They waited for a little while.
A BMW 7 Series car stopped in front of them.
A dark-skinned man got out of the car. He wasn't particularly tall, but he looked very strong and fit, with sharp, cold eyes. He clearly looked like someone who ran with the wrong crowd.
This fit man walked up to Liú Qiànqiàn and said with a smile:
"Hello, Miss Liú!"
Upon seeing the man, Liú Qiànqiàn immediately stood up. "Hello, Brother Qiáng!"
This man called Brother Qiáng nodded, then his eyes scanned Cáo Jǐngshēng and Lǐ Qīngyuàn. "Missy, you said you were bringing these two people to our place?"
Liú Qiànqiàn nodded. "It's correct, Brother Qiáng. It's this lady; she's my friend. She's from the capital. And this other person is her friend too!"
The man called Brother Qiáng didn't say much more. With a wave, he got back into his car.
The three of them got into the BMW, following him.
Brother Qiáng drove himself, taking the three of them onto the road.
When the car got outside the city, Brother Qiáng threw three hoods over.
"Missy, same old rules, you know the drill!"
Liú Qiànqiàn replied, "Got it!"
Liú Qiànqiàn handed two hoods made of black cloth to Lǐ Qīngyuàn and Cáo Jǐngshēng, who were sitting in the back.
"Qīngyuàn, you two put these on. It's the rule of their establishment. After all, there are some unsavory things going on in these places. They don't want people to know where their establishments are, especially since it's an underground auction. Please don't mind it!"
Lǐ Qīngyuàn didn't say anything and put the hood on directly. Cáo Jǐngshēng did the same.
After the three of them put on the hoods, Brother Qiáng drove onto the highway and headed out of the city to a certain location.
Cáo Jǐngshēng clearly saw that the BMW had driven them to a small town in the suburbs. This town was not far from Jiangcheng, about ten kilometers or so. The town was called Jiāngxīng Town and was quite prosperous.
After a while, the car drove into the underground parking lot of a large building.
Only then did Brother Qiáng let them take off the hoods.
Brother Qiáng smiled at Lǐ Qīngyuàn and Cáo Jǐngshēng. "Let's formally introduce ourselves. My name is Zēng Zǐqiáng, and I'm responsible for the reception work for outsiders."
The three of them didn't say anything and followed Zēng Zǐqiáng into a very wide hall.
There were already many people inside the hall. The hall was several hundred square meters in size.
The auction hadn't started yet, so the people inside were milling about freely. Some were holding foreign liquor, talking to people they knew. Of course, Cáo Jǐngshēng didn't know anyone, but Liú Qiànqiàn knew many people. It seemed they were all members of Jiangcheng's upper class.
Lǐ Qīngyuàn also didn't know many of these people, so the two of them kept to themselves and sat on a sofa, quietly waiting for the auction to begin.
At this moment, Cáo Jǐngshēng saw a familiar figure. This familiar person was also a woman, and she was very beautiful.
The beautiful woman, arm in arm with a man about 40 years old, walked over with a smile.
Seeing this woman, Cáo Jǐngshēng frowned and turned his face away. He didn't want to see her, but she saw him.
Indeed, this woman was his ex-girlfriend. His girlfriend's name was Jiāng Lìlì, and they had been classmates. They had been together for several years, starting in college. However, after graduation, Cáo Jǐngshēng didn't do well, especially with his stock trading failures. Jiāng Lìlì became completely disappointed in him and amicably broke up with him.
Cáo Jǐngshēng didn't blame Jiāng Lìlì too much. After all, in this era, without money, nothing else mattered. While love was important, so was livelihood!
So, even though Cáo Jǐngshēng didn't blame Jiāng Lìlì much, he still didn't want to see her. But Jiāng Lìlì wasn't as magnanimous as Cáo Jǐngshēng. She felt that Cáo Jǐngshēng had wasted her time. A woman's youth was very short, and her best years had been wasted on Cáo Jǐngshēng.
Tonight, Jiāng Lìlì came to this underground auction with her newly acquainted boyfriend. Just as she was feeling happy, her eyes fell upon Cáo Jǐngshēng sitting on a sofa, seemingly avoiding her gaze. Jiāng Lìlì felt very annoyed. This man was so useless, and now he looked disgusted and unwilling to see her. It was truly infuriating.
So, Jiāng Lìlì deliberately walked up to Cáo Jǐngshēng. "Cáo Jǐngshēng, why are you here? Did you get rich from stock trading again?"
Cáo Jǐngshēng looked at her. "Lili, do you have to talk to me like this? I spent at least over 100,000 yuan on you over the years. Let's part amicably. Even if we can't be friends, we're at least not enemies, right?"
Jiāng Lìlì sneered. "You spent over 100,000 yuan on me, do you think that's a lot? 100,000 yuan is at most the price of a handbag. But from 18 to 24, six years of my life, all wasted on you, you good-for-nothing! Do you think my youth is only worth 100,000 yuan?"
Cáo Jǐngshēng originally didn't want any unpleasantness with Jiāng Lìlì, but seeing her treat him so heartlessly now, he coldly replied, "You talk as if your youth is the only youth. Isn't my youth also youth?"
"Cáo Jǐngshēng, I didn't expect you to be so shameless. You're still going to argue with me about your youth? Do I have to pay you for it too?"
Lǐ Qīngyuàn, sitting beside him, watched Cáo Jǐngshēng with gossip in her eyes. She nudged his arm with her hand. "Cáo Jǐngshēng, who is she? An ex-girlfriend or an ex-wife?"
Cáo Jǐngshēng glared at Lǐ Qīngyuàn. "Ex-wife? Am I that old? I'm still a virgin!"
Liú Qiànqiàn also heard Cáo Jǐngshēng's words and couldn't help but smile. "Big brother, didn't this young lady say she was with you for 6 years? How are you still a virgin? Are you abstinent?"
Cáo Jǐngshēng hated Liú Qiànqiàn fiercely. He blamed himself for speaking too carelessly. How could he mention being a virgin? Wasn't that just making a fool of himself?
The middle-aged man who was holding Jiāng Lìlì's arm looked at Cáo Jǐngshēng. "Lili, who is this? Your ex-boyfriend?"
"Yes, a poor loser. Even though we dated for 6 years, you heard him, he's still a virgin. Nothing happened between us!"
The middle-aged man laughed heartily upon hearing Jiāng Lìlì's words. He looked at Cáo Jǐngshēng with ill intent. "Brother, I truly admire you as a gentleman. Six years and you still kept my girlfriend's virginity. I'm truly grateful. You said you spent 100,000 yuan on my girlfriend. It's okay, I can return that 100,000 yuan to you. Consider it a reward for you, a reward for being such a good person! Hahaha!"
Many people nearby had overheard their conversation and chuckled. In this era, a couple dating for six years with no physical intimacy was indeed rare.
Jiāng Lìlì was not satisfied with her boyfriend's words. "Why should we return 100,000 yuan to him? Although we didn't have a relationship beyond friendship, he held my hand, and I spent 6 years of my youth with him. Is my youth not even worth 100,000 yuan? Honey, you can't be soft-hearted like this. Even though he's dirt poor, there's no need for us to give him money!"