Chapter 33: A Misjudgment

Many of today’s attendees were the scions of wealth. Given the personalities of her uncle and aunt, they would surely have brought Ling Xue here, hoping she’d find herself a satisfactory boyfriend. Landing a rich patron is best cultivated from a young age! Even if she didn’t manage to find a suitor, making a few wealthy friends was always a good thing. This was the couple’s usual way of doing things.

After entering the park, Mu Yiren turned to Ling Xiao and said, “Ling Xiao, I’ll go exchange our seat cards. For this kind of auction, they check your bank balance before giving you a seat card. I’ll be back soon.”

Ling Xiao nodded. “Go ahead.”

Mu Yiren quickly walked toward the seat card exchange area not far away. Ling Xiao, hands behind his back, glanced around. When he turned, he bumped directly into Ling Xue, who had just entered the park.

“Ling Xiao? How did you sneak in here? You should leave quickly! This is no place for you.” Ling Xiao glanced at her indifferently. “If you can be here, why can’t I?”

Ling Xue huffed, lifting her chin with pride. “You need certain qualifications to get into this park—an invitation. Only the wealthy or influential get invitations. Even I could only come because of my father’s status. It wasn’t easy to get in! If you barge in like this and get found out, the security will throw you out. That would be terribly embarrassing.”

Ling Xiao’s expression remained cool. “That’s none of your business.”

Ling Xue frowned prettily, her voice turning cold. “I warned you. If you make a fool of yourself later, don’t blame me for not telling you!”

“You’re being tedious,” Ling Xiao said, turning away. Ling Xue stomped her foot in frustration. “A good intention wasted! Still living in the fantasy of being the young master of the Ling family? Fine, I’ll leave you be. If you’re thrown out, don’t say I didn’t warn you. And don’t expect me to help you! Hmph!”

Meanwhile, Mu Yiren had already returned with the seat cards. Seeing Ling Xiao speaking with Ling Xue, she frowned slightly. “Why are you arguing with her?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe she’s in a bad mood. Do you know her?”

Mu Yiren nodded. “She’s a cousin of my husband. I met her a few times before, but after he disappeared, I lost touch with his relatives as well.”

“I see. Come on, let’s find our seats,” Ling Xiao said, heading straight toward the auction venue. Behind him, Mu Yiren watched his retreating figure, a deep confusion clouding her eyes. After a long moment, she sighed softly. “Perhaps I’m overthinking. If he really were him, how could he not recognize me?” Shaking her head, she quickly followed.

When they reached the venue, Mu Yiren smiled, saying, “The seats here are ranked. I only have one hundred million in my account—and that was transferred by Omega. So I could only get a purple card, which means we sit in the second-tier section, from the second to fourth row.”

“What about the first row?” Ling Xiao asked.

“You need one and a half billion in your account for the first row. But honestly, this kind of charity auction rarely attracts people of that level, so our second-tier seats are practically the best! It’s quite a bargain, really.” Even Mu Yiren couldn’t help showing a bit of pride. After all, she was still young and had a touch of childishness in her heart.

“I see,” Ling Xiao replied simply.

Just then, Xiu’er ran up to them, a little out of breath, and said gently, “Young Master, I was delayed while getting the cards.”

“It’s fine. Where are your cards?” Ling Xiao asked.

“Here.” Xiu’er handed over two black cards.

The instant Mu Yiren saw those black cards, she inhaled sharply. Ling Xiao frowned slightly. “What’s wrong?”

Mu Yiren swallowed. “Those cards are for the first row! You have one and a half billion in your account? Ling Xiao, who are you really?”

She couldn’t help her astonishment—the sum was simply staggering! Before receiving Omega’s support, the Yiren Group was only worth eighty or ninety million, and the actual cash on hand was barely a million or two. Even after Omega’s generous aid, she only had a hundred million in her account. Yet Ling Xiao, without effort, had fifteen times that, which left Mu Yiren in utter shock.

Before Ling Xiao could reply, Xiu’er smiled and said, “My young master is the heir to Ghost Valley! This mere one and a half billion is only pocket money—it’s nothing to him!”

Another sharp intake of breath. This time, Mu Yiren was left speechless.

Ling Xiao shot Xiu’er a glare. “When did you become so talkative?”

“Um, sorry, Young Master! I spoke out of turn.” Xiu’er bowed in apology. Ling Xiao shook his head. “Never mind, let’s go. People are starting to take their seats.”

No one was sitting in the front row yet, and Ling Xiao didn’t like being the center of attention. Fortunately, a black card didn’t require them to sit in the first row—they could choose any spot. So Ling Xiao, Mu Yiren, and Xiu’er took seats in the third row.

Seats were limited, and many people without cards had to stand at the back. Ling Xue, pulled forward by her friends, found herself at the very front of the crowd.

“Xiao Xue, quick, stand here! This spot is great—you can see everything!”

“Hehe, we don’t have seats, but standing here at the front is way better than being in the back!”

“Of course! I believe that once we graduate, we’ll have the means to be seated up front too!”

With that, hope shone in the eyes of Ling Xue and her companions, as if that bright future was already within their grasp.

But just as Ling Xue was lost in her daydreams, a friend’s voice snapped her back to reality.

“Hey, Xiao Xue, look! Isn’t that your penniless cousin?”

“What?” Ling Xue was startled. She followed her friend’s gaze and her eyes widened in disbelief. “How is this possible? He lost everything and is so destitute—how could he be sitting among the guests, and so close to the front?”

“Xiao Xue, you’re being stingy! He’s your cousin. You can’t have him, but you could at least introduce him to us. Why are you keeping such a resource to yourself?”

“I… I…” Ling Xue was speechless. She herself couldn’t understand it. Why was Ling Xiao sitting in such a good seat? Where did he get such luck?