Chapter 417 - 416: Invitation List

Hearing what Lu Yunque said, Yun Zijin sighed wistfully. ’Such a fine piece of blue-and-white porcelain, being sold off because the family business isn’t doing well... They must have made a very difficult decision.’

"In that case, I’ll give it my all during the auction and see if I can win it."

You can’t put a price on what you love, and Yun Zijin had taken a great liking to this blue-and-white porcelain vase the moment she laid eyes on it.

However, Yun Zijin wasn’t the type to lock antiques up in a safe. If she was going to buy it, she was going to use it.

Yun Zijin planned to place the blue-and-white porcelain vase on the living room coffee table and have someone arrange fresh flowers in it every day. That would add a touch of class.

"If you like it, I can swap it with another auction item right now. You can just buy it directly at its estimated value."

Auction prices generally come with a premium; otherwise, so many people wouldn’t bother going through an auction instead of just selling their items outright.

However, it does happen that an item fails to sell.

Of course, this was a rare occurrence, especially at an auction house run by the Lu Family. From the day they opened, they had only ever had one item fail to sell at auction.

"No, no, I enjoy the process of bidding and winning the item myself. If you just let me buy it and take it home, I might not be that interested in it anymore."

Yun Zijin was telling the truth; it wasn’t as if she was short on money.

Seeing that Yun Zijin wasn’t just being polite, Lu Yunque didn’t press the issue.

’Worst case, he could just help Yun Zijin win it at the auction.’

Yun Zijin didn’t know what Lu Yunque was thinking, but she refused to believe that, with her status as a wealthy landlady of Dijing, she would be unable to win a single blue-and-white porcelain vase.

Yun Zijin continued to look over the items for the auction, making a special note of anything she liked.

As for the specific prices of these items, Yun Zijin didn’t bother to find out. In any case, her savings were already in the tens of billions, so she was confident she could win any item she set her mind to.

The only difference was whether she liked it or not.

After they finished looking at the display wall of auction items, Lu Yunque led Yun Zijin to the auction hall itself.

"I’ve prepared a private box for us. It offers more privacy, so you don’t have to worry about attracting onlookers if you win a lot of items."

It wasn’t difficult for Lu Yunque to arrange for a private box at a Lu Family auction.

After he spoke, Lu Yunque led Yun Zijin to a private box on the top floor. Looking down from the window, it was impossible to make out what was happening below. However, the purpose of a private box was discretion; if they wanted to see the auction items, a dedicated cameraman would be filming and live-streaming the proceedings onto the large television in the box.

"What do you think? I had it decorated according to some of your preferences. If there’s anything you don’t like, I can have them change it right away."

"There’s no need. It’s just a box for an auction; it doesn’t need any special decorations."

Yun Zijin was telling the truth. All the fancy, elaborate stuff had always been Lu Yunque’s doing.

After seeing the box, Lu Yunque took Yun Zijin on a tour of the entire auction venue.

"So? Do you have any suggestions?"

After all, this auction was being held for the Ice Tree and the Fire Tree, and Lu Yunque wanted Yun Zijin to feel a sense of involvement.

Yun Zijin had only ever attended two auctions in her life, both times as someone else’s guest. To ask her for advice... she really had no experience in this area.

Yun Zijin wasn’t the type to pretend she knew something when she didn’t, so she told Lu Yunque very frankly that she knew nothing about auction arrangements.

Hearing her say that, Lu Yunque knew better than to press her further.

"Well... what about the invitation list for the auction? Is there anyone you’d like to invite?"

An auction wasn’t just an auction; for many, it was a social venue.

Therefore, compiling the invitation list and even arranging the seating were skills in and of themselves.

"Have you finalized your list? Let me take a look, and if there’s anyone I want to invite who’s missing, I’ll add them."

Otherwise, if they made their lists separately, their mutual friends might end up receiving two invitations.

Lu Yunque thought that made sense, so he handed the list he had drafted to Yun Zijin. "Here, take a look. See if anything needs to be added or changed."

Yun Zijin took the list and began to read through it, name by name.

"You even invited the Situ family?"

Seeing Situ Wenze’s name, Yun Zijin’s brow furrowed slightly. The Situ Family was a renowned old-money family in France.

If someone from the Situ family attended, Yun Zijin felt she might face some stiff competition in the bidding.

After all, the Situ Family was a clan with a centuries-old heritage. When it came to liquid assets, Yun Zijin feared she might not be able to compete.

"Mhm. They’re of Chinese descent, after all. The Situ Family represents the overseas clans, so it would be improper not to invite them."

Hearing Lu Yunque’s explanation, Yun Zijin realized just how much thought went into compiling such a list.

Situ Wenze’s name had been a surprise. Yun Zijin continued reading down the list.

There were no other surprising names, nor did she notice anyone missing.

"So, do you think there’s anything wrong with it?"

Lu Yunque looked at Yun Zijin.

Yun Zijin shook her head. "It seems fine. I can’t see anything wrong with it, anyway."

Yun Zijin wasn’t an expert in these matters, so one really couldn’t rely on her for input.

Lu Yunque hadn’t expected any useful advice from Yun Zijin anyway; he just wanted her to feel involved.

They stayed at the venue, and before they knew it, the sun began to set. Seeing the evening glow appear on the horizon, Lu Yunque took Yun Zijin to a nearby private kitchen for dinner.

It was another one of those private kitchens that Yun Zijin had never been to, the kind only locals knew about.

As soon as Lu Yunque stepped inside, a waitress hurried over to greet them.

"Welcome to Yunding Kitchen! Mr. Lu, it’s been a while since we last saw you."

The waitress stepped forward and began trying to cozy up to Lu Yunque.

Yun Zijin’s expression soured as she watched the waitress’s chest get close enough to touch Lu Yunque’s arm.

"Men and women should maintain a proper distance. Could you please keep back?"

Before Yun Zijin could even speak, Lu Yunque was already shutting down the flirtation himself.

As he spoke, he took a step back and turned to give Yun Zijin an aggrieved look, as if to say, ’Honey, I’ve been tainted!’

Even though there had been no contact, Lu Yunque still felt repulsed.

He couldn’t believe that Yunding Kitchen, a place he hadn’t visited in a long time, had hired such an unpleasant waitress.

’No wonder the place felt so much quieter than before. This must be the reason.’

After being rejected, the waitress’s attitude instantly turned cold. "Are you two getting a private dining room, or do you want to... get a room?"

"I am extremely dissatisfied with your attitude. Now, go and get someone else to serve us!"

Neither Lu Yunque nor Yun Zijin were the type to take insults lying down. A server this temperamental had only herself to blame if her sales were poor.

"You..."

The waitress wanted to say more, but the sudden intensity of Lu Yunque’s presence scared her, and she took an involuntary step back.

"I... I’ll go get someone else right now."