327: Chapter 327 Overestimating One's Abilities

"There are staff members inside the auction house that I know. I've already arranged with him to reserve a private room for us..."

Before he could finish speaking, Shen Yan raised his hand and interrupted him.

"There are so many people here. Private rooms must be highly sought after. Does he really have the authority to reserve a room for you?"

Lao Sheng chuckled smugly.

"You guys don't understand. Although many people attend the auction, most of them are like me—people who don't want to spend extra money on flashy things."

"Based on my past experience, there are usually a few private rooms left over at the auction house."

As soon as he finished speaking, he spotted a close acquaintance from the auction house.

"A-Lin! Over here!"

As soon as the words fell, a very young man in uniform appeared before them.

"Brother Sheng! This is bad! I couldn't keep the private room reserved for you!"

Lao Sheng hadn't expected to be proven wrong right after boasting. He asked in shock, "Why can't you keep it?"

The staff member frowned and replied, "Quite a few wealthy people showed up today, and they all requested private rooms. I have no way to reserve one for you anymore."

As he finished speaking, Shen Yan frowned and asked the staff member, "We are also guests. Can't we request a private room too?"

Upon hearing the question, the staff member was stunned for a moment. Then he turned to look at Lao Sheng and asked him, "Brother Sheng, who is this?"

Lao Sheng replied, "A buddy I met on the road."

The staff member nodded, "Oh," and answered, "You can request a private room, but the issue is that if you want a private room, you must pay a considerable deposit."

Shen Yan nodded, "We'll pay."

He hadn't reserved a private room earlier because he didn't know there were no seats on the first floor.

Now that he knew the first floor was crowded and required squeezing in with others, he naturally wouldn't subject himself to that. After all, he wasn't short of money.

Thinking this, he asked the staff member again, "Who should I give the money to?"

The staff member hadn't expected Shen Yan to actually intend to pay the deposit. He opened his mouth wide and confirmed with Shen Yan, "Are you sure you want to pay the deposit? That's quite a large sum."

Shen Yan replied with a wry smile, "Don't worry, I'm not short of money. Just tell me who I should give the money to."

Knowing that Shen Yan wasn't short of money, the staff member relaxed.

He nodded and said to the three of them, "Alright, then follow me. I'll take you to see the manager."

With that, he led the three into the auction house.

Although this auction house sounded high-end, there were no flashy decorations inside.

The three followed the staff member step by step into the backstage area of the auction house.

Suddenly, the staff member called out, "Manager!" to a man in a black suit standing in front of them.

The man called 'Manager' was currently instructing others on their tasks.

Hearing the staff member's call, he turned to look at the staff member and the three people, and asked, "What is it?"

The staff member truthfully reported Shen Yan's request to book a private room and his willingness to pay the deposit.

After listening, the Manager smiled and said to Shen Yan, "Esteemed guest, I am truly sorry, but we only have one private room left."

"Besides you, there is another party who also wants this private room..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Yan very smoothly asked the Manager, "Do I need to bid against him?"

The Manager smiled and nodded, replying to him, "Since both parties are booking a room on the spot, you two can directly bid against each other."

"Don't worry, our auction house won't charge any fees. The price you compete on is just the amount of the deposit."

Shen Yan nodded, indicating there was no problem.

Seeing that Shen Yan accepted this method, the Manager asked the staff member to go ask the other person if they were willing to compete for the last private room via bidding.

Not long after the staff member left, he returned with a middle-aged man who looked to be around forty years old.

The other party saw Shen Yan and immediately asked him in a sharp tone, "Are you the ones who want the private room?"

Hearing the question, Shen Yan narrowed his eyes and retorted, "Is there a problem?"

The other party sneered, "A big problem!"

"What qualifications do people like you, who want to get rich overnight by gambling on raw stones, have to sit in a private room? Shouldn't you go to the first floor and fight with those people?"

Seeing the other party speak so righteously, Shen Yan couldn't help but laugh.

"If I remember correctly, this auction house specializes in auctioning raw stones, right?"

"You keep saying we are people who want to get rich overnight by gambling on stones—aren't you the same?"

The other party didn't expect Shen Yan to dare to talk back. He became furious and shouted at Shen Yan, "I am different from you! For me, gambling on stones is just a game. What's wrong with spending a little money to make myself happy?"

As his words fell, Liu Hui, who was standing nearby, rolled her eyes.

"Stop the nonsense. Aren't we fighting for the room? Hurry up, how much are you offering?"

The other party didn't hesitate and directly held up five fingers.

"Five million!"

At these words, Lao Sheng immediately gasped in shock.

Although he had guessed the other party was wealthy, he didn't expect him to start at five million.

After all, normally reserving a private room only cost five hundred thousand!

Just as he thought they might have to squeeze onto the first floor, Shen Yan also held up five fingers.

"Fifty million."

How much?

Lao Sheng poked his ear with his finger.

He suspected his ears were malfunctioning, which was why he misheard the number.

"Did you just say fifty million?"

Hearing the question, Shen Yan nodded and replied, "That's right, fifty million."

The Manager sucked in a cold breath.

He originally thought the person who came later was the wealthy one, but unexpectedly, Shen Yan was hiding his true depth.

While thinking, he turned to the man behind him and asked, "Are you going to bid higher?"

The man also hadn't expected Shen Yan to quote such a high price.

He looked Shen Yan up and down repeatedly for a while before telling the Manager, "I won't bid anymore, but I require them to provide the deposit immediately."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Manager said without hesitation, "No need for a deposit. As long as he has that much money in his account, it will suffice."

The requirement for a deposit was originally to ascertain whether the people occupying the private rooms actually had the financial capability.

If Shen Yan truly had over fifty million in his account, they could skip the back-and-forth transfer process and proceed directly to verification.

Shen Yan wholeheartedly agreed with this.

He also disliked the process of transferring money back and forth.

Because once the amount reached a certain level, the Bank would hold onto that sum.

Instead of going through troublesome procedures, it was better to let the Manager directly verify his funds.

While thinking, he took out his phone and showed the Manager the balance in his Bank account.