The game starts by hacking Alipay and then goes on a crazy spree of eating young girls.

Chen Ye looked up at the sound.

I noticed an old man with his back to me. Everyone else was making jokes and smiling, but he had a straight face.

Chen Ye didn't even need to guess to know his identity.

There was only one person with whom I had a grudge.

Who else could it be but Fu Lei?

Seeing that the atmosphere was getting tense, Li Hualan immediately stopped Fu Lei from saying what he was about to say.

Since Li Hualan had already spoken, Fu Lei had no choice but to give up.

But the look in his eyes towards Chen Ye still held no kindness whatsoever.

However, Chen Ye never looked at him directly, greeting everyone around him but ignoring him the only one.

After the banquet began, Chen Ye was seated to the right of Li Hualan, a seating arrangement that caused several people present to exchange glances.

Fu Lei sat at the other end of the long table, about ten people away, his face ashen.

The dishes were mainly Cantonese cuisine, including poached chicken, steamed grouper, and braised fish maw in abalone sauce. Two bottles of Romanée-Conti were on the table, and Chen Ye picked up his glass and took a sip.

Halfway through the meal, Fu Lei suddenly put down his chopsticks. His voice wasn't loud, but everyone at the table could hear him clearly: "I don't know how young people these days learned manners. They have no manners at all in front of their elders. It's one thing to snatch things that others want, but they don't even greet people. I don't know how their families raised them."

Everyone at the table paused for a moment. Zheng Youyou gripped her chopsticks tightly, and Zheng Guodong, his face pale, was about to smooth things over when Chen Ye spoke first: "Mr. Fu, are you referring to me?"

"What do you think?" Fu Lei asked, raising his chin.

"Yesterday at the auction, I asked you to give way, but you insisted on bidding 80 million and took it without a single polite word. Today, when we meet, you don't even greet me. Didn't your parents teach you manners?"

The table was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Li Hualan took a sip of her wine without saying a word, her gaze sweeping between the two men, wondering how Chen Ye would respond.

Chen Ye chuckled and leaned back in his chair, speaking in a calm and unhurried tone: "Master Fu, the highest bidder wins at the auction, that's the rule."

"If I offer 80 million and you can't afford it, that means you're not capable enough. How does it become me robbing you? As for greetings, I'm polite to those who are, but I can't be bothered with those who aren't."

Fu Lei's face flushed red: "You!"

"Besides," Chen Ye said, not giving him a chance to interrupt, "respect is mutual. You've lived for decades, half your body is practically in the ground, don't you understand this principle?"

"Since we met at the auction, have I ever said a single bad word about you? On the contrary, you've been subtly and overtly mocking me."

As soon as he said this, everyone at the table fell silent. Fu Lei opened his mouth twice but couldn't say anything. His face turned from red to white, and his fingers clenched into fists on the table.

The people nearby exchanged glances, all conveying the same message: this young man was not only rich but also brazen, offering no leeway whatsoever.

Li Hualan finally spoke, her voice gentle yet weighty: "Old Fu, Xiao Chen is right. Auctions are always about the highest bidder winning. Why are you, an elder, arguing with a junior?"

Fu Lei's lips trembled twice; he wanted to refute but dared not.

Li Hualan is of a higher generation and stronger than him; he can't afford to offend her.

After holding it in for a while, I stood up and said, "I'm not feeling well, I'll go back first," and walked towards the door without saying goodbye.

He paused for a moment as he passed Chen Ye, but Chen Ye didn't even turn his head and continued picking at his food. Fu Lei gritted his teeth and strode out, the door slamming shut behind him.

The restaurant was silent for several seconds before Mr. Zhao raised his glass first: "Young Chen, you have quite the spirit. Let me toast you."

Several people around them raised their glasses, and the atmosphere immediately relaxed. Zheng Youyou gently nudged Chen Ye's leg under the table, a smile playing on her lips.

Zheng Guodong let out a long breath and took a big gulp of wine.

Li Hualan waited until everyone had calmed down before slowly speaking: "Xiao Chen, Lao Fu just has a bit of a temper. I'll find an opportunity to have a meal with you all in a couple of days and we can talk things out."

Chen Ye nodded: "I'll listen to Elder Li."

After the meal, Li Hualan asked the housekeeper to take everyone on a tour of the underground collection room.

