The day of the auction arrives, and standing a few meters away from the entrance—with Tian Cheng beside him, Long Hua does a ten-roll.
(Hmm, two grenades, two impaler rounds, two fishing rods, another physical strength talisman, and two piercer rounds. Oh, there's also an SR rarity Spirit Armament, it's a handgun.)
Hearing the Tai Xuan Emperor's report, Long Hua says—
"Gun and talisman to me."
(Done.)
Straightening his back, Long Hua raises a subtle smile of satisfaction, for it seems like lady luck is on his side today.
"Let's go."
As it is the day of the auction, the front entrance of the Lan Si Restaurant is filled with cars of different luxury brands.
From these cars, individuals of wealth and influence would step outwards—dressed in expensive garments and accessories.
"Uh?"
Blinking his eyes in surprise, Long Hua sees Nian Yao Yao and Nian Tao Tao together. Behind them stands Zhui Yun and Jing Yin respectively.
Currently, Long Hua's face is covered by a pair of round-framed sunglasses, and with him wearing a long-haired wig as well, he shouldn't be recognized even if he were to encounter the proprietress.
As for Tian Cheng—to avoid having to interact with people that Long Hua might know, she is currently wearing a black business suit over a white dress shirt.
Footwear wise, Tian Cheng has a pair of black leather shoes on, and her hair at this time is dyed black, while being maintained as a tail.
Similarly to Long Hua, Tian Cheng is also wearing a pair of round-framed sunglasses to cover her magenta-colored eyes.
In order to avoid sticking out like a sore thumb when walking together, Long Hua is also dressed in a similar set of garbs as Tian Cheng, but the shirt beneath his suit is purple instead of white.
As for where he had obtained these garbs, they're one of the quality-of-life items obtained from the gacha.
Noticing Nian Yao Yao and Nian Tao Tao as well, Tian Cheng remarks—
"Maybe it's to be expected, master?"
"I suppose?"
Shrugging his shoulders, Long Hua waits for the four to head inside first, prior to taking out his VIP membership card from his pocket. The card itself is a deep shade of blue with a glossy finish.
Holding the membership card in hand, while approaching the entrance—
"Welcome, dear guest."
Long Hua is greeted by one of the red qipao wearing workers—who are standing out front, and is quickly guided to the fifth floor.
Despite it being the restaurant's busiest period, the fifth floor is surprisingly empty compared to the other floors—demonstrating just how few VIPs there really are.
"Here you are. Any drinks you'd want to be brought over? They're free."
"Some tea then."
Thanking the worker for bringing them here, Long Hua and Tian Cheng seated themselves with a small table in between. Present on the table is a numbered placard, labeled nine.
Looking down from here to the first floor, one can see many rows of chairs occupying the space in front of the stage.
Momentarily, a pot of tea, along with two cups are brought over.
As the cups are being filled, Long Hua turns his head to the right, and—
"Uh…?"
At the sight of Zhen Qing Huai and Zhen Rong, Long Hua raises an eye. Different from them, Zhen Qing Huai is seated within a wheelchair.
"Why are you two here?"
"…"
Turning her head to the left, Zhen Qing Huai replies to Long Hua with—
"Lao Bai said something interesting might happen today."
"…?"
As soon as Long Hua turns his head to the left, Bai Wen and Nuo'er just so happen to have been guided to their seats.
Lowering himself into the chair, Bai Wen turns to Long Hua, and waves his hand.
"…"
Towards these two parties' arrival, Long Hua suddenly feels a bad premonition welling up in his heart.
"…"
Looking at Long Hua, Nuo'er shakes her head with a sigh.
The reason Bai Wen and Zhen Qing Huai had come here today is solely for amusement.
Attire wise—other than Nuo'er, all of them are dressed in a business suit of some kind for this occasion.
"Ai…"
Heaving a sigh, Long Hua picks up his cup for a sip.
...…
As more people arrive, and are guided to their seating areas, Long Hua sees a few more familiar faces down at the corners of the lower floors—mainly Ye Chen and the others, along with the members of the Ashen River Hall.
Other than those that have already been mentioned, there are also a few military men. The ones who stick out to Long Hua in this category are Zhou Chen and Yang Ning.
"…"
Glancing between his left and right, Long Hua notices how the entirety of this floor is essentially empty—meaning he and the other two parties are the only ones here.
Noticing Long Hua's concern, Zhen Qing Huai explains—
"The fifth floor is mainly reserved for people that Mo-laoban is close to. Having a VIP membership card doesn't guarantee access. Also, there's guest rooms up here as well, but they mostly go unused, since the people Mo-laoban is close to tend to move around a lot."
Hearing this, Long Hua frowns. Relationship wise, he isn't close to Mo-laoban; hence, turning to Bai Wen, he asks—
"Lao Bai, care to explain yourself?"
"Pulled some strings. You know the usual."
Leaning back in his seat with an annoyed look on his face, Long Hua asks—
"…Does the proprietress already know who I am?"
Shrugging his shoulders, Bai Wen replies—
"She'd be stupid not to. Well… You never know, depending on her mood, she might not even come down from the sixth floor today. Still, if you're thinking of leaving this floor, and going down to the lower floors, I'd suggest you quit while you're ahead. There aren't any more places to sit, and standing around in some dark corner alone—would only make you stick out like a sore thumb. Also, you've already entered the fifth floor; if people in the know see you walking down, they'll probably be laughing their heads off at what a clueless person you are."
Clicking his tongue, Long Hua thought—
(Had I known that this was going to happen, I should have just come here with surnamed Ye and the others…)
Despite receiving a text message from Ye Chen—asking him if he was interested in going to the auction together, Long Hua had chosen to ignore it, as he felt like the situation would have been incredibly awkward.
(Whatever. Luck is on my side today. …Hopefully.)