Epiphanies of Rebirth Chapter 47 (Part 3)
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Translated by Pure
Edited by Qing
Chapter 47.3 Taken aback, the smile on Qi Kai’s face gradually froze.
Lin Jingzhe appeared at the auction site without warning. This caused the other unknowing bidders to start whispering in doubt.
Qi Kai listened to those around him, who hadn't gotten any news at all; they were all wondering why Lin Jingzhe came when he hadn't submitted an application. He turned his head to look at Lin Jingzhe, who led Deng Mai into the arena with a calm smile on his face as usual, and couldn't help but feel a little smug.
Lin Jingzhe must have thought he was holding the winning ticket, probably thinking his sneaky tricks had worked. He probably didn’t even know that his movements had all been seen by him.
The venue was not big, so the two naturally came face to face. Qi Kai was very personable this time. "Mr. Lin, you’re late. You kept me waiting."
The atmosphere between the two sides was tense, as if countless new and old grudges poured down from the cracks in the air. Lin Jingzhe stared fixedly at Qi Kai's eyes, his smiling expression slightly restrained. "Mr. Qi knew I was coming?"
When Qi Kai heard this question, he immediately shrugged his shoulders innocently. With his hands spread open, he said, "How could I? Mr. Lin, you kept your secret so well, how could I have possibly known?"
Lin Jingzhe tilted his head slightly and glanced in Deng Mai's direction. Deng Mai also looked back at him, his eyes very vigilant.
Seeing their behavior, Qi Kai felt invigorated. He took great pleasure at seeing others becoming anxious, unable to figure out where they had gone wrong.
Lin Jingzhe decided to ignore him, but the smile on his face also subsided a little. Facing Qi Kai's thought-provoking smile, Lin Jingzhe passed him by, and was guided to his seat by the hostess.
When the tense-looking Lin Jingzhe met the sharp gaze of the guest sitting next to him, he couldn't help but show a smile.
Everyone who sat around Lin Jingzhe were familiar faces. Dai Gaofeng, the leader of Yan City’s ‘real estate alliance,’ sat right in front of him. Seeing as he was sitting next to Xiao Chi, Dai Gaofeng nervously looked back and exchanged greetings with him several times, as if afraid that the two of them would begin to fight in public.
Lin Jingzhe spoke to him with a serious face. He was sitting upright and tacitly moved his upper body about ten centimeters away from Xiao Chi. However, in a position covered by the back of Dai Gaofeng’s chair, Lin Jingzhe had crossed his legs and had begun to trace lines against Xiao Chi’s trouser pants using the tip of his shoes.
Xiao Chi stared at him, his eyes became fervent from his teasing. His lowered hand slid slightly to the left, and covered the back of Lin Jingzhe’s right hand that had been propped on his chair.
Lin Jingzhe nonchalantly broke free from his grasp. He moved his hand off the chair but it was immediately caught by that fiery big palm.
Suppressing the corners of his mouth, he squinted at Xiao Chi, and asked with a half-smile, "Mr. Xiao, how are you doing recently?"
Xiao Chi slowly changed the way they were holding hands. His fingers inserted themselves into the crevices of Lin Jingzhe’s fingers one by one, so that their hands were intertwined
He said, "Not very well."
Lin Jingzhe had been busy renovating the office, so he hadn't been able to meet him for several days.
With his fingertips, Lin Jingzhe gently rubbed the skin on the back of Xiao Chi's hand. A thin layer of sweat had been ironed out from the palms of their hands. He stared at his eyes and lips, and although he had the urge to speak, Lin Jingzhe felt there was no need to say anything. The smile that he was trying to suppress could not help but leak out.
F*ck! Dai Gaofeng was completely frightened.
It was only two short greetings, but he could almost smell the gunpowder in the air! How come Lin Jingzhe was sneering? And Xiao Chi actually said that he was not doing well!
Which motherf*cker arranged the seating today?! They actually put these two together!?
Because of these two people, their surroundings turned silent for a while, and everyone feared getting dragged in. It wasn't until the opening ceremony began that the atmosphere became more lively.
