61: Chapter 61 Today's goal—to make money.

"Commercial secret." Jiang Jing smiled mysteriously. "However, if Miss Su is interested, we can chat privately another day."

This sentence both maintained a sense of mystery and cast out bait. Sure enough, a flash of interest crossed Su Yingxue's eyes.

"Then I shall look forward to it." She gracefully made a gesture of invitation. "The banquet is about to begin, and Mr. Jiang's seat is next to mine. Please come with me."

"Alright, let's go." Jiang Jing nodded slightly.

Su Yingxue nodded and turned to lead them to their seats.

"She's so beautiful..." Li Xue whispered, a hint of imperceptible jealousy in her tone.

Jiang Jing squeezed her hand. "Envious?"

Li Xue's face flushed slightly. She could tell that this Su Yingxue was no simple character and clearly had ulterior motives regarding Jiang Jing.

Jiang Yan remained silent the entire time, but Jiang Jing noticed her gaze constantly following Su Yingxue's back, her fingers unconsciously rubbing the edge of her bag. Clearly, there was some unknown past between the two.

The main table was located in the center of the banquet hall, with a gold-embossed menu in front of each seat. Su Yingxue personally pulled out a chair for Jiang Jing, a gesture that caused the surrounding guests to glance over—what kind of background could a young man have to be personally served by the eldest daughter of the Su Family?

"What would Mr. Jiang like to drink?" Su Yingxue asked. "We have '82 Lafite, and we also have champagne that is more suitable for young people."

"Champagne, then." Jiang Jing smiled. "Let's drink this for a meeting between new friends."

Su Yingxue signaled the waiter to pour the wine. The champagne bubbles in the crystal glass were delicate, shimmering with a golden glow under the lights.

"To new friends." Su Yingxue raised her glass.

Jiang Jing responded.

Their glasses clinked softly, emitting a crisp sound. At that moment, Jiang Jing noticed that Su Yingxue's eyes had become profound, hiding too many things that he could not yet decipher.

[Su Yingxue Favorability +5] (Currently 20)

The banquet officially began.

The light from the crystal chandelier suddenly dimmed, and a spotlight hit the circular stage in the center of the banquet hall. An auctioneer in a tuxedo walked onto the stage with a professional smile.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 'Rong City Children's Medical Fund' charity auction." The auctioneer's voice was clearly transmitted throughout the banquet hall via the sound system hidden everywhere.

"All auction items tonight were generously donated by everyone present, and all proceeds will be used to build the first children's specialist hospital in Rong City."

Su Yingxue rose elegantly and nodded slightly to all the guests. She stood under the spotlight, the small diamonds on her white dress shimmering like stars, making her look like a goddess.

"As the representative of the organizer, I sincerely thank you all for your tremendous support." Su Yingxue's voice was cool and powerful. "Every act of kindness tonight will bring hope to children suffering from illness."

Applause rang out like a tidal wave. Jiang Jing noticed that everyone present had their eyes following Su Yingxue, filled with awe and admiration. The status of this eldest daughter of the Su Family in Rong City's business world was clearly extraordinary.

"The first auction item," the auctioneer uncovered the velvet tray held by a waiter, "is a Burmese pigeon blood ruby necklace donated by Miss Su Yingxue, with a starting price of 800,000 yuan."

The ruby on the tray looked like congealed blood under the lights, exuding a bewitching and charming glow. Li Xue held her breath unconsciously, her fingers tightening slightly.

"Like it?" Jiang Jing asked in a low voice.

Li Xue hesitated for a moment, then nodded gently.

"Then let's bid for it." Jiang Jing whispered in her ear. "Anything you take a fancy to tonight, feel free to bid on it."

Li Xue opened her eyes wide in surprise. "But..."

"Don't worry about the money." Jiang Jing squeezed her hand. "Just raise your paddle."

Just kidding, Jiang Jing's purpose in coming to this party was two words: making money.

Otherwise, why would he be here with nothing better to do, and even bring Li Xue along?

It was just so he could use Li Xue's hand to get cash back; after all, Li Xue's cash-back limit was the highest, at 10 times.

The auctioneer had already started asking for bids. "800,000, does anyone have a bid?"

"1 million." Li Xue timidly raised her number paddle.

A burst of whispering immediately broke out around them. Many gazes turned toward this unfamiliar, beautiful woman, guessing her identity.

"1.05 million." A bejeweled noblewoman raised her paddle.

"1.2 million." Li Xue increased the bid again, her voice much firmer this time because Jiang Jing had told her very bluntly: "Bid hard, don't worry, I've got you covered!"

The noblewoman frowned. "1.3 million."

"1.5 million." Li Xue did not hesitate.

The discussion in the banquet hall grew louder. 1.5 million was already far beyond the market value of this necklace, let alone the fact that this was only the first item up for auction.

"Who is that lady?" someone in the back row asked in a low voice.

"It seems she came with that young man," the person next to them replied, "the one sitting next to Miss Su."

"1.5 million going once... 1.5 million going twice... Sold! Congratulations to the lady with number 18!"

Applause broke out, and Li Xue's cheeks flushed slightly with excitement.

She hadn't expected that she would really win such a valuable piece of jewelry, and she hadn't expected that Jiang Jing would let her bid at will without even blinking.

"Well done." Jiang Jing smiled approvingly.

Su Yingxue looked at Jiang Jing thoughtfully, a faint, almost imperceptible smile curling at the corners of her lips. "Mr. Jiang is truly generous to his female companion."

"Charity work should be supported." Jiang Jing's response was very diplomatic.

The second auction item was a contemporary oil painting, with a starting price of 300,000 yuan.

This time, there were significantly more people bidding, and the price quickly climbed to 600,000 yuan.

"800,000." Li Xue raised her paddle again at Jiang Jing's signal.

There was an uproar all around. This method of drastically increasing the bid was not common at high-society auctions; usually, everyone would tacitly increase the bid in small increments, leaving enough face for each other.

"850,000." A middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses hesitated before raising his paddle.

"1 million." Li Xue crushed the competition directly.

The middle-aged man shook his head and gave up bidding. The auctioneer brought down the hammer. "Sold for 1 million! Congratulations again to the lady with number 18!"

After two rounds, Li Xue had become the focus of the entire venue. People whispered and discussed:

[What is this woman's background? She's spending money like water...]

[I heard she came with that young man surnamed Jiang; she's probably his mistress.]

[Which Jiang family? I've never heard of such a person in Rong City...]

[It is said he's a newly risen tycoon, and I heard he lives in Shangshui Manor, just like Miss Su...]