Liliana finally made a move. Her bid left everyone in the room in awe. However, Klaus wasn't surprised at all. He was actually looking forward to this.
"Let the game begin," he murmured.
Of course, $50 million didn't stop other guests from trying to obtain the painting. They made higher bids.
"Fifty-one million!"
"Fifty-one and a half million!"
"Fifty million seven hundred fifty thousand!"
The guests called out their bids loudly, but their voices quickly faded when Jonathan raised his paddle.
"Eighty million!" he proclaimed boldly.
"Wow! $80 million! A fantastic bid! Who can bid higher!" Julia appeared excited.
A woman in a white gown shouted, "Eighty-five million!"
Isabella didn't want to be left out of this competition.
On the other hand, Klaus still hadn't shown any signs of placing a bid. Sitting comfortably in his seat, he watched the people around him compete for the painting. A smirk formed on his lips as the price soared.
"Why are you smiling at yourself? What's so funny?" Olivia stared at Klaus curiously.
"Nothing. I'm just imagining their faces if none of them get the painting."
"But you said you have no money."
Klaus glanced at Olivia. "Do you think so?"
Naturally, Olivia squinted her eyes in suspicion.
The room heated up as the painting's price reached $100 million. Many guests withdrew from the bidding battle. They'd already reached their limit. Only three guests insisted on bidding for the "Coiled Dragon."????????????????????????????????.????????????
"One hundred and one million!"
"One hundred and two million!"
"One hundred and five million!"
Liliana, Isabella, and Jonathan; none of them were willing to back down. They tried to outdo each other. Their actions left the guests shaking their heads, wondering if they had no financial limits.
These three had strong backgrounds. One was the daughter of a conglomerate, the other was of noble descent, and the last one was the daughter of a mine owner.
As everyone thought only the three of them had a real chance to get the "Coiled Dragon," Klaus stood up, raising his paddle into the air.
"Two hundred million!"
Instantly, all eyes turned to Klaus. The guests were utterly shocked. No one in the room expected Klaus to make such a fantastic bid. Some guests even gaped in surprise.
Everyone believed that Klaus had spent his money at the beginning of the auction and had only $25 million left. Suddenly, he stood up and shattered their expectations.
"Wow! $200 million! Number 98 makes a surprising bid!" Julia said with great excitement.
On the other hand, the two previously dominating figures seemed less enthusiastic. Jonathan frowned, while Isabella slumped in her chair. They had run out of funds, unable to reach a bid over $200 million.
However, there was still one person who might be willing to challenge Klaus.
"Two hundred and one million dollars!" Liliana shouted from the back, drawing attention from the guests.
"Number 20 bids $201,000,000! Can the price go any higher?" Julia looked towards Klaus with a smile.
And Klaus returned that smile.
"Two hundred and one million and one cent!" he said.
Immediately, murmurs filled the entire room. His action caused a commotion among the guests. Bidding one cent higher could be considered a trolling move. Julia sighed in response, realizing Klaus was playing with her.
But still, his bid was much higher than Liliana's.
"$201,000,000 and 1 cent! Mr. Klaus, I mean number 98, I hope you don't take this auction lightly," Julia thenlooked at Liliana. "Does number 20 want to bid higher?"
Liliana hissed, "My niece likes to play games, but I don't." She raised her paddle. "Two hundred and fifty million!"
The guests held their breath. Even Jonathan and Isabella twisted their faces upon hearing it.
However, Klaus was just getting started with his game. There was no way he would stop at that number.
"Two hundred and fifty million and one cent!"
Once again, Klaus created a scene. The guests sigh in annoyance and anger at him. They saw his behavior as childish. However, Julia still had patience with him.
"Number 98 bids $250,000,000 and 1 cent. It's acceptable, but if you add one cent again to outbid the other guests, I would disqualify you from the auction. I hope you won't do it again, Mr. Klaus."
Klaus nodded in response, looking very relaxed. But Olivia, sitting next to him, had a different expression.
Twisting her face in astonishment, her eyes conveyed questions as she couldn't understand why Klaus was behaving this way. She might not have worked for him for long, but she knew well that her boss wasn't the type to play games unless he had a plan.
