A Dish Best Served Cold (The Man In Rage) novel Chapter 24

The form-fitting purple gown Qiu Mu-Cheng was wearing tonight complimented her looks and gave her a noble bearing. A hint of aloofness could be seen on her matchlessly beautiful face. Under the hemline, legs that had the unblemished complexion of cream-colored jade stretched out seductively. Finally, the pair of silver-white high heels on her feet served to accentuate her sexiness and beguiling charm as a mature woman. That was the reason why Qiu Mu-Cheng had attracted everyone's attention during her entrance.

But, her moment in the limelight made Lin Qian unhappy. To prepare for the auction, she had invested a great deal of time and thought into dressing up. And she had thought that she would be the focus of everyone's attention. But, Qiu Mu-Cheng had shown up and stolen her spot in the limelight. Lin Qian could also sense her own husband stealing glances at her former school friend.

That intensified her jealousy toward Qiu Mu-Cheng.

During their university years, Qiu Mu-Cheng had always surpassed her in every way. Now that they were both members of adult society, Lin Qian was naturally unwilling to continue her role as a foil. And so she was determined to make Qiu Mu-Cheng look bad.

"Mu-Cheng, as a human being, it's more important to have a beautiful heart than a beautiful appearance. Look at you. So what if you are dressed to the nines? You are just satisfying your own vanity."

"And you should understand your own financial situation. You scrimped and saved for months just to buy a branded dress. Was it necessary? You are just living beyond your means. Isn't it better to save up the money and donate to charity, like what I am doing? Isn't it better to spend that money on building infrastructures in the mountainous areas?"

Her words sounded heartfelt, and she spoke with the air of a life guru, as if she was imparting words of wisdom to Qiu Mu-Cheng. It was a shame that nobody could see the ugliness lurking in Lin Qian's heart.

Qiu Mu-Cheng was a thin-skinned person so, after Lin Qian's sarcastic remarks, her face turned even redder. But Lin Qian did not give Qiu Mu-Cheng the opportunity to retort and continued talking: "Oh, that's right. I nearly forgot. None of the items here are suitable for you anyway."

"Take this white jade hairpin for example. It used to belong to European royalty and it's a status symbol. I guess it's only suitable for upper-society ladies like myself?"

"But don't worry, Mu-Cheng. We are such close friends, so I will wear it later and let you admire it from up close."

Lin Qian smiled smugly and looked as proud as a princess. As if she was already wearing the jade hairpin on her head.

"Sixty thousand. Any higher bid than what this gentleman has offered?"

"If there is no higher bid, then this hairpin will go to..."

The auctioneer's voice resounded through the hall.

And Lin Qian could no longer bear the suspense. So before the auctioneer could strike the gavel against the sound block, Lin Qian had already rushed onto the stage and grabbed the exquisite box containing the hairpin.

"Seventy thousand!"

But, at that moment, a soft voice rang out from among the crowd.

"Mm?" Wang Yu frowned, turned to look at the masked man sitting behind him, and then continued bidding, "Seventy five thousand!"

"One hundred thousand." The masked man kept his composure and calmly raised his bid.

"Whoa, he raised his bid by thirty thousand! Awesome!"

All at once, the hall went quiet.

Wang Yu had a terrible expression on his face. His wife was already holding on to the hairpin and, if someone else won the bid, it would be so embarrassing for them.

"One hundred and five thousand."

Wang Yu raised his bid again, and then he turned around to talk to the masked man.”Hey bro, do me a favor, will you? My wife really likes this hairpin. So..."

"Hundred and fifty thousand."

The masked man did not even look in Wang Yu's direction. His indifferent voice felt like a slap in the face; one that left Wang Yu blushing painfully.

Huh?

Do you a favor?

Who the hell do you think you are?

How dare you show off in front of me? I am not going to show you any mercy!

"One hundred and fifty-five..."

"Two hundred thousand."

Before Wang Yu could raise his bid, Ye Fan had already raised his by another fifty thousand.

"Two..." Wang Yu tried to raise his bid again.

"Please give this hairpin to the lady beside you. The peerless beauty in the purple dress."

"In this entire room, only this angelic beauty is fit for this noble accessory."

His slightly husky voice resounded through the hall.

All at once, the venue went quiet.

And Qiu Mu-Cheng stood there, rooted to the spot, in a daze. Disbelief filled her eyes as she asked, "For... For me?"

When Lin Qian heard this, she could only stare with wide-open eyes, as if she had been struck by thunder.

"For... For her?"

"What's wrong with you? Her husband is just a useless piece of trash. How is she noble? Is she as noble as I am? Why not give it to me?" Lin Qian strengthened her grip on the box again. And this time, she was determined not to let go.

The auctioneer could not bear to watch the farce any longer, so she urged Lin Qian to surrender. "Miss, this hairpin is no longer yours. Please listen to this gentleman and hand it over to that noble lady."

But, despite what the auctioneer said, Lin Qian refused to release her grip on the box. She was determined not to hand over the hairpin to Qiu Mu-Cheng. Finally, the auctioneer had to remove the box forcibly from her and hand it over to Qiu Mu-Cheng.

"A jade hairpin for a beauty, and a precious sword belongs to the hero."

"Noble lady, please accept this gift from that gentleman."

"Just as this gentleman said, you are the only lady in this hall who is fit to wear this hairpin!"

As the auctioneer's clear voice rang out through the hall, multi-colored spotlights swung over to focus on Qiu Mu-Cheng. As she sat there, she became the focus of everyone's attention and the envy of numerous ladies.

Lin Qian, on the other hand, was seething in rage.

Just a moment ago, she had been bragging to her former university friend that she was the only one fit to own the hairpin. But now, Qiu Mu-Cheng was wearing the royal hairpin.

The truth unfolding before Lin Qian felt like a tight slap to her face. And it hurt.