful. The moment the topic was brought up in a hot search, he quickly removed it. After that, he removed it twice more, and now the ‘drug use’ topic has been directly blocked and won’t appear on the hot search anymore. The fan circle is exploding, but at least the discussion isn’t spreading, giving us time to react.”

At that moment, there was a gasp in the auction hall. Yu Nian raised his head and saw that a Ru Kiln Sky Blue Glazed Brush Washer was being auctioned. After thirty rounds of intense bidding, it was sold for 183 million.

Looking down, Yu Nian increased his typing speed, “It seems there’s a turning point. Let me think carefully about the specific situation when that photo was taken.”

At this moment, another message from Meng Yuan popped up, “Your teacher just published a post!!!”

Yu Nian was taken aback, logged into Weibo, and because of the overwhelming comments and @mentions, the app froze for a few seconds. When it recovered, Yu Nian went directly to Zeng Hongying’s profile and saw that his teacher had just updated a Weibo post.

[Excavating sand and digging Hongying: Nonsense! Ridiculous! Full of mistakes! The logic is extremely flawed! First, the photo was taken in September of Yu Nian’s junior year. For the entire three months before that, Yu Nian was with the team, digging sand with a small shovel in Gu Yang River’s ancient city ruins during the day, and at night, he worked with the team of experts and scholars to organize data and make records. Try spending three months in Gu Yang River and see if you get tan and lose weight? If you don’t, then I’ll change my name! Moreover, there are detailed image records that show how Yu Nian got tanner and thinner day by day!

Second, there was no one around Gu Yang River. For three months, Yu Nian stayed with the team, eating and sleeping together without ever leaving the excavation site. If he was truly using drugs, could you try not using them for three months? If everyone on the team was using drugs, then all of us would have been caught! Is that possible?

Third, those with malicious intentions may not have clear judgment. After returning from Gu Yang River, Yu Nian followed me to He City to attend an academic conference. Coincidentally, Professor Kaning had a severe drug addiction episode during the conference, so the whole team had to undergo a urine test on the spot. Ha, did you guys not know that? They are truly evil and foolish!]

As Yu Nian read the last sentence, a smile crept across his lips. He could almost imagine his teacher’s triumphant expression when he wrote the post.

The comments below also surged with new messages:

[Call Professor Zeng! A historical master and the protector of his disciples! Ahhh, just as Professor Zeng said, those behind this slander are truly evil and foolish!]

[Words without evidence mean nothing! You say there’s a urine test, but do you really think we’re fools? How much money did Yu Nian give you, Professor? Your backbone must have broken from it!”

[Nian Nian is truly amazing! A real academic genius! In his junior year, he attended a world-class academic conference in Hecang City! Those who said Professor Zeng lied must be real idiots, right? The incident with Professor Kaning’s drug addiction caused quite a stir at the time. Even the university where Professor Kaning worked had to issue an apology and organize a check for all faculty members. It’s so easy to find this information, can’t they do a little research?]

[I believe that Yu Nian didn’t use drugs, but I also have doubts. Clearly, as a songwriter Si Ning, he received so much in copyright fees. How extravagant must his spending be to not even afford meals? Flies don’t bite seamless eggs, so there must be something wrong with Yu Nian himself to raise suspicions!]

While Yu Nian was browsing through the messages, the auction stage had already reached the final stage. Yu Nian chatted with Meng Yuan for a while and then temporarily put his phone away.

The last three items to be auctioned were the highlights of the event. The penultimate item, “Wandering Poet,” saw no further bidding from Rong Yue’s proxy after seven rounds. Eventually, it was sold for 110 million.

Yu Nian estimated that many people were eyeing the last item, so the price for “Wandering Poet” was slightly lower than he had expected.

After two high-priced items, the atmosphere in the auction hall remained calm, as everyone knew that the real highlight would come last.

Yu Nian sat up straight, his back tense.

When the image of the “Insomniac Scroll” appeared on the screen, almost everyone in the venue held their breath, not willing to miss a single moment.

Two minutes later, the detailed presentation finished, and the auctioneer said, “The value of the ‘Insomniac Scroll’ needs no further explanation. Starting bid, 80 million. Let the bidding begin!”

The bidding price increased by millions, and Yu Nian’s gaze remained calm, not rushing to join the bidding. It wasn’t until the price exceeded 100 million that he raised his plate and entered the competition.

“110 million!”

“117 million!”

…

“160 million!”

“165 million!”

“170 million!”

After breaking 170 million, only Yu Nian, one of the phone proxies on the left side, a brown-haired blue-eyed European businessman, and a red-haired blue-eyed Canadian agent were left in the bidding.

Yu Nian raised his plate once more.

“173 million!”

A breathless silence followed, and the representative on the phone’s side was the first to exit the bidding.

Yu Nian’s palm became sweaty, and he kept his eyes on the full image of the “Insomniac Scroll” on the screen, waiting for his opponent’s next bid.

“176 million!”

The opponent only increased the bid by 3 million.

“180 million!”

Yu Nian raised it by 4 million this time.

His fingertips, which had grown cold due to nervousness, started to warm up again. Almost the moment the auctioneer finished speaking, Yu Nian raised his paddle again.

“200 million!”

The auctioneer’s voice was hoarse. Yu Nian directly crossed the two hundred million mark, causing a murmur to rise in the room.

For a long time, neither side raised their plates again.

The hammer fell once, twice, three times…

“Congratulations!”

The tension that had been building suddenly eased, and the coldness in his back became noticeable again. Yu Nian raised his hand to shield his eyes from the bright lights and smiled—Grandfather, I did it.

After handling the necessary procedures, Yu Nian finally heaved a sigh of relief, feeling as if a burden had been lifted. He sent messages to Rong Yue and Yu Qing, informing them that he had successfully acquired the “Insomniac Scroll.” Just as he finished sending the messages, Meng Yuan called again, speaking in a hurried tone, “Nian Nian, is the news true or false?”

Yu Nian was taken aback, “What news?”

Meng Yuan spoke quickly, “Your name is on the hot search again! The tag is #YuNianYuan JiaAuction#. Reporters have spotted you at the Yuan Jia Auction, spending 200 million to buy a piece of paper!”

At the same time, a man wearing thin-rimmed glasses and carrying a black briefcase approached from the rest area on one side, blocking Yu Nian’s path. He said, “My boss’s surname is Xiao, and you should know him. He wants to have a talk with you.”