Chapter 167 The Auction
With a humph, Ashton accepted the chocolate.
Her phone had buzzed in her pocket hundreds of times.
Shee ignored every single call.
Fiona couldn't help but glance towards the corner where Darwin was.
It was pitch dark over there, unclear what the people were up to.
But, based on the silhouettes, it seemed like Darwin had been on the stands since the Chicago footage started.
He couldn't have discovered something, could he?
Indeed, Darwin had been watching Chicago.
He was surprised at the richness of emotion in such a young child.
Understanding romance, capable of conveying it through art.
Understanding devotion, also displayed in the paintings.
She knew how to express love.
Love for her great-grandmother, her mother, her brother...
Her parents had raised her well.
The artists had finished presenting, now came the auction.
Up till now, everything had gone normally, almost all the artists' works had been bought.
There wasn't much competition, after three or four bids over the starting price, the deals were done.
"Next up, lot number 9, 'You's' works, 'The Birch Forest' and 'God'!"
After lot number 8, Chicago's paintings came up quickly.
Chicago, on the side, nervously clutched Wendy's hand.
'The Birch Forest' had a starting bid of $100,000.
The auction commenced.
Instantly, a dozen paddles shot up.
Ashton gasped in awe.
Lilian, shocked, turned to Darwin beside her.
He had raised his paddle.
Each raise of the paddle meant an increase by increments of $5,000.
When the bidding for 'The Birch Forest' reached a million dollars, only Darwin and the old man who wanted to become related to Chicago were left bidding.
"$1.5 million!" the elder glared at Darwin, raising the bid by half a million.
Darwin didn't even look at him.
Calmly, he raised his paddle, "$3 million."
"$3 million!" the auctioneer roared, "We have $3 million from this gentleman! Any advance?"
"Young man, I appreciate the child's filial piety towards her great-grandmother and want to win it for her. Why bid against me?" the elder said as he stood up, irritated.
"I admire her filial piety as well." said Darwin, his expression unmoved.
At $3 million, the elder hesitated to raise the bid any further and sat down huffily.
In the end, 'The Birch Forest' sold for $3 million.
The camera inevitably panned to Darwin, catching Lilian as well.
Lilian was grateful for her ability to disguise her feelings, or else everyone would immediately know how she felt about this situation.
$3 million! How could such a piece be worth $3 million?
Although such a sum wasn't much for Darwin, but, it's just not worth it for such a detestable child!
"Next up, 'God', with a starting bid of $200,000!" The auctioneer was beside himself with excitement.
Compared to 'The Birch Forest', this 'God' painting evidently held much greater significance.
It was painted by the artist while praying for her mother's well-being!
Darwin felt that incrementally increasing the bid was pointless and a waste of time.
He raised his paddle to bid.
His tone was cool, "5 million dollars."
The crowd was astounded!
"5... 5 million dollars?" The auctioneer was dumbfounded.
"Darwin!" Lilian couldn't hold back, she whispered sharply, "This painting isn't worth that much!"
"Is that so?" Darwin responded indifferently, "But I think it's worth even more."
Lilian was stunned.
The auctioneer called for further bids twice.
It seemed everyone knew: Darwin was determined to win. And although there were murmurs of complaint, nobody was willing to challenge him with a higher bid.
The old man sitting next to Darwin glared at him, obviously livid.
In the lounge Fiona's heart throbbed like thunder, "What is Darwin doing?"
Ashton was also shocked, "Maybe it's because Lilian likes it?"
That couldn't be!
Darwin hadn't glanced at Lilian throughout the entire event!
Especially not when he bid five million dollars.
Even Lilian was taken aback!
Ashton raged internally.
"Mom, aren't you happy?" Charles looked at Fiona, "Chicago's painting sold for a lot of money, we can build so many schools now."
He had done his research.
In Armie Country, a single Hope Elementary School costs five hundred thousand dollars.
"I'm happy. How could I not be happy?" Fiona's heart raced, enveloped in a mix of fear and inexplicable emotions.
The auction continued at the front.
Darwin and Lilian got up and left the auction scene.
Fiona watched as their figures disappeared from view, breathing a deep sigh of relief.
Perhaps it was just as Ashton had suggested, Lilian liked the painting done by Chicago, nothing more.
It looked as if they left right after the auction for Chicago's artwork ended, but in reality, when Chicago saw Darwin approaching, she immediately ran over to him, leaping into his arms.
Darwin caught her almost reflexively.
"Did you buy my painting?"
"You've done a great job, I really like it." Darwin said with a smile.
Then, he looked instinctively in the direction from which Chicago had come.
When he arrived, he saw several young artists accompanied by their parents, but all he saw was Wendy with Chicago.
On such an important occasion, were the parents not present?
"You are a good person, I heard that the money from the painting can be donated to build many schools! Thank you, here's another flower as a reward for you!"
Chicago was saying this and handed Darwin a little flower.
"Is this a sunflower?" Darwin asked.
"Yes, there are sunflowers on the hem of my dress, too." Chicago explained with pride. "Ashton said a very talented seamstress embroidered them by hand!" She showed off the hem of her dress.
Darwin was visibly pleased.
"Hello, Chicago, I'm Lilian." Lilian greeted with a tender smile on her face.
But Chicago shyly shrank back.
"Hello, Aunt Lilian." she said, noticeably less animated than before.
Wendy also recognized Lilian and her face clearly showed her displeasure.
"Chicago, I misunderstood you earlier, you're really wonderful. So devoted to your mother and such a good artist, no wonder God favors you." Lilian, trying to contain her anger, continued to play the part of the kind aunt.
Chicago might have been naive, but her likes and dislikes were crystal clear, more so than many adults.
As she looked at Lilian, one word filled her little head: dislike.
Dislike! Dislike! So much dislike!
But Chicago was her mother's good girl, her polite self knew how to behave.
"It's okay, Mommy says that those who can correct their mistakes are still good people." Chicago generously said.
Lilian gritted her teeth in thought, "Damn child, is she mocking me?"
"Uncle, you bought my painting, would you like to have dinner with me?" Chicago turned back to Darwin, extending a cordial invitation.
Wendy nervously clutched the corner of her own clothes, thinking, "Miss, have you forgotten to ask your mommy first?"
Lilian wanted to decline, she had other plans already. What about her own agenda if Darwin dined with this child?
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