Twenty minutes ago...
"Sixty million!"
The moment this number was announced, Fang Xun started to feel uncertain.
This time, Zhan Mohan had given him full authority. In this auction, he could make any decision on behalf of the Zhan Group.
But there was only one condition: he had to win the final auction item.
Now, the price had reached sixty million. No other small enterprise could possibly interfere, so it was their battle.
How much should he bid?
"Sixty million once! Sixty million twice..."
"Sixty-one million!" Sweat beaded on Fang Xun's forehead.
To prevent the auctioneer from bringing down the hammer, he could only stall for time with such a small increment.
Just then, he noticed something. Before each bid, the other party seemed to confirm something via their phone before continuing their bid.
At the same time, he also realized that, like him, the other party's true representative was not present.
This meant that their authority might not be as absolute as his own.
He suddenly thought of a plan. Although it involved a bit of trickery, it was harmless.
After all, the consequence was their own fault.
Fang Xun gestured, and a waiter approached.
"Sir, do you need any help?"
Fang Xun whispered something to him. The waiter nodded understandingly and left.
"Seventy million!"
The other party bid again.
Fang Xun pondered, then said, "Seventy-five million!"
As expected, upon hearing the bid, the other person took out their phone again. At this moment, the waiter Fang Xun had spoken to earlier walked over.
While seemingly talking to others, he "accidentally" bumped into the other person, knocking their phone to the ground.
Fang Xun then subtly kicked the phone further away.
He didn't need much time. As long as the hammer fell, it would all be over.
"Seventy-five million once! Seventy-five million twice!"
Meanwhile, the other person was still frantically searching for their phone.
"Seventy-five million thrice! Sold!"
Fang Xun let out a sigh of relief. The other person could only sit there stunned upon hearing the result.
Perhaps to Zhan Mohan, the trick Fang Xun used was not very elegant, but he had at least identified the opponent's crucial weakness and exploited it.
Yu Bei could no longer contain himself. He slammed his phone onto the ground, "All useless!"
At this moment, Wei Yumeng and Zhan Jinzhi also arrived in the private room. They clearly didn't know what had happened.
Zhan Mohan invited his wife and son to sit beside him and said, "I can almost guess how Fang Xun managed to win the bid. This is an auction, but it's also a game of chess. Fang Xun is my piece, but aren't the people you sent also your pieces? However, you didn't fully trust your own people and still wanted to control their every move, preventing them from making crucial decisions. But Fang Xun is different. I trust him, and I gave him full authority. He then used his best efforts to achieve victory."
Hearing this, Yu Bei's angry demeanor suddenly turned into laughter. "As expected of the Zhan Group's Mr. Zhan. You are truly different from us. I admit defeat this time. I will honor our agreement and move my businesses out of this city. But there's one thing I hope you won't forget: no one loses forever. When we meet next time, I will show you my true strength."
Zhan Mohan smirked at him. "Then I await that day."
Although Zhan Jinzhi didn't know what had happened, he felt that Zhan Mohan looked incredibly cool at that moment.
Perhaps this was the aura of a victor.
It wasn't until they left that Zhan Jinzhi asked with some confusion, "Mom, Dad, were you there from the beginning of this chess game?"
Wei Yumeng nodded. "Yes, we were worried about you, so we came to see."
"Then what was that bet Dad mentioned with that person?" Zhan Jinzhi asked, puzzled.
Wei Yumeng glanced at Zhan Mohan. She felt it was better not to tell Zhan Jinzhi about this. He was still a child, and this was not something he needed to be involved with yet.
"It's nothing," Wei Yumeng said. "Just a small bet."
After this incident, with Yu Bei's departure, the entire Pengcheng was in an uproar.
They didn't know what kind of bet Zhan Mohan and Yu Bei had, but through the accounts of those present, Zhan Jinzhi became the center of attention.
"Legendary Go master loses to young Go prodigy Zhan Jinzhi and flees overnight due to the crushing defeat."
No matter how one heard it, this story was filled with legendary color.
"Quick, look, it's Zhan Jinzhi!"
Upon hearing these voices, Zhan Jinzhi got scared and bolted.
Wei Yumeng was also taken aback by the scene. The students in the school rushed towards them as if they were seeing their idol.
Before, she had only heard Fang Xun describe how grand it was. Now, seeing it for herself, she truly understood.
Zhan Shiqing shrugged. "Mom, as you can see, we've been in this state recently."
Wei Yumeng rubbed her forehead. She really couldn't manage this kind of situation. How could she possibly control all the students?
Just then, someone who looked like a teacher approached.
"May I ask if you are Ms. Wei Yumeng?"
Wei Yumeng nodded. "I am."
"Yes, I am the head of the school's academic affairs. I wanted to discuss something with you regarding student Zhan Jinzhi."
Zhan Shiqing looked at the head of academic affairs and felt a sense of dread. Usually, only students who had made mistakes were called in by the head of academic affairs.
Wei Yumeng also thought it was something serious and frowned. "Alright, please tell me directly."
"It's like this. Our school is planning to produce a campus promotional program. Given student Zhan Jinzhi's recent popularity, we would like to invite him to be our school's image ambassador."
Wei Yumeng finally breathed a sigh of relief. She had almost thought Zhan Jinzhi had gotten into trouble.
"Being an ambassador is certainly no problem, but may I understand what kind of promotional program it is?" Wei Yumeng inquired.
"It's a special interview on the education channel, focusing on gifted children with various achievements. We only hope that student Zhan Jinzhi can participate with our school's name."
Wei Yumeng pondered. This wasn't a difficult matter. She just needed to ask Zhan Jinzhi his opinion to decide.
"I understand. However, I will need to discuss it with the child and see how he feels about it."