She slept lightly. As soon as I covered her with clothes, she suddenly reached out and held my hand, softly saying, "I'm asleep."
I said, "Go back to sleep. I'll sleep on the other sofa. I'll turn up the air conditioning; you'll get cold when you fall asleep."
Jing Lei hummed and released my hand. She had been under high tension these past few days, and it was rare for her to sleep so relaxedly.
Master said he would take a taxi home himself after finishing today's work and that I didn't need to worry about him.
Tomorrow, we would go to the auction house; a tough battle awaited.
The next morning, Wen Siqiang called me. He was waiting for us downstairs.
Jing Lei had already gotten ready. I quickly got up and washed my face in the bathroom, then walked down with her.
Wen Siqiang was very thoughtful. He brought us breakfast, two steamed buns and a cup of soy milk each, which we could eat in the car.
I told Wen Siqiang to pick up President Lan, and we would go together.
We had plenty of time. The auction was scheduled to start at ten in the morning, so arriving around nine-thirty would be fine. It was only a little past seven now.
As our car drove out of the winery gate, I saw several people lurking suspiciously near the entrance. I asked Wen Siqiang, "What are these people doing?"
Wen Siqiang replied, "I don't know. I've never seen them before. Are they Prince's men?"
Prince's men were always dressed in black and short attire. These people wore all sorts of clothes and looked more like street thugs, the kind you'd find in nightclubs.
I called the security captain and asked him to add more personnel at the entrance and not to let any suspicious individuals in.
Even if these people weren't Prince's men, it was possible he had sent them to cause trouble for us.
There were about six or seven of them, all young, with shifty eyes. They were loitering not far from the entrance, out of place in the spacious and quiet surroundings. It was obvious at a glance that these people were not supposed to be there.
I told Wen Siqiang to drop us off and hurry back to cooperate with the security captain in keeping a close eye on these people, guarding against any unexpected situations.
There were still three days left until the opening of the raw stone base. Not a single mistake could be made.
I then called Brother Leopard, but he said he and Da Kui had gone to Tengchong and wouldn't be back until noon.
I could only instruct Wen Siqiang again to keep a close watch on the place. These people were one hundred percent problematic.
Wen Siqiang acknowledged and accelerated.
After picking up Lan Ya, we headed straight for the auction venue.
As we entered, Prince was standing at the entrance with a group of people. Prince was wearing a white suit today, with gold-rimmed glasses. His hair was slicked back as if licked by a dog. He stood there on his tiptoes, tilting his head, watching us.
The three of us didn't even look at him and walked straight inside.
I heard Prince speak in a nasally, peculiar tone from behind, "A few dogs and bitches, trying to fight me, hmph!"
I stopped. Lan Ya pulled me and whispered, "He's just trying to provoke you. Don't fall for it!"
I hummed and continued walking towards the hall.
Prince was extremely arrogant in front of me. No matter how I fought back, he disdained to even glance at me. Duke Kang had been a formidable force for decades. The sudden appearance of someone like me, who stirred up trouble, meant neither Duke Kang nor Prince took me seriously. They were merely playing with me, intending to crush me like an ant in the end.
In their eyes, we were nothing.
In school, I was bullied by the demonesses of Big Lai's family. In society, I was even dealt with by Wen Siqiang. Today, Prince was again trying to kill me. It seemed I was born to be humiliated. This, I would not accept. Why should I?