On the other hand, the guests clearly showed their dislike for Klaus.
"What is that kid doing?"I think you should take a look at
"He thinks this auction is just a game for him, huh."
"I know Steve, he's a tough guy. But I didn't expect him to fail at raising his son."
The mocking remarks reached Klaus's ears. Instead of getting angry, he grinned, as if he had been waiting for this situation.
And Liliana still didn't give up. "He probably thinks his aunt is broke after getting married, huh?" Taking a deep breath, Liliana yelled, "Three hundred million!"
The guests raised their eyebrows at her bid. They were impressed and surprised that she was still willing to deal with Klaus, who was clearly toying with her. Soft praise accompanied applause that echoed amidst the whispers filling the room.
But Klaus quickly disrupted the atmosphere for the second time.
"Three hundred million and one dollar!" he shouted.
His bid evoked scorn once more. The guests began booing Klaus openly. They were truly fed up with him.
"Stop fooling around, kid!"
"Come on, don't create unnecessary controversies!"
"Stupid, you're making the Lee Family look bad!"
Now, the guests continued insulting him. And, of course, none of their words hurt his feelings. Instead, Klaus grinned wider.
On the other hand, Olivia grew more worried. Seeing the situation becoming chaotic, she whispered to Klaus, asking him to stop upsetting the people in this room.
Sighing in frustration, Julia started to get annoyed with his deliberate behavior.
"Number 98, I already warned you not to play around. Yet, you still did it," she said.
"You only said one cent, not one dollar," Klaus replied innocently.
"Please!" Julia retorted. "Don't twist my words. I know you're smart enough to understand what I said. Please, respect the other guests, Mr. Klaus." This time, Julia was dead serious.
Klaus nodded. "Okay, okay. I understand. By the way, am I still winning?"
"Yes."
Hearing the desired response, Klaus smiled broadly.
But his aunt looked quite the opposite. Liliana clenched her hands in frustration.
"The current bid is $300,000,001. Number 20, do you want to bid higher?" Julia asked, giving Liliana a firm look.
Liliana grinned. "Of course. Five hundred million. That's my bid."
Applause echoed in the room. The guests praised Liliana for her calm demeanor and not being provoked. And, most importantly, she continued to fight for the best painting from the Chinese mainland.
This time, Julia didn't beat around the bush.
"$500,000,000. A fantastic bid. Do you want to outbid it, number 98?" she asked.
All eyes turned to Klaus, awaiting his answer.
Smiling, Klaus said, "Nine hundred ninety-nine million nine hundred ninety-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine."
Instantly, the room fell silent. The guests were taken aback by the absurdly high bid. They knew Klaus was trolling, but at the same time, they couldn't refute it because it was a significant amount of money.
Even Julia couldn't say anything.
"How about it, Miss Julia? Will you disqualify me?" Klaus asked mockingly.
"That... that... that..." Julia knew Klaus was playing with her. But his offer was too tempting to refuse. "That's fine. Your bid is valid. Ahh... I guess we've found a new owner for this painting. So, 'Coiled Dragon' is so—"
As Julia raised the gavel, a woman's voice interrupted her.
"One billion! I bid one billion dollars!"
Instantly, all eyes turned to the woman in the back row. Liliana had bid one dollar higher than Klaus, reversing the situation using Klaus' own tactics.
On the stage, Julia pursed her lips, thinking that the price of the painting could go even higher.
"One billion dollars! It's the highest bid so far. What about you, number 98? Number 20 raised one dollar higher, I hope you won't imitate her to make it fair."
Klaus shrugged. "No, I give up. I don't have that much money. I have spent everything on those ten paintings earlier."
Naturally, chaos erupted in the room. The guests were surprised. They didn't expect Klaus to bid just to inflate the price of the painting. He got various responses. Some were angry, while others laughed.
Julia shook her head.
"'Coiled Dragon' is sold for one billion dollars! Congratulations, Mistress Liliana Liebert!"
Bam! Bam! Bam!
The sound of the gavel echoed.
In the back row, Liliana froze amidst the commotion. She had just realized she had been trapped.
As she looked towards Klaus, he winked at her.
