Translator: _Min_ Editor: Rainystars
“Why don’t we just call the police?”
Emma Watson felt uncomfortable with the billionaires around her and felt that she was out of place. After all, she was just a celebrity that was somewhat well-known, and she got here with the help of Future Group. The old lady who sat next to her seemed very calm, her name was Evelyn Isabella and she was the president of the International Children’s Rescue Organization.
The reason why she was here was that the International Children’s Rescue Organization received a message from enthusiasts that a group of children in urgent need of assistance would be auctioned on the Diamond Princess and Emma Watson herself was a member of the Women’s Rights Organization, and she was a close friend with Evelyn Isabella, so Emma accompanied her to participate in the auction.
“Don’t say that, Miss Watson,” Evelyn Isabella said softly, “The law can’t do anything to them, let alone the police.”
“Why?” Emma had to ask the question that bothered her.
“All the sins are concealed under the glamorous evening gowns. You cannot accuse a caring rich man of helping the orphans without evidence. Not to mention the proceeds of the auction to the orphanage and all the orphans’ custody will be used for a charitable foundation to help more war orphans… The auction is in the name of charity, at least nominally.”
At this point, the elderly Ms. Isabella let out a soft sigh, and the wrinkles on the corner of her eyes seemed to grow deeper.
“This is the rule of the game. Neither you nor I have the ability to destroy it. Think about it, even a former president and her husband are involved in this. Compared to her, our voice is insignificant. What we can do is just try to photograph it and entrust it to a trustworthy relief agency.”
Emma was silent as she lowered her head. It was unclear what went on in her head.
The auction soon began.
The first piece of art to be exhibited was a painting from the Renaissance. The original owner was a collector, but his business had run into some issues, so he had to part with his love for the sake of additional capital. From the collection value of this work, the painting was certainly worth it.
But there were enough artworks in his mansion in Coro Island, and they filled almost every single wall.
Jiang Chen put one leg over his knee and just sat there. He did not join the bids but just paid attention to the sold price.
After several rounds of intense bidding, this painting was won by an old man about fifty years old for 50 million dollars.
The few items on display later were either some ancient cultural relics or works of art left by famous artists. Because there was nothing that interested him, Jiang Chen only raised his sign symbolically a few times, but when he saw the price go up too high, he did not participate further.
The auction continued.
Halfway through the auction, the light on the podium dimmed slightly.
The audience stopped their whisper one after another, and everyone seemed to sit up. By convention, when the auction was halfway through, a significant item would be featured. Jiang Chen noticed that many people’s eyes flashed with excitement.
Obviously, they already knew.
The host cleared his throat and spoke.
“…The next thing that will be auctioned is something unique. To be precise, it is not an item, but our love. An orphanage in the Virgin Islands, with a total of 100 children from war zones. Most of them are from Syria, but some are from the Balkans and Ukraine.”
On the big screen, in the photo was a group of girls who looked as pure and lovely as angels.
Their complexions were fine, obviously, they were well-conditioned, and even received a certain level of education. They didn’t look like they went through the pain of being refugees, nor did they seem to be battered by war.
Many people in the audience whispered in excitement.
The host continued to speak.
“Along with the orphanage, the custody rights of the children and the land deeds of the island where the orphanage is located will also be auctioned. The proceeds from the auction will be donated to the War Orphans Relief Foundation to help more people in need. I hope that the auction winner can shoulder the responsibility of the caregiver and raise the children to adulthood.”
“The price starts at ten million dollars, and the minimum price increase is one million. The auction begins!
“20 million!”
Almost as soon as the auction started, someone raised their placard and the price instantly doubled.
Charity auction?
Jiang Chen glanced at the Germanic man holding the placard next to him, as well as the excitement that flashed in his eyes. He felt that there was something deeper here.
“20 million once, is there still—”
“50 million!”
“50 million once!”
Jiang Chen looked slightly surprised.
There were only two rounds of bidding, and the value of this orphanage had already surpassed the previous Renaissance painting. He hadn’t noticed before that the moguls on Wall Street were so kind.
Emma, who sat not far away, put down the sign she was about to raise with a complicated expression. 50 million dollars was already beyond the price she could bear. Ms. Isabella, who sat next to her, sighed and expressed her powerlessness in such a crazy bidding war.
“Are you not going to make a bid?” Leslie looked at Jiang Chen who sat next to her, then smiled with her lips closed. “I thought you would be interested.”
Jiang Chen leaned back on the chair and asked nonchalantly.
“Why do you think I would be interested in charity?”
“Charity?” Leslie glanced at Jiang Chen with surprise in her eyes and she said somewhat unexpectedly, “Do you really think this is a charity auction?”
“If not?”
“Remember what I told you earlier?” Leslie smiled. “It’s not just the artworks and mansions that are sold at the auction.”
Jiang Chen took a moment to process the information, but then a look of realization appeared in his eyes.
Through Leslie’s meaningful smile, he immediately understood the message.
“You could do this? That’s an interesting way to operate.” Jiang Chen looked at the photos displayed on the projector with interest, then raised his eyebrows with intrigue, “Interesting.”
The Virgin Islands was an unincorporated territory of the UA, and the orphanage built on this island was equivalent to being in a lawless state. This reminded him of the report that Ghost Agents had only investigated not long ago, about the Clintons and the “Lolita Flight” story.
After several rounds of fierce bidding, the price of this orphanage had gone up to 350 million dollars.
This price finally made the interested buyers start to reconsider whether this choice was worth it. Many of the hands that went to raise their placards also stayed down because of hesitation. While many people here were worth tens of billions of dollars, the liquidity in their hands could not support them to just spend hundreds of millions of dollars casually.
At this time, Jiang Chen raised his placard.
“400 million.”
The people present all let out a gasp.
Although many billionaires gathered here, not many were willing to spend one-tenth of their liquidity on this.
The eyebrows of the billionaire next to Jiang Chen twitched and looked at him in surprise. After a moment of hesitation, he painfully wrote the number 500 million on the sign.
“500 million!”
The atmosphere of the auction was instantly pushed to the climax. Even the host was stunned for three seconds before he recovered and continued to shout.
“500 million! Oh my god, the price is unbelievable! 500 million going once…600 million! Oh, God will reward you for your kind deeds, thank you, generous friend.”
With how calm Jiang Chen looked, the billionaire next to him was no longer calm in his mind.
He couldn’t even help but wonder if this guy was here to create trouble. After all, with how young he looked, he didn’t look like someone rich. Perhaps Leslie Garcia, who sat next to him, could afford this, but her father would never allow her to spend 600 million dollars at an auction.
Elsa and her companion Mr. Berkeley Lewis also looked to this direction in surprise. Elsa was clearly aware of Leslie’s situation. 600 million dollars was well beyond the range of funds Leslie controlled, and they were very similar in this regard.
Could I have misjudged the situation? The man next to her is actually a billionaire who is hiding his identity? And his net worth is in the ten billion and above range?
Elsa frowned as she began to consider the different possibilities, but she couldn’t recall such a young Chinese billionaire in Nouveau York.
A subtle sense of uneasiness appeared in her mind.
Emma Watson, who sat not far away, also looked to Jiang Chen’s direction with surprise in her eyes. She stared at the familiar face in a daze. She never expected to run into him here. And what made her even more surprised, or rather, shocked, was the type of person he is…
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