The environment is kept at a constant temperature and humidity. After passing through the iron gate, there is an exhibition hall of at least 300 square meters with soft and precise lighting. Each collection is placed individually in a glass display case.

There are more than a dozen paintings and calligraphy hanging on the wall, and the display cases contain porcelain, jade and bronze artifacts, as well as several Western antiques that have returned from overseas.

Chen Ye walked around inside, silently estimating its value. He figured it was probably worth over a billion.

Chen Ye's gaze fell on the first exhibit, a Ming Chenghua doucai chicken cup. The cup was small and round, with several chicks, rocks and flowers painted on the outer wall. The colors were clear and elegant, and it shone with a warm luster under the light.

The sign reads "Ming Chenghua Doucai Chicken Cup," and next to it is a reduced-size copy of a 2014 Sotheby's Hong Kong auction record showing a sale price of HK$2.8 million.

Chen Ye's eyelids twitched. Over two hundred million! A chicken cup!

"So you were the one who bought this Ming Chenghua chicken cup!"

The eyes of those around them lit up the moment they saw the cup, including the Zheng father and daughter.

"Old Li is still Old Li, truly worthy of being a big brother in our Chinese antique collecting circle, he has real talent!"

"So that mysterious buyer was Old Li..."

"..."

Amidst the constant sycophantic voices around her, Li Hualan stroked her short, graying beard with a look of pure enjoyment.

"Hahaha... I'll show you the others now."

Then Li Hualan led the group to a bronze artifact.

Looking at the bronze artifact in front of him, he slowly introduced it: "This is a bronze you vessel with a handle from the late Shang Dynasty. I bought it from a foreign private collector for 1300 million US dollars."

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately looked over and saw that its entire body was covered with a uniform copper-green rust color, the handle was cast with animal face patterns, and the body was engraved with intricate taotie patterns. Beneath the rust color, the original dark blue color of bronze was faintly visible.

The label reads "Late Shang Dynasty Bronze Animal Mask Pattern Handled You," and the provenance is indicated next to it. It was returned from overseas in the 1980s and has been identified by several experts as an important sacrificial vessel from the Shang Dynasty. Its market value is estimated at 80 to 90 million yuan.

Mr. Zhao leaned closer for a second look: "Bronze artifacts from the Shang and Zhou dynasties, preserved in such good condition, are extremely rare on the market. They'd cost well over 90 million."

The crowd immediately showered Li Hualan with praise, calling him the pride of the Chinese people and the most patriotic businessman in China.

Although this old man is almost 80 years old, who doesn't love to hear flattery?

The more they praised Li Hualan, the happier they became, and the more enthusiastic they became in introducing her.

"Come on! Let me show you the third item, which is also one of my prized collections."

The third item is a Qing Dynasty court painting depicting a scene of Emperor Qianlong's stopover during his southern tour. The figures, clothing, carriages, ceremonial guards, mountains, and pavilions are painted with great detail, and several of Emperor Qianlong's imperial seals are stamped in the lower right corner of the painting.

The sign reads "Qing Dynasty, Xu Yang's 'Qianlong's Southern Inspection Tour' Scroll (partial)," followed by a line of smaller text. A complete scroll of the same type is housed in the National Museum of China. This section is an important part that has been lost to private hands and is estimated to be worth 95 million.

"This is a work by Xu Yang, a painter from the Qing court," Mr. Zhao shook his head. "The last time this painting appeared on the market was ten years ago, and the estimated price of 95 million is already considered conservative."

"This is actually a painting by Xu Yang! And it's a partial scroll of Emperor Qianlong's Southern Inspection Tour! Mr. Li, you are truly amazing..."

"Yes, yes, I reckon Mr. Li probably even has some genuine works by Tang Bohu."

"Mr. Li, I bet these aren't your most prized possessions. Could you show us something real? Show us the real treasures!"

"Yes, Mr. Li, you are the most influential figure in our circle. You are the pillar of our Chinese antique collecting community!"

"..."

In order to see the real treasures, they simply praised everything they could find, showering Li Lanhua with compliments that made them ecstatic.

After a few seconds of silence, Li Lanhua slowly sighed.

"Sigh... I really can't do anything with you guys, so I'll show you what real collectibles are like."