Chapter 38 So It Was Just Bragging!

“Ninety million! Sir, do you wish to continue?” The auctioneer turned to look at Lin Fan.

But Lin Fan merely glanced back at Ling Feng.

“Do you have ninety million?”

Ling Feng was momentarily stunned. He didn’t actually have ninety million, but if he borrowed from the friends beside him, he could scrape it together.

He said nothing, but the three young men with him spoke up.

“Between the four of us, our pocket money alone is enough to crush you! Not to mention ninety million—even two hundred million would be no problem!”

“Hear the way he’s talking? Sounds to me like he’s running out of money! I told you, he’s just putting on an act. He doesn’t have that kind of cash. To think he had the nerve to say he’d buy this hotel—what a joke…”

“Ling, if you’re short, the three of us can lend you some. Today we’ll make sure you regain your pride!”

Hearing this, Lin Fan folded his arms across his chest and shook his head with an air of helplessness.

“In that case, I won’t compete with you. I still need to save my money to buy a hotel. Since you fancy this painting, I can’t step in and take it from you—I’ll withdraw.”

He even put on an expression of regret, forcing a wry smile.

Only Ouyang Qi caught the fleeting glint of malice and satisfaction in his eyes.

She had never expected Lin Fan to be this scheming!

“Ninety million for the first time!”

“Ninety million for the second time! Going once…”

“Ninety million for the third and final time! Congratulations, Young Master Ling—you’ve won this three-panel ink painting of lotuses! Staff, please bring the receipt to Young Master Ling…”

At this outcome, Ling Feng was dumbstruck.

His three companions stood frozen as well, as if someone had cast a spell on them.

Everyone present saw Ling Feng’s expression shift instantly from smug self-satisfaction to utter devastation—a complex and almost comical mix of shock, confusion, anger, regret, and a touch of bewilderment.

The atmosphere grew bizarre. Just moments ago, the room had been tense and lively; now, a hush had fallen.

Many had already discerned what had happened and began whispering among themselves.

“That idiot from the Ling family—he’s been played and doesn’t even realize it! Absolutely hopeless!”

“Young people are so reckless. If he hadn’t started bidding against that man out of spite, he wouldn’t have been made a fool of. He brought this on himself.”

“Ninety million! For an ink painting with no value at all—what a loss. I wonder what will happen when he gets home.”

Only when the staff placed the receipt before Ling Feng did he finally realize he’d been made a fool of by Lin Fan.

He protested at once.

“He set me up on purpose! I refuse to pay!”

Ninety million! He didn’t even have ten million in his account, let alone ninety million.

He’d never intended to bid tonight; he just wanted to get back at Lin Fan.

He hadn’t expected to be the one outmaneuvered.

Lin Fan turned to him with a calm look. “What’s this, Young Master Ling? Don’t tell me you can’t even come up with ten million? That would make you the real clown here.”

“Didn’t your friends just say you could easily outbid me with your combined funds? If you’re short, just borrow from them. According to the auction rules, if you can’t pay, you owe double the penalty.”

Auctions had rules: malicious bidding incurred double the deposit as a penalty.

If Ling Feng couldn’t pay, his assets would be frozen, and he’d have to pay a ten percent penalty on top of that.

Besides the penalty, he’d need to pay double the guarantee deposit.

In the end, Ling Feng would pay dearly for his folly.

If the offense was serious, the auction house could even take him to court.

Ling Feng was well aware of the consequences.

Unable to bear it, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and try to pay up.

“Lend me some money. I’ll pay you back,” he said to his friends.

But the three looked troubled and shook their heads.

“I don’t have that much—only a few million in my account. I was just bragging, Ling.”

“You know my family’s situation. We don’t even have ninety million. Sorry, I can’t help you.”

Ling Feng exploded with rage.

“Damn it! If you don’t have money, why did you hype me up? Unbelievable!”

“You were the one who wanted revenge—we were just cheering you on,” one of them retorted. “It’s not like we actually have that kind of cash. Ling, your family’s richer than ours. Why not call your folks and have them wire you the money?”

With that, the blame shifted squarely onto Ling Feng.

His face turned a shade of green.

It had all started with these three goading him on, and now Lin Fan had set the trap.

The auctioneer’s voice turned stern. “Young Master Ling, if you can’t pay, we’ll have no choice but to contact your family for payment.”

“I… Give me a moment. I’ll call my family to transfer the money,” Ling Feng said, panic-stricken.

If the auction house contacted his family, his allowance would be cut to just a few thousand a month—no different from being poor.

He could only bite the bullet and try to scrape the money together.

The auctioneer signaled to a staff member, who escorted Ling Feng to the reception area to borrow money—just in case he tried to escape.

“Ladies and gentlemen, apologies for the recent unpleasantness,” the auctioneer announced. “But let this serve as a reminder: do not engage in malicious bidding, or the auction house will freeze your assets…”

He repeated the rules emphatically, a warning especially aimed at Lin Fan.

Everyone stared at Lin Fan with glee, doubting him all over again.

“Do you think that guy actually has the money? He just said he’d buy the hotel for three billion—was he just showing off in front of Ling Feng?”

“It’s possible! Three billion isn’t thirty thousand, or even three million. Even the richest man in Hangzhou might not produce that kind of cash.”

“This is turning into a farce. A perfectly good auction ruined by these two fools…”

Ouyang Qi, equally exasperated, turned to Lin Fan. “Did you really have to go this far just to set up Ling Feng? Now you’ve made everyone angry.”

“He brought it on himself. If he hadn’t provoked me, I wouldn’t have done any of this. Serves him right,” Lin Fan replied nonchalantly.

Just then, He Hongyu returned to the auction hall with two accountants.

The room fell silent again.

Everyone wanted to see how Lin Fan would resolve the situation.

If things went wrong, he might end up even worse than Ling Feng.

Ouyang Qi was on tenterhooks, cold sweat beading on her forehead. If Lin Fan couldn’t pay, the two of them would be thrown out of the hotel and become a laughingstock. If word got out, she’d have no face left.

Lin Fan also noticed that Ouyang Qi’s favorability toward him had plummeted from 50 to 35.

“My goodness, this woman is really pragmatic,” he thought to himself.