Chapter 85: Country Bumpkin, Sycophant, Fool

Lin Fan maintained a calm expression as he forced an explanation. Yet Ouyang Qi saw through his intentions at a glance.

“Stop pretending. I can tell you’re interested in Li Li, otherwise you wouldn’t go out of your way to please her!”

Lin Fan’s eyebrow twitched. As expected, Ouyang Qi, the queen of the sea, was experienced and perceptive enough to see right through him.

“You’re not attracted to older women, are you? Li Li is nearly fifty… But I’ve heard she’s especially fond of young men, maybe she’s interested in someone like you. Besides, she’s never been married.”

Ouyang Qi grinned mischievously, even encouraging Lin Fan to boldly pursue Li Li.

Out of the corner of his eye, Lin Fan caught Su Juanmo glaring at him with jealous, disdainful eyes. Feeling guilty, he hurried to defend himself.

“You’re overthinking it. How could I possibly chase after her? Isn’t pursuing young women better?”

“I suddenly had an idea. If we invited Li Li to join Starlight Live, it would certainly boost its reputation… And I bought Starlight Entertainment with the intention of grooming a few actresses for the entertainment industry down the line.”

Lin Fan laid his plans bare.

“Are you so rich you don’t know where to spend your money?” Ouyang Qi asked, surprised.

“That’s exactly it. I can spend millions to buy you a luxury car, so spending a few hundred million to win the favor of a superstar is easy. It’s my money—I’ll spend it as I please.”

Lin Fan smiled mysteriously.

With more than a trillion in dog-licking funds, he might not spend it all in this lifetime.

His words served as a strong retort to the mocking Su brothers.

Naturally, the brothers could hear the boast in his tone—he was showing off, and they couldn’t help but fire back.

“No matter how much money you have, without power and influence, you’ll never make it in the business world!” Su Mingxuan sneered.

Su Qianlong stared directly at him, ridiculing, “With your looks, you call yourself a young heartthrob? I think you’re a country bumpkin. Want to pursue a superstar? That’s a toad lusting after a swan.”

“Honestly, just looking at him you can tell he’s a bumpkin. The way he acted just now, he’s nothing but a dog licking at someone’s feet!”

“He’s quite suited to be a dog—spending hundreds of millions to buy an estate for Su Juanmo, what a fool… Frankly, even if he spent billions, Su Juanmo wouldn’t like him. Their families aren’t a match, and her standards are higher than those of most celebrities…”

The brothers laughed loudly, and Su Juanmo joined in the ridicule.

“You two are going too far! You think highly of yourselves, but he doesn’t even consider you worth his time!” Su Juanmo retorted forcefully.

“Am I wrong? No matter how meticulously some people dress, they can’t hide their country-bumpkin aura… Everyone attending tonight’s auction is a notable figure. If not for his identity, you’d think he was hotel staff.”

Su Qianlong rolled his eyes in irritation.

Ouyang Qi chimed in, “Even if Lin Fan is a dog, at least he has the means to chase beautiful women. Do you two have that kind of capital? Your combined pocket money doesn’t even match his change—so what makes you so arrogant?”

“Exactly! There’s always someone better out there.” Su Juanmo scoffed.

The brothers were left speechless by the two women.

It wasn’t that they lacked fighting spirit—after all, Su Juanmo was the Su family’s heiress, and her word carried the most weight. She would always overshadow them.

Soon after, the auction officially began.

Lin Fan noticed that, although the event was grand, the items up for auction were fairly mediocre—far inferior to those at professional auctions.

On offer were mostly small porcelain antiques. There were few paintings, jade pieces, or genuine antiques, and none were valued over a million.

To put it plainly, this charity auction was nothing more than a social stage—a venue for businessmen and celebrities to mingle.

Everyone showed their faces and made a show of philanthropy for publicity’s sake.

In simple terms, it was all about reputation and business. The so-called charity auction was merely a seasoning for the banquet—few would actually donate to support the disadvantaged, and only those with a conscience would symbolically give a little.

Once the auction started, the heavyweights like Su Hengyu and Su Shisheng either chatted with others or sat idly at their tables, never participating in the bidding.

“Next up for auction is an oil painting of a lakeside villa, collected by the Hangzhou Disabled Persons Federation, starting at sixty-four thousand…”

The host on stage spoke without much enthusiasm. Although there were few bidders, she remained professional.

After announcing the starting price, Li Li, seated at the next table, raised her hand.

“Miss Li Li, sixty-four thousand! Any higher bids?”

Seeing this, Lin Fan raised his hand and called out, “One hundred thousand!”

He turned to Li Li. “Sister Li Li, whatever you’re interested in, you bid first, and I’ll buy it for you. Since it’s for charity… I’m a businessman too, and I want to contribute to society.”

Li Li smiled sweetly and nodded her approval.

“The gentleman on the left bids one hundred thousand. Any higher bids?” The host glanced at Lin Fan, then surveyed the room.

At that moment, Su Qianlong suddenly raised his hand.

“One hundred and ten thousand!”

“The guest bids one hundred and ten thousand. Any other bids?” The host focused on Su Qianlong, then looked expectantly at Lin Fan.

“I bid two hundred thousand!” Lin Fan followed quickly.

But Su Qianlong, not waiting for the host’s cue, raised his hand again.

“Two hundred and ten thousand!”

“Three hundred thousand!” Lin Fan refused to back down.

“Three hundred and ten thousand!” Su Qianlong’s lips curled in a cold smile. Every time Lin Fan bid, he would immediately outbid him.

“Four hundred thousand!”

“Four hundred and ten thousand!”

“Five hundred thousand!”

When Lin Fan raised the bid to five hundred thousand, Su Qianlong was about to speak, but Su Juanmo couldn’t stand it any longer. She gave the table a light tap.

“Su Qianlong, stop messing around! I suggest you leave—you don’t belong here.”

Suppressing her anger, Su Juanmo’s words were sharp as she warned Su Qianlong.

“Suggestion denied! I bid five hundred and ten thousand!”

Su Qianlong ignored her completely, glancing at her dismissively as he called out his bid.

At that moment, everyone in attendance stopped their conversations and turned to look at the Su family table.

Faces everywhere showed expressions of gossip and amusement.

Those familiar with the Su family wore odd looks, their eyes tinged with contempt, as if watching a circus.

Everyone present knew about the Su family’s internal strife, and seeing them bicker like children at such an event, they could only regard them as clowns.

Su Juanmo, thin-skinned, was mortified by the indifferent and disdainful gazes, lowering her head in shame.

In contrast, Su Qianlong held his head high with pride, as if he wanted everyone to know he was the second young master of the Su family.

Moreover, he was also one of Hangzhou’s Four Kings.

Among the Four Kings of Hangzhou, he ranked third, Bai Jiahao fourth, preceded by Ma Taoyang and Xu Lin.

The families behind these four were among Hangzhou’s top-tier clans, true aristocrats.

Of course, besides these four, there were other first-class families in Hangzhou.