Lin Jingzhe's sudden arrival at the scene inevitably caused others to speculate. Afterall, he had not disclosed any information until he arrived at the scene. He was obviously trying to suppress the news that he had found another good deal. Everyone couldn't help but wonder which piece of land he favored. After all, among the seven plots being auctioned, except for the two plots in the north of the city, the remaining five plots were quite lackluster.
Nonetheless, Lin Jingzhe's behavior was completely unexpected.
After the bidding for Plot No. 1 was completed, the auction of No. 2 began. This open field at the foot of Wubao Mountain covered an area of more than 400,000 square meters. Apart from being relatively large, there were no other outstanding qualities to this land. The starting price the auctioneer quoted was also within the previous industry estimates– 55 million.
With the soaring prices of land in Yan City, it was very cost-effective to buy 400,000 square meters of land at this price, so people started bidding immediately.
When the bidding price reached 60 million, the frequency of price increases gradually began to slow down until there was only one bidder left. The auctioneer seemed to have expected this price, and calmly raised her hammer. "63 million, going once."
"Sixty-three million, going twice—"
"Sixty-three million, so—"
Before she could utter the words and slam her hammer, unexpectedly, another sign was raised in the originally quiet venue.
Deng Mai held up Lin Jingzhe's number plate. After Lin Jingzhe nodded slightly, he said loudly, "70 million."
The auctioneer didn't react for a moment, only coming back to her senses after two whole seconds. After realizing which person had increased the bid just now, she immediately became energetic, "70 million——"
To increase the price by seven million in one go, it seemed this matter was imperative. After everyone realized that it was the representative of the New Beginnings Real Estate, there was an uproar.
The previous bidder looked in the direction of Lin Jingzhe in astonishment. But because the price had exceeded his psychological expectations, he hesitated for a moment and put down the sign in his hand.
The other businessmen who had been watching the scene suddenly started to act.
This was the first time that Lin Jingzhe had publicly acquired land since the ‘land king’ was sold. And in order to get rid of his competition, he added 7 million in one go.
Was there anything unusual about this seemingly unremarkable Plot No. 2? When he bought those plots of land by Shiku Lane in the north of the city before the land price skyrocketed, everyone regarded him as a fool for putting all his eggs in one basket and frantically hoarding land.
So someone quickly followed up, "Seventy-one million—"
Lin Jingzhe refused to give an inch and quickly outbidded him, "72 million——"
The price continued to increase until it reached 80 million. This number had already surpassed the previous cost estimates for this land, so the others were hesitant to act anymore.
After Lin Jingzhe had Deng Mai quote out 80 million, he sat in his chair quietly with his eyes downcast. He remained undisturbed by the many scrutinizing and speculating gazes. His whole body exuded a strong oppressive spirit, as if he was a large carnivore facing its next prey.
He seemed to be sure that the land would be his. The auctioneer on the auction platform quickly picked up her professionalism after her brief shock. She picked up the small hammer again, and after giving the last call, she lifted the hammer–
At that moment, a startling voice came from a corner of the crowd; from someone that had not made a sound since the bidding started.
Jiang Qiaqia held up Qi Kai's number plate that symbolized Dominion Properties, and shouted in a trembling voice——
——"Eighty-five million!"
After a short period of silence, the gradually subdued noise ramped up again. Everyone whispered to one another, trying to make sense of the current situation. Lin Jingzhe was no longer as calm as before, he turned his head to look in Qi Kai's direction.
Qi Kai squinted his eyes and smiled at him, with a relaxed look on his face.
They quietly stared at each other for a while, in contrast to the loud commotion all around them.
Lin Jingzhe stared at his smiling face, but didn't show the ferocious or astonished expression that Qi Kai had anticipated.
He just nodded blandly. With a polite arc on the corner of his mouth, he turned his head and said——
"I concede."
Qi Kai was taken aback.
Then, the smile on his face gradually froze.
Translated by pure, hosted on puretl.com / do not repost!