Chapter 2637 — The Auction Begins

Yet the more he behaved that way, the more Wang Xinyan thought Wei Zhao was a decent sort. A boy his age, sharing a bed with a girl every night—it was hard not to let something happen.

So sometimes Wang Xinyan even felt that Wei Zhao seemed to belong to a different world from the rest of them. He really was a first-year student, yes, but the composure he showed now and then went well beyond his years.

Suddenly recalling how Wei Zhao had dressed when they first met on the train, Wang Xinyan could not help but laugh aloud. "Right—no wonder they were so put off by you! When you first arrived, you were dressed so countrified. With a villa as spotless as theirs, you were lucky they even let you through the door!"

"Heh..." Wei Zhao shrugged and said with a touch of helplessness, "My hometown is a small village. Back there, dressing plainly is the normal thing. If I walked around in what I've got on now, I'd probably be gawked at every day. And that time I'd just come straight from home—I never had a chance to change."

"That's right. I thought you were an honest country bumpkin back then too—when I saw those swindlers cheating you, I was frantic with worry. Who'd have guessed that guileless look of yours was all an act?" Recalling their first meeting, Wang Xinyan grew a little wistful.

"Honestly, if they hadn't tried to cheat me, I wouldn't have bothered cheating them," Wei Zhao said.

"Fair enough." Thinking of Wei Zhao's temperament, Wang Xinyan quite agreed, and was about to say more when a wave of drowsiness swept over her. She yawned and said to Wei Zhao, "Let's save it for later. Off to bed—I'm a bit sleepy..."

"Mm, you go ahead. I'll mix up some medicine for Xiaoshu." Wei Zhao had not forgotten the strange concoction Shen Yushu had asked him for earlier. He did not even need to ask—he could guess well enough that eight times out of ten it was meant for Zhong Yongliang.

That Zhong Yongliang really did have the worst luck every time, yet he only grew bolder with each setback—he had even been taken in as a disciple by an ancient sect? Wei Zhao found it remarkable just thinking about it, and rather regretted not finishing Zhong Yongliang off back then.

Then again, back in Songshan City the currents had been dark and turbulent, Wei Zhao's own strength had not been all that great, and his enemies were many. It had been hard for him to bring himself to strike ruthlessly, lest he provoke a collective backlash against him.

Wei Zhao went out once, headed to the pharmacy, prepared the medicine Shen Yushu needed, and returned to the villa.

In the blink of an eye, the day of the Love Charity Gala arrived. That afternoon, school let out early, and the auditorium was decked out in lights and bunting. The students taking part in the bidding and the social elites all sat in the front rows, each holding a reflective paddle for bidding, which made it easy for them to call out their prices.

The audience behind them were mostly there for the spectacle. Most students had no money to bid on anything and had come simply for fun; their way of showing charity was simple—once the auction ended, they would just donate directly.

After all, the starting prices for these lots were none too low. Since it was a charity event, the intrinsic value of the items was really just a formality; the final selling price was simply a measure of how much love everyone was donating.

Wei Zhao sat with Wang Xinyan, Han Jingyi, He Meiyue, and Bai Weituo. Though Bai Weituo would not be bidding, as a student-cadre of the medical program he naturally had the right to sit up front.

At six o'clock that evening, the auction began right on time.

First a senior school administrator gave a speech, then the student-cadres explained the significance of this Love Charity Gala and where the donations would go, and after that came the formal opening of the auction.

The first to appear was Shen Yushu... and behind her followed the cross-dresser and a girl from another department. That entrance struck Wei Zhao like a thunderbolt! Naturally, it struck everyone who knew Shen Yushu much the same way!

By rights, with a combination of one man and two women, the man would usually walk in front or in the middle, with the two girls half a step behind or flanking him—yet here they had become mere foils for Shen Yushu.

Still, Wei Zhao glanced at the figures of the three on stage and rather understood the reason! Among them, only Shen Yushu had the largest chest; the cross-dresser went without saying—flat as could be—and the other girl was just as flat as an airport runway, so it made sense that Shen Yushu stood in the middle.

Besides, this boy was dressed much like a girl, so the three of them entering together looked more like Shen Yushu being feted by two girls like stars around the moon.

"Respected guests, dear school leaders and fellow students, good evening, everyone. I am the host of this Love Charity Gala. My name is Love-Host Shu!" Shen Yushu smiled, picked up the microphone, and addressed the guests present.

"Pfft..." Hearing Shen Yushu's self-introduction, Wei Zhao nearly sprayed his drink laughing. Love-Host Shu? Another name? To anyone not well acquainted with Xiaoshu, there would seem nothing amiss—after all, at a hosting gig, taking a stage name that fit the evening's theme was no big deal.

Sure enough, after Shen Yushu finished, everyone simply applauded; no one laughed, because they did not know that Xiaoshu had many names.

"I am host Tai Weiliang..." the boy who looked like a cross-dresser introduced himself as well.

"I am host Zhen Huanzi..." the flat-chested girl chimed in, then said a few words of thanks, and with that, the Love Charity Gala was truly under way.

Tai Weiliang? Zhen Huanzi? Wei Zhao felt thunder crashing all around him. Was he overthinking it, or had this been arranged on purpose?

Still, these were trivial matters. The auction was quickly brought to a climax by the three of them. It had to be said that apart from the glib-tongued Xiaoshu, Tai Weiliang and Zhen Huanzi were two quite outstanding hosts as well, skilled at working the crowd!

The items up for auction were unremarkable, yet each could be explained at length—its origins, and the love it embodied! For example, a passbook emptied down to a balance of a few yuan had been donated by an impoverished student, yet it carried tremendous significance!

He came from the countryside, a poor student whose parents had died young, leaving him to depend on his grandmother since childhood. The money in this passbook was the aid pooled by all the villagers. In the village, this passbook was shared—whichever family had a little spare money would deposit it, one small sum after another, tiny figures, but gathered together they amounted to no small sum.

Fastest updates, ad-free reading available.