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Chapter 484. The Mysterious Collector (2)

The largest auction house established by the Rose Group in Haidu is an underground auction house.

Jiang Jianxin arrived at the auction venue. Looking around, the ground was empty except for an archway decorated with roses. It didn't look like an auction venue at all, but rather like a flower market.

As soon as Jiang Jianxin reached the door, the red wig quickly caught the attention of the staff.

As a high-end venue, the staff at Rose Auction House are also male models and beautiful women with excellent figures and looks.

A pretty girl dressed in a rose-patterned dress warmly led her to the front row of the auction, where staff members brought her fruit platters and flowers.

Jiang Jianxin carefully examined the underground auction house.

The venue appears small from the outside, and it is indeed quite small once you walk inside.

There was no magnificent golden dome as I had imagined, nor were there any deep and mysterious private rooms or corridors. The hall was actually only slightly larger than an ordinary farmhouse courtyard, with a low ceiling, dim lighting, and a damp, old carpet smell in the air.

There was no distinction between superiors and inferiors; all the guests were crowded into this open space on the first floor.

The chairs were all dark brown leather, arranged in straight lines, their surfaces worn smooth and shiny.

On the armrest in front of each person is an old metal button and a small number sign, used to call out prices.

Jiang Jianxin looked around and felt that the scene was incongruous no matter how she looked at it.

The eager faces, coupled with the rudimentary equipment and crowded seats, resembled the scene in an open space at the edge of a village, where elderly men and women carried their own small plastic stools, reserving their spots early and waiting for the open-air movie to begin.

Jiang Jianxin paused for a moment and searched online for reviews of the Rose Group's underground auction house.

—The reviews were surprisingly good.

Many people say that this place has a "retro pastoral style", and the lack of private rooms is particularly "unique".

Someone even took a picture of the interior of the Rose Auction House and compared it with other high-end auction houses, ultimately revealing that the Rose Group is still the most high-end auction house.

The comments section was filled with praise, but judging from the words of a few passersby who inadvertently revealed the truth, these netizens probably knew that the most high-end item in this auction was the Rose Group logo posted at the entrance.

Jiang Jianxin picked up a crystal-clear cherry from the fruit plate and chewed it listlessly, his gaze falling on the tightly closed deep red curtain in front of him.

She knew that behind that curtain, there should be a group of workers working hard, their brows covered in sweat.

The "antiques" she brought from the supermarket are probably being carefully placed on the display stand.

Just then, a series of crisp footsteps approached from afar.

"Da da..."

The seat next to her finally welcomed its owner.

She was a slender woman, whose appearance was less one of wealth and more one of rigid dignified elegance.

Her face was covered by a thick, elaborate black veil, completely concealing her, except for a pair of eyes whose sharp light could still be felt through the thin veil.

Although her face is blurred, her taste is far beyond that of an ordinary nouveau riche, judging from her well-tailored, elegant, and modified cheongsam and the faintly visible antique jade bracelet on her wrist.

Perhaps to create a friendly atmosphere, the Rose Group arranged the seats in the first row to be unusually close together.

The two were almost a fist's width apart, so close that Jiang Jianxin could clearly smell the perfume emanating from the other.

The smell was just too strong.

It was strong and rich, with a scent similar to a mixture of tuberose and musk. It was almost pungent and made Jiang Jianxin's head ache.

She instinctively held her breath, intending to silently recite the breath-holding mantra to force herself to endure it, but the veiled woman spoke first.

"Did my perfume... bother you?"

The voice came through the veil, carrying a magnetic quality, yet also an unfathomable emotion.

Jiang Jianxin paused, forcing an awkward smile. She lowered her voice, trying to make it sound deep and unfamiliar:

"Uh, no...it's okay."

"That's good."

The veiled woman seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, turning her body slightly to the side:

"I heard there are some genuine antiques as the grand finale of this auction... By the way, are you a collector too?"

Jiang Jianxin had read the introduction before; the first row of the Rose Auction House was always reserved for well-known collectors in the industry. This woman's question was probably a test to find out more about her background.

"Haha, yeah."

She climbed up the pole and gave a mumbled reply.

I thought the awkward, polite conversation was over, but the other person turned out to be a chatterbox and immediately threw out a new question:
What do you collect?

This question came rather abruptly.

Jiang Jianxin paused for a moment, her mind racing. She carefully chose her words, replying with a mix of truth and falsehood:

"I like collecting old things and occasionally dabble in calligraphy and paintings."

She paused, trying to keep her tone casual:
"...My favorite thing is still collecting vegetables."

"I see..."

The veiled woman's words contained a faint, unreadable smile, revealing neither joy nor anger:
"I'm different from you, I like collecting..."

She paused slightly, as if emphasizing the next word, enunciating clearly and slowly:
"Blue and white porcelain vase".

The moment the words left his mouth, Jiang Jianxin felt as if the noisy conversation around him had been paused.

The strong perfume scent in the air seemed to be mixed with a strange, cold aura.

"Are there any blue and white porcelain vases worth collecting?"

Thinking of what happened a few days ago, Jiang Jianxin tensed up. She quickly thought of a phrase and deliberately chose an offensive one to test the other party's background.

If it were a normal collector, they would have already lost their temper and retorted or responded sarcastically when faced with such impolite remarks.

The refined lady beside him remained calm and composed, even giving an irrelevant answer:

"The bottle itself has no collectible value... As long as what's inside the bottle has value, isn't that enough?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Jianxin remained expressionless.

The "Bottle God" executed in court a few days ago was indeed just a scapegoat. The real mastermind is still hiding deep inside, and is even openly provoking the fortune tellers to their faces.

Jiang Jianxin chose to directly retort.

"...I'm afraid we'll only get empty bottles. After all, valuable things are hard to buy, and the Rose Group also likes treasures."

Her words both refuted the man's previous statement and reminded him that this was Rose Group's premises.

Even if the venue is terrible, once it bears the Rose Group's sign, it's still under the control of the God of Wealth.

If she really causes trouble here, she won't get anything good either.

"Ha ha……"

The veiled woman indeed didn't speak again, but simply smiled silently.

(End of this chapter)