My Ex Told Me She’s Still In Love With Me - Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Twenty-two Billion, Two Hundred and Twenty-two Million…

In early April, two days before the Qingming Festival, the auction for the East City land plot began.

Following Madam Meng’s instructions, Meng Qingwu arrived at the auction hall. After being guided to her seat by the staff, she looked at the person sitting next to her and was momentarily speechless.

“Miss Meng!” Liang Siming exclaimed with pleasant surprise.

“Mr. Liang.” Meng Qingwu maintained a polite smile, though she felt a bit helpless inside.

Since he had acted as the intermediary to help her meet Cheng Yi last time, she had treated him to a meal in return. However, he seemed to have taken that as a sign of encouragement and had been pursuing her even more persistently ever since.

Liang Siming chuckled. “What brings Miss Meng here today instead of the Chairman?”

Meng Qingwu sat down gracefully. “Madam Meng thought I was being too idle lately, so she decided to find me something to do.”

The real reason was that she had angered her mother, but since her mother couldn’t bring herself to hit her, she was instead extorting her labor to create more wealth. Thinking of this, Meng Qingwu found it slightly amusing. Who is more childish here? Isn’t this move of hers quite petty?

“Hahaha! Chairman Meng certainly knows how to utilize talent!” Liang Siming praised.

Meng Qingwu: “…” The smile on her face stiffened for a second. Could you please not suck up so hard? It’s embarrassing to listen to…

However, seeing him reminded her of her primary concern. “Have you had any contact with Cheng Zhan recently?”

“Cheng Zhan? No,” Liang Siming shook his head.

Meng Qingwu’s mood dipped slightly. She nodded and didn’t say anything more.

…

The bidding officially began. The East City plot was over 80,000 square meters, with a starting price of around 1.1 billion.

Meng Qingwu didn’t participate in the early rounds. She waited patiently, watching the competitors gradually weed each other out.

“Is Miss Meng determined to win this plot?” Liang Siming asked curiously. He was only there to go through the motions; he didn’t have much interest in the land. Currently, the plot was just a wasteland. The government hadn’t made any moves to develop the area for years, and if someone bought it, they wouldn’t know how long they’d have to hold it before it started generating value.

“I’ll give it a try. With so many excellent companies here, I wouldn’t say I’m ‘determined’ to win,” Meng Qingwu leaned back lazily, propping her head on one hand as she watched the stage, looking somewhat disinterested.

As the flurry of bidding slowed down, fewer paddles were raised. Meng Qingwu noticed that among the remaining bidders was the Cheng family’s Jianshu Group. The person bidding for them was a sharp, capable-looking woman.

As the price climbed, many people began to feel uneasy, wondering if the wasteland was actually worth this much.

“1.58 billion, once.” “1.58 billion, twice.” “1.6 billion,” Meng Qingwu raised her paddle.

“Shuiyang International, 1.6 billion for the first time!”

Seeing Shuiyang International join the fray, several other companies felt their hopes fade and put down their paddles.

“1.6 billion for the second time.”

Just as the auctioneer was about to strike the gavel, Jianshu Group bid again.

“1.65 billion.”

A direct jump of 50 million. Meng Qingwu looked over and locked eyes with the woman from the Cheng family. Both women remained calm, giving each other a slight nod as a greeting before turning back to the bid.

“1.68 billion.” “1.7 billion.” “1.75 billion,” Meng Qingwu raised her paddle. “1.77 billion.”

“Miss Meng, if you keep going, the premium will be too high,” Liang Siming said hurriedly, grabbing her hand to stop her from raising the paddle again. He was genuinely worried. Buying a wasteland for this much money simply wasn’t worth it!

Meng Qingwu turned to look at him, then looked down at his hand gripping hers. She pursed her lips. Liang Siming realized his mistake, his face turning beet red as he quickly let go. “Sorry, sorry! I didn’t mean to!”

Meng Qingwu looked back at the stage and raised her paddle. “1,888,880,000!” (One billion, eight hundred and eighty-eight million, eight hundred and eighty thousand).

The room erupted in whispers. In their eyes, 1.5 or 1.6 billion was already the ceiling for this land. The woman from Jianshu Group hesitated, thought for a moment, and finally chose to give up.

“1.888 billion, once.” “1.888 billion, twice.” “1.9 billion.”

A male voice filled with a hint of a sneer came from a corner. Everyone turned to look. Meng Qingwu looked too, her eyebrows arching slightly.

It was Zhou Zheqiang, the “old scoundrel” she had met at the Cheng family banquet when she first returned to the country. Seeing the smirk on his face, she knew he was doing this on purpose just to drive up her price.

She lowered her eyes and raised her paddle. “2 billion.”

The others began to doubt their own judgment. As the daughter of Meng Shuyu, Meng Qingwu didn’t seem like an idiot. Why was she willing to pay such a high premium for wasteland?

Zhou Zheqiang saw her bid and raised his paddle again with a grin. “2.1 billion.”

Meng Qingwu leaned back casually and added another 50 million. Zhou Zheqiang followed suit. “2.2 billion.”

The atmosphere reached a fever pitch. All eyes were on Meng Qingwu. She remained nonchalant and raised her paddle one last time.

“2,222,222,200!” (Two billion, two hundred and twenty-two million, two hundred and twenty-two thousand, two hundred).

The room went silent for about three seconds. Then, someone couldn’t hold it in and snorted, followed by a wave of muffled laughter throughout the hall.

Clearly, the mother was not one to be trifled with, and the daughter was just as formidable. By bidding a string of “2s” (which is slang for “stupid” or “idiotic” in Chinese), she was essentially calling him a fool to his face.

Zhou Zheqiang’s face turned green upon hearing the bid. “2.3 billion!” he barked.

Hearing this, Meng Qingwu put down her paddle. She pulled out her phone and started scrolling leisurely. Sharp-eyed observers noticed she was browsing entertainment news—likely some celebrity gossip.

The crowd went silent again. This time, Zhou Zheqiang’s face went from livid to pale.

He had just bid 2.3 billion—nearly a billion over market value—for a wasteland. Everyone in the room was likely laughing at him for having “water in his brain.” Moreover, where was he going to find 2.3 billion in liquid cash on such short notice?

He looked at Meng Qingwu, but she had absolutely no intention of raising her paddle again.

“2.3 billion, once.” “2.3 billion, twice.” “2.3 billion, three times!” “Sold!”

As the gavel fell, Meng Qingwu tucked her phone away and stood up. She looked toward Zhou Zheqiang and gave him a bright, mocking smile.

Zhou Zheqiang stared at her retreating back with a dark expression. The air around him was so cold that no one dared approach him. Everyone was secretly amused; Zhou Zheqiang had tried to trap Meng Qingwu into overpaying, only to be played by her and left holding the bag.

…

Having successfully set a trap for Zhou Zheqiang, Meng Qingwu felt much better. Even Liang Siming, who was still trailing after her, looked a bit more tolerable.

Seeing her good mood, Liang Siming struck while the iron was hot. “It’s almost lunchtime. Would you like to grab a bite together?”

Before Meng Qingwu could decline, another voice cut in.

“Miss Meng’s reputation truly precedes her. I wonder if I, Ye, might have the honor of inviting you to lunch?”

The tone was hard to place—not quite oily, but coming from such a frivolous-sounding voice, it felt greasy. Meng Qingwu looked over and recognized him.

It was Ye Xiuyu of the Ye family—the man Old Master Lan wanted to set her up with.