At the start, I tricked the school beauty, and ended up with twins?

/Big Goose got sick and was hospitalized, so he took a day off yesterday~

After a night of revelry, Gu Yu experienced for the first time what it was like to be treated like a lord.

Woken up by his girlfriend, he brushed his teeth and washed his face in a daze, and by the time he sat down at the dining table, it was already filled with a variety of sumptuous breakfast dishes.

After lunch, he and his dorm mates played video games together again...

It wasn't until he lay back in bed at ten o'clock at night that he realized how quickly the day had flown by.

He picked up the Pear phone Xinyue had bought for him from the bedside and stared blankly at the high-definition wallpaper on the screen.

It was a new photo with half a heart drawn in cream on his right cheek, and Lin Xinyue with the other half on her left cheek, their faces together forming a complete heart.

In the picture, Lin Xinyue's smile was sweet, and his gaze was entirely fixed on her.

At that moment, his eyes were full of her.

"I will definitely protect you well, Xinyue."

Gu Yu placed the phone on his chest, envisioning a beautiful future.

Just then, the phone vibrated twice.

When Gu Yu looked at it, it was a message from Mr. Chen Tian.

Mr. Chen Tian: "Tomorrow morning at eight o'clock, join me at Modu International Metropolis for the international auction. This matter is of utmost importance, remember not to be late!"

Gu Yu naturally knew that Mr. Chen Tian was referring to the auction of the Snake Head.

Though he had taken a break today, he had kept this event firmly in mind.

Gu Yu: "Understood, I will be at the entrance of the Metropolis at seven thirty sharp."

Mr. Chen Tian: "Hmm, you should rest early! Tomorrow is bound to be a day of verbal battles!"

Find your next read on empire

Gu Yu: "Okay, you should also rest early."

After replying to Mr. Chen Tian, Gu Yu sent a goodnight message to Xinyue and placed his phone on the bedside to charge.

Leaning against the pillow, he pondered the verbal battles Mr. Chen Tian spoke of.

It was obvious that with the appearance of the Snake Head at the international auction, and the auction being in Modu, a city where every inch of land is worth its weight in gold, and wealthy individuals are a dime a dozen, the foreigners wanted to take a heavy hit at the Huaxia people.

Thirteen years ago, the Horse Head surfaced, and Mr. He Hongshen of Macau bid 69.1 million Hong Kong dollars for it, setting a record for the auction of the zodiac bronze heads, which he later donated to the motherland unconditionally.

This was an unprecedented price, all because the HK auction company tasted sweet success with the Cow, Monkey, and Tiger heads that had appeared since the year 2000.

The prices for those three auctions were 7 million, 7.4 million, and 14 million Hong Kong dollars respectively.

In just seven years, the highest price had almost quintupled, all because they had seized upon the patriotic sentiments and national feelings of the Huaxia people.

They knew that once a zodiac head surfaced, patriotic Huaxia tycoons would spare no effort to buy it.

That was exactly what they wanted; only then would there be opportunities and profits to be made.

And tomorrow, the primary reason for Gu Yu accompanying Mr. Chen to the auction was to discern the authenticity of the Snake Head.

If it was fake, Chen Tian would abandon the auction.

If it was genuine, Mr. Chen was likely to bleed heavily tomorrow.

With the current situation, those foreigners, who had figured out the Huaxia mindset, would naturally be ruthless in their dealings.

Malicious bidding up of the price would certainly not be lacking.

Inevitable arguments and haggling would ensue.

For the Snake Head, it's a must-win situation for the Huaxia people; they will not stand idly by and watch it continue to circulate abroad.

"Alas, falling behind leaves one vulnerable to attacks."

Recalling the humiliating history he had read about in history books, Gu Yu heaved a sigh.

Huaxia people don't purchase the Snake Head just for its own sake, but rather to retrieve the national dignity that was once shattered. If artifacts belonging to our nation are displayed in foreigners' museums for anyone to appraise and mock, how can the great Huaxia stand with pride in the world?

Some believe that spending a fortune to repurchase these is a second plundering.

But the purchase is not just for the bronze head, it's for the history it witnessed and the beliefs it carries behind!

"Ugh, time to sleep."

Gu Yu's mind was flooded with thoughts, chaotic and disarrayed.

He had no choice but to cast his thoughts aside and covered himself with his blanket to sleep soundly.

Regardless of what happened.

Tomorrow he would know the situation once he arrived at the auction and, who knows, perhaps the Snake Head might be a fake? Fraud for the sake of profit was not uncommon in auctions, especially where such great interests were involved; one couldn't gamble on human nature.

...

The next day, Gu Yu got up early, grooming his appearance and donning the formal suit he had purchased the day before.

After all, he was accompanying Mr. Chen Tian to an international auction, an important occasion, and he couldn't let Mr. Chen Tian down.

After combing his hair, just as Gu Yu was about to leave, he felt it odd to go out empty-handed.

He picked up a briefcase from the living room and stuffed it with his phone charger and power bank.

Holding the briefcase, Gu Yu immediately felt more professional.

With half a bun in his mouth and driving the old Audi that Mr. Chen Tian had given him, Gu Yu headed towards Modu International Metropolis.

When he arrived at the International Metropolis, it was only 7:25 a.m., a little earlier than the 7:30 meeting time he had agreed with Mr. Chen Tian.

"Good morning, entry to the International Metropolis is prohibited to outsiders today. Do you have an invitation?"

As soon as Gu Yu approached the entrance, a greeter in a formal attire reached out to stop him.

Gu Yu was stunned; Mr. Chen Tian hadn't mentioned anything about needing an invitation.

Wouldn't it be quite embarrassing to be stopped outside and not able to get in?

Just as he was considering whether to message Mr. Chen Tian, a refined-looking man walked out from the lobby.

This person had handsome features and appeared to be around thirty-five to thirty-six years old. He wore gold-rimmed glasses and was also dressed formally, sporting a golden flower on his chest with his name on it.

Accompanying: Lin Huaye.

Upon seeing Gu Yu, he approached him familiarly to greet him. "You must be Mr. Gu Yu, the other accompanying guest personally invited by Mr. Chen Tian, right?"

Lin Huaye extended a hand, his gaze surveying Gu Yu from head to toe.

Gu Yu gave him an initial impression of youthfulness, very young, just in his early twenties.

Despite his formal attire and the neatly combed and slick mature slick-back, he couldn't hide the youthful aura about him.

Although Mr. Chen Tian had already introduced him, Lin Huaye still found it hard to believe that such an outrageously young man in front of him was a Treasure Appraiser specially invited by Mr. Chen Tian.

"Hello, Mr. Lin. I'm here at Mr. Chen Tian's invitation to accompany him to the auction," said Gu Yu, returning the friendly greeting and lightly shaking hands with the other party.

"That's right then, here is your invitation. I thought you would arrive at 7:30, but you're actually early," said Lin Huaye as he took out an envelope with gold edging and an embossed red seal from his pocket and gently placed it in Gu Yu's hands.

Gu Yu took it, opened the envelope and found a silver invitation inside, along with a golden flower identical to the one on Lin Huaye's chest.

Gu Yu imitated Lin Huaye and affixed the golden flower properly onto his own left chest.

He then handed the invitation to the greeter, who gave it a brief scan and immediately became more respectful:

"Good morning, Mr. Gu. Welcome to the International Metropolitan International Auction. Your seat is at VIP spot number 37. Would you like me to show you the way?"

"No need, I'll take Mr. Gu there," Lin Huaye interjected.