His victorious smile suddenly replaced with confused anger and agitation. In his agitation, he tried to look for the source of the counterbid from the ground level of the auction hall. Suspecting the man he outbid earlier, Li XinWen searched for the man in the dark navy suit. But the moment he found the man, Li XinWen noticed that the man was just as surprised as everyone else in the hall.
'It wasn't him! Who dares…' Li XinWen thought as he clenched his fists tighter.
The auctioneer gasped but recovered instantaneously. 'I shouldn't let this good fortune slip from my fingers! Oh just imagine the commission!' he thought before acknowledging the latest bid.
"Ten million from the gentleman on the second level box number 3! Does anyone else wish to bid against this offer?" he asked, itching to strike the gavel against the block. He waited for a couple of minutes to observe proper decorum then proceeded to close the sale.
Upon hearing the auctioneer's acknowledgement, he finally realized who put forth the ten million bid. "Ten million going once! Ten million going twice! Sold for ten million yuan!" and he struck the gavel twice on the sound block, and looked up as if to thank the heavens.
Li XinWen, still distraught over the loss of the cauldron, suddenly heard a chuckle. He turned to face the source and realized that Xue Rui now stood beside him, arms crossed looking amused. Xue Rui faced Li XinWen smiling at the same time his gaze piercing and laced with seduction.
"I can't let you have all the fun XinWen," he teased as he stepped towards Li XinWen to close the remaining distance between them and continued to say, "XinWen when I told you not to hold back, I didn't mean for you to spend your own money. You should have just told me and I would make sure that you get whatever item you want from the auction. So even if you try again, all I have to do is just raise my counterbid and you won't be able to outbid me. So don't bother trying," he said as he caressed Li XinWen's cheek.
"You bastard!" Li XinWen responded while holding himself back from grabbing Xue Rui to wipe the smug expression on his face. He slapped Xue Rui's hand gently away from his face and looked away.
"How feisty XinWen!" Xue Rui teased further, sounding amused.
"The cauldron… will you really give it to me?" Li XinWen asked still looking away from Xue Rui.
'How cute… just like a child. My XinWen…' Xue Rui thought as he continued to observe Li XinWen's reaction.
"Of course. You know that I'll give you anything you want." as he reached for Li XinWen's face and turned his head so that they faced each other. "After all, that is the sole reason why we are here," he said gently, as if pacifying a lover's tantrum. He gazed into Li XinWen's eyes and leaned in to plant a soft kiss on Li XinWen's lips.
He let out a small chuckle as he saw the surprise in Li XinWen's eyes. 'I better step back before Li XinWen decides to punch the daylights out of me,' he thought amused. "You are too precious XinWen… my dearest XinWen you make me so happy," he stated still chuckling.
Everything seemed to be happening too fast that Li XinWen was unable to react. His face a mix of embarrassment, anger, and helplessness. Li XinWen let out a sigh as heavy as Mt. Tai. 'This bastard! Why does he like kissing me every chance he gets!? Precious?! What a load of bull… just you wait Xue Rui… just you wait! For now, I'll just give you a piece of my mind. Damn it all!' Li XinWen thought. Anger bubbling inside him. He looked down, closed his eyes and composed himself before saying.
"You really are a bastard Rui-ge… but fine… I'll let you off this time."
Li XinWen looked at Xue Rui squarely and said, "Come to think of it I've allowed you to have your way with me for a while now. I believe it is about time we put an end to this," Li XinWen expressed. He took a deep breath and shook his head. Li XinWen looked down as if a wave of exhaustion washed over him. "I am no longer going to stand for this… After all, you are Hua-jie's fiancé. This play has gone on long enough."
Xue Rui's eyes widened upon hearing Li XinWen's statement. His heart felt like as if someone was squeezing his heart and he felt his throat constricting. His eyes suddenly felt warm as if he would tear up any second now.
'No… no… this can't be happening. I resorted to blackmail just to have you stay beside me XinWen, even though I knew it was wrong…that was the only way I could think of. If you only knew…I have been in love with you since the beginning…it has always been you. It is only due to a misunderstanding that we are standing here like this… One day, I'll make you understand...I'll make you understand…' Xue Rui thought to himself. However, instead of coming clean and making a proper confession, his cunning nature took over instead.
Xue Rui took a step towards Li XinWen, his face wearing a hurt expression and his eyes teary. He placed a hand on Li XinWen's chest, leaned in close and whispered into Li XinWen's ear. "Please do not forget why you 'let me have my way with you'." Xue Rui's voice broke but he managed to mask the regret that came with his statement.
'I have no plans of letting you slip by XinWen… not this time. Oh god, please… I don't want to lose him,' Xue Rui thought desperately.
Xue Rui's statement was enough to push Li XinWen to the edge. Li XinWen's expression turned dark and the anger that had been bubbling inside him overflowed as if something inside him snapped. He took a step back and shook his head.
"To what end Xue Rui? Does it make you happy playing with people's feelings? All this lying and pretending in front of JingHua! Until when do you actually plan to drag out this situation for? You really are a bastard!" Li XinWen said in response as he glared at Xue Rui.
'I'm sorry XinWen… oh god why is this happening now!?! This was supposed to be a date. This was supposed to bring us closer not pulls us farther apart!' Xue Rui thought as he saw Li XinWen's expression - a mix of anger and deep hurt. But more than that, the glare that Xue Rui received from Li XinWen sent chills down his spine. It was as if Li XinWen was capable of hurting him at that very moment.
'No... Please don't hate me XinWen… I need to do something... I can't lose him,' Xue Rui's mind raced to come up with something to clear the air and ease the tension that was starting to suffocate him. As if unable to breathe, Xue Rui loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top button of his shirt.
Li XinWen shook his head and returned to his seat. The muscles on his face were tense and he struggled to calm himself down. Considering his age as an immortal from Long Xing, Li XinWen was technically so much older than Xue Rui. To have a 'junior' three centuries younger than himself play him at the palm of his hand, Li XinWen felt that he just lost face.
'Now I've done it! This is all that fool's fault. I was in the right. It's time to put an end to all the shenanigans between Xue Rui and Li XinWen. Right… That's it.' Li XinWen thought, and oddly enough, this actually helped him calm himself. He hunched forward in his seat and rubbed his eyes. He let out a heavy sigh and looked ahead.
Xue Rui followed Li XinWen and carefully sat beside him. Cautiously, Xue Rui started to say, "If you must know XinWen…" but Xue Rui did not get to finish his statement when he heard Li XinWen let out a chuckle.
'It's a good thing that we're on the second level and the box affords us some privacy. The argument we just had would have resulted to a scandal if we were out there with the crowd of regular bidders. I can just imagine the tabloid headlines,' this last thought made him chuckle and just like that his anger dissipated.
"What are you laughing at XinWen?" Xue Rui asked, intrigued and confused.
"It's a good thing we're at the second level Rui-ge and that we have this private box all to ourselves," Li XinWen said, gesturing to the entire box. "Can you imagine? If we were seated with everyone else and they heard our argument, we'd be making headlines by tomorrow. Oh, I guess that's the price you pay for fame. As show business is an unforgiving industry and the media would have a field day!" he responded. Li XinWen's laughter filled their booth and rescued the mood.
"Yes, you're right in that aspect. I can imagine how the media would pounce at the argument we just had and blow it out of proportion," Xue Rui agreed and joined in Li XinWen's laughter. 'I want to hold him and let him know just how much I treasure him… Thank you XinWen for not hating me,' Xue Rui thought to himself as he took in every bit of that very moment.